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Max Blumenthal debunks US accusation of China's 'genocide' against Uighurs

The Grayzone   Max Blumenthal documents the deceptions behind the US government's accusation that China is committing "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims in its Xinjiang region, picking apart NED-funded studies that rely on botched statistics and exposing extremist Adrian Zenz and his error-filled research. 

Will Lula make a comeback? Global imperialists and resource extractors shudder at the prospect

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 1 Will the world’s sixth most populous country move away from fascism and towards a social democracy putting economic justice and anti-imperialism first once more? That is the question on Brazilian minds right now, as earlier this month the Supreme Court dismissed all charges against former President Luis Inácio “Lula” da Silva. A colossal figure in domestic and world politics, Lula was falsely convicted of fraud in 2017, and spent more than 18 months in prison, becoming, in the words of renowned academic Noam Chomsky, “ the world’s most prominent political prisoner. ” Yesterday, the Supreme Court also ruled that the judge who sentenced Lula, Sergio Moro, made a biased decision. Secret documents show that Moro was actually working with the prosecution to ensure Lula was convicted, paving the way for fa

The disarticulation of pandemic war propaganda

An investigative analysis takes apart a hackneyed piece of propaganda authored by an international alt-right clique with links to the Pentagon.   by Raul Diego   Part 8 - The authors A look at the authors´ backgrounds is enough to discern the real interests lurking behind the China-bashing document. American tax attorney Michael P. Senger tops the list of authors on the paper, itself. Senger claims to have advised the US on the “ domestic and international provisions ” of Trump’s corporate giveaway known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in his Alston & Bird bio – the tax firm he left in April 2020, according to his Linked In page. The firm’s clients include Amazon, Microsoft and a host of other transnational corporations with considerable interests in China, especially in the realm of Alston & Bird’s core competency of intellectual property; notably, also at the center of Trump’s “trade war” with China. Since leaving Alston & Bird, Senger has been dedicated to mounting

US intelligence thinks you’re stupid: ODNI report blames Russia, ignores Colombian election interference

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 2 - A 180-degree change of heart?   The very same intelligence agencies that somehow missed that a giant mob of Trump supporters were openly planning to storm the Capitol building on January 6th. Or that said there was going to be a QAnon attack on the Capitol on March 4th that never happened. Or that told us back in November that Russia didn’t influence the election – the polar opposite of what they’re telling us now. “ There was no fraud, there were no irregularities, ” commented former CIA chief of staff and CNN analyst Jeremy Bash. “ Various agencies have come out to say there was no widespread fraud in this election, ” remarked CNN White House correspondent Pamela Brown. “ This has been the safest, most secur

The greatest debt crisis in history is upon us

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 2 - Rescuing the rich But that's not all.    This debt 'relief' only applies to interest owed to governments, not what they owe private lenders. Even the World Bank has excluded itself from this minuscule generosity – David Malpass rejected calls to freeze $7bn in interest payments owing to it, saying that forbearance would harm the Bank’s ability to make new loans. As a result, only 41% of the $42.7bn that DSSI countries owed in debt payments in 2020 is eligible for relief. The suspension of interest payments to government creditors makes it easier for these desperately poor countries to service their debts to private creditors – such as Blackrock, JP Morgan, HSBC, UBS and the wealthy individuals they serve. In other words, rich countries’ governments are not rescuing poor countries, they are rescuing rich investors

How endless wars and interventions helped create the assault on the Capitol

by Kevin Tillman   Part 2 - Around the Globe, Generation after Generation   My own limited experience with American interventionism involves the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. After the September 11th attacks, I enlisted in the U.S. Army with Pat. We would be assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment and our unit would in March 2003 be sent into Iraq, one of so many tools in the Bush administration’s war of aggression there. We would help remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by force. It was hardly the mission I had in mind when I signed up, but I was naive when it came to foreign policy. Being part of illegal invasions, however, leaves lasting impressions. That particular intervention in Iraq began with a barrage of administration lies about Saddam’s supposed supply of weapons of mass destruction, his reputed links to al-Qaeda, and the idea that we were liberating the Iraqi people. Some of us actually were assigned to run around Baghdad, “ east, west, south, and north somewhat, ” looki

EU more worried about Parma ham branding than COVID vaccine patents

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 3 - No minutes, no transparency   Perhaps the most obvious Council body to discuss global south proposals to relax WTO patent rules would be the Trade Policy Committee (TPC), where member state representatives meet with the Commission to agree on trade policy issues that are not brought up for debate at ministerial level. This Council body has been heavily criticised in the past for offering privileged access to big business via regular, informal meetings. The TPC has met more than 40 times in the past year, and while we could not find any sign that the India/ South A

Chomsky on the 'joke' of 'Russian interference' and the savagery of US sanctions

The Grayzone   Noam Chomsky weighs in on the Putin-Biden row; new US claims of "Russian interference"; the "savagery" of US sanctions on Cuba, Iran, Syria, Venezuela and other nations; US pressure on Brazil to reject Russia's COVID-19 vaccine and on Panama to reject Cuban doctors; and more. Chomsky's latest book is "Chomsky for Activists." 

COVID-19: After one year, Mitsotakis regime fails dramatically to control pandemic in Greece

globinfo freexchange   After one year, Greece has become one of the most characteristic cases of blatant failure concerning COVID-19 pandemic control. The situation is getting worse and the National Health System of Greece receives extreme pressure, while there are signs that it has already crashed. According to some recent reports , " A record number of patients with Covid-19 in Greece are on ventilators on Thursday. The total number of people undergoing the treatment has reached 706, breaking the previous record of 699, which was recorded on both the last two consecutive days, on Tuesday and Wednesday. " With the help of jodi.graphics we present a brief timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country: February 26, 2020: The first verified COVID-19 case in Greece. March 10, 2020: The government shuts down schools and universities. March 12, 2020: The first death in Greece from COVID-19.   March 23, 2020: The first lockdown in Greece.   March 28, 2020: COVID-19 cases in Gr

Biden, Trump, and bipartisan US imperialism in Latin America

Moderate Rebels   Ben Norton was invited to give this talk on US imperialism in Latin America for the anti-war group Massachusetts Peace Action. He discusses the similarities in the aggressive foreign policy of Biden, Trump, and Obama, and talks about Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras and "Plan  Biden" for Central America, Chile, Colombia, Peru, immigration in the United States, and more.