the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

by Jonathan Cook   Part 2 - A moment of celebration   We have contributed collectively in our various small ways to win back for Assange some degree of freedom, and hopefully a reprieve from what could be a death sentence as his health continues to deteriorate in an overcrowded Belmarsh high-security prison in London that has become a breeding ground for Covid-19. For this we should allow ourselves a moment of celebration. But Assange is not out of the woods yet. The US has said it will appeal the decision. And it is not yet clear whether Assange will remain jailed in the UK – possibly in Belmarsh – while many months of further legal argument about his future take place. The US and British establishments do not care where Assange is imprisoned – be it Sweden, the UK or the US. What has been most important to them is that he continues to be locked out of sight in a cell somewhere, where his physical and mental fortitude can be destroyed and where he is effectively silenced, encouraging

DiEM25   On Monday, January 4, a UK judge blocked the US request to extradite Julian Assange. Two days after, on Wednesday January 6,, the same judge denied Julian Assange bail.   In this video, investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi, Brian Eno, Roger Waters, Yanis Varoufakis, Ken Loach and Frank Barat discuss the meaning of these decisions and what it means for the future of journalism and freedom of speech.

The Grayzone   As Venezuela elects and swears in a new National Assembly Red Lines host Anya Parampil sits down with the country's Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, in their latest conversation since the US launched its coup attempt against his government in January of 2019. They discuss the impact of US regime change policy on Venezuela's domestic political situation, why Juan Guaidó has not been arrested, hope for diplomacy with the incoming Biden Administration, the left's resurgence in Latin America, and more. 

globinfo freexchange   Since already July 2018, we identified an immediate mobilization by the corporate media in the US to force the progressive wing of the Democratic party comply with the DNC neoliberal norm. In the specific example , we analyzed how the corporate pundit forced the new star of the progressive wing, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to literally declare loyalty to the DNC corporate "chief-baroness" Nancy Pelosi. After that, we saw an unexplained and bizarre contribution of both Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez to the establishment pro-McCain 'litanies'. In this totally unnecessary self-recruitment for the McCain's legacy whitewash operation, Cortez retreated unconditionally and the establishment marked a second victory against her. As we had mentioned , the corporate media will focus mainly on pushing progressives to be 'swallowed' by the current DNC establishment in order to destroy the political revolution of Bernie Sanders. Yet, it is expect

Capitalist factions continue tough bargain in the beginning of the post-Brexit era   As DNC's coup attempt against Bernie Sanders in Iowa ends up to a great fiasco, the establishment takes a good taste of the progressive movement stamina    Absolutely disgusting: Pelosi stands up and joins Trump, applauding the CIA failed-coup plotter Juan Guaido    Although liberal brains are still in a state of total denial, they start to accept that Bernie will probably win - eventually, they will get used to it First we took Iowa, then we took Hampshire!   We can't just wait for robots and 3D printers to overthrow capitalism   It's official: the oligarchs and the corporate media declare war on Sanders' progressive movement    As Bernie now looks unstoppable, liberal plutocrats and their DNC proxies are left with only one option: an unholy alliance with Trump   Another astroturfing operation against Bernie Sanders fails miserably   Just when the DNC "barons" openly call for

LIVE   All these crises of the last two decades revealed more and more clearly this merciless war among the capitalists. As these have the real power with the big money and the big media, this war not only overshadows every effort for a real alternative against the capitalist system. It even brutally crushes every attempt for a democratic revival. The rampageous bulls of capitalism are fighting each other in an arena in which democracy has now turned into dust under their violent clatters. And under these circumstances, the capitalists won't hesitate to throw in the arena the expendable US working class. To fight on their behalf in an equally merciless civil war ...

Julian Assange’s defeat of extradition to the United States was a huge victory — one that couldn’t have been achieved without a public pressure campaign. That same public pressure will now be needed to free Assange from prison.   by John Rees  As I watched Judge Vanessa Baraitser give her verdict in the Assange extradition case at the Old Bailey yesterday, a deep depression settled over me. I’ve heard every minute of the Assange case from the moment it started in Belmarsh in February last year, through three weeks in September at the Old Bailey, to this forty-five-minute summary of the verdict. For forty minutes of that three-quarters of an hour the judge rejected every defense argument against extradition. Journalists are allowed to tweet court proceedings as they happen, thanks to a ruling in an earlier Assange hearing. I watched Assange come into the court and take his seat. At a little after quarter past ten, the judge began by rejecting Assange’s political offenses defense because

A long and cruel siege, constant Israeli attacks resulting in the killing of countless civilians, destruction of homes and infrastructure, extreme poverty, and trauma remain the daily bread of Palestinians in Gaza.   by Miko Peled    Part 4 - What constitutes aid? The first order of business needs to be the immediate and unconditional lifting of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007. A no-fly zone monitored by UN or European naval forces must be imposed on all Israeli aircraft. In addition to these measures, humanitarian relief must be made available to the people of Gaza without delay. Israel must be sanctioned and all military and economic cooperation with Israel must be stopped until such time that it complies with international law and ends all its violations of human rights. This should be followed by setting a date for free and fair one person, one vote elections in all of historic Palestine. Then processes must be put in place for the repatriation of Palestinian refugee

by Jonathan Cook   Part 5 - Two types of Jews   But the Haaretz article raises another issue critical to understanding how Israel and the Jewish establishment in Europe are politicising antisemitism to protect Israel from criticism. The potential Achilles’ heel of their campaign are Jewish dissidents, those who break with the supposed “Jewish community” line and create a space for others – whether Palestinians or other non-Jews – to criticise Israel. These Jewish dissenters risk serving as a reminder that trenchant criticism of Israel should not result in one being tarred an antisemite. Israel and Jewish organisations, however, have made it their task to erode that idea by promoting a distinction – an antisemitic one, at that – between two types of Jews: good Jews (loyal to Israel), and bad Jews (disloyal to Israel). Haaretz reports that officials in Germany, such as Felix Klein, the country’s antisemitism commissioner, and Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in

While the US and its allies glorify Leopoldo López as a new MLK, the US-backed Venezuelan opposition  collaborates with Colombia’s narco-affiliated, death squad-sponsoring former President Álvaro Uribe.   by Ben Norton   Part 3 - Leopoldo López plots Venezuela coups with support from US and Colombia   While Juan Guaidó was selected as interim president because of his former position in the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he was little more than a stand-in for the Venezuelan right-wing’s kingmaker: Leopoldo López Mendoza, scion of one of Venezuela’s most influential oligarchic clans. Since leftist leader Hugo Chávez won his first presidential election in 1998, López has reigned over an extremist right-wing hellbent on removing him from power. López has helped oversee numerous violent coup attempts in Venezuela, and was a leading force behind the bloody “guarimba” barricades that paralyzed the country. In April 2002, when the military briefly overthrew President Chávez, López wa