Alerts say major cyber attack aimed at gas pipeline industry

Heads up! USociopaths are attacking themselves again so they can blame Anonymous and/or Iran and pass psycho CISPA: Alerts say major cyber attack aimed at gas pipeline industry --Intrusions aimed at control systems, agency of Homeland Security warns 06 May 2012 A major cyber attack is currently under way aimed squarely at computer networks belonging to US natural gas pipeline companies, according to alerts issued to the industry by the US Department of Homeland Security. At least three confidential "amber" alerts – the second most sensitive next to "red" – were issued by DHS beginning March 29, all warning of a "gas pipeline sector cyber intrusion campaign" against multiple pipeline companies. But the wave of cyber attacks, which apparently began four months ago – and may also affect Canadian natural gas pipeline companies [Yeah, right!] – is continuing. That fact was reaffirmed late Friday in a public, albeit less detailed, "incident response" report from the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), an arm of DHS based in Idaho Falls.

Washington Post Reports 2010 Pentagon-CIA Drone Target Criteria as 'New' By Lori Price, http://www.legitgov.org/ 06 May 2012 An April 2012 article published in The Washington Post reported as 'new' an expansion of Pentagon-CIA killer drone target criteria. In fact, the change in policy was reported in May 2010 in the Los Angeles Times. Although the country discussed in the 2012 article was Yemen and the 2010 Los Angeles Times story referred to Pakistan, the Pentagon-CIA policy of killing broad numbers of unidentified targets is not a 2012 policy but one established in 2008 by George W. Bush and amplified in 2010 by President Barack Obama.

9/11 defendants charged in Guantanamo 'court' 06 May 2012 The five men accused of plotting the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks [which were actually carried out by the US government] in the United States were formally charged on Saturday with crimes that include murder and terrorism. Confessed [after being waterboarded 183 times] mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  and the four other accused opted to plead neither innocent nor guilty, but rather to defer their plea to a later date. The special military tribunal charged Mohammed, 47, and the four others with "conspiracy, attacking civilians, murder and violation of the law of war, destruction, hijacking, terrorism" for their role in the strikes in which Al-Qaeda [al-CIAduh] militants flew hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: former military prosecutor denounces trial --Morris Davis says allowing evidence from torture means the world will never see Guantanamo Bay trials as fair 04 May 2012 The former chief US prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has denounced the military trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the [Bush regime's] 9/11 attacks due to appear in court at Guantanamo on Saturday, as intended primarily to prevent the defendants from presenting evidence of torture. Morris Davis, a former colonel who was chief prosecutor when Mohammed was brought to Guantanamo in 2006, said the military commissions will be badly discredited by the use of testimony obtained from waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" techniques used on the accused men.

ACLU makes request for access to terror statements --US interrogators have been accused of using torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay on alleged terror suspects, many of whom are still being held without charge. 05 May 2012 The American Civil Liberties Union has requested access to statements made by alleged conspirators of the September 11th attacks. The ACLU has made an official request for documents on five alleged plotters who are being tried by a military court. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators are facing a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay prison. Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, is believed to have made statements about treatment he received at the facility.

U.S. special forces commander seeks to expand operations 04 May 2012 A top U.S. commander is seeking authority to expand clandestine operations against militants and insurgencies around the globe, a sign of shifting Pentagon tactics and priorities. Adm. William H. McRaven, a Navy SEAL and commander of the raid that killed 'Osama bin Laden,' has developed plans that would provide far-reaching new powers to make special operations units "the force of choice" against "emerging threats" over the next decade, internal Defense Department documents show. America's secret military forces have grown dramatically over the last decade as the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community have increasingly merged missions, including drone strikes and counter-terrorism operations.

U.S. to intensify drone strikes in Pakistan 06 May 2012 The United States has decided to intensify drone strikes in tribal areas to mount pressure on Pakistan to restore Nato supply line without tendering apology. Sources told Online that the U.S has absolutely denied demand of apology over Salala check post attack last year added that U.S has informed about its new drone policy to Pakistan. "During recent visit to Pakistan, the US Special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grasman, had informed the leadership of Pakistan about the new drone policy and the U.S is not considering apologizing over Salala attack", sources said.

Suspected U.S. drone attack kills nine in Pakistan 05 May 2012 At least nine people were killed Saturday in an airstrike from a suspected U.S. drone in Pakistan's lawless tribal region along Afghan border, security officials said. The attack was carried out in the Shawal area of North Waziristan. An intelligence official said that the drone fired at least two missiles at a house that was allegedly used by militants. The U.S. has refused to halt drone strikes, saying the pilotless aircraft have helped to kill several top militants.

US airstrike kills four civilians in Afghanistan 06 May 2012 At least four Afghan farmers have been killed in a US airstrike in Kapisa Province in northeastern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. According to Afghan officials, the victims were working in the fields when the airstrike hit early Saturday morning. The raid was carried out despite the security pact signed by Kabul and Washington on Tuesday. [Wow, USociopaths lasted a whole *96 hours* before violating a treaty! That's got to be some kind of record!]

