Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
European Satellites Ordered To Drop Iranian Broacast Channels In Disregard of Free Speech / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Danny_Schechter
New York, New York: Back in the 1960’s, A British poet, Adrian Mitchell, one of the great bards of that era, wrote a poem that went on to become a stage show in the West End of London. It was called Tell Me Lies about Vietnam and represented one voice among millions in the world then opposing that War
It was addressed, “To Whom It May Concern” and began with words that became its refrain:
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
China’s Pyramid of Power, The Communist Party Elite / Politics / China
By: Frank_Holmes
China celebrated another achievement last week, as Mo Yan became the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize for literature. The selection of Mo was praised by a Chinese nationalist tabloid as a sign that mainstream China could "no longer be refused by the West for long."
Mo grew up in Shandong province in northeastern China, and during the Cultural Revolution, he left school to work in the fields, finishing his education in the army, according to The Guardian. The author draws upon his rural upbringing in his novels, mixing historical perspective with mythical elements. His real name is Guan Moye, but he chose "Mo Yan" as a pen name meaning "don't speak," to reflect the culture in which he grew up.
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Fiscal Cliff Threatens U.S. With Recession, Politicans Lack Ability to Find Solution / Politics / US Economy
By: Bloomberg
Bloomberg Television's Trish Regan sits down with four CEOs for a special edition of "Street Smart" focused on fixing the country's debt. Tune in to hear from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, NASDAQ CEO Bob Greifeld, UPS CEO Scott Davis and Honeywell CEO David Cote, who are all part of the Fix the Debt campaign.
The CEOs agree: It's Washington's fault we're not hiring and not spending. Honeywell's Cote says, "If we were playing with fire in the debt ceiling, we'll be playing with nitroglycerine now when it comes to the fiscal cliff."
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Why Are We Bailing Out the Banks - The Big Lie / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Jesse
Economics and the corporate media did exemplary service in promoting 'the Big Lies' of the financialisation crisis, most notably efficient markets theory and the trickle down theory of stuffing the rich with even greater power and wealth in the thought that some of the excess would fall on the path for the little people.
They have tied these old canards so carefully to emotional arguments that even after the crisis and collapse, many people will still respond reflexively to anything that shakes their faith in a failed, fallen system.
Monday, October 15, 2012
BLS Keeping Up Statistical Appearances / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week, supporters of the current administration rejoiced over job numbers released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). For the first time since the administration came to power, the official unemployment number fell below 8%. Keynesian cheerleaders all claimed the numbers meant we are surely on the road to economic recovery, just in time for Christmas, and also, the election. Others saw through this ruse.
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Monday, October 15, 2012
The Real Reason America Nuked Japan / Politics / US Politics
By: Washingtons_Blog
Atomic Weapons Were Not Needed to End the War or Save Lives
Like all Americans, I was taught that the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to end WWII and save both American and Japanese lives.
But most of the top American military officials at the time said otherwise.
The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey group, assigned by President Truman to study the air attacks on Japan, produced a report in July of 1946 that concluded (52-56):
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Will the US Disintergrate? / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Jack D. Douglas writes: An essay by Simon Black, sent to me by Wes Drawdy down in South Carolina, is a very good overview from the ground up of what's happening in the Spanish Financial Crisis and is very similar to what is already happening in Greece, Italy and Portugal and will likely soon be happening in France and northward. He emphasizes the "capital flight" he could see all around him, people rushing to get their money out of the Spanish banks before emergency laws impose severe restrictions on withdrawals, as has already begun in less drastic ways in Italy, and getting it out of Spain, especially to nearby Andora. The financial Media are covering this, but they are emphasizing the banks' massive borrowing to the de facto insolvent Spanish government, which makes the banks de facto insolvent, while all officials are pretending this is not yet at the critical level which could produce a full scale banking panic any day. The Media also do not catch the sense of growing panic among the people in general, as Black does.
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Nobel Prize Heralds the Shining Future of Quantum Computing / Politics / Technology
By: DK_Matai
Quantum Computing is one of the most interesting innovations happening in science today -- as ATCA 5000 has repeatedly pointed out -- and yet it is also one of the hardest to explain. The latest Nobel prize shows that "Quantum Computing" is not some esoteric mystical concept: it is extremely concrete.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
London's Bankster Parasites Paradise / Politics / Banksters
By: James_Petras
Whenever financial swindlers prosper at the expense of investors or a bank jiggers interest rates to bugger their competitors or tax evaders flee fiscal crises or rent gouging petrol monarchies recycle profits or oligarchs pillage economies and drive millions to drink, drugs and destitution they find a suitable secure sanctuary in London. They are wooed and pursued by big British realtors eager to sell them multi-million dollar estates, trophy properties and landmark mansions.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Syria Regime Change, False Flag Energy / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Andrew_McKillop
For the Libya war and regime change things were easy: Libya is a big supplier of oil and gas to Europe. Quickly replacing the Gaddafi regime was necessary, despite "the Colonel" being recycled back into grace with a Condoleeza Rice, Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi smile and handshake, and replaced by a Shariah-proclaiming shaky government and its fundamentalist militias, who celebrated Sept 11th 2012 in a special way, by killing the US ambassador. But hydrocarbon supplies are vital!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
War with Iran Keshe Weirdness / Politics / Iran
By: Patrick_Henningsen
Danté Xavier Voltaire writes: Is there a hidden dimension to the war posturing against Iran by the Western Alliance?
