The New Dark Age

28 June 2011 — Information Clearing House

Disgusting, Depraved And Illegal: Petraeus Says Torture an Option for US
By Ken Dilanian
David Petraeus, Barack Obama’s choice to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, says the US should consider using special interrogation techniques when a captive is withholding information that is immediately needed to save lives.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28410.htm

Why Petraeus is Wrong (and Stupid) on Torture
Video
Special Comment: By Keith Olbermann.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28411.htm

A “Responsible End” in Afghanistan?
By Lawrence Davidson
While Obama may exit relatively gracefully from Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be no “responsible end” to disastrous foreign adventures. Our lobby driven “interests” will demand it.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28413.htm

Pakistan’s ‘Media Terrorists’
By Ghani Jafar
The electronic media space of Pakistan is becoming their Master’s Voice. A la CNN and Fox News, they have employed half-literate, attractive young females to keep male viewers glued to the screens.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28418.htm

Rumors of US Plans for Libya, Syria Cause Concern
By Nick Amies
Among the rumors circulating of US plans for expanded military operations in Libya and a possible intervention in Syria lie certain truths which are cause for concern – despite the dismissals of analysts.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28420.htm

Cash and Cyberware on the US Offensive
By RT
After the State Department announced its new programs aimed at spreading democracy around the world, some activists say the US is fostering regime change in countries not aligned with American foreign policy goals.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28421.htm

Making the World Safe for Hypocrisy
By Michael Parenti
American intervention may seem “wrongheaded” but, in fact, it is fairly consistent and horribly successful.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28423.htm

Wikileaks: US Embassy Cables :Haiti:
Exposed: U.S. Suppression of Min. Wage and Elite’s Private Army
By Democracy Now!
The Nation magazine and the Haitian weekly, Haïti Liberté, exposes new details on how Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Levi’s worked with the United States to block an increase in the minimum wage in the hemisphere’s poorest nation.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28412.htm

America’s Role in This Greek Tragedy
By Mark Weisbrot
Greece faces unacceptable conditions for a new bailout. If it defaults, the US had better be ready for the economic shock.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28414.htm

Can The Fed Stop Quantitative Easing?
By Paul Craig Roberts
Can the Fed afford to sacrifice recovery, employment, and Obama’s reelection to save the dollar and price stability?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28417.htm

The Death of Newspapers
By Chris Hedges
Those who battle the corporate destruction of the ecosystem and seek to protect the remnants of our civil society must again take to the streets.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28416.htm

The Land of Unlimited Inequality
By Patrick Martin
The exclusion of the overwhelming majority of the American population from political influence reinforces their economic and social exploitation.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28415.htm

US Working and Middle Class: Solidarity or Competition in the Face of Crisis?
By James Petras
For most Americans, the fight today, to the extent that it exists is defensive – efforts to preserve the last vestiges of independent organization, to defend social security, health programs, affordable public education, pensions.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28419.htm

Welcome To USA
Journalists Arrested for Filming Public Meeting
By RTAmerica
Journalist Pete Tucker and Reason.tv producer Jim Epstein were arrested at a meeting of the D.C. Taxi Commission for taking pictures and recording the event.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28422.htm

US kills 26 people killed in Pakistan:
At least 26 people were killed in two U.S. drone strikes launched Monday in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of South Waziristan, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/28/c_13952835.htm

Pakistan orders Britain to withdraw military trainers from the country:
Pakistan has ordered Britain to withdraw some of its military training teams from the country, the British Embassy said Monday. The demand is likely related to fallout from the covert U.S. raid that “killed” Osama bin Laden last month.
http://wapo.st/iObOG6

Pakistan attacks Afghanistan on cross border raids:
The Pakistani Army on Monday rejected Afghanistan’s contention that it had fired hundreds of rockets into the Afghan territory killing many people, while launching a counter-attack blaming Kabul for failing to prevent cross-border raids that had killed 55 Pakistanis.
http://www.asianage.com/international/pakistan-attacks-afghanistan-cross-border-raids-848

32 Taliban, four soldiers perish in Afghanistan:
Meanwhile, two Spanish occupation force soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, and another three were injured
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?240822

