Links — 20 May 2022 Part 2

The Vineyard of the Saker

Russia Rewrites the Art of Hybrid War

Pepe Escobar

http://thesaker.is/russia-rewrites-the-art-of-hybrid-war/

Andrei Martyanov: Feeling Sitrepish on May 20
http://thesaker.is/andrei-martyanov-feeling-sitrepish-on-may-20/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
In Video: Russian Military Column On Fire
https://southfront.org/in-video-russian-military-column-on-fire/

Russia Vows To Take Measures After Reports Of US Plan To Arm Ukraine With Anti-Ship Missiles
https://southfront.org/russia-vows-to-take-measures-after-reports-of-us-plan-to-arm-ukraine-with-anti-ship-missiles/

BREAKING: Azovstal Is Under Full Control Of Russian Armed Forces
https://southfront.org/breaking-azovstal-is-under-full-control-of-russian-armed-forces/

Fate Of Ukrainian Militants Who Surrendered In Azovstal

https://southfront.org/fate-of-ukrainian-militants-who-surrendered-in-azovstal/

Naked Capitalism
Michael Hudson on the Ongoing Economic War
Peter Scott, RT anchor, interviews Michael Hudson

Yves Smith 

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/michael-hudson-on-the-ongoing-economic-war.html

Michael Hudson adds edited portions of the interview that were not published in a comment.

RT Just sent me (unexpectedly) the OFF-CAMERA discussion, FYI.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/michael-hudson-on-the-ongoing-economic-war.html#comment-3727374

MR Online
Who is leading the United States to war? (originally for a Chinese audience)
Deborah Veneziale, American journalist and editor who has worked in the global supply chain sector for 35 years, now living in Venice, Italy

https://mronline.org/2022/05/19/who-is-leading-the-united-states-to-war

Donbass Insider 
[Neo-Nazi leader] IGOR MOSIYCHUK “CRIMEA WILL BE UKRAINIAN OR WILL BE DEPOPULATED»

Laurent Brayard, for Donbass Insider

https://www.donbass-insider.com/2022/05/19/igor-mosiychuk-crimea-will-be-ukrainian-or-will-be-depopulated/

Internationalist 360º
Katerina Yushenko: First Lady, CIA Asset
Laurent Brayard

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/20/katerina-yushenko-first-lady-cia-asset/

Mint Press News
From UK Troll Farms to Covert Psyops: The Troubling Past of Nina Jankowicz
Kit Klarenberg

https://www.mintpressnews.com/uk-propaganda-nina-jankowicz-biography/280899/

Zero Hedge
[Sen. Tom] Cotton, [Tulsi Gabbard Warn That Government 'Ministry Of Truth' Is Only On Pause
Steve Watson via Summit News

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/cotton-gabbard-warn-government-ministry-truth-only-pause

Stop The Denial: Ukraine Is A Proxy War That Will Lead To Wider World War
Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/stop-denial-ukraine-proxy-war-will-lead-wider-world-war

Bracing Views
The Death of the Democratic Party (unquestioning unanimity on Ukraine defense spending)
W. J. Astore, Lieutenant Colonel (USAF ret.), taught at the Air Force Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and currently at the Pennsylvania College of Technology

https://bracingviews.com/2022/05/20/the-death-of-the-democratic-party/

Oilprice
World Sees First Global Energy Shock: World Energy Council (food shock to come)

Irina Slav

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/World-Sees-First-Global-Energy-Shock-World-Energy-Council.html

Links — 20 May 2022 Part 1

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z: The Ukrainian fighters’ will to resist is deteriorating fast

The Saker Staff

http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-the-ukrainian-fighters-will-to-resist-is-deteriorating-fast/

So How Serious is Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Romance?
Cynthia Chung for the Saker Blog
http://thesaker.is/so-how-serious-is-ukraines-neo-nazi-romance/

Gonzalo Lira: There Is No “Open Corridor” Through West and Central Ukraine (2 videos)
http://thesaker.is/gonzalo-lira-there-is-no-open-corridor-through-west-and-central-ukraine/

Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, May 18, 2022 (Extensive)

http://thesaker.is/briefing-by-foreign-ministry-spokeswoman-maria-zakharova-moscow-may-18-2022-extensive/

RayMcGovern.com (podcast)
Will Biden’s Ivy-Mantled Advisers Take China’s Warnings Seriously This Time?
Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and retired 27-year career CIA whose tasks included preparing and briefing The President’s Daily Brief and leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch

https://raymcgovern.com/2022/05/20/will-bidens-ivy-mantled-advisers-take-chinas-warnings-seriously-this-time/

Moon of Alabama
Ukraine SitRep - Russians Break Through U.S. Bolsterism

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/ukraine-sitrep-russians-break-through-us-bolsterism.html

The Dreizin Report
The #1 Structural Problem with U.S. Governance

Jacob Dreizin

https://thedreizinreport.com/2022/05/20/the-1-structural-problem-with-u-s-governance/

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Twitter To Ramp Up Censorship Of ‘Misinformation’ About The Ukraine War
Caitlin Johnstone

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/20/twitter-to-ramp-up-censorship-of-misinformation-about-the-ukraine-war/

Vast Swath of US at Risk of Summer Blackouts, Regulator Warns

 

😂😂😂😂😂

* Vast Swath of US at Risk of Summer Blackouts, Regulator Warns

⁦@business⁩ (h/t ⁦@JohnSpall247⁩) pic.twitter.com/63MjX93sUW

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) May 18, 2022

Bannon: The Market Implosion

 

This weeks MAGA breakdown:

Multi-Domain Operations: The US Wages Constant War and Across All Domains — Brian Berletic (video 18.57)

 

The price of empire.

The New Atlas
Multi-Domain Operations: The US Wages Constant War and Across All Domains
Brian Berletic, American industrial designer living in Bangkok and former US Marine

https://youtu.be/LUNi5zKqKQQ

Links — 19 May 2022 Part 2

Internationalist 360º
Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Guillemain: “Ukrainian Soldiers are Entrenched in the Cities”
Originally at Continental Observer in French
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/lieutenant-colonel-jacques-guillemain-ukrainian-soldiers-are-entrenched-in-the-cities/

Multi-Domain Operations: The US Wages Constant War and Across All Domains

Brian Berletic, American industrial designer living in Bangkok and former US Marine

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/us-multi-domain-operations-war-by-additional-means/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
ZELENSKY DESPERATELY ATTEMPTS TO PORTRAY ‘AZOV’ SURRENDER AS A WIN FOR UKRAINE
Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst
https://southfront.org/zelensky-desperately-attempts-to-portray-azov-surrender-as-a-win-for-ukraine/

ALGERIA HAS ACQUIRED CHINESE SUPERSONIC ANTI-SHIP MISSILE

https://southfront.org/algeria-has-acquired-chinese-supersonic-anti-ship-missile/

The Grayzone

Leaked emails expose UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s connection to MI6-style ‘research and influence operation’

Kit Klarenberg

https://thegrayzone.com/2022/05/18/leaked-emails-uk-home-secretary-priti-patels-mi6-operation/

