the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

As the coronavirus pandemic grows worse in many countries, Cuba has answered an urgent South African request for aid, sending 217 medical personnel to the country. by Alan Macleod  Amidst a worsening COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba has answered an urgent South African request for aid. 217 medical personnel, including family physicians, epidemiologists, health technology engineers and biotech workers touched down Sunday evening, eager to help their African ally. Dr. Reynaldo Denis de Armas, the head of the medical brigade, informed the press that they would first go through a quarantining period then be dispersed throughout each of the country’s nine provinces. Along with Egypt, South Africa currently has the highest number of confirmed positive coronavirus cases in Africa, although the scarcity of testing kits means numbers from the continent are likely only pale reflections of the gravity of the problem. Despite the Caribbean island’s poverty (according to the CIA World Factbook

Redacted Tonight The US is using the Coronavirus pandemic to intensify its regime change and military campaigns against countries across the world. This is revealing the weaknesses of the US Empire. Meanwhile the US's largest competitors for global power are distributing aid to countries in need. The rest of the world seems to be coming together while the US marginalizes itself.

globinfo freexchange Ο Γιάνης Βαρουφάκης συνεχίζει να καταγγέλλει το γεγονός ότι η κυβέρνηση Μητσοτάκη τηρεί σιγή ιχθύος γύρω από το νόμο "Ηρακλής" που ψηφίστηκε τον περασμένο Δεκέμβριο για τα κόκκινα δάνεια. Επανέλαβε ότι η κυβέρνηση δεν έδωσε απολύτως καμία απάντηση γύρω από το ζήτημα, παρόλο που ο ίδιος, σε κατ'ιδίαν συζήτηση με τον Μητσοτάκη, αλλά και μέσα στη βουλή, ζήτησε κατ'επανάληψη το πάγωμα του νόμου λόγω πανδημίας. Είπε πως η στάση αυτή είναι ένδειξη διαπλοκής και σχέσεων της κυβέρνησης με αρπακτικά ταμεία . Πρόσθεσε ακόμα ότι, για να έχουμε μια κυβέρνηση εθνικής ενότητας, πρέπει να μπορούμε να συνεννοηθούμε για βασικά πράγματα. Όχι να φορτώσουμε 12 δισεκατομμύρια στους ώμους του Ελληνικού λαού για τα αρπακτικά ταμεία από το Νιου Τζέρσεϊ. Τόνισε ακόμα ότι είναι πολλά τα συμφέροντα σ'αυτή την κυβέρνηση. Και ότι το 4ο μνημόνιο του Τσίπρα, στρώνει το χαλί για τη νέα παρασιτική ολιγαρχία, υπό την κυβέρνηση Μητσοτάκη. Αυτή η παρασιτική ολιγαρχία

A look at recent USAID schemes from Pakistan to Syria shows US empire can be very hazardous to your health. by Max Blumenthal Part 4 - A devious CIA/USAID operation triggers polio in Pakistan Contrary to Annie Sparrow’s partisan screeds, the most likely cause for the spread of polio to militia-held bastions of Syria was the infiltration of foreign jihadists. According to an analysis by Jennifer Cole of the Royal United Services Institute, genetic sequencing linked a polio outbreak in northeastern Syria “ to one of Pakistani origin… ” At the time, 92 percent of the world’s polio cases occurred in Pakistan. “ Efforts to eradicate the disease in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – the only three countries where the disease remains endemic, with ‘wild’ or naturally occurring strains still circulating – have long been challenged by Islamist militants who claim that the vaccinations are a Western plot to make their children infertile, to spread AIDS, or that health workers a

Current and former staff members of the OPCW have denounced the organization’s IIT report alleging Syrian government sarin use at Ltamenah, criticizing its reliance on rumor, hearsay, “scientifically flawed” claims and the influence of unqualified, secret “experts” aligned with the Western-backed opposition. by OPCW Insiders On April 8, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons released a report by its newly formed Investigation and Identification Team, a unit ostensibly established to identify alleged perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The IIT investigation examined three alleged incidents in the Syrian town of Ltamenah in March 2017. It concluded “ that there are reasonable grounds to believe ” that the Syrian army committed a sarin attack in two of the incidents, and a chlorine attack in the third. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the IIT probe, calling it “ the latest in a large and growing body of evidence that the Assad regim

