When the bubble burst housing construction fell back not just to its normal levels, but to its lowest share of GDP on record. The reason is that the construction from the bubble led to enormous overbuilding, which meant record high vacancy rates. The loss of $8 trillion in housing wealth led to an end of the bubble driven consumption boom. Taken together, the falloff in residential construction and the drop in consumption implied a loss in annual demand of more than 6 percentage points of GDP (@ $1.1 trillion in today’s economy).
There was no easy way to replace this loss in demand. Investment was not about to jump by 50 percent. Net exports could and did increase, but this is a slow process. In short, when the bubble burst we were destined to have a serious recession with or without the financial crisis.
Category Archives: What interests us
U.S. military aid and endless war
The reason lies with the incentives that U.S. military aid creates.
Limitless and beyond the view of the public, U.S. military aid is a tap foreign governments don’t want to turn off. The longer they’re “fighting terrorists,” the more “security assistance” they get. There’s no reason for them to actually defeat terrorists, because if they did, the cash would go away. Instead, foreign security partners are incentivized to maintain a form everlasting instability, wherein nobody wins and everybody loses.
Extra F-35s and F/A-18s in US Budget 2016
The $1.15 trillion spending package would fund the government in Fiscal 2016 if passed by both chambers of Congress. It includes $572.7 billion for defence, of which $111 billion procures new hardware and $69.8 funds research and development.
If passed, the spending deal would bless the F-35 programme with $1.33 billion in additional procurement money for an extra three F-35As, six F-35Bs and two F-35Cs, just as production ramps up in Fort Worth, Texas.
Continue reading
The priority for the NHS is healthcare not balancing the books
I would add, before commenting, that Sir Amyas Morse was previously a senior partner at PWC.
Maybe that is what informs his view. I cannot, of course, be sure, but what is offered here is quite extraordinary. First there is surprise that:
Running a deficit seems to be becoming normal practice for acute trusts.
Of course it is! Why on earth would an NHS trust want to underspend the money it has been given? When its job is to provide health services why would it decide not to do that? These are not private sector activities run for gain. They are public sector services run to meet need. In that case of course deficits are what they should expect. That Sir Amyas does not comprehend that leads to doubt as to his fitness for the task given to him.
Continue reading
SIPRI: Rising arms exports from Germany and Russia
The first development which has to be pointed out is the fact that the total sales of the world’s top 100 arms producing companies are quite stable. They have gone down a bit over the past two years, but not that much. We are also seeing a more regional, or more national development – and one of them is very clear: Russian companies have seen a very steep increase in their total sales. So, the companies in the top 100 based in Russia have increased their revenues from 2013 to 2014 by almost 50 percent. That is a very significant change. By contrast, there was a fall in revenues of companies in the US and western Europe.
NHS trusts are forced to take pay day loans
Some NHS hospitals are so cash-strapped that they are having to take out emergency loans to pay doctors, nurses and other staff salaries every month, HuffPost UK can reveal.
A string of NHS trusts are taking out multi-million pound loans – and having to pay interest on them to the Government – simply to ensure wages are met at the end of each month.
Continue reading
Fracking firms’ tax haven ownership
This includes companies based in tax havens such as Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, all of which were recently placed on an EU tax haven blacklist for being “non-cooperative” with efforts to combat tax avoidance.
45% of Cuadrilla is held by Riverstone Holdings through a Cayman Islands-based investment fund, while another 45% is held by Australian company AJ Lucas, which is 50% owned and substantially bankrolled by Kerogen Capital, registered in the Caymans.
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Illegal weapons can be easily bought on Amazon online
Banned and dangerous weapons, many of them disguised as everyday items, are being routinely and illegally sold to online shoppers on Amazon.co.uk, a Guardian investigation has found.
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United States Air Force may reduce F-35 purchases
The United States Air Force may have to reduce the amount of F-35s it buys over the next 10 years as aircraft research and procurement threatens to overwhelm an already tight military budget, according to a Congressional research report released earlier this week. The Air Force is looking at the possibility of cutting back on the 60 F-35 purchases a year that are currently proposed over the next decade.
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UBI: Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands
Switzerland has turned its back on a basic income scheme, in which the federal government would have given every resident a monthly payment – expected to be around 2500 Swiss Francs ($2,500) – “regardless of their income and assets”.
Although voters rejected the move in a referendum at the weekend, Switzerland isn’t the only country weighing up a basic-income experiment. Around 10,000 people in Finland could soon be paid €550 each month if the government goes ahead with a universal basic income pilot project.