TASS (Russian state media)
Dollar falls below 62 rubles on Moscow Exchange first time since January 2020

https://tass.com/economy/1453137

Bracing Views
Priming the Pump for More War
W. J. Astore, Lieutenant Colonel (USAF ret.), taught at the Air Force Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and currently at the Pennsylvania College of Technology

https://bracingviews.com/2022/05/19/priming-the-pump-for-more-war/

Tulsi
Politicians rushing to pass $40B Ukraine bill

Tulsi Gabbard, Lt. Col. US Army Reserves, 2020 Presidential candidate, and former congresswoman

Links — 19 May 2022 Part 1

Reminiscence of the Future
They Are Getting The Message, 2.0.
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/05/they-are-getting-message_18.html

A Son of the New American Revolution
Scott Ritter’s Unforced Error
Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/scott-ritters-unforced-error/

Russian and Eurasian Politics

The Influence of Neofascist and Other Nationalist Groups in Maidan Ukraine
Gordon Hahn | Expert Analyst at Corr Analytics, http://www.canalyt.com and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies (CETIS), Akribis GroupM.

https://gordonhahn.com/2022/05/18/the-influence-of-neofascist-and-other-nationalist-groups-in-maidan-ukraine/

One World
The US Is Recalibrating Its Eurasian Containment Strategy Against Russia & China
Andrew Korybko

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2887

CaitlinJohnstone.com
On Bush’s Freudian Confession

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/19/on-bushs-freudian-confession/

The TV Man Is Not Your Friend: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/19/the-tv-man-is-not-your-friend-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/

Caitlin Johnstone 

The Hill

[National security adviser Jake] Sullivan: ‘We will not tolerate any aggression’ toward Sweden, Finland during NATO process

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3493709-sullivan-we-will-not-tolerate-any-aggression-toward-sweden-finland-during-nato-process/

Freightwaves
The climbing price of diesel is raising the risk of a recession
Noi Mahoney
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/diesel-costs-deliver-body-blow-to-trucking-industry

Dances with Bears
IF IT SMELLS ALLURING, IT’S RUSSIAN – IN WARTIME L’ORÉAL (FRANCE) AND ESTÉE LAUDER (US) MAKE A BAD SMELL
John Helmer

http://johnhelmer.net/if-it-smells-alluring-its-russian-in-wartime-loreal-france-and-estee-lauder-us-make-a-bad-smell/

TIPS Valuation Commentary — Brian Romanchuk

A quick glance at U.S. TIPS (inflation-linked bonds) shows that if we abstract past the thorny question of where inflation will be in the next few years, the market has largely reversed the relatively low inflation expectations that developed in the mid-2010s. If one believes that the inflation overshoot seen in recent years will be reversed within a reasonable time span, valuations are near a “fair value” based on historical data. (Of course, past performance is not indicative of future results, yadda, yadda, yadda.) If one is convinced that the secular tide on inflation has turned, TIPS might still be cheap on a longer-term basis....

Bond Economics
TIPS Valuation Commentary
Brian Romanchuk

http://www.bondeconomics.com/2022/05/tips-valuation-commentary.html

Links — 18 May 2022 Part 2

Reminiscence of the Future

On My Brief Response To Scott Ritter.
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issue

http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/05/on-my-brief-response-to-scott-ritter.html

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
UN chief calls for climate Marshall Plan

https://www.rt.com/news/555718-guterres-fossil-fuels-report-renewables/

US puts ‘disinformation board’ on hold
https://www.rt.com/news/555705-dhs-disinfo-board-jankowicz/

Zero Hedge
Biden's 'Disinfo' Board Paused As 'Scary Poppins' Resigns
Tyler Durden

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bidens-disinfo-board-paused-after-scary-poppins-drafts-resignation

Oiprice
Insurers Are Suffering Major Losses Due To Climate Change
City AM
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Insurers-Are-Suffering-Major-Losses-Due-To-Climate-Change.html

Russia Will Force Oil Buyers To Pay More If EU Introduces Tariffs
Tsvetana Paraskova
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russia-Has-A-Quick-Response-To-Potential-EU-Import-Tariffs-On-Crude-Oil.html

TASS (Russian state media)
Russia employs laser weapons in Ukraine special operation, says deputy PM [Yury Borisov]

https://tass.com/defense/1452697

New Russian multiple rocket launchers can strike particular targets, says deputy PM
https://tass.com/defense/1452591

State-of-the-art S-500 air defense weapons arriving for Russian troops — deputy PM

https://tass.com/defense/1452551

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Russian Special Military Operation In Ukraine, Military Expert’s Opinion – Interview

Drago Bosnic interviews Colonel (ret.) Wolf of the Yugoslav Army

https://southfront.org/russian-special-military-operation-in-ukraine-military-experts-opinion-interview/

Whither Hegemony? Prof. Wen Tiejun Foreword to Michael Hudson’s The Destiny of Civilization Professor — Wen Teijun

Yves here. Michael Hudson has graciously allowed us to publish the forward to his new book The Destiny of Civilizations. Professor Wen Teijun, Executive Dean, Institute of Rural Reconstruction of China, explains how Hudson looks at America’s finance-led hegemony contains the seeds of its own destruction, and is separately suffering from conflict with China’s very different political-economic system, which draws on an industrial capitalism model and seeks to check rentier activities....

Naked Capitalism
Whither Hegemony? Prof. Wen Tiejun Foreword to Michael Hudson’s The Destiny of Civilization

Professor Wen Teijun, Executive Dean, Institute of Rural Reconstruction of China, Southwest University, China. Translated by Alice Chan

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/whither-hegemony-prof-wen-tiejun-foreword-to-michael-hudsons-the-destiny-of-civilization.html

See also

Michael Hudson — On Finance, Real Estate And The Powers Of Neoliberalism
Inflation – A Junk Economics Perspective
Michael Hudson | President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Guest Professor at Peking University

https://michael-hudson.com/2022/05/inflation-a-junk-economics-perspective/

Links — 18 May 2022 Part 1

Dreizin Report
Details of the Mariupol Surrender

Jacob Dreizin

https://thedreizinreport.com/2022/05/18/details-of-the-mariupol-surrender/

The Vineyard of the Saker

Sitrep Operation Z: NATO surrenders in Azovstal
The Saker Staff

http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-nato-surrenders-in-azovstal/

A Son of the New American Revolution
More Ukrainian Squirrels for the Desperate West to Chase
Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/more-ukrainian-squirrels-for-the-desperate-west-to-chase/

Reminiscence of the Future

Larry Johnson And Hyperbole. Mikhail Khodaryonok. 

Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues.

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/05/larry-johnson-and-hyperbole-mikhail.html?m=1

Global Times (Chinese state-sponsored media)
‘Neo-Nazism’ poisons Ukraine, Europe under US, West’s connivance
Fan Lingzhi and Huang Lanlan

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1265888.shtml

Moon of Alabama
How Europe Was Pushed Towards Economic Suicide (Important. Quotes Michael Hudson, who got the scenario right.)

