Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, June 19, 2017
US-China Trade amid America’s New Uncertainty / Politics / China US Conflict
By: Dan_Steinbock
As the White House is preparing to a political war for its survival, the Trump-Xi 100 day plan should overcome long-term pressures on US-China ties.After the two-day summit at Mar-a-Lago, the US and China announced a 100-day plan to improve strained trade ties and boost cooperation between two nations. Soon thereafter, the US Department of Justice appointed Robert Mueller, the former director of the FBI (2001-13) as special counsel overseeing the investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 19, 2017
Trump White House Under Siege / Politics / US Politics
By: Dan_Steinbock
Washington is planning to extend sanctions against Russia, once again. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is getting ready to cope with a special counsel’s investigation which seems to focus as much on Trump as Russia.
Last Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that Congress should not pass any legislation that would undercut "constructive dialogue" with Russia. Yet, the Senate voted 97-2 to advance a bipartisan agreement to launch new financial penalties on Russia and to let the Congress intervene before President Trump can lift sanctions. Afterwards, Trump tweeted that he is the subject of the “single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history,” and one that he said is being led by “some very bad and conflicted people.”
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Globalist Takeover Of The Internet Moves Into Overdrive / Politics / Internet
By: Jeff_Berwick
In today’s world, with statism and big government ideas pounded into most people via 12 years of government indoctrination camps and mainstream media glorifying government constantly, people have a hard time wondering what life would be like in a free world without massive communist style central planning agencies extorting the entire population.
Until now, though, there has been one shining example of anarchy. The internet.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Grenfell Tower Fire Disaster and Katie Hopkins 'Final Solution' for Muslims / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: N_Walayat
The residents Grenfell Tower have paid the heavy price for the cladding refurbishment craze that has been sweeping Britain for the past decade. One of 30 to 50 year old social housing tower blocks, many of which that should have been demolished but instead are being dolled up with cladding and insulation to reduce energy costs to make them externally more appealing to both residents, visitors and most importantly nearby affluent areas as was the case with Grenfell Tower, a pocket of social housing in Kensington, probably the most affluent area of Britain.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 16, 2017
British Election Sends Shockwaves Felt Here and Abroad / Politics / UK Politics
By: John_Browne
Last week's General Election in the United Kingdom was a disaster for the new conservative government of Prime Minster Theresa May. Having called the unnecessary "snap" elections in order to strengthen her political hand, the result actually reduced the number of seats held by the conservatives and delivered large gains to the opposition Labour party, which had seemed in disarray just a few months ago. Although she has announced no plans to step down, her position has been severely weakened, possibly fatally. More pointedly, the UK's hand in negotiating favorable Brexit terms has eroded substantially. Besides creating significant ramifications for the European and global economy, the election also provides important lessons for the potential state of American politics.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Grenfell Tower Cladding Fire Disaster, 4,000 Ticking Time Bombs, Sheffield Council Flats Panic! / Politics / Health and Safety
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The residents Grenfell Tower have paid the heavy price for the cladding refurbishment craze that has been sweeping Britain for the past decade. One of 30 to 50 year old social housing tower blocks, many of which that should have been demolished but instead are being dolled up with cladding and insulation to reduce energy costs to make them externally more appealing to both residents, visitors and most importantly nearby affluent areas as was the case with Grenfell Tower, a pocket of social housing in Kensington, probably the most affluent area of Britain. An area where millionaires can be found living within 100 metres of taxi drivers, refugees and the other low paid workers necessary for the functioning of London. The rich just could not stand the view form their mansions as they looked out upon modernist concrete tower blocks, so they rich got their way as most of the nations concrete tower blocks have been all cladded up.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
From OSS to CIA Ongoing Clash with Military Intelligence / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: BATR
For all those supporters of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's war, many admire the exploits of the OSS in Europe. While historians for the allied legions adopt the account that circumstances dictated the creation and use of the British, Special Operations Executive, which Churchill proclaimed, to 'set Europe aflame'; the precedent left a heritage of intervention that few ever warned about the nature of counter-offensive missions. Gathering intelligence on adversaries is valid and even necessary to defend your country. However, to establish contingents of lethal assassins is a fundamental departure from intelligence procurement. During World War II the American version of clandestine operations put into motion a competing and dangerous rival to the traditional role of military intelligence.
Monday, June 12, 2017
US-China Ties in the Shadow of the Mueller Investigation / Politics / US Politics
By: Dan_Steinbock
In the foreseeable future, the Trump administration will be constrained by the special counsel’s Russia investigation. How will it impact the White House’s relations with China?It was a strange month. First, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who the center-right Democrats blame for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 electoral loss. In turn, the center-left Sanders-supporters attribute the loss to Hillary Clinton’s gross abuse of public office and funds, Bill Clinton’s corrupt Global Initiative, collusion with the Democratic Leadership Committee (DLC) and mainstream media.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 12, 2017
Will Trump Get Away With All of It? / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
The good news for Trumptarians is that Donald J. Trump is not going to be legally impeached, indicted, removed from office or otherwise until his protectors and enablers are weakened first: Congressional Republicans. And they won’t be weakened until mid-term elections in 2018. In “Washington time” that might as well be the next century.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Trump's UK Visit on Hold / Politics / UK Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
It may be cancelled altogether. Reportedly he told Prime Minister Theresa May he won't come until Brits support him - highly unlikely any time ahead.
He doesn't want to visit London if large-scale protests are planned during his visit.
Days after his inauguration, in response to May revealing he accepted Queen Elizabeth's invitation to come, anti-Trump campaigners used social media, calling for London's "biggest protest ever."
