the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

 by Jonathan Cook Part 9 - Establishment playbook For anyone who isn’t wilfully blind, the last few months have exposed the establishment playbook: it will use identity politics to divide those who might otherwise find a united voice and a common cause. There is nothing wrong with celebrating one’s identity, especially if it is under threat, maligned or marginalised. But having an attachment to an identity is no excuse for allowing it to be coopted by billionaires, by the powerful, by nuclear-armed states oppressing other people, by political parties or by the corporate media, so that they can weaponise it to prevent the weak, the poor, the marginalised from being represented. It is time for us to wake up to the tricks, the deceptions, the manipulations of the strong that exploit our weaknesses – and make us yet weaker still. It’s time to stop being a patsy for the establishment. *** Source, links: https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/12/how-bernie-bros-were-inv

by Paul Street Part 8 - Social Imperialism With Demented Joe’s clear victory (his defeat of Sanders in Bernie’s Michigan “firewall” yesterday seals the deal – it’s over) in the nomination battle, Sanders can be expected in due time to honor his unfortunate advance “sheepdog” promise to support the eventual Democratic nominee, no matter who it is. What a sad that promises to be: stumping for the ridiculous and offensive right-wing corporate imperialist and dementia victim, his “friend” Joe Biden. It will be another great stain on his “socialist” legacy, along with his support for Hillary Clinton in 2016 (also promised in advance), his backing of an F-35 base in Vermont, his embrace of Bill Clinton’s war on Serbia, his vote for the 2001 Authorization of Unilateral Military Force Against Terrorists (the AUMF, which gave George W. Bush a green light to launch wars wherever he wished), his backing of Barack Obama’s Libyan fiasco, his support for an increased U.S role in the

«Αν υπάρξουν απολύσεις γιατρών στον ΕΟΠΥ, σας παρακαλώ αυτό δεν θέλω να το χρεωθεί η τρόικα, δεν θέλω να μου παίρνει την δόξα ο Τόμσεν για τα αυτονόητα. Οι αποφάσεις είναι δικές μου» (Άδωνις  Γεωργιάδης, 13/11/2013)  του Λεωνίδα Καρίγιαννη Μέρος 4ο - Η εικόνα της απασχόλησης και των εργασιακών σχέσεων Η  δραστική μείωση της χρηματοδότησης  έφερε την δραματική μείωση του προσωπικού στον χώρο της υγείας. Το μόνιμο προσωπικό στα χρόνια των μνημονίων 2010-2019, μειώθηκε κατά 25.000 στα Νοσοκομεία (στοιχεία ΠΟΕΔΗΝ). Συνολικά σε όλες τις υπηρεσίες του Υπουργείου Υγείας το 2010 υπηρετούσαν 105.000 μόνιμοι υπάλληλοι, το 2014 υπηρετούσαν 79.533 και το 2019 79.375 (στοιχεία Υπουργείου Εσωτερικών). Εξ αυτών, το 2010 στα Νοσοκομεία υπηρετούσαν 86.750 εκ των οποίων 16.000 γιατροί και 70.750 νοσηλευτικό και λοιπό προσωπικό. Στα Νοσοκομεία υπηρετούν σήμερα 60.660, εκ των οποίων 12.160 ειδικευμένοι ιατροί και 48.500 νοσηλευτικό και λοιπό προσωπικό. Οι χιλιάδες εργαζόμενοι που προσλ

The CRS is a Congressional "think tank" with a staff of around 700. Reports are commissioned by members of Congress on topics relevant to current political events. Despite CRS costs to the tax payer of over $100M a year, its electronic archives are, as a matter of policy, not made available to the public. Individual members of Congress will release specific CRS reports if they believe it to assist them politically, but CRS archives as a whole are firewalled from public access. This report was obtained by Wikileaks staff from CRS computers accessible only from Congressional offices.  globinfo freexchange A report from April, 2007, examines the practice of privatization of many government services in the United States, emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. An interesting part of the report explains the distinction between privatization and marketization, an alternative to privatization, which is " the structuring of a government agency so that it provide

AJ+ How solutions to COVID-19 sound like they’re right out of a Bernie Sanders stump speech. So, is the Coronavirus pandemic proving that Bernie’s been right the whole time?

