Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
France and Greece Voters Reject Austerity for Money Printing Inflation Stealth Debt Default / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2012
By: Nadeem_Walayat
For the duration of the financial crisis a battle of economic ideas has been waged between governments implementing economic austerity in an attempt to shrink budget deficits as experienced by much of the Euro-zone and that of money printing inflation as experienced by the U.S. and UK. That battle is now coming to an end as the voters of first France and then Greece have rejected severe economic austerity that has seen economic depression in Greece and at best stagnation in France for the alternative solution of money printing inflation.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Governing Elite Fraud and Theft Will Continue Until Morale Improves / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
The BEA reported the latest figures for personal income, personal consumption expenditures and the savings rate last week. The government mouthpieces in the mainstream media obediently reported that personal income and expenditures reached an all-time high in March. The chart below shows the ever increasing level of expenditures by consumers since this supposed economic recovery began in the 4th quarter of 2009. All good Keynesian economists know that consumer spending is always good for America, no matter how it is achieved. We must be in a recovery if income and spending are reaching new highs, right? That is the fraudulent storyline being propagandized to the non-questioning lapdog public. A false storyline and data that has been massaged harder than a Secret Service agent by a Columbian hooker will not lead to a happy ending. Some critical thinking, a calculator, and some common sense reveal the depth of the fraud and expose the theft being committed by the avaricious governing elite at the expense of the prudent working middle class.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Number ONE Enemy of the State / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
There is immense confusion about the nature of the State. There is even more bewilderment about what constitutes a patriot. Any discussion in the civic realm begins with a cultural viewpoint. An attitude toward the proper role of the individual’s relationship with government based upon one’s value system and interpretation of civil order is natural. One man’s patriot is another man’s traitor. Where do you stand on the sentiments behind the penning of the below ideas? Quiz yourself and see if you can figure out the name of the author.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Economic Lessons from the Ron Paul vs. Krugman Debate / Politics / US Politics
By: Casey_Research
Vedran Vuk, Senior Analyst, Casey Research writes: A few days ago, Bloomberg held the debate many readers have been wanting for a long time: Paul Krugman vs. Ron Paul. To be fair, Ron Paul didn't have a slam-dunk debate moment – but neither did Krugman. Still, the fact that a medical doctor from Texas armed with a little Austrian economics and a lot of common sense can stand up to a Nobel-Prize-winning economist is impressive. If the roles were reversed and the conversation was on medicine, Krugman would have likely sounded like a village idiot in the discussion. In case you haven't already seen it, click on the frame below for the video.
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Monday, May 07, 2012
War Is Unholy, But we're supposed to think that God is on our side? / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Gary D. Barnett writes: The drums of war now beat continuously in the land of the "free" and the home of the "brave." The sound of those drums is deafening to those few who understand the real nature of war, but silent to most of the rest of American society, a society consumed by the practice of false patriotism.
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Monday, May 07, 2012
European Politics: France Changes Trains / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Andrew_McKillop
Hollande's victory in France, like the major voter gains for the extreme-left Syriza party in Greek elections, and constant erosion of Merkel's two supporting parties in German elections, all held the same weekend, confirm the emerging and massive left - right split in European politics.
Monday, May 07, 2012
Iceberg Ahead: The Big Money That Is Sinking Democracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
I keep thinking of that clear April night 100 years ago when the unsinkable HMS Titanic steamed towards New York. It was actually on its way to dock just a few blocks from where I live at what are now the Chelsea Piers. There was a sense of optimism abroad as a new record for a speedy transatlantic passage was about to be set.
There was music, dancing and fine wine. That is, until they saw that iceberg high in the water. The Captain and his mates were aware that 80 percent of it was underwater and out of sight. They didn’t react in time.
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
The French Elections: Flirting With The Abyss / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Andrew_McKillop
May 6 is Maybe not 5 years more for Sarkozy, but for France and Europe, and even for the world this election process and sequence has been and will continue to be a dangerous flirt with the abyss. Whether political, social, cultural, economic or otherwise, the election process which has dragged on for months has never ceased throwing red flags and danger signals, all of them ignored and snowed under by the rush to talk and not do, letting the glacier-like advance continue. Until the abyss is reached, everything seems fine; after it nothing is fine.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
U.S. Government Using Police Powers to Protect Hydralic Fracking, Being Fracked by the Merger of Government and Big Business / Politics / US Politics
By: Washingtons_Blog
Fracking is polluting water all over the country. A new study published in the journal Ground Water predicts that the highly-toxic fluids used in fracking can migrate to aquifers within a few short years.
The government has officially stated that fracking can cause earthquakes. And see this. Some fracking companies now admit this fact.
