7 July, 2011 – Information Clearing House

Libya and War Powers
By Ted Rall
The people of Libya, like those of Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan and Yemen and so on, are suffering privation and mutilation and death at the hands of NATO, which is nothing more than an American sock puppet.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28506.htm

On Flotillas and the Law
By Lawrence Davidson
The United States and Israeli governments have placed themselves above all law. That means not just international law, but selective domestic law as well.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28512.htm

Europe’s Neo Feudalism
Video By Max Keiser
Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, report on selling Greece’s sovereignty and Spain’s El Gordo. In the second half of the show, Max talks to economist Michael Hudson about the IMF assassins sent in to destroy the Greek economy.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28513.htm

Bradley Manning, American Hero
By Chase Madar
Four Reasons Why Pfc. Bradley Manning Deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Not a Prison Cell.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28505.htm

The Strange Silencing of Liberal America
By John Pilger
Obama’s greatest achievement is having seduced, co-opted and silenced much of liberal opinion in the US.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28504.htm

In Debt Talks, Obama Offers Social Security Cuts
By Lori Montgomery
President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28503.htm

It’s Time to Get Outraged
By Wendell Potter
If more Americans paid attention to the fate of neighbors and loved ones who have fallen victim to the cruel dysfunction of our health care system, they would see through the onslaught of lies and propaganda perpetrated by special interests profiting from the status quo.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28510.htm

If American Exceptionalism Were a Reality
Here’s What Life in America Would Be Like
By Michael Payne
Our students would be proficient in math and science, and would place very high in world academic rankings, far better than that of today where we rank 21st in math, 25th in mathematics and 15% in reading literacy among the industrialized nations.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28509.htm

Prison Inmates Do Jobs Previously Done By Union Workers
By FoxNow
Last June, the county took Racine inmates out of their jail cells and put them behind lawn movers.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28508.htm

Brzezinski Warns Inequality Could Lead to Unrest
By Eric W. Dolan
“I think we’re going to slide into intensified social conflicts, social hostility, some forms of radicalism, there is just going to be a sense that this is not a just society,”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28507.htm

Why Do the Police Have Tanks?
The Strange and Dangerous Militarization of the US Police Force
By Rania Khalek
The federal government has supplied local police departments with military uniforms, weaponry, vehicles, and training.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28511.htm

38 killed in fighting in east Afghanistan:
At least 33 police and five civilians were killed in fighting after Taliban attacked a remote region in eastern Afghanistan, an official told AFP.
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?241263

US attack kills 17 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children:
In the past 24 hours, foreign forces have killed at least 17 civilians across Afghanistan — many of them women and children.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/187969.html

Canada ends combat operations in Afghanistan:
Canada has formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan after years of being on the front lines of the fight against Taliban insurgents in the south.
http://bit.ly/nMUIdp

65 killed in three-day violence in Karachi:
At least 13 people were killed on Thursday afternoon when unknown gunmen fired at two buses in the city.
http://bit.ly/qq3DMQ

US attack kills dozens in Somalia:
Dozens of al-Shabab fighter have reportedly been killed after the US military used remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles to target their bases in southern Somalia.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/187978.html

Somali militants lift food aid ban amid starvation:
The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has announced it will allow aid organisations to resume operations in areas of the drought-stricken country it controls.
http://bit.ly/qGW7xz

Will the U.S. Stand By As Famine Looms in Somalia?:
Spanning across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, the current crisis could prove to be worse than the far better-known crisis in Ethiopia in the 1980s, which ultimately killed up to 1 million people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-konyndyk/famine-looms-in-somalia-w_b_890680.html

Two killed in suicide bomb attack in E Iraq:
Two policemen were killed and 19 people wounded, including four police officers, in a suicide car bomb attack targeted a convoy of a police commando chief in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source told Xinhua on Thursday
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7433023.html

2 US occupation force soldiers killed by Baghdad roadside bomb:
Two military officials said Thursday’s bomb at a checkpoint outside Victory Base Camp used armor-piercing explosives known as EFPs.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/2-us-soldiers-killed-1002289.html

US, Iraq negotiating post-2011 US occupation force: Mullen:
The United States and Iraq are discussing the possibility of keeping some American forces in the country beyond a deadline at the end of this year, the US military’s top officer said Thursday.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-iraq-negotiating-post-2011-us-force-mullen-171520558.html

Yemen president makes TV speech:
Yemeni state television has aired a recorded speech by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who said he supports dialogue and welcomes power sharing “within the constitution”.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201177143420256530.html

Yemen facing humanitarian crisis and needs urgent international aid says UN:
10,000 Yemeni families are not getting enough to eat because the political turmoil has driven up prices of food and fuel, cost people their jobs and crippled the country’s oil industry.
http://bit.ly/niPP0J

