"The stark contrast of failure and success is an increasingly familiar sight in the Saudi capital as the 86-year-old kingdom undergoes the biggest upheaval in its modern history to adopt a Western-style model of capitalism. Since the government trimmed subsidies and costs rose, the survival of businesses is being determined by different market forces."
"The current draft omits a clause in the 1976 constitution on the ultimate aim of building a 'communist society', instead simply focusing on socialism. 'This does not mean we are renouncing our ideas,' Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly, was quoted as saying by state-run media. Cuba had simply moved into a different era following the fall of the Soviet Union, he added."
"The IMF also expects the Venezuelan economy to contract 15% this year, leading to a cumulative GDP decline since 2013 of 50%. Venezuela's collapse, while contained, is so profound it is now holding back the rebound of the entire region: while Latin America is expected to grow 1.9% this year, the number would be 2.5% without Venezuela according to Bloomberg."
"People depending on a pension not only likely won’t get the money owed to them in the future… but they’ll also get stuck paying more into the system today. It’s a true lose/lose."
"A Reuters analysis of U.S. household data shows that the bottom 60 percent of income-earners have accounted for most of the rise in spending over the past two years even as the their finances worsened - a break with a decades-old trend where the top 40 percent had primarily fueled consumption growth."
"He's not concerned with whether you agree with him on the Constitution, the US Military, or Freedom. More important, Adam asks do you know what his views actually are? Adam says you should be the 'alpha' of your own life. You might call him a patriot, or maybe rabble-rouser, but regardless of where you stand, Adam hopes after the 2020 election cycle, you will call him 'the last President you will never need.'"
"Trump and the deep state are obviously getting frustrated and impatient with the failure of their sanctions to achieve regime change in Iran, just as George W. Bush and the deep state became frustrated with the failure of their sanctions to achieve regime change in Iraq. Thus, no one should be surprised if Iran becomes another Iraq."
"What mattered then and matters now is that the material uncovered is true
"What might be surprising is just how dependent some companies are on government spending for their existence."
"In 1935, USMC Major General Smedley Butler warned the world that 'War is a racket. It always has been...'"