18 April 2013 — Information Clearing House
New Report Is Critical Of US Sanctions On Iran:
Urges White House to Rethink Policy
By DAVID E. SANGER
A panel of former senior American officials, issued a surprisingly critical assessment of American diplomacy toward Iran on Wednesday, urging President Obama to reconsider the likelihood that harsh sanctions will drive Tehran to concessions.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34654.htm
The Rebels so Beloved of Nato Nations are Losing Their Hold of Damascus.
By Robert Fisk
We are content to see Arab nations ganging up on the Syrian regime, pushing more and more weapons into the war.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34657.htm
Surreal: US Troops Stage in Jordan to Defend Al Qaeda in Syria
By Tony Cartalucci
Massive US arms/aid deliveries prop up Al Qaeda in Syria, while US troops stage in Jordan to defend terrorists they spent last decade fighting.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34658.htm
Al-Qaeda Is US Irregular Infantry in Syria: Wesbter Tarpley
Video
The Obama administration is using al-Qaeda terrorists as its irregular infantry in its proxy war against Syria.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34659.htm
A Hundred Deir Yassin and Counting
Beit Daras and the Buried History of Massacres
By Ramzy Baroud
Attempts at covering up the massacre have been dwarfed by grim details by well-respected historians, including some of Israel’s own.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34656.htm
Boston Marathon Bomb Pieces: Pictures
Pictures
Pictures show pieces of the explosive device used at the Boston Marathon terror attack found by investigators.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34653.htm
Do These Pictures Show Boston Bomber?
Pictures
Click to view
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34645.htm
Craft International Private Military Forces at Boston Marathon?
By Anthony Gucciardi
There has been much discussion over the two individuals fitted with earpieces and military-esque gear spotted at the Boston Marathon, but as it turns out they may likely be employees of the Blackwater-style private military/security firm Craft International.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34660.htm
The Orwellian Warfare State of Carnage and Doublethink
By Norman Solomon
The same U.S. news media that are conveying the preciousness of children so terribly harmed in Boston are scarcely interested in children like Guljumma.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34655.htm
Karl Rove Heckled Throughout Speech In Massachusetts, Called Murderer, Terrorist
Video
Rove had barely begun speaking before people began standing up and shouting Rove down with accusations that his guidance of former President George W. Bush on the Iraq War had led to countless American and Iraqi casualties.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34662.htm
Thatcher Gets Funeral Fit For A Dictator
By Finian Cunningham
The occasion – paid for by the austerity-clobbered British taxpayer – is also being seen as an indulgence in British jingoism and imperialism.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34664.htm
Before the Collapse, A Call to Action
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
The economic news in the last two weeks points to bad news for the economy and a reason for people to mobilize and demand change.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34661.htm
2081: Film Adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Dystopian Short Story
Video
A 23-minute film directed by Chandler Tuttle. An adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” a story first published in 1961.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34663.htm
Taliban kill 7 Afghan civilians, 4 soldiers:
Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have killed seven civilians with a roadside bomb and cut the throats of four Afghan soldiers kidnapped while travelling home on leave, officials said yesterday.
Germany ready to keep up to 800 occupation force troops in Afghanistan:
Germany would base its military personnel in Kabul and in the country’s north around Mazar-i-Sharif, the minister said, warning however of the “evolving security and political situation” in the country.
Pervez Musharraf on the run after Pakistan court arrest order:
The retired Pakistani army general fled the scene in a black bullet-proof vehicle immediately following Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s announcement that his bail would be canceled.
Fugitive: IHC declares Musharraf’s escape ‘criminal act’:
According to the six-page detailed verdict, Musharraf’s personal guards who helped him escape, along with the on-duty police personnel, who failed to arrest him from the court premises, were also declared culprits.
U.S. kills another 5 people in Yemen:
At least five suspected members of al Qaeda were killed in two separate U.S. drone strikes in a mountainous region of Yemen, just south of Sanaa, a security spokesman said.
Five people killed in Iraqi violence:
Acting upon a tip, an Iraqi police raided the safe house of a suspected al-Qaida leader in the city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, and shot him dead after a fierce clash
U.S. takes step toward possible military intervention in Syria:
The Pentagon is sending about 200 troops to Jordan to help deliver aid to refugees and to plan for possible military action, including a rapid buildup of forces.
