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Thursday, June 30, 2022

Links — 30 June 2022 Part 2

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Mike Pompeo’s Revealing Hudson Institute Speech
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/30/mike-pompeos-revealing-hudson-institute-speech/

Moon of Alabama
No, NATO Will Not Get Ready For War
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/no-nato-will-not-get-ready-for-war.html

Russian and Eurasian Politics
Avoiding a Russian Quagmire, the Improbable Ukrainian Peace, and the Risk of Direct Russo-NATO War
Gordon M. Hahn | Expert Analyst at Corr Analytics, http://www.canalyt.com and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies (CETIS), Akribis Group
https://gordonhahn.com/2022/06/30/avoiding-a-russian-quagmire-the-improbable-ukrainian-peace-and-the-risk-of-direct-russo-nato-war/

India Punchline
Russia steals the thunder in ‘wheat war’
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador
https://www.indianpunchline.com/russia-steals-the-thunder-in-wheat-war/

Counterpunch
SCOTT RITTER: Lithuania’s Brinkmanship
Scott Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. His most recent book is Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika, published by Clarity Press.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/06/30/scott-ritter-lithuanias-brinkmanship/

One World
Is NATO’s Northern Expansion Really A Major Defeat For Russia?
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3035

Fisted by Foucault
https://niccolo.substack.com/p/delusion

Antiwar
Biden Says US Will Support Ukraine For ‘as Long as It Takes’ To Win War ("When asked how long Americans should expect to pay high gas prices that have spiked as a result of his sanctions on Russia, Biden also said for “as long as it takes” so Russia cannot “defeat Ukraine.” Biden doubles down on folly.)
Dave DeCamp
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/06/30/biden-says-us-will-support-ukraine-for-as-long-as-it-takes-to-win-war/



What FDR and Two Former Fed Chairs Understood About Social Security — Stephanie Kelton

It’s a shame more people don’t understand that the entire debate over “solvency” is rooted in a flawed understanding of our monetary system and the mechanics of government finance....
he Lens
What FDR and Two Former Fed Chairs Understood About Social Security
Stephanie Kelton | Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Stony Brook University, formerly Democrats' chief economist on the staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, and an economic adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders
https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/what-fdr-and-two-former-fed-chairs

The West’s self-defeating sanctions — Philip Pilkington

 Philip Pilkington makes the point that any competent economist or financial type would have been able to see why imposition of sanctions was insane and their effect would be opposite to that intended.

Now that the policy has been adopted, it is impossible to back down without looking foolish, even though this policy is destroying Western economies and undermining the objective for which it was imposed — preservation of the unipolar order that emerged upon the collapse of the USSR.

Well-played, if you were aiming the gun at your own feet.

The Critic
Philip Pilkington
https://thecritic.co.uk/the-wests-self-defeating-sanctions/

You’re either with us or you’re a “systemic challenge” — Pepe Escobar

 The rise of the Global East/South, much to the dismay of the Global North/West as a challenge to the Post-WWII global order under US domination as a resurgence of the British Empire.

The Vineyard of the Saker
You’re either with us or you’re a “systemic challenge”
Pepe Escobar

Links — 30 June 2022 Part 1

1945
Is NATO Membership for Finland and Sweden a Bad Idea? (Yes, it increases the probability of the US being nuked, with no corresponding benefit to either the US or NATO)
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis (USA ret.), Senior Fellow and Military Expert for Defense Priorities
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/06/is-nato-membership-for-finland-and-sweden-a-bad-idea/

A Son of the New American Revolution
AMERICANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN MILITARY HISTORY
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/americans-do-not-understand-their-own-military-history/

Reminiscence of the Future
I Fully Agree With Larry Here.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/i-fully-agree-with-larry-here.html

Typical Putin))) (Vlad has some advice for BoJo)
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/typical-putin.html

North-South
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/north-south.html
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

RUSSTRAT—Institute of international political and economic strategies (Russian state-sponsored)
https://russtrat.ru/en/comments_/30-june-2022-0039-10927

One World
Russia’s Snake Island Pullout Was An Entirely Predictable Goodwill Gesture
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3034

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3033
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia

Asia Times
US starts sanctioning China for supporting Russia
Jeff Pao
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/us-starts-sanctioning-china-for-supporting-russia/

Bill Mitchell — Unaccountable central bankers once again out of controls

On August 27, 2020, the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell made a path breaking speech – New Economic Challenges and the Fed’s Monetary Policy Review. On the same day, the Federal Reserve Bank released a statement – Federal Open Market Committee announces approval of updates to its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy. I analysed that shift in this blog post – US Federal Reserve statement signals a new phase in the paradigm shift in macroeconomics (August 31, 2020). It appeared at the time, that a major shift in the way central banking policy was to be conducted in the future was underway. A Reuters’ report (August 28, 2020) – With new monetary policy approach, Fed lays Phillips curve to rest – reported that “One of the fundamental theories of modern economics may have finally been put to rest”. At the time, I didn’t place enough emphasis on the ‘may’ and now realise that nothing really has changed after a few years of teetering on the precipice of change. The old guard is back and threatening the livelihoods of workers in their usual way.
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Unaccountable central bankers once again out of controls
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

FED'S MESTER: WE WANT TO SEE US RATES ABOVE 4% NEXT YEAR.


