Pentagon faults official in spy operation: NY Times

WASHINGTON: A senior U.S. Defense Department official violated Pentagon rules and deliberately misled senior military officers when he created a spy operation using private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a Pentagon inquiry has found, according to the New York Times.

The Times quoted Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan as saying the probe found that “further investigation is warranted of the misleading and incorrect statements the individual made” about the legality of the spy program.

The allegations about the off-the-books spy operation centered on Michael Furlong, a senior U.S. Air Force civilian official who hired contractors from private security companies that employed former CIA and military operatives, the Times reported.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the investigation in March.

The contractors gathered intelligence on the

Israel PM to testify before Gaza flotilla panel

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to testify on August 9 before an Israeli panel probing the legality of a deadly May 31 raid, it said on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak and top general Gabi Ashkenazi will also appear before the so-called Tirkel Commission, on August 10 and 11 respectively, it said, adding that “the testimony will be in public” and under oath.

“The commission is currently receiving and studying the necessary documents as part of its preparations to hear the aforesaid testimony,” it said in a statement.

The committee officially began looking into the raid on June 28. Israel set up the Tirkel Commission in the wake of growing global pressure to look into the operation during which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists as they intercepted a fleet carrying aid to Gaza. The panel comprises three elderly retired judges and two experts, and their work is being monitored by two foreign observers.

US still using private spy networks in Pakistan, Afghanistan

A leading American newspaper has claimed that US is still using private spy networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The US government claims that no secret network of private spies is operating in the region.
According to New York Times, top military officials have continued to rely on a secret network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite concerns among some in the military about the legality of the operation.
Earlier during March this year the newspaper published a report stating government officials admitted that the military had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency officers and retired Special Operations troops into the region to collect information some of which was used to track and kill people suspected of being militants.

tornado in mississippi

Mississippi tornado from storms that killed 12

Some Mississippi residents cracked jokes Monday to keep from crying while they looked for salvageable items among the rubble left by severe storms that killed 12 people during the weekend.

State officials were tallying the cost of the damage so they could ask for an emergency declaration from President Barack Obama, along with federal funds to help clean up the mess. The latest figures Monday were grim: In Mississippi alone, nearly 700 homes were damaged, 49 people injured and 10 killed. Two others died in storms in Alabama.

Nancy Luke stepped carefully through fallen cinderblocks, cracked mirrors and a broken disco ball in what used to be the Yazoo City bar she managed, Wendy’s On the Hill. The bar was in the center of the mile-wide swath of destruction.

Luke said she and the owner, Wendy Douglas, have been joking with each other to fend off tears.

“She’s a neat freak. This is usually the cleanest bar in town, I tell you,” Luke said.

Most of the bar was obliterated, but the office and the restrooms still stood. Luke said she found three rolls of toilet paper still stacked in a pyramid on a tray in the women’s room.

The tornado flung a blue metal trash container from outside the bar three miles away while dumping most of its contents next to the slab of the building: Dozens of brown Bud Light and Miller Lite beer bottles, most of which were unbroken.

Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour was spending part of the day in neighborhoods of his native Yazoo City talking privately with residents.

“When you know everybody, it’s harder,” said Barbour, whose home was undamaged in Saturday’s tornado.

Obama called Barbour on Monday to express concern about the weekend storms. Obama “wanted to make sure they had everything they needed to respond to this tragedy,” according to a White House statement. Federal Emergency Management Agency teams were working with state officials to assess the damage.
SOURCE:nola

jason chen gizmodo

Police seize Gizmodo Editor Jason Chen’s computers over 4th Gen iPhone story.
Last Friday night, California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team entered Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s home while he was absent, and seized four PCs and two servers. While the authorities had a search warrant, Gawker Media believes the police violated the California Shield Law for journalists, that’s not really clear.
At issue, of course, is the big scoop of last week, the next-generation iPhone prototype found in a Redwood City bar which eventually ended up in the hands of Gizmodo (via $5,000). While the device was returned to Apple, there was some discussion around the legality of the matter.
Interestingly, the raid on Chen’s house was performed on Friday night. It was during the weekend that reports surfaced indicating that the D.A. was looking into charges in the matter

SC Issues Detailed Verdict in NRO Petitions

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: SC Issues Detailed Verdict in NRO Petitions, Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued its detailed verdict in the petitions against the legality of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO),

A 17-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry had unanimously declared the NRO void ab initio on Dec 16, 2009 following days of hearings in several identical petitions filed against the law.

The bench had reserved the detailed verdict in the case to be made public later on.

On Tuesday, the court issued the 300-page detailed verdict, written by CJP Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who also headed the bench, in the case, the channel added.

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SC Issues Detailed Verdict in NRO Petitions was first posted on January 19, 2010 at 9:45 pm.

Pakistan Court Starts Hearing Case Against Amnesty

TrendPK.com Pakistan Court Starts Hearing Case Against Amnesty:Pakistan’s Supreme Court began hearing a case Monday against an amnesty that had protected President Asif Ali Zardari and many key allies from graft charges.

TrendPK.com Pakistan Court Starts Hearing Case Against Amnesty:Pakistan’s Supreme Court began hearing a case Monday against an amnesty that had protected President Asif Ali Zardari and many key allies from graft charges.
The process could lead to challenges against the legality of the U.S.-allied president’s rule just as the Obama administration needs stability [...]