Mike Norman Economics

Valery Gerasimov is not the kind of guy who attends diplomatic meetings, him being present in Berlin together with Russia's foreign minister signals something very important in the making. This question is kind of like asking what the CIA director was doing in Kiev shortly after the coup. Russia Insider What Was Russia's Chief of General Staff Doing in Berlin in Talks With Merkel? Andrei MartyanovalsoTASSRussian top diplomat, General Staff chief return after trip to Israel, Europe — source...

Trumpgate busted and the plot outed. Long and detailed.Sic Semper TyrannisTaking a New Look at the Unverified Steele Dossier Publius Tacitus

Joh Rappoport reminds us of some history.John Rappoport's BlogUS shipped biowar materials to Iraq John Rappoport

Replace "Russia" in this article with "Iran" or "China" and the analysis still applies against the conventional wishful thinking and corresponding policy based on magical thinking rather than objective analysis based on fact.This kind of thinking go the US bogged down in quagmires from Vietnam to Iraq that were costly in blood and treasure.IrrussianalityResilient RussiaPaul Robinson | Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa

Cold War 2.0 is heating up. Arms race on. Fort Russ NATO GAINING STRENGTH AND MOMENTUM IN E. EUROPE – Shoigu Paul Antonopoulos SHOIGU FORMS 70 NEW UNITS IN RESPONSE TO NATO BUILDUP ON RUSSIA’S BORDER Joaquin Flores

Yesterday the State Duma in the third and final reading passed a bill increasing the rate of Value Added Tax from 18% to 20%. The increase will be effective starting from January 1, 2019. At the same time, Russian government is planning to keep the current reduced VAT rates (10% and 0%) for socially important goods and services. Thus, by the end of 2019 the budget will receive an additional RUB 620 bln, which will be used to implement President Putin’s spending plan.... AwaraRussia Passes...

Backgrounder on Pakistan and analysis of the outcome of the recent election there. Pakistan is important geopolitically and geostrategically. Michael Roberts BlogPakistan: it’s not cricketMichael Roberts

A subscriber explains his journey from scared trader to Ninja Warrior.

Since the Government is reluctant to do anything about the problem of low wage growth, Philip Soos suggests ways in which it can be solved. Philip Soos, an Australian economist,  goes over a number of issues but these ones below stood out.  Philip Soos says the ruling elite like mass immigration not because they are nice people who have a benevolent love for mankind, but because it massively boosts their profits. The neoliberal elite can go and live in the wealthy suburbs in houses that...

The mainstream media are making almost no effort today to fit Charlie Rowley’s account of his poisoning into the already ludicrous conspiracy theory being peddled by the government and intelligence agencies. ITV News gamely inserted the phrase “poisoned by a Russian nerve agent” into their exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, an interview in which they managed to ask no penetrating questions whatsoever, and of which they only broadcast heavily edited parts. Their own website contains...