Six Huge Stories The Mainstream Media Don’t Want You To Know About

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by Sophie McAdam at trueactivist.com

 

You might have heard about a few of them, but not as much as you should. Here’s our pick of the last 12 month’s top news stories, all pretty much ignored by the corporate press.

Credit: thechirojunkie.com

Credit: thechirojunkie.com

Whistleblowers, Ecocide, top secret trade deals, and shady ties between the Islamic State and the West’s closest allies…here are a few hot topics the mainstream media barely covered in 2015.

1. Any Tragedy That’s Not Western-Centric

warafrica

The outpouring of fury, despair and grief by the corporate press over the November 13 Paris attacks highlighted the bias of the mainstream media towards western victims of terrorism. There were two suicide bombings in Lebanon the day before the events in Paris, killing 37 and wounding 180, but they were not mentioned much in the sensationalist coverage of France’s tragedy, nor were they mentioned in the minutes’ silences and vigils conducted across the Western world in the aftermath.

From the horrors of the Congo’s bloody civil war to Erdogan’s persecution of Turkish Kurds, from Boko Haram’s ongoing reign of terror in Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon to the plight of Sudanese refugees, the mainstream media seems to pick and choose which human lives deserve our empathy and which aren’t quite so important.

2. Indonesia Burning

Credit: Wikipedia

Credit: Wikipedia

As we previously reported, the Indonesian wildfires that caused devastation to the country’s people and wildlife last year were largely ignored by the mainstream media until several months after the devastating event began. The fires were started by loggers to clear the way for controversial palm oil plantations and caused health problems for over one million people. The World Bank estimates that the fires destroyed 2.6 million hectares (6.4m acres) of rainforest between June and October, costing $16.1bn and causing untold loss of life to the endangered animals who depend on the forests for their survival. Terrified orang-utans fleeing the disaster were abused in a sickening way by some Indonesian villagers.

Ecocide on this scale should have been one of the biggest stories of 2015, but with the exception of Guardian columnist and environmental activist George Monbiot (who attacked his industry for censorship of the event), the tragedy was largely ignored to protect corporate interests.

3. France’s Slip Into Martial Law

Credit: Sylvain Szewczyk, Flickr

Credit: Sylvain Szewczyk, Flickr

The terrorist attacks in Paris were used as justification by the French, British and German governments to join military strikes in Syria. They were also used as justification by the French government to severely restrict freedoms at home. As we reported, immediately after the terrible events of November 13, the French government began closing down alternative news sites. The President also declared that anyone’s house could be searched without a warrant, websites could be blocked without warning, and citizens could be put under house arrest without a trial. Activists hoping to march in Paris at last month’s Climate Conference were disappointed to learn that France’s state of emergency also included a ban on protests. Some French politicians are pushing to install GPS trackers in rental cars, re-write the Constitution to allow for martial law, block free wifi and Tor, and combine state databases, which would give the state access to citizens’ personal medical records.

Amnesty International, along with many French bloggers, expressed concern that the Government had imposed martial law in response to the terrorist attack. They have a point: Isn’t a restriction of freedoms at home exactly what extremists would want? John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director of Europe and Central Asia, said in November: “It is a paradox to suspend human rights in order to defend them.”

Many bloggers agreed and said they were scared about the situation in France. One wrote:

“I’m currently living in Paris, the city where some fanatics killed people because they were listening to music, watching a football match, or simply enjoy beers in a bar. I was living in the neighbourhood of where those tragic event happened. Now I’m scared.
I’m not scared of terrorists.
I’m scared of my own country.
I’m scared because different is now starting to mean dangerous.”

The anonymous man goes on:

“It seems that being an ecologist is enough to get house arrest. Before its 20th November reform, this sentence was reserved to people ‘whose activity is dangerous’, now it’s ‘serious reason to believe that his behaviour constitutes a threat’. We’re almost at the thought crime.”

France’s emergency measures were reported by the mainstream media, but there was little analysis or debate about whether they are justified: the myth we have to trade in our freedoms to get security has become a normal part of everyday life.

4. The Truth About ISIS

Credit: Christopher Dombres, Flickr

Credit: Christopher Dombres, Flickr

In 2015, True Activist reported on a growing body of evidence that strongly suggests the Islamic State:

  • Would not exist at all if it weren’t for the Pentagon’s terrible handling of the illegal 2003 Iraq invasion
  • Is funded and armed by Western allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia
  • Continues to grow due to oil sales to Turkey
  • May have ties to the British government and Israel
  • Could be part of a bigger geo-political plan by the USA and Britain to destabilise the region, using the corporate press to lie to the public in order to gain popular support for more endless oil wars.

