News Updates from CLG
30 September 2015
UK must prepare for war with Russia: Army calls for fleet of battle tanks to take on Putin | 30 Sept 2015 | Britain must invest in its fleet of main battle tanks to meet an increasing threat of ground war with Russia, senior Army officers have warned. It comes as tensions between Nato countries and Moscow continued to mount, with Russia threatening "nuclear counter measures" over a[n insane U.S.] plan to bolster nuclear facilities in Germany. Last year the British Army took part in live-fire Nato exercise in Poland with more than 100 armoured vehicles. Operation Black Eagle "highlighted the British Army’s ability to deploy an armoured battlegroup at short notice anywhere in the world in support of the nation’s allies."
Russian parliament unanimously approves use of troops in Syria | 30 Sept 2015 | The upper chamber of the Russian parliament has unanimously given a formal consent to President Putin to use the nation’s military in Syria to fight terrorism at a request from the Syrian President Bashar Assad. Consent was necessary for deployment of troops for foreign combat missions under the Russian constitution. The request for use of force was sent by the president after considering the large number of Russian citizens, who went to join terrorist groups fighting in Syria, head of the presidential administration Sergey Ivanov told media.
Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria setting up ‘joint information center’ to coordinate anti-ISIS operations | 26 Sept 2015 | Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria have agreed to establish a joint information center in Baghdad to coordinate their operations against [CIA, Mossad, and Saudi Arabia-backed] Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS) [but still I-CIA-SIS] militants, according to sources. The information center in the Iraqi capital will be headed by an officer of one of the founding countries on a rotating basis. Rotation will take place every three months. According to the source, Iraq will run the center for the next three months.
France launches air strikes against Islamic State in Syria | 27 Sept 2015 | France said on Sunday it had launched its first air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, in an effort to stem its growing presence there. "Our country thus confirms its resolute commitment to fight against the terrorist threat represented by Daesh (Islamic State). We will strike each time that our national security is at stake," the French Presidency said in a statement. France, which has so far only taken part in strikes in Iraq, began reconnaissance flights over Syria earlier this month in order to gather information on Islamic State positions.
Putin to UN: Export of so-called democratic revolutions continues globally | 28 Sept 2015 | The export of the so-called democratic revolutions continues, as the international community fails to learn from mistakes, which have already been made, Russian President Vladimir Putin said addressing the UNGA. He cited the example of the revolutions in the Middle East, when people wished for change, "but how did that turn out?" He said that instead of triumph of democracy "we have violence and social disaster," where no one cares about human rights, including the right to life.
Putin: All countries should respect Ukraine’s sovereignty | 27 Sept 2015 | The sovereignty of all states, including Ukraine, should be respected, Russian President Vladimir Putin told CBS’s ’60 Minutes,’ stressing that he knows "for sure" that the US was involved in the ouster of President Yanukovich in 2014…Putin said that Russia respects the sovereignty of Ukraine, adding that "at no time in the past, now or in the future has or will Russia take any part in actions aimed at overthrowing the legitimate government." He added that Moscow "would like other countries to respect the sovereignty of other states, including Ukraine. Respecting the sovereignty means preventing coups, unconstitutional actions and illegitimate overthrowing of the legitimate government." It is "absolutely unacceptable" to address issues through unconstitutional means, he said referring to the coup in Ukraine in February 2014.
Anonymous Attacks Saudi Government over Crucifixion of Protester | 29 Sept 2015 | Hacker group Anonymous claims it has attacked the Saudi government over a high court’s recent decision to crucify and behead a teenage boy because he protested the regime. Amid tacit approval from the West, Anonymous hackers moved to fight the young man’s execution directly by shutting down official Saudi government websites. Anonymous claims its hackers will continue to launch attacks until justice is served.
Canadian military ponders integrated force with U.S. to respond to hotspots –Canadian Forces planning document says integrated forces ‘conceptual development’ is underway –Forces would operate in same manner as those controlled by North American Aerospace Defence Command | 28 Sept 2015 | The Canadian military has been working on a plan to create with the United States a bi-national integrated military force to deploy to hot spots around the world. The so-called Canada-U.S. Integrated Forces would be the result of an agreement between the two countries under which air, sea, land and special operations forces would be jointly deployed under unified command, outside Canada.
‘Karma Police’: Illegal GCHQ operation to track ‘every visible user on the internet’ | 26 Sept 2015 | New documents shared by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal GCHQ [Government Communications Headquarters] mass-surveyed "every visible user on the internet," codenaming the operation Karma Police after a popular song by Radiohead. The mission was started in 2009, without the agency obtaining legal permission to carry out the operation. Also there was no Parliamentary consultation or public scrutiny, documents published by the Intercept website show. The UK spy agency is responsible for providing intelligence by intercepting communications between people or equipment; the data is handed over to the British government and armed forces.
Groups opposing Trans Pacific Partnership secrecy not ‘radicals’ – lawyer | 28 Sept 2015 | A group seeking to challenge the secrecy of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) are not "wild eyed radicals" and simply want existing law to be upheld, their lawyer claims. On Monday eight applicants, led by University of Auckland’s Professor Jane Kelsey, are seeking a declaration that Trade Minister Tim Groser acted unlawfully when he issued a blanket refusal of an Official Information Act request for information relating to TPP negotiations. The hearing is taking place in the High Court in Wellington before Justice David Collins…While some draft texts and other documents have been leaked, the negotiations have largely been held in secret.
NH poll shows Trump up, Bush falling, and Sanders widening lead | 25 Sept 2015 | A new WMUR/CNN poll in New Hampshire, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, shows new leaders emerging for both parties in the race for the White House. Among Democrats, New Hampshire voters favor Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton by a margin of 16 percentage points. The Vermont senator is up 46 percent to Clinton’s 30 percent, with Joe Biden coming in at 14 percent. Clinton’s favorability is still high, with 67 percent, but Sanders also trumps her in favorability, with 78 percent.
GOP front-runner Donald Trump calls NAFTA trade deal a ‘disaster,’ says he’d ‘break’ the deal [Awesome!] | 24 Sept 2015 | Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he wants to be able to slap tariffs on U.S. companies that choose to make their products overseas, and he’s willing to violate existing trade deals to do it. In an interview with CBS’ "60 Minutes" that will be broadcast Sunday, the billionaire businessman says he won’t be stopped by deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement if elected president. "We will either renegotiate it or we will break it," Trump said of the landmark free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, panning it as "a disaster."
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