Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Representative Issa's Letter to William Dudley Requesting AIG Bailout Disclosure / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Janet_Tavakoli
Mr. William C. DudleyPresident
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
33 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10045
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Monday, November 02, 2009
Obama and the U.S. Strategy of Buying Time / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Making sense of U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy at this moment is difficult. Not only is it a work in progress, but the pending decisions he has to make -- on Iran, Afghanistan and Russia -- tend to obscure underlying strategy. It is easy to confuse inaction with a lack of strategy. Of course, there may well be a lack of strategic thinking, but that does not mean there is a lack of strategy. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 02, 2009
Government Statistics and Lies / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
There has been a lot of talk in Washington recently about senior citizens, mostly about how various healthcare reform models would help or hurt them. But there is another critical issue that has quietly devastated seniors financially over the last few decades. It concerns how the cost of living is calculated. How does the administration justify not giving a cost of living increase to Social Security recipients this year? According to the official Consumer Price Index calculation, life has gotten cheaper for the first time in decades. If the government can show statistically that the cost of living has gone down, not up, then they can make the case for not giving a cost of living increase to social security recipients. But does this match reality? Using older calculations of CPI, the cost of living has actually increased - by roughly 5%.
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Monday, November 02, 2009
The Ayn Rand Cult / Politics / Social Issues
By: Murray_N_Rothbard
In the America of the 1970s we are all too familiar with the religious cult, which has been proliferating in the last decade. Characteristic of the cult (from Hare Krishna to the "Moonies" to EST to Scientology to the Manson Family) is the dominance of the guru, or Maximum Leader, who is also the creator and ultimate interpreter of a given creed to which the acolyte must be unswervingly loyal. The major if not the only qualification for membership and advancement in the cult is absolute loyalty to and adoration of the guru, and absolute and unquestioning obedience to his commands.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Iraq Security Report, Rebounding Jihad? / Politics / Iraq War
By: STRATFOR
On Oct. 25, militants in Iraq conducted a coordinated attack in which they detonated large vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) at the federal Ministry of Justice building and the Baghdad Provincial Council building nearly simultaneously. The two ministries are located in central Baghdad near the Green Zone and are just over a quarter of a mile apart.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Health Care Solution Analysis / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Submissions
Jonathan K. Solan writes: America’s politicians are proposing “Cures“ for health care at a rapid pace. Each “Cure” is immediately challenged by people and organizations from both ends of the political spectrum. One side says the cure is too expensive, the other side says the cure does not go far enough. All sides say we need more insurance.
Most Americans listen to the arguments and they intuitively know what they don’t like in the proposals, but they hear little in the way of proposals that they intuitively do like. They don’t like hearing higher taxes, forced enrollment in insurance, Government options, and fines for not having insurance. Americans know that the American way is freedom, not government force. Why do the politicians repeatedly turn to the use of force to fix problems?
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
What the Taliban Actually Think About Receiving Democracy / Politics / Afghanistan
By: Butler_Shaffer
For might makes right,
And till they’ve seen the light,
They’ve got to be protected,Send the Marines
All their rights respected,
Till somebody we like can be elected.
~ Tom Lehrer - (Lyrics from his "")
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Afghanistan, What is Going on? / Politics / Afghanistan
By: Pravda
PRAVDA.Ru sources in Pakistan state that the US military forces are pulling back from the border posts between Afghanistan and Pakistan, while at the same time the Pakistani army is engaged in a major offensive against the Taliban. Is this to allow the Taliban to move freely, while the hidden objective is the Pakistani State?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Fear-Mongering Pandemic! / Politics / Global Pandemic
By: Gary_D_Barnett
All the talk of pandemics that can only be solved by government intervention has me in a rage. I am literally sick of the fear-mongering rhetoric spewed by everyone from government officials to the mainstream media, advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies, and the World Health Organization about false threats. The real threat to us all lies in our acceptance of fear, and in our acceptance of a false prophet as savior. What is at stake here is not a threat from disease or other disasters, but a threat to what’s left of our precious liberty due to the government’s fear-mongering about false "pandemics."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Fed Saves the Nation / Politics / Central Banks
By: Stephen_Merrill
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gets more than his share of grief. He is, after all, just the present grand master for the Keynesian policies that have ruled Washington since the days of Herbert Hoover.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
U.S. Government Squandered Billions in the AIG Deal / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Janet_Tavakoli
Janet Tavakoli, founder of Chicago-based Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc., a financial consulting firm, says the government squandered billions in the AIG deal.