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/how-europe-was-pushed-towards-economic-suicide.html

RayMcGovern.com
Putin: If Finns, Swedes Get NATO ‘Military Infrastructure’, We’ll Respond
Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and retired 27-year career CIA whose tasks included preparing and briefing The President’s Daily Brief and leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch

https://raymcgovern.com/2022/05/18/putin-if-finns-swedes-get-nato-military-infrastructure-well-respond/

India Punchline
Biden returns to time past in the Gulf
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador

https://www.indianpunchline.com/biden-returns-to-time-past-in-the-gulf/

Asia Times
China developing heat-seeking hypersonic missiles

Gabriel Honrada

https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/china-developing-heat-seeking-hypersonic-missiles/

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
EU to pay Ukraine’s budget

https://www.rt.com/news/555699-eu-financial-aid-ukraine/

Russian Ops in Ukraine: Advances in Donbas, Ukraine Surrenders at Azovstal — Brian Berletic (video 27.11)

The New Atlas

Russian Ops in Ukraine: Advances in Donbas, Ukraine Surrenders at Azovstal

Brian Berletic

https://youtu.be/rcIiiDEOlwo

The Swiss Connection: How Russia Is Weathering Tough Sanctions — Alex Kimani

• Continued oil and gas exports as well as a propped-up ruble, have allowed Moscow to weather Western sanctions.
• JPM has backtracked on its earlier forecasts of a 35% contraction in Russian GDP in the second quarter.
• The lion's share of Russian raw materials is traded via Switzerland and its nearly 1,000 commodity firms.

Swiss commodity traders are enabling Russia's sales of its resources. This is a huge contribution to Swill GDP so the Swiss are in no rush to give it up, knowing that nature abhors a vacuum so someone else will step in and take the business.

Oilprice
The Swiss Connection: How Russia Is Weathering Tough Sanctions

Alex Kimani

Operational Art 1 — Andrei Martyanov (video, no transcript 35.40)

 

Operational Art 1
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues. Martyanov was born in Baku, USSR in 1963. He graduated from the Kirov Naval Red Banner Academy and served as an officer on the ships and staff position of Soviet Coast Guard through 1990. He took part in the events in the Caucasus which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In mid-1990s he moved to the United States where he currently works as Laboratory Director in a commercial aerospace group. He is a frequent blogger on the US Naval Institute Blog. He is author of Losing Military Supremacy, The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs, and Disintegration: Indicators of the Coming American Collapse — Clarity Press
https://youtu.be/SaZGb5vnzkg

Links — 17 May 2022 Part 2

Reminiscence of the Future
They Tried Again...
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/05/they-tried-again.html

Consortium News
The New Iron Curtain

Patrick Lawrence
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/05/16/patrick-lawrence-the-new-iron-curtain/

Vanessa Beeley Substack
BBC rewriting history in Syria for Global Britain

Vanessa Beeley
https://beeley.substack.com/p/bbc-rewriting-history-in-syria-for

The Maritime Executive
Despite Ukrainian Claims, Russian Navy Support Ship Appears Unharmed

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/despite-ukrainian-claims-russian-navy-support-ship-appears-unharmed

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Ukraine Passes Israel to Become Biggest Recipient of US Military Aid in Matter of Months
https://sputniknews.com/20220517/ukraine-passes-israel-to-become-biggest-recipient-of-us-military-aid-in-matter-of-months-1095582050.html

New Secret Docs: UK's Cold War-Era 'Black Propaganda' is at Play Today in Ukraine, Scholars Say
https://sputniknews.com/20220517/new-secret-docs-uks-cold-war-era-black-propaganda-is-at-play-today-in-ukraine-scholars-say-1095575819.html

China, India, Other Rising Powers Won’t Accept West-Imposed Status of Obedient Mutes, Lavrov Says

https://sputniknews.com/20220517/china-india-other-rising-powers-wont-accept-west-imposed-status-of-obedient-mutes-lavrov-says-1095568624.html

Zero Hedge
NY Times Blasted For Writing Ukrainian Fighters "Evacuated", Didn't Surrender At Azovstal
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ny-times-blasted-writing-ukrainians-evacuated-didnt-surrender-azovstal

Erdogan Slams Door On Approving Sweden, Finland NATO Bids: 'Nesting Ground For Terrorist Orgs'
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/erdogan-slams-door-approving-sweden-finland-nato-bids-nesting-ground-terrorist-orgs

Cutting Off Russian Gas Would Be "Catastrophic", German Industry President Warns

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/cutting-russian-gas-would-be-catastrophic-german-industry-president-warns

The Naked Hedgie

Russia Derangement Syndrome confounds western thinking
Alex Krainer

https://thenakedhedgie.com/2022/05/17/russia-derangement-syndrome-confounds-western-thinking/

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Pentagon-Funded Think Tank Simulates War With China On NBC
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/16/pentagon-funded-think-tank-simulates-war-with-china-on-nbc/

We’re Just A Confused Species In An Awkward Transition Phase

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/17/were-just-a-confused-species-in-an-awkward-transition-phase/

Caitlin Johnstone

Antiwar

NATO Pledges Open-Ended Military Support for Ukraine

Dave DeCamp

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/05/16/nato-pledges-open-ended-military-support-for-ukraine/

TASS (Russian state media)
Russian security official [Nikolay Patrushev] says Western neoliberalism now evolves into fascism
https://tass.com/world/1452129

West wants to create conditions for imposition of controlled regime in Russia — official [Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev]
https://tass.com/world/1452115

With Scholtz in power, Gemany loses last signs of its independence — Lavrov
https://tass.com/world/1452077

West to stop at nothing to prevent Russia from living like it wants to, Kremlin says
https://tass.com/world/1452005

Kiev’s Bucha false flag couldn’t have been achieved without PR spin doctors, says Kremlin
https://tass.com/politics/1451933

NATO has long taken Finland, Sweden into account in its military planning — Lavrov
https://tass.com/politics/1451931

Azovstal militants surrendered unconditionally — Russian Deputy UN envoy

https://tass.com/defense/1452277

The Unz Review
America the Feckless

Philip Giraldi, former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer, now Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest and founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/america-the-feckless/

Raising interest rates is like blowing up the garden to weed it — Dirk Ehnts, Sten Grahn, Peo Hansen, Jussi Ora and Patrik Witkowsky

The Riksbank (central bank of Sweden) only sets the interest rate. And interest rates have no impact on the energy prices that are driving inflation today. But higher interest rates lead to higher unemployment and lower output – and that can push inflation even higher. But there are other ways to curb inflation, write Dirk Ehnts, Sten Grahn, Peo Hansen, Jussi Ora and Patrik Witkowsky....

The Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies
Raising interest rates is like blowing up the garden to weed it
Dirk Ehnts, Sten Grahn, Peo Hansen, Jussi Ora and Patrik Witkowsky

Macro Effects Of A Hypothetical Crypto Crash? — Brian Romanchuk

This article is a short outline of what I see as the macroeconomic effects of a possible continuation of weakness in crypto financial markets. The direct effects would be small, although weakness in crypto is interleaved with the fortunes of the tech sector. It is certainly possible that all risk assets will be under pressure if the economic situation deteriorates, so crypto might be akin to the canary in the coal mine — a signal of other dangers.

I end with a discussion of so-called “stable coins.”...

