The New Dark Age

29 December 2011 — Information Clearing House

U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran
By Eli Lake
The Obama administration is trying to assure Israel privately that it would strike Iran militarily if Tehran’s nuclear program crosses certain “red lines” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30098.htm

Mossad chief: Nuclear Iran not Necessarily Existential Threat to Israel
By Barak Ravid
Tamir Pardo says, if Iran actually obtained nuclear weapons, it would not mean destruction of Israel. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30101.htm

Neither the U.S. Nor Israel Have Any Defense Capabilities Whatsoever . .
By Thomas DiLorenzo
And everyone in Iran is insane. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30102.htm

Obama Secretly Preparing Options for Aiding the Syrian Opposition
By Josh Rogin
Obama’s administration are quietly preparing options for how to assist the Syrian opposition, including gaming out the unlikely option of setting up a no-fly zone in Syria. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30099.htm

MSM News, 6 Months Late: “Obama Secretly Preparing for Syria Intervention”
By Sibel Edmonds
I think it is safe to assume that the media has been given a ‘green light’ by the White House and Pentagon to report on long-ongoing war preparations, aka ‘intervention’ plans, on Syria while making it sound as fresh-new-recent. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30105.htm

Spoiling for a Fight with Syria and Iran
By Stephen Lendman
Syria remains the region’s only independent secular state. Washington aims to replace its regime with a client one. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30107.htm

Israel Rejects Palestinians Offer to Renew Peace Talks
By Barak Ravid
The Palestinian leadership submitted a proposal to renew peace talks with with Israel that drops their long-standing demand that Israel ceases all West Bank settlement construction, a top Israeli official said on Wednesday. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30100.htm

Branding The “War on Terror”
Global Power Relationships Shift as Competition for Resources Intensifies
Lars Schall interviews Pepe Escobar
This is the cover story for a “Clash of Civilizations” and an undercover cold war that maybe becomes a hot war between the U.S. and the two strategic competitors, China and Russia. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30108.htm

Obama’s Global Murder, Inc.
By Joseph Kishore
A network of “targeted killing” machines is run in secrecy, behind the backs of the American people and with virtually no congressional oversight. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30103.htm

Mark the First Signs of an Indian Spring
By John Pilger
India’s ascent to “new world power” is both true and what Edward Bernays, the founder of public relations, called “false reality”. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30106.htm

The Future of Growing Old in America
By James Ridgeway
Seniors are seen as freeloaders – when many are poor or exploited. They deserve better. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30104.htm

Turkish attack kills 35 civilians in northern Iraq: Turkish warplanes launched air strikes against suspected Kurdish militants in northern Iraq near the Turkish border overnight, the military said on Thursday, but local officials said the attack killed 35 smugglers who were mistaken for guerrillas. http://bit.ly/vjUw4O

Red flags ahead of US weapons sales to Iraq:
The Obama administration is moving ahead with the sale of nearly $11 billion worth of arms and training for the Iraqi military despite concerns that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is seeking to consolidate authority, create a one-party Shiite-dominated state and abandon the American-backed power-sharing government. http://on.msnbc.com/tSQESJ

Arab observers visit more Syrian protest hubs: More bloodshed was reported as Army defectors killed at least four soldiers in the southern province of Daraa, two civilians were shot dead in Homs’ Baba Amro quarter, another in Hama and one during protests in Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday. http://bit.ly/sfsIJ8

US press undermining Arab League observer mission :
‘U.S. mulls ways to aid Syrian rebels’: Amid dwindling expectations the Arab League observer mission to Syria will end the savagery there, senior U.S. officials are reported to be quietly preparing options to help dissident groups seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. http://bit.ly/vVPDHl

10 Afghan Policemen Killed in Helmand Blast: At least ten Afghan policemen were killed in a roadside bomb blast in southern Helmand province on Thursday, local officials said. http://bit.ly/sT4rx6

Three Taliban killed in Afghanistan: Three suspected Taliban were killed and four detained as Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition troops launched a series of security operations across the country, said Afghan interior ministry Thursday. http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-136317.html

France Says Two of Its Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan: Two French soldiers were killed by “deliberate” shots from a member of the Afghan National Army, the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. http://buswk.co/sdp3Ut

Afghan fact-finding team says NATO killed civilians “for no reason”: An Afghan fact-finding team appointed by President Hamid Karzai on Saturday blamed NATO-led troops for what it said was the unnecessary killing of dozens of civilians http://bit.ly/uwCcJg

Afghan media centre: US cuts support after criticism of troops: The US embassy in Kabul this week cut off aid and called back its staff working at the Afghan Government Media and Information Center after a center press conference that criticized foreign troops over civilian casualties, center officials said Wednesday. http://bit.ly/vNeT3i

Afghanistan Blasts US for Striking Off Taliban Leader from Terror List: The office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai lambasted the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for removing the name of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar from the list of most wanted terrorists, and called on Washington to present explanation for such an unexpected action. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007279394

