Europe

Last month, we documented the burgeoning spat between Brussels and Poland over the latter’s move to approve new laws that allow the conservative (and eurosceptic) Law and Justice (PiS) government to name the chiefs of public TV and radio, and select judges for Poland's constitutional court.

In response to a bloc-wide backlash, Polish minister Zbigniew Ziobro sent a letter to EU commissioner Gunther Oettinger in which Ziobro dismissed criticism of the new laws as “silly.”

Having shown that the world is turning Japanese with tales of economic malaise, extreme monetary policy, and negative rates, Visual Capitalist's Jeff Desjardins shows that Germany, with its 5-yr government bond currently trading at a -0.33% yield, is no exception to this story. However, negative yields are not the only concern that the country has in common with Japan.

Three New Postings:

Propaganda Works — Gallup Poll Finds Americans Prefer Terrorists To Iran

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/02/21/gallup-poll-shows-americans-prefer-terrorist-nations-over-iran-why.html

One Must Be Blind Not To Realise That Russia Is Defending Europe In Syria

http://m.sputniknews.com/politics/20160218/1034972985/russia-syria-france-national-interests.html

Corporations Make Profits By Imposing Their Costs On Others

Just as the government did in the lead up to The Scottish Referendum in 2014, it appears David Cameron is already unleashing resorting to the so-called Project Fear. As The Telegraph reports, following Boris Johnson's lack of acquiescence to Cameron's call for no Brexit, more than a dozen of the country's most senior military leaders will argue that Britain should vote to stay in the European Union because of its importance to national security.

James Forsyth comments on Boris Johnson’s support for U.K. withdrawal from the EU:

With Boris and six Cabinet Minister backing Out alongside close to half of the parliamentary party, it is impossible to claim that the Tory party is largely behind this deal. This will have a knock on effect on Tory voters. Another consequence of the fact that Boris and Michael Gove are both backing Out is that businessmen, celebrities and donors will feel free to back leaving the EU without it looking like a UKIP endorsement.