Global Military Spending, Marine Le Pen, Wealth Inequality: 3 Stories in 15 Minutes October 3, 2018
Summary: Reading Time: 3 minutesStory #1: Global Military Spending<br> The world spent more on its military last year than at any time since the end of the Cold War. The US was top on this list spending more than the next 7 countries combined. What has this increase in military spending gained us? Are we more secure? Another consideration would be taking a portion of that global military spending an directing it toward improving standards of living in the most insecure areas of the world.<br> Additional Reading:<br> <br> * See the original report on Global Military Spending from the <a href="https://www.sipri.org/">Stockholm International Peace Research Institute</a><br> * <a href="http://www.theendofhistory.net/global-issues/which-countries-have-nuclear-weapons/">Whose Got Nukes</a> INFOGRAPHIC<br> <br> <br> Story #2: Marine Le Pen Mental Stability, and Demonizing the “Other” Side<br> Marine Le Pen is leader of the far right political party in France. Last week she was ordered to take a psychiatric test by a French judge. The Marine Le Pen mental stability question is the same pattern or tactic we have seen repeated time and again in global media and politics. This is how politics and political accusations work now. If we want to delegitimize the other side, we only need to cast shadows of either sexual impropriety or mental instability onto them. These political accusations frequently have little to do with facts or truth. We need to recognize what is taking place if we want to avoid being deceived ourselves.<br> Additional Reading and/or Listening:<br> <br> * <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45590963">Marine Le Pen to Undergo Psychiatric Testing</a><br> * This is a <a href="http://www.theendofhistory.net/most_recent/podcast/post-truth-podcast/">podcast episode I did on the topic of “Post-Truth”</a> some time back. Many have mentioned how it changed their perspective on looking at the warring factions in our politicized information age.<br> * <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-schizophrenia/201707/playing-politics-mental-illness">Playing Politics with Mental Illness</a> (Psychology Today)<br> <br> <br> Story #3: US Federal Reserve Says Inequality Continues to Grow<br> A new report from the Federal Reserve shows that even while the stock markets, housing markets, and labor markets are showing excellent numbers and results – economic inequality in America continues to grow. This story explains why that inequality is growing and why looking at the US economy from the perspective of these three measurements (stock, housing, labor) is no longer an effective way to measure the modern US economy.<br> Additional Reading:<br> <br> * <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/20180920/z1.pdf">Report from the Federal Reserve</a><br> * <a href="http://www.theendofhistory.net/economic-inequality/extreme-poverty/">The American Caste System</a><br> * If you would like a better understanding of the history and development of the modern American economic system you will enjoy <a href="http://www.theendofhistory.net/economic-inequality/economic-inequality-complete-series-index/">this podcast series on Economic Inequality in America</a>.<br> <br> <br> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/theendofhistory/PHVq/~6/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><br> <a href="https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/headlineanimator/install?id=nb64uri41haerm5fvtnnavfgjo&w=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">↑ Grab this Headline Animator</a><br> <br><br> 3 Stories in 15 Minutes is a <a href="http://www.theendofhistory.net/category/current-events/">current events</a> podcast and feature from JB Shreve and the End of History. 3 Stories in 15 Minutes is not focused on breaking news or deep information dives like many of my others posts at the web site. 3 Stories in 15 Minutes is looking at news stories and accounts y...
