Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Cold War Atavism – Skewed Clues For An Uncertain Future / Politics / New Cold War
By: Andrew_McKillop
Skeuomorphic Culture
According to ethnologists and anthropologists who specialize in the subsector of primitive and ethnic technology, that is pre-modern non-western technology, a skeuomorph is a part or whole of a design or an artefact made to resemble a previous and different material or technique. Ancient potters who had moved up to wheel-throwing and kiln baking continued designing and making wooden-like or woven rope-like handles on their solid, one-piece wares. A simple example for Western culture's technological and cultural skeuomorphism are estate wagon cars with light-colored plastic “wooden” framing, or garden chairs made of extruded aluminium with PVC seats, which are produced with “screws and tenon joints” for the fake-wooden chair parts, and printed “handwoven raffia-style” plastic seats and chair backs. Coloring of the aluminium and plastic to mask their real nature, can include elaborate tinted and printed wood grain effects.
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Friday, March 28, 2014
Ukraine "On Verge of Financial Bankruptcy" Reaches $27 Billion "Kamikaze" Deal With IMF / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2014
By: Mike_Shedlock
Ukraine and the IMF have agreed to an aid package that will no doubt prove to be as beneficial to Ukraine as the Troika bailout (plunder) of Greece.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
When Corporations Take Precedence Over People / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jesse
"There is felt today very widely the inconsistency in this condition of political democracy and industrial absolutism. The people are beginning to doubt whether in the long run democracy and absolutism can coexist in the same community; beginning to doubt whether there is a justification for the great inequalities in the distribution of wealth, for the rapid creation of fortunes, more mysterious than the deeds of Aladdin’s lamp." -
Louis D. Brandeis, The Opportunity in Law, Speech to Harvard Ethical Society, May 4, 1905
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Winding Down Fannie and Freddie the Economic Scam of the Century / Politics / US Housing
By: Mike_Whitney
The leaders of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Tim Johnson (D., S.D.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), released a draft bill on Sunday that would provide explicit government guarantees on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) generated by privately-owned banks and financial institutions. The gigantic giveaway to Wall Street would put US taxpayers on the hook for 90 percent of the losses on toxic MBS the likes of which crashed the financial system in 2008 plunging the economy into the deepest slump since the Great Depression. Proponents of the bill say that new rules by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) –which set standards for a “qualified mortgage” (QM)– assure that borrowers will be able to repay their loans thus reducing the chances of a similar meltdown in the future. However, those QE rules were largely shaped by lobbyists and attorneys from the banking industry who eviscerated strict underwriting requirements– like high FICO scores and 20 percent down payments– in order to lend freely to borrowers who may be less able to repay their loans. Additionally, a particularly lethal clause has been inserted into the bill that would provide blanket coverage for all MBS (whether they met the CFPB’s QE standard or not) in the event of another financial crisis. Here’s the paragraph:
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
This Is Why We Are Doomed / Politics / Climate Change
By: Raul_I_Meijer
If there’s one thing that defines why we, and the world we live in, are doomed, it can be found – once more – in a recent spat of (leaked) reactions to the upcoming new IPCC report. We’ve come a long way since skeptics started budging in the way creationists demand equal time on the new Cosmos series – only more successful – and now we’re way past mere skepticism. Not only has it become totally acceptable to pooh pooh and hush hush climate change, we’ve arrived at the point where we go look for positive angles.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
IMF and EU Capture of Ukraine / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: BATR
It should be obvious that the recent putsch and regime change in the Ukraine inspired and backed by the U.S. shadow government, benefits the international banksters. For the average EU resident, only further economic displacement and diminished prospects can be expected from any inclusion of Ukraine into the EU dictatorial structure. Not so, for the corporatists who expects expanded opportunities as Consortium News analyzes agricultural and energy companies recent involvement within the Ukraine.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Is Ben Bernanke Worth $250k Per Speech? / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Christopher_Westley
“Bernanke Enjoys the ‘Fruits of the Free Market,’” or so we’re told in a Reuters headline from March 4 about the former Fed chairman’s 40-minute speech in Abu Dhabi for which he received, ahem, $250,000. In the Reuters author’s defense, he was only quoting a DC lobbyist who was defending the amount, and added, Bernanke “will personally experience supply and demand.”
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
From Estonia to Azerbaijan: American East European Strategy After Ukraine / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
As I discussed last week, the fundamental problem that Ukraine poses for Russia, beyond a long-term geographical threat, is a crisis in internal legitimacy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has spent his time in power rebuilding the authority of the Russian state within Russia and the authority of Russia within the former Soviet Union. The events in Ukraine undermine the second strategy and potentially the first. If Putin cannot maintain at least Ukrainian neutrality, then the world's perception of him as a master strategist is shattered, and the legitimacy and authority he has built for the Russian state is, at best, shaken.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Governments Worldwide Adopting FATCA Style Legislation / Politics / Taxes
By: Jeff_Berwick
It seems the US has created a new model for the world of draconian taxes and penalties. New powers at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Britain allow the body to "raid the bank accounts" of anyone who owes more than £1,000 in tax or tax credits. Under the new system, HMRC would have the power to seize money from bank accounts after they contacted the debtor several times.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Russia Looks East as Relations with Europe Deteriorate / Politics / Russia
By: OilPrice_Com
The standoff between the U.S. and the EU on one hand, and Russia on the other, intensified pretty quickly late last week. The U.S. quickly slapped heavier sanctions on Russia after its annexation of Crimea, leading to a mutual escalation of retaliatory measures. However, it appears that the West gained a bit of leverage at the moment, as the Russian economy has shown some cracks amid uncertainty over how bad this is going to get.