One of the most politically-connected yet scandal ridden vaccine companies in the united states, with troubling ties to the 2001 anthrax attacks and opioid crisis, is set to profit handsomely from the current coronavirus crisis. by Whitney Webb and Raul Diego Part 5 - House of fraud By the time the sale closed, Haydon-Ballie — once the 50th richest man in England — was on the brink of being forced out of Porton International over accusations of illicit enrichment. Around the same time, the anthrax vaccine was set to enter a bull market and Porton International was now in a prime position to reap the full benefits. A year earlier in 1989, Ibrahim El-Hibri, a Venezuelan citizen who had made a fortune working for US telecommunications companies, had become a silent partner in Porton International. His son, Fuad El-Hibri, was made director of Porton Products, Ltd, a Porton International subsidiary, which was the conduit by which the El-Hibri family had made a killing selli

Regime change-hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington’s economic war on Venezuela. The Grayzone presents a deep dive into the “human rights” arm of US empire. by Ben Norton Part 6 - Vivanco: ‘You can’t negotiate… You have to double down on the sanctions’ José Miguel Vivanco, the director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, has adopted some of the most maximalist positions of Latin America’s right-wing as his own. He publicly opposes negotiations with Nicaragua’s government, insisting that economic warfare is the only possible action. In English, Vivanco’s language is careful to appear reasonable. In Spanish, however, the gloves come off, displaying the hyperbolic rhetoric familiar to radical right-wing Latin American activists. Vivanco regularly refers to the Nicaragua’s democratically elected government in Spanish as a “regime” and “dictatorship,” for example. “ You can’t negotiate w

by Vijay Prashad Part 2 - Emergence Doctors in Wuhan observed an unusual kind of pneumonia in late December. On December 31, a high-level team arrived from Beijing to investigate the reports coming from the hospitals. That day, on the last day of 2019, the Chinese authorities informed the Beijing office of the WHO of “ cases of pneumonia unknown etiology [medical term for cause]. ” On January 2, according to the WHO’s situation report, “ the incident management system was activated across the three levels of WHO (country office, regional office and headquarters). ” Four countries had by January 20 reported incidents of what would later be known as COVID-19—China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. Six people had died in Wuhan City. On January 4, the WHO announced publicly that the Chinese authorities had informed it of “ a cluster of pneumonia cases—with no deaths—in Wuhan. ” This was also reported by the WHO on its official Twitter account.  The next day, on Januar

globinfo freexchange Θύελλα αντιδράσεων προκάλεσε η "συνέντευξη" που έδωσε, εν μέσω πανδημίας, η επικεφαλής της Βουλής των Αντιπροσώπων και "αρχι-βαρόνη" του κόμματος των Δημοκρατικών, Νάνσι Πελόζι, σε έναν από τους ακριβοπληρωμένους αποχαυνωτές των μαζών στα Αμερικανικά μίντια.  Ο "χρυσοκάνθαρος" διασκεδαστής, James Corden, σε απευθείας σύνδεση, πήρε "συνέντευξη" από την Πελόζι που βρισκόταν στο σπίτι της. Μέσα από ένα αποκρουστικά γλυκανάλατο τετ-α-τετ "αβάσταχτης ελαφρότητας", η Πελόζι άρχισε να λέει πόσο της αρέσει η σοκολάτα και να επιδεικνύει τη συλλογή από σοκολάτες και παγωτά στα πανάκριβα, τιγκαρισμένα ψυγεία της. Η επικοινωνιακή αυτή αθλιότητα, υποτίθεται ότι στήθηκε για να δείξει το ανθρώπινο πρόσωπο των ανθρώπων της εξουσίας και μάλιστα αυτών που θεωρούνται σήμερα (αν είναι δυνατόν) η Αριστερά στην Αμερική!  Εν μέσω μιας άνευ προηγουμένου κρίσης, με χιλιάδες νεκρούς από την πανδημία στην Αμερική, με εκατομμ

globinfo freexchange Check out how terribly Joe Biden answered the question from a corporate media anchor, concerning Iran. The question was:                    Would you lift sanctions on Iran, temporarily, during this pandemic? His answer:                           I don't have enough information about the situation in Iran, right now, ... there is a lot of speculation from my foreign policy team that they're in real trouble and they're lying. But I would need more information to make that judgment. What a terrible response, indeed. The out-of-touch corporate neoliberal couldn't even say that he would temporarily lift sanctions against Iran for humanitarian reasons. This was a great opportunity to show that he could make the difference against Trump. This was a great opportunity to demonstrate that he is different from the ruthless right-wing demagogue. A criminal who, in the midst of a major crisis, has chosen to expand sanctions against a co