Banks have $3T of regulatory required reserve assets getting IOR and $4.5T of regulatory required HQLA govt securities... if they get this 4% minimum on this $7.5T of regulatory assets (QT will albeit reduce this slightly by then) that would be $300B annual in revenues to US banks for doing nothing other than complying with government regulations….  Up from 0 at ZIRP very recently…

And Fed has over $2T in RRP paying about the same rate so that would be another $80B annual to somebody…. Then there all the T-Bills somebody has…

Would be a major positive fiscal adjustment… probably near $1T annual or so…







US crude production rose to the highest since April 2020, rising to 12.1 million BPD

 

Domestic production finally back above 12Mbpd… another 1M to go to get back to pre-CCP virus production rate…






Links — 29 June 2022 Part 2

Michael Roberts Blog — blogging from a marxist economist
The global solution: private or public?
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2022/06/29/the-global-solution-private-or-public/

Gold Goats 'N Guns
The G-7 Squawks But They’ve Already Lost the War Against Russia
Tom Luongo
https://tomluongo.me/2022/06/29/the-g-7-squawks-but-theyve-already-lost-the-war-against-russia/

Zero Hedge
Demand Destruction Emerges As Americans Cancel Road Trips
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/demand-destruction-emerges-americans-cancel-road-trips

White House Is Quietly Modeling For $200 Oil "Shock"
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/white-house-quietly-modeling-shock-200-oil

US Emergency Oil Reserves Tumble To Record Low 27 Days Worth Of Supply
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/us-emergency-oil-reserves-tumble-record-low-27-days-worth-supply
Tyler Durden

Yahoo Finance
First Solar Rejects US Site for New Factory, Eyes Europe or India Instead
Will Wade
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-solar-rejects-us-factory-120005915.html

The Guardian (UK)
UK will face worse inflation than other major economies, says Bank governor
Richard Partington and Phillip Inman
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/29/central-bank-heads-warn-world-economy-faces-new-inflationary-era

Dissident Voice
Severodonetsk: Deciphering News of the War in Ukraine
Dan Lieberman
https://dissidentvoice.org/2022/06/severodonetsk-deciphering-news-of-the-war-in-ukraine/

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
Roman empire’s alliance would benefit Europe – UK PM (can't get much more explicit about imperialism. At least he isn't talking about the British Empire, which the US has in its sights to recreate, and more, like "recolonize" China.)

A short essay on the differences between Marx and Keynes — As stimulated by Joan Robinson's "Essay on Marxian Economics" — Branko Milanovic

Painted with a very broad brush, but an interesting summary. It's short and on point. 

Summary: Marx was focused on the long-term, historical nature of capitalism that gave capitalism its law-like behavior, making it predictable, while Keynes was focused on the short-term, political challenges of capitalism that he believed policy measures could overcome. However, their analysis of key issues is remarkably similar, at least in outline.

Global Inequality And More
A short essay on the differences between Marx and Keynes — As stimulated by Joan Robinson's "Essay on Marxian Economics"
Branko Milanovic | Visiting Presidential Professor at City University of New York Graduate Center and senior scholar at the Stone Center on Socio-economic Inequality, senior scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), and formerly lead economist in the World Bank's research department and senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
https://branko2f7.substack.com/p/a-short-essay-on-the-differences

See also

Lars P. Syll’s Blog
Economics as ideology
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University
https://larspsyll.wordpress.com/2022/06/29/economics-as-ideology-2/

Also

Understanding Society
Daniel Little | Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Professor of Philosophy at UM-Dearborn and Professor of Sociology at UM-Ann Arbor
https://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2022/06/paradigms-conceptual-frameworks-and.html

Links — 29 June 2022 Part 1

A Son of the New American Revolution
NATO’S Meaningless Military Gestures
https://sonar21.com/natos-meaningless-military-gestures/

https://sonar21.com/why-russia-doubts-natos-good-intentions/
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://www.indianpunchline.com/us-iran-let-hopes-shape-their-future-not-hurts/

US, Iran let hopes shape their future — not hurts
https://www.indianpunchline.com/g7-cracks-in-western-unity-on-russia/
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador

Asia Times
EU ‘playing a dangerous game’ in Ukraine—An interview with Irish member of the European Parliament Clare Daly
James Carden
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/eu-playing-a-dangerous-game-in-ukraine/

Ukraine war a big boon for Russian insurers (Interesting post on the insurance industry. It's big.)

https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-war-a-big-boon-for-russian-insurers/

RUSSTRAT — Institute of international political and economic strategies (Russian state-sponsored)
Are things heading to war? NATO Rapid Reaction Forces will increase by 7.5 times
https://russtrat.ru/en/analytics_/29-june-2022-1128-10918

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Empire To Expand NATO In Response To War Caused By NATO Expansion
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/29/empire-to-expand-nato-in-response-to-war-caused-by-nato-expansion/ 

Global Times (Chinese state media)
Exclusive: US plants Trojan horse programs in hundreds of important Chinese information systems; new cyber weapon targets China, Russia
Zhao Siwei
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202206/1269300.shtml

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202206/1269282.shtml

RayMcGovern.com
Medvedev/Putin: Highly Unusual Threats to NATO (threats or warning? Russia typically doesn’t make threats. It states what it is gong to do and then does it. Those in the habit of making threats, often empty, still don't seem to get this distinction even though it is not subtle. It's Russia's history. The new cold war is here. Nukes aimed and on hair trigger.)
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




Bill Mitchell — New Keynesian inflation model is unfit for purpose

It’s Wednesday – a day for a few short comments and then relaxing to music. Today I consider some statements from the Bank of International Settlements, which suggest that the mainstream inflation approach, based on the New Keynesian Phillips curve is subjected to “serious practical shortcomings”. In other words, it is unfit for purpose, which means you should not be surprised that central banks are hiking rates to stifle a transient supply-side inflation burst. Quackery leads to quackery. I also consider some recent evidence that supply disruptions are easing. And, then, we learn that that the British Labour Party no longer things workers should strike. And if that has driven you mad, then we restore calm with some great music from Jiro Inagaki....
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
New Keynesian inflation model is unfit for purpose
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Links — 28 June 2022 Part 1

Reminiscence of the Future
And That Is Important Exactly How?
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/and-that-is-important-exactly-how.html

They Ran From Lysichansk...
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/they-ran-from-lysichansk.html
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

Moon of Alabama
Another Zelensky Lie Debunked - White House Says Ukraine Must Give Up Territory (Zelenski is just the mouthpiece between the US and the Ukrainian right sector that holds political power.)
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/another-zelensky-lie-debunked-white-house-says-ukraine-must-give-up-territory.html

Asia Times
Uwe Parart
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-27-2022/

Covid death toll vs China’s puts US to shame
John Walsh
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/covid-death-toll-vs-chinas-puts-us-to-shame/

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs
Just half a functioning brain will suffice to see through propaganda
Gilbert Doctorow
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/06/28/just-half-a-functioning-brain-will-suffice-to-see-through-propaganda/

