Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Going Beyond The Global Financial Crisis, Self-Assembling Dynamic Networks / Politics / Social Issues
By: DK_Matai
2012 is a watershed year in the history of humankind. The cumulative effects of Self-Assembling Dynamic Networks or SADNs are not only changing the very nature of our existence but also the perception of each other via our unprecedented super-connectivity across communities and continents. Does this herald the end of the status quo? No-thing appears to remain the same as this contagion-of-transparency and flat-hierarchies spreads faster and faster: accelerating, assimilating and absorbing every aspect of our joint and inter-linked global existence.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The French Fake Global Warming 'Crisis' / Politics / Climate Change
By: Andrew_McKillop
Through the four days 15 - 19 August, many French towns and cities experienced high, and in a certain number of cases record high temperatures for mid-August. For French media and quite a few politicians - either "leading" or would be "leading" - this was however nowhere near enough. For them, what in French is called a "canicule" or hot summer weather, was the start of a probably, almost certainly long period of record-high temperatures, of course due to anthropogenic global warming. French media and politics went on to tell 'the people' that this special canicule might cause high, or even extreme high losses of life among vulnerable sections of the population - especially old persons and children. Urgent public advisory and communication measures were needed.
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Monday, August 20, 2012
U.S. Extortion Against Standard Chartered Bank Shows Bias Against Iran / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Is This Incident A Retaliation Because A Bank Official Made A Disparaging Comment About US Hostility To Iran?
Johannesburg, South Africa: On the surface, it looked like a simple game of “Gotcha,” when New York Bank regulators blew the whistle on London’s Standard Chartered Bank for laundering money. The fact that the money was allegedly tied to Iran cast a major shadow on the allegations, given the Islamic Republic’s “bad guy” image in American policy circles.
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Monday, August 20, 2012
India Power Black Out: The Shape of Things to Come? / Politics / India
By: Raul_I_Meijer
The enormous power cut recently seen in India, which affected perhaps 700 million people, serves to highlight the degree of the structural dependency we have built into our lives in the era of cheap energy.
Electricity is one of the most complex manifestations of our complex system and has come to be widely seen as a basic necessity. It enables many of our modern life support systems. Expectations have been raised, even in many of the slums of the world, that electricity will be available, at least some of the time. The lack of it, especially if that lack is sudden and unexpected, or prolonged, increasingly leads to social unrest.
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Sunday, August 19, 2012
Financial Markets, Politics, and the New Reality / Politics / Financial Markets 2012
By: STRATFOR
Louis M. Bacon is the head of Moore Capital Management, one of the largest and most influential hedge funds in the world. Last week, he announced that he was returning one quarter of his largest fund, about $2 billion, to his investors. The reason he gave to The New York Times was that he had found it difficult to invest given the impossibility of predicting the European situation. He was quoted as saying, "The political involvement is so extreme – we have not seen this since the postwar era. What they are doing is trying to thwart natural market outcomes. It is amazing how important the decision-making of one person, Angela Merkel, has become to world markets."
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Republicans Hope, but Don't Change / Politics / US Politics
By: Peter_Schiff
For much of the past few generations, the debate over balancing the federal budget has been a central feature of every presidential campaign. But over time, the goalposts have moved. As the amount of red ink has grown steadily larger, the suggested time frames to restore balance have gotten increasingly longer, while the suggested cuts in government spending have gotten increasingly shallower. In recent years, talk of balancing the budget gave way to vague promises such as "cutting the deficit in half in five years." In the current campaign, however, it appears as if the goalposts have been moved so far that they are no longer in the field of play. I would argue that they are completely out of the stadium.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 17, 2012
U.S. Unemployment Problem, Congress Are You Listening / Politics / US Politics
By: Toby_Connor
Well, it's that time again. Every two years our senses are assaulted as politicians spew an endless stream of nonsense in the attempt to garner votes from a mostly unsophisticated American population. This year the major topic, not surprisingly, is jobs. Each and every politician would like you to believe that he or she has the cure for the persistent unemployment problem.
Friday, August 17, 2012
What If the Mighty Mississippi River Dries Up? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: LewRockwell
Economic Collapse writes: The worst drought in more than 50 years is having a devastating impact on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi has become very thin and very narrow, and if it keeps on dropping there is a very real possibility that all river traffic could get shut down. And considering the fact that approximately 60 percent of our grain, 22 percent of our oil and natural gas, and and one-fifth of our coal travel down the Mississippi River, that would be absolutely crippling for our economy. It has been estimated that if all Mississippi River traffic was stopped that it would cost the U.S. economy 300 million dollars a day. So far most of the media coverage of this historic drought has focused on the impact that it is having on farmers and ranchers, but the health of the Mississippi River is also absolutely crucial to the economic success of this nation, and right now the Mississippi is in incredibly bad shape. In some areas the river is already 20 feet below normal and the water is expected to continue to drop. If we have another 12 months of weather ahead of us similar to what we have seen over the last 12 months then the mighty Mississippi is going to be a complete and total disaster zone by this time next year.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The Fiat Currency World and Fake Gold Medals / Politics / Fiat Currency
By: Jeff_Berwick
Today, the power of the state has corrupted society absolutely.
This week, fund manager Bill Gross tweeted how unhappy he is that Mitt Romney's VP selection is in favor of stealing less from citizens. He is calling for more theft and yet not a person at the cocktail parties he attends will slight him or call him a violent thief.
