In an extraordinary military operation, the United States launched a large-scale military operation in Caracas, Venezuela with special forces seizing…
The United States Captures Nicolás Maduro and his Wife
The United States Captures Nicolás Maduro and his Wife
04 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: Venezuela
Think tank IREF: ‘Against All Rationality, the EU Persists in its Net-Zero Delusion’
04 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: European Union
Simple arithmetic already raises red flags. EU emissions fell by 37% over the 33 years from 1990 to today. Achieving an additional 68% reduction in just 17 years would require nearly tripling the pace of decarbonization.
Think tank IREF: ‘Against All Rationality, the EU Persists in its Net-Zero Delusion’
Keynes: Free Trade and the Nationalist Impulse
04 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, international economics
In 1933, John Maynard Keynes gave the first Finlay Lecture delivered at University College, Dublin, on the subject of “National Self-Sufficiency” (Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review,” June 1933, 22: 86, pp. 177-193). The Irish Free State of 1933 was a transition phase: after the Irish War of Independence that had ended in 1921, but before…
Keynes: Free Trade and the Nationalist Impulse
Zohran Mamdani, Part I: The “Caviar Communist” Openly Embraces Collectivism
03 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: regressive left
I’m going to start today’s column by acknowledging a mistake. Two days ago, as part of my Best and Worst News of 2025, I didn’t include Zohran Mamdani’s election as Mayor of New York City because I viewed him only as “a theoretical threat.” Yes, I knew he had a nutty agenda, but surely he […]
Zohran Mamdani, Part I: The “Caviar Communist” Openly Embraces Collectivism
The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery
03 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: free speech, gender gap, media bias, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Is it a sign of the times that this long book review, appearing in the “Science and Society” section of the prestigious journal Science, actually approves of a book questioning the ubiquity of gender surgeries? I haven’t read the book, but you can be that Nature wouldn’t give a positive review such prominence. Here’s the…
The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery
Economic Inequality Does Not Cause Lower Subjective Ratings of Well-Being
03 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, poverty and inequality
It’s become a nearly standard claim that economics inequality makes people feel worse-off, or perhaps even leads to mental illness. However, Nicolas Sommet, Adrien A. Fillon, Ocyna Rudmann, Alfredo Rossi Saldanha Cunha and Annahita Ehsan did what is called a “meta-analysis” of the available studies–that is, they went back and looked at the underlying data, methods, and findings…
Economic Inequality Does Not Cause Lower Subjective Ratings of Well-Being
The world’s three best cuisines
03 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in economics of media and culture Tags: China, India
In light of the absence of news as well as my recurring insomnia, which has made me unable to brain, I’m posting a list of what I consider the three best cuisines in the world. What I mean by this is that if I were constrained to eat only one nation’s cuisine for the rest…
The world’s three best cuisines
Recognition: Somaliland edition
02 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in International law Tags: Somaliland
In the past week, the government of Israel became the first to formally recognize Somaliland as a state. This is a good development, and I hope there will be more such declarations forthcoming. Somaliland has existed as a de facto independent entity, very much state-like, since 1991. It even has held regular multiparty elections for […]
Recognition: Somaliland edition
Six Impossible Climate Things to Believe
02 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Javier Vinós provides the list in his yearend Clintel post Six Impossible Things to Believe. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. Like Alice’s White Queen, European and Spanish authorities want us to believe six impossible things about climate change and the energy transition. In Alice Through the Looking-Glass, a character by Lewis […]
Six Impossible Climate Things to Believe
Miliband Claims High Energy Bills Due To Fossil Fuels
02 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, climate activists, climate alarmism, solar power, wind power
Ed Miliband has been caught telling porkies again
Miliband Claims High Energy Bills Due To Fossil Fuels
So much for overpopulation
02 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: ageing society, population bust
Own goal by Stamer
01 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: British politics, war against terror
Alaa Abdel Fattah has been a prisoner in Egypt on dubious charges, and may have been tortured there. It is right and proper for the UK Government to advocate (as he gained British citizenship) for his human rights to be respected. But Starmer did a huge own goal by going beyond that and declaring that…
Own goal by Stamer
What Star Wars AND Star Trek can teach us about economics
01 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, defence economics, economics of regulation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, movies, television, TV shows, unions
This is not a “Star Wars vs Star Trek” post. I’m non-partisan. I enjoy both Star Wars and Star Trek about equally. And it turns out that I am not alone. Last December, John Hawkins (University of Canberra) wrote in The Conversation about what Star Wars can teach us about economics. This year, Hawkins (with Tesfaye…
What Star Wars AND Star Trek can teach us about economics
Top Five Climate Science Scandals 2025
01 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Bad science, Trump vengeance, USNCA, “climate risk,” and the top holds steady!
Top Five Climate Science Scandals 2025
Climate activists v. the U.S. energy industry: Cases to watch in 2026
01 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice Tags: nuisance suits
Anti-oil and gas advocates across the country have pursued litigation in recent years attempting to force the fossil fuel industry to pay for decades of financial damages the advocates claim were caused by climate change.
Climate activists v. the U.S. energy industry: Cases to watch in 2026
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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