One World
Reasons For The Russian Special Military Operation In Ukraine
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3022

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3025

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3026

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3021

The UK Prime Minister Paraphrased 1984’s “War Is Peace” During His Meeting With Macron (NATO is slouching toward kinetic war with Russia using NATO troops. Providing Ukraine with NATO military assets will not result in victory for Ukraine as a NATO proxy, and a Russian victory is simply not acceptable to NATO, at least at this point.)
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3020
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3018
Maria Heemskerk, Dutch political commentator 

Zero Hedge
[Former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry] Medvedev Says Crimea Is Russia's "Forever" & Any NATO Moves On It Would Trigger WW3
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/medvedev-says-crimea-russias-forever-any-nato-moves-it-would-trigger-ww3

MacroPOlo
Provincialism: Before Ruling China, You Have To Rule 2.4 Provinces
Ruihan Huang is a research associate at MacroPolo
https://macropolo.org/provincialism-ruling-china-provinces/


Behind the Tin Curtain: BRICS+ vs NATO/G7 — Pepe Escobar

On global realignment. Important.

The Cradle
Behind the Tin Curtain: BRICS+ vs NATO/G7
Pepe Escobar
https://thecradle.co/Article/Columns/12393


“Fed’s balance sheets caused inflation, not low rates”

 

This is a widely held belief and behind a lot of the current bearish positioning… (lol I’d like to ask them then why prices collapsed 40% when they first increased the reserves at Depositories in March 2020)

Now they are of course predicting a catastrophic collapse when Fed starts to decrease reserve balances… which btw the Fed haven’t even done yet in June when this is the month they have been saying they are going to decrease assets, excerpting from Mike’s MMT Trader report this week:

“Fed QT is proceeding slowly, if at all. In the week ending June 22, the Fed’s balance sheet increased $1.9 bln. It was the fourth week up and the highest level in 5 weeks

Still a week to go in June but as of the 22nd here they have made only negative progress towards their stated policy… These people are the worst I have zero technical respect for them…




Monday, June 27, 2022

Links — 27 June 2022 Part 2

Moon of Alabama
Newsbits on Ukraine - Lysichansk Cauldron, Civilian Damage, Reserve Troops, Russian 'Default'
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/newsbits-on-ukraine-lysichansk-cauldron-civilian-damage-reserve-troops-russian-default.html

Reminiscence of the Future
The Endspiel
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-endspiel.html

Alex Gives A Good Aye-Yai-Yai On G-7, Larry About Denazification And Something Else.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/alex-gives-good-aye-yai-yai-on-g-7.html
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues

A Son of the New American Revolution
Back to the Future in Ukraine–Demilitarization and Denazification
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/back-to-the-future-in-ukraine-demilitarization-and-denazification/




Links — 27 June 2022 Part 1

A Son of the New American Revolution
Understanding the NY Times Article on the CIA in Ukraine
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/understanding-the-ny-times-article-on-the-cia-in-ukraine/

One World
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3018

https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=3020
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia

Dances with Bears
MUTINY IN THE CANADIAN GENERAL STAFF – HOW POLITICAL AMBITION & UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR AIMS ARE BEING COVERED UP IN OTTAWA
John Helmer
http://johnhelmer.net/mutiny-in-the-canadian-general-staff-how-political-ambition-ukraine-russia-war-aims-are-being-covered-up-in-ottawa/

Naked Capitalism
“G7 Aims to Hurt Russia with Price Cap on Oil Exports”
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/g7-aims-to-hurt-russia-with-price-cap-on-oil-exports.html

“Why The Ukraine Crisis Will Make Little Difference to Dollar Supremacy”
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/why-the-ukraine-crisis-will-make-little-difference-to-dollar-supremacy.html
Yves Smith

Oilprice
G7's Oil Price Cap For Russia: Easier Said Than Done
Irina Slav
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/G7s-Oil-Price-Cap-For-Russia-Easier-Said-Than-Done.html

Zero Hedge
G7 Set To Impose "Price Caps" On Russian Oil; Unclear What This Actually Does
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/g7-set-impose-price-caps-russian-oil-unclear-what-actually-achieves
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/lithuania-hit-major-cyberattack-russian-group-warns-more-until-kaliningrad-blockade
Tyler Durden

RayMcGovern.com
UNMARKING yesterday’s International Day in Support of Torture Victims
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/2022/06/27/unmarking-todays-international-day-in-support-of-torture-victims/

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Ten Thoughts On Abortion
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/27/ten-thoughts-on-abortion/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Ukrainian Military Planned To Turn Airport In Severodonetsk Into NATO Military Base Near Russian Border
https://southfront.org/ukrainian-military-planned-to-turn-airport-in-severodonetsk-into-nato-milita

BREAKING: Russian Ministry Of Defense Revealed How Civilian House In Kiev Was Hit On June 26
https://southfront.org/breaking-russian-ministry-of-defense-revealed-how-civilian-house-in-kiev-was-hit-on-june-26/

https://tass.com/politics/1472099

Sputnik International
Foreign Holders of Russian Bonds Could Sue US, EU Over Asset Blockage, French Economist Says
https://sputniknews.com/20220627/foreign-holders-of-russian-bonds-could-sue-us-eu-over-asset-blockage-french-economist-says-1096720934.html

German Media Fears Putin Preparing New ‘Raw Materials Trap’ for West
https://sputniknews.com/20220627/german-media-fears-putin-preparing-new-raw-materials-trap-for-west-1096718461.html

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
Zelensky sets deadline for Russia-Ukraine conflict – media
https://www.rt.com/news/557928-zelensky-g7-summit-address/

Spoils of War
Andrew Cockburn: Why Sanctions Always Fail
https://spoilsofwar.substack.com/p/why-sanctions-always-fail










Bill Mitchell — The Ministry for the Future has some MMT lessons on fiscal policy

