11 December, 2010 — Information Clearing House

US House Approves Large Increase in Military Aid to Israel
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
Despite freezing funding for most aspects of the US government at 2010 levels, the US House agreed Wednesday evening to increase military aid to Israel substantially.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27041.htm

Jailed Afghan Drug Lord Was Informer on U.S. Payroll
By JAMES RISEN
Central Intelligence Agency officers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents relied on him as a valued source for years, even as he was building one of Afghanistan’s biggest drug operations after the United States-led invasion of the country, according to current and former American officials. Along the way, he was also paid a large amount of cash by the United States.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27042.htm

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
By Alfred W. McCoy
A soft landing for America 40 years from now? Don’t bet on it. The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27040.htm

Fixing Public Perceptions
US Poll: People Behind WikiLeaks Should be Prosecuted
By STEVEN THOMMA
The survey found that 70 percent of Americans think the leaks are doing more harm than good by allowing America’s enemies to see confidential and secret information about U.S. foreign policy.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27038.htm

WikiRebels – The Documentary
Must Watch – By SVT Play
“Exclusive rough-cut of first in-depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it! From summer 2010 until now, Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network WikiLeaks and its enigmatic Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27039.htm

Wikileaks
A Conspiracy to Silence?
By William Bowles
Could it be, as F. William Engdahl asserts, a con job by the US government to take control of the Internet?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27043.htm

How Journalists Help to Promote War
Interview With John Pilger
For me, as a journalist, the web offers the most interesting and often most reliable sources because they are shorn of the consensual bias, and a censorship by omission, that pervades broadcasting.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27044.htm

Bolivia: Cancun Deal is Hollow and False; Its cost will be measured in human lives
By the Plurinational State of Bolivia
We were prepared to compromise on many things, except the lives of our people. Sadly, that is what the world’s richest nations expect us to do.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27045.htm

15 civilians killed in roadside bombing in Afghanistan :
A roadside bomb planted by suspected Taliban insurgents killed 15 civilians travelling in a pick-up truck in the restive southern province of Helmand, a government official said Saturday
bit.ly/icnYam

7 Afghan civilians killed by US-led airstrike in Paktia:
The attack took place in Zarmat district in Paktia province on Saturday as a group of Afghan road construction workers were working on a project, a Press TV correspondent reported. Reports say local people have gathered at the site of the attack and there is extreme anger over the event.
bit.ly/eiawWi

Afghans hold anti-US rally:
Hundreds of angry Afghans have taken to the streets of Gardez city to protest against the rising number of civilian casualties at the hands of US-led troops.
presstv.ir/detail/155038.html

U.S. intelligence reports paint bleak security picture of Afghanistan:
New U.S. intelligence reports appear to paint a bleak picture of the security conditions in Afghanistan and say the war cannot be won unless Pakistan roots out militants on its side of the border.
bit.ly/g6Dmng

Former Afghan spy chief slams Taliban talks:
Saleh said the United States should give Pakistan a deadline of July 2011 to pursue top insurgents inside their borders or threaten to send in U.S. troops to do the job.
wapo.st/fQ5NXU

Nine militants killed in Pakistan:
Nine militants were killed Saturday in fighting with security forces in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley and Mohmand tribal region, a media report said.
story.irishsun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/2411cd3571b4f088/id/718459/cs/1/

Five security personnel killed in militant attack in Swat:
At least five security personnel were killed and two others were wounded in a militant attack on their convoy in northern Pakistani district of Swat.
bit.ly/eNtCL3

Six Killed in Iraq Violence:
A farmer and two of his workers, gunned down by insurgents dressed in army uniforms, were among six people killed in violence across central Iraq on Friday, security officials said.
www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=23352

Tenn. soldier from Fort Hood killed in Iraq:
According to a news release from the Department of Defense, Finch was killed when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7334898.html

U.S. says recognition of Palestinian state premature:
Undersecretary of State William Burns responds to decision by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to recognize a Palestinian state based on borders before the 1967 war.
bit.ly/gc5sxW

