A Proposed Definition of Market Economy
In this post, I give a proposed definition of the term “market”:
A market is the set of social arrangements under which people buy and sell specific goods and services at a specific point in time.
Social arrangements means all of the…
Jeb! Manspreads His Way into the Foreign Policy Debate
Vote Jeb! 2016: Because every American man deserves a seat for each of his balls.
Perhaps I'm being petty, getting so bugged by Jeb's utter lack of awareness not just by his body language, but the message that that most annoying male…
Nick Rasmussen's Leak Interviews
This is a detail I've meant to post on for some time, but the discussion of ODNI's latest on leaks has finally prompted me to point to this detail.
As part of the standard questionnaire for Intelligence Committee nominees, Rasmussen was asked…
After Five Years, Saudis Will Finally Get Their Drones to Strike Houthis
Thanks to Chelsea Manning, we know that almost exactly five years ago, the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith met with the then Assistant Minister for Defense Khalid bin Sultan about a disastrous Saudi air attack on a Houthi hospital…
In War That Didn't End, UN Finds Afghan Civilian Deaths Up 25% Over Previous Year
Washington has tried its very best to sweep the war in Afghanistan under the rug. Most of the press dutifully went along with the fiction of declaring the war to have ended in December. The military joined in, trying to classify virtually all…
DOJ Doesn't Want You To Think CIA Doctored Evidence in the Sterling Trial
On October 4, 2011 (just before Jeffrey Sterling's trial was originally due to start) the government submitted a motion that, in part, sought to prevent Sterling from presenting "any evidence or any argument that the CIA has manipulated documents."…
The Secret Squirrels Pitching "Countering Violent Extremism"
For the record, I believe our country needs some kind of program to divert wayward young men -- of whatever race, religion, and ideology -- rather than ensnaring them in stings that will result in a wasted life.
Mind you, the government is…
Mossad Now Issuing Denials for CIA?
Ten days ago, I noted that -- after he denied it to me -- Newsweek's editor, Jim Impoco, admitted that his magazine had sat on a story about CIA's role in killing Imad Mugniyeh in 2008.
Almost exactly a week ago, theWashington Post reported on…
The Merlin Operation: Bob S' 70% Thinking
When he cross-examined the Merlin Operation manager Bob S at Jeffrey Sterling's trial, defense attorney Barry Pollock asked whether Bob S thought he was doing 70% of the thinking on the operation. When Bob S denied that, Pollock reminded…
Loretta Lynch: Not Enough Evidence to Charge HSBC Banksters
As part of her Questions for the Record, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch was asked about her role in the HSBC handslap in 2012. (See Q 38, h/t Katherine Hawkins)
38. As United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, you…
A Proposed Definition of Market
Over several posts, I have criticized standard economic textbook definitions of market, here and here. I neglected to mention one, the idea that markets are an emergent phenomenon; here’s a discussion of that lunatic definition. Here’s my…
Merlin's Testimony: "It's Lie," "I Don't Remember," and "I Don't Know"
I've finally gotten a hold of the transcript for Merlin's testimony in the Jeffrey Sterling trial (working on getting something I can post; he was apparently difficult to understand, in any case, so not even people present understood all this).
Reading…
Military Just Can't Kick Its Afghanistan Habit, Picks Up Pace of Night Raids
The US military's addiction to war in Afghanistan is now in its fourteenth year. Such a long addiction can't just be ended in a weekend of going cold turkey. Much of the effort to end the war has been cosmetic and semantic. Although troop levels…
Dianne Feinstein Calls Out NCTC Head for Bullshit Torture Report Threat Assessment
Today's SSCI public hearing was remarkably useful, in spite of Chairman Burr's interrupting a chain of serious questions to ask a clown question of National Counterterrorism Center head Nick Rasmussen. Roy Blunt, Marco Rubio, and Angus King…
Matt DeHart Denied Asylum in Canada
“It was an FBI investigation into the [Central Intelligence Agency’s] practices.”
Matt DeHart claims that all his troubles stem from a file uploaded, twice, to a Tor server he ran out of a closet in his parent's home. An FBI investigation…
"Success" in GWOT: Evacuated Embassies in Yemen, Open Season on Muslims in US
You can bet that the "he was just a disturbed person who snapped, don't look at it as a trend" pieces to start flowing any minute, but how can we see the brutal, senseless murders of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha…
Judge White Makes Crucial Error While Capitulating to State Secrets, Again
Judge Jeffrey White, who has been presiding over the EFF's challenges to warrantless wiretapping since Vaughn Walker retired, just threw out part of Carolyn Jewel's challenge to the dragnet on standing and state secrets ground (h/t Mike Scarcella).
Based…
DOJ IG Michael Horowitz Points Out How Premature 215 Reauthorization Would Be. Again.
Back in November, I pointed out how batshit crazy it was to rush to pass USA Freedom Act -- legislation purporting to provide new transparency requirements and requiring new IG Reports -- when a report that was pending for 1,616 days was being…
Sometimes, Death Just Happens
Both the White House and Kayla Jean Meuller have released statements confirming the death of the young humanitarian worker.
Here's the White House:
It is with profound sadness that we have learned of the death of Kayla Jean Mueller. On behalf…
The Problem With Market Definitions
It is an article of faith in the US that the free market system is the best possible system for allocating scarce resources. Samuelson and Nordhaus have a long explanation of the glories of this kind of allocation. Economics 2005 ed. P. 26.…