the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss US concerns over the European Union’s new plans to deepen defense ties between its members and strained US-Turkey relations. The two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels is expected to approve changes to the alliance’s command structure. It aims to meet the challenges of warfare in the 21st century, particularly cyberattacks and “hybrid warfare” tactics, AFP reports. Senior US officials have voiced fears about the impact the EU’s new landmark defense pact could have on the balance of power in NATO. The permanent structured cooperation on defense agreement has projects in view already to develop new military equipment and improve cooperation and decision-making. Washington is concerned that some of the proposed initiatives risked “ pulling resources or capabilities away from NATO. ” https://www.rt.com/newsline/418782-nato-us-eu-defense/

Tehran’s ballistic missile program must be placed under international surveillance, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. The bid positions the French leader to get tougher on Tehran while preserving the nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap, Reuters said. France, one of the signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal, wants to preserve it as nothing better has been offered, according to Macron. However, he said late on Tuesday the use of “ Iranian-linked missiles in Yemen and Syria ” needed to be addressed. “ And [we need] to put Iran under surveillance over its ballistic missiles. It’s indispensable for the security of the region and so we need a mechanism of sanctions and control adapted to that, ” Reuters quoted Macron as saying. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on February 8 that the West must ensure the nuclear deal succeeds before trying to negotiate other issues. https://www.rt.com/newsline/418804-fran

Αλυσιδωτές αντιδράσεις με επιπτώσεις στην ευρύτερη Μέση Ανατολή απειλούν να προκαλέσουν οι συντονισμένες επιθετικές κινήσεις της Ουάσινγκτον και του Τελ Αβίβ στη Συρία εναντίον ιρανικών και ρωσικών στόχων. Ο νέος κύκλος έντασης ξεκίνησε με τις αεροπορικές επιδρομές του Ισραήλ εναντίον της Συρίας που ακολούθησαν την κατάρριψη ιπτάμενου αντικειμένου, που σύμφωνα με τις ισραηλινές ένοπλες δυνάμεις αποτελούσε ιρανικό drone. Ακολούθησε ανηλεής βομβαρδισμός ιρανικών στόχων στο εσωτερικό της Συρίας κατά τη διάρκεια του οποίου η συριακή αεράμυνα κατέρριψε ένα ισραηλινό F-16. Την ίδια ώρα αδιευκρίνιστος παραμένει ο αριθμός των Ρώσων συμβούλων και στρατιωτών που έχασαν τη ζωή τους κατά τη διάρκεια αμερικανικών αεροπορικών βομβαρδισμών στη Συρία στις 7 Φεβρουαρίου. Το Πεντάγωνο ανακοίνωσε αρχικά ότι σκότωσε περίπου 100 μαχητές που κινούνταν εναντίον της οργάνωσης Δημοκρατικές Δυνάμεις της Συρίας. Το πρακτορείο Reuters, επικαλούμενο ρωσικές πηγές κάνει λόγο για δεκάδε

A series of Australian government websites, including the Victorian parliament’s, have been compromised by malware that forces visitors’ computers to secretly mine cryptocurrency, as part of a worldwide security breach. The process, known as cryptojacking, forces a user’s computer to mine cryptocurrency without their permission, generating profits for the hacker. Government websites were infected with the malware on Sunday after a browser plug-in made by a third-party was compromised. Thousands of sites, including the UK’s National Health Service, and the UK’s own data protection watchdog, were affected. In Australia the cryptojacking attack hit the official website of the Victorian parliament, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Queensland ombudsman, the Queensland Community Legal Centre homepage, and the Queensland legislation website, which lists all of the state’s acts and bills. More: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/20

by Caitlin Johnstone The dynamics of the establishment Syria narrative are hilarious if you take a step back and think about them. I mean, the western empire is now openly admitting to having funded actual, literal terrorist groups in that country, and yet they’re still cranking out propaganda pieces about what is happening there and sincerely expecting us to believe them. It’s adorable, really; like a little kid covered in chocolate telling his mom he doesn’t know what happened to all the cake frosting. Or least it would be adorable if it weren’t directly facilitating the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people. I recently had a pleasant and professional exchange with the Atlantic Council’s neoconservative propagandist Eliot Higgins, in which he referred to independent investigative journalist Vanessa Beeley as “bonkers” and myself as “crazy”, and I called him a despicable bloodsucking ghoul. I am not especially fond of Mr. Higgins. You see this