Ukrainian leadership to hire US mercenaries to suppress eastern regions - report

News Updates from CLG
28 Mar 2014

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Previous edition: MH370 Protests As Airline Chief Defends Search (Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.)

 

Ukrainian leadership to hire US mercenaries to suppress eastern regions - source 25 Mar 2014 A private military company will be in charge of suppressing protest movements in Eastern Ukraine, said a source in the country's Security Service. According to him, the name of the company is Greystone Limited. According to a source cited by ITAR-TASS, Ukrainian authorities believe that the Security Service is not able to suppress the protest mood and neutralize the leaders and activists of the pro-Russian movement in the eastern regions. According to publicly available information Greystone Limited is a structural part of Blackwater, that was later renamed into Academi. According to military experts, the company is associated with the CIA and the US Defense Department.

 

Insane in the membrane: Lawmakers rush to pass bill to aid Ukraine 27 Mar 2014 Lawmakers are rushing to get a bill to the president's desk that would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine and sanction those who had a hand in Russia's takeover reunification of Crimea. The House and Senate were poised to pass versions of the legislation Thursday. Both sides said they want to get one bill to President Barack Obama's desk before the end of the week, but it was unclear whether the work would be finished by then. [Gotta fund those Blackwater mercenaries, somehow. Too bad the US highway system isn't in Kiev. Then, maybe, we could get a pothole fixed. The Koch suckers in Congress *always* vote for US taxpayers' dollars to be spent in any country run by an unelected dictator. That's why deficits soared under Bush, btw. --LRP]

 

Ukrainian court bans Russian TV broadcast 26 Mar 2014 The majority of Ukrainian providers have stopped broadcasting four main Russian TV channels in a move the Russian Foreign Ministry calls a violation of international obligations and an attack on media freedom. "It certainly can be considered only in terms of the an attack on democratic freedoms, and a violation of international obligations by Ukraine," the ministry's commissioner on human rights Konstantin Dolgov told RIA Novosti. Dolgov says that Kiev's court decision to ban Russian TV content violates "every right to watch television and have access to media in Russian."

 

Obama defends U.S. invasion of Iraq while criticizing Russia 26 Mar 2014 President Barack Obama defended the American invasion of Iraq Wednesday in a high-profile speech to address the Russian takeover of Crimea. Russian officials, Obama noted, have pointed to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq as an example of "Western hypocrisy." Obama struggled, however, in his attempt to defend the legality of the invasion. The war was unsanctioned by the United Nations, and many experts assert it violated any standard reading of international law. The war was unsanctioned by the United Nations, and many experts assert it violated any standard reading of international law. "We did not grab its [Iraq's] resources for our own gain," Obama argued. In fact, the U.S. forced Iraq to privatize its oil industry, which had previously been under the control of the state, and further required that it accept foreign ownership of the industry.

 

NINE Air Force commanders fired and dozens of officers disciplined over nuclear exam cheating scandal --It involved unauthorized passing of answers to exams designed to test missile launch officers' proficiency in handling 'emergency war orders' 27 Mar 2014 The Air Force has fired nine mid-level nuclear commanders and will discipline dozens of junior officers at a nuclear missile base in Montana after an exam-cheating scandal that spanned two years. Air Force officials called the moves unprecedented in the history of the intercontinental ballistic missile force. None of the nine commanders fired from Malmstrom Air Force Base were directly involved in the cheating, but each was determined to have failed in his or her leadership responsibilities.

 

Activists urging UMN to revoke speaking invitation to Condoleezza Rice 27 Mar 2014 Student and faculty activists are joining forces to pressure the University of Minnesota to rescind a speaking invitation to former Secretary of State [war criminal] Condoleezza Rice, who is scheduled to deliver an April 17 lecture at Northrop Auditorium. Rice, who also was national security adviser under President [sic] George W. Bush, was invited months ago to deliver a speech on civil rights as part of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs' "Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series." But the University Senate has scheduled a vote next week on a resolution urging the school to disinvite Rice because of her role in the wartime policies of the Bush administration. Another of the critics' objections: her speaking fee of $150,000.