“There’s no way they should have paid at par,” she says. “AIG was basically bankrupt.”
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Michael Moore's Action Plan: 15 Things Every American Can Do Right Now / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
You've Seen the Movie -- Now It's Time to ACT!
Friends,
It's the #1 question I'm constantly asked after people see my movie: "OK -- so NOW what can I DO?!"
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Monday, October 26, 2009
Russia, Iran and the Biden Speech / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden toured several countries in Central Europe last week, including the Czech Republic and Poland. The trip comes just a few weeks after the United States reversed course and decided not to construct a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in those two countries. While the system would have had little effect on the national security of either Poland or the Czech Republic, it was taken as a symbol of U.S. commitment to these two countries and to former Soviet satellites generally. The BMD cancellation accordingly caused intense concern in both countries and the rest of the region.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Audit the Fed, Anything Less Than Full Disclosure is Unacceptable / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week a new bill was introduced in the Senate to audit the Federal Reserve. Some backers of my bill HR1207 and the existing Senate companion bill S.604 were a little miffed at this, but depending on how you think about it, this new legislation poses no great threat to our efforts.
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Monday, October 26, 2009
American Healthcare Fascialism / Politics / US Politics
By: Thomas_J_DiLorenzo
Some time ago I invented the phrase "fascialism" to describe the American system of political economy. Fascialism means an economy is part fascist, part socialist. Economic fascism has nothing to do with dictatorship, militarism, or bizarre racial theories. Fascism is a brand of socialism that was the economic system of Germany and Italy in the early 20th century. It was characterized by private enterprise, but private enterprise that was comprehensively regulated and regimented by the state, ostensibly "in the public interest" (as arbitrarily defined by the state).
Sunday, October 25, 2009
How Did America Fall So Fast? / Politics / US Politics
By: Washingtons_Blog
In 2000, America was described as the sole remaining superpower - or even the world's "hyperpower". Now we're in real trouble (at the very least, you have to admit that we're losing power and wealth in comparison with China).
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Indian Ocean Great Power Confrontation, Geo-Politics of the Sri Lankan Civil War / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mahdi_D_Nazemroaya
The support and positions of various foreign governments in regards to the diabolic fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan military, which cost the lives of thousands of innocent civilians, says a great deal about the geo-strategic interests of these foreign governments. The position of the governments of India and a group of states that can collectively be called the Periphery, such as the U.S. and Australia, were in support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers, either overtly or covertly. Many of these governments also provided this support tacitly, so as not to close any future opportunity of co-opting Sri Lanka after the fighting was over.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Social Upheaval, How Close Are We? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Michael_T_Bucci
Many authors who have contributed to The Market Oracle have expressed concern - some overtly and some in passing - about the possibility of social upheavals in the US caused by economic dislocations and what impact these events would have on the markets. How close are we? An excellent synopsis by Mr Andre Damon of the current status of economic conditions extant in the US and the world on the eve of the G20
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Friday, October 23, 2009
Bailout Economic Madness as Congress Seeks to Bailout Pork Belly Farmers / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Shedlock
24 Senators and 63 House Representatives have completely lost their minds over pork bellies. Apparently the free market does not work, hog farmers are not making enough money, and the government owes farmers a profit no matter how much stuff they grow or raise.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
BBC Question Time, BNP Sowing the Seeds of Civil Unrest in Britain During 2010 / Politics / UK Politics
By: N_Walayat
The BBC's decision to allow the leader of the far right BNP air time on its flagship political debate programme Question Time tonight marks another milestone along the path towards the emergence of the far right to new extremes which follows the electoral winning of two European Parliament seats and a string of local election gains.