CLG News

Vt. soldier, wounded 4 years ago in Iraq, dies in Afghanistan 05 Jul 2010 He was injured while serving in Iraq several years ago, his leg wounded from an improvised explosive device. But Specialist Ryan J. Grady of the Vermont Army National Guard was determined to be a career soldier, and headed back overseas in March, this time to Afghanistan. On Friday, Grady died shortly after his military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device near Bagram Airfield.

U.S. Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Jewish Settlements in West Bank 06 Jul 2010 As the American government seeks to end the four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise and foster a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks on donations to support them. A New York Times examination of public records in the United States and Israel identified at least 40 American groups that have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the last decade. The money goes mostly to... legitimate expenditures under the tax law. But it has also paid for more legally questionable commodities: housing as well as guard dogs, bulletproof vests, rifle scopes and vehicles to secure outposts deep in occupied areas.

Report: Oceans' demise near irreversible --Moving toward the tipping point 04 Jul 2010 A sobering new report warns that oceans face a "fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation" not seen in millions of years as greenhouse gases and climate change already have affected temperature, acidity, sea and oxygen levels, the food chain and possibly major currents that could alter global weather. The report, in Science magazine, doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it brings together dozens of studies that collectively paint a dismal picture of deteriorating ocean health.

Coalition wants G20 'political' prisoners released 05 Jul 2010 The mass detention of people and widespread use of police force over the G20 summit weekend was a gross abuse of state power that demands an independent inquiry and the immediate release of "political prisoners," a civil-rights coalition said Monday. In addition, they said, those responsible for "one of the most grotesque public expressions of police brutality, intimidation and mass violation of civil liberties" need to be held to account.

2 British soldiers killed within hours 06 Jul 2010 The death of a second British Royal Marine in Afghanistan within hours takes the overall British death toll to 312. Amid a surge in militant attacks against the foreign forces stationed in Afghanistan, the first British soldier was killed by an explosion Monday night near Sangin. The second one was killed in the early hours of Tuesday in a gun battle with militants in the same district of Helmand province, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

5 EU states call for end to Gaza siege 06 Jul 2010 Five European countries have called for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution which calls for the blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted. On Monday, the foreign ministers of Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and Britain underlined "the need for a fundamental change of policy leading to a durable solution to the situation in Gaza, in line with the UNSC Resolution 1860," the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, AFP reported.

Terror stop and search powers will have to stop, says Europe 02 Jul 2010 Police will have to abandon a key power to stop and search suspects under terrorism laws after a European court ruled it illegal and rejected a Home Office appeal. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, officers can stop and search anyone in a designated area without having to show reasonable suspicion. But police have been accused of abusing the power, which resulted in more than 250,000 searches last year, in order to stop anyone, including protesters or photographers, under the guise of preventing terrorism.

NM firefighter joins No-Fly List lawsuit 02 Jul 2010 A former fireman and veteran born and raised in Las Cruces has joined a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging his placement on the federal No-Fly List. Retired Air Force officer Steve Washburn and nine other men and women, including a disabled Marine Corps veteran and an Army veteran, are suing Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Timothy Healy, the director of the Terrorist Screening Center, a seven-year-old organization administered by the FBI. Six of the 10 plaintiffs remain stranded overseas, unable to return to the U.S., according to the court complaint...

Recovery effort falls vastly short of BP's promises 06 Jul 2010 In the 77 days since oil from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon began to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, BP has skimmed or burned about 60 percent of the amount it promised regulators it could remove in a single day. In a March report that was not questioned by federal officials, BP said it had the capacity to skim and remove 491,721 barrels of oil each day in the event of a major spill. As of Monday, with about 2 million barrels released into the gulf, the skimming operations that were touted as key to preventing environmental disaster have averaged less than 900 barrels a day.

UK: Terrorism Search Power Violates Rights --Despite almost 450,000 section 44 stops and searches throughout the UK between April 2007 and April 2009, no one was successfully prosecuted for a terrorism offense as a result. 04 Jul 2010 The new UK coalition government should repeal an abusive counterterrorism power that has led to hundreds of thousands of people being stopped and searched without reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 64-page report, "Without Suspicion: Stop and Search under the Terrorism Act 2000," examines the use of the stop-and-search power under section 44 of the act. The power is intended to prevent terrorism.