A close friend send me some pages from a book she is reading – Ministry of the Future – by author Kim Stanley Robinson, which was published in 2020. It is about an organisation that is chartered with defending the rights of future generations and they pursue various projects accordingly. Its major challenge is climate change, after a “deadly heat wave in India” and the narrative allows the author to entertain very interesting discussions about economics, ecology and society. It is classified as “hard science fiction” because while the work reflects the imagination of the author, he bases the narrative on “scientific accuracy and non-fiction descriptions of history and social science” to bring home the challenges we face with climate etc. The pages I received came from Chapter 73 (pages 365-366), which has a two-page discussion about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). The author writes in his future scenario that “Enough governments were convinced by MMT to try it. That it influenced so much policy through the late thirties was regarded as a sign either of progress or of desperate fantasy solutions.” While the discussion is interesting, I want to focus on one of the ideas the author presents because they illustrate an important distinction between ‘Keynesian’ and ‘Post Keynesian’ thought on fiscal policy and MMT analysis....
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
The Ministry for the Future has some MMT lessons on fiscal policy
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=50019

See also

The Gower Initiative for Modern Money Studies
Growing discontent as the cost of living rise continues to bite
https://gimms.org.uk/2022/06/26/growing-discontent/

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Links — June 26 2022 Part 2

India Punchline
A pivotal moment in eastern Ukraine
MK. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador.

Zero Hedge
G7 Commits To 'Indefinite' Military & Financial Support To Ukraine
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/g7-commits-indefinite-military-financial-support-ukraine

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Russian Losses In The Black Sea Growing After Ukraine Got US-Made Harpoon Missiles (Video) 
https://southfront.org/russian-losses-in-the-black-sea-growing-after-ukraine-got-us-made-harpoon-missiles-video/

KIEV ON FIRE: RUSSIAN MISSILES HIT MILITARY PLANT, REVENGE FOR BLOODY ATTACKS IN DONBASS (VIDEOS)
https://southfront.org/kiev-on-fire-russian-missiles-hit-military-plant-revenge-for-bloody-attacks-in-donbass-videos/

Russian MoD Releases Footage Of Recent Strikes On ‘US-Trained Terrorists’ In Syria’s Raqqa (
Actually, there are several proxy wars going on now. Ukraine is just the latest. It began back in the Carter adminstration with Zbig's plan to arm the Islamists that morphed into Al Qaeda and then ISIS.)
https://southfront.org/russian-mod-releases-footage-of-recent-strikes-on-us-trained-terrorists-in-syrias-raqqa/

Politico
G-7 unveils $600B plan to combat global China initiative (Most of the funding is "aspirational.")
Jonathan Lemire and Karl Mathiesen

The Hill
Biden commits $200 billion to global infrastructure plan meant to counter China (combination of federal financing, grants and private sector investment)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3537495-biden-commits-200-billion-to-global-infrastructure-plan-meant-to-counter-china/

Antiwar
Conflicts of Interest: Biden Dumps Another Billion in Weapons on the Ukrainian Battlefield
Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2022/06/26/conflicts-of-interest-biden-dumps-another-billion-in-weapons-on-the-ukrainian-battlefield/

The Hill
Amid deepening divisions, US no longer seen as beacon of light around the world
Tara D. Sonenshine, Opinion Contributor
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3537200-amid-deepening-divisions-us-no-longer-seen-as-beacon-of-light-around-the-world/





Links — 26 June 2022 Part 1

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs
An Iron Curtain descends on Europe and the USA
Gilbert Doctorow
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/06/26/an-iron-curtain-descends-on-europe-and-the-usa/

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z: Open Thread
The Saker
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-open-thread/

Moon of Alabama
Russia Is Running Out Of [Whatever The Media Claim]
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/russia-is-running-out-of-whatever-the-media-claim-.html

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Western Officials Admit Ukraine Is Crawling With CIA Personnel [and Special Forces]
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/26/western-officials-admit-ukraine-is-crawling-with-cia-personnel/

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Links — 25 June 2022

https://sonar21.com/even-the-uks-sky-news-is-reporting-on-the-ukrainian-debacle-in-the-donbas/

Understanding the Ukrainian SS Galicia Division Helps explain UK and Canadian support for Ukraine (Larry does not mention the US and Canadian Ukrainain lobbies in this article or the part that Ukrianians played in the Russiagate soft coup and subsequent attempts to undermine Donald Trump's presidency.)
https://sonar21.com/understanding-the-ukrainian-ss-galicia-division-helps-explain-uk-and-canadian-support-for-ukraine/
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)

Responsible Statecraft
Why Russian intellectuals are hardening support for war in Ukraine (Important. The Russian liberals aka Westernizers and "the fifth-column" are becoming hardline on defending Russian sovereignty against perceived attack on Russian statehood by the US and its NATO allies. And it is not just intellectuals. For example, former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev has turned from liberal to hardliner.)
Anatol Lieven
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/06/06/why-russian-intellectuals-are-hardening-support-for-war-in-ukraine/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Is [Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry]Medvedev ‘Too Harsh’ Thinking Russia Shouldn’t Extend Treaties With The West? (The Russian leadership decided some time ago that the US and its allies are agreement-incapable. This also applies to the Ukrainian leadership which is run by the West."
Drago Bosnic
https://southfront.org/is-medvedev-too-harsh-thinking-russia-shouldnt-extend-treaties-with-the-west/

Consortium News
SCOTT RITTER: The Fantasy of Fanaticism
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/06/25/scott-ritter-the-fantasy-of-fanaticism/


Friday, June 24, 2022

Links — 24 June 2022

Moon of Alabama
Ukraine SitRep - Zolote Cauldron Closes - Lysichansk Blocked
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/lysichansk.html

Asia Times
Ukraine – the situation June 24, 2022
Uwe Parpart
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-24-2022/

The Dreizin Report
Lisichansk sector disintegrating
Jacob Dreizin
https://thedreizinreport.com/2022/06/24/lisichansk-sector-disintegrating-likely-100s-of-ukr-prisoners-taken-1000s-more-coming-ukraine-general-staffs-new-position-not-kidding-is-roughly-severodonestk-we-dont-know-anything-abo/

Zero Hedge
EU & NATO Appear To Be Forming A Bloc For War Against Russia: Lavrov
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-nato-appear-be-forming-bloc-war-against-russia-lavrov

