The New Dark Age

20 January, 2011 — Information Clearing House

How the Power of Myth Keeps Us Mired in War
Why Are We Still in Afghanistan?
By Ira Chernus
If the U.S. loses in Afghanistan, the American public might abandon the myth that justifies the military establishment and its gargantuan budget. As a result, the generals prefer to fight on eternally.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27307.htm

The Hypocrisy of ‘America’s’ Democracy
By Larry Pinkney
The United States of America is, in reality, a one-party corporatist state whose very existence is, more than ever, perpetuated by a conscious deliberate denial of reality, even in the face of the obvious.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27309.htm

In the Presence of My Enemy
A Reflection on War and Forgiveness
By Ron Kovic
As this, the 43rd anniversary of my wounding in Vietnam approaches, and I once again try to find meaning in that day and the days which were to follow, my thoughts return to the northern bank of the Cua Viet River on Jan. 20, 1968. It is a day that will change my life forever.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27308.htm

Operation Merlin
CIA Gave Iran Nuclear Blueprints?
By Paul MaudDib
Giving a defecting nuclear scientist plans that may be within his capability to fix is a dumb idea.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27300.htm

US: Should Recognize State of Palestine In 2011
By MJ Rosenberg
The United States should either lay a plan on the table and demand its implementation, or the Palestinians should declare full independence.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27302.htm

Olbermann: ‘Good riddance’ to ‘delusional liar’ Lieberman
Video and Text
“Mr. Lieberman supported the American government tossing Muslim suspects into detention, denying them Miranda rights, seeking to strip even US citizens suspected of terrorism of their basic civil rights.”
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27305.htm

Tony Blair had way out of Iraq invasion, Chilcot inquiry told
By Richard Norton-Taylor
As former PM is recalled to give further evidence, notes reveal Jack Straw argued there was ‘one last chance to avoid war’
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27304.htm

Wikileaks : Ireland Complicit in US Torture
Irish Government Knew They Were in Violation of Torture Conventions
By Shannonwatch
Slowly but surely the entire shameful truth is coming out about Shannon airport, CIA renditions, and the lengths the Irish government went to avoid the evidence.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27303.htm

The Big Obscenity:
A Trillion Dollars a Year to the Richest 1%
By Paul Buchheit
Based on Internal Revenue Service figures, if middle- and upper-middle class families had maintained the same share of American productivity that they held in 1980, they would be making an average of $12,500 more per year.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27306.htm

Profits In Poverty
JPMorgan Is Making Big Money From Food Stamps!
By Economic Collapse
The more Americans that go on food stamps, the more profits JP Morgan makes.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27301.htm

Bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims in Iraq kill 51:
Three car bombs blasted through security checkpoints ringing the Iraqi holy city of Karbala on Thursday and killed at least 51 people, most of whom were Shiite pilgrims headed to observe yearly religious rituals.
wapo.st/fs0ciX

3 killed, 27 wounded in suicide car bombing in Iraq’s eastern Diyala:
A suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into the checkpoint of the main entrance of the provincial headquarters of Diyala police and blew it up, causing severe damages to the surrounding buildings at the scene, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/1814918.html

Iraqi Turkmen tell U.S. ambassador to stop meddling in domestic affairs:
A statement by the Turkmen Front, a political umbrella for ethnic Turks in Iraq, accused Jeffrey of heightening ethnic and sectarian tensions in the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2011-01-19/kurd.htm

23 “Suspected militants”, foreign occupation force soldier, killed in Afghan attacks:
At least 23 suspected Taliban militants were killed in operations by Afghan and foreign troops while one foreign soldier was killed in an attack in northern Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.
bit.ly/fFMzER

NATO: Italian occupation force soldier killed by Afghan counterpart:
An Italian soldier who was killed this week in western Afghanistan was shot by an Afghan soldier, not by insurgents as originally reported, NATO said Thursday.
bit.ly/dHyDa7

Karzai’s parliament delay order ‘illegal’:
Afghan opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah has branded as illegal a proposed delay to the inauguration of the country’ new parliament.
www.presstv.ir/detail/161093.html

Karzai visit to Russia irks US:
Afghan leader in Moscow to explore military and business deals with former foe, in trip that is said to have upset US.
english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/01/201112014297833879.html

Pakistan: Seven Killed as Oil Company Convoy Attacked:
Suspected Taliban militants attacked an oil company’s convoy in northwest Pakistan today, killing seven persons, including five paramilitary troopers, and kidnapping two others, police said.
news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?709144

Taliban reject report of hospitalization of leader Mullah Omar:
A Taliban spokesman, rejected reports by a private intelligence-gathering network, the Eclipse Group, that Omar had a heart attack this month, calling it a ‘baseless and fatuous claim.’
bit.ly/f4T1NJ

Pakistan army rejects Mullah Omar’s treatment report: –
Pakistan army Thursday dismissed the reports as “unfounded and concocted” that Afghan Taliban reclusive leader Mullah Omar was treated for a heart attack in Pakistan with the help of its intelligence service.
news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/20/c_13699989.htm

Palestinian killed in West Bank clash with Israeli army:
A local witness said he was a friend of another Palestinian man, Khaldun Samudi, shot dead by Israeli troops at a checkpoint near Nablus on 8 January. Soldiers also shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian man at the Nablus checkpoint on 1 January.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12242969

