the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

Corruption and supposed efforts to reduce it have become a neoconservative weapon of choice with which to operate the controls on the funding sluice gates to acolytes of the U.S.-led international neoconservative empire.   by Oliver Boyd-Barrett   Part 1 Within three months of the ascendancy of Joseph Biden to the presidency of the United States, the world teeters on the edge of nuclear war, whether by design or accident, as Russia reports that the U.S. is placing considerable pressure on Ukraine to attack the independent republics of the Donbass for which Russia provides logistical support. The U.S. European Command has raised its alert status to the highest level and warned of a “ potential imminent crisis. ” Mounting tension is an entirely foreseeable outcome of the sludge-like flow over the past four years of Democratic Party fables about Russia, RussiaGate, Ukraine, and U.S. national security, on behalf of the Incubus, a sordid network of military, defense and surveillance industr

With the potential comeback of Lula da Silva, Brazil may once again be on a path away from fascism and one that puts economic justice and anti-imperialism first.   by Alan Macleod   Part 3 - A towering figure Despite being coy about next year, Lula is behaving as if he is already president, releasing statements urging his countryfolk to wear masks and inviting U.S. President Joe Biden to an emergency coronavirus summit on vaccine equity. A towering figure in his homeland, the former street urchin and shoe-shine boy turned union leader was elected president in 2002 and served until 2011, leaving office with an 83% approval rating.    The economy grew steadily and poverty was halved under his stewardship. While the U.S. was invading Afghanistan and Iraq, Lula declared his own domestic war — against hunger. His signature policy was the Bolsa Família package; a deal whereby mothers were given cash transfers of up to $150 per month if they enrolled their children in school and ensured they

globinfo freexchange   It should be a big headline in every major media outlet. Yet, in the era of corporate feudalism (where the mainstream media are bought by big corporations), this story has passed almost unnoticed, despite the fact that it has been brought to light by a Prime Minister of a European country.   Almost buried in a "corner" of the Reuters website, the short report reveals that according to the Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, the EU is about to make a new deal with Pfizer-BioNTech for additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, at a significantly increased price:   The bloc is seeking the new supply deal with the two companies for up to 1.8 billion vaccines, of which is 900 million optional, to be delivered in 2022 and 2023, Reuters reported on Friday. Borissov, speaking on Sunday, said the EU was negotiating the new contract at a price of 19.5 euros ($23.22) per dose. “The prices are going up quickly,” Borissov said during a trip to a village in southern Bulga

The Grayzone   Amid a public relations campaign to rehabilitate the Al Qaeda franchise in Syria -- which rules Idlib, Syria's last militant-controlled province – former top US diplomat James Jeffrey has called the group a US "asset." Lindsey Snell, an independent journalist who escaped captivity by Al Qaeda in Syria, responds.  

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a report alleging Russian interference in the 2020 election, contradicting November statements that there was no meddling, while ignoring documented interference from top US ally Colombia.   by Dan Cohen   Part 4 - US ally gets a pass   But maybe what’s most remarkable is not what’s in the ODNI report, but what isn’t. By the standards of the U.S. government, multiple elected officials in the party of Colombian President Ivan Duque brazenly interfered in the election against Biden. Senator Carlos Felipe Mejia tweeted this video of a Trump speech attacking Biden. Congressman Juan David Velez quote-tweeted Trump saying “ We will make Colombia great again. ” Or Senator Maria Fernanda Cabal, who in one blog post heralded Trump as leader of the never-ending struggle against socialism and wrote that Biden is leading the way towards the radical wing of the Democratic Party’s socialist vision. On her Instagram, she posted a carto

The debt burden crushing poor countries will not be alleviated until creditors in rich countries are made to give up some of their wealth   by John Smith  Part 4 - What about the rest? The debt crisis facing the poorest countries is one facet of a colossal global debt crisis. Including the private and public debt of middle income and rich countries, global debt now totals $277trn. This increased by $6trn between 2012 and 2016, and by $52trn from 2016 to the end of September 2020, and is now equal to 365% of global gross domestic product – up from 320% at the end of 2019. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the global capitalist economy was in intensive care, staving off depression thanks to extreme monetary policies such as negative interest rates and ballooning debt. Only a return to strong and sustained economic growth can avert a crisis qualitatively more profound than anything experienced in history, but there is absolutely no reason to expect this growth to materialise. Six poo