Continue reading
British Nuclear Arsenal’s many safety problems
For the British Parliament and much of the media, the problem is mainly the vast amounts of money spent to keep it going. According to the U.K. Ministry of Defense, the program’s total cost is £15-20 billion. Anti-nuclear campaigners give a figure of around £100 billion, give or take. At least, that’s how much it should rack up in costs over its 40 year lifespan.
However, what is less talked about is how both the submarines and the bases that maintain them have suffered from a series of glaring safety mishaps. …
Continue reading
William Perry: a new nuclear arms race
Two decades later, Perry has written a new book, “My Journey at the Nuclear Brink,” in which he offers a dire warning: “Far from continuing the nuclear disarmament that has been underway for the last two decades, we are starting a new nuclear arms race.” …
Continue reading
A good analysis of the rise of ISIS
War and imperialism, on one side, and the growing reach of jihadist terrorism, on the other, are said to be locked together in a mutually reinforcing embrace of violence and destruction. “Imperialist cruelty and Islamist cruelty feed each other,” the French Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA) argued shortly after the Paris attacks. In order to break this nihilistic death grip, we need to oppose foreign intervention, put an end to imperialist violence, and halt the ongoing plunder of wealth from countries in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere.
The basic logic of this argument is undoubtedly sound. But in terms of explanatory value, this kind of analysis does not go far enough. It suffers from too much generality and abstractness — telling us little about the specificity of this particular moment, or the nature of ISIS as a movement. By attributing a kind of automaticity or natural mirror between ISIS and imperialism, we can miss the all-important context and history that has shaped the remarkably rapid rise of the organization.
5% — December 2015
Hilary Benn’s ‘Internationalism’
http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2015/12/03/michael-chessum/hilary-benns-internationalism/
Defense Contractors Cite “Benefits” of Escalating Conflicts in the Middle East
https://theintercept.com/2015/12/04/defense-contractors-cite-benefits-of-escalating-conflicts-in-the-middle-east/
Osborne reliant on rising immigration levels to achieve budget surplus
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/01/osborne-reliant-on-rising-immigration-levels-to-achieve-budget-surplus
Finland plans to give every citizen 800 euros a month and scrap benefits
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-plans-to-give-every-citizen-800-euros-a-month-and-scrap-benefits-a6762226.html
The ISIS Fight Is Reshaping US Arms Exports to Its Partners
http://www.defenseone.com/management/2015/12/isis-fight-reshaping-us-arms-exports-its-partners/124161/
Why Russia needs China to buy its weapons
http://www.dw.com/en/why-russia-needs-china-to-buy-its-weapons/a-18870472
UK flooding, austerity and the media
http://mainlymacro.blogspot.be/2015/12/uk-flooding-austerity-and-media.html
NHS trust urges staff to ration stationery and stamps as cash crisis plumbs new depths
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-trust-urges-staff-to-ration-stationery-and-stamps-as-cash-crisis-plumbs-new-depths-a6762741.html
None Of The Seven Foiled UK Terror Plots Was Directed From Syria, Senior MPs Claim
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34962228/army-chief-were-still-failing-to-attract-enough-young-recruits
UK To Boost Investment in Technology Innovation
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/2015/12/07/uk-boost-investment-technology-innovation/76927888/
Do little, hide the evidence: the official neglect that caused these deadly floods
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/07/hide-evidence-storm-desmond-floods-paris-talks
The Isis papers: leaked documents show how Isis is building its state
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/leaked-isis-document-reveals-plan-building-state-syria
The fall of Jersey: how a tax haven goes bust
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/08/fall-of-jersey-how-tax-haven-goes-bust
NHS rationing ‘is denying patients care’ as cash crisis deepens
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/dec/08/nhs-rationing-denying-patients-care-cash-crisis-survery-doctors
Osborne will miss target of doubling exports
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/osborne-will-miss-target-of-doubling-exports-9907273.html
Blair’s frail legacy shows why Labour must win arguments as well as votes
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/11/blair-frail-legacy-labour-corbynistas
The Unbearable Lightness of America’s War Against the Islamic State
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/11/the-unbearable-lightness-of-americas-war-against-the-islamic-state-obama-san-bernardino-us/
James Hansen, father of climate change awareness, calls Paris talks ‘a fraud’
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud
Defense Contractors Cite “Benefits” of Escalating Conflicts in the Middle East
https://theintercept.com/2015/12/04/defense-contractors-cite-benefits-of-escalating-conflicts-in-the-middle-east/
Paris climate negotiations won’t stop the planet burning
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/paris-climate-negotiations-won-t-stop-planet-burning-1543258788
UK looks at nuclear option over Rolls-Royce crisis
https://next.ft.com/content/41a4756a-a1a2-11e5-bc70-7ff6d4fd203a
British parties are suffering a slow death. What’s left are elites and cults
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/14/british-party-democracy-long-slow-death-elites-cults
The new nuclear arms race
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-new-nuclear-arms-race/2015/12/11/83445bc0-a021-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp: Finland’s basic income: a test case for our global economic future?