Brzezinski's Proxy War Playbook
Patrick Macfarlane via The Libertarian Institute
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/brzezinskis-proxy-war-playbook

WSWS
Eighty-one years after the war of annihilation: German Chancellor Scholz makes new war threats against Russia
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/06/25/cbud-j25.html

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Imperial Narrative Control Has Five Distinct Elements
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/24/imperial-narrative-control-has-five-distinct-elements/

The World Is Ruled By A Backwards Puritanical Regime: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/25/the-world-is-ruled-by-a-backwards-puritanical-regime-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/





Thursday, June 23, 2022

Links — 23 June 2022 Part 2

Reminiscence of the Future
I Respect Douglas MacGregor, But... ("The assertion that Russia's SPRN (missile attack early warning system) is somehow "nowhere near" the American one is dead wrong." Andrei goes through the numbers. Here is a link to Col. Douglas Magregor's statement to which Andrei refers.)
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/i-respect-douglas-macgregor-but.html

The Vineyard of the Saker
About Telegram (never assume online privacy/anonymity)
The Saker
http://thesaker.is/about-telegram/

Multipolarista
Only 4 of 55 African leaders attend Zelensky call, showing neutrality on Ukraine and Russia
Banjamin Norton
https://multipolarista.com/2022/06/22/africa-zelensky-call-neutrality-ukraine/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
https://southfront.org/dr-volodymyr-mr-zelensky-the-dark-side-of-the-ukrainian-president/

 

Links — 23 June 2022 Part 1

CaitlinJohnstone.com
People Don’t Think Hard Enough About What Nuclear War Is And What It Would Mean
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/23/people-dont-think-hard-enough-about-what-nuclear-war-is-and-what-it-would-mean/
 
A Son of the New American Revolution
Russian Success in the Donbas Accelerates
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/russian-success-in-the-donbas-accelerates/

Asia Times
Ukraine – the situation (June 22, 2022)
Uwe Parpart
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-22-2022/

Newsweek
William M. Arkin 
https://www.newsweek.com/why-joe-biden-volodymyr-zelensky-wont-say-ukraine-winning-war-1717463

Moon of Alabama
Two Big Errors About Russia - By Helmholtz Smith
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/two-big-errors-about-russia-by-helmholtz-smith.html

Daily Mail
Russia's rebranded McDonald's sells 120,000 burgers on its opening day - more than it ever sold before the US chain withdrew from the country due to Ukraine war
Walter Finch for Reuters
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10938093/Heir-McDonalds-Russia-craves-success-Big-Mac-big-loss.html

Pew Research Center
International Attitudes Toward the U.S., NATO and Russia in a Time of Crisis ("This report includes data from a survey of 18 nations: the U.S., Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.")
Richard Wike, Janell Fetterolf, Moira Fagan And Sneha Gubbala
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/06/22/international-attitudes-toward-the-u-s--nato-and-russia-in-a-time-of-crisis/

Naked Capitalism
Lithuania’s Step Too Far — Blockade of Kaliningrad Draws No Support from US, UK, EU, NATO, as Russia Prepares “Practical Steps”, “No Diplomacy”
Yves Smith
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/lithuanias-step-too-far-blockade-of-kaliningrad-draws-no-support-from-us-uk-eu-nato-as-russia-prepares-practical-steps-no-diplomacy.html

Gold Goats N' Guns
Media – The End of the European Colonial Powers, The Tyranny of Physics
Tom Luongo
https://tomluongo.me/2022/06/23/media-the-end-of-the-european-colonial-powers-the-tyranny-of-physics/




Bill Mitchell — Taxation is an indispensable anti-inflation policy tool in Modern Monetary Theory

There was an unedifying and fairly undignified war on Twitter recently about whether Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) economics advocate using taxes to deal with inflation. Like all these Twitter ‘debates’, the opening proposition was a ‘gotcha’ attempt that was correct from one angle but then missed the point when it was applied to whether MMT is a valid framework or not. The responses from the MMT ‘activists’ were also overly defensive and reflected the fact that they had fallen for the framing trap presented by the antagonist. In this blog post, I want to clarify the MMT position on the use of taxes and inflation policy. What you will learn is that both positions presented in that Twitter war were largely erroneous, and, conflated concepts, either knowingly (probably not) or unknowingly, to leave a muddy mess. As the cloud became thicker, the ‘debate’ descended, as all these Twitter exchanges seem to, into unhelpful accusations of racial insult, claims of ignorance and stupidity, and worse. Not very helpful....
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Taxation is an indispensable anti-inflation policy tool in Modern Monetary Theory
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Exile on Main Street: The Sound of the Unipolar World Fading Away — Pepe Escobar

Let’s cut to the chase and roll in the Putin Top Ten of the New Era, announced by the Russian President live at the St. Petersburg forum for both the Global North and South.

The era of the unipolar world is over.

The rupture with the West is irreversible and definitive. No pressure from the West will change it.

Russia has renewed with its sovereignty. Reinforcement of political and economic sovereignty is an absolute priority.

The EU has completely lost its political sovereignty. The current crisis shows the EU is not ready to play the role of an independent, sovereign actor. It’s just en ensemble of American vassals deprived of any politico-military sovereignty.

Sovereignty cannot be partial. Either you’re a sovereign or a colony..…
The Vineyard of the Saker

Mixed Bag June 22 — US Naval Attache, West's Russia "experts", short Q&A (Lithuania, Donetsk) — Andrei Martyanov (video 24:06)

 


Mixed Bag June 22 — US Naval Attache, West's Russia "experts", short Q&A (Lithuania, Donetsk)
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/Z3EYzeU6T-8

Links — 22 June 2022 Part 2

1945
Russia May Win the War in Ukraine (Col. Douglas Macgregor: Russia already won the war some time ago. But at least Lt. Col. Davis is on the right page, which most analysts are not yet.)
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis (USA ret.), Senior Fellow and Military Expert for Defense Priorities

Moon of Alabama
The Neocon's Dream - Decolonize Russia, Re-colonize China (break Russia up into its federated states and break China up into manageable states. BTW, this is a longstanding objective of Western geopolitics.)
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/the-neocons-dream-decolonize-russia-re-colonize-china-.html

One World
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia

Asia Times
Neocon think-tanks are driving Biden’s Ukraine policy (none of the people mention have any background in military science or experience in war fighting.)
James Carden
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/neocon-think-tanks-are-driving-bidens-ukraine-policy/

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
'Golden Ruble': Russian Think-Tank Proposes Stablecoin To Overcome Western Sanctions (rate fixed to the market price of gold, that is, a variable rate.)
https://sputniknews.com/20220622/golden-ruble-russian-think-tank-proposes-stablecoin-to-overcome-western-sanctions--1096572076.html

Watch: White House NSC Spox Gives Totally Different Answers on China, India Oil Imports From Russia
https://sputniknews.com/20220622/watch-white-house-nsc-spox-gives-totally-different-answers-on-china-india-oil-imports-from-russia-1096572396.html

TASS (Russian state media)

Lavrov says West covers up for Ukraine (US playing Europe using Ukraine as a willing accomplice)
https://tass.com/politics/1470019

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/its-not-afghanistan-ukrainian-pilots-oppose-biden-provided-drones

Southfront
Ukraine Attacked Russian Oil Refinery With Chinese Commercial Drones (Video)
https://southfront.org/ukraine-attacked-russian-oil-refinery-with-chinese-commercial-drones-video/

Marginal Revolution
The great stagnation and the primacy of foreign policy
Tyler Cowen | Holbert C. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University and serves as chairman and general director of the Mercatus Center
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/06/the-great-stagnation-and-the-primacy-of-foreign-policy.html


Links — 22 June 2022 Part 1

CaitlinJohnstone.com
Let’s Fight WW3 Over Lithuania: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix (about the propaganda machine aka "the Mighty Wurlitzer"— "Deputy Director Frank Wisner proudly referred to the CIA's worldwide propaganda machine as 'the mighty Wurlitzer.'")
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/22/lets-fight-ww3-over-lithuania-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z: Cauldrons and Fatigue
The Saker Staff
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-cauldrons-and-fatigue/

Sitrep: International reserve currency based on a basket of BRICS currencies.
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-international-reserve-currency-based-on-a-basket-of-brics-currencies/

India Punchline
US-China détente on the horizon
https://www.indianpunchline.com/us-china-detente-on-the-horizon/

Southern Ukraine is the priority in NATO’s planning (read NATO escalation. Continued escalation means that the "special military operation" will likely turn to actual war, that is, really destructive, and if NATO keeps escalating then Russia will treat NATO countries as co-belligerents, spreading the war to Europe and eventually the continental US, if the US pushes hard enough. Military professionals like Col.. Douglas Macgregor are cautioning about this.)
M. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador

Internationalist 360º
Ukraine Reveals “Victory Plan” (NATO has to win this or it's over for NATO. Was this Russia's plan for dealing with NATO?)
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/06/20/ukraine-reveals-victory-plan/

Zero Hedge
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/ukraine-unveils-mini-terminator-ground-robot-equipped-machine-gun

Oilprice
Russian Refinery On Fire After Kamikaze Drone Strike (at what point does Russia start removing Ukrainian infrastructure, which it has refrained from doing so far––and been criticized for it strategically and operationally by US military experts, since this is what the US would do first.)
Charles Kennedy

IEA: Europe Should Prepare For Complete Russian Gas Shutdown
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/IEA-Europe-Should-Prepare-For-Complete-Russian-Gas-Shutdown.html
Irian Slav

Naked Capitalism
Fast and Furious Omicron New Variants Defy Explanation, and Don’t Bode Well for Future Either
Yves Smith
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/fast-and-furious-omicron-new-variants-defy-explanation-and-dont-bode-well-for-future-either.html

Dances with Bears
GERMAN NEUTRALITY WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN NATO EXPANSION – A NEW HISTORY BOOK EXPLAINS WHY GORBACHEV GAVE IT AWAY FOR NOTHING
John Helmer
http://johnhelmer.net/german-neutrality-was-more-important-than-nato-expansion-a-new-history-book-explains-why-gorbachev-gave-it-away-for-nothing/

Bill Mitchell — Who would be so stupid to advocate deliberately puting 2.3 million workers out of work? Guess who?

It’s Wednesday and I am pushed for time today. My local community is in the last stages of trying to stop a massive overdevelopment in our midst, which will damage the social cohesion and environmental amenity in our neighbourhood, while delivering massive profits to a greedy property developer. I have to appear before a tribunal today to document the impacts of the development on these things. Property developers are the scourge. So are mainstream economists like Larry Summers who is proposing that unemployment be deliberately increased by more than 2.3 million and held at that level or higher for years in order to reduce the current (transitory) inflation. Who would be so stupid? And after getting really mad about that and Keir Starmer’s abandonment of working class representation, we can soothe our souls with some Roy Elridge..…
Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Who would be so stupid to advocate deliberately puting 2.3 million workers out of work? Guess who?
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Links — 21 June 2022 Part 1

Asia Times
Biden loses the inflation blame game (not MMT-compliant but useful anyway)
David P. Goldman
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/biden-loses-the-inflation-blame-game/

One World
Debunking The Disinformation About Putin’s Comparison Of Himself With Peter The Great ("The disinformation dimension of the MSM’s “reporting” was to decontextualize this, twist it around, and then misportray his words as some supposedly shameless admission of blatant imperialism in the 21st century." This is a commonly used tactic, in not only politics but also sham "scholarship.")
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2997

Interpreting The Associated Press’ Admission That Kiev Is Massively Outgunned
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2998
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia

Naked Capitalism
A Political Earthquake Just Took Place in the US’s Most Important Client State in Latin America, Colombia
Nick Corbishley
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/a-political-earthquake-just-took-place-in-latin-america.html

Zero Hedge
Ukraine Bans Main Opposition Party, Seizes All Its Assets
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-bans-main-opposition-party-seizes-all-its-assets

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
EU Firms Find Doing Business in PRC More Costly as West Puts Screws on Xinjiang Imports
https://sputniknews.com/20220621/eu-firms-find-doing-business-in-prc-more-costly-expensive-as-west-puts-screws-on-xinjiang-imports-1096522222.html