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Monday, March 24, 2014
The G7 Debtor's League Demotes Putin / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
The Group of 7 Most Insolvent Nations
Angela Merkel has officially cast out and demoted Russia from the G8, reverting it to G7. This highly-charged political act also reflects a major global economic reality – G8 included Russia which has avoided, or been unable to pursue the G7 path of massive sovereign debt growth, only compensated by the G7's monetary chiefs – the US, Japan, Germany, France and UK – having the ability to print “reserve currency” fiat money, led by the USD and EUR but also including the JPY and GBP.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Ron Paul - U.S. 'Democracy Promotion' Destroys Democracy Overseas / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
It was almost ten years ago when, before the House International Relations Committee, I objected to the US Government funding NGOs to meddle in the internal affairs of Ukraine. At the time the "Orange Revolution" had forced a regime change in Ukraine with the help of millions of dollars from Washington.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Bernanke Exit, Yellen Entry - Federal Reserve Continuity of Committing Fraud / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Jas_Jain
There has been lot of commentary about the transition at the head of the Federal Reserve. During the past four months, Janet Yellen has appeared for confirmation hearing, testimony to the Congress, and a Q&A session following her first meeting as the Chairperson of the Fed.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Will Russia Sanctions Backfire? / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Pravda
Russian "energy kings" Igor Sechin and Alexei Miller may be added to the list of persons whose European accounts will be frozen in light of the application of sanctions against Russia. In addition, the heads of the state companies fall under EU visa restrictions. What are the possible consequences of such pressure on the key players in the energy market for the EU?
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Will Ukraine Power Game Raise EU Energy Prices By 100%? / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Raul_I_Meijer
If I were a citizen of the European Union, especially of either the more eastern countries or of Britain, I’d be getting worried right now. I wouldn’t be so sure that what the Boys from Brussels are concocting is in my best interest. It’s one thing to hear the leadership declare that when it comes to gas, Putin needs Europe more than the other way around, but is that really true or is that war talk that may even be based primarily on a lack of knowledge and/or competence? And if the EU bluff pans out wrong, what are going to be the consequences for the people in the EU? As in: how fast and now much can prices rise?
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The Evil of NATO Marching Us into War / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: LewRockwell
Patrick J. Buchanan writes: Sweeping through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this week, Joe Biden reassured all three that the United States’ commitment to Article Five of the NATO treaty remains “solemn” and “iron clad.”
Article Five commits us to war if the territory of any of these tiny Baltic nations is violated by Russia.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
France Advanced Tech And Retarded Diplomacy / Politics / France
By: Andrew_McKillop
Sell Russia Weapons – Then Apply Sanctions
France's sale to Russia of two high tech Mistral-class military ships, described as helicopter assault, electronic warfare support, and local area missile capable “invasion platform” fighting ships, for a total of about 1.4 billion euros enabling more than one thousand jobs at French shipyards in a region of high unemployment, has become collateral damage in Europe's sanctions war against Putin. Russian military and diplomatic officials are openly mocking European sanctions imposed on them over Crimea. They point out that the Mistral-class ship sales were officially hailed, previously by the French, as a signal for the complete and final end to the Cold War.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014
Debt and Taxes / Politics / US Debt
By: Peter_Schiff
The red flags contained in the national and global headlines that have come out thus far in 2014 should have spooked investors and economic forecasters. Instead the markets have barely noticed. It seems that the majority opinion on Wall Street and Washington is that we have entered an era of good fortune made possible by the benevolent hand of the Federal Reserve. Ben Bernanke and now Janet Yellen have apparently removed all the economic rough edges that would normally draw blood. As a result of this monetary "baby-proofing," a strong economy is no longer considered necessary for rising stock and real estate prices.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Feed the Rich and Starve the Middle Class: There’s Only So Much To Go Around / Politics / Social Issues
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: The Dow fell 200 points yesterday when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen dared to suggest a timetable for raising interest rates.
But then they recovered and ended down only 114 points on the day.
Gee, that was a close one, the 1% sighed.
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Friday, March 21, 2014
Birth of a New Ukrainian Nation? / Politics / Eastern Europe
By: OilPrice_Com
Interview with Robert Bensh
Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula is now Russia's. It was done with an impressively organized non-violent military operation, and supported by the foregone conclusion of a referendum on independence from Ukraine. One Ukrainian soldier was reportedly killed on 18 March, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty to annex the Crimea and troops moved to take over a Ukrainian military facility in Simferopol. The US has imposed largely symbolic sanctions on Russian officials who have no American assets to freeze and would be fine foregoing trips to the US, but the game is over.
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