Mike Norman Economics

On Twitter this morning Jason Smith asked a good question. Is this, he asked, an “anonymous blog comment from a simpleton? ... Or analysis from a prominent financial economics professor?”... Stumbling and MumblingFacts vs hand-waving in economicsChris Dillow | Investors Chronicle

The lessons from last weekend’s strike on Syria by the United States of America and two of its allies do not bode well for the future of democracy or the future of peace, says Inder Comar.  More warnings than lessons. "It can't happen here." Consortium NewsFour Lessons From the Strike on Syria Inder ComarRelatedAre most Americans "good Americans" like the "good Germans" that not only did not oppose Hitler but elected him and stood by him when he later made war illegally and aggressively...

18 holes at your club in the morning... Trump and Shinzo Abe played 18 holes of golf today, per @IsabelRTokyo.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan shot these pictures, not the media. Press pool not allowed to see them on the golf course. pic.twitter.com/JpMtsQHSkY — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 18, 2018 Followed by a nice light gourmet business lunch, perhaps some cracked stone crab cocktail,  negotiating some bilateral trade agreements... HAPPENING NOW: President Trump and...

Must-read in full. It's short and to the point.The meaning of "value" is one of the most pertinent questions in economics and political economy. Michael Hudson has been emphasizing this for some time, as have Marxists and Marxian. Consideration of value of other than as price revealed in competitive markets is ruled out in conventional economics by methodological assumptions. What we value and how we value it is one of the most contested, misunderstood and important ideas in economics....

Once Britain lost its empire, it managed to secure a degree of global influence by throwing in its lot with the US as a junior partner in Washington’s quest for global hegemony. And if the 21st century tells us anything so far, it is that the centuries’ old colonialist mentality of the British state has not gone away: the mindset of Empire, conquest and duplicity persists.… British elite trying to remain relevant on the world stage and in the great game.Colin Todhunter delivers a blistering...

And this is very is even better. Boy, listen to this Professor Jeffrey Sachs talk, no messing here, he says the CIA and Saudi Arabia went into Syria to destabilise the country to get rid of Assad. That's the US messing in another countries politics to change a leader - that's serious. [embedded content] Bombshell: Professor Stuns MSNBC Panel On Syria

Jimmy Dore is so good, and this video excellent. I wrote in the comments under another another Jimmy Dore video that he is one of the most important people on the left right now. He can put serious politics across in a very entertaining way.  [embedded content] This video below goes over the same ground.  [embedded content] Michele Lastella explains how, why and what is really happening behind the war in Syria. Mass media is hiding the truth about most of the main news.

The reality is that strike warfare—long range strikes by planes and missiles—has rarely achieved its advertised strategic consequence. Yet it remains a dangerous, drug-like chimera to states desperately searching for some sort of easy, low-cost fix in the search for influence in the chaotic international system. Like all drugs, the initial rush feels great, but the long-range addiction is, in the end, far more destructive, dangerous, and difficult (if not impossible) to kick.… Yet despite...

A survey by FAIR of the top 100 papers in the US by circulation found not a single editorial board opposed to Trump’s April 13 airstrikes on Syria. Twenty supported the strikes, while six were ambiguous as to whether or not the bombing was advisable. The remaining 74 issued no opinion about Trump’s latest escalation of the Syrian war. This is fairly consistent with editorial support for Trump’s April 2017 airstrikes against the Syrian government, which saw only one editorial out of 47...

The emerging world is catching up fast.World Economic ForumThe world's biggest economies in 2018 Rob Smith