US cables: Saudis proposed Arab force to invade Lebanon:
Foreign minister wanted US, Nato and UN backing for offensive to end Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s siege of government
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-saudi-arab-invasion-lebanon

US cables: Saudi princes throw parties boasting drink, drugs and sex:
Royals flout puritanical laws to throw parties for young elite while religious police are forced to turn a blind eye
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-cables-saudi-princes-parties

US Assange indictment `unconstitutional’:
A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says any prosecution of the whistleblowing website in the United States for espionage would be unconstitutional. But Jennifer Robinson denied reports that Assange’s legal team believe a US indictment over WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables is imminent.
bit.ly/hkA8wv

Assange is a ‘political actor’ – not journalist, US says :
“He’s not a journalist. He’s not a whistleblower,” State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said. “He is a political actor. He has a political agenda.”
www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356344,not-journalist-us-says.html

WikiLeaks Congressional Hearing Set for Dec. 16:
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a Dec. 16 hearing on the potential application of U.S. espionage laws in relation to WikiLeaks, the committee announced on Friday, marking the first such hearing to address the website’s recent release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables.
www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20025360-503544.html

Julian Assange supporters plan protests worldwide:
Demonstrations are planned in the capitals of Spain, the Netherlands, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Peru to demand Assange’s release, the re-establishment of the WikiLeaks domain name and the restoration of Visa and Mastercard credit services
bit.ly/g4Jiqe

Jeremy Scahill Testifies Before Congress on America’s Secret Wars :
We are trying to kill our way to peace.
bit.ly/fmFTPi

Facebook emerges as ‘terrorist recruiting ground’:
A Department of Homeland Security report said extremists had focused on the social networking website as a way to identify sympathisers and disseminate information on bomb making.
bit.ly/eVf14l

WikiLeaks cables: Pope wanted Muslim Turkey kept out of EU:
Vatican diplomats also lobbied against Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and wanted ‘Christian roots’ enshrined in EU constitution
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-pope-turkey-eu-muslim

Cables show Ireland irked Vatican on sovereignty:
That the Holy See used its diplomatic immunity status as a tiny-city state to try to thwart Ireland’s government-led probe has long been known. But the WikiLeaks cables, published by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper on Saturday, contain delicate, behind-the-scenes diplomatic assessments of the highly charged situation.
www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16833777?nclick_check=1

Morality is modified in the lab:
Scientists have shown they can change people’s moral judgements by disrupting a specific area of the brain with magnetic pulses.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8593748.stm

GA Prisoner Strike Continues a Second Day,
Corporate Media Mostly Ignores Them, Corrections Officials Decline Comment
bit.ly/ebqOBc

UPS to require photo IDs for shipping packages:
The directive will apply at The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc. locations and other authorized shipping outlets. UPS customer centers have required government-issued photo identification since 2005.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40548607/ns/business-us_business/

Battle Heats Up Between Police Officers And Civilians Who Record Them:
Should ordinary people be arrested for filming on-duty police abusing their power? If a string of recent cases is any indication, judicial systems throughout the country think so.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/battle-between-cops-cameras_n_795295.html

Texas Sued Over Sale of Baby Blood Samples:
A civil rights group sued Texas health officials Wednesday over the sale and distribution of about 8,800 samples of baby blood to pharmaceutical companies and the military.
www.parentdish.com/2010/12/09/texas-sued-over-sale-of-baby-blood-samples/

A Grim Record: One In Seven Americans Is On Food Stamps:
The number of people on food stamps keeps hitting new all-time highs; as of September, nearly 43 million people were using the program, according to figures out this week.
n.pr/ef0dik

Senate to Consider Tax-Cut Bill That Would Add $857 Billion to U.S. Debt:
Senate leaders released an agreement crafted by the White House and Republicans to sustain Bush-era tax rates through 2012, set the estate tax at the lowest rate in 80 years
bit.ly/ht4qQA

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq “1,421,933″
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’s War On Iraq:  4,748
icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of  International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,256

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
$1,119,990,151,008
www.costofwar.com/

Wikileaks Mirrors
Wikileaks is currently mirrored on 1697 web sites
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27007.htm