The Raw Story

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

Wednesday, 11 March 2015

Cruel and Inhuman: US slammed by UN as only nation that sentences children to die in prison

© childrenofprison.euSome children go to jail. Some children never leave. A United Nations human rights expert strongly condemned the U.S. on Tuesday for being the "only State in the world that still sentences children to life imprisonment without the opportunity for parole," thereby imposing cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. © www.un.orgStanding up for children's rights, Special Rapporteur Juan Méndez Juan Méndez, the Special Rapporteur...

Not in our yard: Maryland business owners call for moratorium on fracking

Dozens of business owners and concerned residents of Western Maryland descended on the capital today to highlight strong and growing demand in their region for a statewide fracking moratorium. They presented a letter to legislative leaders signed by more than 100 Western Maryland business owners calling for the moratorium. The letter cites deep concern over the grave effects the highly industrial, polluting process of fracking could have on regional...

The European Central Bank's noose around Greece

© Theglobalpanorama Remember when the infamous Goldman Sachs delivered a thinly-veiled threat to the Greek Parliament in December, warning them to elect a pro-austerity prime minister or risk having central bank liquidity cut off to their banks? (See January 6th post here.) It seems the European Central Bank (headed by Mario Draghi, former managing director of Goldman Sachs International) has now made good on the threat.The week after the leftwing...

FDA must be made accountable for scientific misbehavior

A most important FDA file somehow was emailed to me and, as a consumer health researcher, retired healthcare professional, consumer health author/journalist/blogger, and certified paralegal, after reading it, I feel it is my moral duty to share it with all citizens in the USA.Someone [name redacted] at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/FDA [PDF] sent the then recently-inaugurated president, Barack Hussein Obama, a letter, which I...

Loneliness comparable to obesity as a threat to longevity and poses even greater risk for younger generations

© fotoforfun / Fotolia Ask people what it takes to live a long life, and they'll say things like exercise, take Omega-3s, and see your doctor regularly.Now research from Brigham Young University shows that loneliness and social isolation are just as much a threat to longevity as obesity."The effect of this is comparable to obesity, something that public health takes very seriously," said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the lead study author. "We need to...

Cash for cops: How civil forfeiture laws are used to enrich police departments

Civil forfeiture is a major issue that's recently gotten into the news, notably due to Attorney General Eric Holder's change to the controversial police action of seizing people's property. Unfortunately, Holder's actions, while laudable, won't stop the massive damage that has already been done - and may very well continue the problem. Because although the media has finally begun to talk about the issue, we still haven't been presented with a full...

The massive lie behind the U.S. unemployment numbers

© UCubed via Facebook On Friday, we learned that the official "unemployment rate" has fallen to 5.5 percent. Since an unemployment rate of 5 percent is considered to be "full employment" by many economists, many in the mainstream media took this as a sign that the U.S. economy has almost fully "recovered" since the last recession. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, some Federal Reserve officials believe that "the U.S. economy is already...

More big earthquakes coming to California, forecast says

© USGSA 3D view of the likelihood that a magnitude-6.7 earthquake will hit in the next 30 years. Larger image here. A new view of California's earthquake risk slightly raises the likelihood of big earthquakes in the Golden State, but lowers the chance that people in some regions will feel shaking from smaller, magnitude-6.7 quakes.The new report does not predict when or where earthquakes will strike, nor how big the next quake will be; instead,...

Ferguson police chief resigns amid furor over DoJ report

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson at a news conference in August shortly after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. Ferguson, Missouri, Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned Wednesday, the city announced. He is the latest in a string of city officials ousted in the wake of a Justice Department report that found a culture of racism in the police department and city offices.Jackson's resignation — which the city said was a "mutual decision" — is...

Human Rights Watch FAIL: Uses Photo of American Bombing Destruction To Condemn Assad

Putting its hypocritical and biased nature on full display once again, the alleged human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, was recently caught in an attempt to fabricate “evidence” of Assad’s use of barrel bombs in civilian areas for the purposes of further demonizing the secular Syrian government.On February 25, HRW posted a photo of a devastated civilian area in Syria with the tagline “Syria dropped barrel bombs despite ban.” The “ban” HRW...

Russia's Kaspersky Lab uncovers more evidence linking NSA to shadowy group of hackers

© Dnaindia.com Researchers from the Russia-based cybersecurity group Kaspersky Lab have uncovered more evidence tying the United States' National Security Agency to a shadowy group of hackers.The hacking collective, dubbed "Equation Group," must have been sponsored by a nation-state with vast resources in order to operate, Kaspersky analysts assert.The strongest evidence connecting the NSA to Equation Group is the string "BACKSNARF_AB25," which...

Netanyahu: 'Worldwide effort' against him in next week's election

© Flickr "It is a very tight race. Nothing is guaranteed because there is a huge, worldwide effort to topple the Likud government," Netanyahu said in comments to party sympathizers on Monday that the Israeli Army Radio broadcast the following day.Army Radio said Netanyahu's comments were referring to money from overseas donors to fund advocacy groups in Israel that support a change in government.Israeli law prohibits political parties from accepting...

Turn your water into wine! Feds approve powdered alcohol

© techeblog A controversial powdered alcohol product called Palcohol, intended to be mixed into drinks, has gained approval from a federal agency.Palcohol first made news last spring when it briefly received the greenlight from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, before the bureau backtracked and said the label approvals had been given in error.On Wednesday, bureau spokesman Tom Hogue told The Associated Press the issues were resolved...

Landslide destroys a major road in Montenegro

© Independent Balkan News AgencyRoad destroyed by landslide A landslide which has been happening for several days disrupted traffic on a section of the road Cetinje-Budva. This is one of the most frequent roads in Montenegro and the shortest route from the capital Podgorica to cities on the coast. The copious rains initiated the landslide and the road has already dropped more than five meters. Reconstruction is not possible to begin until the landslide...
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