Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Britain Can Leave The European Union / Politics / UK Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
It Can Also Leave the UK
Britain's mainstream and alternative political parties, including UKIP and Scotland's SNP are two powerful players responding and reacting to a host of factors changing the country. In the wake of the Scottish indepedendence referendum the problem, threat – or simple reality of regional and nationalist political forces breaking up the previous two-party (and already three-party) system of power in a united national state are unstoppable. Wales is pushing for more and further devolution of powers from Westminster and England. The northern regions of England are doing the same. Despite being beaten in the September referendum, the SNP now speaks and acts for Scotland and if recent opinion polls are right, it has a 20-point lead in voting intentions against the Labour party with its "traditional" 41 safe seats in Scotland, able to turn the UK Labour party into the English Labour party at the coming May 2103 general elections.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Pols, Pundits and Bear Trappers / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
The mid-term election results in Americacan speak volumes if one only could hear the truth within the cacophony created by a hundred political pundits who mix moaning about low voter national turnout (lowest since WWII) with feigned "surprise" over GOP advances; pundits who never are at a loss for impressing the impressionable by mixing their stewardship with bewildering statistics, charts, graphs, demographic breakdowns; all of which, of course, leads pundits to issuing hearty expositions, predictions and projections of the future - a future based on their speculative punditry.
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Monday, November 10, 2014
Bread, Circuses & Bombs – Decline Of The American Empire – Part Two / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I discussed the similarities between the Roman Empire and the American Empire at a high level. In this article I’ll delve into some specific similarities and rhymes between the fall of the Roman Empire and our modern day empire of debt, decay and decline. I’ll address our expansive level of bread and circuses and how defects in our human nature lead to people willingly sacrificing their liberty for promises of safety and security. All empires decline due to the same human failings and ours is no exception. If anything, ours will be far more spectacular and rapid due to our extreme level of hubris, arrogance, willful ignorance and warlike preference for dealing with foreign powers.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Ron Paul - What The Mid-Term U.S. Elections Really Mean For Peace and Liberty / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Did the election last week really mean that much? I took to my Twitter account on Tuesday to point out that the change in control of the Senate from Democrat to Republican actually means very little, despite efforts by politicians and the mainstream media to convince us otherwise. Yes, power shifted, I wrote. But the philosophy on Capitol Hill changed very little. The warfare/welfare state is still alive and well in Washington.
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Saturday, November 08, 2014
Third World U.S. Where One In Three Children Are Under The Poverty Line / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jeff_Berwick
I often call the US a "third world country". Of course, in some ways I am kidding as the original meaning of 1st, 2nd or 3rd world countries was the following:
After World War II the world split into two large geopolitical blocs and spheres of influence with contrary views on government and the politically correct society:
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Friday, November 07, 2014
The Madness of the EU’s Energy Policy / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Marin_Katusa
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Vladimir Putin has launched a devastating plan to turn Russia into an energy powerhouse. And Europe, dependent on Russian natural gas and oil for a third of its fuel needs, has fallen right into his hands: Putin can bend the EU to his will simply by twisting the valve shut.
Considering how precarious Europe’s economic security is, one would have thought that now would be a good time for the EU to reassess its energy policy and address the effect crippling energy costs are having on its struggling economy.
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Friday, November 07, 2014
Putin Signs Secret Pact to Crush NATO / Politics / New Cold War
By: Marin_Katusa
Back on September 11 and 12, there was a summit meeting in a city that involved an organization that most Americans have never heard of. Mainstream media coverage was all but nonexistent.
The place was Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a country few Westerners could correctly place on a map.
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Friday, November 07, 2014
U.S. Election Results - It's The Economy, and They're Not Stupid / Politics / US Congressional Elections
By: Peter_Schiff
The sharp rebuke to the Obama administration delivered by the mid-term elections should not be construed as an endorsement of the GOP, which remains as unpopular as ever. Rather, as has been the case in the last few election cycles, voter revolts have hinged on continued dissatisfaction with the strength of the economy and the diminishing financial prospects of ordinary citizens. Given the apparent improvements in the economy, this fact continues to baffle the media which have concluded that Democrats simply failed to effectively communicate the successes that the Administration has achieved. Fortune Magazine offered a more complex conclusion that we have a good economy, but it's just not the kind that benefits the middle class. I believe the truth is far simpler: Voters are dissatisfied with the economy because it is bad and getting worse. Although this unpleasant reality can be masked by economic doublespeak and government accounting gimmicks, the truth comes out in the ballot box.
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Thursday, November 06, 2014
Away with the Skylarks / Politics / Social Issues
By: Submissions
Tom Naysburn writes: “Skylarks” as I read the Rastafarians call them, are a blight on our society. Able, but refusing to work, is an unforgivable state, and a welfare system which helps promotes this dishonourable cause is a shame on us all. For that statement to hold, the minimum working wage must be able to trump hand outs which of course represents an additional cost. So how can this aspiration be achieved?
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Thursday, November 06, 2014
Europe is Overcrowded with People and Nations / Politics / European Union
By: STRATFOR
Adriano Bosoni writes: Europe is overcrowded with people and with nations. Six decades ago, the need to suppress the dangerous forces of nationalism led to the unprecedented political, economic and social experiment now known as the European Union. The hundreds of thousands of EU citizens working across the Continent and the lack of border controls between member states show that the experiment has been successful in many ways. However, rising nationalism, pervasively high unemployment and a growing sense of frustration with governing elites also highlight the serious limitations of the European project. Over the past 12 months, I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, observing firsthand how the global economic crisis is reawakening dormant trends along the Continent's traditional fault lines.
