15 May 2013 — Information Clearing House
Israeli Official Hints At More Attacks On Syria, Warns Assad Not To Respond
By Barak Ravid
“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel…he will risk forfeiting his regime,” a senior Israeli official told the New York Times on Wednesday.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34956.htm
Palestinians Mark 65th Nakba Anniversary
Video Report
It commemorates the loss of Palestinian land because of the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34953.htm
The Last of the Semites
By Joseph Massad
It is Israel’s claims that it represents and speaks for all Jews that are the most anti-Semitic claims of all.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34950.htm
Brainwash Update
Israel’s Narrative of Control
Video
Abby Martin calls out Washington DC’s press museum the ‘Newseum’ for caving to pressure from Israeli groups, and recanting it’s commemoration for two fallen Gazan journalists.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34958.htm
The Major Sea Change in Media Discussions of Obama and Civil Liberties
By Glenn Greenwald
“I’m disgusted with this president.” In the spirit of optimism, one can adopt a “better-late-than-never” outlook regarding this newfound media awakening.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34952.htm
Jon Stewart Rips Government Over IRS and AP Secret Monitoring
– Video –
Stewart tore into the IRS, especially the apparent belief of Lois Lerner, the head of the division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, that an apology was enough for singling out Tea Party groups.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34954.htm
Chris Hedges: Monitoring of AP Phones a “Terrifying” Step in State Assault on Press Freedom
Video
“It’s part of a pattern. That’s what’s so frightening. And it’s a pattern that we’ve seen, with the use of the Espionage Act, to essentially silence whistleblowers within the government”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34954.htm
Obama and Press Freedom
The Posterior of Fascism
By Norman Pollack
The qualitative leap taken by Obama transforms now-familiar old-fashioned Imperialism and probusiness actions into a tightening of monopoly capitalism as assisted by military power in search of absolute arbitrariness in shaping the global structure and, not incidentally, silencing dissent at home.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34962.htm
Sister Assata: This Is What American History Looks Like
By Alice Walker
What is most distressing about the times we live in, in my view, is our ever accelerating tolerance for cruelty.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34959.htm
Japan’s Sham Currency War
The Hidden Objective Behind Japan’s Massive Kamikaze Quantitative Easing
By Matthias Chang
If truth be told, the real value of the US$ would not be more than a dime and I am being really generous here, as even toilet paper has a value.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34960.htm
Russia’s Plan For The BRICS To Dismantle The Dollar System
By Valentin Mândrasescu
Move aside New World Order! The BRICS are coming to change the world.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34949.htm
And So It Begins: The Feds Target Bitcoin Transactions
By Josh Harkinson
The Department of Homeland Security today issued an order that has restricted the transfer of funds in and out of Mt. Gox, the Bitcoin exchange that handles some 60 percent of the transactions.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34951.htm
U.S. Health Care System Kills 123 People Daily
By Donna Smith
Yesterday, another 123 people died in the United States without access to necessary health care. Another 1,978 went bankrupt due to medical crisis or medical debt or both, and no one worried themselves about that.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34957.htm
U.S. Military ‘Power Grab’ Goes Into Effect
Pentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’
By Jed Morey
The manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects offered the nation a window into the stunning military-style capabilities of our local law enforcement agencies.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34961.htm
Bakersfield Police Beat Man To Death Then Confiscate Cell Phones From Surrounding Neighborhood
Video
The eyewitness accounts of David Sal Silva’s deadly encounter with sheriff’s officers outside a Bakersfield, Calif., hospital are gruesome enough. “I can still hear him choking in his own blood,” said Salina Quair.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34947.htm
California Police Brutality
Police Break into Private Residence and Taze Person Filming
Video
The man insists that police do not have a warrant or probable cause. Seconds later, the police tell the people inside to get down on the floor.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34948.htm
The Truth about School
Video
Did you ever wonder how it is that kids spend 13 years from kindergarten to high school supposedly being prepared for life, yet when they get out they don’t have any real skills?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34955.htm
35 “militants” killed in Afghan raids: official:
Thirty-five Taliban militants have been killed and 30 others wounded during operation across Afghanistan within the last 24 hours, the country’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
NATO occupation force soldier amoung 4 killed in Afghanistan:
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) following a statement announced, “An International Security Assistance Force service member died yesterday following the improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan that killed three ISAF service members.”
Three Killed in US-Led Airstrike in Western Afghanistan:
A US-led airstrike killed at least three people in the town of Shindand in Western Afghanistan’s Herat Province.
Afghans Claim to Have Video of U.S. Special Forces Guy Torturing Civilians:
Allegedly, there’s a videotape in Afghan government hands showing a man named Zakaria Kandahari presiding over the torture of an Afghan civilian who, along with 15 others, recently disappeared from Wardak Province. Kandahari, an American citizen, is “seen conducting” the torture session and “supervising” others.
New revelations of torture and murder of Afghan civilians by US Special Forces:
Zakaria Kandahari, a member of a US Special Forces “A Team,” has been accused by Afghan officials of carrying out and directing the torture of 15 civilians detained in recent raids in Warduk province.
