Ex-MI5 head: US hid torture tactics from UK 10 Mar 2010 A former head of MI5 has accused intelligence services in the US of deliberately hiding the mistreatment of terror suspects from their British allies. Baroness Manningham-Buller, giving a lecture in London last night, said the US was "very keen" to prevent Britain discovering how they were getting vital intelligence. She was surprised at the extent of the information coming from [Guantanamo prisoner] Binyam Mohamed as Britain's previous experience of questioning terrorism suspects during the Troubles in Northern Ireland was that they remained silent. "I said to my staff, 'Why is he talking?' because our experience of Irish prisoners, Irish terrorists, was that they never said anything," she said. "They said, well, the Americans say he is very proud of his achievements when questioned about it. It wasn't actually until after I retired that I read that, in fact, he had been waterboarded 160 times."

UK complained to US about terror suspect torture, says ex-MI5 boss --Waterboarding of 9/11 suspect was 'concealed' --Manningham-Buller criticises Bush staff 10 Mar 2010 The government protested to the US over the torture of terror suspects, the former head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller revealed last night. She also said the Americans concealed from Britain the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 2001 attacks. "The Americans were very keen that people like us did not discover what they were doing," Lady Manningham-Buller told a meeting at the House of Lords.

Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010 (A Bill) To provide for the interrogation and detention of enemy belligerents who commit hostile acts against the United States, to establish certain limitations on the prosecution of such belligerents for such acts, and for other purposes. SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF SUSPECTED UNPRIVILEGED ENEMY BELLIGERENTS IN MILITARY CUSTODY. 3 (a) MILITARY CUSTODY REQUIREMENT. Whenever within the United States, its territories, and possessions, or outside the territorial limits of the United States, an individual is captured or otherwise comes into the custody or under the effective control of the United States who is suspected of engaging in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners through an act of terrorism, or by other means in violation of the laws of war, or of purposely and materially supporting such hostilities, and who may be an unprivileged enemy belligerent, the individual shall be placed in military custody for purposes of initial interrogation and determination of status in accordance with the provisions of this Act. SEC. 3. INTERROGATION AND DETERMINATION OF STATUS OF SUSPECTED UNPRIVILEGED ENEMY BELLIGERENTS. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERROGATION GROUPS. (1) INTERROGATIONS TO BE CONDUCTED BY HIGH-VALUE DETAINEE INTERROGATION GROUP...

New! CLG Facebook group: Unprivileged Enemy Belligerents --Join us!

Main CLG Fansite: Citizens for Legitimate Government --Join us here, too!

DHS Law Enforcement Personnel Stationed In Israel for First Time --United States and Israel Announce Agreement to Enhance Joint Aviation Security 02 Mar 2010 The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recognizes the need for cooperation between the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Security Department of the Israel MOT to manage aviation-related security incidents--establishing designated points of contact for each agency; protocols for notification in the event of an incident; mechanisms to enhance communication; and regular exercises. The MOU reflects the both nations’ commitment to coordinate mutual security efforts, shown recently by the stationing of DHS law enforcement personnel in Israel for the first time, as well as the Memorandum of Mutual Understanding between DHS and the Israeli Ministry of Public Security signed on Feb. 7, 2007, which enhanced the ability of the U.S. and Israel to share vital information relating to their respective domestic security concerns...

Seven Muslims arrested over 'plot to kill cartoonist' 10 Mar 2010 Seven people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland over a suspected plot to kill a Swedish artist who portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a dog and had a $100,000 (£66,000) al-Qaeda bounty on his head. Anti-terrorist units used information from the CIA, FBI and European intelligence agencies to identify the suspected terrorist cell of three women and four men. They are believed to include Algerian, Libyan, Croatian, US and Palestinian citizens and at least one naturalised Irish citizen.

US woman indicted on terror charges 09 Mar 2010 A Pennsylvania woman in her late 40s has been charged with terror offences including using the internet to recruit militants for deadly attacks abroad. Colleen LaRose - also known as Fatima LaRose and "Jihad Jane" - was arrested in Philadelphia in October 2009.

Are You or Have You Ever Been a Lawyer? (The New York Times) 08 Mar 2010 In the McCarthy era, demagogues on the right smeared loyal Americans as disloyal and charged that the government was being undermined from within. In this era, demagogues on the right are smearing loyal Americans as disloyal and charging that the government is being undermined from within. These voices -- often heard on Fox News -- are going after Justice Department lawyers who represented Guantánamo detainees when they were in private practice. It is not nearly enough to say that these lawyers did nothing wrong. In fact, they upheld the highest standards of their profession and advanced the cause of democratic justice.

Dispute over candidate disqualifications could mar Iraqi vote's legitimacy 10 Mar 2010 A controversy over the disqualification of candidates threatened Tuesday to undermine the [il]legitimacy of Iraq's recent 'elections' and inflame supporters of a coalition seeking to topple the alliance led by the prime minister US-installed oil puppet. The candidates [55] were barred on election eve by a commission -- run by onetime U.S. ally [overpaid Pentagon wh*re] Ahmed Chalabi and other Shiite politicians -- that was empowered to screen government officials for loyalty to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party. [Translation: The real victors want the USociopaths and Blackwater out, so the election will be declared illegitimate until an Exxon Mobil troll can be installed, much like the US in 2000 and 2004 with Bush.]

Miliband: Iraq war won Britain respect 09 Mar 2010 British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has claimed that UK's involvement in the Iraq war has earned it respect in the Middle East. Giving evidence to the public inquiry into Britain's role in the war on Monday, Miliband insisted that many Arab countries now respected Britain more for following through on threats of military force in Iraq. "Even those who disagree with it (the war) would say to me, 'you've sent a message that when you say something you actually mean it. And if you say something's a last chance it really is a last chance'."

