Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 23 Mar 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news U.S. Resurrects Shuttered Bush Administration 'Total Information Awareness' Data Mining Program --U.S. Relaxes Limits on Use of Data in Terror Analysis 23 Mar 2012 The Obama administration is moving to relax restrictions on how counterterrorism analysts may retrieve, store and search information about Americans gathered by government agencies for purposes other than national security threats. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday signed new guidelines for the National Counterterrorism Center, which was created in 2004 to foster intelligence sharing and serve as a terrorism threat clearinghouse. The guidelines will lengthen to five years - from 180 days - the amount of time the center can retain private information about Americans when there is no suspicion that they are tied to terrorism, intelligence officials said. The guidelines are also expected to result in the center making more copies of entire databases and "data mining them" using complex algorithms to search for patterns that could indicate a threat.
The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) By James Bamford 15 Mar 2012 Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world's communications as they zap down from satellites and zip through the underground and undersea cables of international, foreign, and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion center should be up and running in September 2013... It is, in some measure, the realization of the "total information awareness" program created during the first term of the Bush administration-an effort that was killed by Congress in 2003 after it caused an outcry over its potential for invading Americans' privacy. Sarkozy: Jail those who browse terror websites --'Anyone' who regularly consults terror-advocating sites will be criminally punished 22 Mar 2012 France's president proposed a sweeping new law Thursday that would jail those who visit extremist web sites -- one of several tough new measures floated in the wake of a murderous shooting spree. Nicolas Sarkozy argued that it was time to treat those who browse extremist websites the same way as those who consume child pornography. "Anyone who regularly consults Internet sites which promote terror or hatred or violence will be sentenced to prison," he told a campaign rally in Strasbourg, in eastern France. "What is possible for pedophiles should be possible for trainee terrorists and their supporters, too." Mayor's office buys 8,513 more face shields for NATO summit 21 Mar 2012 Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration is buying 8,513 more face shields for Chicago Police officers at a cost of $757,657 - and demanding delivery in time for the May 20-21 NATO summit - to give every officer on the street a shield that fits over a gas mask and prevents them from being blinded by liquids thrown by protesters. The supplemental purchase from Colorado-based Super Seer Corp. brings to $954,118 the amount of money spent to purchase 11,570 face shields twice as thick as the old ones with a larger surface and air-tight seal to keep liquids out. The new contract was piggybacked onto an existing Fairfax County, Va. award with a third-distributor to expedite delivery. As Occupy Arrestees Arraigned, Iris Scans Affect Bail 19 Mar 2012 The first of the more than 70 Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested Saturday afternoon and evening were arraigned yesterday in Manhattan Criminal Court. Unlike many of the other defendants with whom they shared cells, the protesters could feel confident that they would soon be released -- Occupy posts bail for those arrested during movement actions. But protesters and their legal advisers were surprised yesterday to learn that the size of their bail was being affected by whether defendants were willing to have the distinctive patterns of their irises photographed and logged into a database. Paramilitary-Style Police Detain And Search Individuals From Occupy Miami --Summary of post by James Cox 13 Mar 2012 Today, members of Occupy Miami were leaving to do a march and a rally, when multiple trucks and cars filled with paramilitary SWAT-looking officers, with military weaponry pulled. According to reports, these 'paramilitary-looking' police officers drew their weapons on the occupiers and rounded them up, along with tenants of the apartment complex, and put them on the ground... These officers were in full riot gear and had assault rifles, tactical gear and shotguns. They were also accompanied by FBI agents and the City of Miami police. Ex-FBI informant on terror traps: 'There is no real hunt. It's fixed' 20 Mar 2012 Craig Monteilh says he did not balk when his FBI handlers gave him the OK to have sex with the Muslim women his undercover operation was targeting. Nor, at the time, did he shy away from recording their pillow talk. "They said, if it would enhance the intelligence, go ahead and have sex. So I did," Monteilh told the Guardian as he described his year as a confidential FBI informant sent on a secret mission to infiltrate southern Californian mosques. It is an astonishing admission that goes that goes to the heart of the intelligence surveillance of Muslim communities in America in the years after 9/11. While police and FBI leaders have insisted they are acting to defend America from a terrorist attack, civil liberties groups have insisted they have repeatedly gone too far and treated an entire religious group as suspicious. 