the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

by Jonathan Cook   Part 1   There was a hope in some quarters after Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled on Monday against an application to extradite Julian Assange to the US, where he faced being locked away for the rest of his life, that she might finally be changing tack.   Washington has wanted Assange permanently silenced and made an example of – by demonstrating to other journalists its terrifying reach and powers of retaliation – ever since the Wikileaks founder exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago. There were reasons, however, to be suspicious of what Baraitser was really up to even as she made her ruling in Assange’s favour. This district judge has a record of nodding through extradition cases, including several that have recently been overturned on appeal by a higher court. During the hearings back in September, Baraitser had endlessly indulged lawyers representing the US while showing absolute disdain for Assange’s legal team, obstructing them at every turn.

UK judge Vanessa Baraitser justified CIA spying on Julian Assange by citing a falsehood-filled CNN report. Her judgment highlighted corporate media’s enthusiastic role in a state-sponsored assault on press freedom.   by Ben Norton   Part 1   The British judge ruling in the US government’s extradition case against journalist Julian Assange justified a CIA spying operation targeting both the WikiLeaks publisher and the Ecuadorian government by pointing to debunked accusations published by CNN. Yet in a self-referential loop, the American media outlet’s dubious claims about Assange themselves originated with a security firm that was spying on Assange for the CIA – and which is now facing prosecution in Spain for illegal activity. While the UK judge ultimately decided not to extradite Assange, citing his deteriorating mental health and the likelihood of suicide in the draconian US prison system, her judgement nevertheless echoed and reinforced the US government’s unsubstantiated and politi

by Jonathan Cook   Part 6 - Described as ‘kapos’   So repressive has the cultural and political atmosphere grown in Germany that there has been a small backlash among cultural leaders. Some have dared to publish a letter protesting against the role of Klein, the antisemitism commissioner. Haaretz reports:                               The antisemitism czar, the letter charged, is working “in synergy with the Israeli government” in an effort “to discredit and silence opponents of Israel’s policies” and is abetting the “instrumentalization” that undermines the true struggle against antisemitism. Figures like Klein have been so focused on tackling criticism of Israel from the left, including the Jewish left, that they have barely noted the “ acute danger Jews in Germany face due to the surge in far-right antisemitism ”, the letter argues. Again, the same picture can be seen across Europe. In the UK, the opposition Labour party, which should be a safe space for those leading the anti-rac

While the US and its allies glorify Leopoldo López as a new MLK, the US-backed Venezuelan opposition  collaborates with Colombia’s narco-affiliated, death squad-sponsoring former President Álvaro Uribe.   by Ben Norton   Part 4 - Leopoldo López flies with drug trafficking-linked plane company   The various coup attempts planned by Leopold López, Juan Guaidó, and their sponsors in Washington and Bogotá had repeatedly failed. So this December, López adopted a new PR strategy. On December 11, he flew from his new home in Spain (where he also has the support of the government) to Cúcuta, a Colombian city on the border with Venezuela. There López posed for photos with Venezuelan immigrants, in a marketing exercise designed to portray himself as a noble, bleeding-heart defender of his people. But Venezuelan journalists soon uncovered a scandal: The plane that ferried López to Cúcuta was owned by a Florida-based company that had previously sold a plane to a Colombian who was busted in Hondura

by Jonathan Cook   Part 2 - A moment of celebration   We have contributed collectively in our various small ways to win back for Assange some degree of freedom, and hopefully a reprieve from what could be a death sentence as his health continues to deteriorate in an overcrowded Belmarsh high-security prison in London that has become a breeding ground for Covid-19. For this we should allow ourselves a moment of celebration. But Assange is not out of the woods yet. The US has said it will appeal the decision. And it is not yet clear whether Assange will remain jailed in the UK – possibly in Belmarsh – while many months of further legal argument about his future take place. The US and British establishments do not care where Assange is imprisoned – be it Sweden, the UK or the US. What has been most important to them is that he continues to be locked out of sight in a cell somewhere, where his physical and mental fortitude can be destroyed and where he is effectively silenced, encouraging

DiEM25   On Monday, January 4, a UK judge blocked the US request to extradite Julian Assange. Two days after, on Wednesday January 6,, the same judge denied Julian Assange bail.   In this video, investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi, Brian Eno, Roger Waters, Yanis Varoufakis, Ken Loach and Frank Barat discuss the meaning of these decisions and what it means for the future of journalism and freedom of speech.

The Grayzone   As Venezuela elects and swears in a new National Assembly Red Lines host Anya Parampil sits down with the country's Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, in their latest conversation since the US launched its coup attempt against his government in January of 2019. They discuss the impact of US regime change policy on Venezuela's domestic political situation, why Juan Guaidó has not been arrested, hope for diplomacy with the incoming Biden Administration, the left's resurgence in Latin America, and more. 

globinfo freexchange   Since already July 2018, we identified an immediate mobilization by the corporate media in the US to force the progressive wing of the Democratic party comply with the DNC neoliberal norm. In the specific example , we analyzed how the corporate pundit forced the new star of the progressive wing, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to literally declare loyalty to the DNC corporate "chief-baroness" Nancy Pelosi. After that, we saw an unexplained and bizarre contribution of both Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez to the establishment pro-McCain 'litanies'. In this totally unnecessary self-recruitment for the McCain's legacy whitewash operation, Cortez retreated unconditionally and the establishment marked a second victory against her. As we had mentioned , the corporate media will focus mainly on pushing progressives to be 'swallowed' by the current DNC establishment in order to destroy the political revolution of Bernie Sanders. Yet, it is expect

Capitalist factions continue tough bargain in the beginning of the post-Brexit era   As DNC's coup attempt against Bernie Sanders in Iowa ends up to a great fiasco, the establishment takes a good taste of the progressive movement stamina    Absolutely disgusting: Pelosi stands up and joins Trump, applauding the CIA failed-coup plotter Juan Guaido    Although liberal brains are still in a state of total denial, they start to accept that Bernie will probably win - eventually, they will get used to it First we took Iowa, then we took Hampshire!   We can't just wait for robots and 3D printers to overthrow capitalism   It's official: the oligarchs and the corporate media declare war on Sanders' progressive movement    As Bernie now looks unstoppable, liberal plutocrats and their DNC proxies are left with only one option: an unholy alliance with Trump   Another astroturfing operation against Bernie Sanders fails miserably   Just when the DNC "barons" openly call for

LIVE   All these crises of the last two decades revealed more and more clearly this merciless war among the capitalists. As these have the real power with the big money and the big media, this war not only overshadows every effort for a real alternative against the capitalist system. It even brutally crushes every attempt for a democratic revival. The rampageous bulls of capitalism are fighting each other in an arena in which democracy has now turned into dust under their violent clatters. And under these circumstances, the capitalists won't hesitate to throw in the arena the expendable US working class. To fight on their behalf in an equally merciless civil war ...