For twenty years, right wing extremists in Miami and Washington have been slandering the Venezuelan government, accusing it of drug trafficking and harboring terrorists without offering even a shred of evidence. The item at the top of their wishlist was fulfilled on March 26, when the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled indictments against President Nicolás Maduro and 13 other current or former members of Venezuela’s government and military. In addition to the indictments, Attorney General William Barr offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro, as well as $10 million rewards for Diosdado Cabello (president of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly), Tarek El Aissami (vice president for the economy), Hugo Carvajal (former director of military intelligence) and Cliver Alcalá (retired general). The indictment has backfired already. Hours after the announcement, Alcalá posted videos online that threaten to cause further spl

Jeff Bezos and other corporate executives across the country sold approximately $9.2 billion in shares of their own companies between early February and the end of last week, salvaging potential losses of up to $1.9 billion, according to an analysis of more than 4,000 regulatory filings by the Wall Street Journal . The largest seller was the richest man in the world - Jeff Bezos, who sold $3.4 billion in Amazon shares the first week of February, right before the market peaked - which avoided paper losses of approximately $317 million through March 20. The sale constituted roughly 3% of his holdings - and was nearly as much stock as he sold during the previous 12 months.  And while there is no indication that executives sold shares based on inside information - and the Journal notes that executives often sell shares early in the year for tax purposes, the amount of stock sold by US execs was up around 1/3 vs. the same period from the last two years according to the report.

globinfo freexchange Γνωρίζαμε ότι η φράξια των νεοφιλελεύθερων τζιχαντιστών του Μητσοτακικού καθεστώτος είχε ως κεντρική αποστολή να ξεπουλήσει τα πάντα και να ιδιωτικοποιήσει το Εθνικό Σύστημα Υγείας. Δεν μπορούσαμε όμως να φανταστούμε, ότι οι φανατικοί του Μητσοτάκη θα έφταναν σε τέτοιο σημείο, ώστε όχι μόνο να εμπαίζουν πολίτες, γιατρούς και νοσηλευτικό προσωπικό, αλλά και να βρίσκουν μιας πρώτης τάξεως ευκαιρία, με αφορμή την κρίση, να συρρικνώσουν, αντί να στελεχώσουν το ΕΣΥ! Είναι χαρακτηριστική η ανακοίνωση που έκανε η βουλευτής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ στο νομό Καστοριάς, Ολυμπία Τελιγιορίδου, για τον απίστευτο εμπαιγμό των κυβερνώντων, οι οποίοι αρνούνται, ακόμα και τώρα, να στελεχώσουν το νοσοκομείο της πόλης με νέο προσωπικό και μάλιστα σε μια περιοχή που έχει πληγεί ιδιαίτερα. Όπως ανέφερε η βουλευτής:  Με χαρά άκουσα αρχικά την ανακοίνωση του Υπουργού Υγείας κ. Κικίλια και του Υφυπουργού Πολιτικής Προστασίας κ. Χαρδαλιά πως έφερε γιατρούς στο Νοσοκομείο Καστοριάς. Ψ

DiEM25 A conversation with philosopher and co-founder of DiEM25, Srecko Horvat. The coronavirus crisis is revealing that the powers that be of the European Union have learned nothing from the Eurocrisis.  They are currently betraying the interests of the majority of Europeans in the same way that they have done so in 2010 -- by failing to mobilize existing money and public financial instruments in the interests of the many. With their current decisions, they are jeopardizing public health, public goods and the interests of Europeans. 

Italy requested doctors from China, Cuba, and Venezuela to contain the coronavirus, while Cuba rescued a ship of British citizens. Meanwhile, US sanctions worsen the toll of the Covid-19 crisis in Iran and Venezuela. by Ben Norton Part 5 - US sanctions prevent Venezuela and Iran from importing medicine and medical equipment And while the Trump administration and US pharmaceutical companies are seeking to profit from the coronavirus pandemic, Washington is doubling down on its destructive economic warfare. Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, gave a press conference denouncing Washington for preventing Caracas from buying medicine and medical equipment that would help it fight Covid-19. “ It is ethically unacceptable that such sanctions be maintained against Venezuela, ” Saab said. He called on Colombia and Brazil to stop their coup attempts against Caracas and to instead work together to contain the virus. US sanctions have also greatly hindered Ir