the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

by Kenneth Surin Several CounterPunchers, I included, have posted on the “antisemitism” campaign directed at the Labour party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn’s most virulent accusers have been from his own party, abetted by the tabloid media, and the supposedly liberal Guardian (though it has long been a Blairite holdout, and its chief op-ed writer on Israel is the ardent Zionist Jonathan Freedland). This anti-Corbyn faction in the Labour party is made up of two overlapping groups: increasingly marginalized supporters of the former leader Tony Blair whose neoliberal “Thatcher lite” agenda has been superseded by Corbyn’s push to reclaim and revitalize Labour’s socialist origins; and a Zionist element, which turns out to be extremely well-funded, having well-documented strong links with pro-Zionist advocacy groups. In particular, I’ve been researching organizational links and funding sources from key donors, along with associated parliamentary patterns on two s...

Ο Χρήστος Μαρκογιαννάκης - μάλλον κατά λάθος - αποκάλυψε πως ο πρόεδρος της ΝΔ Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης μοιράζει θέσεις διοικητών ΔΕΚΟ και Ανεξάρτητων Αρχών ως «αποζημίωση» στους «κομμένα» στελέχη του κόμματος από τα ψηφοδέλτια. Την ώρα που Κυρίακος Μητσοτάκης κάνει λόγο για «άριστους» και διαφάνεια στο κράτος, ο Χρήστος Μαρκογιαννάκης, μιλώντας στην «Νέα Τηλεόραση Κρήτης», δήλωσε πως σε ραντεβού του με τον πρόεδρο της Νέας Δημοκρατίας, ο Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης, ανακοινώνοντάς του πως δεν θα βρίσκεται στα ψηφοδέλτια της ΝΔ, του « πρότεινε θέσεις διοικητή σε ΔΕΚΟ ή άλλους οργανισμούς ». « Μου πρότεινε όποια ΔΕΚΟ θέλω ή όποια Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή θέλω » είπε και συμπλήρωσε: « Του είπα πως έχω δουλειά και δεν θέλω επαγγελματική αποκατάσταση. Εκεί σταμάτησε η κουβέντα ». Το απόσπασμα στο 2:10 του βίντεο: https://tvxs.gr/news/ellada/moirazei-deko-o-mitsotakis-stoys-kommenoys-ton-psifodeltion-tis-nd

Την πεποίθησή του ότι ο πρόεδρος της Βενεζουέλας Νικολάς Μαδούρο ενδέχεται « να ανατραπεί πολύ γρήγορα » από τις ένοπλες δυνάμεις της χώρας του εξέφρασε ο πρόεδρος των ΗΠΑ Ντόναλντ Τραμπ μιλώντας σε δημοσιογράφους, στο περιθώριο της Γενικής Συνέλευσης του ΟΗΕ. « Πρόκειται για ένα καθεστώς που θα μπορούσε ειλικρινά να ανατραπεί πολύ γρήγορα από τον στρατό αν οι στρατιωτικοί αποφάσιζαν να το κάνουν » είπε ο Αμερικανός πρόεδρος. Λίγο νωρίτερα, ο υποψήφιος που έχει προτείνει ο Τραμπ να αναλάβει επικεφαλής των αμερικανικών στρατιωτικών επιχειρήσεων στη Λατινική Αμερική, διαβεβαίωσε ότι δεν υπάρχει κανένα σχέδιο για οποιουδήποτε είδους στρατιωτική επέμβαση προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστεί η οικονομική και πολιτική κρίση στη Βενεζουέλα. Ο αντιναύαρχος Κρεγκ Φόλερ, καταθέτοντας στη Γερουσία που αναμένεται να εγκρίνει τον διορισμό του ως επικεφαλής της Νότιας Διοίκησης των ΗΠΑ, ρωτήθηκε αν υπήρξαν κάποιες εισηγήσεις από τον πρόεδρο ή από άλλους κορυφαίους αξιωματούχους να γίν...

On 20 August 2018, the Greek government of Alexis Tsipras, the IMF and the European leaders celebrated the end of the Third Memorandum. On this occasion, the major media and those in power spread the following message: Greece has regained its freedom, its economy is improving, unemployment is on the decline, Europe has lent Greece 300 billion and the Greeks will have to start repaying that debt in 2022 or in 2032. The main claims are completely unfounded as Greece remains under the control of its creditors. In compliance with the accords that the Alexis Tsipras government signed, the country must imperatively achieve a primary budgetary surplus of 3.5% which will force it to continue brutal policies of reduction of public spending in the social sector and in investment. Contrary to the dominant message that Greece will not begin to repay its debt until some time in the future, it should be clearly understood that Greece has been repaying considerable amounts constantly all al...