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/gordon-macintyre-kemp-finlands-basic-income-a-test-case-for-our-global-economic-future.11067
GO SEE “THE BIG SHORT” RIGHT NOW — AND THEN READ THIS
https://theintercept.com/2015/12/14/go-see-the-big-short-right-now-and-then-read-this/
Britain’s Nuclear Arsenal Is a Hazardous Mess
http://warisboring.com/articles/britains-nuclear-arsenal-is-a-hazardous-mess/
NHS faces unprecedented funding black hole, warns National Audit Office
http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/nhs-faces-unprecedented-funding-black-hole-warns-national-audit-office-11364029103635
US Defense Spending: Amid Tight Military Budget, Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Military Purchases May Need To Be Reduced
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-defense-spending-amid-tight-military-budget-air-force-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-2226281
Revealed: Cuadrilla and leading fracking firms’ tax haven ownership
https://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/12/16/revealed-cuadrilla-and-leading-fracking-firms-tax-haven-ownership/
NHS Hospitals Forced To Take Out Emergency Loans To Pay Doctors And Nurses, HuffPost UK Reveals
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/15/nhs-hospitals-loans-salaries-staff-doctors-nurses_n_8811780.html
The Corporate Takeover of the Red Cross
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-corporate-takeover-of-the-red-cross
By Funding Foreign Militaries, the U.S. Is Spreading Terrorism
http://fpif.org/funding-foreign-militaries-u-s-spreading-terrorism/
The Big Short, the Housing Bubble and the Financial Crisis
http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/the-big-short-the-housing-bubble-and-the-financial-crisis
A Brief History of ISIS
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/12/isis-syria-iraq-war-al-qaeda-arab-spring/
Dutch city plans to pay citizens a ‘basic income’, and Greens say it could work in the UK
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/26/dutch-city-utrecht-basic-income-uk-greens
U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-deals-increased-nearly-10-billion-in-2014.html
A conversation between David Graeber and Thomas Piketty
On capital, debt and the future of capitalism.
Security-led approach to climate change and complex emergencies
Dystopian preparations by the state are reflected in the corporate arena. Where we see a future climate crisis, many companies see only opportunity: oil firms looking forward to melting ice caps delivering new accessible fossil fuels; security firms touting the latest technologies to secure borders from ‘climate refugees’; or investment fund managers speculating on weather-related food prices – to name but a few. In 2012, Raytheon, one of the world’s largest defence contractors, announced “expanded business opportunities” arising from “security concerns and their possible consequences,” due to the “effects of climate change” in the form of “storms, droughts, and floods”. The rest of the defence sector has been quick to follow. Continue reading
The MOD’s £178 billion equipment plan
The review promises nine new maritime patrol aircraft for surveillance, two new Army strike brigades, an additional F-35 Lightning II squadron, and extending the service of Typhoon jets by 10 years through to 2040. …
The MOD will spend £178 billion on equipment over the next decade, an increase of £12 billion on previous plans. The Defence budget will increase by 0.5% above inflation for the rest of this Parliament allowing investment in people, equipment and the MOD estate.