Pakistan: Two militants killed in Peshawar encounter:
The police killed two militants during an encounter in Badaber on Tuesday. Two passersby were also wounded in the crossfire, who were taken to hospital, the police said.
New battles in Pakistan tribal area displace thousands:
Mujahid Hussain, chief of disaster management efforts in the Kurram tribal area said an estimated 35,000 and 49,000 have left their villages in the area.
At least 30 killed in bombings across Iraq in day of terror:
BOMB attacks in Shi’ite areas of Baghdad and in northern Iraq killed more than 30 people today, following weeks of violence by Sunni Islamist insurgents determined to spark sectarian confrontation.
2 killed in clashes between Yemeni troops, pro-secession activists:
Two people were killed and three others injured in armed clashes that erupted between Yemeni security troops and pro-secession activists in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday, a police officer and witnesses told Xinhua, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
Syria rebels ‘in assault on Aleppo prison’:
The rebels apparently detonated two car bombs to blast through the walls of the prison, which holds 4,000 inmates including anti-government activists.
Grisly Execution Videos Show Growing Brutality in Syria: Video – Warning –
The camera pans up from three blindfolded men with their hands bound to a rebel fighter speaking into a megaphone. He stands by a white pickup truck, his face covered with a white and red checkered scarf.
Syrian government responds to Kerry’s invitation to talks:
The Syrian government has shared with the Russians a list of Syrian officials it wants invited to the conference, Kerry announced. Kerry would not share the names on the list but said the talks, under the auspices of the United Nations, appeared on target to take place in early June.
Lavrov criticizes U.S.-proposed choice of participants in Syria conference:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reproached Washington for attempting to limit the choice of participants in the proposed conference on Syria to countries supporting the opposition, and suggested that Iran and Saudi Arabia be invited, as well.
Fact or fiction?
CIA: Assad to Get 75% of Votes in Next Term, Syrian Gov’t in Advance:
US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, believes that President Bashar al-Assad is to gain 75% of the Syrian people’s votes if he runs for presidency in the year of 2014.
Fact or fiction?
The U.S. reverses its strategy on Syria?
Instead of delivering arms to the opposition, Mr. Kerry on Tuesday suggested that “additional support” for the opposition would come only if “President Assad decides to miscalculate again” by refusing to attend the proposed conference.
Saudis overtaking Qatar in sponsoring Syrian rebels:
The Brotherhood had previously been confident in its alliance with Qatar and Turkey, and saw no need to offer concessions to engage other countries, including Saudi Arabia. So this meeting, which came after an “eager appeal” from the Brotherhood, suggests a shift in regional dynamics.
Fact or fiction?
Qatar, allies tighten coordination of arms flows to Syria:
Qatar, which has taken a lead in arming the Syrian opposition, is coordinating with the CIA and has tightened control of the arms flow to keep weapons out of the hands of al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters, according to rebels and officials familiar with the operation.
Austria says UK push to arm Syrian rebels would violate international law:
Forceful Austrian position signals deep EU divisions on Syria ahead of this month’s embargo decision
U.N. to vote on Syria resolution to back political transition:
A draft resolution that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition is set to be voted on at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Russia concerned with looming vote on U.N. resolution on Syria:
Moscow accused that group of countries of opting the discussions in a close circle without taking into account the opinions of all U.N. members. As a result, the document remains biased and non-objective, ignoring Syrian realities, said the ministry.
Kremlin: No Russian pledge on Syrian missile arms sale:
In meeting with Netanyahu, Putin did not commit not to provide Damascus with S-300 missiles systems, spokesman says; leaders agree to strengthen intelligence cooperation.
Report: Syria Already Has Advanced Russian Missiles:
Advanced Russian missile launchers have already been transferred to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, reports an Arabic newspaper.
5 Questions on Russian S-300 Missile System Sales to Syria:
Verifiable information about the S-300 deal is desperately scant: Was there a deal at all? What did it cover? Has any part of it been implemented?
Turkish students protesting government’s Syria policy clash with police; group says 2 injured:
Many accuse the government of putting the country at risk by openly supporting Syria’s armed insurgency.
Palestinian Holocaust Remembrance Day:
Dozens arrested in Jerusalem clashes: Dozens of Palestinians were arrested in clashes that broke out in East Jerusalem after Israeli police and border guards attacked a rally marking Nakba Day.
International Criminal Court opens preliminary investigation into Israeli attack on Mavi Marmara:
The materials respectfully submittted clearly demonstrate that the ICC possess both subject matter and territorial jurisdiction under Article 12 (2) (a) of the Rome statue and further support the position that reasonable basis exist to proceed with an investigation into the said incident.
Israel has highest poverty rate in OECD:
The report found that the gap between the rich and the poor was very high in Israel, with only Chile, Turkey, Mexico and the United States exhibiting a higher gap.
Palestinian celebrity gets the ‘Jewish sticker’ at Ben-Gurion Airport:
On the one hand it’s obvious the young man has just made my life easier by putting on the sticker for Jews. On the other hand, it’s one of the things that it’s hard to say thanks for.
