United States

The United States has warned North Korea against carrying out “provocative actions,” after Pyongyang said it was putting the final touches to a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US soil The Pentagon issued a statement on Sunday warning North Korea that it would face serious consequences if it makes good on its most recent threat of testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. Press TV reports: The warning came only hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced the regime’s plans to test the new ICBM.

Submitted by Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

“There is no other endeavor in which men and women of enormous intellectual power have shown total disregard for higher-order reasoning than monetary policy.

-David Collum

American Notes

Having drawn the ire of the mainstream press for his extensive use of Twitter in announcing major developments and policy shifts, President-elect Donald Trump will not end the "onslaught" of posts on Twitter that fed his unconventional campaign, even after taking on the formalized duties of the Oval Office later this month, as Bloomberg notes following an announcement by incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer who said he expects Trump "will boldly use" Twitter to make major policy announcements.

Submitted by Federico Pieraccini via Strategic-Culture.org,

Historically, the United States has spent more money than any other country on healthcare.

In the late 1990s, for example, the U.S. spent roughly 13% of GDP on healthcare, compared to about a 9.5% average for all high income countries.