Gazans: We were used as 'human shields' --A report exclusive to Ynet reveals testimonies of Strip residents who claim soldiers used them as 'human shields' during Operation Cast Lead. 06 Jul 2010 A series of testimonies in a report probing Operation Cast Lead suggest that IDF soldiers used Gazans as human shields. The report - exclusively obtained by Ynet - was compiled by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and focuses mainly on violation of Palestinian prisoners' rights by the Israeli military during the Gaza war.

Department of Homeland Security to take control of spill response website --The DHS wants one site for information that is completely overseen by the government. 04 Jul 2010 The US government is expected to take over control of the central information website on the Gulf oil spill response that has been run jointly by various agencies and BP for the 2 1/2 months since the rig explosion. BP and the federal government are part of a unified command that is working together to try to [pretend to] contain the oil gusher, but the government has been directing BP at every turn. A DHS spokesman told The Associated Press on Sunday that the joint relationship won't change when the website is given a dot-gov address instead of a dot-com address.

5 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan 04 Jul 2010 Five US soldiers have been killed after a convoy carrying supplies for the US-led troops was attacked by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Zabul province. The US soldiers were killed Saturday after an improvised explosive device blew up a tanker passing the area near the Pakistani border, Pakistan's The Nation newspaper quoted Taliban sources as saying.

Iran drones to safeguard border bases 04 Jul 2010 A top Iranian Air Force commander says the Army plans to equip all border bases with domestic unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) within the next few months. "These drones are to carry only reconnaissance missions for the time being," Deputy Operations Commander Majid Pirhadi told Fars News Agency on Sunday. He said that the Army would prioritize deployment to bases on its southern and western borders.

G20 police threaten reporters with 'rape' 04 Jul 2010 Numerous journalists covering protests during the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada, have been strip-searched by police. Amy Miller, one of the four journalists who have now filed complaints with Ontario's police watchdog, has told of her ordeal in police detention. She says she was physically assaulted and was threatened with gang rape.

Conservatives plot to curb unions 05 Jul 2010 (UK) Conservative ministers are plotting to curb union strike powers to avoid a second winter of discontent. Ministers have held secret meetings to block nationwide strikes this autumn as departments enforce spending cuts of up to 40 per cent and the loss of up to a million public sector jobs... The Conservatives are believed to be looking at raising the proportion of workers required to vote for a strike before it takes place.

IDF objector sprays 'Free Gaza' graffiti on Warsaw Ghetto wall --A group of left-wing activists last week sprayed graffiti on remnants of a Warsaw Ghetto wall calling for all ghettos to be liberated. 05 Jul 2010 A group of Israeli left-wing activists and pro-Palestinian demonstrators last week sprayed graffiti on remnants of the Warsaw Ghetto, calling for all ghettos to be liberated, including Gaza. One of the activists was conscientious objector Yonatan Shapira, an Israel Air Force pilot who authored the Pilot’s Letter -- a 2003 statement signed by 27 Israeli pilots who publicly refused to fly missions over the Palestinian territories.

150 demonstrators gather to call for G20 public inquiry 05 Jul 2010 About 150 people gathered outside of Ottawa police headquarters Sunday to protest the actions of police during the recent G20 summit in Toronto. More than 900 people were arrested during three days of demonstrations which were, at times, violent. Many are pushing for an independent public inquiry on the use of force by police, despite a clear refusal on the part of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to call one.

US-led soldier killed in Afghanistan 05 Jul 2010 Another US-led soldier has been killed in southern part of Afghanistan, bringing the death toll of foreign forces to 329 so far this year, NATO says. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Monday that the soldier was killed on Sunday during "a combat patrol," AFP reported without giving any details.

Blackwater behind Darbar incident: JI 05 Jul 2010 Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Munawar Hassan on Sunday claimed that Blackwater and US Marines were involved in the Data Darbar blast saying that any Muslim cannot imagine the act of terrorism at Data Darbar. Addressing the press conference at JI office Idara-e-Noor Haq, he said that Blackwater and US Marines wanted to destabilise Pakistan. Commenting on the statement of Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, he asked the Federal Minister to arrest the terrorists involved in the attack on Data Darbar incident.

JFK Airport evacuated after bomb scare 05 Jul 2010 One of the terminals at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport has been evacuated after a bomb scare on one of the busiest US holiday travel days. The WABC television station reported that authorities cleared JFK's Terminal 1, while hazardous materials experts and other emergency crews arrived at the scene. A Port Authority spokesman said 250 to 300 passengers were evacuated from the terminal. The evacuation was triggered by an anonymous phone call from a woman who said there was a bomb at the airport, and at the same time that someone else reported an unattended bag.

