Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Financial Crisis American Gridlock, Why The “Left” And The “Right” Are Both Wrong / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: John_Mauldin
Today we dive into Part 2 of Woody Brock’s notes from his new book, American Gridlock ( www.amazon.com/gridlock). He looks at what we can do in the future to prevent another crisis like we had in 2008, why we need to change, how we bargain with China (will be very controversial, in China at least!), what capitalism really is, and then he addresses the thorny issue of what it means to distribute wealth fairly. What can be said to those concerned with the top 1% of the population owning a grossly disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth?
Monday, February 06, 2012
Washington Heading for War on Syria / Politics / Middle East
By: Stephen_Lendman
Washington's longstanding policy is regime change in Iran and Syria. At issue is replacing independent regimes with client ones and securing unchallenged control of valued Middle East resources.
On February 4, Russia and China vetoed a largely one-sided anti-Assad resolution. A previous article called him more victim than villain. Yet he's falsely blamed for months of externally generated violence.
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Monday, February 06, 2012
Bankers Committed Fraud to Get Bigger Bonuses / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: In case you didn't catch the article titled "Guilty Pleas Hit the 'Mark'" in the Wall Street Journal, I'm here to make sure you don't miss it.
This is too good.
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Monday, February 06, 2012
U.S. Fraudulent Election Year Unemployment Data, Lies, Lies, More and Bigger Lies / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: LewRockwell
Economic Collapse writes: On Friday, the entire financial world celebrated when it was announced that the unemployment rate in the United States had fallen to 8.3 percent. That is the lowest it has been since February 2009, and it came as an unexpected surprise for financial markets that are hungry for some good news. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls jumped by 243,000 during the month of January. You can read the full employment report right here.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Double Liability for Bank Shareholders, Officers and Directors / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Chris_Kitze
Most people don't realize that for about 75 years after Civil War, in the United States, a bank's officers, directors and shareholders had personal liability in excess of the value of their shares. If a bank were to be declared insolvent by the regulator, they were required to make up the shortfall in an insolvency with their personal assets. This tends to focus the attention of the bankers to be more responsible in terms of their lending and other business practices and provides an automatic way to self-regulate. When you have no personal responsibility, other than maybe not getting a bonus next year, why not take big chance for a bigger personal payout? There is no downside for bankers with today's limited liability and the public is now stuck with these losses because the bankers have shifted their responsibility to the public.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
U.S. Home Foreclosures and Shadow Banking: Why All the "Robo-signing"? / Politics / US Housing
By: Ellen_Brown
A foreclosure settlement between five major banks guilty of robo-signing and the attorneys general of the 50 states is pending for Monday, February 6th; but it is still not clear if all the AGs will sign. California was to get over half of the $25 billion in settlement money, and California AG Kamala Harris has withstood pressure to settle.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
U.S. Employment Report Masks Depth of U.S. Jobs Crisis / Politics / Employment
By: Barry_Grey
President Barack Obama on Friday hailed the Labor Department’s January employment report, calling it “good news.” Speaking in Arlington, Virginia, he declared that the economy is “growing stronger” and “the recovery is speeding up.”
This supposedly “good news” will be used to justify doing nothing to seriously address the jobs crisis and proceed after the November elections with the imposition of unprecedented austerity measures that will further shred social programs for working and poor people.
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Saturday, February 04, 2012
The Doomsday Machine / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
1950s VANITY TECH
With a terrifying sting in its tail and for more than 60 years, nuclear power has been sold as something for nothing, delivering electricity that will be cheap, clean and safe. Nuclear shills always said that, and still say that - and they have always been wrong. When a disaster happens that is so big it can't be talked down and yanked out of the media after a couple days, the nuclear shills go into quiet mode - but they always come back, like politicians saying this time things are going to change. You have to believe.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Obama’s Refinancing Swindle, Banks Want to Dump Millions of Risky Mortgages Onto FHA / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Whitney
Barack Obama’s new housing refinance plan has nothing to do with “lowering monthly mortgage payments so responsible borrowers can stay in their homes”. That’s all public relations bunkum. The truth is the banks want to offload their garbage mortgages onto Uncle Sam to avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. That’s what this refi-ruse is really all about.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Afghanistan, Graveyard of Empires, Most Recently American / Politics / Afghanistan
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: Far-called our navies melt away – On dune and headland sinks the fire – Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! ~ Rudyard Kipling 1897 "Recessional"
The poet laureate of imperialism might write the same stanzas today about the successor of the British Empire, the American imperium, which, having reached its high water mark in the bleak mountains of Afghanistan, appears set to begin receding.
