Category Archives: History

WALTER BAGEHOT’S ADVICE TO CENTRAL BANKERS FROM 1873.

WALTER BAGEHOT’S ADVICE TO CENTRAL BANKERS FROM 1873. Before the Lehman bankruptcy there was a bailout of another investment bank, Bear Stearns. On March 17, 2008, six months before the Lehman bankruptcy, I posted here about Walter Bagehot’s advice to … Continue reading

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TOOZE ON THE LEHMAN BANKRUPTCY—PAGE 177.

TOOZE ON THE LEHMAN BANKRUPTCY—PAGE 177. I began Tooze’s book by looking at his treatment of certain facets of the financial crisis that have interested me. Begin with the Lehman bankruptcy in September 1968. I posted here on the dramatic … Continue reading

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JOLABOKAFLOD—“CRASHED”.

JOLABOKAFLOD—“CRASHED”. For Christmas, I gave Scott and Nick each a copy of “CRASHED” by Adam Tooze for Christmas on the theory that they both are interested in economics and politics, and “CRASHED” seems likely to be a definitive book about … Continue reading

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VOLCKER ON THE DANGERS OF TRYING FOR TOO MUCH PRECISION IN ECONOMIC POLICY.

Paul Volcker was chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank from 1979 to 1987 — and a very successful chairman. Volcker had an article on federal reserve policy on the Bloomberg site (October 24, 2018) that is well summarized by … Continue reading

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“COMPLACENCY, AFFABILITY, AND CONDESCENSION TO ALL”.

“COMPLACENCY, AFFABILITY, AND CONDESCENSION TO ALL”. In the Wall Street Journal (December 15-16), Alan Pell Crawford reviewed a new biography by Albert Louis Zambone of the Revolutionary General Daniel Morgan. Crawford tells the story of the Battle of Cowpens and … Continue reading

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NOMADS AND FARMERS (COMMENT).

NOMADS AND FARMERS (COMMENT). Annalisa commented here about the Yamnaya that: “Is it common for nomads to displace the settled local population? I hadn’t thought so. I was under the impression that farming technology and attitudes led to the rise … Continue reading

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KILLING OPENLY.

KILLING OPENLY. It’s surprising that Stevenson takes the position that the Skripal poisoning “led back to Russia too readily….The agents involved were photographed dozens of times travelling from London to Wiltshire and both ended up with their cover blown.” The … Continue reading

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A CIA HANDBOOK ON POLITICAL ASSASSINATION.

A CIA HANDBOOK ON POLITICAL ASSASSINATION. Tom Stevenson has an article in the TLS (January 11, 2019) in connection with the Skripal poisoning which reports on “a CIA handbook for covert political murder written in 1953 and declassified in 1997.” … Continue reading

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DIPLOMATIC MURDERS—TWELVE YEARS LATER.

DIPLOMATIC MURDERS–TWELVE YEARS LATER. In the first week of this blog, I posted here on the murder by Russia of a Russian dissident in London by means of radioactive poisoning and the efforts that were being made “to prevent the … Continue reading

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MY FATHER’S THEORY OF WHERE MY ANCESTORS CHOSE TO LIVE.

MY FATHER’S THEORY OF WHERE MY ANCESTORS CHOSE TO LIVE. I posted here about how my father would point out from time to time at the dinner table that our Irish and Danish ancestors had in common that rather than … Continue reading

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