Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Obama's Tipping Point and Implosion, Liar in Chief / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
With a failed Presidency, Barak Obama is on the verge of becoming a perpetual buffoon in a skit on Saturday Night Live. Even with such public distain, the destructive policies of the rogue government merrily continue. The bipartisan cabal class of careerists operates as if they are permanently immune from public outrage. Up to now, they are correct. The Tea Party was hijacked and went dormant, the bulk of the anti-war opposition is AWOL and the government trolls within the occupied movement are now interning at Goldman Sacks. As for the throngs of Obama cult worshipers, who continue to place their faith in state decency and righteousness, are still on a pilgrimage to cash their loyalty checks. Yet, something has changed, but is it too late?
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
AIG Myth: No Time to Avoid Windfall Bailout / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Janet_Tavakoli
On August 13, 2007, more than a year before the AIG meltdown, I publicly challenged AIG’s phony accounting for credit default swaps linked to over $19 billion in “super senior” exposure to subprime and other dodgy loans. These were meant to be super safe, but any competent CDO specialist should have been able to perform the same analysis I did. Instead of super safe, AIG had several billion dollars worth of principal risk due to exposure to mezzanine tranches backed by a significant percentage of poorly underwritten loans, and losses were eating through all of the so-called protection. Yet, despite market prices already eroding on the underlying collateral, AIG took no accounting losses at all. That was far from AIG’s only problem.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Despite all our rage, we are still just Debt Slaves in a mental cage / Politics / Social Issues
By: David_DeGraw
It’s been two years since years of hard work, dedication and frustration finally erupted into mass protests that swept across the globe on an unprecedented scale, and briefly awakened the propagandized masses. Our unjust economic system and the corrupt forces on Wall Street and in Washington were exposed in grand fashion. For once, the people became too powerful to ignore. We finally crashed through the corporate gates of the colossus mainstream media. We penetrated the very leviathan that had divided, isolated and enslaved us. Those robotic, teleprompter reading, paid off propagandist talking heads had no choice, they finally had to acknowledge us. A contagious sense of empowerment, legitimate community and true freedom rose up from the ashes. An inspiring people-powered uprising had begun. Then, all too quickly, the burst of life, freedom and reality that momentarily flashed in and out of people’s living rooms and throughout cities everywhere, was extinguished by brutal police state force.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Ron Paul - Has The Tide Turned Against the Warmongers? / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Will the history books record these past couple of weeks as the point when the tide finally turned against our interventionist foreign policy?
We began September with the Obama Administration on the verge of launching Tomahawk missiles at Syria. The missiles were needed, the administration claimed, to punish the Syrian government for using poison gas on its own people. There were reports that in addition to missiles, the administration was planning airstrikes and possibly even more military action against Syria. The talks of a punishing "shot across the bow" to send a message to the Syrian government also escalated, as some discussed the need to degrade the Syrian military to help change the regime. They refused to rule out a US ground invasion of Syria.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Weakest Economic Recovery on Record Means the Rich Get Richer / Politics / US Politics
By: Profit_Confidential
Michael Lombardi writes: According to a study by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, the Paris School of Economics, and Oxford University, the income gap in the U.S. economy in 2012 was similar to what it was in 1920s! (Source: Associated Press, September 10, 2013.)
In 2012, the income of the top one percent of earners increased by almost 20%; for the bottom 99%, their income only increased by one percent.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Profit Driven Health Care: Obamacare Rips Off Americans / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Stephen_Lendman
It’s a plan to enrich insurers, drug companies, and large hospital chains. It’s market-based for profit. They let business benefit at the expense of ordinary people.
Tens of millions are left uninsured. Millions more are underinsured.
On August 12, The New York Times headlined “A Limit on Consumer Costs Is Delayed in Health Care Law,” saying:
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Monday, September 16, 2013
US Baby Killers Denounce Assad Whilst Putin Prospers / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: President Barack Obama foolishly backed himself into a corner during the growing Syrian crisis by issuing fatwas about mythological red lines. When his bluff got called, the silver-tongued president was left twisting in the wind.
Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize should be rescinded and given, instead, to Vladimir Putin.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Understanding the Cancer Stage of Capitalism / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Global_Research
Giorgio Baruchello writes: Review of John McMurtry‘s Book - While US President Barack Obama bangs loud drums of war, the Pope (the first of the Catholic Church to choose the name of Francis) accuses “the great ones of the earth [to] want to solve” the world’s crises “with a war… Because, for them, money is more important than people! And war is just that: it is an act of faith in money, in idols” (“Pope Francis: War is the suicide of humanity”, Vatican Radio, 2 June 2013).
The Church of Rome itself rejects “the magic of the market” and it sees that the “invisible hand” has got fingers that pull triggers.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The New American Militarism - How American's are Seduced by War / Politics / US Politics
By: Jesse
"To go beyond the bounds of moderation is to outrage humanity. The greatness of the human soul is shown by knowing how to keep within proper bounds. So far from greatness consisting in going beyond its limits, it really consists in keeping within it." -
Blaise Pascal
Bacevich is quite insightful. I should point out that the actual talk itself is about 25 minutes or so. The rest of this video is questions from the audience.
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Sunday, September 15, 2013
Beating The Retreat From Global Warming / Politics / Climate Change
By: Andrew_McKillop
AUSTRALIA SCRAPS THE LOT
When Tony Abbott swept to power, September 7, the defeat of preceding prime minister Kevin Rudd was politely described as “not a rout” by climate-correct media outlets such as Britain's 'Guardian', but Abbot lost no time in taking down and trashing the mix-and-mingle of climate policies and programs thrown together by Rudd's Labour Party. Labour ran a negative campaign alleging that Abbott would bring in European-style austerity via budget spending cuts. Abbott parried this by targeting cuts in the swath of costly-but-ineffective anti-global warming and pro-low carbon programs, created by Labour, as one of his first moves if he won power.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
The CIA Said 'Find An Islamic Billy Graham' / Politics / Middle East
By: Andrew_McKillop
OIL AND THE SUEZ CANAL
As of September 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry is probably boning up Putin's Russian chess playing gambits and tactics, but his State Dept's goals in the Middle East, in the 1950s included the hot project of finding an Islamic Billy Graham.
US historian John Buescher says the goals of U.S. foreign policy in the region, during the 1950s, as including the race to find fiery Islamic preachers able to cut the political ground away from fast-rising and troublesome Arab nationalist army colonels like Syria's Husni al-Zaim and Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. At the same time, the U.S. was courting Nasser as a “bulwark against communism”.
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Friday, September 13, 2013
Democracy Hypocrisy And The Economic Growth Illusion / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
GROWTH BLIP, DEMOCRACY BLIP
Hypocrisy democracy is the rule in what are called the “consumer democracies” - consuming less and less as the economy slows or stagnates and unemployment mushrooms – but consuming more and more illusion and hypocrisy. Some ask if globalism and democracy has now reached its “event horizon”, beyond which it gets sucked into its own black hole of political hype and economic myth.
Friday, September 13, 2013
The CIA and its Weapons Are Pouring into Syria / Politics / Syria
By: Jack_D_Douglas
The U.S. is already fully engaged in a massive war against the Syrian government, in complete violation of the UN Charter and treaties the US signed. The U.S. is already a war-criminal for training, arming, and directing the rebel Sunni “terrorists” (in US terms) with intelligence and staff planning at the top.
The US news mediaare full of articles about this secret U.-CIA war against Syria which yesterday became a fully open war of aggression against a sovereign nation that is a member of the UN, by the open shipment of US weapons to the rebel “terrorists” through the U.S. Sunni puppet regimes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Jordan.
