Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, November 05, 2020
Trump's Unilateralism, China's Multilateralism and the Real COVID-19 / Politics / Pandemic
By: Dan_Steinbock
New estimates on actual COVID-19 cases in 2020 highlight the stark differences between the Trump administration’s unilateral stance, and China’s multilateral approach to overcoming the pandemic challenge.
The failed containment of the COVID-19 pandemic is about to result in 50 million cumulative confirmed cases and more than 1.2 million deaths around the world.
Worse, the official figures are only a tip of the iceberg. Some 10 percent of the world population may already have had the new coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Consider the implications: That translates to 780 million people – almost 20 times the official total. The global stakes are far higher than currently acknowledged.
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Monday, November 02, 2020
Vonnegut’s Dark Vision Arrived 60 Years Early / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.” – Harrison Bergeron – Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut’s short story – Harrison Bergeron – was written in 1961, and in Vonnegut’s darkly satirical style, portrayed America in 2081 as an disgracefully dystopian nightmare. Little did Vonnegut know what he considered outrageous and 120 years in the future, would be far closer to our current dystopian reality just 60 years later. The story was brought to my attention by my wife a week ago when we were talking about the absurdity of masks, their uselessness in stopping viruses, how they are nothing more than a means to control the population, being used to spread fear, and as a dehumanizing technique.
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Monday, October 26, 2020
UK Coronavirus Broken Test and Trace System, 5 Days for Covid-19 Results! / Politics / Pandemic
By: N_Walayat
Nothing illustrates the reality of how effective Britain's coronavirus / covid-19 test and trace system is than when one is on the receiving end of it. How long do you think it takes for a test result? 1 day, 2 days? think again it takes FIVE DAYS! Whilst at the same time Boots is promoting it's new 12 minute results service!
So what happened? Out of the blue we get an email from the school stating that Eliza needs to self isolate because a child in her class tested positive 6 DAYS AGO! Of course it's not the parents or schools fault for the delay in notification it's because the testing system is incompetent despite the £12 billion or so that the government has thrown to this money black hole. Even worse is the track and trace system which luckily did not play a part in our experience Dobcroft school took care of that and I am pretty sure if it had been left to the contact tracing service then we would likely never know that we had been exposed to the virus and need to self isolate.
So watch the video to see the reality of competency of Britains testing system.
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Monday, October 26, 2020
How the Coronavirus is Exacerbating Global Inequality, Hunger / Politics / Food Crisis
By: Richard_Mills
Autumn is harvest season in North America and many families gather on Canadian and American Thanksgiving to celebrate the good fortune bestowed upon them throughout the year – including the ability to put food on the table.
This year for millions of people, there is less to be thankful for, and very likely, reason to lament or mourn – a lost job, an eviction, hours cut back, a friend or relative getting sick, loneliness, boredom, depression – all due to the coronavirus which has up-ended life as we knew it.
Today’s article is inspired by CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria, who presented a well-researched, timely segment on how the pandemic, in a matter of months, has un-done years of progress in improving global inequality. Pandemics, says Zakaria, should be the great equalizer because they affect everyone, regardless of age, gender, race, income or status. Even presidents and prime ministers have contracted covid. However, indications are that the virus is ushering in the greatest rise in economic inequality in decades.
How can a health problem widen the gap between rich and poor, and how is it pushing millions in developing countries toward the brink of starvation? Moreover, why should we, in the developed West, care?
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Thursday, October 22, 2020
Hacking Wall Street to Close the Wealth Gap / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Mauldin
By Dawn Pennington : Just like the legend of a bow-and-arrow toting, Sherwood Forest-dwelling vigilante, Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robinhood set out to bring that sentiment to the retail investing set with a brokerage app.The company was founded in April 2013 by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, who had previously built high-frequency trading platforms for financial institutions. Their goal was to provide everyone with access to the financial markets, not just the wealthy… just like the Merry Men would do with unsuspecting victims traveling through Sherwood Forest.
The idea was a hit. No one had ever offered stock trades with zero commissions. This made investing affordable for people of any age and income. Today, the app has over 13 million users with an average age of 31.
The company has no storefront branches and operates entirely online without fees… and, as customers found out last week, no customer service.
Monday, October 19, 2020
Wales Closes Border With England, Stranded Motorists on Severn Bridge? Covid-19 Police Road Blocks / Politics / Pandemic
By: N_Walayat
So wales has started to close it's borders to England, that inevitably is going to leave , many motorists stranded in long lines of traffic on the likes of the Prince Wales Severn Bridge as Welsh police put up road blocks across the main crossing points from England into Wales. The Welsh nationalists finally have their centuries old dream come true one of separation of sorts from England with all of Wales border crossings CLOSED, under the guise of combating the spread of covid-19 as iterated by increasingly austere statements from Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford aimed at preventing people from England crossing into Wales, especially in the run up to the now extended half term holidays..
