19 May, 2011 — Information Clearing House

Ron Paul: We’ll Occupy Pakistan, Too
By JUANA SUMMERS
The helicopters that landed in Abbottabad won’t be the last to put American troops on the ground in Pakistan, says Rep. Ron Paul.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28130.htm

China ‘Asks USA To Respect Pak Sovereignty’
By Press Trust of India
China has “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China”, a media report claimed today.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28132.htm

The Illegal War in Libya
By Glenn Greenwald
That Congress acquiesces simply means — like Obama’s protection of Bush crimes — that the President will get away with this lawbreaking.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28134.htm

Imperial Secrecy
By Stephen M. Walt
Ever since Rome, imperial powers have discovered that it is hard to retain republican freedoms and limited government while conquering or dominating others, and the United States is no exception.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28131.htm

Inside Obama’s “Orwellian World”
Where Whistleblowing Has Become Espionage:
By Democracy Now!
National Security Agency whistleblower Thomas Drake faces 35 years in prison on espionage charges for alleged unauthorized “willful retention” of five classified documents.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28137.htm

Assassination Nation:
Are there any limits on President Obama’s license to kill?
By James Bovard
The Obama administration now claims a right to kill Americans without a trial, without notice, and without any chance for targets to legally object.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28133.htm

Imperialism: Bankers, Drug Wars and Genocide
By James Petras
While the Pentagon arms the Mexican government and the US Drug Enforcement Agency enforces the “military solution”, the biggest US banks receive, launder and transfer hundreds of billions of dollars to the drug lords’ accounts, who then buy modern arms, pay private armies of assassins and corrupt untold numbers of political and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28138.htm

Escaping the Matrix
Are you ready for the red pill?
By Richard K. Moore
The defining dramatic moment in the film The Matrix occurs just after Morpheus invites Neo to choose between a red pill and a blue pill. The red pill promises “the truth, nothing more.” Neo takes the red pill and awakes to reality—something utterly different from anything Neo, or the audience, could have expected.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28139.htm

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Was Tying to Torpedo the Dollar
By Mike Whitney
He could be guilty. But he deserves a fair trial, and someone’s making damn sure he doesn’t get one.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28135.htm

Text of Obama’s Speech on the Middle East
“A Moment of Opportunity”
By President Barack Obama
Here is the White House text of President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East, as prepared for delivery.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28136.htm

35 killed in Taliban attack on Afghanistan road company:
Taliban fighters attacked an Afghan road construction company before dawn Thursday, triggering gunbattles that killed 35 people and wounded another 20 in the worst single attack in months.
bit.ly/je1OOX

25 Afghan police officers killed by Taliban in Jalalabad:
As many as 25 police officers were killed Wednesday when Hafiz Shahidullah, a Mujahid of the Islamic Emirate and a resident of this provinces Khogyano district rammed his explosive-filled Corolla car into the a bus of the police Academy at 04:00 pm in Jalalabad city
bit.ly/liZM2Q

Pakistan: Chechens killed in Quetta were unarmed: witnesses: :
While police and other law enforcement agencies’ investigators are silent about the killing on Tuesday of five Chechen suspects, witnesses say they were unarmed, had not put up any resistance and appeared ready to surrender.
www.dawn.com/2011/05/19/chechens-killed-in-quetta-were-unarmed-witnesses.html

Bin Laden raid was humiliating to Pakistanis, Gates and Mullen say:
“If I were in Pakistani shoes, I would say I’ve already paid a price. I’ve been humiliated. I’ve been shown that the Americans can come in here and do this with impunity,” Gates told reporters
www.dawn.com/2011/05/19/chechens-killed-in-quetta-were-unarmed-witnesses.html

US will not repeat Abbottabad-like act, says Gilani:
The prime minister, was quick to state that Pakistan will not accept any dictates from the US and take all decisions in accordance with the national interest.
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011519story_19-5-2011_pg7_27

China vows lasting support for troubled Pakistan:
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao assured his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani of China’s “all-weather friendship” on Wednesday, during a visit that sharply contrasted with anger between Washington and Islamabad.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110518/india_nm/india570988

Bomb attacks on north Iraq police kill 27:
A spate of bomb attacks against police in the disputed northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk on Thursday killed at least 27 people, the worst violence to hit Iraq in nearly two months.
uk.news.yahoo.com/bomb-attacks-north-iraq-police-kill-27-085138563.html

Mahdi Army plans show of strength in Baghdad:
Thousands of Shiite militia loyalists will take to the streets of Baghdad next week in a show of strength aimed at reminding Washington that war will resume if US forces remain beyond the end of the year.
bit.ly/lwFx2K