Man in Afghan uniform kills NATO soldier 06 May 2012 A soldier with NATO's US-led coalition in Afghanistan was killed by a man in Afghan army uniform on Sunday, a spokesman for the mission said, in the latest so-called "green-on-blue" attack. The death takes the number of foreign troops killed by Afghans they were working with to at least 19 this year, in at least 13 separate attacks. "An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against coalition service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing one service member," NATO'S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan border police on patrol near border with Pakistan 05 May 2012 An Afghan official says a roadside bomb has killed five border police in an eastern province near the border with Pakistan. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, who is a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, says the five were killed Friday evening when the vehicle in which they were patrolling was hit by the remote-controlled bomb. He said Saturday that the incident took place in the province's Dur Baba district.

Blast injures five US-led NATO soldiers in Afghanistan 05 May 2012 At least five US-led soldiers with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have been injured in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan, including three Australian troops, Press TV reports. Australian Military sources say that the blast ripped through the foreign troops' convoy north of Helmand Province on Saturday. The attack comes after Taliban militants announced on Thursday that they will launch their annual "spring offensive" across Afghanistan, vowing to increase their attacks on the US-led forces in the country.

Iran makes arrests in connection with expert assassinations 06 May 2012 Iran's Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi says a number of terrorists involved in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists have been identified and arrested. Moslehi told reporters on Sunday that Iran has recently made important arrests, and explained that those apprehended by the security forces have been arrested for drug and security charges, Mehr News Agency reported.

Transregional forces should leave Iran alone: Cmdr. 06 May 2012 A senior Iranian military commander warns transregional forces to stay away from Iran as they have seen the result of their past meddling. The remarks came following an ABC report on April 28, 2012 about the deployment of US F-22 Raptor stealth fighters at Al Dafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "Transregional powers should leave Iran alone because they have seen the outcome of their meddlesome actions in the past," Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili said on Sunday.

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners hospitalized 05 May 2012 Ten Palestinian prisoners participating in a mass hunger strike in Israeli jails were placed under medical supervision as their conditions worsened, officials said Saturday. The ten men are among 1,500 to 2,500 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike to demand better conditions and an end to detention without trial. Although Israeli officials and Palestinians give different numbers of hunger strikers, it is still one of the largest prison protests in years.

Socialist François Hollande wins French presidency 06 May 2012 Socialist François Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday to become France's next president, heralding a change in how Europe tackles its debt crisis and how France flexes its military and diplomatic muscle around the world. Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, saying he had called Hollande to wish him "good luck" as the country's new leader. Exuberant crowds filled the Place de la Bastille, the iconic plaza of the French Revolution, to celebrate Hollande's victory. He will be France's first leftist chief of state since François Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995.

Anonymous: CIA, Interpol websites 'tango down' [What a shame!] 06 May 2012 The global hacktivist group known as Anonymous claims to have brought down the CIA and Interpol websites on Sunday. The attack is attributed to @AnonsTurkey, with the group using the twitter handle to say they are "hacking the world to save the planet". Earlier this year, Anonymous launched an offensive against government and private sites in protest against the content industry. The CIA website took several hours to get back online, while the Department of Homeland Security went back up online in a matter of minutes.

County denies Homeland Security building permit [LOL!] 04 May 2012 Monroe County officials last week denied a Tampa-based builder's request to construct a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Tavernier. The project was controversial from the time it became known last year. It was met with large community opposition from neighbors who did not want a federal facility with a possible prisoner holding cell to be built in the historic Upper Keys district. If approved, the 10,316-square-foot building would have housed agents with Homeland Security's Investigative Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Marine Unit.

N.R.C. Skimps on Financial Oversight, Audit Says 06 Apr 2012 The government does a poor job of estimating what it will cost to tear down a nuclear reactor, Congressional auditors say, and it may not be overseeing plant owners well enough to assure that they set aside enough money to do the job. For a study it plans to issue on Monday, the Government Accountability Office scrutinized 12 of the nation's 104 power reactors and found that for 5 of them, the decommissioning cost calculated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was 76 percent or less of what the reactor's owner thought would be needed.

Senator likely to be rebuffed in News Corp inquiry 04 May 2012 The British judicial inquiry investigating questionable reporting practices by Rupert Murdoch's media properties is unlikely to cooperate with a prominent senator's request for evidence of misconduct in the United States, three people familiar with the inquiry said. The sources said that the judicial inquiry, created by British Prime Minister David Cameron and chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, a senior English judge, is not authorized to provide legal assistance or evidence to other bodies or organizations, including foreign government agencies or components. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on Wednesday sent a letter to Leveson asking if his inquiry has uncovered any misconduct on the part of Murdoch's News Corp that occurred in the United States or violated American laws.