How the West Looks to Carve Up the Ukraine
Michael Hudson gives an update on the West’s resource grab in the Ukraine
Read more...Category Archives: Doomsday scenarios
Gaius Publius: IPCC Accidentally Proves that “International Cooperation” on Climate Change is Dead
As you’ve been reading lately, there’s a new IPCC climate report out, the second of three. This report is from Working Group 2, responsible for studying “impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities.” In other words, what effect is climate change (“global warming”) having now, what impact will it have if we make certain choices, and where are we vulnerable?
Read more...A U.S.-Saudi Move to Lower Oil Prices to Hurt Russia?
Could the U.S. unleash a flood of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve that would drive down prices in order to punish Russia?
Read more...Is a Second Euro Crisis Possible?
The notion of Eurozone fragility is no longer an active worry among investors and pundits. Is this increased optimism warranted?
Read more...Rent in a Warming World
What’s rent got to do with climate change? More than you might think.
Read more...Mathew D. Rose: Hello European Deflation! Good-bye Periphery!
What do the Catholic Church and the Eurozone have in common? More than one thinks
Read more...Jeffrey Sommers/Michael Hudson: Russia, Crimea and the Consequences of NATO Policy
Russia’s incursion (invasion if you prefer) into Crimea, with prospects for movement into Eastern Ukraine, is the culmination of US/NATO policy since 1991.
Read more...Wolf Richter: Kremlin – If The US Tries To Hurt Russia’s Economy, Russia Will Target The Dollar
Yves here. While I have every reason to assume the Russians mean to act on the currency front, on the surface, the remarks Wolf discusses in his post appear to be based on a misapprehension. But there may more method here than meets the eye.
Read more...Bill Black at TED Explains How Insiders Rob Banks and Cause Crises
A presentation by Bill Black disproves that TED only features elite-flattering conventional wisdom.
Read more...Ilargi: Big Oil and Gas Wars
We live in a world built on such an overkill of 24/7 propaganda and misinformation that some of it easily slips by. Especially when the topic is the Ukraine.
Read more...Yanis Varoufakis: Ukraine – Three Awkward Questions for Western Liberals and a Comment on the EU’s Role
Yves here. This post is useful because the issues Varoufakis raises are orthogonal to most of the discussion in the English language press over Ukraine.
Read more...Chinese Bond Default Rattles Markets; Harbinger of More Credit Woes?
A corporate bond default should hardly be a headline dominating-event unless the default in question is of a particularly large concern, or is tightly coupled (as in could, Lehman-style, trigger more distress) or is a precursor of things to come.
Read more...Wolf Richter: Aid For The Ukraine “Will Be Stolen” – Former Ukrainian Minister Of Economy
Yves here. A tongue-in-cheek article in the Financial Times, Putin putting Europe in its place, written from Putin’s viewpoint, concluded:
Read more...“As to your plans for emergency economic aid for Ukraine, this is an excellent plan. They could use the money and I’d rather not shell out myself. Incidentally, to save time why not make the cheques payable to Gazprom?”
Ilargi: The Hubris Circus
Yves here. The writing is delicious. But one thing that is frustrating (and of course quite deliberate) in reading the Western media account of the standoff in Ukraine is that they airbrush out how the West stoked this conflict and can hardly be surprised that Putin finally felt compelled to respond.
Read more...Steve Keen: Godzilla Banks are Good for You?
Yves here. Although Keen’s use of the Godzilla metaphor is fun, the unvarnished facts he presents are plenty alarming. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is actually gleeful at the prospect that England’s banking sector might grow to be as large relative to its economy as Iceland’s and Cyprus’ on the eve of their busts. But even worse, Carney’s enthusiasm for a banking sector that continues with its cancerous (or as Keen would have it, monstrous) growth gives license to bank lobbyists in the US and Europe to press for high rates of growth in their finance sectors so as to defend their national champions.
Read more...