The Raw Story

A non-profit news blog, focused on providing independent journalism.

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Gaza apartment high-rise destroyed by Israeli strikes - 70 families homeless

At least 20 Palestinians wounded as Israeli rockets destroy much of one of Gaza's tallest buildings. At least five Israeli air strikes have destroyed much of one of Gaza's tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on Tuesday's attack. Seventy families lived in the building, which also housed offices and a shopping complex. Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson, reporting from Gaza, said Israel fired three non-explosive warning missiles before...

Colonization by bankruptcy: Icelandic solution for Argentina?

If Argentina were in a high-stakes chess match, the country's actions this week would be the equivalent of flipping over all the pieces on the board. - David Dayen, Fiscal Times, August 22, 2014 Argentina is playing hardball with the vulture funds, which have been trying to force it into an involuntary bankruptcy. The vultures are demanding what amounts to a 600% return on bonds bought for pennies on the dollar, defeating a 2005 settlement in which 92% of creditors agreed to accept a 70% haircut on their bonds. A US court has backed the vulture...

The pivot towards China continues: US to "rebalance" military in Guam to counter China and North Korea

Guam, an Island nation of 160,000 people has been a victim of Imperialism dating back to the 16th century. More than 65,000 of the population are called the Chamorro people, an indigenous population originally from the Mariana Islands. Many of the Chamorro people also live in the Northern Mariana Islands, another U.S. territory. Guam's fate with imperial powers from the West began with Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, who represented the King of Spain, landed in Guam around 1521. Spanish General Miguel López de Legazpi claimed Guam for...

Australia's 'Guantanamo: 'Refugees' in mental anguish

At least one in four refugees locked in indefinite detention on the basis of secret ASIO findings has attempted or threatened suicide, a new analysis has revealed. Several of the 44 refugees have now been incarcerated more than five years without charge in Melbourne and Sydney, and none are allowed to know the detail of the secret assessments used to justify their detention. The heavy psychological toll has led to extraordinary rates of depression, anxiety and self-harm, including one man repeatedly beating his head with a toilet do...

Discontent building: French goverment resigns amid rancor over German austerity pressure

The French government has resigned despite being formed just 4 months ago. They quit after ministers slammed President Francois Hollande's plans for taxation and cuts, while also being critical of Germany's austerity program. The statement published on Monday said the new office would be formed on Tuesday and would be in the "direction he (the president) has defined for our country." Following the 2008 financial crisis, Germany has taken the lead to try and resurrect the EU's economy. This has been marked by cutbacks and taxation, which have not...

Ukraine will spend billions of hryvnas to upgrade its military

Before the end of this year Ukraine "will spend billions of hryvnas" to upgrade military hardware of the country's armed forces, President Pyotr Poroshenko said at a military parade on the occasion of the 23rd Ukrainian independence anniversary on Sunday. "Warplanes, helicopter gunships, warships and motor boats will be bought and this is just a moderate start," he said, adding that right from Kreshchatik "the column of troops will be dispatched in the combat action zone" in east Ukrai...

Greenland ice study shows 'unexpected link between solar activity and climate change'

Lund University have published a reconstruction of solar activity vs snow accumulation in Greenland, which indicates a strong correlation between solar minima and a colder climate. 'The study shows an unexpected link between solar activity and climate change,' Dr Muscheler said in a press release. 'It shows both that changes in solar activity are nothing new and that solar activity influences the climate, especially on a regional level. 'Understanding these processes helps us to better forecast the climate in certain regions.' According to the...

Maryland man shot 3-year-old daughter and slit her throat before fatal shootout with police

A Temple Hills, Maryland man slashed his 3-year-old daughter's throat, then shot and killed her before leading police on a car chase that ended in a fatal shootout. According to CBS Baltimore, 38-year-old Frederick Roy Miller shot and wounded two other people in the rampage, which took place on Saturday. Police Chief Mark Magaw said in a press conference that Miller, a Marine veteran, was engaged in a custody battle with his ex-wife. On Saturday, Miller went to the home where his daughter, Laila Miller, lived with her two primary caretakers, her...

Game changer? Futuristic Chinese 'supersonic' sub could reach US shores in under two hours

Traveling from Shanghai to San Francisco in under two hours may sound like a fantasy, but China believes it's figured out how to design an underwater vehicle that can make the idea a reality. More worryingly, though, is the possibility that the technology will be used to develop even more dangerous weaponry. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the super-fast technology was developed by scientists at the Harbin Institute of Technology, and would allow underwater submarines or torpedoes to exceed the equivalent speed of sound under...