Nuclear Iran Can Be Contained and Deterred: Report: Analysis:
The CNAS report was immediately assailed by several prominent neo-conservatives who have long been warning that Obama, given his clear reluctance to risk war in another predominantly Muslim country, would himself eschew his prevention strategy in favour of “containment by another name.”
US military base close to Iran?:
According to the Iranian Press TV, a US military base in Afghanistan, close to the Iranian borders, is under construction. The new base is located in an area known as Chahlang in Farah Province.
One killed in attack on police station in Libya’s Benghazi:
One person was killed in an overnight attack on a police station in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, police sources said, and the building was set on fire in another attack on Wednesday.
US moving 200 marines to Sicily for Libya protection:
Italy has announced the United States was transferring 200 marines and two planes to its base at Sigonella in Sicily to deploy in Libya in case US diplomats come under attack as they did last year.
‘Tens of thousands’ to attend Tunisia Salafist meet:
Tens of thousands of Salafists are expected to attend the annual congress of Ansar al-Sharia, a radical Tunisian group whose leader is on the run, one of the organizers said Wednesday. “On Sunday, we will God willing hold our congress and there will be more than 40,000 of us in Kairouan,” Sami Essid told AFP.
Nigerian troops on new offensive against Islamists:
Nigeria launched a military campaign on Wednesday to flush Islamist militants out of their bases in remote border areas, after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeast.
Nigeria’s northern elders threaten to drag gov’t to Hague?:
Nigeria’s Northern Elders Forum(NEF) on Tuesday said it has resolved to sue the Nigerian government at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Hague for the killing of civilians at Baga by Nigerian soldiers.
Guantanamo Bay prisoner: President Obama has ‘abandoned’ detainees:
“I believe that President Obama must be unaware of the unbelievably inhumane conditions at the Guantanamo Bay prison, for otherwise he would surely do something to stop this torture,” Yemeni prisoner Musa’ab Omar Al Madhwani wrote in a federal court declaration this year.
The US legacy on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques:
Residents cite cancer, birth defects and diseases as the lasting legacy of decades of US weapons use there. But 10 years after the bombings stopped, the US refuses to acknowledge a link.
IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups:
The same IRS office that deliberately targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 election released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year.
KMOV anchor: The IRS is targeting me:
“Shortly after I did my April 2012 interview with President Obama, my wife, friends and some viewers suggested that I might need to watch out for the IRS. I don’t accept ‘conspiracy theories’, but I do know that almost immediately after the interview, the IRS started hammering me,” Conners wrote on his Facebook page late Monday night.
In a world gone crazy:
FBI surrounds house of Saudi student after sightings of him with pressure cooker:
Talal al Rouki had been cooking a traditional Saudi Arabian rice dish called kabsah and was carrying it to a friend’s house.
CIA ‘offered Russian spies $1MILLION a year to change sides’, :
Extraordinary letter claims as U.S. diplomat in blond wig arrested on suspicion of spying
UK: Secrets of 27m mobile phones offered to police:
Documents to promote the data reveal that it includes “gender, age, postcode, websites visited, time of day text is sent [and] location of customer when call is made”.
UK: Petrol price ‘rigged for a decade’:
Motorists may have paid thousands of pounds too much for their petrol over the last decade, after two of Britain’s biggest companies were raided on suspicion of manipulating oil prices.
Austerity pushes Britain from 5th place to 12th of world’s richest nations:
While Britain used to be beaten only by America, Luxembourg, Norway and Germany, it is now trumped by a much longer list of countries including Switzerland, Australia, France, Belgium, Sweden and Canada.
France slides into recession as exports fall:
Figures blamed on weak exports, investment and household spending as Germany also posts unexpectedly weak start to year.
Euro-Style Bail-In Plan Means Bondholder Wipe-Out:
Brazil Credit: Brazil is drafting rules that would wipe out some creditors of failing banks in an effort to avoid taxpayer rescues, echoing European proposals to make bondholders shoulder more costs after three bailouts in as many years.
Michigan District Fires All Teachers, Closes Every School:
The problem in Buena Vista is that the school district, educating approximately 450 kids, is out of money. All the teachers have been laid off and a financial emergency has been declared. The district has suffered from declining enrollment, which, in turn, has led to a loss of $3 million in state funding since 2010.
City of Detroit is financially ‘insolvent’:
The Detroit city government is weeks away from running out of the cash it needs to operate, according to an initial report from the emergency manager overseeing its finances.
Fast Food Strikes Hitting Fifth City: Milwaukee:
Today’s work stoppage follows strikes in St. Louis and Detroit last week, and in New York and Chicago last month. In each case, workers are demanding a raise to $15 per hour, and the right to form a union without intimidation.
Paid Sick Leave, At Last?:
Will the U.S. join the rest of the world and guarantee workers paid sick leave? A bill in Congress is stuck, but momentum is building
Florida quietly shortened yellow light standards & lengths, resulting in more red light camera tickets for you:
A subtle, but significant tweak to Florida’s rules regarding traffic signals has allowed local cities and counties to shorten yellow light intervals, resulting in millions of dollars in additional red light camera fines.
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 : 3,311
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,439,407,242,936
The New Dark Age 