the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

by Sarantis Michalopoulos   Part 2 - A blow to the rule of law   His opinion triggered strong reactions from all opposition parties and justice stakeholders. A common point of all reactions to the prosecutor’s opinion is that it essentially blocks ADAE’s controls, intimidates and hinders the investigation of the wiretapping scandal. “ The opinion of Mr Ntogiakos is a flagrant violation of the Constitution. No law and no opinion can invalidate the Constitution, and the mission of the ADAE defined there to control and ensure the privacy of communications, ” main opposition Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras (EU Left) said in a statement. Xenofon Contiades, professor and president of the Center for European Constitutional Law, slammed the prosecutor, saying the “ legal community will strongly oppose the unthinkable interference of the prosecutor in the constitutionally and legislatively enshrined mission of ADAE ”. The Greek government said it “ fully respects ” justice and blamed Tsipras for c

French train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs on Thursday (19 January) in a nationwide day of strikes against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.   by EURACTIV.com with Reuters  Part 1 The strikes, and protests expected across the country, are a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, who says his pension reform plan, which opinion polls show is hugely unpopular, is vital to ensure the system does not go bust. The challenge for unions is to transform opposition to the reform – and anger over a cost-of-living crisis – into a mass social protest which would eventually force the government to change tack. “ We need a lot of people to join the protests, ” Laurent Berger, head of France’s largest union, CFDT, told BFM TV. “ People are against this reform … we need to show it (in the streets). ” He and other union leaders, expected to announce more strikes and protests in the evening, said Thursday was just the b

Geopolitical Economy Report   In 2020 and 2021, the wealthiest 1% of the world's population sucked up nearly two-thirds of all new wealth - six times greater than the wealth made by the poorest 90%. Yet while billionaires get richer, poverty is increasing, Oxfam warns. 

Western sanctions led Russia to greatly increase trade with Asia, while devastating Europe’s economy. The US tech war against China is damaging its own industry.   by Renate Bridenthal  Part 2 - ‘Extending’ Russia into Ukraine At the moment, the U.S. is in a proxy war with Russia, with Ukraine in the military forefront. Before that, and alongside it now, is a running war of sanctions. The longest cause was the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, who restored Russia’s economic power and sovereignty by undoing some of the predatory effects of Russia’s privatization following U.S.-supported “shock therapy.” An early “Western” strategy to prevent a return of Russia as a great power was to bring many of its bordering states in Eastern Europe into NATO. Ukraine would be the last piece in what Russia perceives to be a military front of potential aggression. Whatever the outcome of that fight will be, sanctions are likely to continue. The U.S. first sanctioned 60 Russian individuals in 2012 with

The Jimmy Dore Show   It’s become relatively routine now for powerful individuals within the NATO alliance to make statements revealing the truth about the Ukraine War – specifically that NATO is not waging this war for the benefit of the Ukrainian people, but rather to weaken Russia as a global power and funnel endless taxpayer dollars into the pockets of weapons manufacturers and energy interests. The latest statement comes from former UK Defense Staff head of operations Edward Stringer, who told the Wall Street Journal that the West is intentionally funding Ukraine to prolong the war.    Related: Confirmed: US imperialists wanted to drag Russia into a war with Ukraine since at least 2019

A prominent French intellectual has written a book arguing that the United States is already waging World War Three against Russia and China. He also warned that Europe has become a kind of imperial “protectorate”, which has little sovereignty and is essentially controlled by the US.   Emmanuel Todd is a widely respected anthropologist and historian in France. In 2022, Todd published a book titled “The Third World War Has Started” (“La Troisième Guerre mondiale a commencé” in French). At the moment, it is only available in Japan. But Todd outlined the main arguments he made in the book in a French-language interview with the major newspaper Le Figaro , conducted by the journalist Alexandre Devecchio. According to Todd, the proxy war in Ukraine is “existential” not only for Russia, but also for the United States. The US “ imperial system ” is weakening in much of the world, he observed, but this is leading Washington to “ strengthen its hold on its initial protectorates ”: Europe and Ja

Advancing global de-dollarization, China’s central bank is boosting its gold reserves while signing currency swap deals in yuan with countries like Argentina, encouraging the use of renminbi instead of US dollars.   by Ben Norton  Part 2 - China’s central bank increases its gold reserves In December 2022, the People’s Bank of China publicly disclosed for the first time in three years that it was increasing the share of gold in its foreign-exchange reserves. Bloomberg noted at the time that “ China’s purchases may be part of a plan to diversify its reserves away from the dollar “. In January 2023, Bloomberg followed up indicating that the People’s Bank of China had again boosted its gold reserves. The media outlet speculated that Russia is filling its reserves with gold as well. China and Russia are not alone. Bloomberg reported that central banks around the world are buying gold, reaching a record of close to 400 tons in the third fiscal quarter of 2022, compared to 241 tons in the

Geopolitical Economy Report   Introducing Geopolitical Economy Hour: This is the first episode of a show being hosted every two weeks by economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson. They present the program and discuss the rise of the multipolar world and decline of US hegemony.

More and more power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of billionaires leading societies to an unprecedented dystopia. The only way to reverse this dark future is to let the workers seize the means of production and run all businesses collectively. — failedevolution (@failedevolution) January 14, 2023

by Sarantis Michalopoulos   Part 1   Greek chief prosecutor Isidoros Ntogiakos caused shockwaves on Tuesday after he ruled that the independent authority responsible for privacy issues (ADAE) cannot conduct audits of telecommunication companies to find out who is under surveillance by Greek secret services. He even threatened the members of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) with criminal prosecution. The so-called “Greek Watergate” scandal, according to which several politicians, journalists and businessmen have been surveilled by Greek secret services by the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (EPP), is considered an open wound for the country and the upcoming general elections.   Mitsotakis has tried to keep his distance so far, saying he was not aware of the wiretapping cases, although the first law he enacted as a prime minister was to take secret services under his remit. ADAE is an independent authority whose role is pr