Mike Norman Economics

All's fair in love and war — including human shields?The Israeli leadership is generating a perception problem that is eroding what's left of their good will and soft power. First a Russian aircraft and now civilian airliners.Double whammy of moral failure and strategic blunder.Sic Semper Tyrannis How clever! Col. W. Patrick Lang, US Army (ret.) At the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lang was the Defense Intelligence Officer (DIO) for the Middle East, South Asia and counter-terrorism, and...

I believe that the central problem faced by people struggling for freedom today is the widespread acceptance of Margaret Thatcher’s TINA – the belief that “there is no alternative.” The main things that have led to the acceptance of TINA are the collapse of the state-capitalist regimes that called themselves “Communist” and the widespread failures of social democracy to remake society. The struggles for freedom do not stop because of this, of course. Yet the acceptance of TINA acts to...

This is legal in the US? If not, where was the line crossed? Even if legal, it appears that a line was crossed when participants lied to investigators and the press about it. There are also questions raised about politicization of the US intelligence services, perhaps assisted by British intelligence.Even if is legal, it proves that HRC was preparing to do exactly what she was accusing DJT of planning to do–contest the result if he lost.There is a very bad smell about this. In fact, it is...

The problem with all of this obviously is that all these news outlets are supposed to report the news, and none of them do anymore. They ‘report’ the opinions of their editors and ‘journalists’, and if these people don’t like whoever it is the American people elect as their president, it’s open season.American media has made it acceptable for foreign media to write fake articles about the US president, which means ridicule of the Office of the President is fine too, and thereby the process...

The stock market’s recent correction has been more abrupt than you’d expect if the market were in the early stages of a major decline. I say that because one of the hallmarks of a major market top is that the bear market than ensues is relatively mild at the beginning, only building up a head of steam over several months. Corrections, in contrast, tend to be far sharper and more precipitous. 1. For what it's worth, I tend to agree with this position in that the fundamentals of the US...

So, what is going on? Well, the US military complex is ‘for real’ on this. They are gearing-up for the coming military-standoff with China. The constant harking on themes that China is stealing America’s technology, its knowhow and its data – and now the barrage of allegations about China ‘hacking’ and (shades of the Russiagate) interfering in US elections, essentially (but not wholly) is about shaping a casus belli versus China. The rude fact is that the US military were shocked to find...

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is now an entertainment staple at Christmas time. This and many of the other stories that Dickens recounted so skillfully while avoiding rank sentimentality raise the question of his personal political views. The world he describes fictionally is now famous as "the Dickensian world." HIs work was instrumental in the reform of the classical economic liberalism in Britain of the time and the introduction of at least a degree of social...

It’s a Wonderful Life is a staple of the holiday season in the United States, but it was once considered un-American by the government. The AtlanticThe FBI Considered 'It's a Wonderful Life' to Be Communist Propaganda Zachary M. Seward, Dec 24, 2013

Kalecki quote. The Case for Concerted ActionMichal Kalecki On The Effect Of Wages On Employment V. RamananSee also @Brankomilan leads us to this (french) pieceabout Austria. It states that the Austrian government enacted a new law which authorizes working days of 12 hours and working weeks of 60 hours.A). This is a clear case of retrogression. It’s good to read what, in 1921, the International Labor Office stated in its first annual report…. Real-World Economics Review BlogProductivity in...

RTChristmas in Aleppo: Syrians celebrate as city recovers from years-long bloodshed (VIDEOS)Sputnik International'Our People Couldn't Be Broken': Syrian Aleppo 2 Years After Liberation