October 1, 2020
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The Time of Troubles in Transcaucasia – Part 1
Three days into the renewed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the Transcaucasian region — also known as South Caucasus — it is becoming clear that the binary narrative dished out by western commentators of this being a Turkish-Russian clash of wills and strategies is either simply naive or purposively deceptive. The point is, Russia and Turkey… Continue reading
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Assange’s Seventeenth Day at the Old Bailey: Embassy Espionage, Contemplated Poisoning and Proposed Kidnapping
Today will be remembered as a grand expose. It was a direct, pointed accusation at the intentions of the US imperium which long for the scalp of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For WikiLeaks, it was a smouldering triumph, showing that the entire mission against Assange, from the start, has been a political one. The… Continue reading
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Doubt is a treacherous path. We must avoid being diverted towards terminal cynicism
What I think of as the cynical left are once again berating the progressive critical left, myself included, for failing to write what they want written about Covid-19. I take this as a kind of unintended compliment: that they think we can write about their concerns better than they can themselves. Continue reading
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The Lancet censors Gaza health letter after pro-Israel pressure
The letter – “Structural violence in the era of a new pandemic: the case of the Gaza Strip” – was duly published in the The Lancet online on 27 March. Just three days later, however, in a move unusual if not unprecedented for The Lancet, the letter was taken down without comment. Continue reading
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If I Didn’t Believe, I Wouldn’t Know How to Breathe: The Fortieth Newsletter (2020)
1 October 2020 — Tricontinental Liu Xiaodong (China), Refugees 4, 2015. Dear friends, Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Here’s a story that encapsulates the terrible situation of our world: Associated Press reporters were on a Turkish coast guard vessel which picked up 37 migrants, including 18 children, from two orange Continue reading
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Black Agenda Report 1 October 2020
1 October 2020 — Black Agenda Report Who is Rwanda’s Real Hero? Paul Kagame or Paul Rusesabagina? Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor What Kagame has done to Rusesabagina, of Hotel Rwanda fame, embarrasses the US foreign policy establishment that has lionized his brutal regime for so long. The Politics That Led to the “Worst Debate” Continue reading
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Genomic sequencing: the brave new world
Many believe that tampering with human DNA is tantamount to “playing God”, and a boundary that must not be transgressed. Caution in the face of the unknown has led to blanket bans on certain genetic technologies. Our understanding of genetics, however, is evolving at a dizzying pace. This has led to the development of new… Continue reading
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Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 21
I really do not know how to report Wednesday’s events. Stunning evidence, of extreme quality and interest, was banged out in precis by the lawyers as unnoticed as bags of frozen chips coming off a production line. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 