Bond Economics
Macro Effects Of A Hypothetical Crypto Crash?
Brian Romanchuk

Links — 17 May 2022 Part 1

A Son of the New American Revolution
Azov Battalion Giving Up the Ghost in Avostal
Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/azov-battalion-giving-up-the-ghost-in-avostal/

Moon of Alabama
Ukraine - For Laughs (losing is "winning.")
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/ukraine-for-laughs.html

The Vineyard of the Saker
Gonzalo Lira: The Pentagon Says: Russia No—But China Yes (video 15.29)

http://thesaker.is/gonzalo-lira-the-pentagon-says-russia-no-but-china-yes/

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs
Life in the village
Gilbert Doctorow

https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/05/16/life-in-the-village/

Asia Briefing — Opinion
Beijing’s influence is being aligned with Moscow and New Delhi as Washington and Brussels begin to move away

Chris Devonshire-Ellis

https://www.asiabriefing.com/news/2022/05/the-west-keeps-writing-off-china-but-china-today-is-not-about-the-west/

Psypost

Psychology study explores how labeling an idea a “conspiracy theory” impacts its credibility

Beth Ellwood

https://www.psypost.org/2022/05/psychology-study-explores-how-labeling-an-idea-a-conspiracy-theory-impacts-its-credibility-63154

One World

Lavrov Explained The Reason Why The Global Systemic Transition Is So Chaotic (good analysis. I would add that the US is abandoning the UN law-based order because Russia and China have a veto in the UNSC and use it to thwart the US.)

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2878

India Has Every Right To Restrict Wheat Exports To Ensure Domestic Food Security

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2877

Andrew Korybko

Advancing the Monetary Policy Toolkit through Outright Transfers — Sascha Buetzer, IMF

This paper argues that in reserve currency issuing economies at the effective lower bound, outright transfers from the central bank to households are both more equitable and more effective in achieving monetary policy objectives than asset purchases or negative interest rates. It shows that concerns pertaining to central banks’ policy solvency and equity position can be addressed through a careful assessment of a central bank's loss absorbing capacity and, if need be, tiered reserve remuneration policies. It also spells out key differences to a debt or money financed fiscal stimulus, which are particularly pronounced in a currency union without a central fiscal capacity. The paper concludes by discussing broader institutional, political, and legal considerations.

Free Download 

International Monetary Fund

Advancing the Monetary Policy Toolkit through Outright Transfers
Sascha Buetzer (May 6, 2022)

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/05/06/Advancing-the-Monetary-Policy-Toolkit-through-Outright-Transfers-517641

"Ukraine is gonna suffer horrific losses" - Scott Ritter (video 1.49)

 

Short and to the point. Transition from SMO to war coming soon as Russia rolls up Donbass while the US, UK and EU pour in weapons to arm a reconstituted Ukrainian military. When this happens, "you will understand what total war looks like."

"Ukraine is gonna suffer horrific losses" - Scott Ritter
Scott Ritter, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, serving in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, on General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991-1998 as a UN weapons inspector

https://youtu.be/lI95DKyNnXg

Also some more short clips

"Zelensky & his government will die" - Scott Ritter

https://youtu.be/XicCR1LjJAM

"There are some in NATO who'd view bringing Finland & Sweden in as a victory" - Scott Ritter

https://youtu.be/bRk6hQQLg6Q

Scott Ritter on Finland joining NATO says, "You lose right to exist"

https://youtu.be/3y0kWYZES3o

Scott Ritter tells Matthew Van Dayke to think about his family, his loved ones and come home asap

https://youtu.be/f3py29T0I_Y

"NATO is a co-belligerent in this conflict. They are pretending they are not"- Scott Ritter

https://youtu.be/Qc82qKBy-N4

"Russia is not at war with Ukraine..." here is why - Scott Ritter

https://youtu.be/liSX9g_8guk

"The Ukrainians have converted normally protected areas into militarized zones", Scott Ritter

https://youtu.be/T56k5GZCjD4

Links — 16 May 2022 Part 1

Moon of Alabama
British Info-Warriors Kill Abroad And Sabotage Politics At Home

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/british-info-warriors-kill-abroad-and-sabotage-politics-at-home.html

The Grayzone
Operation Surprise: leaked emails expose secret intelligence coup to install Boris Johnson
Kt Klarenberg

https://thegrayzone.com/2022/05/15/operation-leaked-emails-intelligence-coup-boris-johnson/

Antiwar

Nuclear War Over Ukraine? A Talk By Ray McGovern (video)

Veterans for Peace

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2022/05/15/ray-mcgovern-the-real-possibility-of-nuclear-war-over-ukraine/

The Vineyard of the Saker
Death by a thousand cuts: where is the west’s Ukraine strategy? (Really good. Should read.)

Pepe Escobar

http://thesaker.is/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-where-is-the-wests-ukraine-strategy/

Sitrep Operation Z: Many Rumors and not enough Facts (fog of war)
The Saker Staff
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-many-rumors-and-not-enough-facts/

FM Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the 30th Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy
MUS-READ! This short speech will go down in history as the summation of what this conflict is about. Sergei Lavrov explains the background and present trajectory, which involves the creation of a new world order, either a "rules-based order" that cements US world domination and globalist totalitarian control (neoliberalism--neoimperialism-neocolonialism) or a multipolar world based on international law and the Westphalian concept of the sovereign nation state.
http://thesaker.is/fm-sergey-lavrovs-remarks-at-the-30th-assembly-of-the-council-on-foreign-and-defence-policy/

Gonzalo Lira: Ukraine Soldiers Can’t Complain About Western Weapons (video)

http://thesaker.is/gonzalo-lira-ukraine-soldiers-cant-complain-about-western-weapons/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
What Happens If US Designates Russia ‘A State Sponsor Of Terrorism’?

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

https://southfront.org/what-happens-if-us-designates-russia-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Russian MoD: Toxic Cloud Moving Towards Kramatorsk After Ukraine's Special Forces Provocation

https://sputniknews.com/20220516/russian-mod-toxic-cloud-moving-towards-kramatorsk-after-ukraines-special-forces-provocation-1095546642.html

TASS (Russian state media)
McDonald's will resume work in Russia under new brand in mid-June — source (how does this hurt Russia?)
https://tass.com/economy/1451437

Russia’s oil production up 1.7% in first half of May to 1.398 mln tonnes per day
https://tass.com/economy/1451319

Ruble up against dollar, euro as foreign currency trading starts on Moscow Exchange
https://tass.com/economy/1451269

Moscow to renew production of Moskvich-branded cars — city mayor
https://tass.com/economy/1451211

French carmaker Renault’s assets in Russia get nationalized, ministry announces

https://tass.com/economy/1451209

What I am reading right now. And why. — Nick Johnson

Some philosophy of economics. While it is not directly related to MMT or understanding MMT, it provides background into the historical context in which this debate is being conducted.

