The Raw Story

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Thursday, 12 February 2015

The Minsk Peace Deal: Set up to fail

Judging by the report on RT http://bit.ly/1KR9a8nI conclude that the Ukraine peace deal worked out in Minsk by Putin, Merkel, Hollande, and Poroshenko has little chance of success.As Washington is not a partner to the Minsk peace deal, how can there be peace when Washington has made policy decisions to escalate the conflict and to use the conflict as a proxy war between the US and Russia?The Minsk agreement makes no reference to the announcement...

Former IMF Boss Admits Attending Sex Party But Never Paid Prostitutes

The former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn has admitted before a French court that he attended a sex party at the IMF’s Washington Office but never paid for the services of the women involved.The former IMF boss is on trial with 14 other people for sex offenses including the alleged procuring of prostitutes for sex party in Washington.The court in the northern city of Lille heard testimonies from witnesses in...

Researchers call for interstellar messages to alien civilizations

© Arne Nordmann/Creative CommonsA graphic message sent into space by the Arecibo radio telescope in the 1970s. San Jose, California — Is it time to send deliberate messages to the stars, in the hopes of reaching alien civilizations? Advocates in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) say that moment is long overdue. But other researchers want to take a more cautious approach and seek an international consensus before outing Earth to...

Georgia police shoot man, handcuff him to hospital bed and deny family access until he dies

© Davis FamilyKevin Davis and family Police in Georgia who cuffed a man to his hospital bed for two days after he was fatally shot by an officer have been accused by his family of barring them from visiting him to stop full details of the shooting from being disclosed.Kevin Davis was detained at Grady hospital in Atlanta after being shot three times by a DeKalb County police officer, who was responding to a 911 call made by Davis and his girlfriend...

Iowa widow faces federal charges because she deposited inheritance money in lumps

© Police State USAJustice in America. Dubuque — A widow's bank account was seized by the IRS and she now faces criminal charges for depositing her legal inheritance money in lumps instead of all together.Janet Malone, 68, had $18,775 seized from her — money that was legally earned and was legally bestowed to her by her late husband, Ronald Malone. The problem, according to the government, was the fact that she deposited it in several lumps instead...

Ten reasons why we should celebrate the inevitable nuclear holocaust

So beautiful. A hundred years ago, the world "sleepwalked" into the First World War, the war that wiped out an entire generation of Europeans. Aren't we repeating the same sleepwalking march again, this time with even deadlier consequences? The recent baiting and bullying of Russia and the Russian-speaking population of Eastern Ukraine; the proposals in Congress to supply lethal military aid to Ukraine coupled with the Defense Secretary nominee's...

Meteor-fireballs seen over Sonoma and Humboldt Counties, California

© http://bit.ly/1D1fsRK Multiple North Coast residents from Valley Ford to Santa Rosa and Fort Bragg reported seeing what they described as a meteor streaking northwest across the sky toward the ocean on Saturday afternoon.Emergency dispatchers began receiving calls just before 1 p.m., said Sgt. Cecile Focha, spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. The initial report was of an airplane crash, which turned out to be unfounded. Units from...

Minsk 'agreement': Outcome depends on the Europeans, not Russia

Putin in Minsk. Already there is debate about who has "won" and who has "lost" in the Minsk talks.The short answer is that as the German foreign minister Steinmeier correctly said there is no breakthrough but the Russians and the NAF have made progress.One point needs to be explained or reiterated (since I have explained it already and many times).The agreement does not make provision for federalisation or autonomy for the Donbass but still only...

Valentine's weekend blizzard to rage in Northeast; bitter cold, powerful winds, whiteout conditions possible

A storm moving through the Northeast during the Valentine's Day weekend will develop into a blizzard with snow, fierce wind and bitterly cold air.While the first of two clipper storms this week will stay weak until swinging east of New England, the second clipper storm rolling in this weekend will strengthen significantly.People on weekend ski trips or partaking in other travel from the Great Lakes to New England will run the risk of getting stuck...

