Study: You have 'near zero' impact on U.S. Policy … A startling new political science study concludes that corporate interests and mega wealthy individuals control U.S. policy to such a degree that "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact." – BreitbartDominant Social Theme: If people were...Read More

Legalizing pot is OK, but not a priority for Canadians: poll … Poll shows Canadians are OK with legalization … According to a new poll, most Canadians support legalizing marijuana, but don't see it as a pressing issue. Six out of every 10 people polled said they would support pro-marijuana legislation, according to a survey by Angus Reid Global. However, most respondents said it...Read More

All the myths that are fit to print: Why your news feels familiar …. Has some wise guy flipped a switch and thrown the news into summer reruns? Everywhere you look in your news feed is a story you've seen before … There are two reasons we shouldn't automatically reject news that's dressed up as myth by our favorite publications, websites, and TV channels. Used judiciously b...Read More

Crisis stalks Europe again as deflation deepens, Germany stalls … Data from Germany, Italy and Portugal put pressure on ECB to act … The ECB is waiting to see whether its new four-year loans for banks will stop the relentless contraction of credit and stave off the threat of a Japanese-style deflation trap … Portugal has crashed into deep deflation and Italy's inflation rate...Read More

The US, IS and the conspiracy theory sweeping Lebanon … Is America behind the creation of the Islamic State? … The BBC's Suzanne Kianpour, in Beirut, looks at the latest conspiracy theory doing the rounds in Lebanon. "In the Middle East, conspiracy theories are in our blood," one former Lebanese official said over lunch in a restaurant in central Beirut. He was referring...Read More

US Fed's Fischer warns of poor growth … The Federal Reserve's vice-chairman has pointed to weak labour force participation and a soft US housing recovery as two reasons for disappointing global growth, saying this could be a long-term phenomenon. Stanley Fischer's comments reflected continuing concern about the economy that has fuelled debate over whether the Fed should move soon...Read More

The Libertarian Fantasy … In the latest Times Magazine, Robert Draper profiled youngish libertarians — roughly speaking, people who combine free-market economics with permissive social views — and asked whether we might be heading for a "libertarian moment." Well, probably not. Polling suggests that young Americans tend, if anything, to be more supportive of the case fo...Read More

Karl Marx was right — at least about one thing … While the steady or slightly accelerating global growth rates predicted by the IMF is the most likely outcome, it may not be achievable because of three imbalances: social, geographical and demographic. These seem deeply embedded in the structure of global capitalism today. They are weakening demand, creating excess savings and driving t...Read More

Fools at the Fire … In the heat, in the still gloaming, we set up camp near a snowbank across from a glacier and a symphony of waterfalls. North Cascades National Park, a few hours' drive from Seattle, can always be counted on as a compress to the rest of the country's fever. Then, out of the park a few days later, down the valley to the arid east, it seems as if half of Washington S...Read More

Has the 'Libertarian Moment' Finally Arrived? … "Let's say Ron Paul is Nirvana," said Kennedy, the television personality and former MTV host, by way of explaining the sort of politician who excites libertarians like herself. "Like, the coolest, most amazing thing to come along in years, and the songs are nebulous but somehow meaningful, and the lead singer kills h...Read More

Medical Marijuana, Physicians, and State Law … As Massachusetts prepares to implement its new medical-marijuana law, agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have reportedly visited at least seven Massachusetts physicians at their homes or offices and told them they must either give up their DEA registration or sever formal ties with proposed medical-marijuana dispensaries...Read More

Charles Koch: How to Really Turn the Economy Around … For years, Washington politicians have said that our economy is turning the corner. They said it in 2011, in 2013 and again last week — every time they report a quarter with 4% economic growth. But each time, the economy has turned sluggish again. Like most Americans, I am deeply concerned about our weak economic recovery and its ef...Read More

Washington Post Worries That Global Warming Could Make Ebola Worse … In a wildly speculative Tuesday editorial, the Washington Post worried that global warming "could" make the spread of the Ebola virus worse as time goes on. In its August 5 Capitol Weather Gang blog post, the Post helpfully reported that Ebola is "out of control" and then goes on to wonder: "Could c...Read More

Twitter Africa: The Richest Region For Young Workers And Consumers … Africa does not have the wealth that has piled up on the North American and European continents over many centuries. But it does have something richer regions now lack: lots of young people. While other continents have aging populations, Africa is giving birth to a new generation of consumers and workers. Sub-Saharan Africa...Read More

A New Report Argues Inequality Is Causing Slower Growth. Here's Why It Matters … Is income inequality holding back the United States economy? A new report argues that it is, that an unequal distribution in incomes is making it harder for the nation to recover from the recession and achieve the kind of growth that was commonplace in decades past. The report is interesting not because it o...Read More

There's No Defense for Today's Income Inequality … Our political discourse today is riven by the issue of inequality. Some commentators embrace inequality as an inevitable byproduct of free markets. Others say inequality is greatly overstated. Both claims are harmful and deceptive … Americans simply do not have equal opportunities. This is more than an ethical or social issue:...Read More

Why We Should Remember Tonkin … Fifty years later, Americans still don't understand … Based on the writings of Le Duan, the Politburo's First-Secretary and the man truly running North Vietnam throughout the war, we can see that the party leader had no wish to confront a flood of U.S. ground troops … Beyond mourning for the millions dead, massive destruction, savage fighti...Read More

Clashes with Russia point to globalization's end … As the European Union and the United States ramp up their sanctions on Russia, President Vladimir Putin's plans for retaliation seem to include an attack on McDonald's. There could not be a more powerful symbol that geopolitics is increasingly undoing the globalization of the world economy … After 25 years of being bound to...Read More

Police files reveal 'endemic corruption' at the Met … Documents show how organised crime networks were able to infiltrate the force 'at will' … Scotland Yard holds an astonishing 260 crates of documents on police corruption in one corner of London alone – and very few of the rogue detectives have ever been successfully prosecuted. A review led by one of Britain...Read More

Yes, Stocks Could Drop 50% … After meandering higher for most of the year, the stock market is now sputtering. That's triggering chatter about a minor "correction," which many people believe is long overdue. And maybe that's what we're at the start of, a minor correction. Or maybe this is just a blip, and the brilliant and prudent Jeremy Grantham is right that we're...Read More