17 May, 2011 — Information Clearing House

Israeli Media Reveals U.S. President’s Forthcoming Mideast Speech
By Xinhua
Obama To Call on Israel to Withdraw to the 1967 Borders. The president will label the West Bank settlements as “illegal” and emphasize that Israel must halt their construction. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28111.htm

The Long Overdue Palestinian State
By Mahmoud Abbas
We call on all friendly, peace-loving nations to join us in realizing our national aspirations by recognizing the State of Palestine on the 1967 border and by supporting its admission to the United Nations. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28112.htm

A Declaration of Empire
Proposed law would vastly expand boundaries of US military mission
By James Carroll
Washington is simply above the law. What would Americans make of pilotless drone attacks coming in from Mexico to target, say, drug kingpins holed up in mansions in the hills above San Diego? www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28115.htm

The Truth About ‘Civilized Transitions’
By William Bowles
“What about giving Gaddafi an exit strategy?” www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28118.htm

Rise of the Obamabots
Stifling Liberal Dissent Under Obama
By Ted Rall
There’s less room for a leftie during the Age of Obama than there was under Bush. I didn’t realize how besotted progressives were by Mr. Hopey Changey. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28113.htm

Can Americans Be Unplugged?
The ongoing bin Laden saga
By Paul Craig Roberts
Has anyone independent of Washington examined the alleged bin Laden diary and confirmed that it was in bin Laden’s handwriting? These kind of questions are the kind the media, back when we had one, used to ask. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28109.htm

Osama bin Laden’s Guns Found ‘Only After’ US Navy Seals Killed Him
By Declan Walsh in Islamabad
AP revelation fuels claims al-Qaida chief was illegally executed. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28117.htm

Bin Laden Raid:
Operation Was Not Successful – Eye Witness Claims:
By Gordon Duff
A Pakistan news agency reports that the bin Laden raid on Abbottabad was aborted because of a helicopter crash which killed several passengers, believed to be Pashtu speaking Americans. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28110.htm

Federal Audits Find 4 Biggest Banks Guilty of Fraud
By Shahien Nasiripour
The audits conclude that the banks effectively cheated taxpayers by presenting the Federal Housing Administration with false claims. www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28114.htm

No Expectation of Justice
Does Sarkozy Like Seeing France Get Dragged Through the Mud?
By Mike Whitney
What are the chances that Strauss-Kahn will get a fair trial now that he’s been blasted as a serial sex offender in about 3,000 articles and in all the televised news reports? www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28116.htm

21 bodies found in Iraq mass grave:
Hussein charged that the 21 were killed by US forces, who remain unpopular in Fallujah due to the assaults. “The black body-bags and the manner in which they were buried proves this,” he said. uk.news.yahoo.com/21-bodies-found-iraq-mass-grave-144311394.html

Three killed in separate incidents north of Baghdad: –
A woman was killed and two children injured after a cluster bomb exploded in the suburbs of Mosul, 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, security officials said Tuesday. bit.ly/jRGSCr

Prediction: The U.S. Stays in Iraq:
It is becoming almost certain that the U.S. succeed in forcing Iraq to “invite” thousands of American troops to stay indefinitely in the latest imperial outpost of the United States in the Arab world. tomhayden.com/home/prediction-the-us-stays-in-iraq.html

US kills 15 people in Pakistan: :
At least 15 people were killed in two separate United States- led drone attacks in Pakistan”s North Wazirstan Agency on Monday. www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-210942.html

Pakistan and NATO Forces Exchange Fire:
Pakistani ground troops opened fire on two NATO helicopters that invaded Pakistan’s airspace from Afghanistan early Tuesday morning, the Pakistani Army said in a statement. A firefight then briefly erupted between NATO forces and the troops, the statement said, and two Pakistani soldiers were wounded. www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/world/asia/18pakistan.html

Pakistan military protests after NATO incursion wounds soldiers:
NATO helicopters from Afghanistan intruded into northwest Pakistan Tuesday, wounding two soldiers, officials said, prompting a protest from the military news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110517/wl_nm/us_pakistan_nato

Pakistan swallows pride and takes the bribe:
US, Pakistan to cooperate on terror targets:
Pakistan promises to take immediate steps to show its seriousness in war on terror www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011517story_17-5-2011_pg1_1

Pakistan must refuse foreign aid: Nawaz:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief, Nawaz Sharif, said that it was time to “break the begging bowl” and Pakistan must refuse both foreign aid and avoid being dictated to ensure our national esteem and integrity. bit.ly/kdTSM7

Fact or fiction?
Bin Laden Often Had Visitors At Abbottabad Compound: Report:
Pakistani Taliban leaders sometimes visited with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, according to documents and computer files captured by U.S. officials. bit.ly/jsrmXu

Four U.S. troops killed in blast in Afghanistan:
Four American soldiers serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan died Monday in an explosion in the country’s south, NATO and a defense department official said, bringing home the human cost of the U.S.-led push into Taliban strongholds. www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/16/501364/main20063377.shtml

Two Yemeni soldiers, civilian killed in Al-Qaeda attack:
Two soldiers and a civilian were killed in an attack by Al-Qaeda on a checkpoint in eastern Yemen on Monday, a security source said. www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2167184&Language=en