The renowned British peace activist and former diplomat Craig Murray has been charged with contempt of court for writing blog posts. The suspicious indictment represents a heavily politicized, Kafkaesque case in which Murray has virtually none of his rights guaranteed. It also appears to be a part of the British government’s aggressive crackdown on the Scottish independence movement. In comments to The Grayzone , Murray described the case against him as a thoroughly undemocratic attack on free speech, and warned it may be punishment for his dissident journalism and activism exposing the UK’s crimes and lies. Murray said he faces the possibility of “ no jury, no ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ test, no public interest defence allowed, no freedom of speech defence allowed, and up to two years in jail and an ‘unlimited’ fine. ” Craig Murray served as Britain’s ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004. The UK Foreign Office fired him for his exposure of British and US involve

Moderate Rebels Economist Michael Hudson explains how American imperialism has created a global free lunch, where the US makes foreign countries pay for its wars, and even their own military occupation.

Going Underground Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP on the leaked Labour report detailing shocking revelations on antisemitism and sabotage of Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to win the 2017 general election. She discusses new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to take legal action regarding the leaks, the feeling of Labour activists being robbed after details of the conspiracy of the plot to make Jeremy Corbyn lose was revealed, the mainstream media’s silence on the leaks and bias against Jeremy Corbyn, bullying and abuse against Diane Abbott and more! 

globinfo freexchange Εν όψει άρσης περιοριστικών μέτρων, οι μιντιακοί παπαγάλοι του καθεστώτος άρχισαν να αναμασούν τη νέα καραμέλα της επιστροφής στην "κανονικότητα". Η νέα "κανονικότητα", σύμφωνα με τους νεοφιλελέδες της κυβέρνησης Μητσοτάκη και τα απανταχού γνήσια τέκνα του μπαμπά Μίλτον και της μαμάς Μάγκι, περιλαμβάνει νέα λιτότητα, μισθούς πείνας, εργασιακό μεσαίωνα, απολύσεις, ανεργία, δυσθεώρητο χρέος, ρημαγμένο κοινωνικό κράτος. Η "κανονικότητά" τους περιλαμβάνει και ένα εθνικό σύστημα υγείας στα πρόθυρα της διάλυσης. Και αυτό, επειδή λόγω του ιδεολογικού τους φανατισμού, αρνήθηκαν να το ενισχύσουν όπως έπρεπε μέσα σ'αυτή την πρωτόγνωρη κατάσταση, καθώς αρκέστηκαν στον εμπαιγμό μέσω επαίνων και χειροκροτημάτων για το ιατρικό προσωπικό που έδωσε, πράγματι, πολύ σκληρή μάχη. Η νέα "κανονικότητα" άρχισε να μπολιάζεται στο DNA της κοινωνίας από τους τερατώδεις μηχανισμούς του νεοφιλελεύθερου ολετήρα, όταν ξέσπασε η οικονομι

The Grayzone The bipartisan US establishment has coalesced around increased hostility to China in response to the coronavirus pandemic. China has faced numerous allegations including that it covered up the pandemic at the world's expense, developed the virus in a lab, and has spread disinformation. Journalist and attorney Ajit Singh debunks some of the most widespread claims lodged against China and analyzes the parallels between the current climate and Russiagate. 

A look at recent USAID schemes from Pakistan to Syria shows US empire can be very hazardous to your health. by Max Blumenthal Part 3 - Spinning Syria’s polio crisis with Saudi assistance Beginning in 2014, Dr. Annie Sparrow waged a crusade to blame the Syrian government for the outbreak of polio and accuse the World Health Organization (WHO) of supposedly downplaying its severity. “ It missed the outbreak for many, many months and has not been able to demonstrate that it has vaccinated kids effectively, ” Sparrow said of the WHO in 2014. In an 2017 incendiary op-ed for the Qatari-backed Middle East Eye , Sparrow launched a Trumpian assault on the WHO, branding it as an “ an apologist for Assad atrocities ” that was “ complicit in war crimes. ” Whitewashing the presence of foreign-backed extremists in the country, she referred to the regions they controlled merely as “ government-shunned areas. ” Sparrow was not just any public health professional with an objective

One of the most politically-connected yet scandal ridden vaccine companies in the united states, with troubling ties to the 2001 anthrax attacks and opioid crisis, is set to profit handsomely from the current coronavirus crisis. by Whitney Webb and Raul Diego Part 4 - Germ monopoly Porton International had come into existence as a result of the Thatcherite revolution that balkanized British public sector assets and distributed them among private interests that frequently had close and cozy ties with Thatcher-era officials and other UK politicians.  Among these assets was the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR), a biotechnology arm of the United Kingdom’s infamous Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, commonly referred to as Porton Down, which also happened to house the UK’s own anthrax vaccine program. Porton International began operations in 1982, when London financier, Wensley Haydon-Baillie, founded the company to develop a herpes medication