Fourteen killed in Somali market: –
Shells fired in battles between insurgent militant Islamists and African Union forces at a Mogadishu market on Wednesday left at least 14 civilians dead, witnesses said.
www.iol.co.za/news/africa/fourteen-killed-in-somali-market-1.1070745

US senators challenge Obama on Libya:
Conservative Republicans Rand Paul, Jim DeMint, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Tom Coburn, and John Cornyn wrote a letter to Obama charging that he had committed US forces “without regard to, or compliance with” the War Powers Act.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110518/pl_afp/libyaconflictuslawcongress

Tripoli demonstration backs Gaddafi:
The Tripoli demo came the day after the Libyan leader’s forces intensified their campaign to take strategic heights in a western mountain range and targeted a road that many people have used to flee the fighting.
www.eecho.ie/news/world/tripoli-demonstration-backs-gaddafi-505605.html

Tunisia denies Gadhafi wife, daughter in country:
Pan-Arab television channels quote the Tunisian Interior Ministry as denying that the wife and daughter of Muammar Gadhafi crossed into Tunisia several days ago.
bit.ly/jBvgPQ

Fact or fiction?
Libyan Rebels Signed 30-Year Israel Military Base Contract With Israel?:
The document – reveals the contents of the agreement signed between Israel and the National Transition Council of Libya in Benghazi, which consists of creating a military base on the Libyan border, while Israel supported the Libyan opposition by providing weapons, making pressure on European countries to recognize the CNT and training the members of the opposition in order to prepare a strong army.
www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/6564.html

In case you missed it:
Libya fake Twitter ID explosion part of ‘cyber war for democracy’? :
America is conducting a cyber-war in a bid to direct the spread of the pro-democracy movement. But as RT’s Gayane Chichakyan reports, U.S intentions could easily backfire.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxlixI6jJEs&feature=player_embedded

Russia ‘to oppose use of force against Syria’:
President Medvedev comes out against any UN move to authorise use of force, saying Syria must settle own affairs.
english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/05/201151812340492298.html

Syrian Source: Sanctions Serve Israel:
A senior Syrian official told Syrian state television on Thursday that United States sanctions against President Bashar Al-Assad and senior members of his regime were, essentially, aimed at the Syrian people and serve the interest of Israel.
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/210870

Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel:
Jewish donors and fund-raisers are warning the Obama re-election campaign that the president is at risk of losing financial support because of concerns about his handling of Israel.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576331661918527154.html

Nakba day: we waited 63 years for this:
The remarkable bravery of refugees on Nakba day was the first act of a Palestinian summer
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/19/nakba-day-palestinian-summer

Russia: Israel’s military attaché arrested while receiving secret information:
Colonel Vadim Leiderman was expelled by Russia after he was accused of espionage.
bit.ly/jdcVYk

Yemen crisis deal collapses despite U.S. pressure:
Last-minute diplomatic wrangling has derailed a deal on a transition of power in Yemen despite growing U.S. pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to agree to the Gulf-brokered plan and relinquish power.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/19/us-yemen-deal-idUSTRE74H26N20110519?rpc=401

Osama bin Laden tape praises Arab Spring uprisings:
Al-Qaeda has released an audio recording by Osama bin Laden in which he lavished praise on the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and called for more “tyrants” to be toppled.
bit.ly/majNBi

U.S. Special Ops Building Satellites to Track Terrorists Everywhere:
An official with Special Ops revealed Wednesday that the U.S. recently launched mini-satellites that could clandestinely track high-value targets, like al-Qaida terrorists. “We sent up four satellites to demonstrate passing TTL [tagging, tracking, locating] data,”
bit.ly/jZmWPM

Afghan Guantanamo prisoner commits suicide, US military says:
An Afghan man being held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison camp in Cuba has been found dead, after apparently committing suicide, the US military said, DPA reported.
en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1878870.html

In case you missed it:
How I fought to survive Guantánamo:
For nearly six years, British resident Omar Deghayes was imprisoned in Guantánamo and subjected to such brutal torture that he lost the sight in one eye. But far from being broken, he fought back to retain his dignity and his sanity.
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/21/i-fought-to-survive-guantanamo

Veteran U.S. Diplomat: We Are Becoming the USSR:
Don’t expect to hear a topic like this discussed on your favorite cable news channel — or politicians seeking the Presidency, for that matter — any time soon.
bit.ly/kvF08h

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: hotel waited an hour to report alleged attack:
New York investigators are questioning why the Sofitel hotel in New York waited an hour to call police after Dominique Strauss-Kahn left the hotel on Saturday following an alleged sexual assault of a chambermaid.
bit.ly/kTHFcQ

Dominique Strauss-Kahn waives his extradition rights:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has waived his extradition rights and pledged to remain under 24-hour surveillance in a new attempt to be released from prison on bail.
bit.ly/laPF7d

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 : 2,463

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,196,560,348,751
www.costofwar.com/