The Political Economy of Development
What I am reading right now. And why.
Nick Johnson

Bill Mitchell — Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design and the silence of our political parties

Australia is in the last week of a federal election campaign, which has been marked by a disturbing absence of any policy vision by either main party which might address the most important issues confronting society and our land. Hopefully, the conservatives will get their marching orders this coming weekend (I have scheduled a rare glass of champagne around 22:00 on Saturday, when the result should be known) and the worst government in my lifetime will be gone. The problem is the Labor opposition is also short of policy mission. They have been too scared to enunciate anything much worth thinking about on climate, housing, education, health care, urban planning etc because, as the main narrative goes, they feared being wedged by the conservative government who lacks any remotely acceptable. The rival explanation for Labor’s timidity is that they are not committed to root-and-branch reform because they are inherently neoliberal themselves – a light version of the conservatives – without the extreme right tendencies on gender and those sorts of issues that dominate conservative politics. So, for whatever reason, the main challenges ahead are not being prosecuted by the major parties, which means our society will just be compounding the unsustainable evolution under the neoliberals and the price we will increasingly pay is rising.

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design and the silence of our political parties
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Links — 15 May 2022 Part 2

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Pentagon-Funded Think Tank Simulates War With China On NBC
Caitlin Johnstone

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/16/pentagon-funded-think-tank-simulates-war-with-china-on-nbc/  

International 360º
The Cult of Russian Victory
Dmitry Orlov, Russian-American engineer and writer who is the author of such books as “Reinventing Collapse: the Soviet Example and American Perspectives” (2008) “The Five Stages of Collapse” (2013), and "The Arctic Fox Cometh" (2021)

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/05/13/the-cult-of-russian-victory/

Oilprice
China Warns NATO Not To Interfere In Asia
RFE/RL

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/China-Warns-NATO-Not-To-Interfere-In-Asia.html

America's Electric Grid Has A $2 Trillion Problem
Tsvetana Paraskova

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Americas-Electric-Grid-Has-A-2-Trillion-Problem.html

Energy Security Concerns Are Fueling A Renewable Boom
Alex Kimani

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Energy-Security-Concerns-Are-Fueling-A-Renewable-Boom.html

ECNS (Chinese official English news service)
China doubles down on expanding domestic demand to bolster growth

Xinhua (Chinese state media)

http://www.ecns.cn/news/2022-05-16/detail-ihayhruk0775002.shtml

Michael Hudson — The Destiny of Civilization (new book)

Introducing Michael Hudson's new book.

Michael Hudson — On Finance, Real Estate And The Powers Of Neoliberalism
The Destiny of Civilization
Michael Hudson | President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Guest Professor at Peking University

Some Headlines For May 15 — Andrei Martyanov (video, no transcript 29.27)

 

Some Headlines For May 15

Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues. Martyanov was born in Baku, USSR in 1963. He graduated from the Kirov Naval Red Banner Academy and served as an officer on the ships and staff position of Soviet Coast Guard through 1990. He took part in the events in the Caucasus which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In mid-1990s he moved to the United States where he currently works as Laboratory Director in a commercial aerospace group. He is a frequent blogger on the US Naval Institute Blog. He is author of Losing Military Supremacy, The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs, and Disintegration: Indicators of the Coming American Collapse — Clarity Press

https://youtu.be/Em2rt45Suo8

SATURDAY MORNING LIVE WITH SCOTT RITTER AND RAY MCGOVERN Garland Nixon interviews Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern (video, no transcript 1.16.6)

 

SATURDAY MORNING LIVE WITH SCOTT RITTER AND RAY MCGOVERN
Garland Nixon interviews Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern
https://youtu.be/m4SlSILtlpc

Links — 14 May 2022 Part 1

A Son of the New American Revolution
The Art of Disinformation–Western Lies About the War in Ukraine (Add lies about Ukraine to all the other lies. The conventional narrative is now so constructed out of lies that it bears little resemblance to reality. The purpose is to shape reality to the narrative through gaslighting the rubes. and bullying allies to go along.)
Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/the-art-of-disinformation-western-lies-about-the-war-in-ukraine

Consortium News
SCOTT RITTER: Live-Action Role Play in Ukraine

Scott Ritter, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, serving in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, on General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991-1998 as a UN weapons inspector

https://consortiumnews.com/2022/05/13/scott-ritter-live-action-role-play-in-ukraine/

India Punchline
Why Ukraine war has no winners
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador
https://www.indianpunchline.com/why-ukraine-war-has-no-winners/

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z: Two very bad days for the Ukraine & The Big Refuse
The Saker Staff
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-two-very-bad-days-for-the-ukraine-the-big-refuse/

Moon of Alabama
If Ukraine Is Winning Why Is The U.S. Requesting A Ceasefire?
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/if-ukraine-is-winning-why-is-the-us-requesting-a-ceasefire.html

1945
War in Ukraine Reality Check: Combat Fundamentals Still Favor Russia in Donbas

Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis (USA ret.), Senior Fellow and Military Expert for Defense Priorities

Why Did Lloyd Austin Call Sergei Shoigu? — Gonzalo Lira (video, no transcript 12.05)

 

Why Did Lloyd Austin Call Sergei Shoigu?
Gonzalo Lira
https://youtu.be/Bwjb7_sxVUU

Links — 13 May 2022

CaitlinJohnstone.com
“The Squad” Doesn’t Exist Outside Of Social Media
Caitlin Johnstone

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/05/13/the-squad-doesnt-exist-outside-of-social-media/

India Punchline
Indo-Pacific strategy adrift in an illusion
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador

https://www.indianpunchline.com/indo-pacific-strategy-adrift-in-an-illusion/

The Vineyard of the Saker

Empire of Bioweapon Lies

Pepe Escobar

http://thesaker.is/empire-of-bioweapon-lies/

Links — 12 May 2022 Part 2

WWIII Watch

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)

Polish Intervention in Ukraine Might Unleash World War III, Retired US Colonel [Douglas Macgregor] Warns ("The entry of Polish forces into the conflict in Ukraine to try to save a “shattered” Ukrainian military and “save face” for the Biden administration threatens to unleash a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia, retired US Army colonel Douglas Macgregor has warned.")

Why Biden's Ukraine Military Adventure Will Benefit China & Fail to Subdue Russia (analysis of Patrick Basham, founding director of the Democracy Institute)

Ekaterina Blinova

https://sputniknews.com/20220512/why-bidens-ukraine-military-adventure-will-benefit-china--fail-to-subdue-russia-1095468572.html

UK Buys Soviet, Russian Weapons Across Globe to Send to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Says
https://sputniknews.com/20220512/uk-buys-soviet-russian-weapons-across-globe-to-send-to-ukraine-defence-secretary-says-1095470201.html

Meteorologists Warn ‘Megadrought’ in US Southwest is Worst in 1,200 Years
https://sputniknews.com/20220512/meteorologists-warn-megadrought-in-us-southwest-is-worst-in-1200-years-1095469057.html

US Navy Alleges China Creating an 'Umbrella' to Deny Washington 'Military Access' in Western Pacific

https://sputniknews.com/20220512/us-navy-alleges-china-creating-an-umbrella-to-deny-washington-military-access-in-western-pacific-1095454133.html

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
Russia sanctions will trigger global food and energy crises – China
https://www.rt.com/news/555390-china-says-russia-sanctions-to-backfire/

Treat Russia like Nazi Germany – Poland

https://www.rt.com/news/555351-morawiecki-russian-nationalism-cancer/

TASS (Russian state media)
Gas prices up as Russia announce retaliatory sanctions, says German regulator’s chief
https://tass.com/economy/1450197
Russian sanctions prohibit Gazprom from using Yamal-Europe for gas transit via Poland (sanctions imposed by Russia rather than sanctions imposed on Russia.)
https://tass.com/economy/1450219