‘U.K. to consider UN censure of Israel’s West Bank settlements’:
Comment by Foreign Office official comes as dovish advocacy group J Street voices support for the recently submitted draft resolution; Americans for Peace now urge Obama to refrain from vetoing the move.
bit.ly/gTj9tP

U.K. will not recognize unilateral Palestinian state, official says:
Speaking during Jordan visit, Foreign Office official Alistair Burt says direct talks are the only way to reach a viable two-state solution.
bit.ly/dSfUnr

Iran: Military strike would not stop our nuclear program:
Iran will be able to carry out uranium enrichment even in the case of a military attack on its nuclear facilities, Iran’s nuclear envoy said in Moscow on Thursday.
bit.ly/eI7Q6h

Russia opposed to Iran sanctions:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope that the sanctions are lifted in the upcoming talks between Tehran and major world powers, Xinhua reported.
www.presstv.ir/detail/161118.html

WikiLeaks: US Embassy Cables Say: Iran has cleared major hurdle to nuclear weapons:
”Iran had now demonstrated centrifuge operations such that it had the technical ability to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU) if it so chose”.
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/iran-highly-enriched-uranium-wikileaks

CIA Doesn’t Want You To Know It Gave Iran Nuclear Blueprints:
Here’s what I think happened with Jeffrey Alexander Sterling, the former CIA officer who just got arrested for leaking classified information to James Risen.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27300.htm

Ex-CIA officer accused of leak waives extradition:
The indictment did not say specifically what information was leaked, but the dates and other details indicate the case centered on leaks to James Risen, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. His 2006 book “State of War” revealed details about the CIA’s covert spy war with Iran.
www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ex-cia-officer-accused-800478.html

Noam Chomsky’s Video Plea to Iran on Behalf of Detained Americans:
Noam Chomsky, an American academic best-known to viewers of Iranian television for his criticism of American foreign policy, made a personal appeal to Iran’s government to release two detained Americans in a video message posted online on Wednesday.
nyti.ms/hbLLXq

Tunisian army fires warning shots at protesters:
Rounds fired into air as demonstrators converge on headquarters of former ruling party
bit.ly/fQxtAB

The man who inspired Tunisia’s revolution:
Al Jazeera’s Yasmine Ryan travels to the birthplace of Tunisia’s uprising and speaks to Mohamed Bouazizi’s family.
english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/201111684242518839.html

‘Baby Doc’ wants Haiti presidency:
Former president Jean-Claude Duvalier seeks a return to power, despite facing corruption and theft charges.
english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/01/201111919453709343.html

Blocking Aristide’s return to Haiti shows woeful lack of respect:
Haiti’s infamous dictator “Baby Doc” Duvalier, returned to his country this week, while the country’s first elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is kept out. These two facts really say everything about Washington’s policy toward Haiti.
www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/01/20/1825636/blocking-aristides-return-to-haiti.html

US objects to Bolivia bid to legalize coca:
The U.N. spokesman’s office says the United States has filed a letter with the world body objecting to Bolivia’s proposal to end an international ban on coca leaf-chewing.
bit.ly/eNd682

Swiss ex-banker faces new probe over WikiLeaks data:
Police questioned former banker Rudolf Elmer on Thursday over possible fresh breaches of Swiss bank law for giving data to WikiLeaks this week, a day after he was found guilty of violating bank secrecy.
www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70J1RI20110120

WikiLeaks claims US and Swiss struck UBS deal:
A document revealed by whistleblowing internet site WikiLeaks appears to show that Switzerland struck a deal with the United States in 2009 to help embattled bank UBS.
bit.ly/e0v2HV

Wikileaks volunteer detained and searched yet again at airport:
Jacob Appelbaum, a security researcher, Tor developer, and volunteer with Wikileaks, reported today on his Twitter feed that he was detained, searched, and questioned by US Customs and Border Patrol agents during preclearance on January 19, returning to the US from Toronto, Canada. The incident took place in Canada, with US agents.
www.boingboing.net/2011/01/19/wikileaks-volunteer-2.html

UK: Undercover policeman married activist he was sent to spy on:
Chief constable says relationships with targets in environmental movement ‘grossly unprofessional’
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/19/undercover-policeman-married-activist-spy

Senior policeman who ‘tortured’ suspects into confessions facing up to 30 years in jail:
Victims of injustice suffocated and electrocuted into admitting crimes of armed robbery and murder
bit.ly/eWVE30

Will China’s Yuan overtake US Dollar?: Video:
RT’s Kristine Frazao is joined by Michael Hudson, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri.
www.youtube.com/user/RTAmerica

Analysis: What is Plan B if China dumps its U.S. debt?:
When borrowing money it’s always good to have a Plan B in case a big creditor pulls the plug. That should be true whether the sum is a few thousand dollars or about a trillion, the size of the United States government’s debt to China.
www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70H5NX20110118?pageNumber=1

China: U.S. No. 1 no more:
China’s ambitions are not modest
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/19/usacross-out-usa-china-1/?page=1

Get Ready For Another Housing Crash: Mortgage quality had fallen off a cliff.
If Citigroup’s mortgages were this bad, we can expect the same level of problems at Wells Fargo, Bank of America and every other major US mortgage lender.
www.cnbc.com/id/41133468?

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 : 2,303

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
$1,140,326,369,462
www.costofwar.com/