Bomb scare false alarm at JFK Terminal 1 04 Jul 2010 A terminal at New York City's JFK Airport has been evacuated due to a bomb scare that turned out to be a false alarm. A Port Authority spokesman says 250 to 300 passengers were evacuated from Terminal 1 at the airport at about 6 p.m. Sunday. The evacuation happened after an anonymous phone caller said there was a bomb at the airport, and at the same time someone else reported an unattended bag.

Defense Department remains a large BP customer 04 Jul 2010 The Defense Department has kept up its immense purchases of aviation fuel and other petroleum products from BP even as the oil giant comes under federal and state scrutiny for potential violations of clean-water and oil-spill laws related to the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, according to U.S. and company officials. BP remains a heavy supplier of military fuel under contracts worth at least $980 million in the current fiscal year, according to the Defense Logistics Agency. In fiscal 2009, BP was the department's largest single supplier of fuel, providing 11.7 percent of the total purchased, and in 2010, its contracts amount to roughly the same percentage, according to DLA spokeswoman Mimi Schirmacher.

Four killed in W Iraq bomb blast 04 Jul 2010 Iraq's western Anbar province has been rocked by an explosion that killed four people and wounded 23 others, an official says. A female bomber carried out the deadly attack at the reception area of the heavily fortified governorate office in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province on Sunday, AFP reported an interior ministry official as saying. Iraqi officials say, women and children, several of them in critical condition, are amongst the injured.

Biden under mortar fire at U.S. embassy in Baghdad --At least five mortar rounds fell in Green Zone late Sunday 04 Jul 2010 A loud explosive device was heard inside the huge U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad on Sunday night during a visit to Iraq by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden. The Bidens were "safe and unharmed," an aide said. At least five mortar rounds fell in the Green Zone late Sunday, Iraqi police officials told The Associated Press. Inside the embassy, two "duck and cover" alarms sounded within an hour, and loudspeakers warned occupants of "a threat of indirect fire," a reference to a potential mortar round. An "all clear" was sounded both times. A siren wailed and the loudspeaker said: "Duck and cover. Get away from the window. Take cover and await further instructions."

Biden in Iraq amid political deadlock 03 Jul 2010 US Vice President Joe Biden visits Iraq to press for the formation of the new government, as political rivals have yet to announce a ruling coalition. Biden arrived in Baghdad on Saturday and is slated to discuss the matter with Iraqi leaders, Reuters reported. The visit came after parliamentary polls in March failed to produce a conclusive winner, who would form Iraq's new government.

Government loses appeal in Guantanamo habeas case 02 Jul 2010 An appeals court put government prosecutors on notice that they must show evidence that an Algerian detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than eight years is actually "part of" al Qaida, or set him free... Of the 50 cases that have been decided by district courts, the government has prevailed in only 14. The appeals court overturned a lower court's decision upholding the detention of Belkacem Bensayah, who was seized in Bosnia along with five other Algerians and shipped to Guantanamo in January 2002, and said the lower court must rehear the case.

Ban on Guantanamo reporters is illegal: News companies 02 Jul 2010 A coalition of major news organizations is challenging as unconstitutional Pentagon rules that were used in May to ban four reporters from covering military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a letter to Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson, the organizations argue that the Pentagon's interpretation of the rules is "plainly illegal" because it bars publication of information considered "protected" even if the information is already widely known and publicly available. Such a restriction is "a 'classic example' of a prior restraint" that "the Supreme Court repeatedly has refused to allow... even in the name of national security," the organizations said.

Heads up! It's the Obusha/BP holiday weekend really bad news dump: Government and BP working together to assess oil spill damage [Thanks, Obusha!] 04 Jul 2010 In recent weeks, the Obama administration has sought pretended to distance itself from BP in handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill -- with one notable exception: When it comes to assessing how badly the spill has harmed the gulf, the two sides are working hand in hand. Their shared goal? To calculate how much it will cost to restore the gulf to its pre-spill state. But this close collaboration between federal and state authorities and BP has begun to spark concerns among lawmakers and some environmentalists.

US military: 2 American soldiers die in Iraq 03 Jul 2010 The U.S. military says two American soldiers have died in Iraq. A military statement released on Friday says the soldiers died in separate incidents but not in combat. It says the deaths are under investigation and provided no details.