Energy firms under Moscow’s sanctions no longer involved in Russian gas supplies — Kremlin

https://tass.com/economy/1449981

Dollar rate falls below 64 rubles, euro rate drops below 66 rubles on Moscow Exchange
https://tass.com/economy/1450155

Gas price in Europe up above $1,200 per 1,000 cubic meters
https://tass.com/economy/1450089

Russia to take military-technical measures if Finland joins NATO, says Foreign Ministry ("Finland joining NATO will seriously harm bilateral Russian-Finnish relations and the maintenance of stability and security in the North European region. Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps both of military-technical and of other nature in order to stop the threats to its national security that emerge as a result…")
https://tass.com/politics/1450057

West ready to sacrifice rest of the world for global domination, Putin says
https://tass.com/world/1450029

Kremlin warns against attempts to interfere in Russia’s special operation in Ukraine
https://tass.com/politics/1449925

Western charges Russia threatens world with nuclear conflict are cynical — Medvedev

https://tass.com/politics/1449843

‘Don’t lie to yourselves’: Potential Russia-NATO conflict can go nuclear, Medvedev warns

https://tass.com/politics/1449847

SouthFront ((sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)

French Volunteer, Outraged By Lies Of Western Media, Revealed Truth About War Crimes In Ukraine 

https://southfront.org/french-volunteer-outraged-by-lies-of-western-media-revealed-truth-about-war-crimes-in-ukraine/

Asia Times
Biden and the Democrats pivot to proxy war

James Carden, former adviser to the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission at the US Department of State

https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/biden-and-the-democrats-pivot-to-proxy-war/

Valdai Club
Prospects for De-Dollarisation of the World Monetary System and Settlements in National CurrenciesProspects for De-Dollarisation of the World Monetary System and Settlements in National Currencies
Yu Xiang | Adjunct fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, China Forum expert, and a senior research fellow at China Construction Bank

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/prospects-for-de-dollarisation-of-the-world/

Zero Hedge
How Fast Are Countries Burning Through Natural Resources? (As resources become scarcer, the likelihood of resource wars increases. This was one of the chief reasons the DOD gave for the national security interest in Southeast Asia at the time of the Vietnam Conflict that spread to Laos and Cambodia.)

Tyler Durden

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/how-fast-are-countries-burning-through-natural-resources

Links — 12 May 2022 Part 1

The Vineyard of the Saker
Two months of Operation Z
Ljubiša Malenica for the Saker Blog

http://thesaker.is/two-months-of-operation-z/

A Son of the New American Revolution
Ukrainian Snake Eaters Get A Russian Snake Bite and Other War Reports

Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/the-snake-eaters-get-bitten-on-snake-island-and-other-war-reports/

AntiWar
US Counting on Putin To Signal Before Using Nukes (In my view, it is a very dangerous mistake to think that this is about Putin rather than chiefly about Russia. If Putin were to suddenly pass away, his likely successor would be a hardliner much less to the liking of the West. Supposing that regime change would result in a Western friendly liberal government in Russia is simply delusional. Both the Russian leadership and the vast majority of Russians are assume that the objective the West, and the US and UK in particular, is to submit Russia first before moving on to submit China, locking in Western (read white) supremacy. There is no good endgame in a zero-sum game such as the West has set up. Actually, many strategists think that the US will go nuclear before Russia or China if it perceives itself as being defeated militarily, or even losing face, such as the sinking of a carrier group with only conventional weapons, something that both Russia and China can now potentially do.)

Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and retired 27-year career CIA whose tasks included preparing and briefing The President’s Daily Brief and leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2761684730989137546/9079672504167740196#

Naked Capitalism
Russia Announces Initial Retaliatory Sanctions Targets; Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/russia-announces-initial-retaliatory-sanctions-targets-waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop.html

New York Times, Defense Intelligence Agency Go Wobbly on Ukraine Prospects as Militias + Russia Continues to Grind Down Opposition in Donbass

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/new-york-times-defense-intelligence-agency-go-wobbly-on-ukraine-prospects-as-militias-russia-continues-to-grind-down-opposition-in-donbass.html

Yves Smith

Michael Hudson on Decline of Dollar, Sanctions War, Imperialism, Financial Parasitism (the video was linked to yesterday. Here is a transcript.)

Ben Norton interviews Michael Hudson

Naked Keynesianism — Hemlock for economics students
The economic and social consequences of the war on Europe and Italy
Sergio Cesaratto | Professor of European Monetary and Fiscal Policy at the University of Siena, Italy

https://nakedkeynesianism.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-economic-and-social-consequences-of.html

Covert Action Magazine
Army of Secret Propagandists in Ukraine Funded by U.S. to Win Western Hearts and Minds for NATO Policies
Evan Reif

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2022/05/12/army-of-secret-propagandists-in-ukraine-funded-by-u-s-to-win-western-hearts-and-minds-for-nato-policies/

Asia Times

What the Chinese really think about Russia and America

David Hutt

https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/what-the-chinese-really-think-about-russia-and-america/

Bill Mitchell — US inflation is moderating while a massive fiscal contraction is underway – recession looming

Yesterday (May 11, 2022), the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest – Consumer Price Index Summary – April 2022 – which showed the monthly increase in the CPI to be 0.3 per cent, the lowest monthly increase since August 2021 and, as it happens, just about right on the average monthly growth rate from January 1947 and April 2022. The result suggests a tapering of price pressures. The Energy component fell by 2.7 per cent in April after spiking at 11 per cent in March. Further, the growth in food prices fell for the third consecutive month. All of this has nothing to do with the recent interest rises imposed on the economy by the US Federal Reserve. They were already in train and confirm the transitory nature of this period of price instability. The US Treasury Department also published its most recent fiscal statistics yesterday – Monthly Treasury Statement – for April 2022, which reports a staggering $US533,794 fiscal shift between April 2021 and April 2022 – the fiscal drag embodied in that shift is massive and calls into question the conduct of the US Federal Reserve – why did they think they needed to push the economy towards recession? Fiscal policy is already working in that direction!

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
US inflation is moderating while a massive fiscal contraction is underway – recession looming
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Fed officials face pressure for more aggressive policy action

 

Fed taking a lot of shit for not being more “hawkish!” on Art Degree economoron figure of speech “inflation!”…. Meanwhile Fed probably very limited on ability for rate increases due to short term IOR liabilities …  if I were Fed and I had to throw the Biden people a bone today I would just say I was going to move up the QT instead of accelerating rate increases…

But maybe Fed can’t do that either because they have already planned for a definitive redemption schedule of their govt securities and they need the coupons due this month… 🤔

$40B Treasury coupon payments due this Monday… 

Fed officials face pressure for more aggressive policy action after a hotter-than-expected inflation reading for April https://t.co/9rIZbTHmjw

— Bloomberg Economics (@economics) May 12, 2022

'Defies Logic': Epshteyn And Bannon Rips DC For Sending 40 Billion To Ukraine

 

Scorching MAGA breakdown of the Democrat $40B thing for Ukraine….

