The Raw Story

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

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Authoritarian U.S. State allows impunity for torturers and police shootings

The international fallout from last week's long-delayed release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's 500-page executive summary of its still-classified 6,000 report on CIA torture could hardly be more intense, with calls coming from the United Nations, foreign governments and the human rights community for prosecutions of those who carried out or authorized the torture techniques described in the report, including senior officials from the Bush...

Superbomb winter storm predicted for Northeastern U.S. at Christmas

A "superbomb" storm is being predicted for Christmas Day in the Northeast United states according to WeatherBell Meteorologist Dr. Ryan Maue who has pointed out it looks to be reminiscent of the Cleveland Superbomb of 1978 aka the "Great New England Blizzard of 1978″.This GFS forecast model for Christmas Day shows the depth of the low, poised to gather moisture from the Great Lakes and dump it into the Northeastern U.S. over the next 24-48 hours,...

False flag: 5 reasons to question the official story of the 'Sydney Siege'

In the aftermath of yet another highly publicized terror attack (or at least the potential for a high profile attack) in Australia by foreign-born jihadists, the Western public is once again experiencing a variety of emotional reactions that they have carefully been trained to experience whenever such events take place at home or abroad.The xenophobic pro-war right is predictably using the attack as an example of how all Muslims are terrorists...

Netanyahu slams EU taking Hamas off terror list while Defense Minister says 'Israel might be forced to attack Gaza again'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed a recent decision by a top European court to remove Palestinian faction Hamas from the EU's list of "terrorist" organizations."The friendship we see from the United States stands in complete contrast to what we are seeing regretfully in Europe," according to a statement issued by Netanyahu's office just before he was scheduled to meet with U.S. Senator-elect Joni Ernst."We saw today...

Elites use fascism and war to crush revolutionary movements

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1937 with Adolf Hitler. Listening to Pauwels makes one realize the scope of the lies we've been fed about the Second World War, fascism and democracy, and how myths related to previous wars need to be upheld in the mainstream discourse to satisfy never ending war propaganda needs.The myth of the Good War Every time Westerners' approval for war is required, the myth of the good war surfaces: the Second World War...

Keystone XL pipeline: TransCanada sends final offers to 100-plus Nebraska landowners

© Associated PressA stake in the ground wrapped with tape that marks the route of the Keystone XL pipeline in Tilden, Nebraska, on March 17, 2014 Lincoln - As the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate pledged quick approval of the Keystone XL pipeline early next year, final offers were landing Tuesday in dozens of Nebraska mailboxes.TransCanada Corp. said it mailed new offers of right-of-way payments this week to more than 100 Nebraska landowners...

Strange hairless creature washes up dead on California beach

A mysterious creature with sharp claws and pointy teeth was discovered on a beach in Santa Barbara on Tuesday after the most recent storm hitting the area.The apparent monster is brownish in color and was discovered near a drain washout, reports KEYT.com. The unidentified beast has left residents baffled and no one has been able to identify the species of animal found on the shore nor do they know where it came from.Santa Barbara saw brutal storms...

US: Ground beef prices climb to another record

The average price of a pound of ground beef climbed to another record high -- $4.201 per pound -- in the United States in November, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).In August 2014, the average price for a pound of all types of ground beef topped $4 for the first time, hitting $4.013, according to the BLS. In September, the average price jumped to $4.096 per pound, and in October, the average price climbed...

Former police officer arrested 3 times in one day, twice for DUI

John Biehn A former Bridgeport police officer, accused in the past of drunkenly shooting up a city housing complex, was arrested three times in about 11 hours stretching into early Tuesday, following a Monday court appearance on a drunken-driving charge.The first incident occurred just before 1:30 p.m., Vernon police said, when they pulled over 39-year-old John Biehn, of Southington, in the parking lot of McDonald's on Talcottville Road after receiving...

Strange contrails appear over Russian town

Multiple eyewitnesses, including one who was quick with her camera, spotted strange squiggly contrails just before dawn one morning this week over Biysk in southern Russia. Many of the witnesses believed the contrails were from UFOs. Were they?According to reports, Elisha Ponomaryov saw other people looking skyward and pointing at the contrails. She didn't know what they were but had the presence of mind to take a photo. Unfortunately, she was...

Witness photographs incredible transparent geodesic shaped UFO over Austria

Link to actual photoWitness: "I'm a resident of Vienna in Austria and when I was on the balcony, I saw this huge transparent vehicle floating above the clouds for about two minutes." "I grabbed my phone (Samsung Galaxy S5) and after I took a photograph of it, the vehicle was gone." "I've never seen anything like it, it was strange." Mufon case 61696.Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And...

Attorney General Downplays Ties To MPAA... Just As NY Times Reveals MPAA Actually Wrote The Letter He Sent Google

Last week, we wrote about how some of the leaked emails from the Sony hack revealed that the MPAA was funding and coordinating various Attorneys General attacks on Google, even over topics that have nothing to do with copyright infringement. In response, Mississippi AG Jim Hood told the Huffington Post that he barely knows anyone at the MPAA, and has no idea who their lawyers are -- and that the MPAA has "no major influence" on what he's working...

SOTT FOCUS: Proxy War Against Russia: Ukrainian Nazis teaming up with 'Chechen' terrorists

Yesterday, Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov told NTV channel he'd like to quit his post as leader of Chechnya and help the local militias in Novorussia (Donetsk and Lugansk) fight their Ukrainian attackers. This comes after Kiev's corrupt officials initiated criminal proceedings against him last week and threatened to put him on an international 'wanted' list. He responded:They can keep saying whatever they like. But I am going to ask the (Russian)...

How we unwittingly assist the surveillance state

© Omar Rubio We live in a world increasingly dominated by our personal data.Some of those data we choose to reveal, for example, through social media, email and the billions - yes, billions - of messages, photos and Tweets we post every day.Still other data are required to be collected by government programs that apply to travel, banking, and employment and other services provided by the private sector. All of these are subject to extensive government...

Reading between the lines: Lavrov's recent interview with France 24

People who periodically confuse the TV series with the war in Donbass, send texts for Strelkov/Gubarev, and demand to bring in troops to the TNT channel - are particularly paranoid. Their paranoia progresses so quickly that in no time they will be mortified by just the word "Ukraine," in response reciting: "Putiiin Duuumped, La-La-La-La-La-La! Putiiin Duuumped, La-La-La-La-La-La".A special case of such a fright we discuss below. But honestly, we...

Birds in central Michigan are dying due to decades-old DDT pollution

© Teri Kniffen's videoAmerican robin found in Kniffen's neighbor's yard in 2014. Volunteers collect the birds to have them tested for neurotoxicity. All this week we're bringing you stories about the chemical company responsible for the PBB tragedy in Michigan. Michigan Chemical accidentally contaminated the state's food supply in the 1970s, but the legacy of that company is still very much with us today.Michigan Chemical - which later became Velsicol...
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