CLG News

Guantanamo prisoner goes before jury 11 Aug 2010 The trial of the youngest prisoner at the Guantanamo prison, Omar Khadr, is set to resume before a jury of military officers, however, lawyers say the detainee has undergone inhumane treatment. His lawyers accuse interrogators of inhumane treatment, including indirect threats of rape and death against the defendant. Canada's High Court in Ottawa has also said that Khadr's rights were violated during interrogation. Khadr is a Canadian citizen.

Former Blackwater workers face new murder indictment 11 Aug 2010 A federal grand jury issued a new murder indictment against two former Blackwater security workers, charging one defendant with using a machine gun but reducing an attempted murder charge against both. The grand jury didn't change the most serious charges against Christopher Drotleff and Justin Cannon. They remain charged with second-degree murder and related counts in the May 5, 2009, shooting deaths of two Afghan nationals and the wounding of a third.

White House unloads anger over criticism from 'professional left' 10 Aug 2010 The White House is simmering with anger at criticism from liberals who say President Obama is more concerned with deal-making than ideological purity. During an interview with The Hill in his West Wing office, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs blasted liberal naysayers, whom he said would never regard anything the president did as good enough. "I hear these people saying he’s like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "I mean, it’s crazy." [Gibbs: Go f*ck yourself. Obama is Bush incarnate. --LRP]

Alert triggered after Freon leak at Pa. nuclear plant --Affected building evacuated 10 Aug 2010 A nuclear power plant in northeastern Pennsylvania has been partially evacuated because of a non-radioactive refrigerant leak. PPL Corp. said Freon gas was detected leaking from a chiller in the Unit 1 reactor building of the Susquehanna plant in Berwick around 9 a.m. Tuesday. The Allentown-based utility said the affected building was evacuated, not the entire plant.

Former Senator Ted Stevens Is Killed in a Plane Crash 10 Aug 2010 Former United States Senator Ted Stevens was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska on Monday night, a former member of Mr. Stevens’s Congressional staff said on Tuesday. There were nine people on board, and five were believed to have been killed in the crash, authorities said. Mr. Stevens, who had been the longest serving Republican in the United States Senate, was 86. Three survivors were airlifted to Anchorage for further medical attention.

Alert at PPL Nuclear Plant --19 municipalities involved in the Level 2 alert 10 Aug 2010 (PA) An alert has been issued at PPL's Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant near Berwick after a leak inside one of the buildings. PPL officials said no radiation was involved. PPL officials said Freon is leaking from a cooling system inside the Unit 1 reactor building. PPL said the Freon is still leaking and crews are trying to determine if it is safe for workers to stop the leak or if special teams using oxygen suits will be needed to stop the flow of Freon. The Freon supplies a cooling system in Unit 1. The alert system has four stages; four being the highest alert.

EADS North America CEO, former NASA Admin, former Sen. Ted Stevens aboard crashed plane 10 Aug 2010 A plane believed to be carrying eight people, including former Sen. Ted Stevens and former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, crashed in southwest Alaska and rescue crews were trying to reach the wreckage Tuesday morning, authorities said. Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said there were possible fatalities. Five people were on scene early Tuesday helping the crash victims, he said. It was unclear how they reached the site. Defense contractor EADS North America said Tuesday morning that O’Keefe, the current CEO of the U.S.-based division of the European company, was a passenger on the small plane.

Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in plane crash --O'Keefe wrestled cost overruns in construction of International Space Station 10 Aug 2010 Sean O’Keefe, former NASA administrator and current head of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) was on board a private plane that crashed in Alaska on 9 August. The plane was carrying nine people, including former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. O’Keefe was Administrator of NASA from 2001 to 2005, following his nomination by President [sic] George W. Bush. Among his achievements are steering the organization through the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 and the extensive investigation that followed.

Former Sen. Ted Stevens, ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were on crashed Alaska plane --Air Force 11th Rescue Coordination Center, which is operated by the Alaska National Guardsmen, was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham at about 7 p.m. Monday 10 Aug 2010 A former senator who was Congress' longest-serving Republican, along with the former head of NASA, were aboard a plane that crashed in Alaska. They were among seven other passengers, but it is unclear if they are among the dead. Officials have only said four people were killed. Stevens survived a previous plane crash in 1978, also in Alaska.

H1N1 flu pandemic officially over, WHO says 10 Aug 2010 The [lab-generated] H1N1 pandemic has officially ended, the World Health Organization declared Tuesday. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan made the declaration based on the findings of the WHO's Emergency Committee--a group of experts from around the world that has been advising the Geneva-based arm of the United Nations. Chan acknowledged that the pandemic turned out to be far less severe than officials had originally feared.

Khadr's 'torture' confessions admissible 10 Aug 2010 Confessions made by Omar Khadr, who was captured by US troops when 15, can be used as evidence in trial despite claims they were obtained through torture. Khadr, who was charged with war crimes based on the allegation that he threw a grenade that killed an American soldier in Afghanistan in 2002, has been held in US custody with out a trial since then. The Canadian-born captive is set to be tried before a military tribunal on Tuesday.