 

Manning Lawyer Wants WikiLeaks Conviction Reversed 27 Mar 2014 Convicted leaker Chelsea Manning is asking an Army general to reverse her conviction and 35-year prison sentence for sending reams of classified information to WikiLeaks. Defense attorney David Coombs says in a statement issued lateWednesday that he had taken the procedural step in the court-martial of the private previously known as Bradley Manning. Under military law, Military District of Washington commander Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan can reverse or reduce the results of last year’s court-martial.

 

Missing Malaysia Plane 'Was Travelling Faster' --Radar data suggest flight MH370 did not travel as far south as previously thought, forcing investigators to refocus their search. 28 Mar 2014 The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has shifted after data suggested it was travelling faster than previously thought. Analysis of radar from before contact with flight MH370 was lost indicates the plane was burning up fuel more quickly and may not have travelled as far south over the Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau described the data as the "most credible lead to where debris may be located". [Yeah, there were too many Internet posts on the plane being harbored at Diego Garcia, so investigators are *finally* looking at the three-week-old radar data.]

 

'This is USELESS': Satellite images, debris sightings and a chilling announcement but still no answers - as MH370 investigators reveal they may have been searching in the WRONG spot --Families growing increasingly frustrated at lack of physical evidence in MH370 investigation27 Mar 2014 Grieving families of the 239 people on board missing Malaysian Airlines flight have rubbished a series of satellite images and search updates as 'useless' until something is found. Growing increasingly impatient and angry, the relatives of the passengers and crew won't let up on Malaysian authorities who remain tight-lipped on many of the specifics of their investigation into the tragedy. The latest lead in the baffling disappearance of the Boeing 777-200 came today from Australian search authorities who revealed that, acting on 'credible' new information, a team of aircraft and ships would shift their focus 1,100 kilometres north, around 1,850 kilometres west of Perth.

 

Malaysia Airlines MH370: Relatives in Beijing scuffles 25 Mar 2014 Angry relatives of passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane have clashed with police outside Malaysia's embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing...In Beijing, relatives of the passengers released a statement accusing the Malaysian government of trying to "delay, distort and hide the truth". Dozens then left their Beijing hotel on a protest bound for the Malaysian embassy. Police stopped their buses from leaving, so they got off and walked to the diplomatic mission. Scuffles broke out as protesters threw water bottles and tried to storm the building, demanding to meet the ambassador.

 

China casts doubt on fate of Flight MH370 25 Mar 2014 A Senior Chinese official has demanded Malaysia to turn over satellite data it used to conclude that a missing airliner has crashed in the Indian Ocean. Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng told Malaysia's ambassador to Beijing that China wanted to know exactly what led the Kuala Lumpur government to announce that the plane has plunged in the ocean. Relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysian jet have staged a protest in Beijing, accusing Kuala Lumpur of attempting to hide the truth about the fate of their family members.

 

Malaysia Airlines MH370: Search for missing plane resumes 25 Mar 2014 The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has resumed after weather conditions in the southern Indian Ocean improved. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) says 12 aircraft are taking part in Wednesday's operations. Some relatives of the passengers are refusing to accept their deaths, saying no wreckage has been found.

 

Jury convicts bin Laden son-in-law on terrorism charges 26 Mar 2014 Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, was found guilty of terrorism-related charges on Wednesday following a three-week trial that offered unusually vivid details of the former al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] leader's actions in the days after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Abu Ghaith, 48, a Kuwait-born Muslim cleric, faces life in prison after a federal court jury in New York convicted him of conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to provide material support for terrorists, and providing such support. Jurors took just over one day to reach a verdict in a courtroom that is blocks from the site of the World Trade Center destroyed in the hijacked plane attacks by the explosives in the buildings nearly 13 years ago. [Why did Building 7 fall, too?]

 

FBI takes weeks to list terror suspects 25 Mar 2014 The FBI takes about 44 days to place on its terrorist watch list suspects referred to it by other agencies and averages about 78 days to remove cleared former suspects from the list, according to an audit of bureau practices. In addition, the FBI takes up to 17 business days to include its own suspects on the watch list and sometimes misses them entirely if they are not the subjects of ongoing FBI counterterrorism investigations, the audit says.