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Socialism and Other Crimes in Venezuela / Politics / Venezuela
By: MISES
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of Venezuelan lawmaker Robert Sierra and his wife Maria Herrera, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said in a speech on October 27 that he will “purge” and “revolutionize” the country’s police forces. This comes in response to not only the murder of Sierra, but also to the murder of militia leader José Odreman a week later, and to the general failure of law enforcement to address soaring crime rates in the country.
Venezuela has the second highest murder per capita rate in the world behind Honduras. A 2013 Gallup poll ranked Venezuela as the most “insecure nation in the world,” a sentiment shared by many of its citizens: 2014 Gallup polls showed that only 19 percent of Venezuelans felt safe to walk alone at night.
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014
What is the Alternative to Keynesian Corporatism? / Politics / Social Issues
By: BATR
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually slaves of some defunct economist.” From The General Theory by John Maynard Keynes
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014
COLD WAR 2.0 -- The Super-Secure Great Firewall of China / Politics / New Cold War
By: DK_Matai
Is Quantum Cryptography The New Enigma Code? Or Is QC The Launch of The New Space Race?
1. Imagine an encryption more "hack proof" than Hitler's Enigma code. One that even a genius like Alan Turing would not be able to hack! Welcome to Quantum Cryptography in the 21st century where quantum entangled photons are utilised to transmit and to receive messages super securely.
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Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Lower Crude Oil Prices Carry Geopolitical Consequences / Politics / Crude Oil
By: STRATFOR
Since mid-June, the price of Brent crude oil has fallen by nearly 25 percent -- going from a high of $115 to about $87 a barrel -- and structural factors are causing concern among global oil producers that oil prices will remain near current levels through at least the end of 2015. This concern has caused several investment banks to slash their oil price outlooks for the immediate future. Stratfor believes that oil supplies will stay high as energy production in North America increases and OPEC countries remain hesitant or unable to cut production significantly. Moreover, in the short term, the Chinese economic slowdown and stagnant European economy will limit the potential for growth in oil demand. These factors could make it harder for global oil prices to rebound to their previous levels.
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
David Cameron Uses EU Fine to Bolster Support / Politics / UK Politics
By: John_Browne
Last week, the unelected European Commission demanded that the United Kingdom pay an additional $2.8 billion to fund the European Union. The new charges resulted from the fact that the British economy had grown faster than had been expected in the past year. The demand sparked outrage from Great Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, and media, particularly as France and Germany would receive rebates, financed largely by the new funds being demanded from the UK. Looked at in a different light, it is simply a tax on growth that will not sit well with the British public, and could perhaps hasten the day that the UK will split from the Eurozone.
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Monday, November 03, 2014
The War on Terror Increases the Number of Terrorists / Politics / War on Terror
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
My hypothesis is that the war on terror has not decreased the number of “terrorists”. I use the term “terrorist” but one might substitute others such as jihadist or anti-western Muslims or pro-Islamic State Muslims. We are talking about people whose agendas vary, often greatly, but who want to get U.S. forces out of the Middle East and Central Asia or who want states to become fundamental Islamic states or who favor one brand of Islam over another; and these people use terror bombings as one of their military means. At present the largest contingent wants an Islamic State, controls territory in Syria and Iraq, and calls itself IS or Islamic State. It’s also called ISIS, ISIL and Daesh.
Monday, November 03, 2014
How Do You Feel About Child Poverty? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
I often find myself wondering what people, people in the street, western people in general, my readers perhaps, think when they see something like the recent Unicef report, Children of Recession: the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries, which states that child poverty in developed nations has risen significantly.
How many of you who live in Europe still see the EU as something good and beneficial when you see that not only does Greece today has 25% unemployment and 55% youth unemployment, and its child poverty rate also went up from 23% to 40.5% since 2008? Or do you put the blame not with the EU, but elsewhere?
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Monday, November 03, 2014
Ron Paul - More Guns Plus Less War Equals Real Security / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week's tragic shootings in Canada and Washington state are certain to lead to new calls for gun control. The media-generated fear over "lone wolf terrorists" will enable the gun control lobby to smear Second Amendment supporters as "pro-terrorist." Marketing gun control as an anti-terrorist measure will also enable gun control supporters to ally with those who support any infringement on liberty done in the name of "homeland security."
As with most infringements on liberty, gun control will not only make us less free, it will make us less safe. Respecting the right of the people to keep and bear arms is the original and best homeland security policy. Restricting the right of people to arm themselves leaves them with no effective defense against violent criminals or a tyrannical government.
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Sunday, November 02, 2014
American Tariffs and Wars From the Revolution to the Great Depression / Politics / US Politics
By: MISES
James Bovard writes: Fair trade is once again a rallying cry for many Americans. Many contemporary leftists believe that the U.S. government should impose restrictions or tariffs on imported goods that are alleged to have been produced by underpaid or oppressed Third World workers. Few contemporary protectionists are aware of the sordid history of trade conflicts earlier in American history.
Saturday, November 01, 2014
The Fed Ends QE / Politics / Quantitative Easing
By: Stephen_Lendman
On October 29, A Federal Reserve press release said in part:
The Open Market Committee (FOMC) "decided to conclude its (QE) asset purchase program this month."
It's "maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction."
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