Mike Norman Economics

Gold fever. Actually, the Central Bank of Russia injects roubles into the domestic economy by buying up domestic gold production. This is a monetary operation conducted on the books of the central bank and it therefore does not affect the government's fiscal balance. Zero HedgeRussian Gold Reserves Hit Putin-Era High, Buying Frenzy Accelerates Tyler Durden

Backgrounder.Sic Semper Tyrannis Hezbollah – Capabilities And Role In The Middle East - South Front Col. W. Patrick Lang, US Army (ret.), former military intelligence officer at the US Defense Intelligence Agency It's also noteworthy that SST has reposted Philip Giraldi's  How I Got Fired

Fascist Franco may have been dead for more than four decades, but Spain is still encumbered with his dictatorial corpse. A new paradigm has been coined right inside the lofty European Union, self-described home/patronizing dispenser of human rights to lesser regions across the planet: “In the name of democracy, refrain from voting, or else.” Call it democracy nano-Franco style. Nano-Franco is Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose heroic shock troops were redeployed from a serious...

China perceives the status quo as American hegemony that stands in the way of its Chinese Dream. An irresistible force meeting an immovable object? Somethin's gotta give. A major problem is that America and to a great extent it Anglo allies assumes that its view of liberalism is descriptive of the natural order and other views are therefore simply wrong. This is one of the foundations of a series of paradoxes of liberalism that lead liberals to think and act illiberally.  China views...

Moody's goes all proactive. As various institutions continue to publish very detailed estimates of how Trump's tax plan will impact the federal budget, which is somewhat amazing since income brackets haven't even been assigned yet, Moody's published a note today threatening to finally strip the U.S. of its AAA credit rating if the tax plan is ultimately passed as currently contemplated.... The deficit would be too big. Gotta cut some welfare.Zero Hedge"Credit Negative For U.S. Government":...

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S administration is facing strong backlash from civil rights groups after voting against a U.N. resolution that condemns using death penalty to punish “consensual same-sex relations.” The U.N. Human Rights Council approved the measure on Friday with a 27-13 vote, with seven countries abstaining.... The InterceptThe U.S. Voted Against a U.N. Resolution Condemning Death Penalty for LGBTQ PeopleAlex Emmons

Could this be another Fight of the Century? Legendary boxer George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight world champion and an Olympic gold medalist, has just offered a faceoff to Hollywood star Steven Seagal from his Twitter account.... 10 rounds in Vegas. Foreman to use boxing and Seagal can use anything he chooses. (Sorta depends on who is still in shape.)Who wins?Sputnik InternationalPlace Your Bets! George Foreman (68) Wants to Fight Steven Seagal (65), Internet Goes Mad

State fascism rearing its ugly head again in Spain?SouthFront Thousands Protest In Barselona Over Police Violence During Catalan Independence Referendum lkb22 IndependentSpanish anti-separatists in Madrid protest with fascist arm salutes while singing far-right song Natasha Salmon ReutersSerbia accuses world of double standards over Catalonia and Kosovo More paradoxes of liberalism.

Censorship strikes again. Google, FaceBook, say it isn't so. Sure looks like it. (Google owns YouTube).Is the window closing and the blinds being drawn?SouthFrontYouTube Bans SYRIANGIRL’s Video About Her Facebook Ban – for ‘Hate Speech’lkb22

Ten years ago, John Mearsheimer and I published a controversial article and subsequent book examining the impact of the “Israel Lobby” — that is, a loose coalition of pro-Israel individuals and organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Christians United for Israel, just to name a few. We argued that decades of unconditional U.S. support for Israel — the so-called “special relationship” — is...