Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Iran Oil Trumps Iran Nuclear / Politics / Crude Oil
By: Andrew_McKillop
The US Energy Dept's 29 February report on world oil market trends carried baleful news for the gung-ho fraternity who want to turn Iran's nuclear installations into Dirty Bombs before Iran produces the Clean Bombs that other owner countries, like the US, Pakistan, France and Israel proudly possess.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Google and the Death of Privacy / Politics / Social Issues
By: Jeff_Berwick
You may or may not be surprised to hear this but I am not a big "privacy buff". You've probably noticed this as I've regularly detailed the minutiea of my personal life here for a number of years. I'm certainly not one of those who would protest against Google StreetView for taking photos of public locations. Take all the photos you want, Google.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Modern Myths that Destroy Humanity / Politics / Social Issues
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
“All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” –Friedrich Nietzsche
I'd like to take this opportunity to comment on an oldie but a goodie from the Indian environmentalist, Vandan Shiva. In her brief article for Odewire, "Two myths that keep the world poor", Shiva tears apart the logic of Harvard economist and neoliberal (-feudal), economic "shock therapy" advocate Jeffrey Sachs with all the force one would expect from the God of destruction. It was in response to a book written by Sachs called The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time, which featured all the nonsensical arguments that “liberal progressives” like to spout off in magazines and on television these days.
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Thursday, March 01, 2012
Unbelievable Stress of Making "Only" $200,000 After Taxes / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Shedlock
People who have nothing to eat, no job, and are about to be tossed out of their homes in foreclosure, really do not know what stress is.
To fully appreciate stress, please consider the sorry "plights" of Andrew Schiff, marketing director for Euro Pacific Capital, Daniel Arbeeny, a Wall Street headhunter, and hedge-fund manager Richard Scheiner.
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Thursday, March 01, 2012
Bernanke Maintains Cautious Stance on Further Monetary Easing / Politics / Central Banks
By: Asha_Bangalore
Chairman Bernanke maintained a cautious stance in today’s testimony at the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and left the door open for additional monetary policy easing. He opened his remarks with the observation that the “pace of expansion has been uneven and modest by historical standards.” In his opinion, economic activity is likely to match the pace seen in the latter half of 2011. The U.S. economy advanced at an average pace of 2.4% in the third and fourth quarters of 2011.
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Thursday, March 01, 2012
ECB LTRO – Fatter than El Gordo / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Adrian_Ash
Gasp at the sheer size of El Tro, the €1 trillion money storm raining down on Europe's banks...
The FATTEST PRIZE in the world's biggest lottery, El Gordo – the "Fat One" – just keeps getting fatter, according to its promoters.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
India's Government Grudgingly Releases Report on Nuclear Power's Effect on Human Health / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: OilPrice_Com
India is betting heavily on nuclear power to meet its surging energy needs. While India currently has six nuclear power plants (NPPs) with 20 reactors generating 4,780 megawatts, seven other reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 5,300 megawatts.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
US, Britain Gear Up for War on Iran / Politics / Iran
By: Global_Research
Bill Van Auken writes: The military commands in both the US and Britain have sought increased funding and stepped up deployments of arms and personnel to the Persian Gulf in preparation for an anticipated war against Iran.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon, acting on the request of the Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the region, has requested the re-allocation of some $100 million in military spending to ratchet up war preparations.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Key Players Are Showing Their Hands… Will Germany Go “All In”? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
As I’ve stated time and again, Germany is the only EU member that has the money to get Greece through this next round of debt payments (14.4 billion Euros coming due March 20). But Merkel isn’t going to give the money without Greece submitting to German fiscal demands.
However, there is no way Greece will submit to German fiscal authority. Heck the Greeks are even going so far as to bring up German war reparations from WWII!