Prisoner in Afghanistan kills two US Marines 09 Aug 2010 A prisoner killed two US Marines in southern Afghanistan after escaping a prayer room and grabbing a rifle, NATO said Monday. The alliance said the gunman was later shot dead and that the incident on Saturday was under investigation.

Hezbollah exposes Israeli hit men 09 Aug 2010 Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has presented evidence proving that Israel masterminded the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. At a press conference in Beirut on Monday night, the Lebanese resistance movement's secretary general presented video materials captured by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as well as recorded confessions by Israeli fifth columnists substantiating that the February 14, 2005, assassination of Hariri in the capital was carried out on orders from Tel Aviv.

Oil spill plugged, but more oiled birds than ever are being found 08 Aug 2010 More than three weeks after BP capped its gushing oil well, skimming operations have all but stopped and federal scientists say just a quarter of the oil remains in the Gulf of Mexico. But wildlife officials are rounding up more oiled birds than ever as fledgling birds get stuck in the residual goo and rescuers make initial visits to rookeries they had avoided disturbing during nesting season...  The figures for sea turtles have climbed even higher, with more oiled turtles recovered in the past 10 days than during the spill's first three months.

NYPD pulled footage from subway surveillance cameras 2,000 times last year 09 Aug 2010 Transit police investigating subway crimes are increasingly going to the videotape to identify and arrest armed robbers, muggers and other thugs. NYPD detectives asked NYC Transit to pull footage from surveillance cameras nearly 2,000 times last year, up from 222 times in 2005, NYC Transit data show. That's because after years of delays and technical glitches, there are now more than 3,100 cameras installed - and recording - in the subways, authorities said.

3100 Cameras Installed In New York City Subway Stations --NYPD Examining Subway Footage to 'Help Solve Crimes' 09 Aug 2010 Surveillance video from subway stations are getting closer scrutiny recently, as transit police increase efforts to identify and arrest armed robbers and other criminals, a published report said today. The NYPD asked transit police to pull footage from surveillance cameras some 2000 times last year -- ten times more often than five years ago, the Daily News reports. There are now 3100 cameras installed in city subway stations recording activities, officials said.

Guantanamo Plea Deal to Stay Secret --The Obama administration hopes to show that the latest version of the military tribunals can be run effectively and withstand judicial scrutiny. 09 Aug 2010 A former al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] cook and bodyguard, Ibrahim al-Qosi, pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism Monday, but under a plea bargain, his sentence will be kept secret by court order, a prosecution spokesman said. In a second case resuming here Monday, the Defense Department planned to begin a rare trial of a juvenile for war crimes. The military accuses Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was 15 years old when captured in Afghanistan in 2002, of throwing a grenade during a firefight that killed a Delta Force medic.

Russia, NORAD shadow jet in Pacific hijack drill 09 Aug 2010 A chartered jet with American, Russian and Canadian officers aboard played the role of a hijacked plane in an unprecedented drill Monday as pursuing fighter planes flew close enough to see the pilots' helmets silhouetted against the blue sky. Flying west across the Pacific starting Sunday from Alaska, the Gulfstream, code-named Fencing 1220, was shadowed first by F-22s from the North American Aerospace Defense Command and later by Russian Su-27 and MiG-31 fighters.

'US main sponsor of terrorism' 09 Aug 2010 Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the US is the main sponsor of terrorism and that it tries to cover up this fact by leveling accusations against other countries. The US State Department in its annual report released on Aug. 5, 2010 accused Iran of supporting terrorism. Ramin Mehmanparast on Monday rejected the State Department report and said, "Examples of US actions show that this country has been the biggest sponsor of terrorism over the past three decades but by leveling baseless accusations against other states it attempts to cover up its own actions."

Police kill family pet during search warrant, find nothing 04 Aug 2010 (CA) Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force agents, aided by a uniformed Willits police officer, serving a search warrant at 64 Franklin Avenue on July 27, shot and killed a family pet, an 8-year-old half-pit bull mix named Tonka. When agents searched the home, they found nothing directly linking the residents to the arrest of Craig Anthony Gelber, the target of the search, according to MMCTF Commander Bob Nishiyama. According to resident Anna White, Tonka's owner, the police shot her pet while it was in a fenced area on her front porch. "We found the shell casing outside by the fence area. Tonka then ran into our house, got onto my bed and died." White described her bedroom following the search, claiming Tonka's body had been dumped from the bed onto the floor and items from her room dropped onto the body and into the dog's blood. "They destroyed our house and found nothing," says White. [Sue the sociopaths.]

Judge: Canadian's 'confession' can be used at Guantanamo trial --Omar Khadr's lawyers claim statements were obtained through torture 09 Aug 2010 A U.S. military judge ruled on Monday that Canadian prisoner Omar Khadr's confessions to interrogators can be used as evidence against him in his murder and terrorism conspiracy 'trial' at Guantanamo Bay. Khadr's lawyers had claimed the statements were illegally obtained through torture and cruelty and asked the judge in the U.S. war crimes court to throw them out. The judge at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, denied the request. Toronto-born defendant Khadr was captured at age 15 on an Afghan battlefield.

Highland Wildlife Park's polar bear weighed 09 Aug 2010 The UK's only polar bear has been weighed to help her keepers determine the state of her health. Mercedes, who weighs 291kg (45 stone), was moved from Edinburgh Zoo to the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig in the Cairngorms last year. Her estimated age of 29 is old for a polar bear, but wildlife park staff said she was healthy.

Cluster bomb ban comes into force 01 Aug 2010 A worldwide treaty banning the use of cluster bombs has come into force to become binding international law in countries that have signed and ratified it. The Convention on Cluster Munitions bans the production, use, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster weapons after it was adopted at a conference in Ireland in 2008. The Convention has been signed by 108 countries and has been ratified by 38 states. However, the US, Israel, China, and Russia, which are thought to account for the huge bulk of the estimated one billion bomblet global stockpile, have rejected the treaty so far.

'Enemy invested 17bn in Iran unrest' 09 Aug 2010 The Iranian intelligence minister says the arrogant powers of the world are spending billions of dollars on fueling ethnic conflicts to destabilize Iran's border. "In the past 25 years, more than 80 centers and institutions for soft war have been founded and around 2 billion dollars has been spent on them annually," Hojjatoleslam Heidar Moslehi said on Monday. The Iranian minister added that "foreign powers had invested 17 billion dollars" in the post-vote unrest after the 2009 presidential election.

Muscovites Flee Worst Heat 'in 1,000 Years'; Death Rate Doubles 09 Aug 2010 Muscovites fled the Russian capital in record numbers as extreme heat combined with acrid smoke from wildfires, slowing trading on the city’s main stock exchange and emptying restaurants. More than 104,400 people flew out of Moscow yesterday, topping the previous 2010 record of 101,000, according to the Federal Air Transportation Agency.

Police: Man charged after referring to Conn. rampage --Man arrested after making comments 07 Aug 2010 Connecticut police say they arrested a man at a management company after he mentioned the shooting rampage across the state that killed nine people and said he understood the killer's mindset. Fifty-eight-year-old Francis Laskowski of Derby was charged with breach of peace Wednesday after making the comments while working at Fusco Management Co. in New Haven. Nine people died in the shootings Tuesday at Hartford Distributors in Manchester, including gunman Omar Thornton.

Civil contempt confinement policies should be reformed By Jayne Ressler 29 Jul 2010 Richard Fine, a 70-year-old Tarzana attorney, has been imprisoned, reportedly in solitary confinement, without trial since March 4, 2009. His "crime"? Contempt of court, based on alleged "moral turpitude." He faces imprisonment indefinitely, unless he complies with the order of Judge David Yaffe, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge responsible for his confinement. Why the harsh treatment of Fine? Could it be in response to Fine's investigation of court cases that involved prosecution against Los Angeles County that were inexplicably dismissed? Over a period of time, Fine alleged that Los Angeles County was bribing judges, under the guise of generous "supplemental benefits" payments, in exchange for rulings in the county's favor.

'Radioactive boars' on loose in Germany 08 Aug 2010 Radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is still poisoning Germany's boars nearly 25 years on, with authorities fighting to keep toxic meat off the market as the wild boar population rockets. The boars feed off mushrooms, truffles and wild berries which still contain high levels of caesium-137, carried in the radioactive cloud that spread across Europe following the 1986 accident at the Ukrainian nuclear plant.

Nuclear Fear As Russian Blazes Hit Chernobyl 08 Aug 2010 Fears emerged last night that fires erupting in Russia could unleash deadly nuclear pollution from the Chernobyl disaster. The Kremlin was also taking emergency action to move missiles and other munitions at risk from hundreds of blazes which have prompted a mass evacuation of Moscow. Most at risk is the Bryansk region, 230 miles south-west of the capital, hardest hit by the Chernobyl fallout in 1986, and three other regions.

'There wasn't much blood about': Detective who found weapons expert David Kelly's body raises questions over his death 08 Aug 2010 The mystery surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly deepened yesterday after the detective who found his body claimed he didn't see 'much blood'. The revelation by Detective Constable Graham Coe casts further doubt on the Hutton Report's verdict that the Ministry of Defence scientist died of blood loss after slitting his wrist. In his first interview, Mr Coe, now retired, also said that police searched Dr Kelly's home the day after his death for papers 'of a sensitive nature' about Iraq. Dr Kelly, an expert on biological and chemical weapons, was found dead in woodland near his Oxfordshire home in July 2003. A week earlier he had been exposed by the Labour government as the source of a BBC report claiming No 10 'sexed up' reports of Iraq's ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction.