Skip to main content

Posts

Former hostage responds to top diplomat calling Al Qaeda a US 'asset' in Syria

The Grayzone   Amid a public relations campaign to rehabilitate the Al Qaeda franchise in Syria -- which rules Idlib, Syria's last militant-controlled province – former top US diplomat James Jeffrey has called the group a US "asset." Lindsey Snell, an independent journalist who escaped captivity by Al Qaeda in Syria, responds.  

US intelligence thinks you’re stupid: ODNI report blames Russia, ignores Colombian election interference

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a report alleging Russian interference in the 2020 election, contradicting November statements that there was no meddling, while ignoring documented interference from top US ally Colombia.   by Dan Cohen   Part 4 - US ally gets a pass   But maybe what’s most remarkable is not what’s in the ODNI report, but what isn’t. By the standards of the U.S. government, multiple elected officials in the party of Colombian President Ivan Duque brazenly interfered in the election against Biden. Senator Carlos Felipe Mejia tweeted this video of a Trump speech attacking Biden. Congressman Juan David Velez quote-tweeted Trump saying “ We will make Colombia great again. ” Or Senator Maria Fernanda Cabal, who in one blog post heralded Trump as leader of the never-ending struggle against socialism and wrote that Biden is leading the way towards the radical wing of the Democratic Party’s socialist vision. On her Instagram, she posted a carto

The greatest debt crisis in history is upon us

The debt burden crushing poor countries will not be alleviated until creditors in rich countries are made to give up some of their wealth   by John Smith  Part 4 - What about the rest? The debt crisis facing the poorest countries is one facet of a colossal global debt crisis. Including the private and public debt of middle income and rich countries, global debt now totals $277trn. This increased by $6trn between 2012 and 2016, and by $52trn from 2016 to the end of September 2020, and is now equal to 365% of global gross domestic product – up from 320% at the end of 2019. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the global capitalist economy was in intensive care, staving off depression thanks to extreme monetary policies such as negative interest rates and ballooning debt. Only a return to strong and sustained economic growth can avert a crisis qualitatively more profound than anything experienced in history, but there is absolutely no reason to expect this growth to materialise. Six poo

CIA whistleblower: “Julian Assange will not receive an impartial jury”

An interview with Jeffrey Sterling    Jeffrey Sterling is a former CIA officer, whistleblower, and graduate of Washington University Law School. After he had filed a discrimination lawsuit against the CIA, Sterling was controversially tried and convicted in 2015 under the 1917 Espionage Act in the Eastern District of Virginia. This same act is now being used to target publisher and journalist Julian Assange. Should the WikiLeaks founder be extradited to the United States, he, too, would face trial in this same district.  A Farsi speaker and clandestine operations officer specializing in Iran, Sterling participated in Operation Merlin, a CIA effort ostensibly aimed at undermining that country’s nuclear program. But when he became convinced that safety protocols were not being followed, Sterling brought his concerns to members of the Senate and House intelligence committees. While Sterling acted in line with whistleblower procedures, representatives failed to act on his disclosures. Yet

EU more worried about Parma ham branding than COVID vaccine patents

How did EU governments decide to oppose a global measure that could boost production of COVID vaccines and medicines for the global south? You won’t get the slightest hint from official EU sources. But leaked documents reveal that the Commission and member states see the real problem as a mere PR issue of how to deflect criticism. Given the pandemic, their position seems indefensible.   Corporate Europe Observatory   Part 5 - Below standard   To suggest voluntary licensing as a solution is tantamount to relying on the good will of patent owners, the big pharmaceutical companies – a rare commodity, and certainly not a solution. So in sum, the minutes show an EU with no intention to waive intellectual property rights.    Moreover, it shows the Commission and member state representatives perceive the criticism from the global south and from civil society as a mere PR problem, rather than posing a genuine challenge with logical, economic, and moral force behind it that should provoke real

Αν είσαι Κούλης ...