'We have a duty to prepare for the worst': Peter King warns Iran has 'hundreds' of Hezbollah agents in the U.S. 21 Mar 2012 Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah may have hundreds of operatives based in the United States, and Hezbollah - not al-Qaida [al-CIAduh]- poses the greatest terrorist threat to Americans, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Peter King, said today. Since September 11 2001, Americas counter-terror officials have focused on al-Qaida and home-grown radicalised American extremists, said the New York representative at a hearing of his committee. But, now, the terrorist threat to the United States is shifting. [Right, there's a new country to invade for Exxon Mobil; hence, the 'threat' is shifting. --LRP] US Mercenary 'Took Part' in Gaddafi Killing; Sent to Assist Syrian opposition 19 Mar 2012 US government officials requested that an American private security firm contact Syrian opposition figures in Turkey to see "how they can help in regime change," the CEO of one of these firms told Stratfor in a company email obtained by WikiLeaks and Al-Akhbar. James F. Smith, former director of Blackwater, is currently the Chief Executive of SCG International, a private security firm with experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. In what appears to be his first email to Stratfor, Smith stated that his "background is CIA and his company is comprised of "former DOD [Department of Defense], CIA and former law enforcement personnel." (doc-id 5441475) U.S. Sergeant Faces 17 Counts of Murder in Afghan Killings 23 Mar 2012 Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will be charged on Friday with 17 counts of murder and various other charges, including attempted murder, in connection with the March 11 shooting deaths of Afghan civilians, a senior United States official said on Thursday. Sergeant Bales, who is 38 and had been serving his fourth combat tour overseas, is being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He is accused of walking away from his remote base in southern Afghanistan and killing 16 17 civilians in a nighttime ambush... Sergeant Bales's legal proceedings could last years. Afghan villagers told they would pay for bomb days ahead of massacre of 16 21 Mar 2012 Residents of an Afghan village near where an American soldier is alleged to have killed 16 civilians are convinced that the slayings were in retaliation for a roadside bomb attack on US forces in the same area a few days earlier. In accounts to The Associated Press and to Afghan government officials, the residents allege that US troops lined up men from the village of Mokhoyan against a wall after the bombing on either March 7 or 8, and told them they would pay a price for the attack. Bomb explosion kills 2, wounds 8 in south Afghanistan 22 Mar 2012 At least two people have been killed and eight others wounded after an explosion ripped through Afghanistan's troubled southern province of Kandahar. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast took place in the 10th precinct of Kandahar city, situated approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) southwest of Kabul, at around 04:00 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) on Thursday. He added that two civilians were killed and eight others, including two policemen, sustained injures. Taliban destroy nine NATO fuel tankers in western Afghanistan 20 Mar 2012 Taliban militants in Afghanistan's western Farah province have destroyed nine NATO tankers carrying fuel for US-led troops in the war-torn country, Press TV reports. According to local officials, two vehicles escorting the convoy were also destroyed in the ambush on Tuesday. One person was killed in the attack and two others were injured, the officials said. A spokesperson for the Taliban, however, claimed that at least six people had lost their lives. Marine facing dismissal over Obama criticism 21 Mar 2012 The Marine Corps on Wednesday notified a sergeant who has been openly critical of President Barack Obama that he is violating Pentagon policy barring troops from political activities and that he faces dismissal. Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Gary Stein started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party to encourage fellow service members to exercise their free speech rights. He declared a few weeks ago that he would not follow the unlawful orders of the commander in chief. Stein stated that he would not follow orders from the president if those orders included detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights. Dozens arrested in Vermont Yankee protest 22 Mar 2012 Scores of protesters were arrested at the corporate headquarters of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant Thursday, the first day of the plant's operation after the expiration of its 40-year license. A heavy police presence and ropes blocked off access to the offices in Brattleboro. The arrests were made calmly and without any confrontation, with obvious signs that protesters and police had worked out the logistics beforehand. A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered in a downtown Brattleboro park before they marched the 3 1/2 miles to the headquarters. Mega barf alert: Southern leg of Keystone pipeline a 'priority,' Obama says 22 Mar 2012 Amid criticism he isn't doing enough to beat back rising gas prices, President Obama Thursday said he is calling on his administration "to cut through red tape, break through bureaucratic hurdles," and make the Southern leg of the controversial Keystone pipeline "a priority." Mr. Obama's stop in Cushing was part of a four-state, two-day tour in which the president touted his [corpora-terrorist overlords'] energy policies. Standing next to the giant TransCanada pipes that will make up the Southern leg of the Keystone pipeline, Mr. Obama sought to remind voters that he's not opposed to domestic oil drilling [so Exxon Mobil can sell the oil to China]. Blueprint on global plan for TB vaccine unveiled 20 Mar 2012 Top scientific experts Tuesday unveiled a global action plan for developing tuberculosis vaccines that are seen as critical to eliminating the disease that afflicts millions every year allow pharma-terrorists to make a killing. The strategic blueprint for the TB vaccine field, published in a special issue of the journal, Tuberculosis, represents consensus reached by the TB vaccine community. The action plan comes at a crucial juncture when scientists await results early next year from the world's most advanced TB vaccine trial in South Africa. Police deploy explosives in French gunman siege 22 Mar 2012 French police fired shots and set off explosives roughly every hour outside an apartment block in southern France on Thursday to try to force out a 24-year-old gunman suspected of killing seven people in the name of al Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. Some 27 hours after 300 police first surrounded the five-storey building in a suburb of the prosperous industrial city of Toulouse, Mohamed Merah, a French citizen of Algerian origin, was refusing to give himself up. Instead Merah boasted to police negotiators that he had brought France to its knees and said his only regret was not having been able to carry out plans for more killings. Thousands attend rally for slain Fla. teen 22 Mar 2012 Thousands of Sanford residents and protesters from around the country attended a rally for a black teen fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain in Florida. The rally was initially planned for a 400-seat church. But Thursday evening's two-hour rally for 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was moved to Fort Mellon Park in downtown Sanford to make room for all the people expected to attend. Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton told the crowd that he wants to see Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, in court with handcuffs behind his back. [Notice that Obusha is silent on the shooting of Trayvon Martin? Notice that Al Sharpton is silent on Obusha's silence? --LRP] Outrage over Trayvon Martin shooting spreads 22 Mar 2012 Fury over the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is spreading. Marchers took to the streets in New York City and Miami Wednesday, demanding the arrest of the shooter, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. And he's not the only one under fire. In Manhattan, hundreds demonstrated, seeking justice, they said, for Martin. The "Million Hoodie March" got its name because Martin was wearing a hoodie on Feb. 28, the night Zimmerman shot him. [Is George Zimmerman a confidential informant for the Sanford Police Department? That would explain why Zimmerman appears to be a protected species. --LRP] 2 Fla. officials step aside in teen death probe 22 Mar 2012 The police chief and prosecutor who have been bitterly criticized for not arresting a neighborhood watch volunteer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager both left the case Thursday, with the chief saying that he is temporarily leaving his job to let passions cool. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee's decision came less than a day after city commissioners gave him a "no confidence" vote, and after a couple of weeks of protests and uproar on social media websites. Sanford, Fla., Police Chief Steps Down Temporarily 22 Mar 2012 The embattled police chief at the center of a fatal neighborhood watch shooting temporarily stepped down Thursday, saying he had become a distraction to the investigation. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee has been heavily criticized after his officers decided not to arrest George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot an unarmed black teen to death on Feb. 26. The shooting has sparked several protests, and city commissioners gave the chief a "no confidence" vote on Wednesday night. Trayvon Martin case: No-confidence vote for Sanford police chief 22 Mar 2012 In a tense meeting Wednesday that highlighted growing tensions over the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, local officials in Sanford, Fla., passed a vote of no confidence in the police chief as protests spread north to New York City, where the slain youth's parents joined a Manhattan march demanding the killer's arrest. The no-confidence measure passed 3 to 2 after more than an hour of debate, and though it was not binding, the outcome and the public groans and applause that punctuated the debate underscored the anger pulsing through the Orlando suburb nearly a month after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's death on Feb. 26. Parents of slain Florida teen to join Million Hoodies March 21 Mar 2012 The father of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teen shot dead by a neighborhood watch captain in Florida, said on Wednesday he would join A Million Hoodies March in New York to demand justice for his slain son who "didn't deserve to die this evil way." Organizer Daniel Maree said the rally in Union Square Park, north of Greenwich Village, was intended to "put pressure on whoever it takes to charge George Zimmerman and prosecute him." The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the FBI said on Monday that they had opened an investigation into the shooting. A state grand jury was also being convened. 'Etch A Sketch' stocks soar after Romney gaffe 22 Mar 2012 Shares in a company that makes Etch A Sketch nearly tripled in value on Thursday, a day after the humble toy was thrust into the center of US politics. The Ohio Art Company, which makes the children's iconic drawing device, saw its shares increase as much as 213 percent after a key aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made an ill-thought reference to the toy. But the Ohio Art Company tried to make hay out of Romney's woes. In a statement the company said it was "happy to see Etch A Sketch, an American classic toy, is DRAWING attention with political candidates as a cultural icon and important piece of our society. A profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all, is now SHAKING up the national debate." Obama Signs 'Thank You' to Deaf Supporter 21 Mar 2012 President Obama didn't miss a beat last week when he encountered a group of deaf students along a rope line after his speech at Prince Georges Community College in Maryland. "I am proud of you," signed Stephon, a 26-year-old college student, who looked at Obama with amazement. Obama immediately paused and signed back "thank you." Another deaf woman signed, "I love you," drawing a big Obama smile. There's a new family in the White House: Mother duck moves in her adorable ducklings... with a little help from the Secret Service 22 Mar 2012 There was no need for the President to duck and cover when a family of uninvited visitors waddled past tight security and into the White House yesterday. A mother duck and her brood of eight adorable ducklings tried to sneak past guards and occupy the presidential front lawn. ...Two guards on duty took the matter into their own hands and gently picked each one up, passing them through the gate so they could be reunited with their mother. CLG needs your support. http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) P.O. Box 1142 Bristol, CT 06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible. Feel free -- and CLG encourages you -- to forward this newsletter to your lists and friends! Those who wish to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name. Those who wish to unsubscribe can go here: http://lists.people-link.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/legitgov. Please mark clg_n...@legitgov.org as 'not spam' and do not delete from a spam or 'junk' folder, as such actions trigger false spam complaints against the CLG. 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