The New Dark Age

18 January, 2011 — Information Clearing House

Blair ‘Misled MPs on Legality of War’ : Law Chief
By Tim Shipman and Ian Drury
Tony Blair misled Parliament and the public about the legality of the Iraq War, according to explosive documents released last night.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27281.htm

We’re Gonna Change Mosques into Cathedrals
Seymour Hersh Unleashed
By Blake Hounshell
“What I’m really talking about is how eight or nine neoconservative, radicals if you will, overthrew the American government. Took it over,” he said.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27290.htm

US Embassy Cables: : Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran
China to Iran Leaking Like a Sieve:
By Anders Johansen
On the day Iran has acquired a nuclear bomb, it will say “Made in China” on many of the parts – reveals U.S. embassy documents leaked to Wikileaks.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27283.htm

What Now For Lebanon?
By Franklin Lamb
The White House has informed Congressional Committee Chairpersons and American allies that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will indict Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Wali al Faqih (jurisconsult or Supreme Religious Leader) for issuing the order to assassinate Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27284.htm

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon;
Independent Investigation or US-Israeli Cat’s-paw?
Bby Mike Whitney
“If this tribunal issues this indictment and anyone seeks to implement it, there will be war in Lebanon and there will be war almost certainly between Israel and Lebanon.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27286.htm

Israel’s Right Wing Future
By Lawrence Davidson
The process toward an Israeli style Fascism did not begin (as Sternhell believes) with1967 and the taking of the Occupied Territories. It did not even begin in 1917 and the Balfour Declaration. It began with the very inception of Zionism.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27285.htm

Who Lost the Middle East?
By Patrick J. Buchanan
The message from the Mideast has been consistent and clear: When elections are held, or monarchs and autocrats overthrown, the masses will turn to leaders who will pull away from America and stand in solidarity with the Palestinians.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27282.htm

The Tyranny of Defense Inc.
By Andrew J. Bacevich
In 1961, Dwight Eisenhower famously identified the military-industrial complex, warning that the growing fusion between corporations and the armed forces posed a threat to democracy. Judged 50 years later, Ike’s frightening prophecy actually understates the scope of our modern system-and the dangers of the perpetual march to war it has put us on.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27287.htm

The Myth of ‘American Exceptionalism’ Implodes
By Richard Wolff
Until the 1970s, US capitalism shared its spoils with American workers. But since 2008, it has made them pay for its failures.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27289.htm

The Cuts Are Coming
By Bill Boyarsky
Republicans have their biggest statehouse majority in more than 80 years, and they’re taking orders from a man who wants to take government and “drown it in the bathtub.”
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27288.htm

60 killed in Iraq suicide bombing:
Nearly 60 people were killed Tuesday in a suicide bombing outside a crowded police recruitment centre in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, security officials said.
story.irishsun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/2411cd3571b4f088/id/733256/cs/1/

UK government blocks release of Blair Iraq notes:
British authorities have refused to publish notes that Tony Blair sent to President George W. Bush before the Iraq war, prompting a complaint Tuesday from the chief of a public inquiry into the divisive conflict.
bit.ly/ePkPKP

27 “insurgents” killed in S Afghanistan:
Afghan forces killed 27 militants, wounded 13 in Taliban hotbed Helmand province in an operation Monday night, a statement released here Tuesday said.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-01/18/content_11875448.htm

Italian occupation force soldier killed in Afghanistan:
An insurgent disguised as an Afghan soldier shot dead one Italian troop and seriously wounded another Tuesday at an army post in northern Afghanistan, the government in Rome said.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110118/wl_asia_afp/italyafghanistanunrest

Military to probe allegations unarmed Afghan teen was killed:
Canadian military police have launched an investigation into allegations that an unarmed Afghan teen was shot in the back of the head during a Canadian military raid in 2007.
bit.ly/ggkoIu

3 killed in attack on check post in NW Pakistan:
At least three security personnel were killed and three others injured Tuesday evening in a rocket attack on a check post in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan
english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7264919.html

Israeli tank fire kills teen in Gaza:
Israeli occupation forces have pounded the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya, killing a teenager and wounding another two people.
www.presstv.ir/detail/160744.html

Russia Recognizes an Independent Palestine: Medvedev: :
Russian president makes announcement after meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank; Israeli officials fear recognition will cause a domino effect of other states following Russia’s lead, including China.
bit.ly/fXLjoh

Palestinian U.S. mission raises flag in Washington for first time:, PLO
U.S. envoy calls flag raising ‘historic’ and says he hopes it will help Palestinian quest to win support for independence.
bit.ly/feR7zO