5% — November 2015
How too much medicine can kill you
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/01/drugs-pharma-doctors-patients
When markets fail, sometimes only the regulator’s axe will do
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/when-markets-fail-sometimes-only-the-regulator-s-axe-will-do-a6717186.html
The gathering financial storm is just one effect of corporate power unbound
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/03/financial-crisis-corporate-power-george-monbiot
George Osborne has reached the point where his cuts can no longer be denied or defended
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/02/osborne-austerity-cuts-tax-credit-cuts
The great reinvention of Manchester: ‘It’s far more pleasant than London’
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/03/the-great-reinvention-of-manchester-its-far-more-pleasant-than-london
Pentagon spent $43m on ‘world’s most expensive gas station’ in Afghanistan
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/afghanistan-gas-station-pentagon-natural-gas
Watchdog Accuses Pentagon of Evading Questions on $800 Million Afghanistan Program
https://www.propublica.org/article/watchdog-accuses-pentagon-evading-questions-800-million-afghanistan-program
EPA USED MONSANTO’S RESEARCH TO GIVE ROUNDUP A PASS
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/03/epa-used-monsanto-funded-research/
America’s labour market is not working
https://next.ft.com/content/4dcb5c58-818d-11e5-8095-ed1a37d1e096
The Most Militarized Universities in America: A VICE News Investigation
https://news.vice.com/article/the-most-militarized-universities-in-america-a-vice-news-investigation
Guilty as charged: Irish standup festival puts economics in the dock
http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/nov/08/guilty-as-charged-kilkenomics-irish-standup-festival-puts-economics-in-dock
‘My Body Was Not Mine, but the U.S. Military’s’
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/sex-industry-military-bases-213311
Until it ends its war on drugs, Britain will keep going backwards
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/until-it-ends-its-war-on-drugs-britain-will-keep-going-backwards-a6726511.html
Labour’s postwar chancellor makes Corbynomics look Thatcherite – what can he teach us?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/08/labours-postwar-chancellor-makes-corbynomics-look-thatcherite-what-can-he-teach-us
Housing is the next target in David Cameron’s dismantling of the welfare state
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/10/housing-target-david-cameron-dismantling-welfare-state
David Cameron hasn’t the faintest idea how deep his cuts go. This letter proves it
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/david-cameron-letter-cuts-oxfordshire
Free Trade Is Elites Betraying Their Own Populations
http://www.ianwelsh.net/free-trade-is-elties-betraying-their-own-populations/
2015 Hottest Year on Record So Far
http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/2015-hottest-year-on-record-so-far
Never mind pointless apps – our best minds should be solving real problems
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/laundry-ninjas-free-market-science
Survey finds 41 per cent of young Jews would back sanctions against Israel to advance peace
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/149128/survey-finds-41-cent-young-jews-would-back-sanctions-against-israel-advance-peac
Poll of British Jews finds widespread unease with Israel’s policies
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/12/poll-of-british-jews-finds-widespread-unease-with-israels-policies
How the Bushes Misunderstood Cheney
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-bushes-misunderstood-cheney
Terrorism Is Booming Almost Everywhere But in the United States
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/19/terrorism-is-booming-almost-everywhere-but-in-the-united-states-state-department-report/
Paris attacks: Middle East’s wars arrive in Europe
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/paris-attacks-middle-easts-wars-arrive-europe/25934
Interview with Pierre Conesa: ‘We’ve declared war first in the Middle East’
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/interview-pierre-conesa-we-ve-declared-war-first-middle-east-1191917196
What if Labour’s pessimists are right
http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/what-if-labours-pessimists-are-right.html
City of London police economic crime inquiries fall
https://next.ft.com/content/7a0f9756-8b84-11e5-a549-b89a1dfede9b
We don’t need to sell handbags if we want decent healthcare
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/11/16/we-dont-need-to-sell-handbags-if-we-want-decent-healthcare/
What would the world look like if we defeated Isis?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/isis-military-france-paris-attacks-nato-article-5
Challenging the Myth of Chinese Land Grabs in Africa
http://www.chinafile.com/library/china-africa-project/challenging-myth-chinese-land-grabs-africa
Stock Prices of Weapons Manufacturers Soaring Since Paris Attack
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/16/stock-prices-of-weapons-manufacturers-soaring-since-paris-attack/
George Osborne’s latest wheeze leaves the taxpayer £125m worse off every year. Here’s why
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2015/11/george-osbornes-latest-wheeze-leaves-taxpayer-125m-worse-every-year-heres
If police have to make these cuts, what exactly should they stop doing?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/17/britain-police-cuts-theresa-may
Israel to annex Golan Heights after ‘billion barrel’ oil find
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2986289/israel_to_annex_golan_heights_after_billion_barrel_oil_find.html
Mindless terrorists? The truth about Isis is much worse
