Jonathan Gruber, ObamaCare, and “Stupid Voters”: It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Shill

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it! –Upton Sinclair Schadenfreude is a dish best served, and MIT Professor and Larry Summers student Jonathan Gruber, who played a key (though conflicted) role in legislating both ObamaCare and ObamaCare’s precursor, RomneyCare, certainly had it coming. […]

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Don Quijones: Judge Turns Monsanto’s Mexican GMO Dream Into Legal Nightmare

Yves here. The success of seed companies in extracting rents from farmers, particularly in countries where subsistence farming is widespread, is yet another example of how corporations like Monsanto abuse intellectual property laws and monopoly/oligopoly power. For the most part, governments have by their inaction backed this scheme. And that’s before you get to the fact that GMO crops, as a former NIH biomedical researcher stressed to me, is a massive experiment being conducted on the public at large without consent or controls.

Don Quijones reports on a ruling in Mexico that has, at least for the moment, thrown a spanner in the seed companies’ plans by barring field trials of GMO crops due to environmental risks.

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Albert Edwards: Market Still Deluding Itself That It Can Escape The Inevitable Denouement

Normally, I don’t reproduce or excerpt from John Mauldin’s popular e-newsletters, but today he features a writer I particularly like, uber bear Albert Edwards of Societe Generale. To repurpose an old saw about pessimists, bears are bulls who have all the facts. Some of Edwards’ arguments, while well documented, aren’t new: employment stinks, the forward-looking […]

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Hoisted From Comments: Has Neo-Liberalism Failed to Deliver the Goods?

Reader Juan provided a well-argued and provocatively-worded critique of so-called market fundamentalism yesterday that I thought would provide grist for thought and discussion. The main argument in favor of less regulated commerce, both domestically, in the form of deregulation, and internationally, via more liberal trade regimes, is that it generates higher growth. Juan argues that […]

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Iran War: Trump Again Whiplashes, Threatens Sustained Bombing, Capture of Kharg Island, Then Touts Plan to Sign Not-Finalized Iran Memo; More on Oil and Metals Squeeze, Plus SpaceX, AI Tidbits

Today’s Iran war post: Trump would have us believe that his 39th “deal is nigh” promise means it is about to happen.

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Iran War: Iran Launches New Strikes on Israel After Netanyahu Humiliated Trump by Ignoring Demand to Stand Pat; Ansar Allah Attacks Israel and Saudi Base, Makes Red Sea Threat; South Korea Swoon Adds to AI Meltdown; BREAKING Bab el-Mandeb Closed?

Today’s Iran war update: Iran and Israel exchange attacks rapidly as Trump blusters and the AI meltdown accelerates in global markets

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Iran War: Iran Pushes Back Against Trump “Deal Is Nigh” as More Evidence of US Failure Emerges, Including Gulf State Mini-Revolt, Even More US Base Destruction, Jet Fuel Price Rise Damage, Conservative Opposition to Trump Climbdown

Today’s Iran war news: The US again engages in market-manipulating deal head-fakery as more evidence of its weak position accumulates.

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