Syria Masses Troops Along Lebanon Border, Closes Crossing for Departure

The German Bureaucratic Dream Of "Society with Bound Capital" Submitted by Thomas Kolbe They form a massive workforce, the last continuously growing sector of our society: civil servants. Approximately 5.5 million employees work in the public sector, and last year alone, 205,000 new civil servants were added. This is by no means a blind attack on the bureaucracy. Civil servants indispensable to our society work to maintain internal and external security and uphold the judiciary as guardians of law and order. Yet the question must be allowed. How can a civil service army grow...

WTI Extends Gains, Shrugs Off SPR Release Amid Crude Build, Dip In US Production Oil prices are higher this morning, shrugging off the well-telegraphed (and practically useless) SPR release. "Oil prices remain volatile and risk sentiment fragile and trading is on the headlines and rapidly evolving conflict in the Middle East," noted Neil Wilson, Saxo UK investor strategist. And while, the main drivers of crude prices remain more global, the domestic supply and demand situation remains noteworthy based on its impact on gasoline (pump) prices. API Crude -1.7mm (+1.1mm exp) Cushing Gasoline -1.8mm Distillates -2.3mm DOE Crude +3.82mm (+1.1mm...

When it comes to foreign policy, what matters are powerful interest groups. The ordinary voters who pay all the bills don't matter. The interest groups pushing for pro-Israel wars in the Middle East are especially powerful.