Mehran Tavakoli Keshe, an Iranian born Nuclear Engineer, Inventor and Founder of The Keshe Foundation, based in Belgium, claims to have helped the Iranian Government develop a ‘superior’ space program based on his nuclear plasma technology. The Iranian Government openly promotes their space program and may have used a Keshe technology based ‘UFO’ style anti-gravity spaceship complete with tractor beams to capture the infamous US RQ170 Sentinel drone, an event which embarrassed the Obama administration and shook the CIA in December 2011.
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Saturday, October 13, 2012
Figures Lie, Liars Figure, the Math of Mainstream Economists / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Bill_Bonner
We also have a way to vastly increase US household income – the feds have only to spend more money! Just add zeros. How about that? The poor family has not a dime more in real, spendable income…but we’ve managed – by clever use of mathematics and economics – to double its income.
But that illustrates the nature of modern economics. It is all numbers…and none of them mean anything. And none means less than the zero.
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Nobel Peace Prize for Europe for Not Starting World War III / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Adrian_Ash
Sorry, but history didn't end sometime between your birth and your breakfast today...
BACK in 2009 when Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize just nine months after becoming US president, he said he felt "surprised" and "deeply humbled".
Friday, October 12, 2012
Navigating the US's Politicized Economy / Politics / US Economy
By: Casey_Research
Terry Coxon, Casey Research : Absent the state's involvement in the workings of the marketplace, an investor's central task would be to evaluate companies for their ability to efficiently produce and market what customers want. Shrewdness at that one task would lead to the profits investors are looking for. And there would be other consequences.
The stocks of companies that succeeded in convincing investors that they had the right stuff (primarily through good performance) would be bid up. Stocks of companies that failed to make their case to investors would tend to drift down, and any company whose stock drifted low enough would become a takeover target. A takeover would replace underperforming management with a new team of officers and directors – individuals picked by the people who laid out their own money to buy enough shares to control the company.
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Bad News For Boomers, The Sustainable Economy Rout Gets Bigger / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Andrew_McKillop
Bloomberg reports 11 October: Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s biggest wind turbine maker, will fail to repay $209 million of debt due today in the nation’s largest convertible bond default. Its 2016 note slumped to a record. Suzlon won’t be able to redeem two notes maturing today after bondholders rejected its request for a four-month extension. The default will total $209 million.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Turkey, Washington's Puppet, Illustrates America's Moral Degeneracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
On May 31, 2010, the Israeli right-wing government sent armed military troops to illegally board in international waters Gaza aid ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief. The Israelis murdered 8 Turkish citizens and one US citizen in cold blood. Many others were wounded by the forces of “the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Thursday, October 11, 2012
How the Commodity Futures Markets Impoverishes Indian Farmers / Politics / India
By: Global_Research
Kavaljit Singh writes: Thousands of guar farmers in India are today caught in a vicious cycle fuelled by the spectacular rise in the prices of guar seed and guar gum products during the six months period between October 2011 and March 2012.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Is China an Economic Miracle, or Massive Government Sponsored Fraud? / Politics / China Economy
By: Graham_Summers
History has shown us countless times that centrally-‐planned, command style economies do not produce long-term economic growth. We’ve seen this will the Soviet Union, the UK, the US-since the Tech Crash, and today in China.
I realize that many would argue China has adopted free market policies with its “free market zones.” However, even this terminology reveals China is nowhere near a free, dynamic market (a free market is simply a free market, not a “zone.”).
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Thursday, October 11, 2012
Cooked or Accurate US Employment Numbers? / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Stephen_Lendman
For over a decade, US job prospects have been dismal. Since crisis conditions erupted in 2008, they've been dire for millions wanting work.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Syria, Turkey, Israel and a Greater Middle East Energy War / Politics / Middle East
By: F_William_Engdahl
On October 3, 2012 the Turkish military launched repeated mortar shellings inside Syrian territory. The military action, which was used by the Turkish military, conveniently, to establish a ten-kilometer wide no-man’s land “buffer zone” inside Syria, was in response to the alleged killing by Syrian armed forces of several Turkish civilians along the border. There is widespread speculation that the one Syrian mortar that killed five Turkish civilians well might have been fired by Turkish-backed opposition forces intent on giving Turkey a pretext to move militarily, in military intelligence jargon, a ‘false flag’ operation.