Mike Norman Economics

PCR switches from his usual outrage to concern over monumental US hubris. Begging for nemesis?Paul Craig RobertsCan’t You See War On The Horizon? 

The USA Patriot Act, passed hurriedly after 9/11, taught us that rushing a surveillance bill through Congress is a bad idea, producing complicated statutes ripe for abuse. Yet the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee is taking a page out of President George W. Bush’s playbook and trying to do just that. Tomorrow, the committee will debate a bill that dramatically expands NSA surveillance authorities, including one that is scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The bill was...

Deficit hysteria rises just prior to the hitting of the debt ceiling due on Dec. 8th, which will ratchet up debt phobia, too. What else is new in Moronville? Behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, concerns were mounting, however, about Republican Senator Bob Corker’s push for a snap-back “trigger” amendment to the bill that would raise taxes automatically, possibly on corporations, if economic growth targets are not hit in the future, to offset a higher deficit.Conservative Republican...

Some fact-checking about the newly contracted Kerch Bridge over the Kerch Strait of the Sea of Azov that connects the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland. Fort Russ Atlantic Council wants war against Russia over a Ukrainian fish story Christelle Néant in Agoravox.fr, translated by Tom Winter

The Russian government is convinced that US sanctions are aimed at regime change in Russia.RT US sanctions aimed at turning business elite against Putin before election – KremlinSee also RT's Capitol press credentials cancelled.Sputnik InternationalRussia Hysteria: US Congress Revokes RT’s Capitol Hill Press Credentials

People in the alternative media are often said to be spreading fake news, especially when it comes to false flags, but this Italian documentary seems to indicate that there was indeed a false flag at Maiden Square in the Ukraine. Global Research also has the full Italian documentary.Global Research - The Hidden Truth About UkraineExcerpt - The interviews with three snipers of Georgian nationality, conducted by the Italian journalist Gian Micalessin and aired as a breathtaking documentary...

It looks like the US is on its way out. All empires end when they get too big and then get overblown with a big military while its core crumbles with its civilians become poorer. Pure capitalism can't ever work as it will always leave too much power in the hands of just a few people who will still want more and more until the system collapses. The six ancient Chinese civilizations all ended the same way and the Chinese never learnt their lesson. A greedy few would always in the end hollow...

The bottom line on aircraft carrier survivability is that only a handful of countries can credibly pose a threat to America's most valuable warships, and short of using nuclear weapons none of those is likely to sink one.... The National InterestAre U.S. Aircraft Carriers Nearly Unsinkable? Loren B. Thompson | Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit Lexington Institute and Chief Executive Officer of Source Associates, a for-profit consultancy. Prior to holding his present positions, he...

Fort Russ News has no problem printing a retraction, but we'd rather avoid that when we know beforehand that we'd later have to. There's a cynical saying inside the news world, that news only has to be true for a day. We aren't interested in that. Maintaining readership and building trust as a credible paper, emerging as a paper of record, is a long-term and principle-based project, and this means not covering a sensational story that gives a short term boost to ratings. Fort RussChina to...

New data shows continued weak inflation in US, Europe Asia TimesStill no Phillpsy-Curve David P. GoldmanUS tax bill gets huge boost as McCain says yes