Archive for October, 2009
The War in Afghanistan, Eight Years On
It is hard to believe that the war in Afghanistan is eight years old. I remember vividly the day it started. I was in New York City, less than one month after the 9/11 attacks. I had wandered down to Ground Zero, where there was some kind of plywood viewing platform for gawkers like me. ...Read more.
The Demise of the Dollar (Robert Fisk)
An article by Robert Fisk in today’s Independent is creating a bit of a stir. Fisk alleges that the Saudis and other Middle Eastern governments, and China, Russia, Brazil (BRICs minus India), plus Japan and France, have been engaging in “secret meetings” in which they are planning to “end dollar dealings in oil.” Today’s episode ...Read more.
Buyouts, Bankruptcy, and Bonuses
Today’s New York Times has two terrific articles about the profits that were made, and the damage done, via debt-financed buyouts. One article focuses on the Simmons Bedding Company (think mattresses), which was bought out by one private equity company after another, with the result that the company is now buried in billions of debt ...Read more.
Old Habits at the IMF
A new discussion paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that 31 of 41 of countries with current International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements have been subjected to pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies that, during the current global recession, would be expected to have exacerbated economic slowdowns. … “More than a decade after the Asian ...Read more.
Follow the Money (Matt Bivens)
The latest from TomDispatch, starting with Tom Engelhardt’s intro: Pox Americana With up to 61% of Americans, according to a recent poll, convinced that things are going badly indeed in Afghanistan and an official 9.8% of Americans unemployed, Congress is set to respond. This week, it’s slated to pass a $636 billion appropriations bill for ...Read more.
Just in Time for Copenhagen
…comes this happy bit of news. Not that the findings will increase the likelihood of serious action, anyway. Particularly noteworthy is this riposte to supporters of geoengineering: “Scientists have proposed all sorts of geo-engineering solutions to global warming,” said Gattuso. “For instance, they have proposed spraying the upper atmosphere with aerosol particles that would reduce ...Read more.
September Jobs Report
D&S editor Chris Sturr and I were planning a tag-team response to the horrible jobs numbers yesterday, but beers and dinner intervened, so I’m going to leave commentary in the capable hands of the FT Lex columnist. All the depressing details are covered there. Well, except maybe this…. See you in the dole queue,Larry Peterson
Casino Capitalism as Usual
The latest from our pal Mark Engler, from Foreign Policy in Focus. Casino Capitalism as UsualG20 leaves needed reforms for global economy off the table by Mark Engler Last week’s Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Pittsburgh brought together leaders from the most significant players in the global economy and charged them with renovating the ...Read more.
