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U.S. Reclassifies Many Documents in Secret Review 21 Feb 2006

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
21 February 2006
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here: 
 http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
U.S. Reclassifies Many Documents in Secret Review 21 Feb 2006 In a seven-year-old secret program at the National Archives, intelligence agencies have been removing from public access thousands of historical documents that were available for years, including some already published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by private historians... "The stuff they pulled should never have been removed," intelligence historian, Matthew M. Aid, said. "Some of it is mundane, and some of it is outright ridiculous."

US removing documents from public access: report 20 Feb 2006 U.S. intelligence agencies have been secretly removing from public access at the National Archives thousands of historical documents that were available for years, The New York Times reported on Monday.

Emergency war supplemental hides millions for NSA facilities 20 Feb 2006 Buried in last week's $72.4 billion emergency supplemental appropriation bill for the war on terror is nearly half a billion dollars worth of military construction... The supplemental also includes $35 million new money for the expansion of the National Security Agency's top secret listening post at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, England, and authority to spend $700 million appropriated in previous years for construction or expansion of NSA facilities in Augusta, Ga., and Kunia, Hawaii.

Three journalists face prison for revealing existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe 10 Feb 2006 Reporters Without Borders has appealed to the Swiss justice and defence ministers to drop complaints against three journalists who revealed the existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe.

US military planes criss-cross Europe using bogus call sign 19 Feb 2006 The American military have been operating flights across Europe using a call sign assigned to a civilian airline that they have no legal right to use. Not only is the call sign bogus — according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) — so, it appears, are some of the aircraft details the Americans have filed with the air traffic control authorities. In at least one case, a plane identified with the CIA practice of "extraordinary rendition" — [illegally] transporting 'terrorist' suspects — left a US air base just after the arrival of an aircraft using the bogus call sign.

Inquiry into alleged CIA flight over Belgium 20 Feb 2006 The Belgian government is investigating claims a secret CIA flight carrying a detainee made a stopover at the Deurne Airport in Antwerp.

Germans Looking Into Complicity in Seizure by U.S. 21 Feb 2006 For more than a year, the German government has criticized the United States for its role in the abduction of a German man who was taken to an American prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he said he was held and tortured for five months after being mistaken for a terrorism suspect. German officials said they knew nothing about the man's abduction and have repeatedly pressed Washington for information about the case... But on Monday in Neu-Ulm near Munich, the police and prosecutors opened an investigation into whether Germany served as a silent partner of the United States in the abduction of the man, Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen of Arab descent who was arrested Dec. 31, 2003, in Macedonia before being flown to the Kabul prison.

NZ investigator stands by scathing Guantanamo Bay report 20 Feb 2006 A New Zealand expert on physical and mental health has stood by findings that US detention camp Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, should be shut down.

Close Guantanamo Bay (The Globe and Mail) 20 Feb 2006 "Washington has rejected all criticism, whether from friends or foes, of its treatment of suspected terrorists held without charges or trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The latest condemnation of a misguided policy that makes a mockery of the rule of law comes in a damning United Nations report prepared by a panel of five respected human-rights experts."

U.S. Envoy Defends Guantanamo Conditions 21 Feb 2006 The top U.S. envoy for public diplomacy [Bush whore, Karen Hughes] on Monday defended the conditions at the prison at Guantanamo Bay and said the detainees were not criminals, but warriors.

Trial may shed light on CIA's detainee tactics 20 Feb 2006 In a case that could shed light on CIA interrogation practices, a veteran Miami lawyer will prosecute the government's case against an ex-CIA worker accused in the beating death of an Afghan detainee.

Iraqis beaten by British troops to face murder charge 20 Feb 2006 Two Iraqis filmed being beaten by British troops are set to be charged with attempted murder.

24 killed in attacks across Iraq 20 Feb 2006 At least 24 people, including an American soldier, were killed by bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere.

U.S. Church Alliance Denounces Iraq War 18 Feb 2006 A coalition of American churches sharply denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Saturday, accusing Washington of "raining down terror" and apologizing to other nations for "the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown."

Australia to send 200 more troops to Afghanistan 20 Feb 2006 Australia will almost double its troop numbers in Afghanistan by sending a 200-member security and reconstruction team to the country's volatile south, Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday.

Backlash at jailing of historian who denied Holocaust 21 Feb 2006 David Irving, the far-right British historian [sic], sat stunned and open-mouthed yesterday when an Austrian court found him guilty of denying the Holocaust and sentenced him to three years in jail. But in Britain there was dismay at a verdict that could turn Irving into a right-wing martyr.

Oil prices surge on fresh wave of Nigerian sabotage [corpora-terrorists' greed] 21 Feb 2006 Oil prices surged in London yesterday after Nigerian militants blew up a pipeline in the latest act of sabotage against the world's eighth largest exporter.

DP World Executive Nominated For Prestigious US Govt Position (DP World) 24 Jan 2006 "Global ports operator DP World today welcomed news that one of its senior executives, Dave Sanborn, has been nominated by US President [sic] George W. Bush to serve as Maritime Administrator a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the Secretary of Transportation and Cabinet Member. The White House has issued a statement from Washington DC announcing the nomination. The confirmation process will begin in February."

Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate 18 Jan 2006 (whitehouse.gov) "David C. Sanborn, of Virginia [of UAE's DP World], to be Administrator of the Maritime Administration..."

