News Updates from CLG
08 June 2015
Previous edition: N.S.A. Secretly Expands Internet Spying at U.S. Border, Hunting for Hackers —which Yahoo (and NYU) relegated to the sp*m bin.
US nuclear missiles could be sited again on British soil in new ‘Cold War’ with Russia –The Pentagon is reportedly considering axing a Cold War-era treaty and deploying nuclear-capable missiles in Europe | 07 June 2015 | The UK could site American new nuclear missiles on British soil amid heightened [Western-generated] tensions with Russia, Philip Hammond has indicated. The comments raise the prospect of a return to a Cold War-type arms race with Russia over the use of nuclear missiles. The Foreign Secretary said there were "worrying signs" about the increased activity of Russian forces [?] and the UK would consider the pros and cons of taking US intermediate-range weapons.
Moscow ‘closely looks’ into reported US plans to return medium-range missiles to Europe | 05 June 2015 | The Pentagon is considering scrapping a Cold War-era treaty and deploying nuclear-capable intermediate-range cruise missiles in Europe over Moscow’s alleged treaty violations, AP reported. The Kremlin says it is looking closely into the report. The US administration is mulling deploying medium-range missiles in Europe and Asia that would be potentially capable of destroying military targets within Russian territory, the Associated Press reports. The news agency is citing an unclassified portion of a report written by the office of General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
U.S. quietly starts channeling arms from $1.6 billion fund to Iraq | 05 June 2015 | The United States has quietly started delivering promised arms for Iraqi soldiers from a 1.6 billion fund approved by Congress last year, officials said…The Pentagon said long-awaited equipment from the Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) started being fielded about two weeks ago and was moving as fast as possible. Officials noted extensive, previous arms transfers under different U.S. authorities. The first U.S. material provided to Iraqi forces under ITEF outfitted an Iraqi army brigade with rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, protective masks and other gear. And more arms were on the way, Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith said. [Does anyone else see what’s happening here? I-CIA-SIS was created so the open money pit for US contractors supplying Iraq with arms and bogus ‘training’ programs can continue until the end of time. –LRP]
125 extra UK military trainers to be sent to Iraq | 07 June 2015 | The UK is to send an extra 125 military trainers to Iraq to help in the battle against Islamic State, the PM has said. David Cameron made the announcement at the G7 in Bavaria, ahead of a meeting with the Iraqi leader on Monday. Mr Cameron said that I[CIA-I]S terror activity was "the biggest threat" G7 leaders had to address. The latest pledge will take the number of UK personnel training Iraqi security forces to more than 275, but No 10 dismissed claims of "mission creep."
US-led coalition ‘against ISIS’: Warplanes ‘mistakenly’ strike Iraqi army bases in Fallujah, kill Iraqi soldiers –The US has repeatedly struck the popular forces’ positions in different parts of Iraq. | 06 June 2015 | Fighter jets of the US-led coalition against ISIL once again struck the Iraqi forces’ positions in the province of Anbar, in Western Iraq, on Saturday. The US-led coalition warplanes hit the bases of Iraqi army’s Hezbollah battalions in Fallujah in Anbar province, killing 6 soldiers and injuring 8 others. In early May, the anti-ISIL coalition forces struck the position of Iraq’s popular forces near Baghdad, killing a number of volunteer forces. The US-led coalition warplanes hit an arms production workshop of the popular forces near the Iraqi capital, destroying the workshop and its ammunition completely. Two members of Iraq’s popular forces were killed in the attack. [See also: Iraq Pilots ‘Mistakenly’ Gave Food, Ammunition to ISIS Fighters 30 Sept 2014.]
The Saudis are ready to go nuclear –The kingdom’s ambassador to London tells the Telegraph that ‘all options are on the table’ if talks fail to keep Iran in check | 08 June 2015 | In the past two years, Saudi Arabia has beaten Britain into fourth place in the world’s military spending league with a defence budget of around 37 billion pounds (compared with the UK at around 34 billion pounds). The military offensive in Yemen has seen Saudi Arabia [war criminals, terrorists, and sociopaths] deploy an estimated 150,000 troops — nearly twice the size of the British Army — while Saudi fighter jets, many of them British-made, have flown thousands of sorties. Now the Saudis have raised the alarming prospect of the Middle East becoming embroiled in a nuclear arms race after the country’s blunt warning that "all options are on the table" if Iran fails to resolve the international stand-off over its nuclear programme.
US Congress blocks lifting of Cuba travel ban | 05 June 2015 | House Republicans voted on Thursday to keep restrictions on Americans seeking to travel to Cuba, a setback to Obama administration efforts to ease the five-decade Cold War standoff. The Republican-controlled chamber voted 247-176 to keep a Cuba-related provision in a transportation funding bill. The provision would block new rules issued in January that would significantly ease travel restrictions to Cuba and allow regularly scheduled flights for the first time.
MoD sought sensitive children’s data for possible recruitment drive | 06 June 2015 | The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has been blocked from accessing highly sensitive data on school students, including how rich their parents are and their academic record, which they sought to better inform them of military career opportunities. The MoD made a request to the National Pupil Database (NPD) last year, according to the magazine Schools Week. The information the MoD was trying to get hold of is not easy to access; it is labeled Tier 1 and includes school children’s most personal details.
Thousands protest G7 summit in southern Germany | 06 June 2015 | Thousands of demonstrators packed a German Alpine resort town on Saturday to protest a wide range of causes, from climate change to free trade corporate slavery, before the arrival of the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies for a two-day summit. Though the demonstration in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was largely peaceful, a small group of protesters clashed with police as they marched through the town, charging at officers who responded with pepper spray. At least two protesters had to be taken away by medics for treatment.
Sixth Person Dies of MERS Virus in South Korea | 08 June 2015 | South Korea on Monday reported its sixth death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome as authorities were bolstering measures to stem the spread of the virus that has left dozens of people infected. A total of 87 people in South Korea have been infected by MERS since last month in the largest outbreak outside the Middle East. About 1,870 schools have closed and more than 2,000 people are isolated at their homes or state-run facilities after having contact with patients infected with the virus.
FBI aware of multiple potential victims in Hastert case | 05 June 2015 | CBS News has learned that during the investigation into Dennis Hastert, the FBI became aware of as many as two, maybe three, potential victims alleging sexual misconduct by the House speaker. Hastert last month was indicted and charged with violating federal banking laws and lying to FBI investigators. According to the indictment, Hastert agreed to pay 3.5 million in 2010 to a person identified only as "Individual A," in an effort to "compensate and conceal" Hastert’s "prior misconduct." "Individual A" is one of the alleged victims the FBI may have interviewed, according to the source.
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