Demented MMA fighter who savagely beat ex-girlfriend sez oppression of men is worse than slavery

A mixed martial arts fighter accused of battering his porn actress former girlfriend complained that American men suffered even worse than Jews under Nazi Germany or African slaves in the U.S. War Machine, who legally changed his name in 2008 from Jon Koppenhaver, was arrested Saturday in the brutal assault of his ex-girlfriend, Christy Mack, and reality TV star Corey Thomas. Mack suffered broken bones, missing teeth, and a ruptured liver in the attack. The cage fighter, who has been imprisoned twice previously, claimed he attacked the pair in...

Ferguson: They thought they were free

Spurred on by 9/11 and the War on Terror, America has become a feared military force of terror but the prime target has always been the American public which is becoming increasingly aware of their Government sponsored militarized police who see and relate to them as Middle East terrorists until proven innocent such as in Ferguson, Missouri. The military-style occupation of Ferguson, Missouri has ripped aside the thin veneer of democracy to expose a budding police state. This is what martial law looks like. As I watch, with alarm, the rapidly growing...

Tipping point near? Pathocrats engineering population control via income inequality, inflation and food shortages

The cost of food has been steadilyincreasingin places like Thailand and Venezuela as evidenced by the fact that since the beginning of 2014,riots are occurring in countries that are suffering through extreme food shortages.These mass protests movements may all have one thing in common, increasing food prices are the cause of the civil unrest.According to Dr. Yaneer Bar-Yam and his research colleagues at the New England Complex Systems Institute...

Paul Craig Roberts blasts western media: Respect for truth no longer exists

Comment: Roberts's analysis is spot on. The Western media are either idiots or prostitutes. Funny that Russia -- historical home of the worst type of propaganda during its Soviet days -- has been producing the highest quality journalism in the mainstream (RT, RIA Novosti, Itar-Tass) in recent years. But even they have their limits, which is why alternative media -- like Sott.net -- is thriving. © RIA NovostiWestern media = pure lies. The Western...

Gut bacteria discovered that may prevent food allergies

© Photo by Kenya HondaThe bacterium, called Clostridia, appears to minimize the likelihood that rodents will become allergic to peanuts, and researchers would like to find out if it does the same in people. WASHINGTON: Mice that were raised in a sterile environment or given antibiotics early in life lacked a common gut bacteria that appears to prevent food allergies, US researchers said on Monday.The bacterium, called Clostridia, appears to minimize...

The Hague treats war criminals better than Guantanamo Bay's Camp Seven

© RIA Novosti/Denis VoroshilovThe Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a highly controversial US military prison located in Cuba, has been the subject of harsh criticism since its establishment in 2002. Health workers, inspectors and former detainees have described cruel and inhumane conditions at the camp, including torture War criminals awaiting trial at the detention center operated by the International Criminal Court in The Hague are treated better...

ADL ad justifying Israeli murder of Palestinian children "translated" into plain words by actor Wallace Shawn

ADL ad that appeared in The Hollywood Reporter Playwright and actorWallace Shawnhas responded to thisAnti-Defamation League(ADL) ad blaming Palestinians for Israel's mass slaughter of children in Gaza.Shawn's brilliant "translation" of the ad into plain English is below.Five hundred and sixteen children are among the 2,142 Palestinians killed by Israel's current bombardment of the Gaza Strip, according to the latest tally from Al Mezan Center for...

The final nail in the coffin: The death of freedom in our schools

"Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves."―D.H. Lawrence © www.lostrepublic.us No matter what your perspective on the showdown between locals and law enforcement in Ferguson, Missouri, there can be no disputing the fact that "local" police should not be looking or acting like branches of the military.Unfortunately, in the police...

Diplomacy not escalation: Poroshenko meets with Putin in Belarus to discuss peace plan for Donbass

Comment: Notice the change of tone and words coming from Poroshenko. Has he simply received a new script from his foreign masters, or has he realized the futility of his government's actions these past months? Time will tell! © AFP Photo / Sergei BondarenkoGot you where I want you! Putin and Poroshenko meet for first time in over 2 months. Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko shook hands as talks between the Eurasian Customs Union, EU and Ukraine...

Big Brother Never Stops Spying: The NSA built its own search engine of millions of Americans that law enforcement agencies can access

The National Security Agency is secretly providing data to nearly two dozen U.S. government agencies with a "Google-like" search engine built to share more than 850 billion records about phone calls, emails, cellphone locations, and internet chats, according to classified documents obtained byThe Intercept.The documents provide the first definitive evidence that the NSA has for years made massive amounts of surveillance data directly accessible...

Major seismic event imminent ? Strange glowing lights seen by pilots over part of the Pacific Ring of Fire

Strange lights have been spotted near the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka (image by Dutch pilot JPC van Heijst). The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska. The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt was seen * Strange lights have been spotted near the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka* The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska* The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt...
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