Pakistani death squads go after informants to U.S. drone program: The death squad shows up in uniform: black masks and tunics with the name of the group, Khorasan Mujahedin, scrawled across the back in Urdu. http://lat.ms/uy9CML

Doctor who exposed extra-judicial killing shot dead in Pak: A police surgeon who played a key role in exposing the extra-judicial killing of five foreigners was today shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, police said. http://bit.ly/uGD4C2

‘US to export all NATO cargo out of Pakistan’: Barely a month after Pakistan’s retaliatory decision to block Nato supplies for the coalition forces stationed in Afghanistan, the United States has decided to export all its cargo, including military hardware and arms, out of Pakistan. http://bit.ly/usa8LB

Engineering Consent For Attack On Iran? Official:
Gulf states ready to offset Iran oil: The Saudi oil ministry official told The Associated Press that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers were ready to step in if necessary. He did not say what other routes the Gulf nations could take to ship the oil if the strait was closed off. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/12/28/official-gulf-states-ready-to-offset-iran-oil/

‘Offsetting Iran oil, political bluff’: An Iranian lawmaker describes as “political bluff” the announcement of Persian Gulf states to compensate for the loss of Iran’s oil products if sanctions are imposed against the country. He added that any move to impose sanctions against the country’s oil industry will incur a massive retaliation from Tehran 
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218332.html

War Imminent in Straits of Hormuz? $200 a Barrel Oil?: President Obama is preparing to sign legislation that, if fully enforced, could impose harsh penalties on all customers for Iranian oil, with the explicit aim of severely impeding Iran’s ability to sell it. http://bit.ly/txvRJt

‘9/11 verdict on Iran mockery of justice’: A US court in Manhattan made a mockery of justice, issued a default judgment against Iran, and accused Tehran of being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218248.html

British Government’s appalling decision: Britain’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) has moved a step closer to total censorship of the British Media when it decided to remove the Iranian English-language news channel from the Sky platform. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218303.html

Iran’s battle for TV influence takes shape on Press TV: It is pro-Palestinian, anti-sanctions against Iran, and critical of Western – especially US and UK – foreign policy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16317282

Hamas forces ordered to cease attacks on Israeli targets, Palestinian sources say: Sources say Hamas leader Meshal issued order based on understandings between Palestinian President Abbas and Meshal during recent talks in Cairo. http://bit.ly/v0RRy1

Israel: Exercising the Right to Torture: In a case that has highlighted Israel’s abuse of Palestinian detainees, an Israeli military court recently acquitted a Palestinian man after it became clear that Israeli interrogators used excessive physical and psychological abuse as a way to coerce a confession from him. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106311

Israel must choose between settlements and peace: Israel witnessed an unstoppable wave of recognition for the state of Palestine on the 1967 border, with east Jerusalem as its capital. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=251329

Envoys worldwide feel brunt of Israel’s worsening image: In annual meeting 100 Israeli diplomats discuss influence of contentious domestic legislation on Israel’s diplomatic standing; Foreign Ministry indicates an erosion in ‘special relationship’ with U.S. http://bit.ly/tl2iDR

Israel’s useful idiot:
Ros-Lehtinen: Iran on ‘tour of tyrants’: –
A plan by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit allies in Latin America is a threat to U.S. national security interests, a U.S. lawmaker said. http://bit.ly/sSebac

Egypt police raid NGOs in foreign funds probe:
Police raided more than a dozen offices belonging to local and foreign rights groups on Thursday, as part of an investigation into alleged illicit foreign funding, an official statement said. At least two US rights groups — the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) — were targeted in the operation, judicial sources said. http://yhoo.it/sSgIJ6

Libyan society falling apart without anti-Gaddafi glue: As the immediate post-revolutionary excitement fades, the different factions of the former rebels are turning on each other in what may become a competition for power. http://rt.com/news/gaddafi-militia-society-unity-893/

Russia Slams U.S. for Its Human Rights Record in 90-Page Report: Offering examples such as the Guantanamo Bay prison and wrongful death row convictions to paint the U.S. as hypocritical for lecturing other nations on the subject of rights. http://fxn.ws/v6ocog

Moscow anti-government protest avoids crackdown:
The threat of a confrontation between anti-government protesters and police in Moscow dissipated Thursday evening as the demonstrators toned down their rally in partial compliance with authorities’ demands. http://bit.ly/urtO11

Venezuela’s Chavez: did U.S. give Latin American leaders cancer?: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speculated on Wednesday that the United States might have developed a way to give Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease. http://yhoo.it/ss2f18

Weekly U.S. jobless claims rise :
The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits rose by 15,000 last week to 381,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. http://bit.ly/swn71i

Cost Of war
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:
4,801

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,844

Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
 $1,286,740,397,451 http://www.costofwar.com/