Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Who Has More To Lose In A No Deal Brexit? / Politics / BrExit
By: Submissions
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Thursday, May 09, 2019
The Global Consequences of U.S. Executive Power / Politics / US Politics
By: Dan_Steinbock
(Or How Carl Schmitt Took Over the 21st Century White House) Since the Nixon era, the lure of executive power has increased in the White House. After decades of global integration, misguided policy decisions, legitimized in the name of ‘national security,’ can derail economic prospects in America and worldwide. The doctrines share a dark history.
The first administration to make explicit reference to the "Unitary Executive" was the Reagan administration. Typically, the practice has evolved since the 1970s, when President Nixon decoupled U.S. dollar from the Bretton Woods gold standard and trade deficits began to rise.
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Wednesday, May 08, 2019
Mueller Never Wanted The Truth / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Zero Hedge ran an article about omissions from the Mueller report and/or investigation. It’s instructive, but there is more. First, some bits from that article:
Major Mueller Report Omissions Suggest Incompetence Or A Coverup
Read full article... Read full article...Robert Mueller’s 448-page “Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election” contains at least two major omissions which suggest that the special counsel and his entire team of world-class Democrat attorneys are either utterly incompetent, or purposefully concealing major crimes committed against the Trump campaign and the American people.
First, according to The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland (a former law clerk of nearly 25 years and instructor at the college of business at the University of Notre Dame) – the Mueller report fails to consider whether the dossier authored by former MI6 spy Christopher Steele was Russian disinformation, and Steele was not charged with lying to the FBI.
“The Steele dossier, which consisted of a series of memorandum authored by the former MI6 spy, detailed intel purportedly provided by a variety of Vladimir Putin-connected sources. For instance, Steele identified Source A as “a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure” who “confided that the Kremlin had been feeding Trump and his team valuable intelligence on his opponents, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”
Wednesday, May 08, 2019
Will Katie Hopkins Stand for BrExit Party in Elections After Helping Destroy UKIP? / Politics / UK Politics
By: N_Walayat
Katie Hopkins darling of the far right latest tweets are alluding to her preparing to make the leap from UKIP to the Brexit Party. After all UKIP effectively died in the local elections, so a case of mission accomplished for the Trojan Horse that are Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson, who successfully turned what should have been a UKIP local elections victory in the wake of Westminster Brexit chaos into an even worse performance than that of the Tories, by losing more than 80% of their councilors to end the night down 145 councilors with just 31 left. A TOTAL DISASTER!
Which should not come as much surprise to those who follow my analysis as I forewarned what to expect in electoral terms of the impact of Trojan Horse right win fanatics for the fundamental fact is that elections are won at the margins and not by preaching extreme messages to die hard supporters as they would have voted for UKIP regardless.
29 Mar 2019 - UK INDEPENDENCE DAY CANCELLED! As Westminster SUBVERTS BREXIT!
Brexit Master Nigel Farage understands this which is why he will storm the European elections by winning at least 25 seats! Literally going from nothing to 25+ seats all within a couple of months of the launch of his Brexit Party! A true electoral genius, who unlike the idiot in charge of UKIP understands that the likes of Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson are toxic to political parties.
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Monday, May 06, 2019
Earth vs. The Human Amoeba / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
A few days ago, I received a video of an April 22 (Earth Day) lecture by my longtime friend Nate Hagens. Nate and I both owe a lot concerning our view and understanding of the world to Jay Hanson, who tragically died about a month ago on a diving trip in Indonesia. Many people have written and thought about issues of energy, or economics, or ecology; Jay brought it all together and, crucially, added the human brain and genetic properties to the mix.
Teaching at the University of Minnesota, Nate has greatly expanded on this big picture, and produces -among other things- a lot of video material for his students. Lucky them: a view with so much breadth and depth at the same time is exceedingly rare. What most people don’t get is that you can say: we can do so-and-so, but it’s mostly just in theory. In practice, our brains make us react much different from the theory. Because it’s not our “rational brain” that drives us, it’s our amoeba brain.
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Monday, May 06, 2019
America’s Iran Plans Suffer from a Double-Bind / Politics / Iran
By: Dan_Steinbock
The Triangle Drama of the United States, Iran, and China
Starting in May, the White House hopes to extinguish Iran’s oil exports. However, any destabilization may prove counter-productive and cause long-term damage to the United States, the region and global prospects.
For three years, the nuclear accord (JCPOA) offered Iran relief from the multilateral sanctions on energy, financial, shipping, automotive and other sectors.
The shift in the U.S. policy began in late 2016, when the Congress extended the Iran Sanctions Act for a decade. That emboldened Trump's unipolar stance.
But what are the immediate economic and strategic implications?
Monday, May 06, 2019
Is Trump Foreign Policy Designed Backwards to Disrupt the Empire? / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Merrill
According to US conservatives, Donald Trump’s MAGA has served to sharpen the bristles of US foreign policy reigning in the competing global powers with sanctions and far reaching power-plays in trade and weaponry, way beyond Obama and even Clinton.Even the death zombie Dems have to applaud Trump at times, when he bombs Syria on fake news or sanctions Russia even more or tries to overthrow the Venezuelan government with gangster tactics. The billionaires’ media finally finds its President then.
