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Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 08:01

Support my work via Patreon The collapses of Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank are like icebergs calving off from the Antarctic glacier. The financial analogy to the global warming causing this collapse is the rising temperature of interest rates, which spiked last Thursday and Friday to close at 4.60 percent for the U.S. Treasury’s two-year Continue Reading

The post Why the Banking System is Breaking Up first appeared on Michael Hudson.
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 08:00
Another Big Lie What an ass. I was reminded of this piece when I heard that Melania was actually the one who persuaded Trump to be seen with that dog. I know it’s the least of his problems, but his hatred for animals said everything about him: When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died following a raid by American special forces in his Syrian bolthole, Donald Trump was delighted to report, in October, that the Islamic State leader had “died like a dog”. You mean enfolded by love and grief, Mr President? You mean surrounded by human beings who feel like they have just had their hearts ripped out? Not quite. If anyone was in any doubt about how a dog dies, Trump was happy to elaborate: al-Baghdadi had “whimpered, cried and screamed like a coward”, he chortled. “[He] spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread!” But that is not how a dog dies, Mr President. There are almost 90 million dogs in the United States and all of their owners will have winced to hear their president gloating about how a dog slips this mortal coil.
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 07:54

By David DeCamp / Antiwar.com The US Navy wants a full-service submarine hub in Australia that can oversee all underwater activity in the Asia Pacific, including production and repairs, Defense News reported Thursday. The report cited comments from Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro, whose vision will be possible under AUKUS, the military pact signed between the US, […]

The post US Navy Wants to Turn Australia Into a Full-Service Submarine Hub appeared first on scheerpost.com.

Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 07:52

My long-dead father used to say, “Every human being deserves to taste a piece of cake.” Though at the time his words meant little to me, as I grew older I realized both what they meant, symbolically speaking, and the grim reality they disguised so charmingly. That saying of his arose from a basic reality of our lives then — the eternal scarcity of food in our household, just as in so many other homes in New York City’s South Bronx where I grew up. This was during the 1940s and 1950s, but hunger still haunts millions of American households more than three-quarters of a century later. In our South Bronx apartment, given the lack of food, there was no... Read more

Source: Empty Tables appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 06:42
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has many parents. Twitter is alight with fingers pointing at venture capitalists for starting a run against a bank whose many wealthy customers had deposits far in excess of the maximum that is guaranteed in the event of a bank failure ($250,000). Michael Hudson blames the aftermath of the … Continue reading "Silicon Valley Bank: The Fed’s Role in its Downfall"
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 06:39

A peer-reviewed paper initially approved and praised by a prestigious academic journal was suddenly rescinded without explanation. Its author, one of the world’s top scholars on Ukraine-related issues, had marshaled overwhelming evidence to conclude Maidan protesters were killed by pro-coup snipers. The massacre by snipers of anti-government activists and police officers in Kiev’s Maidan Square in late February 2014 was a defining moment in the US-orchestrated overthrow of Ukraine’s elected government. The death of 70 protesters triggered an avalanche of […]

The post ‘Rigorous’ Maidan massacre exposé suppressed by top academic journal appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 06:30
Pence fully breaks with Trump on J6 Pence is cruisin’ for a bruisin’:  Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday harshly criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, widening the rift between the two men as they prepare to battle over the Republican nomination in next year’s election. “President Trump was wrong,” Pence said during remarks at the annual white-tie Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.” Pence’s remarks were the sharpest condemnation yet from the once-loyal lieutenant who has often shied away from confronting his former boss. Trump has already declared his candidacy. Pence has not, but he’s been laying the groundwork to run. In the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pressured Pence to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory as he presided over the ceremonial certification of the results.
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 06:26

By Ellen Brown / Original to ScheerPost On Friday, March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed and was taken over by federal regulators. SVB was the 16th largest bank in the country and its bankruptcy was the second largest in U.S. history, following Washington Mutual in 2008. Despite its size, SVB was not a “systemically […]

The post Ellen Brown: The Looming Quadrillion Dollar Derivatives Tsunami  appeared first on scheerpost.com.

Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 06:14
Another Message Board Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I’ve moved my irregular email news from Mailchimp to Substack. You can read it here. You can also follow me on Mastodon here I’m also trying out Substack as a blogging […]
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 05:26
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 12, 2023

Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 12, 2023

by Tony Wikrent

Strategic Political Economy

“Marianne Williamson: ‘Anything Is Possible’” (interview) 

[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 3-10-2023]

Your background is different from the typical presidential candidate. You’ve run for office before, but you’ve gained notoriety as someone who helps people explore their experiences, often from a spiritual perspective. Do you see that as a challenge or an advantage?

Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 05:00
This is so ridiculous I’m reluctant to even comment. But the sad fact is that there really is a convergence of some on the left and right, particularly on the issue of Russia and it’s starting to bleed into other areas. Sigh: When they take the microphones behind a DJ booth at the New York Young Republican Club party, Dasha Nekrasova and Anna Khachiyan have a less-than-captive audience. The event’s headliner, longtime Republican operative Roger Stone, has just finished speaking and is on his way to the bar to make martinis, setting off a small stampede of young conservatives. Nekrasova and Khachiyan, co-hosts of the podcast Red Scare, address the remaining crowd. “Hey, we’re all Republicans here,” Nekrasova says. “I’m a Democrat now,” Khachiyan deadpans. “Yeah, we’re actually Democrats.” “After tonight, I changed my mind. I am registering as a Democrat.
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:59
Eleven years ago I gave the speech below. I was then pessimistic about our understanding of Asia. The situation has got markedly worse since then, writ large in the unremitting attacks on China stemming from ignorance and parochialism, particularly in our White Man’s Media. We are so used to being told and doing what Washington Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:58
Our prime minister declares firmly that Australian sovereignty will be maintained in the new defence arrangements. He must be asked to state clearly and publicly that should the USA go to war with China Australia will not necessarily follow but could remain neutral. If this is not the case, we do not have sovereignty. So Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:56
This is the title of a National Webinar organised by the Australian Anti-AUKUS Coalition in expectation of the release of three reports this month; one on AUKUS and the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines, one on the Inquiry into war powers reform and, although it may now be delayed until April, the Strategic Defence Review. Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:54
Three hundred years ago, Britain narrowly escaped a disaster. Trapped inside a bubble, they needed radical changes to escape. There are parallels to our world today, where the logic of failure is woven into the very fabric of civilisation. We too, are trapped inside a bubble, but one is of far greater significance. The question Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:53
Rupert Murdoch may be running out of political clout and financial luck. For decades Murdoch has been a pernicious influence on journalism, politics, climate policy, progressive ideas and whether nations go to war or not. Murdoch is now 91. His father died young and his mother lived until 103 mourned by all who knew her Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:52
Part I of this review noted that Brendan Nelson met lots of people. In the book, however, he tells us way less than their full stories. He writes about the 2006 Jake Kovco case where, on Nelson’s watch as Minister for Defence, Kovco accidentally killed himself. Kovco’s repatriated body was lost for a time, then found. Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:50
Hopefully, behind the scenes, policymakers are well into postwar preparations for Ukraine. The conduct of the fighting naturally absorbs most attention in a war, but conflicts come to an end one way or another and often that’s when the hard issues emerge. Another Afghanistan or Iraq debacle must be avoided. This planning probably is taking Continue reading »
Created
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 04:49
In recent weeks there have been a multitude of news items and reports emanating from various quarters indicting China has passed the United States in science and technology and this is likely an irreversible trend. According to the National Science Foundation China has overtaken the U.S. in scientific patents and published reports. The Australian Strategic Continue reading »