25 March 2012— Information Clearing House
The Dangerous Mess in Syria Grows Murkier
By Eric Margolis
US, British and some European media keep depicting Syria‘s civil war as a simple passion play pitting the evil Asad regime in Damascus against mostly unarmed democratic protestors.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30908.htm
Robert Bales – Lone Nut or Scapegoat?
What are the Americans hiding?
By Justin Raimondo
The murder of 17 Afghan civilians – most of them children – by staff sergeant Robert Bales may be far worse than we think at present.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30906.htm
Robots Kill, But the Blood Is on Our Hands
By David Swanson
Torturing someone to death is not what former CIA General Counsel John Rizzo calls “clean.” Blowing them and anyone near them into little bits is “clean.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30912.htm
The Two Saddest Words In Any Language Are ‘If Only…’
By The White Rose Society
Why do you not act, why do you allow these men who are in power to rob you step by step, openly and in secret, of one set of your rights after another, until one day nothing, nothing at all will be left but a mechanized state system presided over by criminals and fools?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30911.htm
Incarceration Nation
By Fareed Zakaria
“Land of the Free” U.S. Jails More of its Citizens Than Any Other Nation, More Than Stalin.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30910.htm
Are Police Building a Massive DNA Database?
By Scott Lemieux
A new law permits police to get genetic samples from almost anyone convicted of any crime in New York state.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30909.htm
Dick Cheney Gets New Heart
By Bobbot
Dick got a heart transplant. At age 71. Did he shoot the donor himself or did he have someone else do it?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30907.htm
Pakistan: 16 killed in clashes: Fighting in Pakistan‘s northwestern region has left at least four soldiers and a dozen militants dead, a security official said.
U.S. Plans No Charges Over Deadly Strike in Pakistan: The United States military has decided that no service members will face disciplinary charges for their involvement in a NATO airstrike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers
Opposition to block NATO supplies restoration: Opposition to block NATO supplies restoration Islamabad-Opposition parties have vowed that they would block every move towards restoration of NATO supply. The opposition parties had a meeting at Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s residence in Islamabad.
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=146654
Blast kills 9 people in Afghanistan: One foreign soldier and Afghan police among nine killed by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province.
Three Nato-led Occupation Force Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan: An Isaf statement said that one of the soldiers died in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, another one in an insurgent attack in the west, and the third one as a result of a non-battle related injury in the east.
Robert Bales Took a One-Hour Killing Break: Officials: U.S. investigators now believe that Bales walked off his base that night and killed several people in one of the villages, then went back to the base. The American officials, who are privy to some details of the investigation, said they do not know why Bales returned, how long he stayed or what he did while there.
U.S. paid out $50,000 per death in Afghan massacre:
They were told that the money came from U.S. President Barack Obama, Mr. Lalai said.
Turkish forces kill 15 Kurdish women fighters: Female unit of Kurd separatist movement PKK wiped out by Turkish army in Bitlis province, interior ministry says.
Eight killed in clashes in southern Syria: Five Syrian army defectors and three government force members have died during clashes in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, a rights group said Sunday, dpa reported.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/2006615.html
Obama: Window for diplomatic solution to nuclear Iran is closing: U.S. President reiterates position on Iran nuclear issue after talks with Turkish PM Erdogan; remarks come week and a half after Russian daily reported that United States had asked Russia to deliver ultimatum to Iran.
Peretz: It would be better if US struck Iran: Former defense minister Amir Peretz said on Saturday that a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities would be better if the US carried it out instead of Israel. “We should prefer an outside actor does it because Israel doesn’t need to be confronted by the whole Muslim world,” Peretz said.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=263207
An Attack on Iran Would Be Illegal. What Does the Media Say?: The United Nations Charter outlaws the ‘threat of the use of force’, an act in which much of the media, in its uncritical stance towards government threats, has made itself complicit.
International Association of Democratic Lawyers Opposes Military Force Against Syria and Iran: The UN Charter commands that all Members settle their international disputes by peaceful means. Members must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state or in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. The Charter does not permit the use of military force under the pretext of humanitarian intervention.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/42169
Report: Israeli teams monitor Iran’s nuclear program on the ground:
he Sunday Times cites western intelligence sources as saying that special IDF forces are searching for ‘smoking gun’ evidence in Iran, disguised as Iranian military personnel.
‘Don’t attack Iran!’ Anti-war protests hit UK and Israel: UK activists from the ‘Stop the War Coalition’ have held a day of action to speak out against war with Iran. Protesters took to the streets of 15 major British cities. In Israel, hundreds marched in Tel Aviv protesting the war.
http://www.rt.com/news/iran–uk-war-protest-375/
Palestinian hunger striker ‘at risk of death’ highlights injustice of administrative detention: The Israeli authorities should immediately release a Palestinian detainee or charge her with a recognizable criminal offence and promptly try her, Amnesty International said amid fears that the woman could die in detention after 37 days on hunger strike.
French police question Merah alliance with al-Qaeda: Investigators in France have said a suggestion by gunman Mohamed Merah that he was linked to al-Qaeda may have been false. They have found no sign that the gunman was under the umbrella of al-Qaeda or any other militant terror group.
http://www.atlanticcitynews.net/story/204346590
French gunman’s brother under investigation: Prosecutors allege Abdelkader Merah helped his brother Mohammed carry out killings in Toulouse and Montauban and was also planning terror attacks himself.
US approves 1.3 billion dollars military aid to Egypt: Clinton waived conditions placed on the 1.3-billion-dollars of aid by Congress – that had insisted Egypt meet certain democratic reforms before being granted the funds – saying the move was in the United States’ national interest.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/2006382.html
Leader of Mali military coup trained in U.S.: Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, who led a renegade military faction that on Thursday deposed Mali’s democratically elected president, visited the United States several times to receive professional military education, including basic officer training, said Patrick Barnes, a U.S. Africa Command official based in Washington.
Libyan tribe closes border crossing with Egypt: The tribesmen seized control of the Libyan side of the Salloum crossing from the smugglers and former rebels late Friday, he said.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/2006553.html
Militia storms hotel in Libya after guest told to pay overdue bill: Armed militiamen stormed a Turkish-owned hotel in the Libyan capital Tripoli, firing shots and detaining its Turkish manager in a dispute over an unpaid bill, an employee said, highlighting the continuing volatility in the North African country.
Guatemala’s president urges debate on drug legalisation: “We have seen that the strategy that has been pursued in the fight against drug trafficking over the last 40 years has failed,” he said. “We have to look for new alternatives. We must end the myths, the taboos, and tell people you have to discuss it,” he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17502417
Policy For Sale: Tory sold access to Prime Minister, Sunday Times alleges: Secretly filmed footage apparently showed the Conservative Party co-treasurer offering access to the prime minister for a donation of £250,000 a year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17501618
Graft-tainted former Irish PM quits party: The tribunal found that Ahern failed to truthfully account for a total of 165,214.25 Irish punts ($262,000) passing through accounts connected with him.
Hate crime? Iraqi woman severely beaten in California: A woman from Iraq who was found beaten next to a threatening note saying “go back to your country, you terrorist.” has died, and police are investigating the possibility of a hate crime.
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 : 2,935
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,315,521,450,009
The New Dark Age 