Army contractor's use of a cover name for Blackwater angers Sen. McCaskill 09 Mar 2010 "The American people have a right to be outraged that we're playing this kind of game with contracting. It's wrong. It's flat wrong." With those words, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) voiced her exasperation near the end of a three-hour Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about a contract to train Afghan National Army troops last year to use American weapons. One issue at the Feb. 24. hearing was that the $25 million contract, awarded in September 2008, was to a company called Paravant -- well known to those involved as a cover name for Blackwater (now Xe Services).

Suicide attack kills 2 NATO troops in Afghanistan 09 Mar 2010 NATO says a suicide attack on its forces in eastern Afghanistan has left two of its service members dead. The international alliance says the attack took place in the Ali Shir district of Khost province, where the alliance has a base near the Pakistan border. Residents say they heard a large blast at the base.

Japan reveals secret nuclear pact with US 09 Mar 2010 Japan has verified the existence of a secret nuclear pact with the United States that allows US forces to bring nuclear weapons into the country. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said on Tuesday that a panel of experts confirmed the existence of the pact after examining thousands of documents over a period of months. From the 1960s, Japan has allowed the United States to deploy nuclear weapons on the southern island of Okinawa, the panel said.

Iran sanctions could lead to war, Lula says 10 Mar 2010 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned that imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program would be a very dangerous step. Sanctions could isolate Iran so much that tensions would spiral out of control, Lula told AP in an interview on Tuesday. He suggested that new Iran sanctions might even lead to war.

Talks 'undermined' by Israeli pledge to build 1,600 more homes 10 Mar 2010 Israel announced the construction of 1,600 homes in east Jerusalem yesterday, drawing criticism from Joe Biden, the US Vice-President, who is in the country trying to kick-start the peace process. Mr Biden had hoped to reinforce progress made by the US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in reviving a dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis after a year of acrimony. On Monday he managed to cajole both sides to the negotiating table, initiating indirect talks between them.

Israel to start formally monitoring PA incitement 10 Mar 2010 Israel is to begin officially monitoring incitement in the Palestinian Authority and will periodically issue a report on it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week. Netanyahu also decided to appoint Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, the former head of Military Intelligence's research department, as government coordinator for incitement in the PA.

Napolitano says suicide plane crash wasn't related to domestic terrorism 10 Mar 2010 A suicide plane crash that killed the pilot and an Internal Revenue Service worker at an office building in Austin on Feb. 18 was not a case of domestic terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday in a radio interview. The pilot, A. Joseph Stack, "had his own personal issues and personal motives" and was carrying out a personal agenda, said Napolitano, interviewed on WAMU-FM's "Diane Rehm Show."

Obama Seeks to Vilify Health Insurers, Give Them $336 Billion Check By Byron Wolf 08 Mar 2010 To help pay for the new insurance requirements the government would give to people money to buy insurance - $336 billion over the next ten years. That money, ultimately, would have to go to... drum roll... insurance companies... During the 2008 Presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama criticized a proposal by Sen. John McCain because it would send government help for people to buy insurance directly to insurance companies. "But the new tax credit [for health insurance] he's proposing? That wouldn't go to you. It would go directly to your insurance company – not your bank account," said Obama in October on the Campaign trail. And yet that's exactly what Democrats' proposal would do and why so many would prefer public insurance option to compete with the private market. [And that's exactly why Barack Obama is a liar.]

Europe bars Wall Street banks from government bond sales --Leading US banks blamed for triggering financial crisis --Policymakers propose a rival European monetary fund 08 Mar 2010 European countries are blocking Wall Street banks from lucrative deals to sell government debt worth hundreds of billions of euros in retaliation for their role in the credit crunch. For the first time in five years, no big US investment bank appears among the top nine sovereign bond bookrunners in Europe, according to Dealogic data compiled for the Guardian.

Threat Level Privacy, Crime and Security Online Feds Move to Break Voting-Machine Monopoly By Kim Zetter 08 Mar 2010 Citing anti-competitive concerns, the Justice Department sued Election Systems & Software in order to force the company to divest itself of the voting machine assets it obtained from Premier Election Solutions last year. The department’s antitrust division, along with nine state attorneys general, filed the civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., charging that the acquisition threatened competition.

Massa flirts with the right, but Beck isn't tickled By Dana Milbank 10 Mar 2010 Just seven minutes into Glenn Beck's hour-long interview of Eric Massa on Tuesday evening, things had already gone very wrong. Conservatives had hopes that the now-former Democratic congressman from Upstate New York, who resigned abruptly under an ethics cloud, would deliver the goods about corruption and strong-arm tactics in the Obama White House and Congress. But instead, Massa served up an icky new confession...

Nude Rahm Emanuel Told Massa He "Better Vote With the President" 09 Mar 2010 Former Rep. Eric Massa tells Glenn Beck that Rahm Emanuel approached him in the shower and told him he "better vote with the President."

No ice-cape for polar bears 02 Mar 2010 A polar bear cub is comforted by its mother as they drift TWELVE MILES out from shore on a rapidly shrinking iceberg after hopping on board to take a rest from hunting seals. The future looks bleak for the bears as they balance perilously on the ice that was bobbing around under their weight -- but amazingly experts said the pair probably made it safely back to shore. It is thought the mother and her young cub -- aged around nine months -- had gone out hunting seal and climbed on to the chunk of ice for a rest as it drifted away on the current from the safety of land.