Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Quantum Geopolitics / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
By Reva Bhalla: Forecasting the shape the world will take in several years or decades is an audacious undertaking. There are no images to observe or precise data points to anchor us. We can only create a picture, and a fuzzy one at best. This is, after all, our basic human empirical instinct: to draw effortlessly from the vivid imagery of our present world and past experiences while we squint and hesitate before faint, blobby images of the future.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Europe Running on Borrowed Time / Politics / European Union
By: John_Mauldin
“I am sure the euro will oblige us to introduce a new set of economic policy instruments. It is politically impossible to propose that now. But some day there will be a crisis and new instruments will be created.”
– Romano Prodi, EU Commission president, December 2001Prodi and the other leaders who forged the euro knew what they were doing. They knew a crisis would develop, as Milton Friedman and many others had predicted. It is not conceivable that these very astute men didn’t realize that creating a monetary union without a fiscal union would bring about an existential crisis. They accepted that eventuality as the price of European unity. But now the payment is coming due, and it is far larger than they probably anticipated.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Blocks of U.S. Government Incompetence / Politics / Government Spending
By: James_Quinn
There were two accidents on the Schuylkill Expressway last Monday morning. You know what this meant. I had the pleasure of traveling to work on the scenic 30 Blocks of Squalor. The 30 blocks from 69th Street in Upper Darby to 39th Street in West Philly is a tribute to government incompetence, failed government policies, shoddy union labor practices and fiscal mismanagement.
This entire thirty block trek could be completed in 5 to 10 minutes if the hundreds of union government drones in the Philadelphia Streets Department would get off their fat asses and timed the lights. The blocks are identical in distance. They don't need advanced degrees in physics or calculus to set the lights to go green every ten seconds in order. They were timed in the 1970s and 1980s. Would smoothly flowing traffic be such a bad thing? Do they not care or are they really this incompetent? The first light at 61st Street was red when I arrived. It turned green and before you could touch the gas, it immediately turned yellow and red again. I wondered how long they'd allow this to go on. My guess would be days.
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Monday, July 27, 2015
Today's Anti-Capitalists Ignore the Fundamental Problems of Socialism / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Jonathan Newman writes: Anti-market and pro-socialist rhetoric is surging in headlines (see also here, here, and here) and popping up more and more on social media feeds. Much of the time, these opponents of markets can’t tell the difference between state-sponsored organizations like the International Monetary Fund and actual markets. But, that doesn’t matter because the articles and memes are often populist and vaguely worded — intentionally framed in such a way to easily deflect uninformed attacks and honest descriptions of what they are actually saying. In the end, they can all be boiled down to one message: socialism works and is better than capitalism.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
The Number One Lesson From Greece / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
There’s arguably nothing that’s been more hurtful -in more ways than one- to Greece and its Syriza government over the past six months, than the lack of support from the rest of Europe. And it’s not just the complete lack of support from other governments -that might have been expected-, but more than that the all but complete and deafening silence on the part of individuals and organizations, including political parties.
It’s no hyperbole to state that without their loud and clear support, Syriza never stood a chance in its negotiations with the Troika. And it’s downright bewildering that this continues to get so little attention from the press, from other commentators, and from politicians both inside Greece and outside of it.
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Saturday, July 25, 2015
Immigrants Aren’t the Only Ones Who Shouldn’t Be Voting / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Ryan McMaken writes: Much of the current immigration debate in the United States centers around the issue of “amnesty,” which is a vague term that may mean anything from “we won’t deport you” to “let’s fast-track you to citizenship and voting rights.”
From a laissez-faire perspective, the deportation aspect of amnesty — an increase in federal inaction — is one thing. The extension of voting privileges, though, is something else entirely.
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Friday, July 24, 2015
Why There's Resistance to the Iran Nuclear Deal / Politics / Iran
By: ...
MoneyMorning.com
Dr. Kent Moors writes: Years ago, when I was doing monthly analysis on Iran's oil and gas industry, one of the biggest quandaries was trying to make market sense out of what came from the leadership in Tehran.
Well, the past 72 hours and the July 14 Iran nuclear deal have brought me back to those days.
Back then, it was not unusual for Iran's religious and political heads to shoot themselves in the foot economically every time they opened their mouths on policy matters. And Iran remains one of the most convoluted webs of power relationships and brokerages anywhere.
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Thursday, July 23, 2015
The Stealth War on the United States / Politics / Cyber War
By: Investment_U
Sean Brodrick writes: Late last month, Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) suffered the most catastrophic attack EVER on a U.S.-based company.
It was so epic in scale that analysts are calling it an act of war.
More details are coming out. And it may just be the tip of the iceberg.
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Thursday, July 23, 2015
U.S., Russia: The Case for Bilateral Talks / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Phone calls between relatively low-level diplomats are normally not newsworthy. But Monday's conversation between U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin on the simmering conflict in Ukraine is an exception. The bilateral nature of the conversation and its timing amid mounting claims of cease-fire violations from the Ukrainian government and separatist forces makes it uniquely significant. Moreover, it reaffirms that the evolution of the Ukrainian conflict — whether toward a settlement or toward escalation — will be most strongly shaped not by Kiev but by the actions of and relationship between Moscow and Washington.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
The Three Reasons Behind Iran’s Resistance to the Nuclear Deal / Politics / Iran
By: ...
MoneyMorning.com
Dr. Kent Moors writes: Years ago, when I was doing monthly analysis on Iran’s oil and gas industry, one of the biggest quandaries was trying to make market sense out of what came from the leadership in Tehran.
Well, the past 48 hours have brought me back to those days.