Friday, September 13, 2013
America’s Last Capitalist - U.S. Presidents / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Merrill
The 20th Century and since is replete with US Presidents who helped advance the steady march of statism the nation and the world so suffers from today, from Teddy Roosevelt all of the way to Barack Obama. Only four of nineteen US Presidents in office since January 1, 1900 can raise any claim to having advanced freedom in economic affairs in large, substantial ways during their term in office.
One of the four, the first in time, has a quite dubious claim.
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Friday, September 13, 2013
Record 20% of Americans Struggle to Afford Food and Basic Necessities, Who's to Blame? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Mike_Shedlock
The latest Gallup survey shows Near-Record Number of Americans Struggle to Afford Food.
Read full article... Read full article...More Americans are struggling to afford food -- nearly as many as did during the recent recession. The 20.0% who reported in August that they have, at times, lacked enough money to buy the food that they or their families needed during the past year, is up from 17.7% in June, and is the highest percentage recorded since October 2011. The percentage who struggle to afford food now is close to the peak of 20.4% measured in November 2008, as the global economic crisis unfolded.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Syria Chess Or Checkers – Putin And Obama On Collision Course / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
OBAMA HOUNDED BY HIS OWN PRESS
Since September 10, things have gone downhill fast for Barack Obama. Called everything from doing a Laurel and Hardy show with slapstick partner John Kerry, to repeating Jimmy Carter's lame duck presidency, Obama has been pasted by the US press. Another cruel gibe at Obama was that he and France's President Hollande are playing checkers – while Putin plays chess - to win.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Obama's Syria Retreat - Middle Eastern Empire In The Sand / Politics / Middle East
By: Andrew_McKillop
OBAMA AND HOLLANDE
Disowned by their own public opinion, abandoned by party faithfuls, with the media also not showing exemplary loyalty and “confusing the public” with devilish details, Obama and Hollande have had to beat a retreat with their Syrian war plans. Outsmarted by hardened chess player Vladimir Putin, they were playing fourth-grade checkers and with no surprise - lost.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
At World's End - The Five Stages of Collapse / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
In the first three parts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) of this disheartening look back at a century of central banking, income taxing, military warring, energy depleting and political corrupting, I made a case for why we are in the midst of a financial, commercial, political, social and cultural collapse. In this final installment I’ll give my best estimate as to what happens next and it has a 100% probability of being wrong. There are so many variables involved that it is impossible to predict the exact path to our world’s end. Many people don’t want to hear about the intractable issues or the true reasons for our predicament. They want easy button solutions. They want someone or something to fix their problems. They pray for a technological miracle to save them from decades of irrational myopic decisions. As the domino-like collapse worsens, the feeble minded populace becomes more susceptible to the false promises of tyrants and psychopaths. There are a myriad of thugs, criminals, and autocrats in positions of power who are willing to exploit any means necessary to retain their wealth, power and control. The revelations of governmental malfeasance, un-Constitutional mass espionage of all citizens, and expansion of the Orwellian welfare/warfare surveillance state, from patriots like Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden has proven beyond a doubt the corrupt establishment are zealously anxious to discard and stomp on the U.S. Constitution in their desire for authoritarian control over our society.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Syria, America and Putin's Bluff / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
In recent weeks I've written about U.S. President Barack Obama's bluff on Syria and the tightrope he is now walking on military intervention. There is another bluff going on that has to be understood, this one from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin is bluffing that Russia has emerged as a major world power. In reality, Russia is merely a regional power, but mainly because its periphery is in shambles. He has tried to project a strength that that he doesn't have, and he has done it well. For him, Syria poses a problem because the United States is about to call his bluff, and he is not holding strong cards. To understand his game we need to start with the recent G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Kerry Couldn’t Sell a Used Car / Politics / US Politics
By: Washingtons_Blog
After Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that President Bashar al-Assad avoid a war by handing over any chemical weapons his government possesses, Russia quickly seconded the motion, and Assad agreed to it. Just as quickly, aparently panicked by the possible delay or prevention of missile strikes, Kerry’s staff put out this statement: