Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, September 01, 2013
First Obamacare, Next Obamaschool / Politics / Education
By: MISES
Hunter Lewis writes: The president gave a speech on August 22 in Buffalo outlining his proposal to “reform” the student loan program. He acknowledged that the program has some problems, but assured the audience they are easily fixed. Just take the principles behind Obamacare and apply them to education. The president personally “guaranteed” that his proposals would make college more affordable.
Sunday, September 01, 2013
The NSA and Its “Compliance Problems” / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: MISES
Ben O'Neill writes: One of the core principles of good governance in society is the idea that the authority of law ought to prevail over the brute power of people — i.e., that society should operate under the rule of law, not the rule of men. Aristotle wrote that “[t]he law ought to be supreme over all ...” and argued that ... where the laws are not supreme, there demagogues spring up.” The principle has many important ramifications for society, but the most important is the view that government agents and agencies must be bound by the same law as their subjects.
Sunday, September 01, 2013
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Radioactive Groundwater Crisis Worsens - Fully Unsolvable / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Submissions
Tracy Turner submits: LATEST: The coriums are still hot enough to volatilize all sorts of isotopes, more proof now confirms: Evidence that Ag110m is still being volatilized by corium. It's not just radioactive silver. Per our conclusion to Chapter 12, strontium, cesium and plutonium are still being vaporized fairly effectively. Quote: 'Note that the temperatures of the corium at several of the reactors at Fukushima are probably still high enough to continue volatilizing strontium, plutonium and dozens of other isotopes for years; this corium won't cool down, or be properly contained, for years or decades.'
Saturday, August 31, 2013
French Colonial Dreams Linger On In Syria / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
GREAT POWER PIPEDREAM
The simple question with a lot of answers is why did France boycott the 2003 Iraq war of the US and Britain, but remains heavily committed to a “punitive attack” with the US on Syria, following the shock of Cameron's defeat for his war plan in the British parliament, August 29 ? Syria was a French colony. Why have the British decided to take French leave from Obama's punishment mission? Syria was not a British colony but was the meat and bones of imperial dogfights between the British and French, during the interwar Mandate years. French political leaders, including President Hollande and major figures in his Parti Socialiste, August 30, despite massive public opinion opposition have multiplied their dogged and trenchant support for this “limited military action not designed to topple al Assad”, without the Brits and whether or not (we mean not) the attacks gets UN Security Council approval.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Obama - The War Criminal-in-Chief / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Obama, pushed by his Israeli and neocon masters, especially his National SecurityAdvisor, Susan Rice, who, in effect, functions as an Israeli agent, crawled far out on the limb, only to have it sawed off by the British Parliament.
In response, the “socialist” president of France, Hollande, who lacks French support forFrance’s participation in a US/Israeli orchestrated military attack on Syria, has crawledback off the limb, saying that, while everything is still on the table, he has to see some evidence first.
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Saturday, August 31, 2013
Remember Waco? U.S. Use of Gas To Kill Civilians / Politics / US Politics
By: lewrockwell
Mike Holmes writes: One point that needs to be made, but rarely if ever mentioned, is that in the supposed rationale for US attack on Syria to avenge/prevent claimed civilian deaths by government gas attacks, the US government itself has used similar weapons openly as recently as the FBI/ATF attack on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco Texas in the spring of 1993.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
France, America's New French Poodle, Who Used Chemical Weapons in Syria Attack? / Politics / US Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Most unexpectedly the British Poodle snapped at its Master's hand. It may have taken a decade of death, destruction and chaos that followed the doggy dossiers and bare faced lies that spewed from the mouths of Tony Bliar and George Bush as to why Iraq should be destroyed, and over 100,000 killed, all in the pursuit of non existant WMD stock piles that were said to target UK cities within 45 minutes from launch to strike. Virtually all Labour MP's and even some Tories were just not able to suffer the shame a second time of lying to the public in pursuit of an imperialist agenda.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
California’s Government Has Destroyed the State With High Taxes / Politics / Taxes
By: Jeff_Berwick
The mayor of Los Angeles has declared a “state of emergency”.
Hollywood’s movie industry is being ceded to other states and countries whose favorable tax “credits” are increasingly luring away movie and television production. As competition both in the US and abroad continues to grow, the state’s market share and longtime stronghold on production jobs and spending are fast evaporating.
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Friday, August 30, 2013
Will Nobel Peace Prizewinner Obama 'Go It Alone' In Attacking Syria ? / Politics / US Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
CAMERON FIGHTS DEMOCRACY
In a stunning setback for UK Prime Minister Cameron's hopes for a quick nod through vote by Parliament for his government's war plan against Syria, his march to “punitive limited military action”, opening the potential for wider war in the Middle East hit a brick wall. British MPs defeated the government motion by 285 against 272 votes, August 29, as some MP’s shouted ‘resign, resign’. The junior coalition Lib Dem party of Nick Clegg is almost totally against the military adventure redolent of T. E. Lawrence days when the US, France and the UK could play judge and jury in the Middle East, but veteran Lib Dem party grandee and former Kosovo administrator after the 1995 NATO war against Serbia, Paddy Ashdown, Tweeted on August 30: “In 50 years trying to serve my country I have never felt so depressed/ashamed. Britain's answer to the Syrian horrors? None of our business!”