Is this really all about covid or part of a grand scheme for a move towards an Independence referendum of sorts following England's decision to implement Brexit?
Where covid is concerned from what I can see Wales has a far higher incidence of covid-19 than England, so maybe the travel restrictions should be in the other direction. Though I am sure if that were ever to happen then the welsh nationalists would also use that to their political advantage.
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Friday, October 09, 2020
UK Coronavirus Pandemic Wave 2 - Daily Covid-19 Positive Test Cases Forecast / Politics / Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave
The number of people testing positive has started to soar doubling from 3,000 a week ago to the latest released data of 6,178. Furthermore the ONS estimates that there are approximately 110,000 people across the UK that are infected right now which would imply that the actual number of infected per 100,000 is 168, as against the official figure of of just 40, so four times the official number are actually infected.
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Wednesday, October 07, 2020
UK Covid-19 Hospital Admissions and Deaths Since Testing Positive in 28 days Analysis / Politics / Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave
As you will see in the graph that the UK is nowhere near the magnitude of the first wave, and illustrates the extent of the lack of testing during the first wave as currently some 1,500 people are hospitalised compared to 20,000 at the peak.
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Friday, October 02, 2020
As COVID deaths pass 1m mark, developing countries will suffer / Politics / Pandemic
By: Submissions
Global deaths from Covid have passed the 1 million mark. Covid headlines remain one of the main drivers of global markets as the latter are trying to gauge the possible trajectory of the global economy and the likely policy response. Many countries are contemplating further tightening of Covid-related restrictions, which means that their economies may require more support. With their borrowing costs remaining low, developed economies may continue pursuing lax fiscal policies in years to come. Developing countries may find they have less room for fiscal stimulus, partly because the recent increase in risk aversion has driven up their borrowing costs.
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Friday, October 02, 2020
The Demise of American Democracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
When the highest representatives of a community are eager to throw mud at each other. When arguments merely serve as a façade to convey anger, mockery or contempt, then history has just turned a corner. One period has come to an end, a new one begins. Since September 29, 2020 we know that in the United States of America democracy is undergoing a process of rapid disintegration – it is being torn apart by diverging forces.
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Thursday, October 01, 2020
UK Government Loses Control of the Coronavirus Pandemic 2nd Wave Forecast Consequences / Politics / Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave in advance of which British Police have been steadily given new powers to accumulate arrest points towards criminalizing people who for instance don't wear masks or are found in groups of 6 or more whilst those who breach self isolation rules could be hit with fines of upto £10,000. Police forces increasingly putting high risk areas and groups of people under surveillance, which translates into ethnic and deprived areas receiving special attention, officers roaming the streets, shops and super markets looking for law breakers with even plans to deploy the army in support of the police towards enforcement of local lockdown's.
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Thursday, October 01, 2020
Covid-19 - The Only Thing Systematic Is The Destruction Of America - Part 2 / Politics / Pandemic
By: James_Quinn
In Part 1 of this article I detailed the purposeful systematic destruction of global economies, with a bad flu as the catalyst, as part of a plan by the Davos elite to reconstruct the world in a manner most beneficial to these evil men and detrimental to you and me. The fight remains to be fought. Orwell’s worst fears are coming to fruition.
The masking of the masses has been, and continues to be, about despotic politicians and arrogant bureaucrats demanding obedience as a mechanism to judge their ability to shame the masses into submission. It has nothing to do with health or protecting others. The health “experts” like Fauci, the Surgeon General and CDC director actually told the truth back in March when they told everyone masks didn’t protect you from viruses. When the powers that be decided this flu needed to be hyped and blown out of all proportion, mask wearing was used as the symbol of fear necessary to panic the public into submission.
Media campaigns, celebrity virtue signaling, corporate coordination, and fake documentation were immediately implemented to corral the sheep and force them to conform. Dehumanizing the population, using a false narrative to shame non-maskers as serial killers, turning neighbors into snitches, and using police thugs to enforce these unconstitutional dictates, has created an atmosphere of anxiety, suspicion and fear as the perfect method of domination. The non-critical thinking sheep are driven by emotion and feelings.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Who is Spreading the Virus? UK Coronavirus 2nd Wave Analysis / Politics / Pandemic
By: N_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave
You only have to venture out to the local super market or shopping mall to see why the virus is starting to accelerate again, for what you tend to see are the rebellious young i.e. 18 to 29 of whom probably less than half were the mask, whilst those aged say 30 to 49 whilst more lively to wear masks, many have them below their noses or worse below their chins. Thus defeating the whole purpose of wearing masks in attempts at slowing the spread of the virus.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2020
The Only Thing Systematic Is The Destruction Of America / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” – Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair was describing willful ignorance based upon who butters your bread. The rampant corruption of our society, as power has been consolidated into fewer and fewer hands, has resulted in our political, financial, cultural and economic systems being captured by a billionaire class who use their wealth to dictate the path we are forced to follow – or lose everything.
