11 March 2013 — Information Clearing House
US: Psychotic Superpower on a Hair-trigger
By Finian Cunningham
This unstable, lawless rogue state, armed to the teeth and deluded by its own self-righteousness, poses the greatest risk to world security.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34252.htm
How the US Public was Defrauded by the Hidden $ Cost of the Iraq War and Occupation
Even now, the US is paying billions to private contractors
By Michael Boyle
The Bush administration masked the cost of the war with deficit spending to ensure that the American people would not face up to its costs while President Bush was in office.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34251.htm
Lest We Forget
Britain’s Role In Shaping Iraq
By Patrick Cockburn
British leaders were blood-thirsty. After the revolt of 1920, TE Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – wrote to the London Observer to say: “It is odd that we do not use poison gas on these occasions.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article998.htm
Winston Churchill’s Secret Poison Gas Memo
By Winston S. Churchill
“I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article999.htm
Gulf States Buy Egyptian Riots
By Philip Giraldi
Is Saudi money undermining Cairo’s Morsi government?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34263.htm
Fact or Propaganda?
‘Abbas Was Ready to Compromise on Right of Return’
By Adiv Sterman
Abbas had told then-US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice that he would be willing to accept a deal wherein Israel would accept somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 refugees.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34250.htm
Inside Afghanistan’s ‘Appalling’ Refugee Camps
By Channel 4 News
After all the billions poured into the country in foreign aid during the west’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, even in the capital the conditions in the fifty or more mostly illegal refugee camps have to be seen to be believed.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34258.htm
Congress, Drones, and The Imperial Presidency
By Rep. Ron Paul
The administration’s outrageous response to the most serious Constitutional question of all – when a government can kill its own citizens – is clear evidence of an executive branch out of control.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34255.htm
The NYT and Obama Officials Collaborate to Prosecute Awlaki After he’s Executed
By Glenn Greenwald
A joint media-government attempt to justify the assassination of a US citizen ends up doing the opposite.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34256.htm
The Amazing Rise and Fall of Presumption Of Innocence
By Jan Wellmann & Noam Chomsky
It’s almost as if someone took Dr. Goebbels’ “The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed” -dictum and mutated it into a 21st century super weapon: “Tell the truth, but make it so shocking that no one wants to hear about it.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34253.htm
Satire
Poll: Majority of Americans Opposed to Being Killed by Drone
By Andy Borowitz
White House, spokesman Jay Carney tried to make the best of the poll results, telling reporters, “Look, people are afraid of getting killed by a drone. We get that. But there is still broad public support for drones killing somebody else.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34257.htm
The Crucifixion of Tomas Young
By Chris Hedges
“If I had known then what I know now,” Young said, “I would not have gone into the military.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34259.htm
1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security?
It’s Time For A National Conversation
By Ralph Benko
Buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammo and deploying armored personnel carriers runs contrary, in every way, to what “homeland security” really means.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34259.htm
Europe Should Let Irresponsible Banks Go Bankrupt: Iceland President
Video
“We didn’t follow the traditional prevailing orthodoxies. And the end result four years later is that Iceland is enjoying progress and recovery.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34260.htm
In Case You Missed It
Lifting the Veil: Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy
Video
This Documentary explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the “graveyard of social movements”, the massive influence of corporate finance in elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States, and the continuity and escalation of neocon policies under Obama.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27665.htm
20 Bodies found in Aleppo’s ‘river of martyrs’:
At least 20 bodies pulled out of River Quwaiq in Syrian city, most with their hands tied and gunshot wounds to the head.
14 people ‘killed by airstrikes’ in Syria: pro-rebel activists say:
The city of Raqqa, home to half a million people before the uprising, could be a test case for how rebels run areas they capture. The rebel groups are comprised largely of strongly conservative Muslims, some of them extremists, and videos released over the weekend indicate some fighters have killed captured soldiers.
At least three killed in Damascus mortar attack: SANA:
At least three civilians were killed and 28 others wounded on Monday when mortar shells slammed into a neighborhood in southern Damascus, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported.
U.S. Training Syrian Rebels In Jordan, Der Spiegel Reports:
Spiegel said it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but said some wore uniforms. The training focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.
West training Syrian rebels in Jordan:
According to European and Jordanian sources the western training in Jordan has been going on since last year and is focused on senior Syrian army officers who defected.