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
American's Fed Disinformation On Every Front / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Some readers have come to the erroneous conclusion that the Matrix consists of Republican Party disinformation as if there is no disinformation from the left. Others think that propaganda is the business of Obama and the Democrats. In fact, propaganda from the right, the left and the middle are all part of the disinformation fed to americans.
If I may give some examples: The other day Chuck Colson, one of the Nixon officials imprisoned for Watergate crimes, died. This gave NPR the opportunity to relive the Nixon horror.
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Saturday, May 05, 2012
Stick to Value Investing, Charlie Munger / Politics / Investing 2012
By: Jeff_Berwick
While I am on strict orders from the doctor to never watch CNBC, for my mental health, I was forwarded a video of Charlie Munger on CNBC today where he stated, "gold is a great thing to sew onto your garments if you're a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939 but civilized people don't buy gold - they invest in productive businesses."
Saturday, May 05, 2012
New Private Equity Opportunities Are Coming Thanks to the JOBS Act / Politics / US Politics
By: Ron_Holland
An exceptional entrepreneurial company structure tainted unfairly by the actions of misnamed leveraged private equity buyout firms.
"Their new label became 'private equity,' a name that turns the facts upside-down: A purchase of a business by these firms almost invariably results in dramatic reductions in the equity portion of the acquiree's capital structure compared to that previously existing." – Warren Buffet
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Saturday, May 05, 2012
China, or How To Live in Interesting Times / Politics / China
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
Over the past few weeks I've read an absolute avalanche of articles on China, but because of all the traveling we were doing never got around to turning the information into stories for TAE. By the way, we're on the Sunshine Coast, an hour north of Brisbane, for a week or two right now, staying with friends and trying to catch our breath. It's where the Australasia tour started 11 weeks ago, so it feels kind of fitting. We’ll move over to Europe on May 15, and we will be available for lectures over there. We’re also looking for a place to stay for a month or so by the way, to do some catching up.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
The Euro End's on 6th of May 2012 / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Dr_Volkmar_G_Hable
Few Americans will have noticed that this Sunday the end of the Euro will take place. On that day the final run-off ballot between current French president Mr. Sarkozy and socialist presidential candidate Mr. Hollande will decide over the future of the Euro.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Americans Are Losing Trust In All U.S. Institutions / Politics / US Politics
By: Washingtons_Blog
The signs are everywhere: Americans have lost trust in our institutions.
The Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index published yesterday shows that only 22% of Americans trust the nations financial system.
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Friday, May 04, 2012
Is an Economic Deluge Nigh? / Politics / Social Issues
By: David_Galland
David Galland, Casey Research writes: If history has taught one certain lesson, it is that the less fettered an economy, the better humankind is able to do what it does best: run from trouble and run toward opportunity. In this way mistakes are quickly resolved and progress assured.
Conversely, the deeper the muck of regulation, mandates, taxes, subsidies and other bureaucratic meddling, the slower we humans are in following our natural instincts until the point that progress is slowed or even stopped.
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Friday, May 04, 2012
Forget Global Warming And Move Up To Real Climate Change / Politics / Climate Change
By: Andrew_McKillop
Ambassador Richard H. Jones, deputy director of the IEA, opened the IEA's April conference by-lined 'Clean Energy Progress', by saying global temperatures are "probably" going to rise by "6 degrees celsius" by about 2050. The main problem, apart from this being totally impossible - barring massive meteorite attack or massive volcanic eruptions - is that fewer and fewer persons believe this story.
Friday, May 04, 2012
The Fate of the Eurozone Hangs on Sunday's French Elections / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
It now looks as though Nicolas Sarkozy's days are numbered. In the balance lies the fate of the Eurozone itself.
It appears Socialist Francois Hollande will win the French election runoff on Sunday and that June's legislative elections will give the Socialists a powerful position in France's parliament.
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Thursday, May 03, 2012
Americans and Their Totalitarian Government / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Scott Lazarowitz writes: Morning in American - That was Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign slogan, which manipulated the voters to give Reagan a second term of deficit-spending, expanding the welfare/warfare state, and further enlarging Big Government.
Barack Obama will do similar manipulating of the masses.
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Thursday, May 03, 2012
The Gold Standard is the Pet Peeve of the Power Elite / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Ben Bernanke journeyed across town to give a 4-part seminar to 30 undergraduates at George Washington University.
This was clearly a public relations stunt. Why would the head of the world's most powerful central bank lecture to 30 undergraduates? This was not quite the equivalent of George W. Bush reading "My Pet Goat" to third graders, but it was close. Think of it as "My Pet Peeve." His first speech was an overview of central banking. He used PowerPoint to create slides. The presentation had 49 slides.
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