World-News

Obama Wants Record $708B for Wars Next Year

By ANNE GEARAN and ANNE FLAHERTY

President Barack Obama will ask Congress for an additional $33 billion to fight unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of a record $708 billion for the Defense Department next year. - The extra $33 billion in 2010 would mostly go toward the expansion of the war in Afghanistan.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24396.htm



Millions More US Children in Poverty

By Tom Eley

In 2008, one in five US children under age 18 lived in families below the official poverty level, according to Census Bureau data released in September 2009. The figure now is significantly higher, according to Brookings researcher Julia B. Isaacs.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24397.htm



U.S. Companies Join Race on Iraqi Oil Bonanza

A wave of American companies have been arriving in Iraq in recent months to pursue what is expected to be a multibillion-dollar bonanza of projects to revive the country's stagnant petroleum industry.

http://snipurl.com/u32uo



Iraq, Afghan wars' cost tops $1trillion

Obama is expected to request another $33 billion to fund more troops this year. This year is the first in which more funds are being spent in Afghanistan than Iraq.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=219048


From Information Clearing House

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Is Obama a Republican?

Reason
by Steve Chapman

01/14/10

When it comes to defense, history suggests that the two major parties offer a choice on the order of McDonald’s and Burger King. Anyone looking back 50 years from now at objective indicators would have trouble identifying a meaningful difference between the current president and the last one. For that matter, it’s easy to assume that when President Obama began addressing national security policy, he accidentally picked up John McCain’s platform instead of his own. Critics suspect Obama is a closet Muslim. But maybe his real secret is that he’s a closet Republican...

http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/14/is-obama-a-republican


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bush+legacy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=bipartisan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=national+security+policy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=poverty
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Anne+Gearan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Anne+Flaherty
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tom+Eley
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Steve+Chapman

By William Bowles

The turning point when oil took centre stage came significantly as the 20th century began with the world's most powerful imperial navies, the German and British switching from burning coal to burning oil. From that point on the destinies of Persia and the Arab world irrevocably became central to Western imperial ambitions.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24399.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bilderberg
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=imperial
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=William+Bowles

Red Cross: Up to 50,000 Killed in Haiti Quake

January 14, 2010

The Haitian Red Cross has said that between 45,000 and 50,000 people were killed by Tuesday's earthquake, with a further 3 million hurt or homeless.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24395.htm



Help Haiti

The Unforgiven Country Cries Out

By Chris Floyd

Hope must not be blind; you have to acknowledge the grim realities in order to know just what you're up against. So let's take a long, hard look.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24393.htm



Our Role in Haiti's Plight

By Peter Hallward

If we are serious about assisting this devastated land we must stop trying to control and exploit it.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24392.htm



Haitian Earthquake

Why the Blood Is on Our Hands

By Ted Rall

As grim accounts of the earthquake in Haiti came in, the accounts in U.S.-controlled state media all carried the same descriptive sentence: "Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere..." Gee, I wonder how that happened?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24391.htm



Pat Robertson: Haiti 'Cursed' By 'Pact To The Devil'

Video

"They got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24390.htm



Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again

Readers of the The Shock Doctrine know that the Heritage Foundation has been one of the leading advocates of exploiting disasters to push through their unpopular pro-corporate policies.

http://www.naomiklein.org/main



Haiti: Limbaugh was Bad, but ..

From a website promoting Anti-Obama and Anti-Democratic Party rants, Republicans in general, the Tea Party Movement and Conservative politicians comes one of the worst examples of political opportunism over the disaster in Haiti I've seen to date.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2010/1/14/83843/9451



The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti

Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?