Suicide bomber, assailants kill 12 people, wound 36 in different parts of Iraq, officials say:
A suicide attacker drove his explosives-laden car on Monday into a police station in northern Iraq, killing five people, while attacks elsewhere in the country killed seven other Iraqis, including a candidate for local office, officials said.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq claims deadly attack on Syrian troops:
A militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it was behind the killing of 48 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi guards in Iraq last week.
Iranians suspected of smuggling parts for nuclear facility nabbed in coordinated sting:
Security forces in Germany and Turkey bust network that allegedly sought to obtain uranium refinement parts for Iran reactor
Fact or fiction?
Obama to Jewish Leaders: Stop ‘Chest-Beating’ over Iran:
President Barack Obama promised a group of Jewish leaders that he would stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons but said he’s refraining from “extra chest-beating” as he pursues a diplomatic solution.
Pro-Israel Irish cabinet minister set to arrive:
Ireland’s Justice, Equality and Defense Minister Alan Shatter, who has been characterized in Jerusalem as a “courageous supporter” of Israel inside Ireland, is scheduled to begin a five-day visit on Monday.
Saudi Arabia may stop public beheadings… due to a shortage of swordsmen:
The Gulf kingdom beheaded 69 people in 2012, says Human Rights Watch
Dawkins calls out Facebook’s “outrageous double-standard.” :
Facebook has long allowed a page which provides specific image instructions on to how to stone people to death according to God’s law.
5 Afghans and 2 U.S. occupation force troops killed in ‘insider attack’:
An Afghan police officer opened fire in a meeting Monday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least two members of the U.S. Special Operations forces and five Afghan troops and police officers, officials said.
Karzai accuses US and Taliban of double speak:
The bombings, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for, “were not to show [Taliban] prowess to the United States. They were in the service of the United States. They were in the service of the rhetoric of ‘2014’. It was meant to scare us, [to show] if they [foreign forces] are not here, ‘we will not leave you alone'”, Karzai said.
US dismisses Karzai’s accusations of Taliban terror collusion;
The US has denied that it is collaborating with Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan to prolong the stay of its forces beyond next year, refuting an accusation made by President Hamid Karzai in the wake of a series of suicide bombings.
Afghan Student Says Force Backed by C.I.A. Tortured Him:
The 29-year-old engineering student said two pickup trucks full of armed men pulled up. The men, said to be members of a C.I.A.-backed Afghan strike force, grabbed him, tied his hands behind his back, draped a black hood over his head and drove him to an undisclosed location where, the student says, he was beaten and whipped.
Yankee-go-home:
Afghan villagers threaten uprising if US special forces don’t leave:
Despite Karzai‘s orders, the American special operations forces remain in the province where dozens of villagers accuse them and their Afghan partners of intimidation through unprovoked beatings, mass arrests and forced detentions.
Pakistan: Bomb kills 3 soldiers in Kurram:
A Pakistani government official says a roadside bomb blast has killed three soldiers in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border.
Pakistan “defies” US with gas pipeline to Iran:
Construction of pipeline, intended to help Pakistan overcome its increasing energy needs, begins despite US opposition.
Egypt’s police go on strike, worsening security conditions:
Egyptian police in various governorates nationwide went on strike over the past few days, complaining recurrent bloody confrontations with anti-government protesters, rioters and sometimes outlaws when they are only allowed to use teargas bombs and water cannons in dealing with troublemakers.
Mubarak says Egyptians should support Morsi:
Toppled president Hosni Mubarak, awaiting trial over his role in the deaths of protesters, believes Egyptians should rally around his Islamist successor and end violent protests, his lawyer said yesterday.
Morsi children to lose U.S. citizenship?:
A lawsuit that seeks to force the children of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to give up their U.S. citizenship is under review in Cairo, officials said.
Egyptian Christian suspected of proselytizing dies in Libyan detention:
Atallah was among five Evangelical Christian Egyptians detained in Libya for allegedly proselytizing in the predominantly Muslim nation.
Libya: 50 Egyptian Christians seized by Islamist militias:
The video is startling enough: a room full of dozens of Egyptian Christians, lorded over by Libyan Islamist militiamen who have shaved their captives’ heads and are abusing them over the bibles and religious images sitting on the table in front of them.
Ansar al-Sharia returns to Benghazi:
On Sunday, March 3, four pickup trucks filled with Ansar al-Sharia militiamen pulled up at the European School in Benghazi. The men jumped out and stormed the school, saying that they were searching for teaching materials that they viewed as contradicting sharia law or the values of Libyan society.
