The Shrewd Economist
Democracy is an illusion! It’s become a political system fostered by the élite, for the élite, in order to fool the people that they have a stake in the system. In actual fact, they have virtually none. The whole political system in the modern era, despite having noble beginnings, is now used to benefit the few at the expense of the many. – Mark Alexander, June 29, 2018
September 24, 2026
Steve Rosenberg: Russian Newspaper Warns of the "Deterioration of the Economic Situation" in Russia
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
Trump’s UN Speech Was Delusional and Dangerous
THE GUARDIAN: It is sad and dangerous that at such a perilous moment, the United States is saddled with a president like Trump
Screenshot taken from this Guardian op-ed. | Most would say only that Trump is leading in national embarrassment.’ Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters
Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday to the United Nations general assembly was an object lesson in his lawless rule and remarkable capacity for self-delusion. Disregarding the UN charter’s emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes, he doubled down on his violent unilateralism while denigrating the global issues that the UN is designed to address.
For many, the headline remark was his musing about whether to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” of Iran. “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”
But it was probably less a genuine threat than a clumsy effort to influence negotiations where he has little leverage. Trump is in desperate quest of some face-saving gesture that will allow him to feign “victory” and extract himself from his disastrous war of choice.
He spoke of destroying the “Islamic Republic”, which might imply the Iranian military, a legitimate military target. But his reference to precluding future generations suggests he meant to threaten the Iranian people. Attacking them would be a blatant war crime. » | Kenneth Roth | Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Iran’s president hits out at ‘bully’ Trump in UN speech but signals willingness to talk: Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready for dialogue and diplomacy ‘but without the language of force’ »
Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday to the United Nations general assembly was an object lesson in his lawless rule and remarkable capacity for self-delusion. Disregarding the UN charter’s emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes, he doubled down on his violent unilateralism while denigrating the global issues that the UN is designed to address.
For many, the headline remark was his musing about whether to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” of Iran. “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”
But it was probably less a genuine threat than a clumsy effort to influence negotiations where he has little leverage. Trump is in desperate quest of some face-saving gesture that will allow him to feign “victory” and extract himself from his disastrous war of choice.
He spoke of destroying the “Islamic Republic”, which might imply the Iranian military, a legitimate military target. But his reference to precluding future generations suggests he meant to threaten the Iranian people. Attacking them would be a blatant war crime. » | Kenneth Roth | Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Iran’s president hits out at ‘bully’ Trump in UN speech but signals willingness to talk: Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready for dialogue and diplomacy ‘but without the language of force’ »
Labels:
Donald Trump,
UN
September 23, 2026
Justin Wolfers Tears Apart Trump’s Latest Economic Plan | The Trump Report
Labels:
Donald Trump
FULL SPEECH: Trump Addresses United Nations General Assembly
What is this dude smoking? — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
Donald Trump,
UN
World Leaders Left Stunned at Trump’s Shameful, Isolated and Imperial UN Speech
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here »
Labels:
Donald Trump,
UN
September 22, 2026
“Oligarchy Is Ascending” Bernie Sanders’ Fiery UNGA-Eve Speech Takes Aim at Trump, Putin & Netanyahu
This is the gentleman who should be POTUS. The USA would start the process of civilization were Americans smart enough to elect him into the White House! — © Mark Alexander
September 21, 2026
September 20, 2026
Russia: Pessimism, Rising Prices and Voices from the Street
Labels:
Russia,
what the papers say
September 19, 2026
Black Smoke Seen Near Riyadh amid Air Raid Alerts in Saudi Arabia • FRANCE 24 English
Labels:
Houthis,
Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia
Hoekstra Reacts to Plan on Making Canada EU's First Associate Member
Labels:
Associate Member,
Canada,
European Union
Macron Heir Invites Britain to Join ‘United States of Europe’
THE TELEGRAPH Centrist candidate for the French presidency suggests UK should be part of a unified tax area
Screenshot taken from this Telegraph article. | Gabriel Attal believes the EU’s 27-country model has ‘reached its limits’ Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Sameer Al-Doumy
Emmanuel Macron’s protégé has invited Britain to join a “United States of Europe” in a de facto reversal of Brexit.
Gabriel Attal, a contender to succeed Mr Macron in 2027, wants a group of perhaps eight or 10 countries to bind themselves together with common debt, common taxes and labour rules and, in effect, a single economy.
The bloc would operate under a directly elected president and be protected by France’s nuclear deterrent.
Mr Attal, who has previously argued that Britain should rejoin the EU, is now offering a route back into something considerably more integrated than the bloc it left.
“I hope that one day the United Kingdom will find its place again in this adventure, if it freely chooses to join it,” he said. » | Henry Samuel Paris Correspondent. James Crisp Europe Edito | Friday, September 18, 2026
This is music to my ears, of course. I never expected such encouraging news so late on a Friday night! God bless M. Attal! Vive la France ! Vive le Royaume-Uni ! Vive l'Union européenne — © Mark Alexander
Emmanuel Macron’s protégé has invited Britain to join a “United States of Europe” in a de facto reversal of Brexit.
Gabriel Attal, a contender to succeed Mr Macron in 2027, wants a group of perhaps eight or 10 countries to bind themselves together with common debt, common taxes and labour rules and, in effect, a single economy.