Top Obama Officials Differ on Syrian Rebels in Testimony to Congress:
At the end of the day, Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wondered aloud if the Obama administration was sending a muddled message.
West to pay for supporting Qaeda: President Assad:
President Bashar al-Assad also warned the conflict could spill over into Jordan
L’interview complète du président Bachar al-Assad avec la chaîne Al-Ikhbariya Al Souriyé 17/04/2013 –
Video
Engineering Consent For Attack On Syria:
Israel ‘set to hit Syria rebels over arms’:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is considering an operation to prevent Syria chemical and other advanced weapons falling into Islamist hands.
Looking at both sides in the Syrian conflict: Retired British Ambassador:
Why our government can help the French to fight al-Qaida in Mali and simultaneously send assistance to its supporters in Syria is difficult to understand.
EU to allow purchases of Syrian oil from “rebels”:
European Union governments are expected to ease an embargo on Syrian oil next week to allow for purchases of crude from the opposition in an effort to tilt the balance of the conflict against President Bashar al-Assad.
Israel seeking nearly $3 billion in fuel from US:
Department of Defense says ‘it is vital to US national interests’ to help Israel maintain ‘a strong and ready self-defense capability’
Kerry: Time running out for 2-state solution:
US secretary of state warns two-state solution must be reached within next two years, stresses that Washington must support Palestinian Authority
PM: Israel’s right to “self-defense” not open for debate:
Netanyahu tells the BBC Iran is only missing 80 kilos of 20% enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb; warns Tehran is stronger than N. Korea and it achieving nuclear weapons would spark a nuclear arms race in the region.
Hagel: US can support Israel if it strikes Iran:
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the House subcommittee on defense appropriations on Tuesday that the US has “the military capability” to back any Israeli action against Iran should President Barack Obama decide to do so.
If attacked: Iran says it will ‘raze Tel Aviv, Haifa’ :
“The constant threats by the Zionist regime against Iran are worthless, and they cannot do anything against our nation because they know that any measure will lead them to full annihilation,” Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi told PressTV during Tehran’s Army Day celebrations.
North Korea demands lifting of sanctions as condition for US dialogue:
North Korea has named its conditions for talks with the US – the removal of all U.N. sanctions following Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests, and a promise by Washington not to engage in ‘nuclear war practice’ with Seoul.
At least five killed in gun attack in Kenyan town:
Kenya has suffered a series of grenade and gun attacks ever since it sent its troops into neighbouring Somalia in late 2011 to pursue the al Shabaab rebels.
Suspected militant kills himself in Mogadishu blast: police:
A suspected al Shabaab militant was killed on Thursday trying to plant a bomb in a busy district of the Somali capital, a police official said, after the Islamist group threatened more attacks following two deadly assaults this week.
‘US fails to break mass hunger strike at Gitmo’: Martha Rayner:
An analyst says hunger strikers at Guantanamo perceive they have been forgotten by the world and this is a final message to say we’re still here and we should be released.
Judge OKs delay in Sept. 11 case at Guantanamo over Pentagon data “breach”:
A military judge has agreed to postpone the next round of hearings in the Sept. 11 case at Guantanamo after thousands of defense emails were turned over to the prosecution in an “apparent mistake”.
FBI gives its agents images of TWO Boston bombing ‘suspects’:
Hunt for men seen wearing back-packs near the marathon finish line before terror attack
Report: Saudi National Ruled Out as ‘Suspect’ in Boston Marathon Bombings to Be Deported on National Security Grounds Next Week:
Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, the Saudi national who was briefly named a “person of interest” in the Boston Marathon bombings, is being deported on Tuesday
Congressman Jeff Duncan Questions Sec. Napolitano on Possible Deportation of Saudi National – Video –
“I am unaware of anyone being deported for national security reasons at all”,
US Muslims fear hate crimes if Islamist link to Boston Marathon bombings is found:
It is the fear of Arabs and Muslims in the US that if an Islamist link to Monday’s bombings is discovered, there will be a return to the months and years after the September 11 attacks when hate crimes spiked and when government brought in policies such as a federal programme – no longer in place – which required foreign Muslim men to register with police.