Libya: Help needed after tribal clashes in Nafusa mountains:
Over the past three days, thousands of people have been displaced by tribal clashes in Libya‘s Nafusa mountains. In cooperation with the Libyan Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is delivering food, medicines and other essential aid to more than 3,000 people who fled their homes to seek refuge in nearby towns.
U.S. citizens warned over Libya travel:
The U.S. State Department’s latest travel warning for Libya still advises U.S. citizens “against all but essential travel to Tripoli and all travel to Benghazi,” citing ongoing instability and violence
3 French men accused in terrorist attack plot:
The three men appeared to be plotting an attack on an unspecified French target “in the coming days” and are facing preliminary terrorism charges
North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered:
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953
UN Says Korean War Armistice Still in Force:
Martin Nesirky said the 60-year-old armistice agreement had been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly and neither North Korea nor South Korea could dissolve it unilaterally.
Background on the 1953 armistice that North Korea has scrapped:
The Korean Peninsula has seen six decades of uncertainty, ever since the 1950-53 war between North and South ended with an armistice rather than a full peace treaty.
Venezuela’s Capriles joins race, tussles with Chavez heir:
Maduro accused Capriles of sowing hate. “You wretched loser!” Maduro said of Capriles in a televised speech. “You have shown your true face – that of a fascist.”
50 Truths about Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution:
Never in the history of Latin America, has a political leader had such incontestable democratic legitimacy. Since coming to power in 1999, there were 16 elections in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez won 15, the last on October 7, 2012. He defeated his rivals with a margin of 10-20 percentage points.
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/8133
Unprecedented Show of Support and Honor at the Historic Funeral of Hugo Chávez:
Though much of the major media has ignored this international show of recognition for the government of Hugo Chávez, these responses to his death are a clear affirmation of respect and acknowledgement for his legacy, from Latin America and around the world.
Repeal the Military Force Law: Editorial:
Mr. Bush used the authorization law as an excuse to kidnap hundreds of people – guilty and blameless people alike – and throw them into secret prisons where many were tortured.
10 companies profiting the most from war:
The business of war is profitable. In 2011, the 100 largest contractors sold $410 billion in arms and military services. Just 10 of those companies sold over $208 billion.
Police Brutality?! Undercover Cops Kill 16-Year-Old After Shooting Him 11 Times:
Several witnesses cast doubts on the official version of the incident:
Arizona Federal Court Limits Border Searches for Laptops, Cell Phones:
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Border Patrol agents must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before conducting comprehensive searches of laptops or other digital devices in what civil liberties activists are calling a significant victory for privacy rights.
Spain takes to streets in tens of thousands against unemployment, economic scandals (VIDEO, PHOTOS):
Tens of thousands of demonstrators are marching in dozens of Spanish cities to protest record unemployment rates and the government’s handling of the economic and corruption scandals. It comes just after Spain’s jobless figure hit the 5 million mark.
http://rt.com/news/spain-protest-austerity-unemployment-061/
Greek PM says no more austerity:
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Saturday promised his recession-weary nation that there would be “no more austerity measures” as international creditors prolonged an audit of crisis reforms.
Bank compensation up in 2012 despite cutback efforts:
Compensation at the world’s biggest banks rose last year, with 35 of them spending a combined 10 billion euros ($13.1 billion) more on staff than in 2011, figures compiled by Reuters show
US Companies Keeping Even More Money Offshore:
U.S. companies are keeping more of their profits offshore, choosing overseas tax havens amid talk in Washington about closing corporate tax loopholes. 60 big American companies have collectively parked a total of $166 billion offshore last year.
Alan Grayson, Florida Congressman: Replace Sequester Cuts With Ending Afghanistan War (VIDEO) :
“We’re facing a nine percent cut in the food stamps program, a nine percent cut in home heating oil programs, nine percent cut in civil aeronautics and we’d save the same amount of money if we simply ended the war in Afghanistan now,” Grayson told HuffPost Live host Alyona Minkovski.
The Rich Live Longer:
The tightening economic connection to longevity has profound implications for the simmering debate about trimming the nation’s entitlement programs.
Americans Given Up on Saving for Retirement?:
60% of preretirees believe health care costs will consume their savings no matter how much they save. Similarly, 39% believe investment returns won’t be high enough to provide decent retirement income regardless of how much they manage to put away.
