the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

The Telegraph A landmark Pentagon report has exposed the devastating cost of the Iran war for the US military: 59 aircraft damaged or destroyed, bases struck across the Middle East, and critical missile stockpiles depleted for up to 5 years. Venetia Rainey speaks to former Defense and State Department insider Kori Schake, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She unpicks how the report lays bare the underpreparedness of Donald Trump’s administration for Iran’s precision missile attacks on key US assets.  They also discuss how the toll of the war has created a critical window of vulnerability that China could exploit in the Pacific if it wanted to seize Taiwan.  Plus, Anthropic’s new threat report reveals how Iran and the Houthis are using Claude AI to finetune weapons and target the US Navy, Trump goes behind Saudi Arabia’s back to make a secret deal with the Yemeni militants over the Red Sea, and will Pete Hegseth be impeached?

BreakThrough News China is cracking down on billionaires and corruption. Following the landmark sentencing of Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) to life in prison and the seizure of his assets, independent journalist Ben Norton joins Amanda Yee to break down President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign and how a socialist government disciplines capital. Norton explains how in China, capital may create wealth, but the Communist Party maintains control over the steering wheel of the economy. And while Western regulatory systems often protect private oligarchy and corporate impunity, Xi Jinping since 2012 has taken aggressive action against high-profile tycoons and corrupt Party officials alike.

The Hormuz Report Iran has completely ruled out reopening the Strait of Hormuz or entering negotiations until Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are removed from power, according to a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, per WANA News Agency. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Khamenei’s political adviser, made the declaration in a message marking 200 days of public presence. “Our fighters will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until criminal Trump and bloodthirsty Netanyahu are removed from power,” Zolghadr said, calling it the “first stage” of Iran’s revenge. The statement sets an explicit political condition for reopening one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Meanwhile, the national average diesel price hit a record $9.999. Inventories sit at 106.3 million barrels — 13% below the five-year average. Refineries are running at 97.8% capacity with little room to produce more. Diesel has risen 74% in nine months. Farmers and truckers are paying 63% more than last...

Katie Halper Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Belal Elsiesy breaks down the paper trail proving United Airlines transported lethal weapons components directly to Israel on routine passenger flights.

Glenn Diesen Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, the former Finance Minister of Greece, and the author of numerous bestselling books. Varoufakis discusses how the EU is a cartel designed by the U.S. that is no longer fit for purpose. The German economic locomotive has broken down; the EU no longer has an economic model, its foreign policy is consumed by war, and it has already become a technological colony. Varoufakis also argues that China can now pull the plug on the U.S. economy if it chooses to do so.

Owen Jones Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel's War in Gaza , by investigative journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed, is out now.

Jackson Hinkle Official

Breaking Points Krystal and Saagar discuss the fallout from the Houthis taking the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Democracy Now! Did Saudi Arabia play a role in the planning and execution of the September 11 attacks of 2001? That question was raised immediately after the attack, when 15 of the 19 hijackers were revealed to be Saudi citizens, and it has only grown louder in the 25 years since as more evidence emerged of the attackers’ connections to Saudi figures inside the United States.

Geopolitical Economy Report Trump's attacks on BRICS have backfired, forcing China, India, and Russia closer together. The Global South-led organization held a summit in New Delhi, where leaders discussed plans to challenge the US dollar system, by connecting new payment systems using local currencies. Ben Norton explains.