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/15/terrorists-isis
Intelligence, not bombs, is the key in the fight against Isis
http://www.theguardian.com/news/defence-and-security-blog/2015/nov/17/intelligence-not-bombs-is-the-key-in-the-fight-against-isis
We accept that Russian bombs can provoke a terror backlash. Ours can too
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/17/russian-bombs-terror-vladimir-putin-syria-david-cameron
I was held hostage by Isis. They fear our unity more than our airstrikes
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/isis-bombs-hostage-syria-islamic-state-paris-attacks
Don’t Give ISIS What It Wants
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/16/dont-give-isis-what-it-wants-united-states-reaction/
Opaque military justice system shields child sex abuse cases
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c7c2772ba05c4241a9bcebcf745d1c71/opaque-military-justice-system-shields-child-sex-abuse
Postcapitalism lecture: London School of Economics
https://medium.com/@paulmasonnews/postcapitalism-lecture-london-school-of-economics-580c68efef83
Shoot-to-kill won’t make us safe from terror – just sorry
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/18/shoot-to-kill-terror-fear-prejudice-jean-charles-de-menezes
Despite Atrocities, US Approves $1.29 Billion Deal To Re-Arm Saudi Arabia
http://www.mintpressnews.com/despite-atrocim-saudi-arabia/211418/
Mothers of ISIS
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/mothers-of-isis/
Bernie Sanders just gave the most powerful speech of his campaign: Why his socialism address was a defining moment
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/20/bernie_sanders_just_gave_the_most_powerful_speech_of_his_campaign_why_his_socialism_address_was_a_defining_moment/
Turkey could cut off Islamic State’s supply lines. So why doesn’t it?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/18/turkey-cut-islamic-state-supply-lines-erdogan-isis
Isis: In a borderless world, the days when we could fight foreign wars and be safe at home may be long gone
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-a-borderless-world-the-days-when-we-could-fight-foreign-wars-and-be-safe-at-home-may-be-long-a6741146.html
Osborne pays out for 138 stealth jets
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Defence/article1636215.ece
Paris: The War ISIS Wants
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/nov/16/paris-attacks-isis-strategy-chaos/
The future’s at stake: the left must show it could create an iPad
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/23/socialism-innovation-ipad-john-mcdonnell
Why the UK’s Fiscal Charter is doomed to fail: An analysis of Austerity Economics during the First and the Second Cameron Governments
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/11/23/why-the-uks-fiscal-charter-is-doomed-to-fail-an-analysis-of-austerity-economics-during-the-first-and-the-second-cameron-governments/
RAF accused over multi-billion pound Voyager contract
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18020809
Does Eleven Plus One Equal Sixty?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-turse/us-military-bases-in-africa_b_8582468.html
Caroline Lucas: The Prime Minister’s narrow focus risks our security
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2015/11/caroline-lucas-prime-ministers-narrow-focus-risks-our-security
PM should order inquiry into funding of jihadism, Paddy Ashdown says
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/24/pm-should-order-inquiry-funding-jihadism-isis-paddy-ashdown
My five tests for backing military action in Syria
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/23/five-tests-military-action-syria-david-cameron-islamic-state
We’ll all pay for the huge mistakes we’re making in the UK housing market
http://uk.businessinsider.com/uk-interest-rates-rise-interest-only-mortgage-and-out-of-control-rent-will-kill-the-housing-market-2015-9
Which Labour MPs support Trident?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/labour-mps-back-trident-20-6892038
We have not heard enough to justify a new war in Syria
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/for-cameron-read-blair-for-syria-read-iraq-a6745741.html
F-35 Too Expensive: US Air Force Might Buy 72 New F-15 or F-16 Fighter Jets
http://thediplomat.com/2015/11/f-35-too-expensive-us-air-force-might-buy-72-new-f-15-or-f-16-fighter-jets/
Defence shares rise as United Kingdom government outlines armed forces plan
http://rapidnewsnetwork.com/defence-shares-rise-as-united-kingdom-government-outlines-armed-forces-plan/305601/
Bibliometricians are really the curse of the age
http://labtimes.org/editorial/e_659.lasso
Consume more, conserve more: sorry, but we just can’t do both
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/24/consume-conserve-economic-growth-sustainability
Cameron doesn’t know what he’s doing so he shouldn’t go to war
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/cameron-doesnt-know-what-hes-doing-so-he-shouldnt-go-war-1307233108
End of austerity? A silent crisis in local services tells the true story
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/26/end-austerity-local-services-osborne-council-cuts
Autumn statement: Osborne isn’t fixing the roof, he’s eroding the foundations
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/25/autumn-statement-osborne-deficit-fixes-eroding-economic-stability
Air strikes in Syria: David Cameron’s strategy can only repeat our mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/air-strikes-in-syria-david-cameron-strategy-can-only-repeat-our-mistakes-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-a6750601.html
U.S. working to keep up with surging weapons demand: Pentagon
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/25/us-usa-arms-idUSKBN0TE0B920151125
Do we really want the military spending our aid budget?
