17 February 2013 — Information Clearing House
Mali, Algeria, Libya and the New Front Line In ‘Energy Diplomacy’
By Patrick Kane
The reality of the never-ending War on Terror is that it is integrally bound up with an imperialistic drive for resources.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33987.htm
War and Institutionalizing Abuse
By Lawrence Davidson
In the halls of Congress and confines of the Oval Office, the perception is that the U.S. is at war with an enemy called al-Qaeda. Is this actually the case or is the claim an exaggerated piece of propaganda that has conveniently captured the minds of leaders whose abuse of power has become institutionalized?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33990.htm
The Lonely Soldier and the Moral Scars of War
By James Jeffrey
Convenient arguments justifying killing legitimate enemies in the line of duty don’t hold up well for Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33989.htm
U.S. Drone Strikes Are ‘Terrorism’ : Medea Benjamin
Video
Juan Williams Grills Code Pink Founder For Saying U.S. Drone Strikes Are ‘Terrorism’
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33988.htm
Historic Case to Challenge BBC’s 9/11 Coverage
By Peter Drew
On February 25, in the small town of Horsham in the United Kingdom, there will be a rare and potentially groundbreaking opportunity for the 9/11 truth movement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33984.htm
“The Israelis Are Controlling Our Government”: Bill Maher
1 Minute Video
MAHER: Based on every statement I’ve heard out of any Republican in the last two years, the Israelis are controlling our government.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33981.htm
Israelis See Their Ownership of US Government in Jeopardy
By Dr. Kevin Barrett
On Friday, forty allegedly American Senators blocked Hagel’s nomination with a filibuster. Their message was loud and clear: “We are not United States Senators. We are Israeli Senators.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33986.htm
Millionaires Say They’re Better Off Than in 2007
By Robert Frank
Two thirds of millionaires believe the country is worse off than it was in 2007.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33985.htm
Fiscal Trouble Ahead for Most Future Retirees
By Michael A. Fletcher
For the first time since the New Deal, a majority of Americans are headed toward a retirement in which they will be financially worse off than their parents.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33983.htm
Smartphones To Collect Biometric Data
By Mick Meaney
We must ask ourselves; do we really trust the U.S. Government with the data it collects?: During the Iraq war, the U.S. Central Command gathered and kept the biometric information of three million people.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33991.htm
George Carlin – Freedom of Choice
Video
The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice … you don’t. You have no choice. You have owners.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33982.htm
Hard News
Pakistan: 84 killed in Quetta blast:
According to Afghan consulate officials in Quetta city of Pakistan at least 30 Afghan refugees were among those killed following a deadly bomb blast in Baluchistan province.
Pakistan bomb ‘a security failure’:
The governor of a province in south-western Pakistan where 81 people died in a massive bombing says security officials are too scared of retribution from terrorists to do their jobs.
Serial bombings leave 37 dead in Iraq:
Multiple car bombs exploded within minutes of each other as Iraqis were out shopping in and around Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 100 in mainly Shiite areas.
Four Turkish officers killed in Aleppo clashes: Report:
The Syrian website Syria Now reports that the corpses of the Turkish officers were identified among the militants killed in the Friday fighting in the al-Bab district of the flashpoint city.
Australia to investigate mysterious case of ‘Prisoner X’ Ben Zygier:
Australia will conduct its own investigation into the arrest, detention and death of Mossad agent Ben Zygier who died in an Israeli prison two years ago – and will ask Israeli officials to provide evidence.
Israel ‘implicates’ Australia in scandal:
The government source stressed that the Australian authorities were well aware that 34-year-old Ben Zygier was not “some backpacker who got lost trekking when his coffin was returned to Australia.”
http://rt.com/news/israel-australia-prisoner-x-361/
Message from Samer el Issawi, day 209 hunger strike:
“I draw my strength from my people, from all the free people in the world, from friends and the families of the prisoners who continue day and night chanting for freedom and an end to the occupation.”
Nine Arrested at Hancock Air Base for Opposing Reaper Drone War Crimes:
Hancock is the regional hub for the hunter/killer Reaper drone deployed over Afghanistan, Pakistan and, increasingly, elsewhere. This nonviolent civil resistance is the most recent in a series of actions at Hancock meant to expose and deter the Reaper war crimes originating there.
Feds execute another terror sting;
The FBI’s use of sting operations in terror cases has been sharply criticized by activists and scholars who claim law enforcement is helping individuals with mental problems and/or little individual perseverance pursue plots they would be unable or unlikely to complete on their own.
JFK secretly freed rapists, drug dealers and Mafia hitmen to kill Castro :
Claims criminals allowed on ‘crime sprees’ in US when not working for CIA
Obama proposes new visa for illegal immigrants:
President Obama‘s draft bill reportedly creates a ‘lawful prospective immigrant’ visa that allows illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years.
World Bank warns economic powers: Climate change is real:
The president of the World Bank on Saturday warned the finance chiefs of the world’s leading economic powers that global warming is a real risk to the planet and already affecting the world economy in unprecedented ways.
Climate Rally Draws “Line in the Sand” on Canadian Pipeline;
The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
Live Video – Forward On Climate Rally & March – Washington DC :
The Largest Climate Rally in History: February 17, 2013 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C
$1,728,477,000,000: Fed’s Holdings of U.S. Debt Hit Another Record:
The total debt of the federal government was $16,524,304,599,079.04. That included $11,668,602,027,147.93 in debt held by the public and $4,855,702,571,931.11 in intragovernmental debt, which is money the Treasury has taken out of government trust funds-such as the Social Security Trust Fund-and spent on other government programs.
Bernanke Says Economy Far From Recovering Full Strength:
“With unemployment at almost 8 percent, we are still far from the fully healthy and vibrant conditions that we would like to see,” Bernanke said today at a meeting in Moscow of his counterparts from the Group of 20.
Walmart VP Calls February Sales ‘Total Disaster’:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News.
Incomes Flat in Recovery, but Not for the 1%:
Incomes rose more than 11 percent for the top 1 percent of earners during the economic recovery, but not at all for everybody else, according to new data.
Facebook Paid No Income Taxes in 2012: Report:
Facebook didn’t pay any federal or state income taxes last year and will receive a hefty tax refund, according to a recent report.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100465000
Top Democrat Would Weigh Medicare Cuts as Part of Tax Deal:
Van Hollen predicted that $85 billion in spending cuts, called a “sequester,” scheduled to begin March 1 will take effect, at least temporarily, before Republicans agree on a compromise plan.
“Too Big to Fail has become Too Big for Trial”: Video –
Senator Elizabeth Warren asks federal bank regulators why no banks were taken to trial in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavB1lbtIow&feature=youtu.be
===
“Let us be peace and joy”
Tom Feeley
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: 4,883
Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 3,257
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,424,440,277,371
The New Dark Age 