In this conversation with Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton, economist Michael Hudson responds to the misleading arguments against de-dollarization that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman made in his attempt to defend US hegemony and the dollar system. Hudson also discussed the ongoing US banking crisis and collapse of four banks in two months in Continue Reading
The post Krugman Clings to Currency Tropes first appeared on Michael Hudson.Reading
Construction workers say many employees have not showed up to work because they fear deportation. Critics say Florida Senate Bill 1718 is to blame. If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, businesses could face a $10,000 fine for every undocumented employee and the state could revoke their business license. Because of this, many construction workers who spoke to CBS News Miami say they are fearful of the future. “Many workers are leaving, thinking they’re going to be deported, so they’re going to other states,” says Jose, an employee. “Everyone is really uneasy…we just want to work to help our families.” I don’t think people realize how much the construction industry depends upon immigrant labor. It looks like Florida is about to find out. So is Kentucky: And then there’s this: DeSantis is doing everything he can to destroy Florida’s economy. Too bad about all the people who didn’t vote for him who will suffer for it.
“Women LET you” In case you were wondering if the other GOP candidates were gong to take on Trump, this is a very good indication that they are not: The group of Republican candidates and potential candidates for president in 2024 joined together to forcefully condemn and renounce former President Donald Trump after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation on Tuesday. Just kidding. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), assumed to be Trump’s biggest competition when he announces, sidestepped the opportunity when it was served up to him at a Wednesday event. “I’ve been pretty busy — I know there’s different stuff in the news,” he said. “I may have something to say about the overall landscape for ’24, but stay tuned on that,” he added. Former Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley also took what would normally be a massive cudgel to take to her primary opponent and politely set it on the ground. “I’m not gonna get into that,” she told Hugh Hewitt, a right-wing radio talk show host. “That’s something for Trump to respond to.
We are permitting ourselves no character of our own under the architecture of the Alliance. It means we’ve accepted the status of a kind of client state, or American territory. I won’t say the 51st state. It means we’ve got even less independence than a US governor would have, former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr Continue reading »
The Government’s treatment of climate change in the 2023 Budget is a vast improvement on their conservative predecessors. That said, it continues a pattern of reluctance to face reality on the really big issues which will determine our future as a nation, notably on climate. At a micro level, the budget has much to commend Continue reading »
A housing policy bonanza it most certainly was not, but related announcements in Budget 2023 included some modestly positive steps that supplement the Albanese Government’s existing array of housing initiatives. These included pledged new spending to ease cost of living pressures for hard-pressed renters, and to fund dwelling energy efficiency upgrades in social housing. On Continue reading »
The former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has been somewhat of an absentee in the Federal seat of Cook. Since losing the May 2022 election, he has been aggressively chasing up contacts and deals on the consultancy circuit, bellyaching about the usual talking points: the gruesome China menace; defence matters; and, just to round it Continue reading »
The increasing militarisation of the South China Sea disputes sets the stage for the worst case scenario—frequent and widespread conflict that eventually results in a military confrontation between China and the US. To avoid this scenario, the reality is that China, its rival claimants and the U.S. have to compromise. China’s position, policy and practices in Continue reading »
In January, the Finance Secretary Paul Chan went to Davos as part of an effort to encourage the world to join the government in its “embrace of a new start” for Hong Kong and to sell its numerous inherent strengths. Combined with efforts that coincided with the full opening-up of Hong Kong and recent visits Continue reading »
For although the amount of his own saving is unlikely to have any significant influence on his own income, the reactions of the amount of his consumption on the incomes of others makes it impossible for all individuals simultaneously to save any given sums. Every such attempt to save more by reducing consumption will so […]
All the president’s legal woes got worse last night The tsunami of lies in the town hall last night makes it hard to isolate all the atrocities. But you can be sure that prosecutors in all of his pending legal cases were taking meticulous notes of everything he said. Igor Derysh at Salon lays out the reactions of some of the TV lawyers to what Trump said last night. Former President Donald Trump may have provided additional evidence in multiple investigations during his CNN town hall event on Wednesday, legal experts say. Trump repeatedly lied during the town hall that the election was “rigged,” that Georgia “owed” him votes, that he had the right to take classified documents to Mar-a-Lago and that he does not know E. Jean Carroll — the writer who was awarded $5 million a day earlier after it found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. “All three ongoing criminal cases got new evidence tonight against Trump,” tweeted national security attorney Bradley Moss.