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
Ecuador Tells America's Poodle to Go to Hell / Politics / UK Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
For around two months, Julian Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's London embassy after requesting political asylum.
Sweden wants him extradited on spurious charges. They include unlawful coercion, sexual molestation and rape.
Allegedly it's for having nonconsensual condomless sex. A honey trap snared him.
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
Greece Suicides Epidemic, 350 Greek Tragedies in Athens in June Alone / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
You know, we can write and read and research all we want, and till we're deep dark blue in the face, about Angela Merkel and Tim Geithner and Mario Draghi or Monti and Greek heroes Samaras and Venizelos, about what they say and do from day to day, driven by political pressure and mundane issues such as bond yields. And we will continue to write, read and research these things; that's not going to stop.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Colonizing Nations 101 / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Stephen_Lendman
Last December, Truth 11.com offered a model for destroying and colonizing nations. In Orwellian newspeak, it said:
(1) Global "Mafia" scoundrels target nations "ripe for 'Regime Change.' " Calling them rogue states enlists support.
(2) CIA/Mossad/MI6 and collaborators "arm, train, (and) finance local and foreign mercenaries/terrorists." Freedom fighters they're called for the same reason.
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Bernanke Cliff / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_Pento
There is just far too much attention being paid to the so called Fiscal Cliff occurring at the end of this year. The expiration of the “Bush era” tax cuts and forced spending reductions taking place because of the Sequestration, really doesn’t amount to much more than a fiscal speed bump. In fact, less government spending is one of the pathways to prosperity; rather than becoming some make-believe economic catastrophe. And although raising tax rates isn’t an optimal solution, there could still be a small benefit if there was a resulting increase in revenue, which then served to reduce annual deficits and began to address our long-term fiscal imbalances.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Signs of Collapse Mr. President, What the Last Roman Emperor Would Tell Obama Today / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
Over the course of 700 years, the ancient Roman Empire grew from a small republic to one that stretched from London to Baghdad at its peak.
As one of the world's first true superpowers, the Empire's achievements included the world's first standing professional army, economic prowess, intellectual growth and governance principles that are commonly regarded as the basis for modern society.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Israel Crisis / Politics / Israel
By: STRATFOR
Crises are normally short, sharp and intense affairs. Israel's predicament has developed on a different time frame, is more diffuse than most crises and has not reached a decisive and intense moment. But it is still a crisis. It is not a crisis solely about Iran, although the Israeli government focuses on that issue. Rather, it is over Israel's strategic reality since 1978, when it signed the Camp David accords with Egypt.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Getting Rid of the World's ***** Riots, Kangaroos, Bananas and the Rule of Law / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Kangaroo Court : An unfair, biased, or hasty judicial proceeding that ends in a harsh punishment; an unauthorized trial conducted by individuals who have taken the law into their own hands, such as those put on by vigilantes or prison inmates; a proceeding and its leaders who are considered sham, corrupt, and without regard for the law.
The concept of kangaroo court dates to the early nineteenth century. Scholars trace its origin to the historical practice of itinerant judges on the U.S. frontier. These roving judges were paid on the basis of how many trials they conducted, and in some instances their salary depended on the fines from the defendants they convicted. The term kangaroo court comes from the image of these judges hopping from place to place, guided less by concern for justice than by the desire to wrap up as many trials as the day allowed.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Scotland Ambitions For Renewable Energy Independence - An Interview with Alex Salmond / Politics / Energy Resources
By: OilPrice_Com
We were fortunate enough to have some time with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond where we discussed a broad range of topics from Scotland's ambitious renewable energy targets and North Sea oil & gas to Scottish independence and Donald Trump.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
What Does Liberty Really Mean to You? / Politics / US Politics
By: David_Galland
David Galland, Casey Research - For some time now – years actually – I have pondered the nature of liberty. Or more specifically, what liberty actually means to me. And to be extra clear, I am not talking about the meaning in abstract or philosophical terms, but tangibly – in much the same way I might answer if asked what my wife means to me.
The trigger for this entirely personal discourse comes from reading various articles and viewing various YouTube videos and speeches from self-styled champions of liberty (COL). There is even an entire conference, Mark Skousen's FreedomFest, dedicated to the topic.
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Monday, August 13, 2012
Greenspan's Silver Anniversary / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
"Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of one Sir Alan Greenspan's confirmation vote. Fred, you doing anything special to celebrate?" wrote Scott Frew, General Partner of Rockingham Capital Partners L.P. hedge fund.
Well, no, but we have an obligation to remember. What follows is a draft of was later refined in Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession and in other publications. This includes comments of other senators that may not have been published elsewhere. Reading through this early version, it is notable how many senators were concerned the imbalances - federal budget deficit, trade deficit, the leveraging of corporate balance sheets - were about to crush the country. And here we are 25 years later.
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Monday, August 13, 2012
The Games Of Summer From Playing Fields To Battle Fields / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Danny_Schechter
Johannesburg South Africa: When the modern Olympics were first conceived, they were intended as a peaceful alternative to war. The nations of the world were supposed to lay down their arms and stop fighting during the games out of respect for the Olympic ideal. That, of course has not happened.
In 1936, Adolph Hitler used the Berlin Olympics to showcase his “ideals,” and, now, today, the sports spectacle in London became a showcase of corporate branding and entertainment while wars rage without comment by the global TV machine that focuses only on the play by play of who’s ahead and who’s behind on the fields of sports and politics.
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