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 09, 2017
Why The US’ Withdrawal From The Paris Climate Agreement Makes Sense / Politics / Climate Change
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN AND JACOB L. SHAPIRO : 70 years ago, US Secretary of State George Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University. Few speeches in modern times have had as much geopolitical consequence.
In just eight paragraphs, Marshall made the case for significant US involvement in Europe’s economic reconstruction after World War II.
Within 10 months, the United States passed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948. Better known as the Marshall Plan, it provided over $13 billion to 16 European countries (about $150 billion in 2017 dollars).
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
UK Thin Blue Police Line - Those Were the May Days / Politics / UK Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Is it sheer hubris, or is it just incompetence? It’s a question often asked when it comes to politics. And regularly, the answer is both. Still, what the ruling British political class has put on display recently seems to exist in a category all its own. Less than a year go, then-PM David Cameron lost the Brexit referendum that he called himself and was dead sure he would win by a landslide.
His successor Theresa May, Cameron’s Home Secretary and a staunch Remain advocate, lost the Brexit vote as much as her PM did, but stayed on, was promoted, and acted for 11 months like Downing Street 10 was hers by Divine Decree. Then she did the exact same thing Cameron did: she looked at polling numbers and decided to go for the jugular: more power through a snap vote.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
Here’s A Closer Look At North Korea’s Artillery Capabilities / Politics / North Korea
By: John_Mauldin
By Geopolitical Futures : As Pyongyang, Washington, and other regional players prepare for the prospect of war, North Korea’s nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities have received undue amounts of attention. Important though they may be, they have less bearing on how the war will be fought than does North Korea’s conventional military.
Eliminating Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities would be the first objective in a war, and indeed the justification for an attack. The second objective would be to protect South Korea from North Korean retaliation.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
Liberals are losing their War of Terror on America / Politics / War on Terror
By: BATR
What do the latest London radical Islamic terrorist attacks have in common with the liberal/progressive anti-American cultural assault that has gone into extreme hyper drive with the election of Donald Trump as President? Only an apologist for the "politically correct" cancer that has infected Western Civilization would deny that allowing Wahhabism to infiltrate Europe and the US, while establishing the growing practices of Sharia law, is suicidal. Yet you will seldom see or read any criticism of the demonic Talmudic pedagogies and practices that have corrupted and perverted any moral claim that the loony left would make. Both factions are engaged in political Armageddon, based upon a false and demented orthodoxy. They profess submission. The Wahhabi-Salafis to Allah the other acceptance of a Halakhah distortion that justifies their professed superiority.
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
Orphaned Poisoned Waters,Severe Chronic Water Shortage Imminent / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Richard_Mills
There's a lot of water on the planet we inhabit – an estimated 326 million trillion gallons or 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 liters. Hard to believe are reports water is going to get much dearer in our near term future – yet Peter Voser, chief executive of the world's second-largest energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, warned us, as far back as June 2011, that global demand for fresh water may outstrip supply by as much as 40 per cent in 20 years if current fresh-water consumption trends continue. And Voser isn’t the only one warning about future fresh water shortages…
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) predicts that by 2025, one-third of all humans will face severe and chronic water shortages.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
Donald Trump is an Economic Ignoramus! / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Not surprisingly, Donald Trump has followed in the infamous footsteps of his presidential predecessors in the transition from candidate to chief executive. Invariably, every candidate for the presidency makes a whole host of promises, the vast majority of which are horrible and typically only exacerbate the problems they attempt to resolve. Among the proposals, however, there is an occasional bright spot. Yet, once elected the stupid polices are eagerly pursued while the good ones are quickly discarded.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 05, 2017
UK’s Weaker Brexit Hand with the EU / Politics / BrExit
By: Dan_Steinbock
Prime Minister May pushed for a snap election in June 2017 to strengthen her hand in the impending Brexit talks. In practice, she has weakened UK's bargaining power at the EU’s expense, while the latest London Bridge incident introduces new uncertainty and volatility into the EU/UK divorce proceedings.Like too many times before, British police declared a “major incident” on London Bridge after a van reportedly hit multiple pedestrians.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 05, 2017
Regime Change in the Trump White House? / Politics / US Politics
By: Dan_Steinbock
No U.S. postwar president has managed to reset relations with Russia. Now the Trump administration must cope with a special counsel’s investigation. In the past, US efforts at regime change targeted foreign countries; today, the White House. How will it impact Trump’s stalled policy agenda?As I argued in spring 2016 (TWFR, April 25, 2016), US election is a global risk and it would continue to be fought after the Trump election win. But recently, these political struggles moved to an entirely new phase.
First, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), reportedly only days after his request for increased resources to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the election. Barely a week later, DOJ appointed Robert Mueller, former director of the FBI (2001-13) as special counsel overseeing the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, June 03, 2017
In Defense of Trumpian Diplomacy / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Browne
Given the media's obsession with some of the President Trump's communication challenges, it was utterly predictable that the President's declaration that his trip to Europe and the Middle East should be considered a "home run" was met almost universally with ridicule. In truth, the President actually did accomplish a series of victories overseas, or at least laid important groundwork that should help advance American interests in ways that prior Administrations have failed to do. It's a shame that these developments have been ignored among the din of partisanship.
Saturday, June 03, 2017
The US May Attack North Korea In Two Weeks / Politics / US Military
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : The US Navy has announced that the USS Nimitz will leave Bremerton, Washington, on June 1 for the Western Pacific. This is the third carrier battle group to be sent to the region—enough to support a broader military mission. It will take about a week to get to its station, after which it will integrate with the fleet.
So here’s the situation: Soon the United States will have its naval force in waters near North Korea.
It already has strategic bombers in Guam, and it already has fighter aircraft in Japan and South Korea.
Read full article... Read full article...