The mainstream media continues to peddle the tired old narrative that the Western coalition are in Syria specifically to fight the I.S. If this were true, it would be logical for these countries to support Russia in its war against the terrorist organization. Yet coverage of Vladimir Putin in the corporate press continues to be entirely negative, despite the fact Russia single-handedly took out 40% of the Islamic State’s infrastructure in just one week. The revelations above have been completely censored by the corporate press, which is becoming less credible by the day.

5. The British Parliament Voted Against Democracy

A real and very worrying quote from British Prime Minister David Cameron has caused many Brits to wonder whether democracy even exists.

The words in this image are taken from a real and very worrying speech by UK Prime Minister David Cameron late last year.

Last month, an English politician stood up in the Houses of Parliament and gave a speech calling for electoral reform. His request, backed by thousands of citizens, was blocked. The UK has an archaic system of voting which is unfit for purpose and entirely undemocratic: after unpopular Prime Minister DavidCameron won the 2015 election with just 36% of the vote, millions of British people felt cheated. A petition was launched to demand proportional representation rather than the co-called ‘first past the post’ system, which benefits the major political parties but never the alternatives. In short, Britain is not the fair, democratic nation it pretends to be. News that Jonathan Reynold’s request (video here) for a fairer system was rejected should have been a big story in the UK, but the British media barely covered it.

6. The Reality Of Top-Secret Free Trade Deals

Protests against TTIP have been widespread in Europe. Credit: Global Justice Now, Flickr

Protests against TTIP have been widespread in Europe. Credit: Global Justice Now, Flickr

The TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Partnership Agreement) TISA, (Trade in Services Agreement) and TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) are highly controversial and top secret deals that will affect the lives of every citizen of the planet, yet we apparently have no right to decide whether we want them- or even to know the exact details of the draft legislation.

TTIP, in particular, is of huge concern. As we have reported, the deal threatens to allow corporations to sue governments who don’t do as they are told, kill online privacy, make fracking standard procedure across 28 countries, privatise European health systems, force GMO food on unwilling citizens, strip us of our civil liberties, and ensure that corporations have control over the European parliament.

Julian Assange called TTIP “The most important thing happening in Europe right now,” which is why Wikileaks is raising a 100,000 euro reward for any information relating to the deal. The site says of TTIP:

“It remains secret almost in its entirety, closely guarded by the negotiators, and only big corporations are given special access to its terms. The TTIP covers half of global GDP and is one of the largest agreements of its kind in history. The TTIP aims to create a global economic bloc outside of the WTO framework, as part of a geopolitical economic strategy against the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.”

Considering the impact all three of these trade deals will have on democracy, human rights, food safety and the environment, public awareness should be widespread. Worryingly, a huge number of people know next to nothing about TTIP, TISA and TPP.

Far from questioning the secrecy of such important agreements or inciting a crucial public debate about whether these deals are ethical and democratic, mainstream coverage has glossed over the negatives and generally provided a biased view of the benefits of this corporate take-over of the world.

Did we miss anything? Please share this article and let us know your comments below!


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30 COMMENTS

      • I bought a prime rib for Christmas. When my husband went to prepare it, he noticed that it was from Mexico!! Why??? Yet our government is making it difficult for the people of our country to provide products for us. Note what is happening to ranchers in Texas and now in Oregon. The government is putting more and more restrictions on businesses, as well as taxes, that it is almost impossible to be feasible. Why are we importing grains from other countries? Why is the government allowed to determine what a farmer grows. This is becoming scarier and scarier with each passing day!!

          • As a farmer, I use cows, chickens, ducks, and pigs to restore fertility to my soil. It is called Holistic Animal Management and is based around mob grazing pastures in rotation to mimic herds of buffalo and the flocks of birds and other animals that thrive in their wake. “Cowspiracy” is about CAFOS and the industrial food system. If you read “Cows Save the Planet”, you can learn the science behind soil protection and creation. Do stop eating CAFO meat, but find someone practicing restorative ag/permaculture and enjoy prime rib that’s higher in Omega 3s than fish.

        • The meat industry through its processing is the biggest polluter on earth. If you want to make a difference learn what it takes ,to make what you consume. Be a responsible consumer that would be a positive start…

  1. I fear for the world I fear for my children its not just politicians it’s the human race as a whole people exploit everything they can just to justify their existence consuming what they can however they can do it right or wrong instead of just being. Genuinely upsets me we are on the fast track to genocide and nobody will win.