By Michel Chossudovsky

The overall humanitarian operation is not being led by civilian governmental agencies such as FEMA or USAID, but by the Pentagon.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24421.htm



Haiti: The Price of Freedom

By Carolyn Cooper

The US refused to recognise the new Haitian republic and imposed an embargo that lasted until 1862. In 1915, the US invaded Haiti to protect its economic interests and remained in occupation until 1934. Local Haitian leaders were no less predatory than foreign forces, as demonstrated in the truly terrifying reign of Papa and Baby Doc.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24432.htm



Witness to a nightmare

ON SATURDAY, Hillary Clinton flew into Haiti to oversee the relief effort--supposedly. But I think her trip to Haiti tells you all you need to know: They had to shut down the airport for three hours so she could land, which meant that no actual aid flights could come in.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/18/witness-to-a-nightmare



US accused of annexing airport as squabbling hinders aid effort in Haiti

Brazil and France lodged an official ­protest with Washington after US military aircraft were given priority at Port-au-Prince's congested airport, forcing many non-US flights to divert to the Dominican Republic.

http://snipurl.com/u4dtl



Haiti's elite spared from much of the devastation

Search-and-rescue operations have been intensely focused on buildings with international aid workers, such as the crushed U.N. headquarters, and on large hotels with international clientele. Some international rescue workers said they are being sent to find foreign nationals first.

http://snipurl.com/u4dto


From Information Clearing House

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HAITI EARTHQUAKE LIVE BLOG
http://www.truthout.org/haiti-earthquake-live-blog-hatian-prime-minister-says-hundreds-thousands-dead56040

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Haiti's History of Hardship
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2010/01/14

Haitians Struggle After Earthquake
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2010/01/14-0

Ted Rall: Haitian Earthquake: Made in the USA
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-13

What You're Not Hearing about Haiti (But Should Be)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-2

Our Role in Haiti's Plight
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-4

Ten Things the US Can and Should Do for Haiti
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-11

Rights Groups Urge Respect for Human Rights in Delivering Aid to Haiti
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/01/14-18

Media Matters for America: For Fox's Top-Rated Shows, Haiti Tragedy Is Hardly News
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/01/14-15

Profiting from Haiti's Crisis: Disaster Capitalism in Washington's Backyard
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/19-0

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Schon wieder helfen alle Haiti. Wer solche Freunde hat...

Noch ist die Zahl der Opfer des Erdbebens längst nicht klar - in jedem Fall war es ein einziger Schrecken. Und während die Mainstream-Medien neben der Suche nach möglichst ergreifenden Bildern sich vor allem der Selbstdarstellung der Güte großer Mächte widmen geht es in unserer aktuellen kleinen Materialsammlung "Ein politisches Erdbeben" vom 15. Januar 2010 vor allem um die nichtnatürlichen Hintergründe dieser Katastrophe: http://www.labournet.de/internationales/rh/politerdbeben.html


Aus: LabourNet, 15. Januar 2010



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Haiti
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Hillary
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Disaster+Capitalism
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Heritage+Foundation
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pat+Robertson
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Rush+Limbaugh
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tea+Party
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Chris+Floyd
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Naomi+Klein
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Carl+Lindskoog
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bill+Quigley
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Chossudovsky
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Carolyn+Cooper
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Benjamin+Dangl

http://www.petitiononline.com/Mumialaw



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=death+penalty
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mumia+Abu-Jamal

http://www.tacomapjh.org/EverMoreReliantOn.htm

US ramps up Afpak drone war despite legal, strategic concerns
http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/9352/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

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US Attack in Pakistan Kills at Least 18 People

Two missiles were fired at a compound on Thursday, where Hakimullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief, was believed to have been.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/01/201011453930817749.html



CIA drone strike missed Mehsud, say Pakistani Taliban

Leader left Waziristan compound before attack, say insurgents, while intelligence source concedes it is highly unlikely he died.

http://snipurl.com/u32v0



ACLU Requests Information On Predator Drone Program

In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union asked the government to disclose the legal basis for its use of predator drones to conduct "targeted killings" overseas.

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-requests-information-predator-drone-program



Israeli drones take over Afghan skies

While Israeli soldiers can't fight in the war in Afghanistan, Israeli drones can. Starting next week, five NATO member countries will be operating unmanned aerial vehicles produced in the Jewish state in anti-Taliban operations in the Central Asian country.

http://snipurl.com/u5utc



Wars Without Heroes

By Iftekhar A. Khan

Can a CIA operative who pushes the joystick button to launch hellfire missiles by a Predator or a Reaper drone to kill mostly innocent people in mud hamlets in FATA be called a war hero?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24487.htm