Links 11 May 2022 Part 2

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Chinese Military ‘Deeply Alarmed’ Over Musk’s Starlink Satellites’ Dual-Use Capabilities
https://sputniknews.com/20220511/chinese-military-deeply-alarmed-musks-starlink-satellites-dual-use-capabilities-1095443590.html

EU’s Borrell Says Bloc Wants to 'Weaken Russian War Machine', Not Fight Moscow Directly (that is a pretty fine line with a nuclear superpower)

https://sputniknews.com/20220511/eus-borrell-says-bloc-wants-to-weaken-russian-war-machine-not-fight-moscow-directly-1095441734.html

TASS (Russian state media)

Ukraine’s security forces implode vat with [ammonium nitrate] fertilizer to accuse Russia of chemical attack
https://tass.com/defense/1449645

Russia sanctions 31 energy companies, including ex-subsidiaries of Gazprom in EU
https://tass.com/economy/1449571

Bank of Russia identifies main risks for its baseline scenario

https://tass.com/economy/1449675

The Vineyard of the Saker
Briefing: analysis of documents related to the military biological activities of the United States on the territory of Ukraine May 11, 2022
Amarynth

http://thesaker.is/briefing-analysis-of-documents-related-to-the-military-biological-activities-of-the-united-states-on-the-territory-of-ukraine-may-11-2022/

Oilprice

The NOPEC Bill Could Send Oil Prices To $300

Tsvetana Paraskova

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-NOPEC-Bill-Could-Send-Oil-Prices-To-300.html

CNBC: The Fed needs to be more open-minded

 

They can’t… they only had about $110B total revenues last year… can’t exceed about 2% with current IOR liabilities… sorry Art Degree monetarist CNBC morons…. Maybe sober up and take an Accounting course..…

All the Art degree monetarist moron assholes want the Fed to increase the policy rate faster than they can…  to reduce their figure of speech “inflation!”…  What are the Fed’s factoring revenues you dip-shit dummies?

The Fed needs to be more "open-minded," @elerianm says after April's CPI report. "They can't take anything off the table." pic.twitter.com/7aEGRehyqK

— CNBC (@CNBC) May 11, 2022

Links — 11 May 2022 Part 1

Moon of Alabama
Ukraine - Congress Passes The Bucks, Realism Sneaks In, Poland Plans For More War (Must-read!)

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/05/ukraine-congress-passes-the-bucks-realism-sneaks-in-poland-plans-for-more-war.html

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z – Where are we? (extensive report)
The Saker Staff

http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-where-are-we/

India Punchline
EU stumbles over Russian oil slick
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador

https://www.indianpunchline.com/eu-stumbles-over-russian-oil-slick/

A Son of the New American Revolution
Ukraine Cuts Off Gas to Europe and the Inflation Double Whammy
Larry C. Johnson | CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering, formerly Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (1989-1993, and CIA operations (1984-1989)

https://sonar21.com/ukraine-cuts-off-gas-to-europe-and-the-inflation-double-whammy/

REALITY VS FANTASY IN OPERATION Z
HELMHOLTZ SMITH

https://sonar21.com/reality-vs-fantasy-in-operation-z/

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs

Who is winning? It is all down to timing

https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/05/11/who-is-winning-it-is-all-down-to-timing/

March of the Immortal Regiment, St Petersburg, 2022: Impressions of a Participant
Gilbert Doctorow
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/05/10/march-of-the-immortal-regiment-st-petersburg-2022-impressions-of-a-participant/

Reminiscence of the Future
Brett Velicovich
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/05/brett-velicovich.html

The Unz Review
Liberal Interventionists and Neoconservatives Dominate US Foreign Policy
Philip Giraldi, former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer, now Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest and founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/liberal-interventionists-and-neoconservatives-dominate-us-foreign-policy/

Oilprice
Gazprom Claims It's "Technically Impossible" To Reroute Gas To Europe

Charles Kennedy

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Gazprom-Claims-Its-Technically-Impossible-To-Reroute-Gas-To-Europe.html

Zero Hedge
Biden Disinformation Czar Demands Power To Edit Other People's Tweets (shit-storm brewing)
Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-disinformation-czar-demands-power-edit-other-peoples-tweets

CCP Smart Satellite "Live Streamed" US Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier Off New York

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/ccp-smart-satellite-live-streamed-us-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier-new-york

Watch: "Terrifying" Chinese Super Drones That Can "Hunt Humans In Packs" Are HereTASS (Russian state-sponsored media)

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/watch-terrifying-chinese-super-drones-can-hunt-humans-packs-are-here

TASS (Russian state media)
Russia says counterfeit money in LPR were infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis

https://tass.com/politics/1449469

Dances with Bears
IN THE FOG OF WAR THERE’S THE GUTERRES CERTAINTY AND THE CADIEU CERTAINTY – GORILLA RADIO SEES THROUGH THE COVER-UP
John Helmer

http://johnhelmer.net/in-the-fog-of-war-theres-the-guterres-certainty-and-the-cadieu-certainty-gorilla-radio-sees-through-the-cover-up/

US Housing Component Of CPI Not Letting Up — Brian Romanchuk

Unless I was interested in short-term breakevens, I viewed the consumer price index (CPI) as a lagging indicator and therefore not too exciting. As such, I am not as enthusiastic as other commentators with regards to reading the entrails of the CPI report. My interest was more in the underlying trends, and what we would expect to change. The problem with the U.S. CPI is that one of the most important “underlying” factors is housing — and the housing component has taken off like a rocket....

Bond Economics
US Housing Component Of CPI Not Letting Up
Brian Romanchuk

http://www.bondeconomics.com/2022/05/us-housing-component-of-cpi-not-letting.html

Bill Mitchell — With corporate profits booming, business can afford to pay higher wages

Last week, I provided a graph in this blog post – The Left/Right distinction is as relevant as ever as corporations gouge profits out of pushing inflation (May 2, 2022) – which showed negotiated wages growth in Europe was declining and real negotiated wages had fallen sharply over the last several months. I am continually on the lookout for evidence that the current inflationary episode, no matter how alarming, is not being driven by structural forces in the labour market even though unemployment rates have fallen somewhat. A music segment follows.

The basic equation is the relationship of capital (ownership) share and labor (individual employee) share of profit. This depends on labor bargaining power, since capital is largely in control of setting the wage owing to its generally superior market power. owing to ownership being in a position to set the wage. This can be seen as a type of monopsony.

There are two major factors that influence labor power — availability of workers relative to business need for them based on demand and institutional arrangements that affect labor power, e.g., laws and regulations that support the interests of labor. The first factor comes into play at full employment, when labor becomes scarce. Bill argues that the advanced economies are not at full employment at present.

The second depends on the political power of capital and labor relative to each others. The latter is most decisive. This may have been a factor in the Seventies stagflation when union power was strong, for instance, even though the economy was not. Since then, institutional arrangements have been changed to favor capital, so labor power is not coming from this direction. This is where the left-right divide is most visible relative to labor to capital share.

