News Updates from CLG
2 January 2015
Previous edition: American helicopters drop boxes of weapons in ISIL-held areas in Iraq
Note: CLG's webhoster has (hopefully) fixed the CLG Newsletter duplicates problem. Thank you, everyone, for your patience!
Palestinian president signs up to join international criminal court --Move will anger Israel and US [<g>] and paves way for court to take jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestinian territories 31 Dec 2014 The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has moved dramatically to join the international criminal court, setting Palestinians on a diplomatic collision course with Israel and the US. Abbas signed the Rome treaty governing the court and 19 other international agreements on Wednesday evening following the rejection by the UN security council of a Jordanian-backed resolution calling for the end of the Israeli occupation by 2017. At the end of 24 hours of high diplomatic tension, Abbas - under pressure from other members of the Palestinian leadership - followed through on the threat to join the ICC, which would open the way to Palestinians pursuing Israel for war crimes in the court of last resort, based in The Hague.
Palestine files 'Israeli war crimes' probe request with accession letter to ICC - report 2 Jan 2015 Along with the letters of accession to the ICC, Palestine has reportedly filed a request to the Hague to investigate Israeli war crimes during the 50-day war in Gaza last summer. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas signed the request to probe IDF's use of force starting June 13, 2014, along with the letters of accession to the International Criminal court on Wednesday night, an unnamed NGO worker told Haaretz. On Friday the batch of newly signed documents and the petition are expected to be received by the UN Secretary-General.
US Congress to give $532 million to Pakistan to 'defend against' terrorism, grow other sectors [Oops! Looks like MSNBC 'forgot' to cover this one, along with the fact that Obama/GOPigs/DemocRATs slashed $93M from Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) in the 'CRomnibus' -- but there's 532M available for this lunacy?] 30 Dec 2014 The United States Congress has notified a 532 million civilian [sic] assistance package for Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Act, said US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G Olson during a meeting with Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar. An official statement issued here on Monday said that Olson discussed with the minister the breakup of assistance being given for different sectors such as energy, defence against terrorism, economic growth, community building, education and health.
F-35 stealth jet 'will not be able to fire its guns until 2019' 31 Dec 2014 America's much-vaunted new F-35 stealth jet has reportedly suffered the latest in a series of problems with the discovery of a software glitch which prevents the use of its on-board cannon. The jump jets -- 14 of which have been ordered by Britain -- are costing US taxpayers nearly 400 billion and are due to enter service next year. The news will cause further embarrassment for the programme, which has been dogged by delays, soaring costs and glitches since its inception in 2006. Billed as the world's most advanced -- and expensive -- fighter jet, the cost per plane has doubled to 161.1 million and it will be six years late in entering full production. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes dumped 944,800 shares one day before flight disappeared 29 Dec 2014 AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes dumped 944,800 shares in Tune Insurance Holdings Bhd, the organization that provides travel insurance for AirAsia passengers, just days before the disappearance of Flight QZ8501. The day the airline disappeared, the stock fell by 7%: do you believe in coincidences? On December 26, the Malaysian Insider reported that Fernandes, the founder of Tune Group Sdn Bhd which owns AirAsia, had sold a total of 944,800 shares in Tune Insurance Holdings Bhd, with 850,000 shares being dumped on December 22, and the other 94,800 being sold the day after.
Doomed AirAsia plane soared 'as fast as a fighter jet' then dived into sea in maneuvers that 'border on the edge of logic' --Craft soared up at 'unprecedented' rate before falling almost vertically 1 Jan 2015 The AirAsia jet which plunged into the Java Sea rose up as fast as a fighter jet and then dropped almost vertically into the water as if being thrust down by a giant hand, crash experts agreed today. Their conclusion is that the Airbus 320-200 was in the grip of weather so freakishly extreme that there was nothing the pilots could have done to save the jet and all 162 people on board. The plane behaved in ways 'bordering on the edge of logic,' Indonesian aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman said after examining figures leaked from the official air crash investigation team.