 

3 Secret Service agents from Counter Assault Team removed before Obama trip --All three agents were on the Counter Assault Team, which defends the president if he comes under attack. --'Team leader' agent removed 26 Mar 2014 The Secret Service sent three agents home from the Netherlands just before President Barack Obama's arrival after one agent was found inebriated in an Amsterdam hotel, the Secret Service said Tuesday. The three agents were benched for "disciplinary reasons," said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan, declining to elaborate. The agents sent home from Amsterdam were placed on administrative leave, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the disciplinary action.

 

Secret Service agents in Obama's detail sent home from Netherlands after 'night of drinking' --One agent 'drunk, passed out in hotel hallway' 25 Mar 2014 Three Secret Service agents responsible for protecting President Obama in Amsterdam this week were sent home and put on administrative leave Sundayafter going out for a night of drinking, according to three people familiar with the incident. One of them was found drunk and passed out in a hotel hallway, the people said. The hotel staff alerted the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands after finding the unconscious agent Sunday morning, a day before Obama arrived in the country, according to two of the people. The embassy then alerted Secret Service managers on the presidential trip, which included Secret Service Director Julia Pierson.

 

Brussels Police: Suspect Package 'Harmless' 26 Mar 2014 Brussels police have said a suspicious package, found on a bus hours after President Obama arrived in the city, is harmless. A police spokesman said a security perimeter set up around the bus is to be lifted. Bomb squad officials were called to the bus in the north of the city, roughly two miles from the headquarters of Nato, earlier on Wednesday to investigate the package.

 

TSA wants armed police at airport checkpoints 26 Mar 2014 The Transportation Security Administration is proposing that armed law-enforcement officers help guard airport checkpoints during busy times, in reaction to the November shooting of a TSA officer [false flag] in Los Angeles. TSA Administrator John Pistole said the proposal followed a comprehensive review, after a gunman killed TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez and wounded three others at Los Angeles International Airport. A 26-page report released Wednesday made 14 recommendations, including having a police presence at checkpoints and ticket counters during peak travel times.

 

Portion of Hanford Nuclear Waste Site Evacuated After Employees Are Sickened From Unknown Fumes --Nearly a dozen Hanford employees sick from unknown fumes 26 Mar 2014 Hanford sources tell the KING 5 Investigators that at least 11 people have gotten sick in the last six days after breathing in toxic fumes while working near underground tanks holding hazardous nuclear waste. At this point, employees do not know the source or sources of the vapors. The first two workers to fall ill in the last week breathed in fumes that "tasted like copper" on Wednesday, March 19. The men work for the government contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) which is in charge of all 177 underground tanks at the nuclear site.

 

TEPCO under-calculated radiation exposure for 142 Fukushima workers 27 Mar 2014 Tokyo Electric Power Co. underestimated internal radiation exposure of 142 workers involved in immediate emergency operations at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011, according to Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. After reexamining exposure records provided by TEPCO, the Ministry said Tuesday it had increased the 142 workers' radiation data by an average of 5.86 millisieverts, The Asahi Shimbun reported. The Ministry said one male employee was exposed to 180 millisieverts. He was initially reported to have been exposed to around 90 millisieverts.

 

Research into muttonbird exposure to Fukushima radiation 27 Mar 2014 Scientists from the University of Auckland will undertake research to test whether New Zealand muttonbirds that spend the winter off the coast of Japan may have been exposed to radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. The new research is being funded by the Lottery Health Research fund with $26,028 for a pilot study to investigate whether radioactive cesium has entered the New Zealand ecosystem or food chain via the birds. Researchers will test the birds' feathers for gamma rays that indicate the presence of the radioactive isotope cesium-134.

 

BP Whiting refinery cleans up oil spill in Lake Michigan 25 Mar 2014 Staff of the BP Whiting refinery, assisted by state and federal officials, are cleaning up several barrels of crude oil which were discharged into Lake Michigan on Mondayafternoon, the Post-Tribune is reporting. BP spokesman Scott Dean said officials noticed a sheen on the water outside the treatment plant around 4:30 p.m. Monday. BP officials discovered that a processing error caused a slug of crude to get into the cooling water system and go through the treatment plant, and it was eventually discharged into the lake.