N.J. Senator Latest to Assail Port Sale 20 Feb 2006 Democratic senators assailed an Arab company's [Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates] takeover of operations at six major American ports and said Monday that pResident Bush should stop the deal to better protect the U.S. from terrorists. "We wouldn't turn over our customs service or our border patrol to a foreign government," New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez said during a news conference. "We shouldn't turn over the ports of the United States, either."

Congress: Halliburton's war contracts could have helped Katrina victims 20 Feb 2006 A new congressional report on the failed emergency response to Hurricane Katrina concludes that the victims could have benefited from Halliburton's most-scandalous contract in Iraq. The report quotes Bill Carwile of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who concludes that future disaster response programs should involve "much more robust private sector partnerships," including Halliburton's LOGCAP contract with the Army Corps of Engineers.

New Orleans newspaper wins NY journalism award 20 Feb 2006 New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper won a prestigious George Polk award in journalism for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina while its staff was displaced and its offices flooded, Long Island University announced on Monday. When the New Orleans' newspaper operations resumed four days after the August 29 storm, its first headline read: "HELP US, PLEASE," the university said.

Google rips Bush administration's search request 17 Feb 2006 Google called the Bush regime's request for data on Web searches as "so uninformed as to be nonsensical" [Just like Bush himself!] in papers filed in San Jose federal court Friday, arguing that turning over the information would expose its trade secrets and violate the privacy of its users.

Ex-Malasian Leader Says He Paid Abramoff 20 Feb 2006 Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with pResident Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government.

Bush Would Export Nuclear Fuel, Power Plants to Developing Nations 20 Feb 2006 [Deadly] Nuclear power is the primary focus of his plan to wean the United States off fossil fuels, Dictator George W. Bush said in his radio address to the nation on Saturday. The Bush regime's Fiscal Year 2007 budget includes $250 million to launch this plan as part of the administration's overall $632 million request for the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology to spend on nuclear technology research, development, and infrastructure. [Where is the nuclear waste going to be stored?]

Jobs cut at energy lab restored before Bush visit 20 Feb 2006 The Energy Department said it has come up with $5 million to immediately restore jobs cut at a renewable energy laboratory Dictator George W. Bush will visit on Tuesday, avoiding a potentially embarrassing moment as Bush promotes his energy 'plan.'

'Open skies' air treaty threat --Draft pact curbs UK power to fight global warming --Restricting night flights would need US approval 20 Feb 2006 Britain could lose its ability to impose environmental taxes, restrictions and safeguards on airlines under a draft treaty between the EU and US which curtails the power of national governments. The draft treaty, meant to liberalise aviation, includes a little noticed clause requiring EU states to reach agreement with each other and with the US before taking measures to tackle noise or pollution from airlines.

States Curbing Right to Seize Private Homes 21 Feb 2006 In a rare display of unanimity that cuts across partisan and geographic lines, lawmakers in virtually every statehouse across the country are advancing bills and constitutional amendments to limit use of the government's power of eminent domain to seize private property for economic development purposes.

Mega barf alert! FDA Is Urged to Ban Carbon-Monoxide-Treated Meat 20 Feb 2006 The meat industry has quietly begun to spike meat packages with carbon monoxide. The gas gives meat a bright pink color that lasts weeks. The hope is that it will save the industry much of the $1 billion it says it loses annually from having to discount or discard meat...

Deadly viruses mutating to infect humans at rate never seen before 21 Feb 2006 At least one new disease is jumping the species barrier from animals to human beings every year, exposing people to emerging germs at a rate that may be unprecedented. [The Bush bioterror team is working *overtime.*] http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html

India quarantines six as bird flu spreads faster 20 Feb 2006 India quarantined six people in hospital on Monday and began a door-to-door search for anyone with fever as authorities scrambled to contain the country's first outbreak of bird flu.

Study: Containment can't stop flu pandemic 20 Feb 2006 Scientists say they've concluded containment might buy time, but is not enough to stop a flu pandemic. Through mathematical modeling, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and Seattle's University of Washington show flu outbreaks are likely to emerge in multiple locations and containment of all outbreaks is improbable.

[Previous lead stories:] Torture flights landed in UK, admit air controllers 19 Feb 2006 CIA jets suspected of flying terrorist suspects to secret prisons for torture have landed at commercial British airports and received help from UK air traffic control, the authorities have admitted for the first time. National Air Traffic Services (Nats) confirmed that three planes with CIA tail numbers have travelled through Britain "on a number of occasions".

Report: Pentagon Warned on Torture, Abuse 19 Feb 2006 The Navy's former general counsel warned Pentagon officials two years before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal that circumventing international agreements on torture and detainees' treatment would invite abuse, according to a published report. Legal theories granting the president the right to authorize abuse in spite of the Geneva Conventions were unlawful, dangerous and erroneous, Alberto J. Mora advised officials in a secret memo.

Washington, D.C. Hosting Bird Flu Summit for Businesses 19 Feb 2006 Email from New Fields, detailing their plans to host Washington, D.C.'s first 'Bird Flu Summit' to be held February 27-28, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City near Reagan National Airport, obtained by Citizens For Legitimate Government. See: New Fields CEO Joins Bechtel, Halliburton on Highly Anticipated SBA Expo '04 Panel (New Fields) 06 May 2004 "New Fields Exhibitions is the organizer of the successful Rebuilding Iraq series, which has brought together business leaders from over thirty countries for networking opportunities with key Iraqi entrepreneurs and government officials." http://www.legitgov.org/new_fields_bird_flu_summit_190206.html

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