In the bathroom on your first Hinge date after a man with one really long fingernail pressures you to set up a cryptocurrency wallet on your phone. 0/10
In the child psychologist’s office after asking her if the divorce will turn your son into the type of man who wears a puka shell necklace and she says, “Maybe.” 3/10
At your free trial class at CrossFit, doing box jumps, working on your divorce bod. You’ve peed a little bit and you have to tell Coach Bryce that after three kids, your pelvic floor is just a flimsy suggestion. 2/10
At the hair salon, getting the gray in your hair dyed pink. Reclaim that lost youth—you look like Cyndi Lauper. Or Helen Mirren? Or just plain desperate? How much is this going to cost, and why is everyone staring at you? 3/10
In the car. This is the little black dress of crying locales. It’s classic, comfortable, and accessible day or night. Crying in the car is always in style. 10/10
This year’s Warsaw Ghetto Uprising anniversary felt especially poignant. Eighty years on from the most unequal of battles, so few ghetto survivors are here to convey their experience. And those still alive know how few lessons have been learned, as several European countries, including Poland, are once again led by right-wing, ethnonationalist regimes that care […]
This year’s Warsaw Ghetto Uprising anniversary felt especially poignant. Eighty years on from the most unequal of battles, so few ghetto survivors are here to convey their experience. And those still alive know how few lessons have been learned, as several European countries, including Poland, are once again led by right-wing, ethnonationalist regimes that care […]
Josiah Mortimer reports on a spree of arrests of peaceful protestors in the capital
The Israeli government is training high school students as part of its propaganda efforts to combat criticism of its policies and delegitimize the BDS movement.
The post Israel’s Latest Hasbara Scheme Enlists High School Students as Trolls Against Palestine appeared first on MintPress News.
Donald Trump on TV acting like a psycho It was horrible. I keep up with him, as you know. I read his silly feed on his silly social media platform and I watch his videos. And I’ve watched his interviews and rallies. But I have not seen him at a normal campaign event since 2020 and even though I know he will never change, it’s still a shock to see him lie so relentlessly — and worse, watch the audience cheer and applaud as if he’s said something hilarious or profound. I confess that it shook me a bit. If anything he’s worse than he was before. Oliver Darcy, the media reporter sent this newsletter last night: It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening. Kaitlan Collins is as tough and knowledgable of an interviewer as they come. She fact-checked Trump throughout the 70-minute town hall. Over and over and over again, she told him that the election was not stolen. That it was not rigged. That there was no evidence for the lies he was disseminating on stage. “The election was not rigged, Mr.
I recently caught up with an activist friend I’ve known for twenty-five years. We got into this stuff at the tail end of what were then called the crypto wars, a set of legal and policy battles to free strong encryption from the US and UK’s security services and allow it to be used to […]
by Gary Gardner
Experts have warned for decades of potential water scarcity in many regions, but over the past decade the warnings have nearly morphed into large-scale catastrophes. In 2014, water in reservoirs supplying Sao Paulo, Brazil dropped to just five percent of capacity, and residents found themselves on the threshold of severe shortages. In 2017, the mayor of Cape Town warned residents of the impending arrival of “Day Zero,” when critically low reservoir levels would trigger a shutoff of city taps and lead to queues of residents waiting for water at standpipes.
The post Whose Taps Will Go Dry First? appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.
Hat, cattle, etc. The GOP’s “throw it against the wall and see what” shtick just is not working anymore. Not even with the oft-complicit The New York Times. The RW distraction machine is sputtering. Rep. Jim Jordan’s House Judiciary Committee released an interim report on the Hunter Biden faux financial scandal on Wednesday. The report and the press conference announcing the release landed with a loud plop. After four months of investigation, House Republicans who promised to use their new majority to unearth evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that they had yet to uncover incriminating material about him, despite their frequent insinuations that he and his family have been involved in criminal conduct and corruption. No evidence is no impediment to the ongoing smear campaign. But not even Fox & Friends is buying what House Republicans are selling. Heather Cox Richardson calls the report “a bizarre effort.” Of course. It’s who MAGA Republicans are: A press conference the House Oversight Committee also held this morning got more attention than Jordan’s report, but it, too, was a fizzle.
No time for melting down Hats off to Digby. She will be along presently with a recap of last night’s CNN-sponsored, Donald Trump freak show. The excerpts were bad enough. The intertubes are full of it this morning, literally and figuratively. The extremist right is gleefully declaring that liberals are “melting down” over Trump’s demented display of sociopathy. Yup, that’s our guy, they cheer. Over at The Atlantic, Arthur C. Brooks examines the psychological impacts of working to make the world a saner, safer place. Fighting back can come at a cost. Activism can make you miserable. If you expect to sustain it, choose a variety that doesn’t. And work that doesn’t turn you into what you loathe and to us vs. them-ism. The reflex my generation had for taking to the streets (pointlessly, for the most part) continues among the latest generational cohort of activists. The mental health impacts are a mixed bag: Although nearly a third of the students believed that their advocacy work improved their well-being, 60 percent reported harm to their mental health.