    Only we as the people can force change the beautiful world houses our children animals the sea everything created perfectly in such a way it was habitable for us and like the spoilt cunts we are we take it for granted squandering it and destroy what could have been the perfect day.

    I hope we can all shown our pain and grief before there’s no chance at all.

    • You took the words out of my mouth. I used to hate the word “cunt” but I use it more and more these days in the same context as you. Very well said and 100% true. I fear for my Daughter and gave said on many occasions that I would join a queue to give up my life in order that our offspring can have a life. We have over populated the planet, over eaten, over polluted and over abused and all under the guise that it’s our right as a human beings. I think it’s time our animal friends (who our species have evolved from) to have a turn at running things and from what I can gauge, mother nature has lost her patience and is telling us enough is enough.

  2. I believe the Government don’t work for the people but against us. So many disputes all over Australia. People trying to protect the land and people just being completely ignored. They paint a picture of community consultation. But all a farce. Government all out to feather their own nest. Time for a revolution.

    • I believe nothing will change untill we as the nation and people of this earth stand up and do our most important job-protect our world and our children! Unless we get our guns and the military and the police join us so that we could all fight for ourselves. We should jail the people that are doing us wrong and lock them up feeding them with only gmo food and not giving them medicine or clear water. That shall teach them and all the future politicans to be. We have to join our forces to win. That is the only way!

  3. It will be interesting to get the stories behind the stories and to find out information of what is not told in magazines or on the news channels, and also to have a group of people you dare to wright stories with a twist, from the perspective of the common men or women, walking the the street … Can you be a platform for such storries and ready to publicize them.
    Best wishes for 2016!

  4. TTIP members are scrambling in fear, trying to survive what’s coming…they know we are past the tipping point and fucked EVERYTHING up soooo bad…that the sheer number of people represented as BRICS will want to survive, a big red flag for everyone should be the price of food (be it nature’s finest, or whatever the hell it is they are trying to create for us).

  5. What about the UK MP paedophile ring? Information was uncovered that MPs in the 70s actually killed children and it never even made the papers let alone got to an enquiry.

  6. The Austerity riots in London after the may 2015 elections. No coverage.
    Live BBC which should a false screen not been used the riots would have been seen while filming. Later the following day very minimal but reports of little more than a few hippys causing horrific trouble with the police.

  7. This war is lost. I actually feel suicidal. The future for humanity is beyond horrible. I’d rather die than bring children into a world where they have no chance. Goodbye.

  8. I was the same as most of you who comment on here ,can’t understand what is going on , watching main streem media and couldn’t believe some of the things i was hearing , so i did some research away form the MSM and a hole new world opened up,so all i can say is do your research if you want to find the truth and ignore MSM, all i can say is we are all being manipulated and played for fools ,see – Bilderburg groupe ,Dr David Duke ,New world order,oil wealth, etc

  9. Theft of a nomination. American nonpartisan citizen election watchdog group ElectionJustice USA.org has calculated there is less than a one in a trillion chance that Sanders did not win outright without the need for a single vote from the unelected, undemocratic ‘superdelegates’. The nomination was stolen by hacking vulnerable voting machines in districts with no paper ballots to recount. A lawsuit filed demanding the release of actual exit polling data was dealt with by Democratic Party ‘Leaders’ by cancelling exit polling in all remaining primary states. If that it isn’t a smoking gun, it is the most persuasive circumstantial evidence I have ever seen. Follow this link to the report exposing the Democratic Party leaders’ undermining the fabric of democracy and circumventing the will of the people by breaking their own rules and the law, ultimately resulting in a Trump POTUS-elect. http://electionjustice.net/democracy-lost-a-report-on-the-fatally-flawed-2016-democratic-primaries-table-of-contents/

  10. You forgot the most important one that you will not find anywhere, not even in most of the alternate media. Cheerios is loaded with glyphosate and most of our toddlers walk around with a cup or bowl of Cheerios as snack food. Glyphosate is a chelator that is, it locks up minerals and makes them unavailable for our enzymes, some 500 different ones of which make sure we go on living. Without it the cells die. Since we have trillions of them we die over time. According to several scientists these kids may not reach their mid twenties without serious health issues. This story should have been spread far and wide. It is one of the worst crimes committed with our children being the victims. For adults eating processed grain based products it might take 20 years. Dr Anthony Samsel: nobody today in his twenties will reach 60 without some form of cancer, It’s simple biochemistry. Not if, just when

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