The bloc would operate under a directly elected president and be protected by France’s nuclear deterrent.
Mr Attal, who has previously argued that Britain should rejoin the EU, is now offering a route back into something considerably more integrated than the bloc it left.
“I hope that one day the United Kingdom will find its place again in this adventure, if it freely chooses to join it,” he said. » | Henry Samuel Paris Correspondent. James Crisp Europe Edito | Friday, September 18, 2026
This is music to my ears, of course. I never expected such encouraging news so late on a Friday night! God bless M. Attal! Vive la France ! Vive le Royaume-Uni ! Vive l'Union européenne — © Mark Alexander
Labels:
France,
Gabriel Attal,
UK,
United States of Europe
September 18, 2026
September 17, 2026
"Fast Food Nation," Mystery Meat & Trump's Dismantling of U.S. Food Safety System: Eric Schlosser
Sep 17, 2026 | Amid growing concerns over food safety in the United States, President Donald Trump last month authorized the duty-free importation of 660 million pounds of cheap beef trimmings that will get mixed in with other cuts to make ground beef. Imported beef and pork were once labelled with their country of origin, but Congress voted in 2015 to end that requirement, so customers at the grocery store will have no way to identify this "mystery meat," which is coming mostly from Brazil.
President Trump's proclamation in August came just a day after he met in the White House with Joesley Batista, whose family controls the Brazilian company JBS, the largest beef producer in the world. JBS is notorious for food safety violations and admitted in 2017 to bribing thousands of Brazilian officials for favourable treatment.
"It smells like a pretty corrupt deal," says investigative journalist Eric Schlosser. He says Trump's move is "basically screwing over American ranchers," and the imported beef is "some of the meat most likely to be contaminated."
Schlosser is author of the landmark book Fast Food Nation, first published in 2001. He says that in the 25 years since then, the United States has developed "two food systems." While affluent and well-educated people increasingly favor sustainable, organic foods and care deeply about how food is grown and consumed, working people and the poor are relegated to the "fast-food industrial system" of cheap, mass-produced food of dubious safety.
Democracy Now! can be supported here »
President Trump's proclamation in August came just a day after he met in the White House with Joesley Batista, whose family controls the Brazilian company JBS, the largest beef producer in the world. JBS is notorious for food safety violations and admitted in 2017 to bribing thousands of Brazilian officials for favourable treatment.
"It smells like a pretty corrupt deal," says investigative journalist Eric Schlosser. He says Trump's move is "basically screwing over American ranchers," and the imported beef is "some of the meat most likely to be contaminated."
Schlosser is author of the landmark book Fast Food Nation, first published in 2001. He says that in the 25 years since then, the United States has developed "two food systems." While affluent and well-educated people increasingly favor sustainable, organic foods and care deeply about how food is grown and consumed, working people and the poor are relegated to the "fast-food industrial system" of cheap, mass-produced food of dubious safety.
Democracy Now! can be supported here »
Labels:
Democracy Now!,
Donald Trump,
mystery meat,
USA
« Personne ne dictera au Canada avec qui il peut signer des accords » : Mark Carney, favorable au rapprochement avec l’UE, répond à Donald Trump
LE FIGARO : Sur fond de désamour avec les États-Unis, la présidente de la Commission européenne a proposé mercredi que le Canada puisse devenir le premier pays « membre associé » de l’UE, en s’adressant à Mark Carney.
Le premier ministre canadien Mark Carney a salué jeudi l’idée que son pays devienne le premier membre associé de l’Union européenne, jugeant que le Canada et l’UE étaient « plus forts ensemble ». « Le Canada accueille favorablement cette ambition, et je peux vous dire que les sondages montrent qu’une écrasante majorité de Canadiens soutient des liens beaucoup plus étroits avec l’Europe », a-t-il déclaré devant le Parlement européen à Strasbourg, où il a été longuement applaudi. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 17 September 2026
Le premier ministre canadien Mark Carney a salué jeudi l’idée que son pays devienne le premier membre associé de l’Union européenne, jugeant que le Canada et l’UE étaient « plus forts ensemble ». « Le Canada accueille favorablement cette ambition, et je peux vous dire que les sondages montrent qu’une écrasante majorité de Canadiens soutient des liens beaucoup plus étroits avec l’Europe », a-t-il déclaré devant le Parlement européen à Strasbourg, où il a été longuement applaudi. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 17 September 2026
Labels:
Canada,
Donald Trump,
Mark Carney,
Union européenne
Could Australia Join the European Union?
Sep 17, 2026 | When Donald Trump announced his so-called Liberation Day tariffs in April last year, one question seemed to dominate: which country would suffer the most economic pain?
But since then, one country after the next seems to have awoken to a starkly hopeful realisation: the United States accounts for only 15 per cent of total global imports and trade. So, could these countries join a newly powerful trading bloc?
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on recent moves by Canada to possibly join the European Union, and if Australia could follow suit.
But since then, one country after the next seems to have awoken to a starkly hopeful realisation: the United States accounts for only 15 per cent of total global imports and trade. So, could these countries join a newly powerful trading bloc?
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on recent moves by Canada to possibly join the European Union, and if Australia could follow suit.
Labels:
Australia,
European Union
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