Japan

Authored by Robert McKeown via The Mises Institute,

As Hurricane Harvey, now tropical storm Harvey, makes its way across the southern US, estimates have already come in as to the cost of the storm. According to AccuWeather, Harvey is expected to cost upwards of $190 billion in damages, one percent of the national GDP. This makes Harvey the costliest storm ever to hit the United States, more than Katrina ($100 billion) and Sandy ($60 billion) combined.

Here Come The Clowns

It won't be the first time that a near-panicked Japan has came close to the edge when it comes to North Korea, and in preparation for an "emergency" was planning to evacuate its citizens located in South Korea. The last such notable spike in escalations took place in April, when as the Yomiuri Shimbun reported at the time, the Japanese government had asked the U.S.

Authored by James George Jatras via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

They say that most of the world’s real dangers arise not because of what people don’t know but because of what they do 'know' that just ain’t so.

As a case in point, consider three things about Korea that the bipartisan Washington establishment seems quite sure of but are far removed from reality:

Delusion 1: All options, including U.S. military force, are «on the table.»

It's groundhog day as S&P futures, European and Asian shares all rise overnight, while the dollar is set to .

While Donald Trump is not exactly known for his oratorial and diplomatic skills, either during live speeches or within the confines of his trademark outbursts in 140 characters or less on Twitter, he is positively Machiavellian compared to Japan's 76-year-old deputy prime minister and finance minister in Abe's cabinet, Taro Aso, whose entire career appears to be a series of diplomatic blunders and verbal gaffes.

Taro Aso, Japan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance