U.S. carried out 333 drone strikes 

 in Afghanistan this year alone

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

23 Dec 2012

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U.S. carried out 333 drone strikes in Afghanistan this year alone - more than the entire drone strikes in Pakistan over the past eight years COMBINED --U.S. carried out 333 drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2012, report says, up from 294 in 2011 20 Dec 2012 The United States carried out more drone strikes in Afghanistan this year than it has done in all the years put together in Pakistan since it launched the covert air war there eight years ago, it has been revealed. The statistics, published by the U.S. Air Force and published by Wired's Danger Room blog, show that there were 333 drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2012 alone, up from 294 in the previous year and 278 in 2010. It is far more than an estimated 338 strikes carried out by the CIA in Pakistan since it began hunting down remnants of al Qaeda [al-CIAduh], the Taliban and other militant groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas eight years ago.

British Court Rejects Drone Lawsuit 22 Dec 2012 On Friday, a British court rejected a closely watched civil suit by the son of man killed in a 2011 drone strike in Pakistan that requests a judicial declaration that British intelligence officials may be liable for assisting acts of murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity if they share targeting intelligence with the US government. The plaintiff, Noor Khan, who was represented by the British human rights group Reprieve, had also asked the court to direct the British Foreign Secretary to issue a policy "identifying the circumstances in which intelligence may lawfully be passed on if it relates to the location of individuals who may be targeted in a drone strike." The British judges hearing the case recognized that they were essentially being asked to pass judgment on the legality of the US drone program (and of Obama Administration drone policies), and they declined the invitation to do so.

South Africa's ruling party endorses anti-Israel boycott 23 Dec 2012 In support of the oppressed Palestinians in the occupied lands, South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has officially endorsed a boycott campaign against Israel. ANC issued a statement on December 20 saying that the majority of its members have voted for boycotting products from illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied lands, in a bid to end the complicity of South African people in the violation of Palestinian rights.

Anti-Nato protest marches in fear of turning 'Turkey into a battlefield' 20 Dec 2012 The deployment of Nato troops and anti-missile systems that began in Turkey this week has heightened concerns from Turkish citizens that the Syrian civil war will spill across their border. Nearly 40 German soldiers arrived in Kahramanmaras, a city about 120km from the Syrian border, to prepare the deployment of about 400 German troops, due to arrive in the coming weeks with two batteries of Patriot missiles. The United States and the Netherlands are expected to send similar numbers of soldiers and Patriot missiles to Turkey. Turkish news reports said this week the number could rise to nearly 2,000 foreign soldiers over the course of the next months.

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Iran to unveil indigenous amphibious aircraft in May 2013 23 Dec 2012 ,A senior Iranian research official says Iran will fly its first indigenous amphibious aircraft in May 2013. He added that over USD2 million has been allocated to the development of the plane. Presidential Office's Deputy Manager for Technology and Innovation Mojtaba Khayyam-Nekouei said on Sunday that the six-seat plane can take off and land on both land and water. Amphibious aircraft are heavier and slower as well as being more expensive to purchase and operate than ordinary planes.

مردم از گرسنگی دارن میمیرند و این مرتجعان قرون وسطی چنین هزینه های سرسام آوری را صرف میلیتاریسم تعفن آور میکنند....دست کمی از هم قماشان روسی, چینی, آمریکائی شون ندارند

   سرنگون باد سرمایه داری ملائی و ملایان سرمایه دار

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US tax dollars at work: Syria: Opposition Groups' Religious Police Patrol Aleppo Countryside --The Syrian opposition groups that have taken control of Aleppo's countryside are deploying a religious police force to enforce new laws, such as barring women from driving anو ملایان سرمایه دارd making prayer compulsory. 19 Dec 2012 Residents of the embattled city, whose main concerns revolve around security and survival, were shocked to hear that opposition groups who control the Aleppan countryside are deploying a vice-and-virtue police to enforce a deeply conservative interpretation of Islamic law. The so-called Revolutionary Military Council in Aleppo issued a statement banning women from driving. The group also released several video clips showing men of various Arab nationalities patrolling the streets and forcing people to pray.

Obama nominates John Kerry as next secretary of state 21 Dec 2012 President Barack Obama on Friday nominated John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, calling the veteran U.S. senator the "perfect choice" for America's top diplomat as he began reshaping his national security team for a second term. Obama settled on Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, after the front-runner, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, withdrew from consideration last week. Kerry's departure from the Senate forces Democrats to defend his seat (MA), where the party has only a slim majority.

Polar Bears Have Friend in John Kerry 21 Dec 2012 Today, President Obama nominated Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) to be Secretary of State. Senator Kerry has a long and distinguished record of protecting our environment, no place more consistently or forcefully then when it comes to safeguarding polar bears. Senator Kerry was an early and a vocal supporter of the decision to list polar bears under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Before then, he fought a long battle to close a loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that allowed polar bears taken in trophy hunts to be imported into the United States. Senator Kerry's support of polar bear conservation is important because the United States, with the backing of Russia, has proposed an international ban on the commercial sale of polar bear parts.

