Previous edition:‘Obama Administration Says U.S. Is ‘At War’ With ISIS,‘ which Google relegated to the sp*m bin. Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.
US tax dollars at work:German TV Shows Nazi Symbols on Helmets of Ukraine Soldiers 9 Sept 2014 On Monday night, German public broadcaster ZDF showed video of [US-funded, US-armed] Ukrainian soldiers with Nazi symbols on their helmets in its evening newscast. In a report on the fragile cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, Moscow correspondent Bernhard Lichte used pictures of a soldier wearing a combat helmet with the "SS runes" of Hitler’s infamous black-uniformed elite corps. A second soldier was seen with a swastika on his gear. The video was shot last week in Ukraine by a camera team from Norwegian broadcaster TV2.
U.S. Inspector: Billions in failed programs wasted in Afghanistan –U.S. has spent $120 billion on ‘reconstruction’ in Afghanistan [Too bad Detroit isn’t in Afghanistan.] 12 Sept 2014 The top U.S. official for monitoring aid to Afghanistan painted a grim portrait of the country’s future Friday, saying it is riddled with corruption and graft. With most Americans’ attention riveted on [purposefully distracted] Iraq and Syria, John F. Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan, said the United States’ unprecedented 120 billion reconstruction investment there is at risk. "The country remains under assault by insurgents and is short of domestic revenue, plagued by corruption, afflicted by criminal elements [CIA] involved in opi-m and smuggling, and struggling to execute the basic functions of government," Sopko said in a speech at Georgetown University. [Start reading.]
Isis video claims to show beheading of British hostage David Haines 13 Sept 2014 Militants with the Islamic State jihadi group have released a video that appears to show the beheading of a British hostage, David Haines, an aid worker who was captured just days after he arrived in Syria last year. British government officials were seeking to authenticate the video which purported to show the final moments of Haines, who was 44. In the video, entitled A Message to the Allies of America, a masked man is shown carrying out the beheading of Haines, whose life had earlier been threatened in a video showing the murder of American journalist Steven Sotloff. The video, which runs to two minutes and 28 seconds, ends with a warning that a second British hostage would be the next to die.
Congress could strip passports from American ISIS fighters –Legislation would revoke papers of Americans who [allegedly] join Islamic State 12 Sept 2014 In light of intelligence reports that more than 100 Americans have [allegedly] signed on as fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and other Republicans in Congress have launched legislation to revoke their passports and strip them of their U.S. citizenship. But while the idea has found some surface appeal in Congress, it has run into some resistance in the intelligence community, where there’s debate about whether that is the best way to gather information and combat terrorism.
Israeli intelligence veterans refuse to serve in Palestinian territories 12 Sept 2014 Forty-three veterans of one of Israel’s most secretive military intelligence units — many of them still active reservists — have signed a public letter refusing to serve in operations involving the occupied Palestinian territories because of the widespread surveillance of innocent residents. The signatories include officers, former instructors and senior NCOs from the country’s equivalent of America’s NSA or Britain’s GCHQ, known as Unit 8200 — or in Hebrew as Yehida Shmoneh-Matayim. They allege that the "all-encompassing" intelligence the unit gathers on Palestinians — much of it concerning innocent people — is used for "political persecution" and to create divisions in Palestinian society. The largest intelligence unit in the Israeli military, Unit 8200 intercepts electronic communications including email, phone calls and social media in addition to targeting military and diplomatic traffic.