Private Military Contractors At Boston Bombing:
There has been much discussion over the two individuals fitted with earpieces and military-esque gear spotted at the Boston Marathon, but as it turns out they may likely be employees of the Blackwater-style private military/security firm Craft International.
Attorney: Miss. man denies mailing suspected ricin:
The man charged with mailing letters with suspected ricin to the president and others was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent, according to his attorney.
As Many as 60 or 70 killed in Texas plant explosion:
“We’ve got a lot of people who are hurt, and there’s a lot of people, I’m sure, who aren’t gonna be here tomorrow,” Muska said
Video – Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Near Waco, Texas –
Video
In pictures: Texas fertiliser plant explosion in West, near Waco :
Authorities say an undetermined number of people had been killed, and that the death toll was expected to rise as search teams combed through the rubble of the demolished plant and surrounding homes
The Senate misfires on gun control:
A COWARDLY minority of senators blocked a gun background-check proposal on Wednesday, in one vote betraying both the will of the American people and the charge voters gave them to work in their interest.
Venezuelan Opposition Formally Requests Recount, Maduro Calls for “Street Parliaments”:
Representatives of opposition leader Henrique Capriles’ campaign team this afternoon handed over documents to the National Electoral Council (CNE) to request a recount of 100% of the votes. 54% of the votes were audited on Monday, and no problems found.
Venezuela rules out recount after vote, deadly demos:
“When you go around demanding something which is impossible, demanding a manual recount… without a doubt what you are doing is inciting endless street fighting. And people should be held responsible for that,” said Morales.
Kerry Encourages Venezuela Recount:
Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that Venezuela should hold a recount of votes cast in its presidential election, which the country’s electoral authorities say was narrowly won by a protégé of former President Hugo Chávez.
Venezuelan President-elect Nicolas Maduro tells John Kerry to ‘get out of here’:
“It’s obscene, the U.S. intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela,” Mr. Marduro said, as United Press International reported. “Take your eyes off Venezuela, John Kerry. Get out of here. Enough interventionism.”
World military expenditures in 2012 totaled $1.75 trillion:
The report revealed that, as in recent decades, the world’s biggest military spender by far was the U.S. government, whose expenditures for war and preparations for war amounted to $682 billion — 39 percent of the global total.
Click on the map to view information on the top 15 military expenditure spenders for 2012 –
Interactive map
Cost of Empire:
Report: US paying more for overseas bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea despite troop shifts:
The United States is footing more of the bill for overseas bases in Germany, Japan and South Korea even as the military reduces the number of American troops in Europe and strategically repositions forces in Asia, a congressional report says.
$560 billion wiped of Central Banks’ reserves on gold slump:
Many experts say the Western central banks have no one but themselves to blame. Many of them, led by the US Federal Reserve and the ECB contributed to falling gold prices in a bid to support their domestic currencies.
India Holds One-Third of World”s Poor :
The Times of India journal highlighted that in 1981 India”s impoverished population represented 22 percent of the world”s population, while at present the figure has grown to 33 percent.
Migrant Workers Shot in Greece; 28 Wounded After Demanding Pay:
28 migrant workers working at a strawberry production farm in Manolada, Greece were shot because they demanded to get paid, after six months of unpaid work. According to the press reports, there were no fatal injuries among the Bangladeshi workers.
More Children in Greece Are Going Hungry:
Children picking through school trash cans for food; needy youngsters asking playmates for leftovers; and an 11-year-old boy, Pantelis Petrakis, bent over with hunger pains.
Child poverty in US among the highest in developed world:
The report reveals a staggering level of child poverty in the “developed” world, with the standards of living in the United States, which has the highest gross domestic product, ranking near the bottom on all metrics.
Leading Index’s Drop Points to Slower U.S. Growth: Economy:
The index of U.S. leading indicators unexpectedly declined in March, and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region slowed this month, adding to evidence the economy will cool.
High student debt is dragging down the U.S. economy:
Nowadays, younger Americans are becoming less likely to take out loans to buy a house or a car. One possible reason? They’re too overloaded with student debt.
Nevada buses hundreds of mentally ill patients to cities around country:
Over the past five years, Nevada’s primary state psychiatric hospital has put hundreds of mentally ill patients on Greyhound buses and sent them to cities and towns across America.
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 : 3,281
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,442,906,963,473
The New Dark Age 