So, the self-serving assessment in Washington is that Trump the Terrible has been successfully compromised into fully supporting Empire games of endless war and chaos, just like his recent predecessors. The conclusion becomes there is simply is no resisting the US intelligence agencies that are the spearpoint for Congress’ faithful alliance with the Merchants of Death, 1tr a year and vastly growing.
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Thursday, May 02, 2019
Stop Feeding the Chinese Empire - ‘Belt and Road’ Trojan Horse / Politics / China US Conflict
By: Richard_Mills
“Whoever has an army has power.” - Mao Zedong
In March Italy broke ranks with its EU partners in joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, known also as One Belt, One Road or the New Silk Road.
Students of history know the original “Silk Road” refers to the ancient network of trading routes between China and Europe, which served as both a conduit for the movement of goods, and an exchange of ideas, for centuries.
The “New Silk Road” is the term for an ambitious trade corridor first proposed by the Chinese regime under its current president, Xi Jinping, in 2013. The grand design also known, confusingly, as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a “belt” of overland corridors and a “road” of shipping lanes.
It consists of a vast network of railways, pipelines, highways and ports that would extend west through the mountainous former Soviet republics and south to Pakistan, India and southeast Asia.
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Wednesday, May 01, 2019
America’s Gradual Slide, Experience and Withdrawal From Vietnam - Part 2 / Politics / US Politics
By: Raymond_Matison
Continuation from Part1 - Vietnam, Part I: Colonialism and National Liberation
The Kennedy Years
Before he became President, a tour of Vietnam convinced John Kennedy that the US must align herself with the emerging nations, and that Communism could never be defeated by relying solely of force of arms. His Indochina experience led him to that conclusion, as did a dinner conversation in New Delhi with Jawaharlal Nehru, who called the French as an example of doomed colonialism and said Communism offered the masses “something to die for” whereas the West promised only the status quo. War would not stop Communism, Nehru warned him; it would only enhance it, “for the devastation of war breeds only more poverty and more want.” In 1957 JFK declared in a Senate speech “The most powerful single force in the world today, is neither communism nor capitalism, neither the H-bomb nor the guided missile – it is man’s eternal desire to be free and independent.”
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Monday, April 29, 2019
Climate Gains in the West, Exported Pollution in the Rest / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dan_Steinbock
Recently, President Duterte slammed Canada for sending waste to the Philippines. Yet, the challenge is huge. Exported pollution from advanced economies penalizes the rest of the world and distorts climate gains.President Duterte’s statement ensued after environmental groups’ renewed call for Canada to take back waste sent to the Philippines in the Aquino era, some six years ago.
According to the Pacific Center for Environmental Law and Litigation (PCELL), Ontario-based Chronic Inc. shipped 40-foot containers to the country in 2013, which is considered “illegal traffic” under Article 9 of the Basel Convention. More than 100 shipping containers arrived in Philippine ports around 2013-14.
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Monday, April 29, 2019
The World's Saddest And Happiest Countries - Hanke's Annual Misery Index 2018 / Politics / Social Issues
By: Steve_H_Hanke
The human condition inhabits a vast continuum between "miserable" and "happy." In the sphere of economics, misery tends to flow from high inflation, steep borrowing costs and unemployment. The most surefire way to mitigate that misery is economic growth. All else equal, happiness tends to blossom when growth is strong, inflation and interest rates are low, and jobs are plentiful.
Many countries measure and report these economic metrics on a regular basis. Comparing them, nation by nation, can tell us a lot about where in the world people are sad or happy.
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Sunday, April 28, 2019
Joe Biden Works for Donald Trump / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Joe Biden is working for Donald Trump, right? I haven’t heard either of them say it outright, but it’s the only reason I can see that would explain why Biden is running for president. And if Biden works for Trump, that means he works for Putin, because Trump is Putin’s puppet, no matter how often Robert Mueller denies it.
Then again, if we would suggest, purely hypothetically and for entertainment purposes only, that Biden is neither Putin’s nor Trump’s puppet, what on earth drives him to declare his candidacy as the oldest ever presidential candidate in US history? Biden will be Trump’s punching bag. There is so much wrong with and about the man, Trump’s not even laughing, just saying: “oh yes, please, bring it.”
Biden has the Anita Hill boondoggle to his name, there’s a huge nascent story concerning Ukraine, where he interfered, while vice-president, to benefit his son, and there are tons of women who will come with groping tales. This will be a very long list, as long as his career in Washington. Biden bumbles and stumbles for a living. Someone’s going to write a book about that someday.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Mueller Report - Cover-up for Real Crimes / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
If one listens to the Democrats or the mainstream media, the impression that is being fed to the American public is that the Trump investigation will just intensify. The sacred Grand Inquisitor, Robert Mueller once the darling of the witch hunt, is now a spineless hangman who failed to topple the king. After this tortured process of the Deep State cover-up, the central concocted reason for finding collusion with some imaginary Russian plot to fix the 2016 presidential election never provided the evidence to prove this establishment narrative. Pray tell; no boot licking toady would ever admit that the U.S. imperial empire ever intervened or staged subversion into foreign elections or governmental overthrows.
