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Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:58

Recent deals between US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and African heads of state promise eye-popping profits for US mining multinationals and fewer protections for African laborers “toiling in subhuman conditions” to drive the digital revolution. The US Africa Leaders Summit held this December in Washington DC provided a platform for the Biden administration to advance its agenda across the African continent. With topics ranging from COVID-19 to climate change to “closing the digital divide,” to “strengthening democracy,” Washington’s agenda […]

The post US Africa Leaders Summit promises more exploitation for Africa, record profits for US mining firms appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:56
"A consistent reduction of economic risks created by the use of foreign currencies and payment systems for mutual trade is seen as an urgent task. We believe that connecting partners to the Bank of Russia's financial messaging system and developing inter-system cooperation between national payment systems is an indispensable condition for stable settlements within the Union," he said in an address to heads of EAEU members on the occasion of Russia’s chairmanship in the integration in 2023, which was published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday.

"Harmonization of financial markets should create favorable conditions for the member states' capital to remain within the union and for it to be invested in the national economies. We also consider it advisable to examine the possibility of creating a Eurasian rating agency that would provide evaluation tools to service the growing economic activity in our macro-region," the [Putin] address reads....

Putin's speech contains more than just the payments system. 

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:31
As President Joe Biden prepares to face off with House Republicans over the U.S. government’s debt ceiling, a majority of voters would rather have a government shutdown than to have Congress sign off on more spending.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 56% of Likely U.S. Voters would rather have a partial government shutdown until Congress can agree to either cut spending or keep it the same. Just 34% would rather avoid a partial shutdown by authorizing more spending…
The rest is behind a paywall. But you get the drift.

Rasmussen Reports — Jan 23, 2023
Debt Ceiling: 56% Prefer Shutdown

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:26
The Bank of Canada is widely expected to increase its policy interest rate again this week, for the eighth time in the last 10 months. Media and financial market commentary on its decision has made numerous throwaway references to how Canada’s economy is still “running hot,” and that i why a rate hike is needed. This common claim is surprising, [...]
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:19
The title should be, Why sanctions are backfiring. The hypotheticals are present realities.

Interestingly, many have observed that when sanctions were used, war not long behind but they also perfunctorily say that this situation is likely different. Really? War is already raging and escalating along with increased sanctions that are having no noticeable effect on Russia' behavior.

This is a policy mistake that is turning into a strategic blunder of major proportions. Iraq was a strategic blunder but proportionately insignificant in comparison with Russia and China, who have been driven together into a de facto alliance against the US and its allies, many of whom have been dragged into this unfolding conflict reluctantly. War is returning to Europe, the very thing that NATO, the Common Market,  the European Union and the Eurozone were meant to obviate.

Progress in Political Economy (PPE) 
Why sanctions may backfire
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 07:00
The GOP field is forming It’s begun. And just as we once assumed, it’s a tired re-run of 2020 with former president Donald Trump hopping from rally to rally repeating his boring recitation of the Big Lie and the perpetual “witchhunt” and “hoax” mantras. Only this time, the Republican presidential primary is starting early with what’s shaping up to be a crowded field. Whether any of Trump’s rivals will be able to knock him out remains to be seen — but there’s no doubt they think he’s weakened enough to chance it. We’ve all been closely watching Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t yet made any overt moves to run but is nonetheless clearly positioning himself to do it. At the moment he is the only serious contender who still holds office which gives him the opportunity to demonstrate his right-wing bonafides. And boy is he ever doing that. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the list of his aggressive authoritarian policies is already a mile long, each one designed to curry favor with the far right by provoking everyone else.
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 06:00

Immediately after Russian troops attacked Ukraine in February 2022, a group of Western countries – including the U.S., EU states, Australia, Great Britain and Japan – imposed tough sanctions against Russia. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire announced on March 1, 2022, that the West would wage “an all-out economic and financial war against Russia.” However, even after more than nine months, the sanctioned state, Russia, shows only moderate signs of economic weakening. On the contrary, revenues from oil exports have amounted to about $20 billion per month until mid-2022, a significant increase of about one-third from $14.5 billion per month in 2021. Not only can the Russian government continue the war of aggression, but it is also liquid enough to manage without exporting gas to Western Europe.

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 05:34

On her days off from working at the cloakroom at Berlin’s Berghain nightclub, Molly Nilsson began recording lo-fi pop gems. Armed with a knack for creating gloomy ballads that sparkle with mordant observations on life, loneliness and the city, it didn’t take long for the Stockholm-born, Berlin-based artist to etch her name in the hearts […]

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 05:30
This piece in the NY Times about the boomer vote tracks with my instincts. First of all, the youngest boomers aren’t even 60 yet so not all of us are ancient. Biden, for instance is not a boomer. He’s older. Trump was born in the very first year of the baby boom so he’s at the very oldest edge. The truth is that there were always a fair number in that large generation who were conservative. Not everyone was a hippie. And yes, some moved right as they aged. It seems to just happen with some people. But many, many boomers were and have, as I have, been very liberal their whole lives. And they’re still fighting the good fight. Is it time to call the next election “the most important in American history”? Probably. It seems like it may involve a judgment on democracy itself. Americans with a lot of history will play a key role in determining its outcome. And judging in part by November’s midterms, they may not play the role that older voters are usually assigned. We at Third Act, the group we helped form in 2021, think older Americans are beginning a turn in the progressive direction, a turn that will accelerate as time goes on.
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 05:00

FROM: Gouldsboro College Admissions Team
SUBJECT: Apply today!

Hi Katherine,

As college deadlines roll around, we at Gouldsboro College encourage you to take a chance on our supportive learning community. Since our founding in 1923, Gouldsboro has given scholars from all over the country (and the world, probably) the skills they need to survive in this cold, hard world. We’ve reviewed your profile, Katherine, and think you’d be a fantastic fit. Start your application using the link below, and we’ll see you in September!

Best wishes,
Mark Doyle
Gouldsboro College Dean of Admissions

- - -

FROM: Gouldsboro College Admissions Team
SUBJECT: Only six more days left!

Hi again, Katherine,

Gouldsboro misses you! There are only a few days left to make an impression on our admissions team, and we’d love for you to step up to the plate. You don’t even need to try that hard because we accept everyone. Just give it a go, Katherine. We promise you’ll love us.

Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 04:57
The risks for Australia in joining another “failed” American war, this one contrived to crush China, are worse than even-money, and climbing. The consequences verge on existential. Australia’s wartime Prime Minister John Curtin wrote to Britain’s Prime Minister Churchill in a 1942 letter marked “Most Secret” – “we make no apologies for our effort or Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 04:56
Currently Australia has 6 Collins Class submarines in service all of which are approaching end of service life. If they are to remain safe and operational a major and expensive refit will be required. Australia no longer has Collins Class replacement submarines planned, after the demise of the program to build 12 French designed Barracuda Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 04:55
It took less than 48 hours from Thursday until Saturday morning for New Zealanders to learn who their new Prime Minister would be. There was none of the dithering, back stabbing and delays evident in some other democracies when changing leaders. After Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigned there was just one nomination, Chris Hipkins, 44, Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 04:51
Islamic experts praise region’s success in anti-terror, ethnic group harmony. World-renowned Islamic religious figures and scholars have highly praised on the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region’s great achievements in development, saying they will share with the rest of the world what they saw with their own eyes in the region. More than 30 Islamic scholars from Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 24/01/2023 - 04:50
US mission creep in Ukraine follows in the fatal footsteps of ultimately failed war campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since the failures of the US military missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq – and many other Muslim nations like Libya – critics of the US mission in the “global war on terrorism” have lamented Continue reading »