The New Dark Age

5 April, 2011 — Information Clearing House

A Genuine Tragedy Unfolds
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s Rulers Goose-Step to the Brink of the Abyss
By PETER LEE
While we are diverted by the opera-bouffe spectacle of the civil war in Libya’s desert, a genuine tragedy-and potential geopolitical trainwreck-is unfolding in Bahrain.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27832.htm

How The Senate Was Bait And Switched Into War
By Conn Carroll
Did the president go to war without any approval from the Senate, as Sen. Paul says? Or did the Senate approve the president’s use of military force, as Secretary Clinton claims?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27829.htm

I Want My Al Jazeera
By Naomi Wolf
Unless Americans see the images and narratives that shape how others see us, the US will not be able to overcome its reputation as the world’s half-blind bully.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27830.htm

Why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Will Be Tried In Guantánamo
By Karen Greenberg
US Congress’s blocking of a civilian trial for the alleged 9/11 planner means just one thing: politics has trumped justice.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27833.htm

Budget Deal Would Give Pentagon Extra Funds
In Exchange For Social Program Cuts
By Ryan Grim
The confines of the budget negotiations established by the two parties results in a system where every extra dollar going to military spending ends up being offset by a dollar reduction in spending on domestic social programs.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27831.htm

Do You Think the Poor are Lazy?
By Anat Shenker-Osorio
Even if you said ‘No,’ the way we talk about wealth assigns moral superiority to the rich. Terms like ‘the wealth gap’ obscure basic truths about inequality, casting it as a natural economic function. Inequality is really a barrier made to keep others out. We can dismantle it, starting with our words.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27834.htm

Most Say it is Time for Someone New as President
By Zobgy
38% say Obama deserves to be re-elected and 55% say it is time for someone new.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27835.htm

Lifting the Veil
Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy
Video
This film explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the “graveyard of social movements”, the massive influence of corporate finance in elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27665.htm

Bishop: 8 more civilians killed in Libya; hundreds of thousands flee:
Eight civilians, “mostly women and children,” were killed by “bombs released by the international forces” on April 1, according to Bishop Giovanni Martinelli.
bit.ly/ecMKOB

Libya: At least 5 killed in Misrata shelling:
At least five people were killed when forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi shelled a residential area in the besieged city of Misrata late on Monday, a doctor said.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4052171,00.html

Demonizing Gadhafi’?
International Criminal Court: Gadhafi planned civilian killings:
The international court’s prosecutor said there is evidence that Gadhafi’s government planned to put down anti-government protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out.
bit.ly/gvA8Ho

Gaddafi forces take Brega:
Rebel forces retreat over 20km east towards Ajdabiya, as Gaddafi troops mount fresh offensive to take key oil town.
english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201145115121209216.html

Libya says ready for reforms but Gaddafi must stay:
“What kind of political system is implemented in the country? This is negotiable, we can talk about it,” government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told journalists. “We can have anything, elections, referendums.”
www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/05/144246.html

Libya “Rebels” Prepare to Export Oil:
The European Union’s embargo on Libyan oil and gas exports only targets the Qaddafi regime, Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, told reporters in Brussels today
buswk.co/fryLh6

Italy recognises Libya’s “rebel” National Council:
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the recognition would be “formal… as France and Qatar have already done”.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12961032

UK will supply equipment to Libyan “rebels”, says Hague:
Mr Hague said the Foreign Office had spent Sunday trying to contact “rebel” leaders in Benghazi, but failed to do so because of problems with telephone lines.
www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0405/1224293869785.html

Nine people killed in Iraq attacks:
Nine people were killed in two separate attacks in Iraq on Tuesday, according to police sources.
bit.ly/gA5ZwS

Iraqi Christians demand an autonomous region:
Iraqi MPs representing their Christians constituency see their demand as reasonable after the continuous marginalization of their community who were caught between Shiite-Sunni cross-fire ever since the U.S. 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.
www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/05/144308.html

NATO occupation forces kill six civilians in north – Afghan official :
NATO troops killed six civilians during a night raid on a house in northern Afghanistan’s Sar-e Pul province late, the provincial governor told Reuters.
yhoo.it/gQD8LF

How much did YOU pay for war this year? :
Ever wonder how much you paid to fund the war? Use the Afghanistan War Tax Calculator to find out. We’ll give you an I.O.U. for what you paid that you can forward to your Member of Congress. Ask for your money back!
rethinkafghanistan.com/iou/

Yemen: Three killed in Sanaa clashes:
New fighting has flared in Yemen between tribesmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and soldiers backing anti-government protesters.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12976208

Yemen opposition appeals for international help:
Opposition parties in Yemen have urged the international community, regional powers and human rights groups to help stop the bloodshed in their country.
bit.ly/fPcclY

Two Syrian police killed by gunmen – state TV: –
Two Syrian policemen were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the province of rural Damascus around the Syrian capital, state television said on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/syria-police-idUSLDE7341YC20110405

