‘THE WAR AGAINST THE PAST’, or is it war against the class.

THE BIDEN WHITEHOUSE NOT ONLY THREATENS THE PALESTINIANS, IT ALSO THREATENS ALL OF US.

CORRECTION. More definitive information about the missile the Russians used has come to light. It did not include a hypersonic glide bomb. Instead it was based on a third stage cannister containing 6 x 6 kinetic rods designed for penetration with a terminal speed of Mach 11. The cannister once it re-entered the atmosphere aimed the rods and released the rods in multiples of 6 at time. This guaranteed a specific pre-programmed area spread with a CEP of around 30 meters per set of rods. It is a devastating weapon, difficult to intercept and designed to take out hardened targets over a significant area.

HOW THE TURNOVER OF CAPITAL CONVERTS A RELATIVE FALL IN THE RATE OF PROFIT INTO AN ABSOLUTE FALL.

This article was inspired by a debate which took place in the comments section of a posting by Michael Roberts on papers delivered at the recent Historical Materialism Conference in London.

IS TRUMP A FASCIST AND WAS HARRIS A COMMUNIST?

Today it is becoming clear that the US ruling class and moderate Republicans are becoming concerned with Trump’s Cabinet picks. They face a conundrum. They used Trump’s popularity to win a majority in both houses of Congress, but now they have to contain him. Will they be able to do so or will Trump prevail? The next few months will tell, but it is unlikely that some of Trump’s picks will be confirmed by the Senate.

ABRIDGED PRESENTATION AS DELIVERED AT HISTORICAL MATERIALISM IN LONDON IN NOVEMBER.

This will be my actual delivery due to the constraints of time at this year’s Historical Materialism Conference in London.

THOSE COUNTRIES WHOM THE GODS OF PROFIT WISH TO DESTROY, THEY MUST FIRST DRIVE MAD.

This article was written before and after the presidential election results were known. It analyses the US economy in the third quarter and the effect it will have on the Trump presidency. Trump won because he posed as the strong man able to renew the country, but as this article shows, the parlous state of the economy will soon disrobe him.

DON’T DISMISS ‘BRICS+’ OR ITS IMPORTANCE.

MISSILES versus BOMBS

This article was written as preparation for a forthcoming review examining the current BRICS+ meeting in Russia. Geopolitical shifts are always tectonic and the Richter Scale measuring the tremors it sets off is always formed by the military repercussions needed to achieve this transition. This article is a cursory examination of the military strengths and weaknesses of the adversaries in the context of the technical developments changing the face of war.

The Israeli attack panned out as expected. There was no mention of whether or not any of the Israeli submarines were involved. From most accounts the Israeli attack was far less effective than the Iranian missile attack on October the 1st. It is not know how many air launched missiles were fired but very few got through likely due to their speed, the lack of overwhelming force, and a very experienced air defense system honed by combat experience in the Ukraine. The main take away from this, which no doubt has rattled not only the Israelis but the Pentagon as well, is that we now live in the age of the ballistic missile.

MY PROPOSED PRESENTATION ON MONEY AT THE HISTORICAL MATERIALISM CONFERENCE IN NOVEMBER.

I am circulating my presentation in advance for comment or criticism so it can be refined. Please let me know of any concerns by emailing me at briangreen@theplanningmotive.com In this presentation I consider only stocks of money not flows of money for simplicity. In addition averages are chosen, because as Marx pointed out, more can be learnt from periods rather than annuals. I have added this key graph which dispels the view that banks create all the money or at least most of it. The source of the graph below is  FED Table H.8. Line 41 termed Residuals which is net credit given.  The proportion going to the private sector is arrived at by the ratio of Lines 2 &  9.  Once that is applied to Line 41 the resulting figure is compared to M2 to form the graph.

THE CHINESE ECONOMY IS IN TROUBLE. WILL THE RECENT STIMULI HELP?

Here is a more detailed view of wages which on average have been flat for 18 months.