From LegitGov.org.
Breaking: U.N. Security Council votes to approve Libyan no-fly zone; military strikes expected
March 17, 2011 The United Nations Security Council voted 10 to 0 supporting the use of “all necessary measures” including the use of a no-fly zone to protect civilians and rebel forces in Libya from forces loyal to Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Russia and China, which held veto powers, abstained from the vote, along with three other council members. The passing of the measure is expected to lead to U.N.-backed military strikes in Libya within hours, according to media reports.
Britan, France, and U.S. prepare for Libya air strikes
March 17, 2011 British, French and U.S. military aircraft are preparing to defend the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi after Washington said it was ready to support a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Qaddafi’s forces. Jets could take off from French military bases if a no-fly zone is approved [it was] in a fresh United Nations security council resolution authorizing “all necessary measures short of an occupation force” to protect civilians. France, which has led the calls for a no-fly zone along with Britain, has offered the use of military bases on its Mediterranean coast about 750 miles from the Libyan coast.
UK forces “could be in action by Friday”
March 17, 2011 UK forces could be in action over Libya as early as Friday, after the UN backed a no-fly zone and “all necessary measures” to protect [?!?] civilians. A senior UK government source has told the BBC action could take longer, but would be within days of the vote. The resolution rules out a foreign occupation force in any part of Libya. Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK would “now respond” to the responsibility it placed on UN members.
UNSC orders no-fly zone over Libya
March 17, 2011 The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution ordering a no-fly zone over Libya, while suspending the country from the Human Rights Council. Resolution 1970 authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya and to allow “all necessary measures” to be taken “to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in (Libya), including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force,” Reuters reported on Thursday. It allows for airstrikes to halt Qaddafi’s offensive against the revolutionary forces in Libya.
In Reversal, U.S. Backs Libya No-Fly Zone
March 17, 2011 Supporters of a no-fly zone over Libya called for a vote Thursday on a U.N. resolution aimed at preventing Muammar Qaddafi’s planes from carrying out aerial attacks, while the United States, in a striking reversal, pushed for broader action to “protect civilians” from ground and sea attacks as well. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the Obama administration is “fully focused on the urgency and the gravity of the situation on the ground,” where Qaddafi’s fighters are intensifying attacks and heading toward rebel-held Bengazi, Libya’s second-largest city, and is working “very hard” for a vote on Thursday.
Revealed: U.S. spy operation that manipulates social media
—Military’s “sock puppet” software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda—The project has been likened by web experts to China’s attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet.
March 17, 2011 The U.S. military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda. A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees U.S. armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an “online persona management service” that will allow one U.S. serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.
Radiation detected at Chicago and Dallas airports as U.S. citizens are evacuated from Japan
—UN predicts nuclear plume could hit U.S. by Friday—Obama finally falls in line with the rest of the world and starts evacuating American citizens from Japan
—French minister: “Let’s not beat about the bush, they’ve essentially lost control”
—Cooling pool for spent fuel rods has “boiled dry at reactor number four”
—Japanese have 48 hours to avoid “another Chernobyl”
—Experts warn that crisis is “approaching point of no return” as officials run out of options
March 17, 2011 Radiation from Japan was detected in Chicago and Dallas today as U.S. citizens fleeing a potential nuclear disaster arrived back on American soil. Travelers landing at Chicago’s O’Hare airport and Dallas Fort-Worth airport are said to have tested positive for minute amounts of radiation.
—Nuclear workers accept their fate “like a death sentence”
—Fears for their health as one expert says it is “perhaps a suicide mission”
—Radiation levels rise in Japan as crisis continues
—Radioactive plume to hit U.S. west coast tomorrow
—17,000 British nationals could be evacuated as last-ditch efforts are made to stop nuclear catastrophe
17 Mar 2011 Japan was today rallying behind the anonymous nuclear emergency workers at the stricken Fukushima power plant—as heartbreaking details of their plight emerged. The 180 workers face soaring radiation levels as they make ever more desperate attempts to stop over-heating reactors and spent fuel rods leaking more radiation into the atmosphere.
Fear of radiation sickness near Fukushima plant
March 16, 2011 Concerns about radiation sickness in Japan are focused on the area within 20 miles of the quake-struck Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. If the worst happens—a full core meltdown and a large release of radiation—people living within hundreds of miles of the plant could have a somewhat higher risk of developing cancer in coming decades. Experts say the risks depend on how much radiation is released, how much people are exposed to and over how long a period, and how the winds blow.
Radiation Plume Headed to California From Japan
March 17, 2011 The United Nations is forecasting a possible radioactive plume coming across the Pacific Ocean and arriving in California Friday, according to the New York Times. While health and nuclear experts say the plume will dilute as it moves east, there will be hints of radiation. The island of Japan is more than 5,000 away from the California coastline.
Obama says does not expect harmful radiation to reach U.S.
March 18, 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he does not expect harmful radiation sparked by the crippled Japanese nuclear plant will reach the U.S., including its West Coast and Hawaii. “We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it’s the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska or U.S. territories in the Pacific,” he said in a prepared speech at the White House. Obama said right now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health experts do not recommend that people in the United States take precautionary measures beyond staying informed.
U.S. radiation experts try to decipher reports from Japan
March 17, 2011 The Japanese government’s radiation report for the country’s 47 prefectures Wednesday had a notable omission: Fukushima, ground zero in Japan’s nuclear crisis. Measurements from Ibaraki, just south of Fukushima, were also blanked out. Radiation experts in the USA say that the lack of information about radioactivity released from the smoldering reactors makes it impossible to gauge the current danger, project how bad a potential meltdown might be or calculate how much fallout might reach the USA.
Japanese power companies hid nuclear safety problems: WikiLeaks
March 17, 2011 Eighteen months before Japan’s radiation crisis, U.S. diplomats had lambasted the safety chief of the world’s atomic watchdog for incompetence, especially when it came to the nuclear power industry in his homeland, Japan. Cables sent from the U.S. embassy in Vienna to Washington, which were obtained by WikiLeaks and reviewed by Reuters, singled out Tomihiro Taniuchi, until last year head of safety and security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
House votes to permanently bar NPR from receiving federal funds
March 17, 2011 In a mostly party-line vote, the House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would permanently bar NPR from receiving federal funds, the latest escalation in conservatives’ campaign against the broadcaster. Republicans already voted to eliminate all federal support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the current fiscal year, which helps public stations buy NPR programming, but the provision was not incorporated into the continuing agreements that have kept the government funded. The latest vote was 228 to 192, with one lawmaker voting “present.”
Copyright 2011 Citizens For Legitimate Government
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