Back then, it was not unusual for Iran’s religious and political heads to shoot themselves in the foot economically every time they opened their mouths on policy matters. And Iran remains one of the most convoluted webs of power relationships and brokerages anywhere.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Down with the U.S. Constitution! / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
It has been quite an eventful and productive couple of weeks for the forces of statism in the former “land of the free, and home of the brave.”
The federal government’s highest court has enshrined “perversity” into law, guaranteeing untold amounts of future litigation while infringing on the right of freedom of association and, just as important, “disassociation” for those who rightly consider sodomy an abomination which wantonly mocks the Author of the natural law.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Turkish Enigma / Politics / Turkey
By: STRATFOR
By George Friedman: In my "Net Assessment of the World," I argued that four major segments of the European and Asian landmass were in crisis: Europe, Russia, the Middle East (from the Levant to Iran) and China. Each crisis was different; each was at a different stage of development. Collectively the crises threatened to destabilize the Eurasian landmass, the Eastern Hemisphere, and potentially generate a global crisis. They do not have to merge into a single crisis to be dangerous. Four simultaneous crises in the center of humanity's geopolitical gravity would be destabilizing by itself. However, if they began to merge and interact, the risks would multiply. Containing each crisis by itself would be a daunting task. Managing crises that were interlocked would press the limits of manageability and even push beyond.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
I Am A Citizen of the World And My Religion Is To Do Good / Politics / Religion
By: Michael_T_Bucci
"I am a citizen of the world and my religion is to do good," said Thomas Paine, American revolutionary and pamphleteer. He didn't use a gun; he used a pen. Like today, a tangible paradigm shift occurred that shook the foundations of the old monarchial order to clear a path for 'the rights of man'. Those rights are under fire today in America, Great Britain and the EU. Market forces have appropriated democracy for itself. The Seven Deadly Sins have become beatitudes and virtues. God died in the 1960's, said Time magazine. Today, Divinity is called Universe and Universe includes Planet Earth, should it survive.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Greater Israel Setback from Iranian Nuclear Agreement / Politics / Israel
By: BATR
Israel has never been a victim. Zionist belligerents work diligently to expand their control in the region. This objective is not widely accepted in mainstream political circles since critical criticism is a risky endeavor when confronting truth to power. The turmoil in Egypt and subsequent regime change, the over throw and elimination of Gaddafi in Libya and the ongoing Israeli ISIL induced conflict in Syria all benefit the Khazar usurpers. Well before the NeoCons commandeered U.S. foreign policy, Jewish influence over their Congressional puppets and administration stooges was prevalent, awaiting the time when U.S. forces would be used to serve the designs of Zionism inroads.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Iran Agreement Boosts Peace, Defeats Neocons / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week's successfully concluded Iran agreement is one of the two most important achievements of an otherwise pretty dismal Obama presidency. Along with the ongoing process of normalizing relations with Cuba, this move shows that diplomacy can produce peaceful, positive changes. It also shows that sometimes taking a principled position means facing down overwhelming opposition from all sides and not backing down. The president should be commended for both of these achievements.
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Monday, July 20, 2015
Was Greece Debt Crisis Always Part Of Eurozone Master Plan? / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: John_Rubino
Since its inception, critics of the eurozone have been pointing to its incomplete nature — everyone uses the same money but keeps their own national budgets and tax regimes — and speculating that this “fatal flaw” would doom the system. Other observers, however, gave the euro’s creators more (Machiavellian) credit and assumed the initial version was simply what was politically attainable at the time. Future leaders, they predicted, would wait for (or engineer) a crisis and then use it to bully their reluctant citizens into a centralized government.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Was Greece Set Up To Fail? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
I started writing this on my last night in Athens for now, Wednesday, and had no time to finish it then:
On the eve of my temp absence from this great city, a few things. I could simply extend my stay, which might be slightly cheaper, but A) flights to Athens cost less all the time, and B) I have to go see my mom in Holland, who’s not doing well at all. On top of that, Nicole arrived in Holland last week, and we might as well just fly out back here together in a few weeks.
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Saturday, July 18, 2015
The Truth About God and Religion - Video / Politics / Religion
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The promise at the heart of virtually every religion is that DEATH is not final, that an afterlife of sorts awaits all those who follow the righteous path in devotion to the supreme being that watches over everything one does. Where each iteration of religious ideology maps out its own true path towards salvation, one of following the rules and rituals as laid out in revealed doctrine of complete devotion to the Supreme Being, to constantly reinforce the belief that this life is temporary and to wholly focus securing entry after death to an eternal perfect afterlife, a paradise that will be granted to all followers of the religion by the supreme being that goes hand in hand with the threat of infinite pain and suffering that awaits all those who fail to follow the the one true religion as all of the others are false religions.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Greek People Victims Of Political Games / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: SecularInvestor
Last Sunday, we arrived in Greece. We have interviewed since then more than 25 people across the country. We have selected ordinary people, with different jobs, from all ages, both in cities and rural areas. So our research is representative for the whole population. What people told us is staggering, and it becomes worse we compare this with the acts of the government. This is a live report about the government debt crisis.
In general, people describe the current economic situation as hopeless; there is no outlook for growth whatsoever. Everyone agrees that this crisis will go on for many years before the country can see any economic improvement.
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Friday, July 17, 2015
China May be Preparing for War to Rally the Country in Case of Recession / Politics / China US Conflict
By: Atlantic_Perspective
As the living standards improved in China for hundreds of millions of people. Instead of a grateful nation, the Chinese Communist Party got more demanding people. The more the Chinese people get, the more the Party is asked to deliver.
There is an unwritten agreement in China: the people will tolerate the Communist Party as long as there is strong economic growth. But what happens if the economy stalls, or worse still, contracts? War could be the answer.