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 : 3,261
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,431,713,032,910
US: Psychotic Superpower on a Hair-trigger
By Finian Cunningham
This unstable, lawless rogue state, armed to the teeth and deluded by its own self-righteousness, poses the greatest risk to world security.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34252.htm
How the US Public was Defrauded by the Hidden $ Cost of the Iraq War and Occupation
Even now, the US is paying billions to private contractors
By Michael Boyle
The Bush administration masked the cost of the war with deficit spending to ensure that the American people would not face up to its costs while President Bush was in office.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34251.htm
Lest We Forget
Britain’s Role In Shaping Iraq
By Patrick Cockburn
British leaders were blood-thirsty. After the revolt of 1920, TE Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – wrote to the London Observer to say: “It is odd that we do not use poison gas on these occasions.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article998.htm
Winston Churchill’s Secret Poison Gas Memo
By Winston S. Churchill
“I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article999.htm
Gulf States Buy Egyptian Riots
By Philip Giraldi
Is Saudi money undermining Cairo’s Morsi government?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34263.htm
Fact or Propaganda?
‘Abbas Was Ready to Compromise on Right of Return’
By Adiv Sterman
Abbas had told then-US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice that he would be willing to accept a deal wherein Israel would accept somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 refugees.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34250.htm
Inside Afghanistan’s ‘Appalling’ Refugee Camps
By Channel 4 News
After all the billions poured into the country in foreign aid during the west’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, even in the capital the conditions in the fifty or more mostly illegal refugee camps have to be seen to be believed.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34258.htm
Congress, Drones, and The Imperial Presidency
By Rep. Ron Paul
The administration’s outrageous response to the most serious Constitutional question of all – when a government can kill its own citizens – is clear evidence of an executive branch out of control.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34255.htm
The NYT and Obama Officials Collaborate to Prosecute Awlaki After he’s Executed
By Glenn Greenwald
A joint media-government attempt to justify the assassination of a US citizen ends up doing the opposite.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34256.htm
The Amazing Rise and Fall of Presumption Of Innocence
By Jan Wellmann & Noam Chomsky
It’s almost as if someone took Dr. Goebbels’ “The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed” -dictum and mutated it into a 21st century super weapon: “Tell the truth, but make it so shocking that no one wants to hear about it.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34253.htm
Satire
Poll: Majority of Americans Opposed to Being Killed by Drone
By Andy Borowitz
White House, spokesman Jay Carney tried to make the best of the poll results, telling reporters, “Look, people are afraid of getting killed by a drone. We get that. But there is still broad public support for drones killing somebody else.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34257.htm
The Crucifixion of Tomas Young
By Chris Hedges
“If I had known then what I know now,” Young said, “I would not have gone into the military.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34259.htm
1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security?
It’s Time For A National Conversation
By Ralph Benko
Buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammo and deploying armored personnel carriers runs contrary, in every way, to what “homeland security” really means.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34259.htm
Europe Should Let Irresponsible Banks Go Bankrupt: Iceland President
Video
“We didn’t follow the traditional prevailing orthodoxies. And the end result four years later is that Iceland is enjoying progress and recovery.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34260.htm
In Case You Missed It
Lifting the Veil: Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy
Video
This Documentary explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the “graveyard of social movements”, the massive influence of corporate finance in elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States, and the continuity and escalation of neocon policies under Obama.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27665.htm
Hard News
20 Bodies found in Aleppo’s ‘river of martyrs’:
At least 20 bodies pulled out of River Quwaiq in Syrian city, most with their hands tied and gunshot wounds to the head.
14 people ‘killed by airstrikes’ in Syria: pro-rebel activists say:
The city of Raqqa, home to half a million people before the uprising, could be a test case for how rebels run areas they capture. The rebel groups are comprised largely of strongly conservative Muslims, some of them extremists, and videos released over the weekend indicate some fighters have killed captured soldiers.
At least three killed in Damascus mortar attack: SANA:
At least three civilians were killed and 28 others wounded on Monday when mortar shells slammed into a neighborhood in southern Damascus, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported.
U.S. Training Syrian Rebels In Jordan, Der Spiegel Reports:
Spiegel said it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but said some wore uniforms. The training focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.
West training Syrian rebels in Jordan:
According to European and Jordanian sources the western training in Jordan has been going on since last year and is focused on senior Syrian army officers who defected.