WikiLeaks cables show that it was all about the oil:
The communication, part of the cache of State Department cables that WikiLeaks passed to McClatchy and other news organizations, is just one indication of how the U.S. government over the years has maneuvered to influence the world’s oil and natural gas markets. www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/16/114269/wikileaks-cables-show-oil-a-major.html

US Says Israel Right To Kill Unarmed Protesters:
White House spokesman Jay Carney expressed regret for the loss of life in confrontations on Israel’s frontiers with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday but said Israel “has the right to prevent unauthorized crossing at its borders.” bit.ly/jd1wEm

Israel was infiltrated, but no real borders were crossed:
The Syrians penetrated an area held by the State of Israel, but they did not cross the Israeli border. Nor did Palestinians from the Gaza Strip attempt to cross the Israeli border in the south. bit.ly/ioLzmD

Abbas honors 15 killed in marches declares three days of mourning::
“Their blood will not be spilled in vain, because their blood was spilled for the freedom and rights of our people,” he said. bo.st/iYdWwm

Photographer deliberately shot by Israeli soldier during Nakba Day protests:
Reporters Without Borders was told that Othman was clearly identifiable as a journalist at the time of the shooting and was deliberately targeted. en.rsf.org/palestinian-territories-photographer-deliberately-shot-by-17-05-2011,40293.html

Abbas urges UN: Recognize Palestinian state, pave way for legal action against Israel:
By recognizing a Palestinian state, Abbas wrote, “the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one.” bit.ly/m1Td2W

Former UN envoy: Israel’s international status at all-time low:
Discussing Palestinians’ expected declaration of statehood, Gabriela Shalev says Israel has ‘no chance’ of dealing with the move in the General Assembly. bit.ly/inuPGd

Gilad Atzmon: Israel’s Doomed Fate:
“There will be no return— time has come to tell Palestinian refugees they will not be returning to the State of Israel,” writes Nahum Barnea, a prominent Israeli ‘liberal’ columnist. www.gilad.co.uk/writings/gilad-atzmon-israels-doomed-fate.html

Syria denies mass grave allegation:
Syrian authorities yesterday denied the existence of a mass grave in the southern town of Daraa, which the army had raided to put down anti-regime protests, while acknowledging that the bodies of five people had been found. www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=186221

Suzanne Mubarak turns over $3 million to Egypt:
Former First Lady Suzanne Thabet Mubarak told prosecutors on Monday that she would turn over all her assets to Egypt. She said that she possessed only $3 million. english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/05/16/149360.html?

Mubarak to apologize to Egyptians and plead for amnesty, as prosecution imminent:
Mr. Mubarak was “drafting a letter which will be broadcast on Egyptian and Arabic channels, apologizing on behalf of himself and his family for any offence caused to the people.” He is also to apologize “for any behavior which may have stemmed from false information passed on to him by his advisers.” bit.ly/jKXwMJ

Iranian aid ships turned back from Bahrain:
Two ships carrying Iranian activists return to docks after facing “threats” from warships en route to Bahrain. english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011516212347351820.html

IMF chief ‘feared political opponent would pay a woman more than $1m to allege rape’:
Because he was the clear favourite to beat Mr Sarkozy, Strauss-Kahn feared he would be subjected to a smear campaign by the President and his Interior Minister, Glaude Gueant. bit.ly/lG8ty1

State Department Investigating Legality of Erik Prince’s UAE Private Army:
Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater private security company, is establishing a “counter-terrorism” force of up to 800 foreign mercenaries in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, The New York Times reported on Sunday. bit.ly/iMaQRN

Chinese, Mexican defense ministers hold talks on military cooperation:
China is willing to boost its military ties with Mexico and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he said.
news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-09/02/c_13475069.htm

Unchecked Executive War Power Could Slip Through the House:
Tucked inside the National Defense Authorization Act, being marked up by the House Armed Services Committee this week, is a hugely important provision that hasn’t been getting a lot of attention – a brand new authorization for a worldwide war.
bit.ly/juLz07

Court: No right to resist unlawful police entry:
People have no right to resist if police officers illegally enter their home, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a decision that overturns centuries of common law.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-police-unlawfulen,0,6950521.story

‘Sovereign citizen’ anti-government movement on the rise:
Byron Pitts reported on a group of Americans calling themselves “sovereign citizens” who don’t pay taxes, carry a driver’s license or hold a Social Security card. There are an estimated 300,000 sovereign citizens in the United States and some in the movement have grown increasingly violent. 
www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/sovereign-citizen-anti-government-movement-on-the-rise/

Stranger than fiction:
Secret Service interrogates Tacoma 7th grader:
The young boy was questioned by Secret Service for his Facebook posting.
bit.ly/kphJQQ

Healthcare Costs Double in Less than a Decade:
The cost of healthcare for a typical family of four enrolled in a preferred provider organization has more than doubled since 2002 — from $9,235 to $19,393, according to the 2011 Milliman Medical Index
www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/HealthPolicy/26440

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq “1,455,590″
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’s War On Iraq: 4,770
icasualties.org/oif/
Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,452

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,195,637,127,501 www.costofwar.com/