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Syria and the U.S., UK and Israel Grand Plan / Politics / New World Order
By: Clive_Maund
To the casual observer, which includes most of humanity, what is going on the Mid-East and North Africa, specifically Egypt and Syria at this time, seems random and chaotic, but in reality this is not the case at all - events are unfolding according to a Grand Plan.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Warlordism In The Mena – The Slide Towards World War III / Politics / US Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
NO LONGER A FANTASY
For plenty of commentators like Michael Snyder of the Economic Collapse Blog, August 29, there are so many reasons to believe “punishing Syria” has the potential to spin out of control and spark a large scale international conflict, that we should be amazed TV anchorpeople in the so-called consumer democracies snigger to us about having to wait “just a little longer” for the missile or bombing fun. Before running the endless-brainless publicity or football talk.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
US False Flag - The Liefare Warfare State / Politics / US Politics
By: Thomas_J_DiLorenzo
In his famous essay, “War is the Health of the State,” Randolph Bourne made an important distinction between country and state. One’s country is “an inescapable group into which we re born.” As such, “there is no more feeling of rivalry with other peoples than there is in our feeling for our family.” Country is “a concept of peace, of tolerance, of living and letting live,” wrote Bourne.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Stay Away From Bankers - They’re Your Deadly Enemies / Politics / Banksters
By: Richard_Daughty
I’m back, and finally calmed down, from my disastrous trip to the bank. I’ve never been so angry and humiliated in my life, even including that embarrassing time in the seventh grade when the beautiful Jennifer, whom I deeply, deeply loved more than life itself, told Mary Sue, who told Marcie, who told her boyfriend Mark, who told Todd, who told Bob, who told me, and now everybody knew, that she thinks I’m icky.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
'I Have a Drone' Mena Obama And The Warlords Romp And Jostle / Politics / Middle East
By: Andrew_McKillop
FROM PATERNALISM TO PROXY WAR
U.S. defense officials told the Associated Press that the Navy sent a fourth warship armed with missiles including Tomahawk cruise missiles to the eastern Mediterranean but without immediate orders for missile launch against Syria. Military commanders from the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Israel, France, Italy and Canada met in Amman, Jordan on Sunday, August 25 to coordinate plans for upcoming attacks on Syria. According to France's leading newspaper 'Le Figaro', August 23, guerrilla warfare commandos trained by the US entered Syria for armed action against government forces from mid-August, around Deraa. A previous group of 300 men, probably directed and supported by American CIA operatives, Israeli operatives and Jordanian commandos, although Jordanian participation was denied by officials, crossed the border on August 17. 'Le Figaro' reports that from August 19 the two groups of fighters have united for joint attacks on the forces of Bashr al Assad. For some analysts this may explain use of chemical warfare agents, such as toxic industrial wastes by Syrian army forces so close to Damascus, in a region not previously known for rebel attacks.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Crossing Syria Chemical Weapons Red Line, Obama's Bluff / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Images of multiple dead bodies emerged from Syria last week. It was asserted that poison gas killed the victims, who according to some numbered in the hundreds. Others claimed the photos were faked while others said the rebels were at fault. The dominant view, however, maintains that the al Assad regime carried out the attack.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Why Wages Don't, Won't, and Can't Keep Up With Productivity / Politics / Social Issues
By: Mike_Shedlock
By now, everyone is well aware that real wages have not kept up worker productivity. But why is that?
The Fed, government bureaucrats, and economists are puzzled by the phenomenon as well as what to do about it.
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Monday, August 26, 2013
NewsSpeak - Al Jazeera and Russia Today Propaganda or Factual Reporting? / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: BATR
Only a public relations genius would roll out a news channel in the domestic American TV market with the name Al Jazeera. Sparing no expense, this new leap into sober journalism has not been seen since the formation of regional news bureaus in the days when CNN was a serious network. The Current TV purchase, financed by the Qatar government, shows that money can buy glitz and glamour, when reporting from the trenches of global conflicts or personal tragedies. Notwithstanding, hiring known retreads or celebrity has-beens, the cast of characters that will present this new version of reality, needs to earn creditability for the public to overlook the image of the corporate logo.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Ron Paul - Middle of the Road in Healthcare Leads to Socialism / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
The ever-expanding role of government in healthcare provides an excellent example of Ludwig Von Mises' warning that "The Middle of the Road Leads to Socialism." Beginning in the 1940s, government policies distorted the health care market, causing prices to rise and denying many Americans access to quality care. Congress reacted to the problems caused by their prior interventions with new interventions, such as the HMO Act, ERISA, EMTLA, and various federal entitlement programs. Each new federal intervention not only failed to fix the problems it was supposedly created to solve, it created new problems, leading to calls for even more new federal interventions. This process culminated in 2010, when Congress passed Obamacare.
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Sunday, August 25, 2013
Ron Paul - Private Property Is the Essence of Liberty / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
This selection is taken from chapter 10 of A Foreign Policy of Freedom by Ron Paul, available in both print and ebook editions at the Mises Store.
Privacy is the essence of liberty. Without it, individual rights cannot exist. Privacy and property are interlocked. If both were protected, little would need to be said about other civil liberties. If one’s home, church or business is one’s castle, and the privacy of one’s person, papers and effects are rigidly protected, all rights desired in a free society will be guaranteed. Diligently protecting the right to privacy and property guarantees religious, journalistic and political experience, as well as a free market economy and sound money. Once a careless attitude emerges with respect to privacy, all other rights are jeopardized.
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Sunday, August 25, 2013
Government Should Not Define What a Reporter is—or Isn’t / Politics / US Politics
By: Walter_Brasch
Sen. Diane Feinstein and a horde of members of Congress of both parties want to decide who is and who isn’t a reporter. Sen. Feinstein says a “real” reporter is a “salaried agent of a media company.”
She mentions the usual suspects—New York Times, ABC News. She dismisses part-time staff. She dismisses freelancers. She dismisses those who write, often without pay, for the hundreds of alternative publications, and often break news and investigative stories well ahead of the mainstream media. She dismisses anyone who, she says, “have no professional qualifications.”
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