the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the southern part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula as Hurricane Norma approaches with 120kph (75mph) winds. The US National Hurricane Center said the storm became a hurricane on Friday evening as it swept towards the southern tip of the peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) issued a warning on Saturday morning, saying the storm will bring rains, strong winds, and a powerful swell, which will affect the west and northwest of the country and the southern part of Baja California. SMN forecast that the cyclone will slowly move northwards over the next few days, with tropical storm conditions expected to hit the coast on Sunday. The storm is expected to eventually make landfall on September 19. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours. “ Norma has been nearly stationary, but a

Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara on Saturday to voice concern over what it said was a Kurdish militant rally in Cologne, the foreign ministry said. " We condemn the organisation of a rally in the German city of Cologne by the extensions of the PKK terrorist organisations, and the allowing of terror propaganda. We have voiced our reaction in a strong manner to Germany's ambassador to Ankara, who was called to the ministry, " it said. The statement appeared to refer to a protest on Sept. 3 when some 25,000 Kurdish supporters demonstrated in Cologne against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, some carrying posters of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, and is banned in Germany. https://www.rt.com/news/line/

In what is set to be a major blow to the U.S.’ increasingly fragile “petrodollar” system, Venezuela announced on Wednesday that it would no longer accept U.S. dollars as payment for its crude oil exports. According to the Wall Street Journal, Venezuela has begun using euros in lieu of the dollar and will convert existing cash holdings into euros as well. However, the official website of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, has begun offering prices in the Chinese yuan, not euros. The decision is similar to that once made by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who dropped the dollar in favor of the euro a few years prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. The move, though drastic, was not entirely unexpected. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had stated earlier in the month that the country would look to “free” itself from the dollar within a week’s time, following the U.S.’ sanctions against the embattled nation. Full report: http://www.mintpressn

The expansion of US military operations around the drone has coincided with the Pentagon having an increasingly large drone arsenal to carry out unmanned airstrikes around the world. That’s given them an opportunity to massively increase spending on drone warfare. But the CIA also invested massively in drone warfare, and officials are looking for more opportunities to use those drones from extrajudicial killings. This has led CIA Director Mike Pompeo to press President Trump for authority to conduct drone strikes in Afghanistan. Military drone strikes are common in Afghanistan, and Pentagon officials aren’t clear what the CIA thinks their drones can do that the existing drones aren’t already doing. On top of that, since the CIA declines comment on their strikes, the Pentagon is worried CIA strikes that kill civilians will lead to blowback against US ground troops. The CIA doesn’t appear to have good answers for the Pentagon’s concerns, so much as they hav

The unflinching support for the EU and its institutions is not about preventing European countries from becoming “Afghanistan.” Not about preventing collapse. Not about the inconvenience of long lines at passport control. It is about promoting an ideology, a specific worldview, a vision for the way the world should work. by Michael Nevradakis Part 6 - Discrediting the EU’s opponents As I conclude this piece, I find myself at a fascinating conference on journalism and digital media taking place on the divided island of Cyprus. Notably, Cyprus, just like the United Kingdom, is not yet part of the Schengen Zone, which allows for passport- and visa-free travel. This means long lines at passport control—the horror! Interestingly enough, despite the U.K.’s having been exempted from participation in the Schengen Zone, “freedom to travel” was one of the arguments put forth to oppose “Brexit.” But back to the conference: I’ve attended fascinating panel discussions and ta