Europe Can Replace Russian Gas by Turning Thermostat Down a Couple Degrees, Von der Leyen Says
https://sputniknews.com/20220621/europe-can-replace-russian-gas-by-turning-thermostat-down-a-couple-degrees---von-der-leyen-1096520995.html

The Unz Review
Explain It to Me, Please (ignore the economics and finance)
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/explain-it-to-me-please/

RayMcGovern.com
Assange Alerted 12 Yrs Ago re Russian Invasion of Ukraine
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/2022/06/21/assange-alerted-12-yrs-ago-re-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/

MintPressNews
British “Watchdog” Journalists Unmasked as Lap Dogs for the Security State
Jonathan Cook
https://www.mintpressnews.com/watchdog-journalists-carol-cadwalladr-paul-mason-security-state/281146/










Treasury Market Pricing — Brian Romanchuk

The Fed surprise 75 basis point hike last week blew Treasury yields out, with a small reversal at the end of the week. Such a reversal is typical after large moves. In this article, I just want to discuss the big picture of Treasury pricing....
Bond Economics
Treasury Market Pricing
Brian Romanchuk

Dependent on Russian Gas, Now Germany Fires Up Coal Power Stations

 

Germany turning coal plants back on..  have to see how much generation they can resestablish this way… Russia all in on their TINA....





Monday, June 20, 2022

Links — 20 June 2022 Part 2

Asia Times
Uwe Parpart
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-20-2022/

A Son of the New American Revolution
Will Russia Shift to a War Strategy?
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/will-russia-shift-to-a-war-strategy/

Reminiscence of the Future
Douglas MacGregor On Ukraine
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/douglas-macgregor-on-ukraine.html

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
Lithuania changes tune on Kaliningrad blockade
https://www.rt.com/news/557504-lithuania-kaliningrad-transit-ban-explanation

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Retired Polish General Recommends Shooting Down Russian Missiles Over Western Ukraine
https://sputniknews.com/20220620/retired-polish-general-recommends-shooting-down-russian-missiles-over-western-ukraine-1096498613.html

Internationalist 360º
Tryzub: The National Revolution Fantasized by Ukranian Nationalists
Laurent Brayard
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/06/20/tryzub-the-national-revolution-fantasized-by-ukranian-nationalists/

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs
Gilbert Doctorow
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/06/20/right-between-the-eyes-putin-to-the-west-at-the-st-petersburg-economic-forum/


Artillery of June — Andrei Martyanov (video 31.21)

 


Artillery of June
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/Lk8h9KoEmlc

Links — 20 JUNE 2022 Part 1

Moon of Alabama
Ukraine SitRep - Lysichansk Cauldron - Sinking Morale - More Provocations
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/ukraine-sitrep-lysichansk-cauldron-sinking-morale-more-provocations.html

Graham E. Fuller
Some hard thoughts about post Ukraine
Graham E. Fuller | adjunct professor of history at Simon Fraser University, formerly vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA, and a former senior political scientist at RAND Corp
https://grahamefuller.com/some-hard-thoughts-about-post-ukraine/

Gilbert Doctorow — International relations, Russian affairs
Analysis of the French legislative election on Iran’s Press TV
Gilbert Doctorow
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/06/20/analysis-of-the-french-legislative-election-on-irans-press-tv/

Associated Press
As Po dries up, Italy’s food and energy supplies are at risk (Putin strikes again?)
Paulo Santalucia

Kanekoa's Newsletter
OSCE Reports Reveal Ukraine Started Shelling The Donbas Nine Days Before Russia's 'Special Military Operation' (in addition to the shelling since the cease fire that killed over 10,000 people over the years, which Russia labels "genocide," and which was not reported in the Western media. The attack was not "unprovoked," and the provocation began with NATO expansion.)
KanekoaTheGreat
https://kanekoa.substack.com/p/osce-reports-reveal-ukraine-started

TASS (Russian state media)
LPR divulges Washington’s plans to deploy NATO bases in Donbass republics
https://tass.com/world/1468563

Lithuania introduces ban on goods transit to Kaliningrad after consultations with EC
https://tass.com/economy/1468365

FSB publishes papers on participation of Latvian Nazi collaborators in mass murder of Jews
https://tass.com/society/1468231

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
Ukraine’s top opposition party banned
https://www.rt.com/news/557500-ukraine-bans-opposition-platform-for-life-party/
Lithuania comments on blockade of Russia’s Kaliningrad
https://www.rt.com/news/557476-lithuania-kaliningrad-blockade-european-commission/

US blackmailed Pakistan into regime change – former PM [Imran Khan]
https://www.rt.com/news/557473-imran-khan-us-plot/

Oilprice
Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia As China’s Top Oil Supplier
Tsvetana Paraskova
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russia-Overtakes-Saudi-Arabia-As-Chinas-Top-Oil-Supplier.html

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
Austrian Foreign Minister Fears EU Loses 'Information War' With Russia Across Globe
https://sputniknews.com/20220620/austrian-foreign-minister-fears-eu-loses-information-war-with-russia-across-globe-1096491675.html

China Announces Successful Anti-Ballistic Missile Test Amid Push to ‘Enhance Defense Capabilities’
https://sputniknews.com/20220620/china-announces-successful-anti-ballistic-missile-test-amid-push-to-enhance-defense-capabilities-1096487373.html

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Kyiv’s Forces Attacked Russian Drilling Rigs Near Crimea. Casualties Reported
https://southfront.org/kyivs-forces-attacked-russian-drilling-rigs-near-crimea-casualties-reported/

Antiwar
Ukraine Parliament Passes New Laws Seeking To Purge Russian Culture
 Kyle Anzalone
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/06/19/ukraine-parliament-passes-new-laws-seeking-to-purge-russian-culture/

Zero Hedge
Germany Rations Gas Amid Russian Cuts, Mandates Return To Coal For Electricity Production
Tyler Durden
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/germany-rations-gas-amid-russian-cuts-mandates-return-coal-electricity-production
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/outrage-nazi-loving-police-chief-gets-15-million-bonus-displaying-obergruppenfuhrer
Tyler Durden

The Duran

Michael Hudson — The Fed’s Austerity Program to Reduce Wages

To Wall Street and its backers, the solution to any price inflation is to reduce wages and public social spending. The orthodox way to do this is to push the economy into recession in order to reduce hiring. Rising unemployment will oblige labor to compete for jobs that pay less and less as the economy slows.