Suicide bomber, assailants kill 12 people, wound 36 in different parts of Iraq, officials say:
A suicide attacker drove his explosives-laden car on Monday into a police station in northern Iraq, killing five people, while attacks elsewhere in the country killed seven other Iraqis, including a candidate for local office, officials said.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq claims deadly attack on Syrian troops:
A militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it was behind the killing of 48 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi guards in Iraq last week.
Iranians suspected of smuggling parts for nuclear facility nabbed in coordinated sting:
Security forces in Germany and Turkey bust network that allegedly sought to obtain uranium refinement parts for Iran reactor
Fact or fiction?
Obama to Jewish Leaders: Stop ‘Chest-Beating’ over Iran:
President Barack Obama promised a group of Jewish leaders that he would stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons but said he’s refraining from “extra chest-beating” as he pursues a diplomatic solution.
Pro-Israel Irish cabinet minister set to arrive:
Ireland’s Justice, Equality and Defense Minister Alan Shatter, who has been characterized in Jerusalem as a “courageous supporter” of Israel inside Ireland, is scheduled to begin a five-day visit on Monday.
Saudi Arabia may stop public beheadings… due to a shortage of swordsmen:
The Gulf kingdom beheaded 69 people in 2012, says Human Rights Watch
Dawkins calls out Facebook’s “outrageous double-standard.” :
Facebook has long allowed a page which provides specific image instructions on to how to stone people to death according to God’s law.
5 Afghans and 2 U.S. occupation force troops killed in ‘insider attack’:
An Afghan police officer opened fire in a meeting Monday in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least two members of the U.S. Special Operations forces and five Afghan troops and police officers, officials said.
Karzai accuses US and Taliban of double speak:
The bombings, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for, “were not to show [Taliban] prowess to the United States. They were in the service of the United States. They were in the service of the rhetoric of ‘2014’. It was meant to scare us, [to show] if they [foreign forces] are not here, ‘we will not leave you alone'”, Karzai said.
US dismisses Karzai’s accusations of Taliban terror collusion;
The US has denied that it is collaborating with Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan to prolong the stay of its forces beyond next year, refuting an accusation made by President Hamid Karzai in the wake of a series of suicide bombings.
Afghan Student Says Force Backed by C.I.A. Tortured Him:
The 29-year-old engineering student said two pickup trucks full of armed men pulled up. The men, said to be members of a C.I.A.-backed Afghan strike force, grabbed him, tied his hands behind his back, draped a black hood over his head and drove him to an undisclosed location where, the student says, he was beaten and whipped.
Yankee-go-home:
Afghan villagers threaten uprising if US special forces don’t leave:
Despite Karzai‘s orders, the American special operations forces remain in the province where dozens of villagers accuse them and their Afghan partners of intimidation through unprovoked beatings, mass arrests and forced detentions.
Pakistan: Bomb kills 3 soldiers in Kurram:
A Pakistani government official says a roadside bomb blast has killed three soldiers in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border.
Pakistan “defies” US with gas pipeline to Iran:
Construction of pipeline, intended to help Pakistan overcome its increasing energy needs, begins despite US opposition.
Egypt’s police go on strike, worsening security conditions:
Egyptian police in various governorates nationwide went on strike over the past few days, complaining recurrent bloody confrontations with anti-government protesters, rioters and sometimes outlaws when they are only allowed to use teargas bombs and water cannons in dealing with troublemakers.
Mubarak says Egyptians should support Morsi:
Toppled president Hosni Mubarak, awaiting trial over his role in the deaths of protesters, believes Egyptians should rally around his Islamist successor and end violent protests, his lawyer said yesterday.
Morsi children to lose U.S. citizenship?:
A lawsuit that seeks to force the children of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to give up their U.S. citizenship is under review in Cairo, officials said.
Egyptian Christian suspected of proselytizing dies in Libyan detention:
Atallah was among five Evangelical Christian Egyptians detained in Libya for allegedly proselytizing in the predominantly Muslim nation.
Libya: 50 Egyptian Christians seized by Islamist militias:
The video is startling enough: a room full of dozens of Egyptian Christians, lorded over by Libyan Islamist militiamen who have shaved their captives’ heads and are abusing them over the bibles and religious images sitting on the table in front of them.
Ansar al-Sharia returns to Benghazi:
On Sunday, March 3, four pickup trucks filled with Ansar al-Sharia militiamen pulled up at the European School in Benghazi. The men jumped out and stormed the school, saying that they were searching for teaching materials that they viewed as contradicting sharia law or the values of Libyan society.