globinfo freexchange Jeremy Corbyn and Yanis Varoufakis had an interesting conversation in August 20, at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Varoufakis challenged Corbyn to lead an international progressive movement that will end the brutal policies of the dominant neoliberalism. Interesting parts of the dialogue: JC: We saw the way in which the European Central Bank treated yourselves and also the austerity that was imposed on Ireland on Portugal and Spain. YV: It's not just a state. They committed a crime against the Irish people. The head of the Central Bank of Europe put a gun on the Irish Prime Minister's head and demanded that overnight the losses of private investors, mostly from Germany, should be transferred on to the books of the Irish state and the Irish Prime Minister's account. Now, that's, you know, robbery, just daylight robbery. That's what they did. JC: I actually challenged the whole Maastricht idea, which established th...

So much of mainstream journalism has descended to the level of a cult-like formula of bias, hearsay and omission. Subjectivism is all; slogans and outrage are proof enough. What matters is “perception,” says John Pilger. by John Pilger The death of Robert Parry earlier this year felt like a farewell to the age of the reporter. Parry was “ a trailblazer for independent journalism ”, wrote Seymour Hersh, with whom he shared much in common. Hersh revealed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and the secret bombing of Cambodia, Parry exposed Iran-Contra, a drugs and gun-running conspiracy that led to the White House. In 2016, they separately produced compelling evidence that the Assad government in Syria had not used chemical weapons. They were not forgiven. Driven from the “mainstream”, Hersh must publish his work outside the United States. Parry set up his own independent news website Consortium News, where, in a final piece following a stroke, he referred to journa...

On rare occasion a story is unearthed in the mainstream media which demonstrates in stunning clarity how major foreign policy decisions are really made in Washington, especially when it comes to waging perpetual war in the Middle East often under the official rhetorical guise of "protecting civilians". A bombshell Wall Street Journal report details a leaked classified memo which shows Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decided to continue US military involvement in the Saudi war on Yemen in order to preserve a massive $2 billion weapons deal with Riyadh. This should come as no surprise to those aware of the decades long "oil for weapons" relationship that has defined Gulf countries' ties to the West in modern history, but it's unusual to have such high level confirmation of the decision-making process almost in real time. More: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-20/leaked-memo-shows-us-overlooked-mass-civilian-deaths-yemen-preser...

A Chinese hospital vessel has moored at a port near Caracas, where its staff will be providing free medical care to Venezuelans. Recently, a similar-class ship was sent by the US to Colombia to treat refugees fleeing Venezuela. The ‘Peace Ark,’ a 300-bed Chinese Navy hospital ship, has moored on Saturday at the port of La Guaira lying close to Venezuelan capital. The vessel, which was commissioned back in 2008, is said to have eight surgery rooms and a medevac helicopter. According to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the ‘Peace Ark’ will stay in Venezuela for about a week. During the stay, the Chinese commander of the ship will meet with military and political officials and inspect Venezuelan and medical facilities. China is one of Venezuela’s key allies, and the vessel’s visit was seen there as a sign of Beijing’s support for the crisis-hit country. Maduro himself only recently came back from a trip to China, where he sought to attract investment and new loans...

WikiLeaks series on deals involving Hillary Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta. Mr Podesta is a long-term associate of the Clintons and was President Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1998 until 2001. Mr Podesta also owns the Podesta Group with his brother Tony, a major lobbying firm and is the Chair of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington DC-based think tank. globinfo freexchange An email by a Business Council * representative to John Podesta was expressing the desire of the group to 'approach' Hillary Clinton. The email was sent nearly two years before the 2016 presidential election at the time where Jeff Bezos was the newly elected president of the group. Also, according to the email, the group consisted of more than 120 " of the biggest CEO's in the US. ", meaning, the elite of the American plutocracy. According to the email, the group was interested for a speech by Hillary Clinton in their meeting, but als...

A new official report produced by the Norwegian government illustrates the continuing absurdity of NATO expansion and foreign adventurism in places very far away from the "North Atlantic" explicit in the name North Atlantic Treaty Organization — places like Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine or Syria. Top Norwegian officials have now admitted they "had very limited knowledge" of events unfolding in Libya during 2010 and 2011, prior to NATO's military intervention on behalf of anti-Gaddafi rebels — a war that resulted in regime change and a failed state ruled by competing governments and extremist militias to this day. Norway enthusiastically joined the US, UK, and French led bombing of the country initiated in March 2011 even knowing full well its military knew next to nothing of what was unfolding on the ground. But what did decision-makers have to go on? Consider this absurd admission from the official report: “In such situations, decision-makers oft...