Mike Norman Economics

We don't really know what went on in Tony Blair's mind when leader of the Labour Party but he joined the CND as a young man but later he seemed to become a War profiteer. The conspiracy theorists say he never was a lefty but an imposter whose job was to infiltrate the Labour Party to steer it even further to the right. Was he always an imposter or did money change him, we will never know, but bribery tempts many people. The article below is by Jonathon Cook. I cannot recommend the new...

There is a psychological bias to believe that exceptional events eventually give way to a return to “normal times.” But the world economy is far from a return to pre-2008 normality, with most of the obstacles to more robust recovery to be found on the demand side. Project Syndicate The Normalization DelusionAdair Turner

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Another thing that the mainstream gets backwards.Ellis Winningham — MMT and Modern MacroeconomicsFederal Taxpayers Do Not Fund the Federal Government; The Federal Government Funds Federal TaxpayersEllis Winningham

Geopolitics and geostrategy on the grand chessboard. Trump’s recent decision to add troops in Afghanistan has nothing to do with combating terrorism (or mining mineral resources, or confusing militants as to when the U.S. military might finally leave), no matter what the endless stream of pundits and think-pieces have argued since it was announced. After 16 years of occupation the Taliban control 48 of nearly 400 administrative units, the Islamic State has established a foothold, the...

Calling bullshit on the US and UK media.CounterpunchVenezuela in the Media: Double Standards and First Impressions Ricardo Vaz AlsoVenezuela’s Elections: Resurgent Chavismo and Unrecognized Democracy (August 3, 2017)Venezuelan Opposition “Consultation”: Playing Alone and Losing (July 19, 2017)

Fascinating interview. The InterceptUndercover in North Korea: “All Paths Lead to Catastrophe”Jon Schwarz

Harsh. Looks like Russia is fed up and the gloves are finally coming off. The Russia-US detente anticipated on the election of Donald Trump seems to be in the dumpster. The US deep state won. ReutersRussia says U.S. actions towards its consulates are 'state hooliganism' Reuters staffalsoRTMoscow will retaliate over consulate row, but not like deviant hooligan America – Russian deputy FMSee relatedRTWhat America stands to lose from Trump’s threatened China embargo'Unacceptable': China...

That would be the US credit rating agencies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly called for expediting the process of establishing a transparent, non-western dominated, sovereign credit rating agency for developing economies, particularly those of the BRICS block.In his address at the plenary session of the BRICS summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphatically highlighted the need for countering western rating institutions by establishing a separate rating agency...

In the past few days it became quite clear to me that Donald Trump made a deal with the Neocons in Washington. He traded part of his domestic agenda for ceding control of foreign policy to the D.C. establishment. It’s obvious when you connect the dots. Signing the sanctions bill, the non-shift in Afghanistan policy, the tit-for-tat diplomatic aggression with Russia, weapons to Ukraine, etc. I’ve written extensively about this. Graham is suddenly touting his Obamacare replacement bill.But,...