Taliban shoot down US drone:
NATO says Taliban militants have shot down an unmanned aircraft belonging to US-led forces in the troubled northeastern Afghanistan.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186464.html

What has the war in Afghanistan really achieved?:
“The economy is increasingly dominated by a criminal oligarchy of politically connected businessmen”.
http://ind.pn/lE4DZk

Afghan central bank chief quits, flees to US:
Speaking in the United States, he says he is in danger because of a corruption scandal which brought down the privately owned Kabul Bank.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/28/3255351.htm

US drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan ‘shameful act of terrorism’: Iran:
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has lashed out at the United States for drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan that have allegedly have killed scores of civilians, saying that it has “a black record of terrorist behaviours.”
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/447481.php

2 U.S. occupation force troops killed in northern Iraq:
The U.S. military says two American troops have been killed in northern Iraq while conducting operations.
http://bit.ly/jkgh8R

Mehdi Army claims responsibility for missile attacks on US bases:
While it asserted that a number of Iraqi soldiers were killed and wounded in these operations, it vowed to launch further attacks.
http://bit.ly/m9qMvc

Three killed in northern Iraq car bomb blast:
Three civilians were killed on Monday in a car bomb blast targeting a police patrol in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a police source said.
http://bit.ly/koHRGV

War is a racket:
The Costs Of War: $20B In Air Conditioning:
The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion. That’s more than NASA’s budget. It’s more than BP has paid so far for damage during the Gulf oil spill.
http://n.pr/mcjg5x

Three killed in clashes between soldiers, tribesmen in north Yemen:
Continuing clashes between the Yemeni republican guards and anti-government armed tribesmen in north outskirts of Sanaa province on Monday left at least three people dead and three others injured, a tribal dignitary said.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7422869.html

Major protests in Yemen as nation awaits president’s address:
The president is due to make an official address to the nation within 48 hours. He is expected to speak about the transition of power, Reuters reports. According the British news agency’s source, there are two ways that may happen.
http://rt.com/news/major-protests-nation-president/

Libya says it intends to persecute NATO in international courts:
Libya intends to persecute NATO in international courts for the Western military alliance’s attempts to physically eliminate country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family, the Libyan Justice Ministry said in a statement.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110628/164879369.html

Libya Dismisses International Court Warrants for Gadhafi, 2 Top Aides:
Justice Minister Mohammad al-Gamudi said Monday that Libya does not accept the legitimacy of the court.
http://bit.ly/kXz9Gf

Patrick Cockburn: Don’t believe everything you see and read about Gaddafi:
Ever since the Libyan uprising started on 15 February, the foreign media have regurgitated stories of atrocities carried out by Gaddafi’s forces. It is now becoming clear that reputable human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been unable to find evidence for the worst of these.
http://ind.pn/mUDLyj

Zuma: NATO mission is to protect civilians, not assassinate Gaddafi:
South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday severely criticized the NATO mission in Libya and warned against assassinating leader Moamer Gaddafi, dpa reported.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1897178.html

US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier transits through Suez Canal:
US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier “USS Enterprise” weighing 93,000 tons passed through the Suez Canal on Friday on its way to the Mediterranean Sea to take part on Nato missions.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2176122&Language=en

USARAF Conducts Deployment Capability Training in Burundi:
The team was in Bujumbura to share best practices on deploying personnel and equipment via aircraft, and to enhance force projection capabilities of African militaries
http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6838?=0

Syrian dissidents allowed to meet in Damascus: –
Syria’s embattled government allowed about 200 activists and intellectuals, including some it had previously jailed, to hold a conference on democratic reform Monday at a Damascus hotel.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/27/syria.unrest/index.html

Turkey tells West it might launch offensive against Syria”:
Turkish officials have told Western countries that Turkey might launch a military operation in Syria’s north to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Monday.
http://bit.ly/j361hO

Former CIA officer questions EU motives in Syria:
EU and US intervention in Syria is designed to harm Iran and to protect Israel and Lebanese Christians, not Syrian people, according to Robert Baer, a retired CIA officer with experience of the region.
http://euobserver.com/9/32544