The sociopath class include the Silicon Valley social media titans, the billionaires running the six mainstream media companies, the rogue billionaires like Soros and Bloomberg who fund chaos and foment insurrection, the Deep State surveillance agency operatives like Clapper, Brennan, Comey and Mueller doing the bidding of the oligarchy, Wall Street criminals like Dimon, Paulson, and Blankfein doing god’s work, and last but certainly not least – Powell, Yellen, Bernanke and slimy Kashkari priming the pump for the never ending systematic pillaging of the nation’s wealth.
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Sunday, September 27, 2020
UK Coronavirus 2nd Wave SuperMarkets Panic Buying 2.0 Toilet Paper , Hand Sanitisers, Wipes... / Politics / Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave and as was the case before the Panic buying has once more already begun starting at major super markets such as Tesco and Morrisons who Friday announced restrictions on items purchased on many goods including hand sanitisers, toilet rolls, flour, pasts, baby wipes, antibacterial's and eggs which is likely to spread to many other supermarket goods as the number of local lockdown's multiple in the face of the exponential spread of the virus that has now passed above r 1.5. Though hopefully to nowhere near the extent of March panic that this video illustrates of just how bad things could get once more all courtesy of an incompetent government advised by moronic mad scientists who are more interested in feathering their nests then giving useful advice hence you cannot blame people for panic buying when faced with morons in charge!
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Friday, September 25, 2020
Boris Johnson Hits Coronavirus Panic Button Again, UK Accelertoing Covid-19 Second Wave / Politics / Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britains incompetent government has once more lost control of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic that is now at the very beginnings of a second wave that looks set to be about half as severe as that of March and Aprils first wave in advance of which British Police have been steadily given new powers to accumulate arrest points towards criminalizing people who for instance don't wear masks or are found in groups of 6 or more whilst those who breach self isolation rules could be hit with fines of upto £10,000. Police forces increasingly putting high risk areas and groups of people under surveillance, which translates into ethnic and deprived areas receiving special attention, officers roaming the streets, shops and super markets looking for law breakers with even plans to deploy the army in support of the police towards enforcement of local lockdown's.
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Sunday, September 20, 2020
A Warning of Economic Collapse / Politics / Coronavirus Depression
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Traditional Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson’s latest missive should be a wake- up call for those who naively believe that the worst is behind for the US and Western economies after the March financial sell off and the long-anticipated implosion of the bubble economy. His Excellency asserts that the US and much of the world are on a financial precipice:
At this moment the United States has been brought to the brink of a tremendous
economic crisis, and with the USA, the rest of the world.*
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Saturday, September 19, 2020
A Virus So Deadly, The Government Has to Test You to See If You Have It / Politics / Pandemic
By: Jeff_Berwick
Welcome to Dr. Jeff and Lucy’s Acapulco wealth and well-being practice.
Feeling great? Healthy? Happy to be alive?
Oh no! You might have a killer disease!
Let’s test to make sure. Hold still – this will only be a little uncomfortable…
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Wednesday, September 16, 2020
President Trump and Crimes Against Humanity / Politics / Pandemic
By: Dan_Steinbock
According to a new book, President Trump knowingly downplayed coronavirus risks. As other critics have argued, his administration’s decisions represent crimes against humanity.
Recently, Bob Woodward, associate editor at the Washington Post and one of the legendary Watergate journalists, published Rage, a new book on President Trump’s first term, which draws on 18 interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump between December 2019 and last July.
Here’s its key message: President Trump knowingly downplayed coronavirus risks.
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Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Why the Knives Are Out for Trump’s Fed Critic Judy Shelton / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Steve_H_Hanke
Judy Shelton, one of President Trump’s nominees for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, has faced unprecedented criticism from former Fed employees and academic economists. The denunciations say more about the critics than they do about Shelton, whom I have known for many years.
Shelton is a nominee for one of the two unfilled positions on the twelve-member Fed Board. The other nominee, Christian Waller — an executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — has attracted little attention. On July 21, the Senate Banking Committee approved his nomination by a bipartisan vote of 18-7, whereas Shelton’s nomination saw a party-line vote of 13 Republicans to 12 Democrats. The full Senate has not yet set a date to debate and vote on the nominations.
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