the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

“I expect the prevailing direction of U.S. foreign policy over these last decades to continue: more lawless bombing and killing multiple countries under the cover of “limited engagement,” – Biden Biographer Branko Marcetic  by Alan Macleod    Part 1 After triumphing in a bitterly contested presidential election, all eyes are on President-Elect Joe Biden and who he will choose to run his new administration. For much of October, media spent their time dissecting the news that, despite living a lavish billionaire lifestyle, Donald Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. In contrast, little was made of Biden’s self-published tax documents. This is surprising because the returns show that he is rich. Filthy rich. The 77-year-old Delawarean likes to paint himself as a man of modest means. “ I entered as one of the poorest men in Congress, left one of the poorest men in government — in Congress and as vice-president, ” Biden said during the Democratic presidential nomi

Jonathan Cook dissects the investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission into the U.K. Labour Party.  by Jonathan Cook Part 2 - Breaches of Procedure What the report found instead were mainly breaches of party protocol and procedure: that complaints about anti-Semitism were not handled promptly and transparently. But even here the issue was not really about anti-Semitism, as the report indicates, even if obliquely. Delays in resolving complaints were chiefly the responsibility not of Corbyn and his staff but of a party bureaucracy that he inherited and was deeply and explicitly hostile to him. Senior officials stalled anti-Semitism complaints not because they were especially anti-Semitic but because they knew the delays would embarrass Corbyn and weaken him inside the party, as the leaked report of a Labour internal inquiry revealed in the spring. But again, neither the media nor Jewish leadership groups have any interest in exposing their own culpability in this false na

The Grayzone   As President Trump refuses to concede over baseless allegations of widespread fraud, the Biden team has sent signals that there will be little to no transition away from US regime change abroad. The Grayzone 's Max Blumenthal discusses Trump's rejection of democracy at home, and the records of the likely Biden cabinet members who have adopted the same attitude to governments around the world.

The Grayzone   Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Leo Flores, the Latin American Campaign Coordinator for CODEPINK, about what the election of Joe Biden will mean for US Venezuela policy. They also discuss Venezuela's upcoming parliamentary elections and the fractured state of the country's opposition.

Declassified White House records show how Richard Nixon planned to overthrow Chilean leader Salvador Allende as soon as the election result that gave him victory was known.   The U.S. National Security Archive declassified documents that provide further evidence of President Richard Nixon's administration plan to overthrow Salvador Allende's socialist government (1970-1973).  In a conversation, Nixon and some of his officials evaluated what role Washington should play in the face of Allende's victory in the September 4, 1970 election, one document revealed. In that regard, then-U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger alerted Nixon to " the adverse effects that the Allende presidency could have, both on the relationship between Chile and the U.S., and its possible influence in the hemisphere. " Another document shows how the Nixon administration discussed how it should carry out the plan to overthrow the Chilean government.  While Secretary of State William

Sweden’s longtime refusal to impose a general lockdown has seen it portrayed as an alternative “model” for coping with the pandemic. Yet death rates in its care homes have been appalling — and as a scandal that broke last month highlighted, much of the blame lies with the breakup and privatization of the country’s once-mighty public services.   by Anton Ösgård   Part 2 - Strategy: Isolate the Vulnerable   What really happened when COVID-19 reached Sweden? Reporting in international media paints a picture that something different is going on there, but it can be hard to make sense of whether it is good or bad. The health authorities in this small Scandinavian country decided to go against the grain and never imposed a lockdown. This distinguished it from its Nordic neighbors: in those countries, similarly famous for their welfare states, quarantine measures were quickly imposed and are still in place to various degrees. Sweden’s population, it could be said, instead became test subjects

The Ecuadorian diplomat who gave Julian Assange political asylum reports from the extradition hearing against the WikiLeaks journalist, and explains why it is “the most important case against the freedom of expression in an entire generation.”   by Fidel Narváez, (translated by Ben Norton)   Part 7 - Assange would not have a fair trial in the U.S. “Spy Court”   Julian Assange would be tried in the “Spy Court” of the United States, where “national security” cases go, and which in 2010 opened a “secret” investigation against WikiLeaks and Assange, for which he requested political asylum from Ecuador. This is the Eastern District of Virginia, where the CIA and major national security contractors are based. The jury, therefore, comes from the place with the largest concentration of the U.S. intelligence community, where Assange would have no change of getting a fair trial. Daniel Ellsberg told the court that those accused of espionage cannot even argue reasons that justify their actions. “

When Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission announced it was investigating Labour’s treatment of its Jewish members, many of Jeremy Corbyn’s opponents claimed this as proof of his supposed antisemitism. But the inquiry is itself a political weapon — and as the Commission publishes its much-hyped, long-delayed report today, the attacks against the Left are only intensifying.   by Daniel Finn   Part 3 - The Path of Least Resistance The picture that emerges — of a body kept on a tight leash by the British government, with the threat of further cuts to its budget if it crosses the line — is fully consistent with the EHRC’s public track record of following the path of least resistance. In May 2019, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) asked the EHRC to “ investigate whether the Conservative Party has breached its obligations under the Equality Act, ” by creating a hostile, discriminatory environment for Muslims as members or potential members of the party. The MCB submitted a lengthy

 by Alex Harman Part 12 - Amazon Should Institute Price and Product Listing Reforms   It can be exceedingly difficult to determine if a product on Amazon is priced fairly. From multiple product pages, to prices shifting as often as every 10 minutes, to size and variety combinations that make comparison shopping challenging. We recommend that Amazon make these reforms to provide pricing transparency for consumers: Publish suggested retail price, average price, and a link to price history next to every item listed on Amazon.com. Consumers would benefit from the ability to see if the listed price is comparable to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. An average price would show the consumer whether the current price is more or less than the typical price paid. The average price could be especially useful for products with significant price volatility. While several websites track Amazon prices, this data should be made available to Amazon customers directly as part of the shopping

Based on a handful of think tank reports and witness testimonies, Western governments have levied false allegations of genocide and slavery in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. A closer look makes clear that the politicization of China’s anti-terrorism policies in Xinjiang is another front of the U.S.-led hybrid war on China. This resource compilation provides a starting point for critical inquiry into the historical context and international response to China’s policies in Xinjiang, providing a counter-perspective to misinformation that abounds in mainstream coverage of the autonomous region.   by Qiao Collective   The waning of the severity of extremist violence in Xinjiang by 2017 coincided with elevated antagonisms in the U.S.-China relationship. The Trump Administration’s inaugural National Security Strategy document identified China as a strategic threat to U.S. power, setting the stage for ongoing trade, tech, and ideological attacks on China. During this time, the U.S. raised