Libya: NATO intensifying bombing to aid rebel push:
A senior Libyan official Thursday accused NATO of intensifying its bombing campaign and backing foreign mercenaries to lay the groundwork for an advance by rebels trying to topple Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.
http://news.yahoo.com/libya-nato-intensifying-bombing-aid-rebel-push-013917291.html

Russia slams NATO war on Libya:
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has slammed NATO’s war on Libya, saying it has reached a “stalemate” and caused a large number of civilian deaths in the North African country.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/188038.html

Russia accuses NATO of hindering political process in Libya:
Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin on Wednesday accused NATO of undermining Libyan opposition efforts to start talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to local media reports.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/06/c_13969737.htm

In case you missed it:
Libya War A View From A Civilian In Tripoli :
No matter what the UN and US Military may think, you cannot bomb a government you can only bomb the people of that government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZt9j7RWsj0&feature=related

Half Of World’s Refugees Are Running From U.S. Wars:
Nearly one half of the world’s refugees are from Afghanistan and Iraq, 3.05 million and 1.68 million, respectively. But neither the United States nor much of the developed world bears the burden of the 10.55 million refugees. Instead, Pakistan, Iran, and Syria serve as the top host countries.
http://bit.ly/jBwiY3

Abbas postpones formation of unity government in bid to appease Western allies:
PA leaders fear unity government will derail efforts to win UN nod in September to establish Palestinian state.
http://bit.ly/pnawTF

House to warn Palestinians on UN statehood bid:
The US House of Representatives closed ranks Wednesday to warn the Palestinians that they risk cuts in US aid if they pursue UN recognition of a future state not defined in direct talks with Israel.
http://bit.ly/plPgDs

Netanyahu falls short of securing Bulgarian pledge against Palestinian UN bid:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday fell short of securing a commitment from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov that his country will oppose the Palestinian campaign for UN recognition of statehood in September.
http://bit.ly/q1FDpi

Israel deploys airport police to screen activists:
Israel deployed hundreds of extra police at its already heavily guarded international airport Thursday and asked European airlines to bar potential troublemakers from Tel Aviv-bound flights in anticipation of the arrival of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/israel-deploys-airport-police-1003215.html

United Nations accuses Israel of excessive force at “border”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused Israel of using excessive force in a May 15 incident by firing live ammunition at unarmed Lebanese demonstrators trying to breach a “border” fence.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-249757-united-nations-accuses-israel-of-excessive-force-at-border.html

UN to advise Israel to offer apology and pay compensation to Turkey:
A report that was prepared by a UN panel inquiry into the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla in May 2010 that killed nine civilians in international waters has advised Israel to cave into demands by Turkey — offer an apology and pay compensation for the normalization of bilateral relations.
http://bit.ly/nG09ef

Dozens Arrested Ahead of Syria ‘Reform’ Summit:
The latest development in the bloody events surrounding the city comes as leading politicians in the country prepare for a historic meeting in Damascus
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/dozens-arrested-ahead-of-syria-reform-summit/94635/

Lebanon lawmakers approve Hezbollah-backed government:
Western-backed coalition walks out of parliament after Hezbollah-run cabinet wins vote of confidence.
http://bit.ly/o2GSxN

Hillary Clinton reviews Spanish government and applauds their servility:
Rajoy reiterated to the representative of the empire his “entire priority” to the so-called “Common Position of the European Union,” a discriminatory policy against Cuba and its sovereignty that prevents the normalization of relations with Europe.
http://bit.ly/okVUCH

Captured Zeta Leader: We’ve purchased weapons from the “U.S. Government itself”:
Last March, the Mexican military raided a Zeta camp at Falcon Lake, where they seized several anti-aircraft shoulder missiles and other weapons.
http://bit.ly/qhh1hi

Obama seeks delay in execution of Mexican man:
US government says Texas authorities did not inform Mexican national of his right to consular assistance upon arrest.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/07/201176232251365358.html

Bradley Manning’s internet chats with Zach Antolak – the full text:
WikiLeaks suspect held series of conversations in 2009 that provide insights into his character and outlook
http://bit.ly/qcY2zm

BOA Buys Off US Justice System:
Bank of America shells out $8.5 billion to investors after “mortgage mishap”:
Bank of America, the nation’s biggest bank, agreed to pay $8.5 billion to resolve claims made by bondholders that the lenders sold troubled mortgage-backed securities that soured when the housing market tanked.
http://bit.ly/qqy3Ij

Russia, Iceland & Afghanistan Stand Alone
As The Only Nations With International Arrest Warrants Out For Bankers Who Committed Fraud
http://bit.ly/qEwmLV

Squeezed Irish Begged to Buy Fridges as Economy Needs Lift:
Irish retail sales are falling at more than twice the pace of the average in the euro region, after the government increased taxes and reduced salaries for state workers by 14 percent to help cope with Europe’s worst banking crisis
http://bloom.bg/omYCOM