Queen Elizabeth rips Chris Christie for stalling gay marriage bill

© Dan Kitwood/POOL/Reuters Moments after approving a new law legalizing gay marriage in England and Wales, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain unleashed a blistering attack on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for "lacking the guts" to do the same.The British monarch's brutal evisceration of Gov. Christie stunned observers, who did not know that she was such a close follower of his gay-marriage stance."I don't like to badmouth people," she said. "But...

South Front Ukraine Crisis updates: Clashes, shelling, and new offensives while politicians talk peace

E-mails sent to Sott.net become the property of Quantum Future Group, Inc and may be published without notice.Reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views of the volunteers, editors, and directors of SOTT.net or the Quantum Future Group.Remember, we need your help to collect information on what is going on in your part of the world! Send your article suggestions to: Some icons appearing on this site were created by: Afterglow, Aha-Soft,...

World Gold Council reports Central banks' gold purchases close to 50yr high

© Reuters / Leonhard Foeger Central banks across the world have purchased a record 477.2 tons of gold in 2014 as an attempt to reduce the influence of the US dollar amid global financial instability, according to World Gold Council.It is the biggest amount of gold purchased by the central banks in nearly 50 years, the council said in a report.The majority of the countries bolstering their gold holdings are from the Commonwealth of Independent States...

Woman files lawsuit claiming cop caused miscarriage after slamming her to the ground and sitting on her

A Georgia woman claimed in a lawsuit that police officers in Albany beat her so badly that she had a miscarriage.In a complaint filed in federal court, Kenya Harris explained that she went to the Albany Police Department in May 2011 to pick up her minor son after he was arrested, according to Courthouse News.Harris said she waited five hours for her son before informing Officers Ryan Jenkins that she needed to return home to take care of her other...

Cop who was fired after testing positive for cocaine after killing rape suspect could be charged

©Former Allegheny County Sherrif's Detective Richard Dwyer A Pennsylvania sheriff's deputy could be charged with manslaughter if investigators determine he was high on cocaine when he shot and killed a rape suspect last month.Richard Dwyer was fired by the Allegheny County sheriff after he tested positive for cocaine shortly after he and a U.S. Marshal fatally shot Leslie Sapp as they attempted to arrest him Jan. 6 at his Knoxville home, reported...

Chapel Hill shooter Craig Stephen Hicks had ongoing parking dispute with victims

© AFP Photo/Sara D. DavisCraig Stephen Hicks sits in the Durham County courtroom for his first appearance in the shooting deaths of three University of North Carolina students on February 11, 2015. Police say that an ongoing dispute over parking may have led a triple murder on Tuesday night , but affiliate reports that the local prosecutor is not ruling out the possibility that the shooting was a hate crime. All three victims were reportedly Muslim.Craig...

Minsk summit: Restrained optimism, new Russian sanctions off table?

© Reuters / Grigory DukorGermany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and France's President Francois Hollande address the media after taking part in peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 12, 2015. The ceasefire deal brokered by the so-called Normandy Four in Minsk has offered a "glimmer of hope" that the bloodshed in Ukraine can be halted and mend strained relations between Russia and the West.The deal was reached following...

Man fatally shot by police for throwing rocks

The death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes at the hands of police has sparked protests. Police in Washington fatally shot a man who was throwing rocks at them, officials confirmed Wednesday, as purported footage of his death sparked protests and online anger.Officers responded to a busy intersection Tuesday after receiving reports that a man was throwing rocks at vehicles, according to Police Chief Bob Metzger of the Pasco Police Department.Metzger said...

What's behind the mainstream media and Big Pharma measles and vaccination hysteria?

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair, anti-fascist, anti-imperialist American author who wrote in the early 20th century"No vaccine manufacturer shall be liable...for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death." - President Ronald Reagan, as he signed The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986, absolving drug companies from all...
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