Syrian protest town ‘holds general strike’: –
The southern Syrian town of Daraa, the centre of pro-democracy protests, was hit by a general strike on Tuesday and braced for fresh rallies after midday prayers, a rights activist said.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110405/wl_mideast_afp/syriapoliticsunrestdaraa

Amid ongoing protests, Syria opposition says Assad wants talks:
Anti-government activists say they are ready to take up the offer for talks, provided ‘it is serious, and not to buy time.’
bit.ly/gt105n

Bahrain firms fire hundreds of strikers in crackdown:
Bahraini firms have fired hundreds of mostly Shi’ite workers who went on strike to support pro-democracy protesters, part of a government crackdown, an opposition group said on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/bahrain-idUSLDE7340DA20110405?rpc=401

Fighting dies down amid rumours of Gbagbo surrender:
A dpa correspondent in Abidjan said was there was sporadic artillery fire coming from near the presidential palace in the morning, but that had stopped by early afternoon.
bit.ly/eLe3io

Two Gazans hit by Israeli fire:
It was not immediately clear how badly they were injured as the ambulance service was being prevented from reaching them, medics said.
bit.ly/dLlNW4

‘US firmly opposed to PA seeking statehood in UN’:
The US is firmly opposed to Palestinians pursuing a unilateral declaration of statehood through the UN, the top White House Middle East adviser said Monday.
www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=215134

Yada yada yada:
U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ about illegal Israel “settlement” expansion:
The prospect of increased settlement building in the West Bank prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a statement Monday saying that “the United States is deeply concerned by continuing Israeli actions with respect to settlement construction.”
bit.ly/eLDc6q

‘Israel breaks demolition record’:
The United Nations has warned that the demolition of the Palestinian residences by Israelis has been breaking the record for the past three months.
www.presstv.ir/detail/172898.html

ElBaradei Threatens Israel over Gaza:
Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei would go to war against Israel if Israel goes after terrorists in Gaza, according to an interview ElBaradei gave to the Egyptian news site Al-Watan. “If Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime,” he said.
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/207810

Goldstone gets reversal payoff:
Goldstone accepts Israeli invitation, will retract report :
Israel’s Interior Minister says South African jurist Richard Goldstone has accepted an invitation to visit Israel and promised to work to nullify his United Nations report accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians during its offensive in the Gaza Strip two years ago.
bit.ly/dQzU3L

Ashrawi: We will prosecute crimes against Palestinians:
“We deplore this retreat and view it as a grave matter. We are used to retreats from the side of politicians, media personalities and others due to pressure. Israel’s pressure on a human rights defender, however, is unacceptable.”
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375570

Gaza: the Stain Remains on Israel’s War Record: Human Rights Watch :
In seven cases, for example, Israeli troops killed a total of 11 Palestinian civilians who had been waving white flags to signal their civilian status. In six other cases, Israeli drone operators fired on and killed a total of 29 Palestinian civilians,
www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/gaza-stain-remains-israels-war-record

A Morning at an Israeli Checkpoint:
We are Jewish, and began to weep. How was it possible that our own people, who have gone through such suffering, can inflict this ordeal, intended to humiliate and intimidate another people?
www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/opinion/31iht-edsalomon31.html?_r=1

7.5 million times legal limit of iodine found in seawater:
The operator of a damaged Japanese nuclear power station said Tuesday it detected 7.5 million times the legal limit of radioactive iodine in seawater collected near a cracked concrete pit at the plant.
bit.ly/eqEJb1

FBI questioning US Libyans: report:
The FBI is questioning Libyans living in the United States in a bid to identify spies or agents, and obtain information useful for the allied campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
bit.ly/iisnSX

Ecuador demands U.S. envoy leave over Wikileaks:
Ecuador said on Tuesday it had declared the U.S. ambassador to the country “persona non grata,” demanding the envoy leave over U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reporting alleged police corruption.
reut.rs/epQmx1

Assange: “WikiLeaks is the intelligence agency of the people”:
The WikiLeaks chief discusses radical journalism and WikiLeaks’s main threat in an exclusive New Statesman essay.
bit.ly/e6tNM8

The real story behind US job creation:
The average rate of job growth over the last three months has been just 160,000. At that pace, we won’t get back to normal rates of unemployment until after 2022.
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/05/usemployment-usa

Geithner Says Failure to Raise Debt Limit Risks Causing `Severe Hardship’:
“You will shake the basic foundations of the entire global financial system,” Geithner told a Senate subcommittee today. “I’m totally confident that Congress will act to avoid that.” It would be “inconceivable” that lawmakers will not act in time, he said.
bloom.bg/eLkhCn

GOP plans $1 trillion Medicaid cut:
House Republicans are planning to cut roughly $1 trillion over 10 years from Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled
bit.ly/gPVCtG

Mortgage mess: Who really owns your mortgage?:
Do you know who really owns your mortgage? That question has become a nightmare for many homeowners since the invention of mortgage-backed securities. Yes, those were the exotic investments that sparked the financial collapse in this country. And the’re still causing problems.
www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20049744-10391709.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: 4,761
icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,394

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
$1,175,822,753,431
www.costofwar.com/