Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
U.S. Iran Sneak Attack? / Politics / Iran
By: Pravda
It has been revealed that hundreds of powerful U.S. “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California in the U.S. to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. Although Diego Garcia is part of British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
Iran’s Natural Gas Riches / Politics / Natural Gas
By: Global_Research
The scheduled start of drilling this month by China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) in Iran's South Pars gas field could be both a harbinger and explanation of much wider geopolitical developments.
First of all, the $5 billion project - signed last year after years of foot dragging by western energy giants Total and Shell under the shadow of US-led sanctions - reveals the main arterial system for future world energy supply and demand.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Differences Between Lehman Brothers and the U.S. Government / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
The report of Anton R. Valukas, Examiner, in the bankruptcy case of Lehman Brothers is out, and it provides much food for thought, of which a small portion is consumed here. There is one intriguing paragraph at the outset that raises a question in my mind: How different is the U.S. government from Lehman?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Next Big Bank Bailout is on the Way Prepare To Get Reamed! / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Whitney
Housing is on the rocks and prices are headed lower. That's not the consensus view, but it's a reasonably safe assumption. Master illusionist Ben Bernanke managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust will wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities and long-term interest rates begin to creep higher.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Geithner and Bernanke's Possibly Criminal Roles in Lehman's Scandal / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Mike_Whitney
After a year-long investigation, court-appointed bank examiner Anton Valukas has produced a deadly 2,200 page report which details the activities that led to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The report is a keg of dynamite. The question now is whether anyone in government has the nerve to light the fuse. Valukas provides powerful evidence that Lehman executives were involved in “balance sheet manipulation” by implementing an arcane accounting procedure called “Repo 105” which masked the bank's true financial condition from investors and regulators.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
What Caused the Financial Crisis, Delusion or Crime? Critique of Michael Lewis / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Danny_Schechter
The Big Short Is A Bit Short In Missing The Reasons for The Crisis: Michael Lewis’s Delusion Thesis vs Senator Kaufman’s Case for Crime
It’s the number one book in the county. Every day, Michael Lewis’s the Big Short is getting B I G G E R, no doubt because he is so mediagenic, conversational and likes to laugh with the hosts who interview him about his findings.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Germany’s Place in Europe, The MittelEuropa Redux / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: STRATFOR
The global system is undergoing profound change. Three powers — Germany, Iran and China — face challenges forcing them to refashion the way they interact with their regions and the world. We will explore each of these three states in detail in our next three geopolitical weeklies, highlighting how STRATFOR’s assessments of these states are evolving. We will examine Germany first.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
U.S. Congress Supporting the War Instead of the Troops / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week, Congress debated a resolution directing the President to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan no later than the end of this year. The Constitution gives the power to declare war to the Congress, so it is clearly appropriate for Congress to assert its voice on matters of armed conflict. In recent decades, however, Congress has defaulted on this most critical duty, essentially granting successive presidents the unilateral (and clearly unconstitutional) power to begin and end wars at will. This resolution was not expected to pass; however, the ensuing debate and floor vote served some very important purposes.
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Sunday, March 14, 2010
Life is Great ... But Only If You Are Already Mega-Wealthy / Politics / Social Issues
By: Washingtons_Blog
As I pointed out in November: A report by University of California, Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez concludes that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Greatest Financial Crime Ever Perpetrated, This Video Could Put Geithner Behind Bars / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Mike_Whitney
You gotta see this! If this doesn't convince you that the Timothy Geithner knew about the securities shenanigans that were going on at Lehman, than I don't know what will.
Keep in mind, that Geithner ran Lehman through 3 "stress tests" prior to bankruptcy; all of which Lehman failed, and yet, nothing was done. Anton R. Valukas--the examiner who wrote the 2,200 page investigative-report which was released on Thursday-- has provided plenty of information detailing Lehman's “materially misleading” accounting and “actionable balance sheet manipulation.”
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Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Extraordinary Writs / Politics / US Politics
By: Charlie_Tarango
Most people have heard about and have a cursory knowledge of The Writ of Habeas Corpus. That is but one of many.
The “Extraordinary Writs” ( Habeas Corpus, Prohibition, Mandamus, Certiorari, Attachment, et al., ), are the most powerful force in American Jurisprudence – and no individual – not even the President of the United States – is more powerful.
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Saturday, March 13, 2010
World’s Billionaires Grew 50 Percent Richer in 2009 / Politics / Social Issues
By: Global_Research
Andre Damon writes: 2009 will be remembered by millions of ordinary people as the year they lost their job, their house, or the prospect of an education. For the rich, however, it was a bonanza.
The world’s billionaires saw their wealth grow by 50 percent last year, and their ranks swell to 1,011, from 793, according to the latest Forbes list of billionaires.
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Friday, March 12, 2010
More Propaganda from Washington's Corporate Media Partner / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Mike_Stathis
Last week, Forbes published an article discussing cities across the U.S. "where the recession is ending."
Let me begin in a tone that many of you have come to expect. In my opinion the article was misleading in an attempt to drum up consumer confidence, or else it was written by a someone with absolutely no understanding of what is going on; perhaps a combination of the two.
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Friday, March 12, 2010
Greek Bailout Arrives with Bells On / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Trader_Mark
US banks, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Dubai, Greece... let us keep this moral hazard party going. It's official.
If you are following along at home...
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Friday, March 12, 2010
FDIC Guarantee is just an "illusion", How Safe Is Your Bank, Really? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: EWI
Our FREE report reveals why the FDIC guarantee is just an "illusion"
Friday, March 12, 2010
Government Media Complex Manipulated Statistics, The Greatest Show on Earth / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Andy_Sutton
For many years the title of ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ belonged to Ringling Brothers and its travelling circus. I had the pleasure of seeing the extravaganza for the first time about a year ago and was amazed at the talent of the performers, their skills, and the hours and hours of practice time that went into making everyone sit on the edge of their seats for the better part of two and a half hours.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Washington Must Ban U.S. Credit Derivatives: Games and Gold (Part 2) / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Janet_Tavakoli
In an earlier post, I wrote that Congress should act immediately to abolish credit default swaps on the United States, because these derivatives will foment distortions in global currencies and gold. Credit defaults swaps on the United States currently settle in euros, but there is talk of creating new contracts calling for settlement in gold. This is just a trial balloon discussion at the moment, but it is one that Congress should immediately deflate along with all credit derivatives on the United States.
Friday, March 12, 2010
European Debt Crisis Politicians Blaming the Short Selling Messengers / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Larson
Okay, stop me if you’ve heard this one …
You have an entity that took on too much debt. It cooked its books. It failed to get its fiscal house in order. Its “executives” repeatedly refused to take the necessary steps to rein in risk.
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Friday, March 12, 2010
The Economic Stimulus Scam / Politics / Economic Stimulus
By: MISES
Antony P. Mueller writes: The recent improvement of the global economy, with particularly high economic-growth numbers for the United States, is just one more deception in a long series of deceptions that have plagued policy makers and investors. While official statistics register a rising gross domestic product, the long-term production potential of many economies around the world is actually contracting. The present economic expansion is brought about by massive stimulus policies. This kind of economic expansion does not constitute genuine economic growth.
Friday, March 12, 2010
New Banking Regulations … Same Old Story / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: U.S. banks, drunk with greed, drove the nation's economy to the brink of financial Armageddon.
To save U.S. banks from losing their license to dangle the nation's economy over a cliff, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the country's elected elite threw them a bailout party and gifted them with the accounting- world's version of "Transformers. "