21 December 2013 — Information Clearing House
Mission Accomplished?
Afghanistan is a Calamity and our Leaders Must be Held to Account
By Seumas Milne
British troops haven’t accomplished a single one of their missions in Afghanistan. Like Iraq and Libya, it’s a disaster.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37185.htm
War with Iran? Sherrod Brown Is the Firewall
By Robert Naiman
If AIPAC flips Sherrod Brown against the President’s Iran diplomacy, it’s a devastating blow to the pro-peace forces.
The Changing Contours of US Imperial Intervention in World Conflicts
By James Petras
Zionists are deeply committed to pushing the US into more wars for Israel.
Why MP George Galloway is Killing Tony Blair
Video
Abby Martin speaks with British Parliamentarian George Galloway, discussing his upcoming film ‘The Killing of Tony Blair’
What the Press Should Learn From the “Snowden Effect”
By Reed Richardson
To say, as his critics do, Greenwald merely got lucky that Snowden chose him for what might the biggest leak of all time is a mistake.
Italy Pitchfork Movement: When The World Wakes Up To A New Reality
By Peter Koenig
Imposed debt and austerity programs will be wiped out by new governments run by the people and for the people.
Why Cops Pull The Trigger: Pulling Back The Curtain On Police Shootings
By Nicole Flatow
Last Friday, Los Angeles Police Department officers shot dead a mentally ill man who had already gotten out of his car after a police chase with his hands up.
Bush- Blair Legacy Continues As – Iraqi general among 24 killed in attack:
Twenty-four Iraqi military personnel, including a senior commander, have been killed in an attack in western Iraq, according to police.
Syrian minister: Saudi Arabia is our top enemy:
Syria now views Saudi Arabia as its number one enemy and accuses it of trying to destroy the country by arming jihadists and other rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
No agreement on Iran invite to Syria conference:
The U.S. is blocking Iran’s participation at the Syria peace conference planned for next month but the other delegations have been agreed up and will include other regional players such as Saudi Arabia, officials said Friday.
Syria crisis can’t be solved without Iran: Russian official:
“Excluding Iran from Geneva II [conference] is counterproductive. This would complicate the implementation of future agreements,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote on his Twitter account on Friday.
Erdogan threatens to expel foreign ambassadors:
Erdogan did not name names but the remarks were considered a warning to US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone
Senators To Override Obama’s Iran Veto:
The White House was quick to condemn the new anti-Iran effort by the hawkish senators on Capitol Hill with Obama’s Press Secretary Jay Carney saying that the president would veto the bill “if it were to pass” Congress.
Mahmoud Abbas accused of being traitor over rejection of Israel boycott:
Palestinian president angers activists who have been demanding international sanctions
U.S. military aircraft shot at in South Sudan, leaving three Americans wounded:
The helicopters were trying to land at Bor, the rebel-held capital of Jonglei state, and were forced to return to neighbouring Uganda with one of the aircraft hit and leaking fuel.
Army commander in South Sudan ‘joins rebels’:
A top South Sudan army commander based in the key oil-producing Unity state appears to have defected to rebel forces, the country’s army spokesman said on Friday.
Kenya to deploy troops to South Sudan:
Kenya will send troops to troubled South Sudan to evacuate about 1 600 citizens, the presidency said in a statement on Saturday, with many trapped in the flashpoint rebel-held town of Bor.
Nigeria: Shock As Boko Haram Terrorists Sack Barrack – Massacre Troops, Families:
Hundreds of suspected Boko Haram terrorists launched a fierce attack Friday on Bama, Borno state, sacking the military barrack there, and killing troops and their families in what a senior military official called another “sad day” for a town that has witnessed multiple bloodshed this year.
Pakistan National Assembly passes another resolution against drone attacks:
It calls upon the United States government to immediately end drone strikes in Pakistan which, it noted, are against the international law
Thai opposition to boycott 2 February elections:
Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February.: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of mass protests.
US Officials Lie About Drone Attack on Wedding Convoy in Yemen:
US officials are lying or attempting to cover up what happened, which would not be surprising since the drone attack was the worst in Yemen’s history.
Russia to block websites that call for rioting, ‘extremism’ without court ruling:
Critics fear the law may infringe constitutional rights.
Top US General fired for drunken Moscow trip with mysterious women :
The US general with a finger on the
News conference of Vladimir Putin: Video –
The President answered foreign policy questions, in particular, about the recent agreements with Ukraine, the Russian-US relations, development of relations with China, Iran and Georgia. In particular, Mr Putin stated that there is yet no decision to deploy Russia’s Iskander missile systems.
Report Suggests NSA Engaged In Financial Manipulation, Changing Money In Bank Accounts:
Governments should not use their offensive cyber capabilities to change the amounts held in financial accounts or otherwise manipulate the financial system.
Computer security firm RSA took $10 mln from NSA to weaken encryption – report:
The National Security Agency arranged a clandestine US$10 million contract with computer security power RSA that allowed the spy agency to embed encryption software it could use to infiltrate the company’s widely used products, Reuters reported.
How U.S. spying cost Boeing multibillion-dollar jet contract:
Brazil had been struggling for years to decide which company to choose for a $4 billion-plus fighter jet contract, one of the world’s most sought-after defense deals and one that would help define the country’s strategic alliances for decades to come.
Irish banking world rocked as three financiers in court:
The three former senior bank executives will stand trial accused of conspiring to mislead Anglo Irish Bank investors in relation to €7.2bn transactions.
Who Owns Your Congressman?:
Here’s a look at which industries have given the most to which parties:
Black Budget: US govt clueless about missing Pentagon $trillions: Video report –
The Pentagon has secured a 630 billion dollar budget for next year, even though it’s failed to even account for the money it’s received since 1996. A whopping 8.5 trillion dollars of taxpayer cash have gone to defence programmes – none of which has been audited.
US testing surveillance balloons on Mexico border:
The U.S. Border Patrol will evaluate the use of three helium-filled surveillance balloons along the Texas-Mexico border that were originally used by the Department of Defense in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court declares portions of shale-drilling law unconstitutional:
“Now we can keep industrial activities away from our school and residences, and there’s been more and more of a push by the industry to locate closer to the residential areas.”
Welcome to America:
N.M. woman billed $5,000 after cops order warrantless, ‘redundant’ cavity searches:
Government agents first subjected her to a strip-search. “Having found nothing,” the suit contends, “Defendants next shackled Ms. Doe to an examining table and inserted a speculum into her vagina, performed a rectal exam on her, and conducted a bimanual cavity search of her vagina.”
Pennsylvania School Tries To Kick Out Two Students After Their Families Became Homeless:
As if their lives hadn’t been thrown into enough turmoil when their house was foreclosed on and their family became homeless, two Pennsylvania students learned last Monday that they were no longer welcome at the school they had attended their entire lives
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 :3,405
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,498,869,318,126
The New Dark Age 