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The State of the World: Explaining U.S. Strategy / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
The fall of the Soviet Union ended the European epoch, the period in which European power dominated the world. It left the United States as the only global power, something for which it was culturally and institutionally unprepared. Since the end of World War II, the United States had defined its foreign policy in terms of its confrontation with the Soviet Union. Virtually everything it did around the world in some fashion related to this confrontation. The fall of the Soviet Union simultaneously freed the United States from a dangerous confrontation and eliminated the focus of its foreign policy.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Global 'Oil Shock' Could Sink Obama's Re-Election Bid / Politics / Crude Oil
By: Gary_Dorsch
As the price of North Sea Brent crude oil touched $125 /barrel last week, the topic of sharply higher gasoline prices suddenly caught the attention of the Main Stream Media (MSM). Spin artists for the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama were quick to deny any responsibility for soaring oil prices, and instead blamed the upward spiral on geo-political tension with Iran. However, since the days of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, - when the OPEC cartel placed an embargo on crude oil sales and hiked oil prices by 70%, the price of gasoline has been a key variable effecting the outcome of US-presidential elections.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
When Oil Rides High The Snakeoil Flows / Politics / Crude Oil
By: Andrew_McKillop
The US energy department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) launched its annual Energy
Innovation Summit, 27 February, to a backdrop of oil price fear and a ritual bout of warnings on the
economic dangers of spiralling oil prices, from media friendly economic gurus usually peddling the
debt-deficit-and-doom storyline.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Inverted Totalitarianism and the Corporate State / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
Stricken with a terminal disease, the decline of traditional society is unavoidable. For decades, the political institutions that fostered a Republic based upon individual liberty and responsibility fade into fond memory. Defenders of all that made America a shining example of human freedom are attacked and ridiculed for holding onto a moral and ethical system that is based upon the dignity of every individual. Most will blame the failure of this decay on the politicians that willfully pander to the masses with the next generation of social welfare programs. While defining a politician as a scoundrel, deserving damnation, seems obvious; the underlying source of the decay that eats away the culture comes from various directions.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 27, 2012
U.S. Economy Extend and Pretend is Coming To An End / Politics / US Economy
By: James_Quinn
The real world revolves around cash flow. Families across the land understand this basic concept. Cash flows in from wages, investments and these days from the government. Cash flows out for food, gasoline, utilities, cable, cell phones, real estate taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, clothing, mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments, medical bills, auto repairs, home repairs, appliances, electronic gadgets, education, alcohol (necessary in this economy) and a countless other everyday expenses. If the outflow exceeds the inflow a family may be able to fund the deficit with credit cards for awhile, but ultimately running a cash flow deficit will result in debt default and loss of your home and assets. Ask the millions of Americans that have experienced this exact outcome since 2008 if you believe this is only a theoretical exercise. The Federal government, Federal Reserve, Wall Street banks, regulatory agencies and commercial real estate debtors have colluded since 2008 to pretend cash flow doesn’t matter. Their plan has been to “extend and pretend”, praying for an economic recovery that would save them from their greedy and foolish risk taking during the 2003 – 2007 Caligula-like debauchery.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Our Depraved Future of Debt Slavery (Part II) / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2012
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
There have been many forms of “debt slavery” throughout history, and almost everyone is chained to the oppressive financial, corporatist system now in one way or another. Although, this fact has not even remotely sunk in for millions of people who, unfortunately, have absolutely no clue how bad it can get. The real issue here, however, is not necessarily what people will have to do to survive the upcoming storms. Rather, it is what they will be forced to do to remain a functioning part of the system under threat of excessive monetary punishment, physical confinement or violence to them and/or those close to them. So, one must be financially/coercively attached to the system to be a “debt slave”.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 27, 2012
Memo From The U.S. Department of Pre-War Planning And Threat Exaggeration / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Here are excerpts from a “secret document” whose authenticity cannot be authenticated, perhaps because I wrote it myself.
As you requested, here is the scenario for how we can launch a war on Iran while publicly denying we are doing so.
This is a digest of the multi-dimensional and multi-track strategy that is in place, and is being pursued simultaneously in a coordinated manner, by The Executive Branch, Defense Department, State Department, and all intelligence agencies. (And despite reports from our spy agencies that Iran is right to insist it is not making nuclear bombs. Why let a denial get in the way of useful paranoia?)
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Sunday, February 26, 2012
The ECB Gone Wild; Living in Interesting Times / Politics / Central Banks
By: David_Knox_Barker
The historically hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) has the single mandate of ensuring price stability in the European Union. In the face of the rapidly unfolding debt deflation collapse of the European banking system in December 2011, the ECB shocked global financial markets with the December surprise of $645 billion in long-term refinancing operations (LTRO). The program provided three-year loans to strapped banks. The ECB on a lending binge to over 500 banks qualifies as interesting times by any standard.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Taxes, Why Shouldn't Everyone Pay Something? / Politics / Taxes
By: John_Mauldin
Don't Tax You, Don't Tax Me
Tax that Man Behind the Tree!
– Senator Russell Long, Democrat Louisiana (1918-2003)
Last week's letter on taxes drew more response than any letter I have written in years. Questions that were raised simply beg for an answer, and some of the replies were very thoughtful, well-written suggestions for alternatives. This week I am going to do something I can't ever remember doing, and that is to use the entire letter to involve and respond to my readers. Let me begin by thanking all of those who responded, and to observe that every response I read was polite and courteous, even when aggressively disagreeing. Not every site on the internet has such a civil discourse among its readers. I appreciate that. Next week we will return to All Greece, All the Time or whatever the crisis du jour is, although I am much more interested in China of late. I will have to address the world's largest nation at some point soon. At the end of the letter, I provide some very interesting and fun links and a note on an upcoming webinar with investment legend Israel "Izzy" Englander. Now, let's zero in on taxes.
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Friday, February 24, 2012
FBI and Mainstream Media Silencing the Critics / Politics / Social Issues
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
In 2010 the FBI invaded the homes of peace activists in several states and seized personal possessions in what the FBI--the lead orchestrator of fake “terrorist plots”--called an investigation of “activities concerning the material support of terrorism.”
Subpoenas were issued to compel antiwar protestors to testify before grand juries as prosecutors set about building their case that opposing Washington’s wars of aggression constitutes giving aid and comfort to terrorists. The purpose of the raids and grand jury subpoenas was to chill the anti-war movement into inaction.
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Friday, February 24, 2012
How Greece Could Take Down Wall Street / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2012
By: Ellen_Brown
In an article titled “Still No End to ‘Too Big to Fail,’” William Greider wrote in The Nation on February 15th:
Financial market cynics have assumed all along that Dodd-Frank did not end "too big to fail" but instead created a charmed circle of protected banks labeled "systemically important" that will not be allowed to fail, no matter how badly they behave.
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