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
Could Taxing the Rich Solve Income Inequality? / Politics / Taxes
By: Harry_Dent
Tax Day Monday. Have you filed yet?A tax professional friend of mine told me recently that he’s surprised every year to see how many people leave their tax filing to the last minute.
Maybe they’re too busy. Maybe they live under a rock…
Regardless, they can’t escape it. As U.S. citizens, we wear the IRS ankle brace wherever we go.
So, when I moved to Puerto Rico in May 2016, the tax implications didn’t cross my mind. I packed up and shipped out to be closer to my vacation home on Culebra, not only to expedite its completion, but to enjoy it more freely. In hindsight, the move brought with it some much welcomed tax benefits…
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
Taxes and Government Waste, Is There a Better Way? / Politics / Taxes
By: Rodney_Johnson
This is an expensive week for me. Our wedding anniversary is the 14th, Tax Day is the 15th, and my youngest child’s birthday falls on the 16th.Only two of those days make me happy.
This year I’m getting a bit of a refund, but I’ll never see it. Because my income varies, it’s hard to know how much to pay every quarter, so I usually overpay. But then my accountant just applies the refund to next year’s tax bill.
One day I want to get the check in my hand. I send so much to Uncle Sam, for once I want him to send some cash to me!
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Saturday, April 20, 2019
Is Political Partisanship Killing America? / Politics / US Politics
By: Richard_Mills
Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights was reportedly made “after getting a quick history lesson during a conversation on a different subject,” states a news story that has been making the social media rounds lately. It showed up on my Facebook feed.
Curious, I clicked on the link. The Reuters article went on to explain how ‘The Donald’ made the snap decision at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. The referenced conversation was between himself, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Both men are Jewish. No bias there.
“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie.” Trump recounted to the amiable crowd.
Was the history lesson objective, giving a fair account of both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict, leading the listener – Trump - to draw his own conclusion? Not a chance.
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Saturday, April 20, 2019
Trump - They Were All Lying / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
A dear friend the other day accused me of defending Trump. I don’t, and never have, but it made me think that if she says it, probably others say and think the same; I’ve written a lot about him. So let me explain once again. Though I think perhaps this has reached a “you’re either with us or against us’ level.
What I noticed, and have written a lot about, during and since the 2016 US presidential campaign, is that the media, both in the US and abroad, started making up accusations against Trump from scratch. This included the collusion with Russia accusation that led to the Mueller probe.
There was never any proof of the accusation, which is why the conclusion of the probe was No Collusion. I started writing this yesterday while awaiting the presentation of the Mueller report, but it wouldn’t have mattered one way or the other: the accusation was clear, and so was the conclusion.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Public Banking Revolution Is Upon Us / Politics / Banksters
By: Ellen_Brown
As public banking gains momentum across the country, policymakers in California and Washington state are vying to form the nation’s second state-owned bank, following in the footsteps of the highly successful Bank of North Dakota, founded in 1919. The race is extremely close, with state bank bills now passing their first round of committee hearings in both states’ senates.
In California, the story begins in 2011, when then-Assemblyman Ben Hueso filed his first bill to explore the creation of a state bank. The bill, which was for a blue-ribbon committee to do a feasibility study, sailed through both legislative houses and seemed to be a go. That is, until Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, not on grounds that he disapproved of the concept, but because he said we did not need another blue-ribbon committee. The state had a banking committee that could review the matter in-house. Needless to say, nothing was heard of the proposal after that.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2019
America Dancing On The Crumbling Precipice / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
Dancing on the crumbling precipice The rocks are coming loose just at the edge Are we laughing? Are we crying? Are we drowning? Are we dead? Or is it all a dream?
The bombs are getting closer everyday “That can never happen here” we used to say Have these wars come to our doorstep? Has this moment finally come? Or is it all a dream?
Rise Against – The Violence
This recent song by Rise Against, inspired by the turmoil since the 2016 election of Donald Trump, captures the feeling of angst and uncertainty engulfing the world today. This Fourth Turning is entering its most violent stage, where blood will be spilled in vast quantities as an epic conflict between good and evil plays out across the globe. Eighty years ago, the bloodiest conflict in human history began, as the social mood turned dark and compromise was no longer a viable option.
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Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Trump May Regret His Fed Takeover Attempt / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Patrick_Watson
Some things are too important to leave to politicians.
One such thing: the money supply. That’s why the Federal Reserve is an independent agency, at least in theory.
Presidents like this arrangement because it lets them disclaim responsibility when the Fed does something unpopular. But that only works if the president doesn’t even try to assert control.
Trying to influence the Fed, as Trump is doing, has three possible outcomes—and two of them are bad for Trump. Either…