Libya: Help needed after tribal clashes in Nafusa mountains:
Over the past three days, thousands of people have been displaced by tribal clashes in Libya‘s Nafusa mountains. In cooperation with the Libyan Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is delivering food, medicines and other essential aid to more than 3,000 people who fled their homes to seek refuge in nearby towns.
U.S. citizens warned over Libya travel:
The U.S. State Department’s latest travel warning for Libya still advises U.S. citizens “against all but essential travel to Tripoli and all travel to Benghazi,” citing ongoing instability and violence
3 French men accused in terrorist attack plot:
The three men appeared to be plotting an attack on an unspecified French target “in the coming days” and are facing preliminary terrorism charges
North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered:
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953
UN Says Korean War Armistice Still in Force:
Martin Nesirky said the 60-year-old armistice agreement had been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly and neither North Korea nor South Korea could dissolve it unilaterally.
Background on the 1953 armistice that North Korea has scrapped:
The Korean Peninsula has seen six decades of uncertainty, ever since the 1950-53 war between North and South ended with an armistice rather than a full peace treaty.
Venezuela’s Capriles joins race, tussles with Chavez heir:
Maduro accused Capriles of sowing hate. “You wretched loser!” Maduro said of Capriles in a televised speech. “You have shown your true face – that of a fascist.”
50 Truths about Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution:
Never in the history of Latin America, has a political leader had such incontestable democratic legitimacy. Since coming to power in 1999, there were 16 elections in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez won 15, the last on October 7, 2012. He defeated his rivals with a margin of 10-20 percentage points.
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/8133
Unprecedented Show of Support and Honor at the Historic Funeral of Hugo Chávez:
Though much of the major media has ignored this international show of recognition for the government of Hugo Chávez, these responses to his death are a clear affirmation of respect and acknowledgement for his legacy, from Latin America and around the world.
Repeal the Military Force Law: Editorial:
Mr. Bush used the authorization law as an excuse to kidnap hundreds of people – guilty and blameless people alike – and throw them into secret prisons where many were tortured.
10 companies profiting the most from war:
The business of war is profitable. In 2011, the 100 largest contractors sold $410 billion in arms and military services. Just 10 of those companies sold over $208 billion.
Police Brutality?! Undercover Cops Kill 16-Year-Old After Shooting Him 11 Times:
Several witnesses cast doubts on the official version of the incident:
Arizona Federal Court Limits Border Searches for Laptops, Cell Phones:
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Border Patrol agents must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before conducting comprehensive searches of laptops or other digital devices in what civil liberties activists are calling a significant victory for privacy rights.
Spain takes to streets in tens of thousands against unemployment, economic scandals (VIDEO, PHOTOS):
Tens of thousands of demonstrators are marching in dozens of Spanish cities to protest record unemployment rates and the government’s handling of the economic and corruption scandals. It comes just after Spain’s jobless figure hit the 5 million mark.
http://rt.com/news/spain-protest-austerity-unemployment-061/
Greek PM says no more austerity:
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Saturday promised his recession-weary nation that there would be “no more austerity measures” as international creditors prolonged an audit of crisis reforms.
Bank compensation up in 2012 despite cutback efforts:
Compensation at the world’s biggest banks rose last year, with 35 of them spending a combined 10 billion euros ($13.1 billion) more on staff than in 2011, figures compiled by Reuters show
US Companies Keeping Even More Money Offshore:
U.S. companies are keeping more of their profits offshore, choosing overseas tax havens amid talk in Washington about closing corporate tax loopholes. 60 big American companies have collectively parked a total of $166 billion offshore last year.
Alan Grayson, Florida Congressman: Replace Sequester Cuts With Ending Afghanistan War (VIDEO) :
“We’re facing a nine percent cut in the food stamps program, a nine percent cut in home heating oil programs, nine percent cut in civil aeronautics and we’d save the same amount of money if we simply ended the war in Afghanistan now,” Grayson told HuffPost Live host Alyona Minkovski.
The Rich Live Longer:
The tightening economic connection to longevity has profound implications for the simmering debate about trimming the nation’s entitlement programs.
Americans Given Up on Saving for Retirement?:
60% of preretirees believe health care costs will consume their savings no matter how much they save. Similarly, 39% believe investment returns won’t be high enough to provide decent retirement income regardless of how much they manage to put away.
===
“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 : 3,261
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,431,713,032,910
The New Dark Age 