Radioactive leak at major Ukrainian nuclear plant - report 31 Dec 2014 A radioactive leak has been detected at Ukraine's Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, a media report says, citing the country's emergency services. Ukrainian officials have denied the report. LifeNews published what it claims is a leaked report by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, which denies an earlier assessment by the plant's authorities that the radiation at the facility is equal to the natural background following an incident on Sunday.
Interview with Michael Rectenwald on Secularity, Singularity, and the Left 1 Jan 2015 Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. and CLG Founder, interviewed by C. Derick Varn on secularity and the left. What is the new conception of secularity in modernity? How should the left understand and treat religion? Other topics include singulartarians, primitivism, and accelerationism. [Click here for interview.]
NYC rings in new year with heightened security in Times Square 1 Jan 2015 Roughly a million revellers packed New York's Times Square and rang in the new year with the city's annual crystal ball drop under unusually tight security for the nation's biggest New Year's Eve celebrations. While security is always tight in Times Square on New Year's Eve, particularly since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, extra precautions were put in place on Wednesday to prevent violence at the famed midtown Manhattan crossroads. Hours before the giant crystal ball was to drop at midnight, bomb-sniffing dogs and counter-terrorism units joined uniformed officers posted on the streets around Times Square.
Nearly 100 protesters storm St. Louis police headquarters, at least 25 of whom are arrested as others are pepper sprayed 1 Jan 2015 Protesters stormed the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters on Wednesday morning and at least 25 arrests were made as other demonstrators were pepper sprayed. Protesters planned to occupy the police department for four and a half hours until their demands were met, one of which include amnesty for protesters charged with non-violent offenses. The protesters also want Officers Flannery and Hayes, responsible for recent shootings, to be fired immediately, among other grievances. Fox reports that at 10:30a.m. around 75 protesters marched downtown then later inundated police headquarters.
St. Louis Man Charged With 10 Counts of Making a Terrorist Threat for 'Threatening Police' 1 Jan 2015 A St. Louis man is facing charges for allegedly tweeting about killing police and an explosion at the St. Louis City Justice Center. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office said Thursday that 35-year-old Jason Valentine is charged with 10 counts of making a terrorist threat meant to frighten people. It's not clear from online court records whether he has an attorney.
Man Shoots at 2 San Francisco Bay Area Police Officers 1 Jan 2015 Police are searching for a man who fired shots at two San Francisco Bay Area officers. KNTV reports that the South San Francisco police officers returned fire about 3 a.m. Thursday in a neighborhood. The officers weren't injured. It wasn't immediately clear if the suspect was shot, and police were searching for him hours later in the neighborhood. Officials advised residents to stay inside.
PA police shoot suspect dead for resisting arrest over alleged online threats 31 Dec 2014 Police in Pennsylvania have shot and killed a 52yo man after he allegedly attempted to 'run them over' in his vehicle after they tried to arrest him over his [alleged] earlier online threats against police officers and federal agents. The incident, which took place around 16:15 local time in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, occurred as police officers tried to arrest the man wanted for posting threats for police officers and FBI agents on YouTube. "He threatened to kill police, threatened to kill FBI agents," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.
Second patient in Scotland being tested for Ebola: first minister 30 Dec 2014 A second health worker is being tested for Ebola in Scotland after returning from West Africa, a day after another was diagnosed with the disease in Glasgow, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday. Sturgeon told BBC radio there was a "low probability" the second worker had the disease.
Doctors: Flu shot may be ineffective 31 Dec 2014 (TX) Cases are spiking right now across the country with the CDC upgrading activity now to "widespread." Workers at Trinity Mother Frances say they've seen 24 confirmed cases at the hospital last week alone and there's been nearly 200 cases confirmed here during the entire month of December. Doctors say flu shots may be ineffective.
Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo dead at 82 2 Jan 2015 Mario Cuomo, the three-time governor of New York and a leading voice of the Democratic Party's liberal wing who turned down several invitations to seek the U.S. presidency, died on Thursday. He was 82. His death came on the same day that his eldest son, Andrew Cuomo, delivered inaugural addresses in Manhattan and Buffalo, New York, after being sworn in for his own second term as governor.
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