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Saturday, February 04, 2012
The Crucial Pillar of the New World Order / Politics / New World Order
By: Gary_North
One of the most alluring temptations that face men is the desire to enter the inner ring. C. S. Lewis wrote a wonderful essay with this title. It should be part of every person's rite of passage into adulthood.
The desire to enter the inner ring is closely related to the desire to maintain a New World Order. There is always an institutional claimant to New World Order status. It is always structured in terms of a series of concentric rings. These rings are always vertical. They are part of a pyramid of power. They are best represented by a stepped pyramid. (See Genesis 11.)
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Friday, February 03, 2012
SOPA, PIPA, The State of US Surveillance / Politics / US Politics
By: Doug_Horning
Doug Hornig, Casey Research Lovers of liberty have seemingly had a good bit to celebrate recently.
First, there was an unprecedented outpouring of negative public sentiment about the Congressional bills SOPA (House) and PIPA (Senate); they are legislation that would have thrown a large governmental monkey wrench into the relatively smooth-running cogs of the Internet. Millions of Americans signed online petitions against the bills after seeing websites' various protests. Google shrouded its search page in black; Wikipedia and Reddit went dark entirely (although Wikipedia could be accessed if one read the information available via clicking the sole link on its protest page); Facebook and Twitter urged users to contact their representatives; and many other core Internet businesses also raised their voices in opposition.
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Friday, February 03, 2012
Iran’s Currency War Heats Up, And The People Rush to Metals / Politics / Fiat Currency
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
The EU and the United States have implemented fresh sanctions against Iran targeting its oil exports. The tough measures are intended to curtail Iran’s nuclear program that Western nations believe is aimed at making nuclear weapons, while Iran claims that their nuclear program is for peaceful energy generation purposes instead.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 02, 2012
German Central Bailing Out Europe / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Both Angela Merkel andthe Bundesbank are walking an extremely fine line of economic policies and treaty arrangements that appear to be in violation of policy statements made by the German Supreme Court regarding transfer unions. Moreover, the Bundesbank president is now in what amounts to an open Feud with Merkel.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Mainstream Media Drivel on U.S. / Israel Iran War Plans / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Finian_Cunningham
Thanks to a subservient mainstream media, we are now fed a constant diet of preposterous double-think from American political leaders and their Israeli minions with regard to Iran and its alleged threat to world security. In this inadvertently valuable service, the pliant uncritical mainstream media is giving full vent to the most outrageous drivel dressed up as serious discourse.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
In the Wake of Davos: "Strong Economic Medicine" for the European Union / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bob_Chapman
On Friday from the Bilderberg conclave at Davos, appointed European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi proclaimed that Europe had averted financial disaster and cited the improvement in euro zone markets in recent weeks. He said it was the ECB’s duty to guard against deflation as well as inflation. The fact of the matter is that he and his friends at the Fed arranged a currency swap of $1 trillion of which the ECB dispersed $660 billion to 523 EU banks, at 1% interest for three years. He also cut interest rates twice and extended loans for 1 to 3 years. Mr. Draghi could be expected to take the easy Anglo-American way out. He is fully Illuminati trained and that is where his orders emanate from.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Irish People Bailout of Bond Holders, Vincent Browne v The European Central Bank Video / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Videos
Vincent Browne takes on Klaus Masuch over the issue of the Irish people having to foot the bill for unguaranteed bondholders.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Sun Down On Green Energy / Politics / Renewable Energy
By: Andrew_McKillop
The message nailed high on the greasy pole of Great Causes, by small and failing politicians in the 2006-2010 period was that green energy transition is urgent because climate catastrophe is certain unless we cut CO2 emissions by huge amounts, fast. Behind the scenes and off the teleprompters, the real concern of oil at $130 a barrel (the Goldman Sachs nice price for 2012) also powerfully drove the elite stampede for cranking up green energy.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Fiat Money – The Confidence Trickster / Politics / Fiat Currency
By: Jan_Skoyles
Since immaterial money is based on nothing but confidence, a loss of confidence is, unquestionably, the biggest risk to the survival of any paper money system. – Detlev Schlichter, Paper Money Collapse
Never mind the collapse of the dollar, the Euro or any other currency, we are about to experience the mother of them all – the collapse of confidence.
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012
International Business - Davos Style / Politics / Financial Markets 2012
By: BATR
The first lesson of international business is that the monopolies that drive the commercial trading system only hold loyalty to the god of capital. Making money means retaining a profit on trading transactions of business companies. The notion of MAKING MONEY means something very different to the financial empires that speculate on currencies, commodities, bonds and equities. When the two worlds come together to celebrate the common interest of their pirate culture, the Davos port of call, is a necessary winter holiday.