The New Dark Age

12 February 2012 — Information Clearing House

Russia Says West Arming Syrian Rebels
Accuses West of being “Accomplices” in Violence
By David Blair
 “Western states that push the Syrian opposition into uncompromising measures, which arm them and give them advice and instructions, are accomplices in the process of inflaming the crisis,”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30500.htm

Kings and Ex-Colonial Powers “Championing” Democracy
By Prabir Purkayastha
No wonder that the US and other western countries rejected out of hand Russia’s amendments, one of which asked for democracy, not just in Syria but for all of Middle East.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30506.htm

Syria’s Uprising in Context
By Stephen Gowans
Syria remains too much like the socialist state the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party founders envisaged for it, and too little like a platform for increasing the profits of overseas banks, investors and corporations.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30511.htm

Syria as Tonkin Gulf for Attack on Iran?
By Daniel McAdams
News organizations and websites that have uncritically reported the atrocity stories from these “human rights” groups have helped set the stage for military action against Syria, and have been in fact part of the psychological preparation of the battlefield.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30501.htm

US Congress Pulsates With War Fever
By Eric Margolis
Iran is next on the chopping block if the US American-Israel Public Affairs Committee has its way.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30503.htm

Who is Threatening Whom?
45 US Bases Surround Iran
Map
Each star is a US base. But just to be clear, Iran is the one that is threatening US.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30504.htm

With Liberty and Justice for Some
Glenn Greenwald & Noam Chomsky – Video –
The United States has a two-tiered judicial system, one for the “haves”and one for the “have-nots.” Greenwald presents his thoughts in conversation with political theorist, Noam Chomsky at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30505.htm

Greece: Riots In Syntagma Square
Live Video Stream
GREEK police used tear gas on petrol bomb-throwing protesters outside parliament where lawmakers were debating a new austerity plan aimed at staving off bankruptcy.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30509.htm

‘Responsible Capitalism?’
Video Interview
Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm told Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman that capitalism was concerned only with growth and making profit, not responsibility.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30507.htm

5 Right-Wing Governors Gutting Schools to Fund Prisons,
Tax Breaks for the Rich…And a Bible Theme Park
By Sarah Jaffe
Here’s a look at five of the governors taking money away from their states’ kids, and a look at some of the things they are still funding.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30510.htm

Rick Santorum’s Plans For America
By Professor Lawrence Davidson
Santorum believes that religious values (at least his religious values) should play a large role in shaping government policies. For those not sure what this means, Santorum has a list of examples.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30508.htm

Arab bloc to request Syria peacekeeping force: The Arab League will ask the United Nations to form a joint peacekeeping force and appoint a special Arab envoy to try to halt the violence in Syria, members have agreed.
http://aje.me/zF5ttC

Former Jordan minister named as Arab League envoy to Syria: Al-Arabi, meanwhile, accepted the resignation of Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi as head of the League’s observer mission to Syria. No reason was given for the resignation.
http://bit.ly/xTxuUx

Turkey working to recognize Syria opposition as country’s official leaders: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is working to advance a conference of “Syrian friendly nations,” geared at recognizing the Syrian opposition as the country’s sole representative and as an alternative to Assad’s regime.
http://bit.ly/yysHYc

Russia Says Syrian Opposition Bears ‘Responsibility’ For Ending Crisis : The Russian Duma on February 10 passed a resolution calling for the UN Security Council not to take sides in Syria and declaring that Russia opposes any military interference in any country without the explicit sanction of the Security Council.
http://bit.ly/xANnXU

Jihadists, weapons ‘moving from Iraq to Syria’: Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria and arms are also sent across the border to opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Iraq‘s deputy interior minister said in an interview with AFP on Saturday.
http://bit.ly/yRQ44w

Fact or fiction:
Al-Qaeda behind Syria blasts: US: THE Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to reassert its potency, carried out two recent bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and was probably behind Friday’s suicide blasts that killed at least 28 people in the largest city, Aleppo, US officials said.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/alqaeda-behind-syria-blasts-us-20120211-1syc0.html

Al Qaeda leader backs Syrian rebels: In the eight-minute video, entitled “Onwards, Lions of Syria” and posted on an Islamist website, the Egyptian-born Zawahri also urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian rebels confronting Assad’s forces
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article574581.ece

Crimes in Syria committed by terrorists backed by Western and Arab countries; “These crimes were committed by terrorists, backed by Western and Arab countries which do not fulfill their international obligations and seek to undermine security of Syria and its citizens.”
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/340389.html

Russia urges AL to verify reports about foreign troops in Syria: Russia on Friday called on the Arab League (AL)’s monitoring mission in Syria to check on reports alleging that foreign troops were deployed in the Middle East country.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/11/c_131403876.htm

