12 December, 2010 — Information Clearing House

WikiLeaks cable reveals
Italy PM said ‘not even Obama can stop Israeli attack on Iran’
By Haaretz Service
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi expressed concern that Israel might use nuclear weapons in a preemptive strike on Iran.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27049.htm

Israel May Have No Military Option Against Iran
By Gideon Levy
The next wars will be home-front wars. This time the Israeli home front will be hit in a way we have never experienced.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27048.htm

Cables Belie Gulf States’ Backing for Strikes on Iran
By Gareth Porter & Jim Lobe
“The cables reveal how Iran’s ascent has unified Israel and many longtime Arab adversaries -notably the Saudis – in a common cause,” the Times claimed. The notion that these leaders, like Israel, favor a military solution to Iran’s nuclear program has become widely accepted by the news media in the past week.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27050.htm

Cables Reveal Background of Pro-Dictator U.S. Policy
By Ted Rall
Dictators are easier to deal with than parliaments. One handshake and a kickback, that’s all you need with a dictator.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27046.htm

The Secret Iraq Files
By Al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera has obtained access to almost 400,000 classified American documents. Torture, claims of murder at the checkpoint – revelations that make a mockery of the rules of combat. This special programme reveals the truth about the war in Iraq.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27047.htm

Economics of Slaughter
It really is us against them
By William Bowles
The release of these cables is an historic event for they forever transform the relationship between the state and its citizens. They blow away the illusion that our leaders are honourable men and women rather than mere servants of capital.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27051.htm

Your Reality or Mine?
By Lawrence Davidson
The notion that all realities are equal can quickly take us into a kind of theater of the absurd. If you want to see what this looks like just take a close look at present day American politics.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27052.htm

Losing Our Moral Compass in Pursuit of Profit, Efficiency
By Caroline Arnold
Democracy can only be created by the people within it. If people can be “turned into frugal consumers” or kept in the dark about how their government operates, they aren’t free and there is no democracy: they are not participants but pawns, not citizens but subjects.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27053.htm

17 killed as suicide bomber hits govt offices in Iraq:
A suicide bomber blew up his car on Sunday outside the government offices in a province west of the Iraqi capital, killing 17 people, including women and elderly people waiting to collect welfare checks, officials said.
bit.ly/hpVDoo

Six NATO occupation force members among Eight killed in Afghanistan blast:
An explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan, killing six NATO troops and two Afghan soldiers as they prepared to head out on patrol.
www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/4451953/Eight-killed-in-Afghanistan-blast

Afghan police crisis threatens British withdrawal as thousands quit force:
Former Army commander says 2015 departure could be delayed if Afghanistan is unable to police itself
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/12/afghan-police-crisis-threatens-british-withdrawal

2 police killed, 5 others injured by militants in NW. Pakistan:
At least two police were killed and five others injured Saturday night by a group of unidentified militants in Peshawar, the largest city in northwest Pakistan, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo.
english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7228365.html

Drone attacks victims left helpless:
At least 2100 civilians were killed and various others injured during 2009 in the ongoing war on terror, dronre attacks and activities against the terrorists, according to a report released by a US non-government organistation.
www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=7016

I asked the world to recognize Taliban: Musharraf:
“Had they conceded to my advise, the circumstances would have been different”. The West won the Afghan war due to Pakistan, but took all the credit in the end, Musharraf said.
bit.ly/fl2Vt2

Al-Qaeda claims one of its men carried out Sweden attack:
”It is our brother, mujahid Taymour Abdel Wahab, who carried out the martyrdom operation in Stockholm,” it said. The photograph showed a man in dark glasses and Western clothes
bit.ly/ii78nb

Sweden suicide bomber’s British connections under investigation:
Taimour al-Abdaly studied sports therapy at the University of Bedfordshire and lived in Luton
bit.ly/hOp1xi

Defense Employee warned before the attacks:
A person in the Armed Forces called a few hours before the explosions in downtown Stockholm a friend to stay away from Queen Street.
bit.ly/fGSkRL

Armed men abduct Yemeni soldiers:
Seven soldiers abducted in two incidents in apparent attempt to try to expedite release of Southern Movement prisoners.
english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/20101212161254973653.html

Australia: Iran not rogue state, nuke programme “deterrent”-cables:
Australia is at odds with its major security ally the United States over Iran, saying it is not a “rogue state” and its nuclear weapons programme is for deterrence, not attack, according to U.S. cables released by WikiLeaks.
bit.ly/dPOTo8

Cable: Syria told Iran it would not join war with Israel:
The cable, said Iranian officials were in Syria ‘to round up allies’ in anticipation of an Israeli military strike. ‘It (an Israeli strike on Iran) is not a matter of if, but when,’ XXXXXXXXXXXX said, reporting what Syrian officials had heard from their Iranian counterparts.
bit.ly/hwh8iS

US Cable: Hezbollah received ballistic missiles from Syria, Clinton warned:
We want France, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar to make a renewed push to echo our concerns with Syria. …” the cable said.
bit.ly/gfJXj0

Israel was happy with Rudd’s stance: WikiLeaks:
The cables also indicate Mr Rotem was impressed with Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s handling of Australia’s response to fighting in Gaza while in the role of acting prime minister.
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/13/3091427.htm?section=world

US ‘tried to stop missile delivery to Venezuela’:
The United States tried to stop delivery of Russian anti-aircraft missiles to Venezuela in 2009 amid concerns it could pass them on to Marxist guerrillas in Colombia or Mexican drug gangs, The Washington Post said yesterday, citing diplomatic cables from WikiLeaks.
www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=165865

NZ govt silent on Wikileaks cables:
Among the cables was one which said Key was personally pro-American.
tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/greens-slam-wikileaks-revelation-3963509

US Cables: Singapore believes Anwar guilty of sodomy:
Singapore leaders believe Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had sex with a male aide in a honey trap set by his enemies, according to leaked US cables published by WikiLeaks on Sunday.
www.mysinchew.com/node/49390

Wikileaks reveals plan to dump the Royals, Prince Charles:
Secret US cables uncovered by website WikiLeaks reveal Prince Charles will not automatically assume the title when the Queen dies.
bit.ly/hHfH4Y

WikiLeaks cables: Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry:
Leaked cable lays bare how Irish government was forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission
bit.ly/f3XKFH

Assange Lawyer: U.S. Wants to Get Their “Mitts” on WikiLeaks Founder:
Julian Assange’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, discussed the fate of the jailed WikiLeaks founder with Sir David Frost on Al Jazeera TV, maintaining that U.S. authorities are trying to get custody of his client.
www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20025418-503543.html

Internet Society says attacks against WikiLeaks are illegal:
Takedown attempts against WikiLeaks undermine what the Internet stands for, and those responsible should be tracked down and prosecuted, says the Internet Society, a non-profit group dedicated to the open use of the Internet.
bit.ly/eSE60G

Desperate Canadians resort to world’s baby farms:
Six years after Canada outlawed the buying and selling of human eggs and sperm and the “renting” of women’s wombs, a new international baby-making business is flourishing. It’s being called “reproductive tourism,”
bit.ly/h1z2Vy

Market alarm as US fails to control biggest debt in history:
US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks.
bit.ly/gij2kx

The Seven Myths of ‘Slums’:
The locus of global poverty is moving from rural areas to the cities, and more than half the world population now lives in urban areas for the first time in human history.
www.stwr.org/health-education-shelter/the-seven-myths-of-slums.html

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:  4,745
icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of  International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,262

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
$1,120,529,457,128
www.costofwar.com/

Wikileaks Mirrors
Wikileaks is currently mirrored on 1885 web sites
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27007.htm