In the midst of a brutal conflict in #Ukraine, two of the world’s financial titans, #BlackRock and #JPMorgan Chase, are seemingly leading the charge in an ostensible #humanitarian effort. They are helping to establish the Ukraine Development Fund, a reconstruction bank designed to steer public seed capital into projects that can attract hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment. However, as those who are familiar with the words of Gen. Smedley Butler might ask, is this #really an #altruistic endeavor, or just another face of the long-standing war racket?

The echoes of Halliburton’s billion-dollar contracts during the #Iraq war are deafening. These corporations, the backbone of the military-industrial complex, have found a golden opportunity in mass #murder. The strategy is as lucrative as it is grotesque: #profiteering from death, destruction, and then the subsequent #taxpayer-funded #reconstruction of the rubble they helped to create — all while maintaining a veneer of benevolence.

When we delve into the intricacies of the Ukraine Development Fund, the disturbing reality begins to surface. The World Bank estimates that Ukraine would need a whopping $411 billion to rebuild after the war. Here, BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase see a bountiful harvest. The roles they will play in leveraging taxpayer funds provide them with the potential for #astronomical #profits that would easily dwarf any of their alleged “donated” services.

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Altruism in birds? Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices

"When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we didn’t expect to discover an entirely new social behaviour rarely seen in birds.

Our goal was to learn more about the movement and social dynamics of these highly intelligent birds, and to test these new, durable and reusable devices. Instead, the birds outsmarted us.

As our new research paper explains, the magpies began showing evidence of cooperative “rescue” behaviour to help each other remove the tracker.

While we’re familiar with magpies being intelligent and social creatures, this was the first instance we knew of that showed this type of seemingly altruistic behaviour: helping another member of the group without getting an immediate, tangible reward...."

#smart-birds #magpies #altruistic #behaviour #tracking-devices