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drone
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Pakistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Waziristan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afghanistan
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Afpak
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Taliban
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mehsud
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ACLU
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Central+Intelligence+Agency
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=targeted+killing
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iftekhar+A.+Khan

http://www.tacomapjh.org/BBCsPaulWoodSays.htm

US 'partnership' with Yemen 'confirms al-Qaeda view of US
http://www.tacomapjh.org/USPartnershipWithYemen.htm


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

--------

Senator Carl Levin wants clandestine action, drones in Yemen

Veteran United States Democratic Senator Carl Levin called on Wednesday for military operations in Yemen such as drones, clandestine missions and airstrikes.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/285648



In Yemen, 158 clerics vow jihad against US military intervention

Prominent Islamist clerics in Yemen warned on Thursday that they would lead a jihad against any foreign forces that occupied their impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation to fight Al Qaeda militants there.

http://snipurl.com/u32vg


From Information Clearing House

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Yemen: Deja Vu All Over Again
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/14-7

Obama Aid to Yemen Could Risk Backlash in Arab World
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/01/15-3



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Carl+Levin
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Yemen
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=military+intervention
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=military+operation
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=proxy+war
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=clandestine
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drone
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=airstrike
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=jihad
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Islamist
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=al-Qaeda
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Phyllis+Bennis
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Jonathan+S.+Landay

Secession and State Governors
http://www.lewrockwell.com/longcore/longcore19.1.html

An Anti-War Secessionist Movement Is Alive
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl2/antiwar-secessionist-movement.html

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The Secessionist Campaign for the Republic of Vermont

By Christopher Ketcham / Montpelier

On Jan. 15, in the state capital of Montpelier, nine candidates for statewide office gathered in a tiny room at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, to announce they wanted a divorce from the United States of America.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24541.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vermont
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=secession
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=/longcore

Sunstein called for Cointelpro style effort to silence truth using army of hired provocateurs

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, January 14, 2010

Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, Obama’s appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, outlined a plan for the government to infiltrate conspiracy groups in order to undermine them via postings on chat rooms and social networks, as well as real meetings, according to a recently uncovered article Sunstein wrote for the Journal of Political Philosophy.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-information-czar-outlined-plan-for-government-to-infiltrate-conspiracy-groups.html



Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech

Sunstein: Taxation and censorship of dissenting opinions "will have a place" under thought police program advocated in 2008 white paper

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, January 14, 2010

The controversy surrounding White House information czar and Harvard Professor Cass Sunstein’s blueprint for the government to infiltrate political activist groups has deepened, with the revelation that in the same 2008 dossier he also called for the government to tax or even ban outright political opinions of which it disapproved.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-information-czar-calls-for-banning-free-speech.html

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Obama Confidant's Spine-Chilling Proposal
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/15-13

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Don't Disagree With the Feds on History
http://www.lewrockwell.com/greenwald/greenwald55.html

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Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal

Salon
by Glenn Greenwald

01/15/10

Cass Sunstein has long been one of Barack Obama’s closest confidants. Often mentioned as a likely Obama nominee to the Supreme Court, Sunstein is currently Obama’s head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs where, among other things, he is responsible for ‘overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs.’ In 2008, while at Harvard Law School, Sunstein co-wrote a truly pernicious paper proposing that the U.S. Government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-’independent’ advocates to ‘cognitively infiltrate’ online groups and websites — as well as other activist groups — which advocate views that Sunstein deems ‘false conspiracy theories’ about the Government...

http://tinyurl.com/yde4ug8


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Sunstein
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=greenwald

Bloomberg

01/14/10

A record 3 million U.S. homes will be repossessed by lenders this year as high unemployment and depressed home values leave borrowers unable to make their house payment or sell, according to a RealtyTrac Inc. forecast. Last year there were 2.82 million foreclosures, the most since RealtyTrac began compiling data in 2005. More than 4.5 million filings are expected this year, including default or auction notices and bank seizures, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president for the Irvine, California-based seller of default data and forecasts...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avunOgrdEx_g


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

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One in 7 U.S. mortgages foreclosing or delinquent

A record one in seven U.S. mortgages were in foreclosure or at least one payment past due in the third quarter, according to fresh data signaling the recovery in the housing market will be tepid at best.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1937065020091119


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=recovery
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=foreclosure
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mortgage
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=unemploy

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/13-12



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Obama
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Bush+legacy
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Nat+Hentoff