globinfo freexchange Δεν παραδέχεσαι πότε, ούτε εμμέσως, ως πρωθυπουργός μιας χώρας, ότι η χώρα αυτή είναι προτεκτοράτο. Εκτός και αν είσαι ... Κούλης.   Όχι βέβαια ότι δεν το ξέραμε. Ότι δηλαδή η χώρα είναι εδώ και δεκαετίες Αμερικανικό προτεκτοράτο και πιο πρόσφατα, Γερμανική αποικία χρέους. Αλλά ένας πρωθυπουργός υποτίθεται ότι δεν πρέπει να τα λέει αυτά (ούτε άμεσα, ούτε πλαγίως, ούτε με κανένα τρόπο), γιατί είναι σαν να δηλώνει υποταγή με τον πιο επίσημο τρόπο και να παραδέχεται ανοιχτά ότι δεν πρόκειται να αλλάξει ποτέ αυτή η κατάσταση.  Αλλά είπαμε. Όταν είσαι Κούλης και θεωρείς τη χώρα τσιφλίκι που κληρονόμησες απ'τον μπαμπά για να το παραδώσεις βορά σε ντόπια και ξένα συμφέροντα, δεν δίνεις σημασία σε τέτοιες "λεπτομέρειες". Αυτά είναι ψιλά γράμματα για το Πριγκιπόπουλο του Μητσοτακιστάν. Λόγω αλαζονείας, λόγω αμετροέπειας και τελικά λόγω ... βλακείας.   Ο Κούλης, λοιπόν, κατηγόρησε τον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ για "σατανικό σχέδιο" (εδώ γελάνε και οι πιο "ψεκασμένο

End of the Megamachine: How capitalism & its crises have turned us into a failing civilization

Going Underground   Fabian Scheidler, author of The End of the Megamachine. A Brief History of a Failing Civilization ( https://www.megamaschine.org/en/​ ), discusses why capitalism is in terminal crisis due to its continuous growth model. Why he classifies human civilization as a failing civilization. How capitalism will likely not go through a sudden collapse but rather transition into something else. How crises such a climate change and coronavirus continue to break capitalism. The role of neoliberalism in accelerating capitalism’s collapse. Capitalism’s reliance on 70% of the world being cheap labour. The role of regime change and debt in keeping nations poor.  

Meet the radlib academics using woke post-modernism to defend imperialism

Moderate Rebels   Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton are joined by Aaron Maté to discuss the radlibs in academia who pretend to be radical but use anti-materialist post-modern philosophy and neoliberal identity politics to defend Western imperialism, from Ecuador to Syria, China to Venezuela. We also make fun of Bernard-Henri Lévy, who has never seen a US war he didn't love. 

Will Lula make a comeback? Global imperialists and resource extractors shudder at the prospect

With the potential comeback of Lula da Silva, Brazil may once again be on a path away from fascism and one that puts economic justice and anti-imperialism first.   by Alan Macleod   Part 2 - A massive turnaround “ There is a sense of elation for [Lula’s] supporters and those that stood by him for so many years, ” said Michael Fox, a filmmaker based in the southern city of Florianopolis, who likened following Brazilian politics to a ride on a rollercoaster:                            In just a few weeks, Lula’s charges have been annulled and now the once super-star judge Sergio Moro is under formal investigation for judicial bias, a felony charge. It’s a massive turnaround and it can’t be understated. “ This is victory for democracy. We again have hope of a better Brazil with Lula free, ” one jubilant supporter of the former president told Fox. Lula was the runaway favorite to be re-elected in 2018; just six weeks before the election, polls showed that more than twice as many people int

Γκάλοπ πρόωρων εκλογών

failed evolution survey software * Η σειρά με την οποία έχουν τοποθετηθεί τα πολιτικά κόμματα έγινε με βάση το αποτέλεσμα των τελευταίων βουλευτικών εκλογών του Ιουλίου του 2019.  * Αν προτιμάτε άλλο κόμμα από αυτά που εκπροσωπούνται στη βουλή, υπάρχει η επιλογή "Άλλο", ενώ μπορείτε, αν θέλετε, να γράψετε στα σχόλια το όνομα του κόμματος.  * Παρακαλούμε κοινοποιείστε για καλύτερο δείγμα.