Mike Norman Economics

After my day in the sun as a poet, I am back to being an economist. I have been researching operational issues relating to how a society can take back control and Reclaim the State, as part of the work I am doing for our follow up book (with Thomas Fazi) that I hope to get out next year sometime. The current book Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World (Pluto Books, 2017) is very conceptual. The Part 2 follow up will be conceptual in part but...

The Andrei Nekrasov film that Tom posted here recently has been taken down, but someone has been brave enough to put it on YouTube, so just do a search for it before it's taken down too. Here, Andrei Nekrasov talks about his film. [embedded content]

Bizarre. Miles over the top. Things are spinning out of control. Zero HedgeFirst Assassination Markets Appear On Prediction Platform Augur Tyler Durden

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