 

Mudslide deaths expected to soar; some question disaster response 28 Mar 2014 Rescuers searching for 90 people still missing five days after a massive mudslide in Washington state braced the public on Thursday for an impending steep rise in the death toll even as they sought to deflect criticism about the early disaster response. At least 25 people are known to have died when a rain-soaked hillside collapsed without warning on Saturday, unleashing a wall of mud that engulfed dozens of homes in a river valley near the rural town of Oso, 55 miles northeast of Seattle. Snohomish County officials said that 17 casualties had been sent to the medical examiner's office as of Thursday evening.

 

U.S. top court signals support for corporate religious claims 25 Mar 2014 The U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Tuesday it may allow corporations to mount religious objections to government action, possibly paving the way for companies to avoid covering employees' birth control as required under Obamacare. During a 90-minute oral argument, 30 minutes more than usual, a majority of the nine justices appeared ready to rule that certain for-profit entities have the same religious rights to object as individuals do. A ruling along those lines would likely only apply to closely held companies.

 

Young banker's suicide becomes twelfth in financial world this year 19 Mar 2014 A New York City investment banker is dead after allegedly jumping from his apartment building, continuing an alarming streak of 'suicides' that has descended upon the financial world. The latest death occurred on March 12, when 28-year-old Kenneth Bellando was found on the sidewalk outside his six-story Manhattan apartment building. Before moving into his last position, the New York Post reported Bellando worked as an investment banker at JP Morgan Chase. Kenneth Bellando’s death marks the 12th time this year that an employee in the financial world has 'taken his or her own life' around the globe.

 

Official Said He Told Christie of Lane Closings, Bridge Scandal Report Says 28 Mar 2014 The Port Authority official who oversaw the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge said he informed Gov. Chris Christie about it at a Sept. 11 memorial while the closings were occurring, according to the findings of an internal investigation released by lawyers for the governor on Thursday. The official, David Wildstein, told Mr. Christie's press secretary, Michael Drewniak, of the Sept. 11 conversation at a dinner in December just before his resignation from the Port Authority, according to the report. The report said that Mr. Christie did not recall any such conversation, and it found no evidence that he was involved in the scheme, which snarled traffic for thousands of commuters in Fort Lee, N.J., fromSept. 9 through the morning of Sept. 12.

 

Lawyer hired by Christie blames bridge scandal on Bridget Kelly and David Wildstein 27 Mar 2014 At a packed news conference, Randy Mastro, the high-powered litigator hired by Gov. Chris Christie's office, repeatedly declared that his investigation found Christie "had no knowledge beforehand" of the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge and that the governor "played no role whatsoever in that decision" to close the lanes. Mastro then laid the blame for the now infamous lane closings squarely at the feet of two people only: Bridget Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff and David Wildstein, a former Christie ally who held a high-ranking position at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

 

Connecticut Becomes First State to Pass $10.10 Minimum Wage Bill 26 Mar 2014 Connecticut state lawmakers have become the first in the country to pass legislation increasing the state's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2017, the same rate President Barack Obama wants for the federal minimum wage. Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy applauded the move, saying he'll sign itThursday in New Britain, where Obama appeared to press for a $10.10 national wage. In back-to-back votes Wednesday, the bill passed the House of Representatives, 87-54; and the Senate, 21-14.

 

U.S. appeals court upholds new Texas abortion rules 27 Mar 2014 A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld Texas' tough abortion restrictions that have forced the closure of about 20 clinics around the state, saying the new rules don't jeopardize women's health. A panel of judges at the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court judge who said the rules violate the U.S. Constitution and serve no medical purpose. After the lower court's ruling, the appeals court allowed the restrictions to go into effect while it considered the case, which ultimately could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Michigan's same-sex marriage ban to stay in place for now, court says 25 Mar 2014 Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage will remain in place while the state fights a federal judge's ruling that declared the ban unconstitutional, an appeals court decided Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman's ruling on a vote of 2 to 1. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said Sunday that the state would not recognize the gay marriages for now.

 

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