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/nov/25/do-we-really-want-the-military-spending-our-aid-budget
I know Isis fighters. Western bombs falling on Raqqa will fill them with joy
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/27/bomb-isis-west-learned-nothign-from-war-terror-defeat-muslim-world-equal-partner
Britain’s bloated defence spending is at odds with austerity
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/24/britains-bloated-defence-spending-is-at-odds-with-austerity
War on Islamic State Brings $50 Billion Europe Defense Boost
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-24/war-on-islamic-state-brings-50-billion-european-defense-boost
The Facts About Terrorism
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-facts-about-terrorism
Punish errant bankers – or we are doomed to repeat the past
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/punish-errant-bankers-or-we-are-doomed-to-repeat-the-past-a6752411.html
Factcheck: Media reacts to Prince Charles’s comments on Syria and climate change
http://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-media-reacts-to-prince-charles-comments-on-syria-and-climate-change
Syria air strikes debate: David Cameron warned that bombing Isis is a knee-jerk reaction to Paris attacks and would hit civilians
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/syria-air-strikes-debate-bombing-isis-is-a-knee-jerk-reaction-to-paris-attacks-and-would-hit-a6750246.html
RAF base may be legitimate target for Isis, says ex-Nato commander
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/25/raf-base-may-be-legitimate-target-isis-ex-nato-commander
Cameron’s cunning plan for bombing Isis in Syria
https://next.ft.com/content/4d31c8bc-941c-11e5-b190-291e94b77c8f
Is Vladimir Putin right to label Turkey ‘accomplices of terrorists’?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/24/vladimir-putin-turkey-isis-terrorists-warplane-analysis
Another ‘Dodgy Dossier’ for war
https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/timmon-wallis/another-dodgy-dossier-for-war
Islamic State’s Plan, and the West’s Trap
http://oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers_and_reports/islamic_state’s_plan_and_west’s_trap
Labour Cannot Risk Being Tarred as a Party of Illegal and Irrational War Once Again
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/len-mccluskey/labour-syria-bombing-vote_b_8676026.html
Jeremy Corbyn is delivering a message Labour lost long ago
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/02/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-austerity
Why Degrowth has out-grown its own name
https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/why-degrowth-has-out-grown-its-own-name-guest-post-by-kate-raworth/
A Raqqa of the Mind
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n24/james-meek/a-raqqa-of-the-mind
With US help, Saudi Arabia is obliterating Yemen
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6696395/2015/11/30/yemen-conflict-saudi-arabia-airstrikes-war-crimes-united-states
Bombing Hasn’t Worked. Bombing Won’t Work. And Yet, We Will Bomb
http://www.thenation.com/article/bombs-over-brains/
We need to be shocked into action about why wealth still dictates life expectancy
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/30/we-need-to-be-shocked-into-action-about-why-wealth-still-dictates-life-expectancy
Thomas Piketty might have the most controversial theory for what’s behind the rise of ISIS
http://uk.businessinsider.com/thomas-piketty-might-have-the-most-controversial-theory-for-whats-behind-the-rise-of-isis-2015-11
Drones and the 2015 SDSR
http://dronewars.net/2015/11/24/drones-and-the-2015-sdsr/
Does ISIS Direct Attacks or Inspire Them?—And Why That Matters
https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/17/does-isis-control-attacks-or-inspire-the
Speech by Maria Eagle to Labour Party Annual Conference 2015
Maria Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, in a speech to Labour Party Annual Conference, said:
Conference,
Politics is changing. Since we lost the General Election, we have increased our membership by 164,000.
Our new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is inspiring a new generation of members of our Party – people who had not thought politics was for them – but who now want to help us to change our society for the better.
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5% — October 2015
The Record U.S. Military Budget
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicolas-j-s-davies/the-record-us-military-bu_b_8227820.html
Ministers ‘are hiding details of £2bn NHS cash crisis’
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/03/ministers-hiding-details-nhs-cash-crisis
Thanks to Corbyn the country can now, at last, properly debate issues like Trident
http://tomdlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/thanks-to-corbyn-country-can-now-at.html
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Tipping Point North South 