This class-war doctrine is the prime directive of neoliberal economics.…
Michael Hudson — On Finance, Real Estate And The Powers Of Neoliberalism
Michael Hudson: The Fed’s Austerity Program to Reduce Wages
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/2022/06/the-feds-austerity-program-to-reduce-wages/

See also

Naked Capitalism
Michael Hudson Talks About Almost Everything with Jonathan Brown (transcript)
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/michael-hudson-talks-about-almost-everything-with-jonathan-brown.html


Bill Mitchell — Eurozone anti-fragmentation confusion – its really simple – the ECB has to continue to fund deficits or kaput!

The French National Assembly results from the weekend are a good outcome. Not the best, but good, although the continued presence of the Right is disturbing. At least Macron’s group of Europhiles has lost its absolute majority with the new Left alliance becoming a viable opposition. The polarisation – with a surge from the Right and the strong performance of the real Left rather than the lite Socialist Party version – is indicative of what Europe has become – a fractured, divided, divergent set of nations and regions. If the Left had have seen the value in this unity ticket during the Presidential election things might have been different. But better late than ever. France will now find it hard pushing further neoliberal policies and there will be pressures on the government to defy the fiscal rules and redress some of the shocking deficiencies that the neoliberal period has created. But, those pressures are coming squarely up against the impending crisis facing the monetary union. All the economics talk in Europe at the moment is indicative of the plight that monetary union faces after papering over the cracks during the first two-and-a-half years of the pandemic. After years of holding the bond spreads down, with their asset purchasing programs, things are changing as the ECB is pressured to follow suit and hike interest rates and abandon their bond buying. If they do both things, then there will be a crisis quick smart because nations like Italy will face increasing yields on their borrowing which will run out of control. So, the solution – another ad hoc response – an “anti-fragmentation” tool. If it sounds like a joke that keeps on rolling, you would not be wrong. More paper, same cracks....

There is only one way to fix a bad design and that is re-design. The EZ got off on the wrong foot with Maastricht. They need to revisit the treaty or abandon the euro. The only way to fix the treaty is to go to a political union that includes a fiscal union instead of only a monetary union that requires nations to cede their monetary sovereignty. Is the EZ ready politically for a constitutional shift to a federation? This requires nations to cede even more national sovereignty.

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Eurozone anti-fragmentation confusion – its really simple – the ECB has to continue to fund deficits or kaput!
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=49990

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Links — 19 June 2022 Part 2

CaitlinJohnstone.com
The Guardian Churns Out Embarrassingly Awful Empire Propaganda
Caitlin Johnstone
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2022/06/19/the-guardian-churns-out-embarrassingly-awful-empire-propaganda/

Zero Hedge
Ukraine Says "Prepare For The Worst" In Donbas; Kharkiv Will Likely Be Next "Frontline City"
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-says-prepare-worst-donbas-kharkiv-will-likely-be-next-frontline-city

Western Populations Must Do More For Ukraine Even If "Costs Of Food & Fuel Are High": NATO Chief [ Jens Stoltenberg]
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/we-must-do-more-ukraine-even-if-costs-food-fuel-are-high-western-populations-nato
Tyler Durden

Luongo: Russia's New Rules
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/luongo-russias-new-rules
Tom Luongo

RT — Question More (Russian state-sponsored media)
UK should be ready ‘to fight in Europe’ – army chief [General Patrick Sanders]
https://www.rt.com/news/557443-uk-russia-army-europe/

Reminiscence of the Future
They Still Cannot Resign Themselves...
Andrei Martyanov, former USSR naval officer and expert on Russian military and naval issues.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/06/they-still-cannot-resign-themselves.html

Sputnik International (Russian state-sponsored media)
40-Truck US Convoy Loaded With Stolen Wheat Smuggled Out of Syria: Report
https://sputniknews.com/20220619/40-truck-us-convoy-loaded-with-stolen-wheat-smuggled-out-of-syria-report-1096460749.html

EU Could Fall Apart Before Ukraine Joins, [former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev Says
https://sputniknews.com/20220619/eu-could-fall-apart-before-ukraine-joins-medvedev-says-1096448969.html

Bracing Views
The Pentagon Cowbird (Pentagon parasitism]
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/2022/06/19/the-pentagon-cowbird/

Southfront (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Russia Says 50 Senior Officers Of Kiev Forces Were Killed In Kalibr Missile Strike (Video)
https://southfront.org/russia-says-50-senior-officers-of-kiev-forces-were-killed-in-kalibr-missile-strike-video/

TASS (Russian state media)
US weapons supplies to Kiev won’t force Russia to comply with Washington rules – [Russian FM Sergei] Lavrov
https://tass.com/politics/1468155

Defend Democracy Press
US Federal Reserve says its goal is ‘to get wages down’
Benjamin Norton
http://www.defenddemocracy.press/us-federal-reserve-says-its-goal-is-to-get-wages-down/






Links — 19 June 2022 Part 1

India Punchline
West at inflection point in Ukraine war
MK. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador.
https://www.indianpunchline.com/west-at-inflection-point-in-ukraine-war/

The Vineyard of the Saker
Sitrep Operation Z: 💥 Theme Kalibr Kaboom!
The Saker Staff
http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-%f0%9f%92%a5-theme-kalibr-kaboom/

The American Conservative
When The Lies Come Home
Col. (ret.) Douglas Macgregor
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/when-the-lies-come-home/

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/06/the-moa-week-in-review-not-ukraine-ot-2022-89.html

Asia Times
Jess Pao
https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/russias-bourse-to-start-trading-hk-stocks/

One World
Andrew Korybko, American geopolitical analyst and independent journalist based in Moscow, and member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia
https://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2990

Turcopolier
Juneteenth – TTG
https://turcopolier.com/juneteenth-ttg/