Study Finds No Link Between Military Suicide Rate and Deployments … In 2013, a former combat videographer, Kathryn Robinson, described trying to get her life back on track after her return from Iraq left her with P.T.S.D. and thoughts of suicide. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Military service doesn't cause depression. Well … it's complicated.Free-Market Analysis:...Read More

Why are interest rates so low? … The Fed's ability to affect real rates of return, especially longer-term real rates, is transitory and limited. Except in the short run, real interest rates are determined by a wide range of economic factors, including prospects for economic growth—not by the Fed. – Ben Bernanke's BlogDominant Social Theme: Let us be educated about money b...Read More

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us … The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. "You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better," the agency's chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club. Republicans have...Read More

Body Count Report Reveals At Least 1.3 Million Lives Lost to US-Led War on Terror … Although a conservative estimate, physicians' groups say the figure 'is approximately 10 times greater' than typically reported … – CommonDreams.orgDominant Social Theme: These are just skirmishes.Free-Market Analysis: It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages....Read More

Teen libertarian is face of Brazil's young free-market right … The March 15 demonstration was the largest Sao Paulo had seen in more than three decades, since 1984 protests demanding democratic elections after a long dictatorship. But more surprising than the crowd of over 200,000, according to the Datafolha polling and statistics agency, was the fact it was being led by Kataguiri, a ski...Read More

Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Asian Capitalism … When Lee Kuan Yew took office, Singapore was poor; in 2015, it's one of the richest countries in the world. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Prosperity has little to do with freedom.Free-Market Analysis: Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership"...Read More

Africa and Around the World … Experience has shown that force alone cannot reduce the drug supply or the criminality and corruption that it induces. – Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation via Vice magazineDominant Social Theme: We were wrong. But let's not dwell on the past.Free-Market Analysis: Leaders in high places around the world are making it clear that the drug war...Read More

Piketty's Three Big Mistakes … Piketty, remember, is the French economist who became a celebrity for his work on inequality. In his blockbuster book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," he asserts that the rate at which capital owners' wealth increases is almost always larger than the rate of economic growth. If that's true, it means that the rich get richer, and wea...Read More

Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal … A major publisher of scholarly medical and science articles has retracted 43 papers because of "fabricated" peer reviews amid signs of a broader fake peer review racket affecting many more publications. – Washington PostDominant Social Theme: Science saves us?Free-Market Analysis: The breadth...Read More

Stock market rigging is no longer a 'conspiracy theory' … The stock market is rigged. When I started making that claim years ago — and provided solid evidence — people scoffed. Some called it a conspiracy theory, tinfoil hats and that sort of stuff. Most people just ignored me. But that's not happening anymore. The dirty secret is out. – Justohn Crudele/New York...Read More

How Jeremy Clarkson lost his job as 'Top Gear' host … Jeremy Clarkson, hugely famous in the United Kingdom for his job as a presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear," is now a former presenter on the BBC's "Top Gear." The BBC sacked him Wednesday after wrapping up its investigation into "an unprovoked physical and verbal attack" by Clarkson on a member o...Read More

Guess What's Destroying the Middle Class? … Perhaps the biggest question in American political economy right now is why middle-class wages have been falling. There are three main hypotheses. Roughly, these are: Robots, unions and China. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Something is always destroying jobs. People are helpless to withstand the challenges.Free-Market Analysis: Once m...Read More

Smart city index coming to Indonesia … Decades ago, urban conglomerations competed to clinch "global city" or "world city" status by luring big corporations to establish headquarters in their city. Now, the global "smart city" concept has reached Indonesia. – Jakarta TimesDominant Social Theme: Once information technology has centralized every corporate an...Read More

Europe once more sleep-walks towards the abyss … Both Berlin and Athens have wildly underestimated the financial, economic and geo-political consequences of default … Not for the first time, Europeans are deluding themselves. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: The Greek crisis is blown out of proportion. Eventually there will be a resolution and the EU will continue …Free...Read More

Ford's new car will force you to obey the speed limit … Much as we'd like to emulate our NASCAR heroes, breaking the speed limit often comes at a price. Ford is hoping to prevent accidents and speeding tickets by introducing cars that can see what the speed limit is and preventing heavy-footed motorists from driving any faster. Ford's Intelligent Speed Limiter tech will first app...Read More

The world's next credit crunch could make 2008 look like a hiccup. Is this why central bankers are so scared of raising interest rates? – TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Markets go up and down. Not to worry.Free-Market Analysis: This is a good analysis of what could go wrong with world markets (especially Western and US ones) and why … It touches on a number of memes: Sort through...Read More

Yemen could become 'protracted conflict' envoy warns … The conflict in Yemen could become "protracted in the vein of an Iraq, Syria, Libya combined scenario'' the UN's special envoy has warned. Jamal Benomar was speaking as the Security Council met in New York to express support for ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Mr Hadi fled the capital Sanaa in February a...Read More

How to Build Economies … Brian Pinto worked as an economist in the World Bank for almost 30 years and saw many grand development initiatives – some successful, others botched – up close. In "How Does My Country Grow?: Economic Advice Through Story-Telling" he distills the lessons of this experience. Don't be misled by the whimsical title. It's a serious, and ser...Read More

The U.S. Military Just Plunged Philippine Politics into Crisis … American fingerprints are all over a botched commando raid in the southern Philippines that left dozens dead and shocked the country. – Foreign Policy In Focus and TheNation.comDominant Social Theme: The US must defend itself and other countries from terrorism.Free-Market Analysis: This is one of those articles that deser...Read More

The Man Who Can Save Brazil … A million-plus protesters in the streets and a 13 percent approval rating tend to concentrate a politician's mind … Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff [should] get out of the way of Brazil's finance minister, Joaquim Levy. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: What is needed in Brazil is authority and austerity.Free-Market Analysis: This article...Read More