Mike Norman Economics

Israel has opened its borders with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to Nusra Front and al-Qaida fighters wounded in the ongoing civil war, according to The Wall Street Journal. The prominent American newspaper reported that Nusra Front, the Sunni Muslim al-Qaida offshoot which is currently fighting the Iranian-backed axis of Bashar Assad and Hezbollah, “hasn’t bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer” along the Golan Heights. When you lose the WSJ.…Defend...

Theresa May has issued a long legal justification for UK participation in an attack on a sovereign state. This is so flawed as to be totally worthless. It specifically claims as customary international law practices which are rejected by a large majority of states and therefore cannot be customary international law. It is therefore secondary and of no consequence that the facts and interpretations the argument cites in this particular case are erroneous, but it so happens they are indeed...

Must-read. It's the story of American empire, the quest for permanent global hegemony under American and allied elites, and imperial overreach followed by imperial decline. We are now in the midst of it.TomDispatchA Tale of American Hubris — Or Five Lessons in the History of American Defeat Tom Engelhardt

Don't be put off by the title. The post is chiefly about MMT's interpretation of functional finance rather than Australia. While the post is longish and wonkish (but no equations to slow you down), it is worth a careful read. Brian explains functional finance from the POV of an applied mathematician with experience in both control systems and finance. It's a bit of a different perspective so there is a lot in there that MMT economists generally don't touch on.Bond Economics Australian...

Hours after the overnight US-led missile strikes on Syria, WikiLeaks republished a crucially important diplomatic cable through its official media accounts confirming that Saudi Arabia's long term strategy in Syria has been to pursue regime change "by all means available." According to the leaked internal Saudi government document, this is the kingdom's proposed end-goal even should the United States at any point show "lack of desire" due to the threat of Russian response and possibility of...

The UN is now finished as a result of the violation of the UN Charter by the US, and France without UN authorization or in self-defense. The UN is now just of use for propaganda. Russia and China will vote everything that the US, UK and France propose in the UNSC, and vice versa. Niki Haley is a prop in political theater. The US neocons and conservative nationalists have no use for the UN anyway and believe it is irrelevant, John Bolton in particular. The ROW will watch this and...

People do not have much of an appetite for more war, and yet this is not reflected in the pages of the elite corporate media, TV or radio debates and discussions. Daniel Margrain takes a look at the news propaganda around Syria and why it does not stand up to a moments scrutiny. Documentation of media deception.Renegade, Inc.The ‘liberal’ media bringing us WW3 Daniel Margrain

The United States urged regional leaders on Saturday to take stronger steps to isolate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as it joined a declaration condemning the worsening humanitarian crisis and political repression in the South American nation.… “The United States of America will not stand idly by as Venezuela crumbles,” Pence said in a speech. “Every free nation gathered here must take stronger action to isolate the Maduro regime. We must all stand with our brothers and sisters...

The back story. Not only did the deep state get to DJT, it's resulting in the loss of his base. They add to already foreboding headwinds for Republicans ahead of the midterms, in which polls show a generic Democrat leading a generic Republican by more than seven points on average. Disappointment with Trump could accentuate that gap by suppressing turnout among voters who supported the President in 2016. FortuneProminent Trump Supporters Skeptical, Uncertain, and ‘Sick’ as Syria Attack...

Syria is not about dictatorship or building democracy. It is not about the alleged 70 victims of chemical weapons. It would take a complete idiot to believe that Washington and its European vassals, who have killed, maimed, orphaned, and displaced millions of Muslims in seven countries over the last 17 years to be so upset over the deaths of 70 Muslims that they are willing to risk war with Russia. Syria and Iran are an issue, because Syria and Iran supply the Lebanese millita, Hezbollah,...