Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Gadhafi's Days Numbered, Libyan Rebels In Tripoli / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Reports of explosions and heavy gunfire in Tripoli on Aug. 20 indicate that rebel fighters may be beginning an attempt to lay siege on the Libyan capital with the aim of removing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Based on the limited information available so far and the immense complications entailed in trying to seize a metropolis like Tripoli, however, it does not appear that the rebels are in a position to wage a final assault against Gadhafi.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The U.S. Budget Deficit and Debt Crisis in One Picture / Politics / US Debt
By: Jesse
I like this graphic for several reasons, but especially because it puts everything in proportion with regard to the US' current obligations.
One thing I would like to highlight is the large surplus funds in the Social Security Trust and others. These were 'invested' in a special type of intra-governmental Treasury note.
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Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Root Causes of the Global Financial Crisis / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Bob_Chapman
Every professional has their own method of analyzing markets, finance and economies, and some do well coming up with the direction of social and political issues as well. The other 97% miss one-half to two-thirds of the time. That is not very good and one asks why? The answer is simple they really haven’t studied history as well as they should have.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Enough Already With the Macho U.S. Dollar / Politics / US Dollar
By: Ian_Fletcher
A strong dollar, like a strong defense or strong democratic institutions, sounds like a naturally good thing. But it's not. A strong dollar is an unwise goal.
I recently had an e-mail exchange with an extremely distinguished conservative commentator-a familiar name to most-who was worrying that the dollar isn't getting the "respect" it used to.
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Friday, August 19, 2011
Evidence Banks Bought Off Washington / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Stathis
One of the themes I have been emphasizing over the past few years focuses on the destruction of the U.S. economy and control over the political system by lobbyist groups. As long as lobbyists exist, America will continue to be run by corporations. What does this really mean?
It’s quite simple. Control over government by corporate interests is defined as fascism. This is precisely the type of government that has presided over United States for well over three decades. As long as corporate interests control Washington, the United States will never have a government that resembles a democracy, much less a republic.
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Friday, August 19, 2011
Chavez Tells England "Hand Back My Gold" / Politics / Gold and Silver 2011
By: Andrew_McKillop
A long-running saga of the 1980s and 1990s was the strident demand by England's Margaret Thatcher for the European Commission to hand back what she considered was Britain's over-large contribution to European Union spending on themes that Mrs Thatcher did not like - for example trying to cut youth unemployment and stop industries delocalizing out of Europe. As she said: this was a wanton infringement of free playing go-go markets.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Globalization and Global Financial and Economic Chaos / Politics / Global Economy
By: Submissions
Ron Hera writes: As social and political upheaval and civil unrest have spread across the globe, it has become clear that the problems facing Western countries are neither transient nor temporary. Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States share a common set of problems over and above economic decline and sovereign debt issues linked to problems of the global financial system. The issues surrounding civil unrest comprise a lack of economic opportunity, political disenfranchisement, erosion of individual rights, a systematic lack of accountability from local authorities to national leaders, deteriorating credibility of political and financial leaders and disintegrating national government legitimacy. The reason that the above problems are common to Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States is that they are all linked to globalization.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Joint Chinese-Indian Oil Tanker Patrols Possible? / Politics / Crude Oil
By: OilPrice_Com
Aside from cost, the major problem for oil importing countries is getting the purchases safely home. Essentially, there are only two options - pipelines and maritime transport.Both are vulnerable to attack and this is increasingly preoccupying Chinese leaders, especially as, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's dependence on imported oil rose to 55.2 percent for the first five months of 2011, surging to 9.61 million barrels per day. Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Economic Riots, The U.S. Is Becoming a Very Frightening Place / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Economic Collapse Blog writes: You should let the video footage of the wild violence that just took place in London burn into your memory because the same things are going to be happening all over the United States as the economy continues to crumble. We have raised an entire generation of young people with an "entitlement mentality", but now the economy is producing very few good jobs that will actually enable our young people to work for what they feel they are entitled to. If you are under 30 in America today, things look really bleak.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Don’t Swallow the FED’s $16 Trillion Suicide Pill / Politics / Central Banks
By: LewRockwell
Michael McKay writes: In case you missed it, on July 21st 2011 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a 266 page partial audit of the Federal Reserve (FED).
Here is the punch line: The Federal Reserve secretly kept the Phony-Fiat-Money-System afloat by "lending" out $16 Trillion Dollars to various corporations and banks, many of which were foreign, non-U.S. entities like The Bank of Scotland, UBS (Switzerland), Deutche Bank (Germany) and Societe Generale SA (France) between December 1, 2007 through July 21, 2010 (read this as: Created-Out-Of-Thin-Air and had refused to tell us). The details are on page 133 which you can read here.
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Mainstream Media Are Paid To Lie for the State / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: LewRockwell
Scott Lazarowitz writes: It’s bad enough the possibility that there might have been some hanky-panky going on regarding the vote count at the Iowa Straw Poll this week, in which Ron Paul received 4,671 votes to Michele Bachmann’s 4,823, a difference of just 152 votes. But to see one national media outlet after another completely ignoring Dr. Paul’s virtual tie for the #1 spot, and others who continue to dismiss Paul as "fringe," despite Paul’s being the most mainstream and commonsensical of all the candidates, is amazing.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Planet of the Taxpayers / Politics / Taxes
By: Jeffrey_A_Tucker
The remake of The Planet of the Apes — the apes look real this time — purports to give the backstory of how it is that the world came to be governed by primates while the handful of humans are caged and abused.
The story line is so conventional that you could make it up just sitting there. A private-sector biochemical corporation rushes to test a drug that is supposed to reverse Alzheimer's. It is tested on apes and the drug makes them strangely intelligent. But the same drug unleashes a killer virus among humans. The rest is science-fiction history.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
How the Economic Stimulus Racket Works / Politics / Economic Stimulus
By: MISES
Charlie Virgo writes: Have you ever noticed that the failed policies of politicians never really seem to be brought to light? How is it that despite their obvious shortcomings, the same policies are implemented time and time again? These interventions rarely have the promised effects, but they are somehow still deemed a success. In his book The Vision of the Anointed, Thomas Sowell explains the process by which politicians and their supporters are able to either create or take advantage of crises in order to increase their involvement in society. I thought it would be worthwhile to review this pattern as it applies to a more recent issue: the stimulus and bailout packages.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Nuclear Power, The Economic Dirty Bomb / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
Within the next 15 years as many as 100 industry standard 900 MW nuclear reactors, concentrated in the "old nuclear' countries will have to be decommissioned, dismantled and made safe - unless the sinister farce of reactor operating lifetime extensions goes on playing. In some countries, especially Germany, Switzerland and probably Japan this farce has already ended or could end very soon. When it does, nuclear debt will go into overdrive from its already high gear shift setting.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Euro-zone Sovereign Government Debt, Too Many Emergency Meetings in Europe / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Gary_North
If the sovereign government debt situation in Europe is anywhere near a final economic solution, why do the heads of Germany and France keep meeting? These meetings are getting more frequent.
Why didn't all the previous meetings solve the economic problem of PIIGS debt?
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Krugman's New Extraterrestrial Economic Plan For America / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Jeff_Berwick
The collapse of the US Government and US dollar is really turning into some of the best entertainment you can find. We've been enjoying it for the profit alone with our large position in gold and hard asset related investments. Just the humor, however, is worth the price of admission. We've stopped watching comedy movies. Will Ferrell can't beat this.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
As Economy Crumbles, Media Goes into Ritual Politics Mode / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
And so it came to pass, as predicted, projected, and warned about, that the economy is about to tank again. No less an authority than Nouriel Roubini, once dismissed as “Dr. Doom” for his accurate predictions of the financial crisis in 2007 and 20088, is shaking his head and pointing his finger again.
In intellectual circles, there’s more and more talk about the fall of America. Even Noam Chomsky who wrote some of his 150 books about the rise of the American empire sees the handwriting on the wall.
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Monday, August 15, 2011
U.S. Debt Rating Downgrade, S&P States the Obvious / Politics / US Debt
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Politicians did not get much time to pat themselves on the back for supposedly rescuing the economy with the debt limit deal last week. The ink was barely dry when Standard & Poor's downgraded the US debt ratings anyway, roiling world financial markets. Anyone who has taken an honest look at the government's fiscal situation, taken into account how Washington works and the direction it is going would have a very difficult time arguing with S&P's decision, although a strong case can be made that this was too incremental a downgrade and that it took far too long for S&P to admit the obvious.
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Monday, August 15, 2011
U.S. Super Congress, Representation, Secession and Taxation / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
Now that the Super Congress drops any vestige of equal representation within the House or the Senate, many people ask what is next. The concept of a republic form of government is a core element that separates the American experience from that of most "so called" democratic countries. The funeral for our Republic deserves to be the newest national holiday. Most oblivious taxpayers do not even know that the death of the constitution occurred well before any of us were born. Yet, the country carries along with the myth that out vote counts in elections and that we have representation in the halls and corridors of government.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Glenn Beck Is No Ron Paul / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Aaron David Ward writes: For a man who claims to be a principled defender of freedom, Glenn Beck leaves a lot to be desired. He talks out of both sides of his mouth and never seems to miss an opportunity to bash Congressman Paul who is one of the few principled defenders of liberty in a position of power seemingly left in the U.S.
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