US trying to stop UN resolution against West Bank settlements:
Washington is desperately trying to head off a United Nations resolution condemning Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and the disputed West Bank territories that is presenting Barack Obama with one of the most acute dilemmas of his presidency.
bit.ly/h8pwhU

Hamas launches project to rebuild homes destroyed in Israeli attack on Gaza:
Hamas refuses to disclose funding for the new project, which could boost the group’s standing in the blockaded strip.
bit.ly/eVSoO8

Military strike on Iran is what unites Netanyahu and Barak:
Barak, with his ranks and medals, can give Netanyahu the kind of backing he needs to advance aggressive moves on the Iranian
bit.ly/gqgiWl

Iran Has Evidence Of US Computer Attack:
Saeed Jalili told NBC News in an interview aired on Monday that an Iranian investigation uncovered evidence that the United States was involved in the cyberattack.
bit.ly/htCXlc

US Embassy Cables: : US advised to sabotage Iran nuclear sites by German thinktank:
As Stuxnet cyber attack pinned on US and Israel, US embassy cable reveals advice to use undercover operations
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/wikileaks-us-embassy-cable-iran-nuclear?

Tunisia leaders resign from party:
President and prime minister step down from ruling party as several opposition members resign from the new cabinet.
english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/201111810106847770.html

Tunisia: Key players:
Here are some of the key players inside the new administration, and some other important figures to watch outside the country.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12214649
 
Oil wealth likely to keep Gulf calm:
Despite a rare protest in Oman and cash and food being doled out in Kuwait, experts say the region will remain quiet.
english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201111884114254827.html

Nigerian flashpoint city Jos: Army shoot-to-kill orders:
A series of killings and bomb attacks over Christmas and New Year are thought to have resulted in more than 100 deaths so far in the central city. Jos is a flashpoint of tension between Hausa Muslims and Berom Christians.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12219022

Haiti’s Baby Doc Duvalier questioned by authorities:
Former Haitian “leader” Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier has been questioned by judicial officials and was later led out of his hotel by police. He was questioned over claims he stole from the country’s treasury. It is not clear whether he has been arrested.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12219608

Governor: Only Christians are my brothers:
“Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister”
bit.ly/icg7WI

Comcastrophe: Comcast-NBC Merger Approval Expected Today:
Today, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to bless the merger of Comcast, the nation’s largest cable and residential Internet provider, with NBC-Universal. The Justice Department is expected to follow suit right away, removing the last obstacle to the unprecedented consolidation of media and Internet power in the hands of one company.
bit.ly/fTh1DC

JPMorgan Chase overcharged troops on mortgages :
The bank also tells NBC News that it improperly foreclosed on more than a dozen military families.
today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41043127/ns/business-real_estate/

States Warned of $2 Trillion Pensions Shortfall:
US public pensions face a shortfall of $2,500 billion that will force state and local governments to sell assets and make deep cuts to services, according to the former chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund.
www.cnbc.com/id/41129099

State Budgets: Year Ahead Looms As Toughest Yet:
If 2011 is hinting at a national recovery, there is little sign of it in statehouses across the country.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/15/state-budgets-year-ahead-_n_809521.html

Texas: Thousands of Job Cuts May Be Just the Beginning:
With some top state leaders warning that Texas’ dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today – and big job cuts may be just the beginning.
bit.ly/gj920F

Deep layoffs take effect in struggling NJ city:
About 335 workers, representing one-sixth of the local government work force, lost their jobs, according to Mayor Dana Redd. It was worst in the public safety departments, where nearly half the police force and close to one-third of the city’s firefighters were laid off.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110118/ap_on_re_us/us_camden_layoffs

Detroit may close half of its schools:
Detroit Public Schools would close nearly half of its schools in the next two years, and increase high school class sizes to 62 by the following year, under a deficit-reduction plan filed with the state.
bit.ly/f3EKpq

Half of Younger Americans Have Pre-Existing Conditions:
A new study by the Department of Health and Human Services has found that 129 million Americans under the age of 65-roughly half of that demographic-have medical conditions that could keep them from getting insurance, reports say.
www.truthdig.com/

Scientists warn California could be struck by winter ‘superstorm’:
A group of more than 100 scientists and experts say in a new report that California faces the risk of a massive “superstorm” that could flood a quarter of the state’s homes and cause $300 billion to $400 billion in damage.
yhoo.it/fnnnV5

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: 4,754
 
icasualties.org/oif/
 
Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,300

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
$1,139,473,452,568
www.costofwar.com/