Hillary Clinton Gives Green Light For Israeli Attack On Gaza Flotilla:
In comments yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to lay the ground – indeed almost provide a green light – for an Israeli military attack on the upcoming Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which will include the US Boat to Gaza.
http://bit.ly/myDwXH

U.S., Israel escalate threats against flotilla, including U.S. citizens:
A co-founder of the right-wing blog RedState (and former Bush speechwriter) created a mini-controversy over the weekend when he issued a sociopathic endorsement of Israel’s possible shooting of his fellow unarmed citizens on a flotilla currently sailing to Gaza;
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/06/27/israel/index.html

Israel backs away from flotilla media threat:
Israel’s government press office had given warning on Sunday that journalists sailing on the flotilla could be barred from the country for up to a decade and have their equipment confiscated.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/2011627154637165607.html

Ethiopia to patrol Abyei peace:
The United Nations Security Council has passed an American resolution to authorize Ethiopia to station 42 hundred peacekeepers in the disputed oil rich Abyei region on the border between North and South Sudan.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/27/52473945.html

‘Eurozone on verge of economic collapse’:
Billionaire George Soros says Europe’s debt crisis has brought the eurozone to the brink of an “economic collapse” and inevitably some of its members will leave the union.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186494.html

Moody’s Warns Of “Severe Greek Bank Cash Shortage: Due To Accelerating Deposit Flight:
Today, Moody’s issued for the first time a very stark warning that should the rate of attrition in domestic deposits (and to see where these are going merely look at the daily EURCHF chart) persist, or accelerate, the results would be disastrous.
http://bit.ly/iJDlj9

Venezuela Leader Moves To End Health Rumours:
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has moved to end speculation that he is suffering from a serious illness, having not been seen in public for nearly two weeks
http://bit.ly/mxdmpw

Four Decades of Cruelty and Inhumanity to U.S. Political Prisoners:
The nation with the world’s highest incarceration rate and a justice system saturated with racism claims to have no political prisoners. In fact, scores have been held under cruel and unusual conditions for three and four decades.
http://blackagendareport.com/content/four-decades-cruelty-and-inhumanity-us-political-prisoners

Welcome to the USA:
Elderly woman asked to remove adult diaper during TSA search:
A woman has filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her elderly mother was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport last weekend.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/mother-41324-search-adult.html

US Justice?
CEO Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for 3 Billion Fraud:
Sean Ragland, 37, a former senior financial analyst at Taylor Bean who also pleaded guilty to the fraud, was sentenced today to three months in prison.
http://bloom.bg/iZGdmb

US Justice?
Homeless man gets 15 years for stealing $100:
A homeless man robbed a Louisiana bank and took a $100 bill. After feeling remorseful, he surrendered to police the next day. The judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/265402

Outcry in America as pregnant women who lose babies face murder charges:
Rennie Gibbs is accused of murder, but the crime she is alleged to have committed does not sound like an ordinary killing. Yet she faces life in prison in Mississippi over the death of her unborn child.
http://bit.ly/il31uD

Feds approve firm that dishes dirt on job applicants:
How anything you’ve EVER said on the internet could be seen by prospective employers
http://bit.ly/ihk2l4

Tampa Bay retiree comes home to find all his belongings gone after bank forecloses on WRONG house:
Eighty-two-year-old Benito Santiago Sr returned to Tampa from vacation in 2009, and found his residence padlocked, and his life’s possessions gone.
http://bit.ly/l9xC0i

Separate but Unequal Borrowers:
A proposed mortgage qualification rule could end home ownership as we know it.
http://www.otherwords.org/articles/separate_but_unequal_borrowers

Overworked America: 12 Charts that Will Make Your Blood Boil:
In the past 20 years, the US economy has grown nearly 60 percent. Oh, and meanwhile, corporate profits are up 20 percent.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/speedup-americans-working-harder-charts

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq “1,455,590”

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’s War On Iraq: 4,781
http://www.icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,554

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,212,951,498,889
http://www.costofwar.com/