An interview with Jeffrey Sterling    Jeffrey Sterling is a former CIA officer, whistleblower, and graduate of Washington University Law School. After he had filed a discrimination lawsuit against the CIA, Sterling was controversially tried and convicted in 2015 under the 1917 Espionage Act in the Eastern District of Virginia. This same act is now being used to target publisher and journalist Julian Assange. Should the WikiLeaks founder be extradited to the United States, he, too, would face trial in this same district.  A Farsi speaker and clandestine operations officer specializing in Iran, Sterling participated in Operation Merlin, a CIA effort ostensibly aimed at undermining that country’s nuclear program. But when he became convinced that safety protocols were not being followed, Sterling brought his concerns to members of the Senate and House intelligence committees. While Sterling acted in line with whistleblower procedures, representatives failed to act on his disclosures. Yet

How did EU governments decide to oppose a global measure that could boost production of COVID vaccines and medicines for the global south? You won’t get the slightest hint from official EU sources. But leaked documents reveal that the Commission and member states see the real problem as a mere PR issue of how to deflect criticism. Given the pandemic, their position seems indefensible.   Corporate Europe Observatory   Part 5 - Below standard   To suggest voluntary licensing as a solution is tantamount to relying on the good will of patent owners, the big pharmaceutical companies – a rare commodity, and certainly not a solution. So in sum, the minutes show an EU with no intention to waive intellectual property rights.    Moreover, it shows the Commission and member state representatives perceive the criticism from the global south and from civil society as a mere PR problem, rather than posing a genuine challenge with logical, economic, and moral force behind it that should provoke real

globinfo freexchange Δεν παραδέχεσαι πότε, ούτε εμμέσως, ως πρωθυπουργός μιας χώρας, ότι η χώρα αυτή είναι προτεκτοράτο. Εκτός και αν είσαι ... Κούλης.   Όχι βέβαια ότι δεν το ξέραμε. Ότι δηλαδή η χώρα είναι εδώ και δεκαετίες Αμερικανικό προτεκτοράτο και πιο πρόσφατα, Γερμανική αποικία χρέους. Αλλά ένας πρωθυπουργός υποτίθεται ότι δεν πρέπει να τα λέει αυτά (ούτε άμεσα, ούτε πλαγίως, ούτε με κανένα τρόπο), γιατί είναι σαν να δηλώνει υποταγή με τον πιο επίσημο τρόπο και να παραδέχεται ανοιχτά ότι δεν πρόκειται να αλλάξει ποτέ αυτή η κατάσταση.  Αλλά είπαμε. Όταν είσαι Κούλης και θεωρείς τη χώρα τσιφλίκι που κληρονόμησες απ'τον μπαμπά για να το παραδώσεις βορά σε ντόπια και ξένα συμφέροντα, δεν δίνεις σημασία σε τέτοιες "λεπτομέρειες". Αυτά είναι ψιλά γράμματα για το Πριγκιπόπουλο του Μητσοτακιστάν. Λόγω αλαζονείας, λόγω αμετροέπειας και τελικά λόγω ... βλακείας.   Ο Κούλης, λοιπόν, κατηγόρησε τον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ για "σατανικό σχέδιο" (εδώ γελάνε και οι πιο "ψεκασμένο

Going Underground   Fabian Scheidler, author of The End of the Megamachine. A Brief History of a Failing Civilization ( https://www.megamaschine.org/en/​ ), discusses why capitalism is in terminal crisis due to its continuous growth model. Why he classifies human civilization as a failing civilization. How capitalism will likely not go through a sudden collapse but rather transition into something else. How crises such a climate change and coronavirus continue to break capitalism. The role of neoliberalism in accelerating capitalism’s collapse. Capitalism’s reliance on 70% of the world being cheap labour. The role of regime change and debt in keeping nations poor.