Stagflation fears are rising again with various explanations and remedies being put forward. Bill and others argue that this is not a period of full employment with labor power increasing owing to scarcity for this reason. If labor is scarce, it is owing to the conditions around the pandemic that make workers reticent to accept the risk of contracting illness relative to the wage offered. Wages need to rise to attract more workers into accepting this risk. 

The other reason for increasing inflation is reduced available real resources owing to lagging production and distribution, again due to the pandemic. 

The pandemic is an exogenous shock so that the currently rising inflation needs to be analyzed on the merits of existing conditions, not textbook theory based on normal times. While some economists are proceeding on this many, many are not and are just using the conventional narratives about "inflation." and proposing conventional remedies for it.

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
With corporate profits booming, business can afford to pay higher wages
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Germany ramps up capacity for LNG imports to replace Russian gas

 

Fastracking legislation for 4 new terminals.... Simply establishing different sources for LNG…. 

Germany ramps up capacity for LNG imports to replace Russian gas https://t.co/xGIW7iFfsD pic.twitter.com/3nBuf4yG2I

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 5, 2022

Debunking (Some) Fakes — Andrei Martyanov (video, no transcript 37.46)

 

May 9th, Zmeinnyi Island fiasco, Pentagon, Fakes, Nuclear subs in... Black Sea

Debunking (Some) Fakes
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues. Martyanov was born in Baku, USSR in 1963. He graduated from the Kirov Naval Red Banner Academy and served as an officer on the ships and staff position of Soviet Coast Guard through 1990. He took part in the events in the Caucasus which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In mid-1990s he moved to the United States where he currently works as Laboratory Director in a commercial aerospace group. He is a frequent blogger on the US Naval Institute Blog. He is author of Losing Military Supremacy, The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs, and Disintegration: Indicators of the Coming American Collapse — Clarity Press.
https://youtu.be/vqyC_TKE9wU

Breaking — Ukraine calls force majeure and halts 1/3 of European gas

Kiev cites ‘force majeure’ in Lugansk to halt third of gas flow to Europe, while Gazprom says there have been no issues that would justify the halt.

The Vineyard of the Saker
Ukraine calls force majeure and halts 1/3 of European gas

http://thesaker.is/this-is-just-too-delicious-not-to-sitrep-quickly-ukraine-calls-force-majeure-and-halts-1-3-of-european-gas/

Interfax Ukraine
Ukraine forced to suspend gas transit through GMS Sokhranivka due to actions of Russian occupiers from May 11 – GTSOU

https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/831178.html

Sleepwalking Into Disaster: How US Establishment Lost Fear of Escalating Ukraine Crisis — Interviewing Vladimir Golstein

Censorship betrays weakness.

As is the case with all sorts of censorship, political in particular, it reveals the weakness of the censoring side.

Replaying the lead-up to WWI.

There is a well-known book by Christopher Clark on the history of the First World War called 'The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914'. That’s exactly what we are facing now: sleepwalking politicians….

Prof. Goldstein also outlines the no-so-hidden agenda.

Unfortunately, militarism remains a very powerful magnet for a lot of people. Demonising Russia pays in all sorts of ways: it pays for the military industrial complex; it pays for the press that loves hysteria and black-and-white stories of the evil Russians and their innocent victims; it pays for the politicians who expect to ride and exploit this war of the Slavs for their own benefit; and last, but not least, it pays for the military strategists who know that taking on both Russia and China to reassert American supremacy is a complicated if not an impossible task, whereas starting with weakening Russia and gaining access to its resources is a much more reasonable undertaking. Consequently, too many people with access to power are interested in further escalation, in further expanding this proxy war.….

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Sleepwalking Into Disaster: How US Establishment Lost Fear of Escalating Ukraine Crisis
Sputnik interviews Vladimir Golstein, Associate Professor of Slavic Studies, Brown University

https://sputniknews.com/20220510/sleepwalking-into-disaster-how-us-establishment-lost-fear-of-escalating-ukraine-crisis-1095400659.html

Also at Sputnik

Lavrov Calls Borrell's Idea to Transfer Russia's Frozen Assets to Ukraine 'Theft'

https://sputniknews.com/20220510/lavrov-calls-borrells-idea-to-transfer-russias-frozen-assets-to-ukraine-theft-1095403184.html

Top German Gas Buyer [VNG] Concedes To Russian Payment Scheme — Irina Slav

Crunch time.

Oilprice
Top German Gas Buyer [VNG] Concedes To Russian Payment Scheme

Irina Slav

Economist Michael Hudson on decline of dollar, sanctions war, imperialism, financial parasitism — Ben Norton aka Multipolarista interviews Michael Hudson (video, no transcript 1.22.34)

 

Multipolarista
Economist Michael Hudson on decline of dollar, sanctions war, imperialism, financial parasitism

Ben Norton aka Multipolarista interviews Michael Hudson: Destiny of Civilization

https://youtu.be/qlUSqQ8U8T8

MMT and tax: the reality is that there is much more to be done on this issue — Richard Murphy

MMT has not developed a coherent theory of how tax fulfils the withdrawal function to control inflation it has prescribed to it, hence the papers by me and me and Andrew Baker. Hence too why we are also planning to develop this, considerably. We are seeking to develop theory on how tax does simultaneously have this withdrawal function, which does not fund spending but is an explicit part of the overall funding cycle, whilst simultaneously having a strong function in delivering social, economic and fiscal policy.…

Richard Murphy has a point here. According to MMT 101, taxes function as a major factor in controlling inflation, and this sometimes gets interpreted by unsophisticated MMT proponents as "taxes control inflation," which is an over-generalization. But there is more to it than taxation. For example, the MMT JG is a key piece in inflation control and maintaining price stability.

Since the publication of The Deficit Myth, the debate has shifted, for the most part, from solvency to inflation. MMT is now getting the blame for the increased inflation that most are obsessing over. 

A sequel to The Deficit Myth seems to be called for to address how MMT addresses growth, employment and price stability, the harmonizing of which is the "holy grail" of macroeconomics. Whereas most economists hold that only two factors in this trifecta can be balanced at the same time (thus NAIRU, for example), MMT holds that it is possible to address all of them simultaneously to maintain a dynamic equilibrium among these factors through efficient and effective us of the policy space that the present floating rate system affords currency sovereigns.

While tax policy is important it is not the only factor involved in fiscal policy, as well as wider policy choices, e.g., involving externalities, as well as opportunities and challenges (tradeoffs) in closed global economy in which the participants are open economies, e.g., concerted action versus free market capitalist competition. 

MMT includes an institutional description of the monetary system and how it operates, a macroeconomic theory, and an articulation of policy space and how it might be used to address various opportunities and challenges. 

Hopefully, MMT economists will come up with a popular book that explains how this works and gives an outline for how fiscal policy decisions should be approached from the point of view of the MMT lens, as well as the relationship of fiscal and monetary policy.

Actually, all this might take several books. But this is what public education is about. Since the Powell memo, there has been a forceful campaign to influence public opinion about economics and finance, and now an effective counter to this is long overdue. In fact, survival of the species seemingly depends on the success of it.

Tax Research UK
MMT and tax: the reality is that there is much more to be done on this issue
Richard Murphy | Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London; Director of Tax Research UK; non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics, and a member of the Progressive Economy Forum