Regime change-hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington’s economic war on Venezuela. The Grayzone presents a deep dive into the “human rights” arm of US empire. by Ben Norton Part 5 - HRW lobbies for more civilian-killing sanctions on Nicaragua (and Venezuela) This was far from the first time Human Rights Watch clamored for sanctions on Nicaragua. In fact, the “rights” group has actively lobbied on behalf of the country’s tiny right-wing opposition. HRW Americas division director José Miguel Vivanco has shown a blatant bias against left-wing countries in the region, along with an obsession with undercutting Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. In June 2019, Vivanco testified before the US Congress, lobbying the legislative body “ to impose targeted sanctions —including asset freezes— against senior Nicaraguan officials. ” In its official press release on the congressional testimony, HRW stat

by Vijay Prashad Part 1 On April 14, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a news conference at the White House, where he said that his administration would “ halt [all] funding ” for the World Health Organization (WHO).  The WHO, founded in 1948, is the principal United Nations agency tasked with the improvement of the health of the world; it is also widely acknowledged as an agency that is best suited to deal with health emergencies. On March 11, a month before Trump’s announcement, the WHO had declared a global pandemic as a result of its deep concern of both the alarming levels of spread and severity, and the alarming levels of inaction.  Up to this April, this highly infectious virus has sickened at least 2 million people and killed 183,000 people around the globe. The number of people who have died in New York City—Trump’s hometown—from the novel coronavirus outbreak is far higher than that of 9/11. To cut funding to the only agency able to coordinate t

Anti-Cuba zealots in the Trump administration have been enticing Cuban doctors working overseas to defect, paying journalists to write negative stories, slapping sanctions on Cubans in charge of the program, and strong-arming countries to expel Cuban doctors. by Medea Benjamin While Bernie Sanders paid a political price for uttering something positive about Cuba’s literacy program, the current pandemic has shown the whole world the heroic side of Cuba’s health care system. I saw this heroism firsthand when I worked with Cuban doctors in poor, remote villages in Africa. It was the 1970s and I was a young woman employed as a nutritionist with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. My colleagues were good people who were helping to feed hungry children. They also made hefty salaries and lived a wealthy lifestyle they could never afford back home. The Cubans were different. They lived simply, worked under the harshest conditions and earned almost nothing for their services.

Βαγγέλης Ραπτόπουλος Πού οφείλεται το γεγονός ότι ο Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης ανέκρουσε πρύμναν ή, πιο λαϊκά, τα μάζεψε κι έκανε κωλοτούμπα, στο θέμα του «σκόιλ ελικικού»; Όπου, με την αλλόκοτη αυτή έκφραση, εννοούμε τα γνωστά και ως «vouchers της ντροπής». Και, για την ακρίβεια, το σκάνδαλο της ανάθεσης σε ημετέρους, ιδιοκτήτες ιδιωτικών κολλεγίων, να τηλεκαταρτίσουν επιστήμονες. Ανάθεση στους κολλητούς της κυβέρνησης, δηλαδή, να μοιράσουν το επίδομα των 600 ευρώ, τσεπώνοντας και οι ίδιοι 470 (1.070 ευρώ θα πλήρωνε το κράτος για καθέναν από τους 160.000 επιστήμονες). Πρόκειται για ένα σκάνδαλο που εκθέτει ανεπανόρθωτα την κυβέρνηση της Νέας Δημοκρατίας και, πρωτίστως, τα υψηλά ιστάμενα στελέχη της. Όσους, επί μέρες, ισχυρίζονταν ότι δεν υπάρχει κανένα απολύτως πρόβλημα: από το Μέγαρο Μαξίμου και τους κορυφαίους υπουργούς, Γιάννη Βρούτση (Εργασίας) και Άδωνι Γεωργιάδη (Ανάπτυξης και Επενδύσεων, αλλά και αντιπρόεδρο του κυβερνώντος κόμματος), μέχρι τον ίδιο τον, κρυπτόμενο πίσω από τ

The Real News Network The for-profit healthcare system has failed to protect most people during the coronavirus pandemic, and it's increasing demand for policies like Medicare for All.

The Grayzone Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Beijing-based journalist Daniel Alan Bey about his experience living in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Daniel shares what is was like to be in Beijing under quarantine and what he believes has been left out of mainstream western media's coverage of China and coronavirus.