‘Foreign military presence in Syria raises ghost of Libya’: Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov spoke out following reports that a “foreign special task force” has been dispatched to Syria in an effort to provide assistance to the political opposition.
http://rt.com/politics/syria-russia-libya-duma-statement-975/

The UK’s Secret mission to Beat Assad? :
British efforts to help topple Colonel Gaddafi were not limited to air strikes. On the ground – and on the quiet – special forces soldiers were blending in with rebel fighters.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30502.htm

Gunmen kill senior Syrian official: Gunmen shot dead a senior Syrian military doctor outside his home in northern Damascus, the state news agency SANA said.
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/gunmen-kill-senior-syrian-official-4717100

Two killed in north Lebanon in clashes over Syria: –
Two people were killed and at least eight wounded in street battles in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, a security source said, during a second day of clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
http://bit.ly/A2HWLk

Presstitute alert::
In pictures: Syrian military ‘artillery deployment’: The US state department has published a series of satellite images showing what it says is proof of Syrian government attacks on residential areas.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16995725

Satellite Pictures Of Syria – No Artillery “Deployed”: The US State Department obviously knows what the pictures really show but is trying to use the lie of artillery deployment against the rebels as a pressure argument for military intervention.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/02/lying-with-pictures.html#more

Turkish diplomat: Iran is ready to cut a deal: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also criticized economic sanctions against Iran as ineffective and warned that any military strike against the country’s nuclear facilities would inflame the region while doing little to curb Iran‘s ambitions.
http://wapo.st/wgaNfK

Iran: War Drums Beating: The idea of an Islamic bomb exerts a peculiar fascination on American political culture and shines a searchlight on how the gross dysfunctionality of American politics emerges synergistically from the individual dysfunctions of its component parts:
http://huff.to/wqueQS

‘Israel funds MKO; MKO funds US politicians’?: “One of the most under-reported political stories of the last year is the devoted advocacy of numerous prominent American political figures on behalf of an Iranian group long formally designated as a Terrorist organization under US law,” Glenn Greenwald wrote on salon.com on Friday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226175.html

Israeli attack kills Palestinian in Gaza: Elderly man dies after being wounded during a series of Israeli airstrikes, Gaza medical sources say.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/02/20122129500759816.html

Hundreds in Israeli jails join hunger strike: Palestinian inmates join Khader Adnan, who has gone 56 days without food or water to protest his pre-trial detention.
http://aje.me/wUnUeN

For the sake of his dignity: After over 50 days of hunger strike against what he terms humiliating Shin Bet interrogation techniques, Khader Adnan’s health is deteriorating.
http://bit.ly/ze59wQ

Israel’s Mossad still using foreign passports in undercover operations: According to The Times, new evidence indicates that foreign nationals in Israel willingly allow the Mossad to use their passports in order to carry out undercover operations abroad.
http://bit.ly/wppOVz

83% of US public supports Obama’s killing people in Pakistan: Eighty-three per cent of those asked in the Washington Post/ABC News survey said they backed Obama’s use of unmanned drone aircraft against suspected militants in the tribal belt of Pakistan
http://bit.ly/zeZQ4l

Pakistan: US Plans Swoop On N-Bombs: THE United States military plans to seize Pakistan‘s nuclear weapons to keep them out of terrorist hands.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/234939/US-plans-swoop-on-N-bombs/

7 “Militants” Killed, 18 Detained in Afghan Operation: At least seven “militants” were killed and 18 others were captured in an operation by Afghan and Nato-led troops in the country in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said
http://bit.ly/xasSAF

Militants execute three men in south Yemen: “Islamist” militants in southern Yemen said they had executed three men on Sunday for giving the United States information used to carry out drone strikes in the area.
http://on.msnbc.com/yj9Ebx

Guatemalan president to propose legalizing drugs in Central America: “I want to bring this discussion to the table,” he said. “It wouldn’t be a crime to transport, to move drugs. It would all have to be regulated.”
http://wapo.st/xSVNul

Germany refuses to sign copyright treaty: Germany will not sign an international copyright treaty, despite having already agreed to it in principal, government sources in Berlin said Friday, after protests over its implications for internet users.
http://bit.ly/Ahn9uX

Greece: live video : Greece strikes against new cuts: live: A major demonstration is planned for Sunday in Athens to protest the harsh, new cutbacks agreed upon by the Greek cabinet to secure the country’s vital rescue loan program.
http://rt.com/on-air/greece–strikes-new-cuts/

Ireland: Shocking injustice of austerity taxes revealed: ‘Coping class’ paid three times more tax than in previous year as take for richest actually drops
http://bit.ly/wLngYe

Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate’s Income Inequality Hearing:
In another sign that Democrats have embraced income inequality as a cause célèbre, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on the subject today. The committee’s ranking Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, managed to look concerned during two hours of testimony about the kneecapping of the Middle Class.
http://bit.ly/zy27Wg