Archive | Commentary

  Financial crises and uncertainty go hand in hand; some make sacrifices and others plan on having to.  But how many countries stricken by the global crisis actually feel existentially threatened? Iceland does.  Since the start of the kreppa (“catastrophe” in Icelandic) in the fall of 2008, the small island nation of 320,000 has had […]

Politics, a blind piper, is followed by Economy, followed by the Media, followed by those who follow the Media. . . . Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist.  This cartoon was published in his blog on 13 July 2010; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.  The text above is an interpretation of the […]

  Excerpt: Importantly, the initial collapse and following standstill in economic activity and nominal levels of GDP is also extremely bad news for the strategy of fiscal consolidation itself.  On the one hand, to keep on servicing interest payments (see above), nominal debt will continue to go up.  On the other hand, nominal GDP goes […]

DKK: Joan, because people know you as many things — as a theorist of gender, as a cultural historian, as an inveterate advocate for academic freedom and defender of the rights of the professoriate — I’m curious how you would describe yourself to someone who had never met Joan Scott. JWS: That’s really hard . […]

  This video was first released by KolahStudio on 5 August 2006.  For more information, visit <www.kolahstudio.com>. | Print  

Joyce Appleby.  The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism.  New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.  $29.95.  Pp. xii, 494. Joyce Appleby, who taught U.S. history for many years at UCLA, presided over both the Organization of American Historians and American Historical Association, and served her term as professor-in-exile among the Brits at Oxford, comes to the […]

In much of the world, including the United States and Europe, a debate is taking place about whether the government’s first responsibility should be to reduce unemployment — which is at elevated levels — or to reduce government deficits and debt.  Many of the arguments for deficit reduction are simplistic, based on ignorance, or ideologically-based. […]

  In international politics, if an action seems reckless or callous and the ones taking it are not certified loonies, usually it’s because it was made to look that way, on purpose.  To send a message. Take Israel’s attack in international waters on a civilian flotilla that resulted in the death of nine Turkish passengers. […]

Artavazd Peleshian, born in 1938, is an Armenian filmmaker.  USSR: Yerevan Film Studio, 1975. | Print

  Paul Jay: So we’ve been talking about macroeconomic policy, the G-20, austerity.  And there was one little line in the G-20 document I thought was interesting, and it’s sort of buried in amongst everything.  It said countries could facilitate wages going up proportional to productivity, which is rather interesting, ’cause it’s the only time […]

Group photo of all the people of Misr El Mahrousa, Egypt the Protected Abdallah Ahmed is an artist based in Cairo, Egypt.  He blogs at .  This cartoon was published in his blog on 24 January 2009 under a Creative Commons license.  The text above is an interpretation of the cartoon by Yoshie Furuhashi.  | […]

FYI, on 22 July 2010, the worst lunatics in the mad House introduced H.RES. 1553: Expressing support for the State of Israel’s right to defend Israeli sovereignty, to protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, and to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of […]

Executive Summary: This paper looks at the planned austerity measures in Spain, the rationale for the spending cuts and tax increases, likely outcomes for future debt-to-GDP ratios, and the probable results of alternative policies. It is widely believed that Spain got into trouble because of the over-expansion of government spending.  However, during the economic expansion […]

As we have pointed out on more than one occasion in this space, the government deficit is far from being a primary trouble spot.  In fact it serves as an important counteracting force to the prevailing stagnation.  On the other hand, the business community here and abroad sees the deficit, presumably because of its effect […]

Artavazd Peleshian, born in 1938, is an Armenian filmmaker.  USSR: Minsk Film Studio, 1970.  About Inhabitants, Peleshian said: “Many people were offended or insulted by We.  After that experience, I was mad at mankind and decided to make a film about animals.  Animals don’t get upset, but at the same time, by focusing on them, […]

What is the British government’s role in the conflict?  It is officially committed to the international consensus two-state settlement, but what has our record been in practice? It’s been awful.  Britain doesn’t have an independent role — it just does what the US tells it to do.  On the other hand, the struggle is easier […]

The issue of “blood diamonds” has once again made the news: Farai Maguwu, Director of Zimbabwe’s Mutare-based Centre for Research and Development (CRD), languishes under the long arm of Zimbabwe’s laws on alleged charges related to his research on Zimbabwe’s Marange mines.  According to a confidential 44-page report produced by investigators mandated by the Kimberley […]

The decrepit Arab establishment gets jealous as Iran and Turkey woo the Arab people. Fahd Bahady is a Syrian cartoonist.  This cartoon was published in his blog on 23 July 2010; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.  The text above is an interpretation of the cartoon by Yoshie Furuhashi.  | Print

The NYT portrayed the Fed as facing a serious dilemma in dealing with its portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (MBS).  It argued that it can either start selling them now and risk slowing the economy or wait until the economy has recovered more and risk losing money by selling them in a higher inflation environment. There […]

Artavazd Peleshian, born in 1938, is an Armenian filmmaker.  We was produced by the Yerevan Film Studio and released in 1969 in the USSR.  About the film, Peleshian said: “If I had meant only the Armenian people, I would not have had the guts to call it We.  The Armenian people are a ‘we’ that […]