Feds raid gun store that sold weapon to shooter's mother after security cameras capture man stealing deadly rifle - just four days before massacre --ATF swoop on the store --Footage of Jordan Marsh removing the 50 calibre long gun --The AR15 was recovered in a duffel bag at the Hartford Hilton --Management at the store didn't know 11 guns were missing 21 Dec 2012 The East Windsor gun store which sourced at least one of the guns used in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was raided by federal firearms agents last night. Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) swooped on Riverside Gun Sales at 5pm yesterday evening, as officers from East Police Department cordoned off the plaza. The raid was a result of security worries at the store after it was revealed the premises had been robbed of a rifle similar to the one used in the Newtown shooting, just four days before the tragedy. A news website showed video footage of 26 year old Jordan Marsh removing the 50 calibre long gun from the store.

NRA's LaPierre Rejects Gun Laws Following School Killings 23 Dec 2012 The National Rifle Association continues to oppose any new gun regulations in the wake of the mass shooting of elementary school students in Connecticut, the gun lobby's chief executive officer said. Wayne LaPierre said on NBC's "Meet the Press" today that the right way to improve student safety would be to place armed guards in every U.S. school, focus on prosecuting violent criminals and get mentally ill people off the street. "This town wants to argue about gun control," LaPierre said. "We don't think it works and we're not going to support it." [Just what we need - an exploded and all-powerful 'TSA,' with an entire population of US school children for gun-toting agents to threaten. --LRP]

NRA chief calls for 'a TSA in every school' --NRA calls for armed police officer in every school 21 Dec 2012 The nation's largest gun-rights lobby called Friday for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings." The National Rifle Association broke its silence on last week's shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 children and staff dead. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," the group's top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, said at a Washington news conference. LaPierre announced that former Rep. Asa Hutchison, R-Ark., will lead an NRA program that will develop a model security plan for schools that relies on armed volunteers

Homeland Security Drill Held in Kernersville, NC 21 Dec 2012 Union Cross Road near the I-40 interchange in Forsyth County was closed Friday from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm for a homeland security exercise. Event organizers said exercises like these help them stay on top of their game and get better at their jobs as first responders. People in the area of the drill probably heard and saw ambulances, fire trucks, law enforcement and military vehicles for about five hours.

Three Men Appear in Court in Mysterious Terror Case 22 Dec 2012 Three men appeared in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Friday on charges that they had trained to be suicide bombers with a Somali terrorist group. The defendants, Ali Yasin Ahmed, 27, Mahdi Hashi, 23, and Mohamed Yusuf, 29, were arrested in August by authorities in Africa while going to Yemen. Much of the case is shrouded in mystery. For four months, the case remained under seal, and the court documents unsealed on Friday contained little elaboration on the crimes or any indication of why the case was brought in New York.

Muslim businessman sues Homeland Security, says he's harassed while traveling 22 Dec 2012 A Central Florida Muslim businessman detained by authorities at airports and border crossings more than 30 times since June has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It's the second such lawsuit Sadique M. Jaffer has filed in Orlando against the federal agency in almost four years, in response to what he says are baseless and harassing detentions. Jaffer, who lives in Windermere and works in real estate and computer sales in multiple states, claims he has been detained more than 50 times since 2007 as he has traveled domestically and internationally.

Alleged Minot AFB threat-caller arrested 22 Dec 2012 Schools at Minot AFB were put on lock-down after a woman called into the Head Start preschool there threatening to kill all the children Thursday morning. The lock-downs were lifted by 12:30 p.m. after police had determined the threat was unfounded. Tiffany Shanice Anderson, 23, of Lompoc, Calif., was arrested at her home Thursday evening at 10 p.m. without incident. She was charged with making threats and providing false information on events that would lead to death or injury to people and destruction of property.

Hacker nabs 3m Verizon customer records 22 Dec 2012 A hacker has acquired more than 3 million Verizon customer records -- but leaks only 10 percent of them, after the phone and broadband giant fails to fix a security flaw. The hacker, going by the name @TibitXimer on Twitter, told ZDNet earlier this evening that the hack was carried out earlier this year on July 12, which allowed him to gain root access to the server holding the customer data. The hacker said in a later tweet the data likely belongs to Verizon FiOS fiber customers, rather than Verizon Wireless cellular customers.

Millions Face a Hit if Fix for Minimum Tax Fails to Pass --Tax will hit almost 30 million additional households 21 Dec 2012 Buried within the mass of tax and spending provisions known as the fiscal cliff is a problem that could cause grief for taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service. It is the alternative minimum tax, a provision adopted in the 1960s to make sure the very wealthiest didn't avoid taxes by accumulating too many deductions and credits. It wasn't indexed for inflation, and Congress has repeatedly passed an annual exemption to protect middle-class families from the tax. Congress hasn't passed that extension for this year. And with talks over avoiding the fiscal cliff stalled, it may not pass one.

Former President George H.W. Bush remains hospitalized 23 Dec 2012 Former President George H.W. Bush, who has been hospitalized for a month undergoing treatment for bronchitis, may not be released from a Houston hospital in time to celebrate Christmas at home as doctors had hoped. Bush, 88, remained in stable condition and doctors were optimistic he would make a full recovery, George Kovacik, a spokesman at Methodist Hospital, said in an emailed statement on Sunday. But doctors were being "extra cautious" with his care and no discharge date had been set, the statement said. Earlier this month, Kovacik said doctors expected Bush would be able to spend Christmas at home with his family.