Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Velkommen to Banktopia / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Mike_Whitney
Let's talk turkey. The dollar is getting hammered by the day. And the dollar is getting hammered by design, because the Fed wants a weaker currency to boost exports and lower the real burden of debt on the banks. (Yes, Martha, the banks are still insolvent) So, down goes the greenback, lower and lower, pushing up gas and food prices while the buying power of the average US worker vanishes down the plughole. And this process will continue for the foreseeable future because--as Obama stated earlier in the year--Washington is committed to "doubling exports in the next 5 years." Think about that: "the next 5 years". That's the same as saying that the American worker will be reduced to third-world poverty in a half decade or so. It's a death sentence.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Barack Obama, The President Who Became an Actor / Politics / US Politics
By: Finian_Cunningham
If Ronald Reagan was known as the actor who became a president, then perhaps Barack Obama should become known as the president who became an actor.
For every facial movement evinced, every gesture of the hand, every word enunciated by the 44th president turns out to be a complete charade.
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Saturday, April 23, 2011
What Makes a Great President Great? / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
George W. Bush only ranks 34th in the recent surveys of the greatest Presidents of the United States. Since there are but 40-43 of these magnificents in total, Dubya is way down there. Why?
What is greatness in a U.S. President, hereafter simply called a President? There is no scientific definition, although the more scholarly polls have criteria of greatness. These need not detain us. The polls themselves tell us what Americans think makes a great President, and it is against the implicit criterion that we observe in the data that we discover that Dubya’s low standing is an anomaly.
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Saturday, April 23, 2011
Con Games and Currency Destruction, are the Policies of Every Single Central Bank / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Back in the era of World War II, a goldbrick was a slacker in the military. He was the guy who always seemed to be able to find a reason not to pull his own weight, as the phrase went.
The low-level Army grunts who wore the boots that were on the ground had a saying: "Never volunteer for anything." But you weren't supposed to be a slacker. Somewhere in between unofficial status as a red hot and a goldbrick was where most people wanted to be.
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Friday, April 22, 2011
The Trillion Dollar Costs of A Nuclear Catastrophe Bankrupting an Entire National Economy... / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Washingtons_Blog
Preface: I am not against all nuclear power, solely the unsafe type we have today. Future designs - like thorium reactors (see this and this) - may be a different animal altogether.
AP has a good article (via the Washington Post) on nuclear power economics:
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Friday, April 22, 2011
The Libyan Battle for Misurata / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
The Libyan city of Misurata is the last remaining major rebel outpost in western Libya. Misurata’s access to the sea has enabled regular shipments of food, weapons, medicine and ammunition to sustain the resistance in the face of daily attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Gadhafi’s forces are intent on retaking the port at Misurata, while the Libyan rebels based in Benghazi hope the looming humanitarian crisis in Misurata will persuade the European coalition leading the mission in Libya to deploy ground troops to assist the rebels.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Answering Objections to a Trade Tariff / Politics / Protectionism
By: Ian_Fletcher
It’s only fair to answer some of the objections to the idea of an import tariff that I and others, like possible presidential candidate Donald Trump, have recently proposed.One common objection is simply that our trading partners would just shrug it off by increasing subsidies to their exporters.
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Thursday, April 21, 2011
Europe in Economic Turmoil Following Debt and PIIGS Bailout Crisis / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Mike_Shedlock
Dan Steinbock, writer for The Globalist sent an interesting story he wrote regarding the Euro Crisis: Economic Turmoil, Political Backlash in the wake of the Finnish election results and the
rise of the "True Finns".
What follows is partial excerpt of that story, starting with a section titled "The Euro-Nordic Headache". I am not going to do my normal blockquote so as to make what follows easier to read. Everything that follows is from Dan Steinbock.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Seized Pensions & Quantitative Easing / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Adrian_Ash
A government-run pension fund manager – hardly fills you with confidence, does it...?
AS EVERY BRITISH ADULT well knows, the UK government long since forgot to save a penny of his or her lifetime's National Insurance contributions.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Police State Thieves, The U.S. Government Gambling Monopoly / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Collin Moshman writes: On April 15, the federal government busted online poker behemoths Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. The Department of Justice issued a 57-page indictment against the owners, accusing them of such crimes as "Operation of an Illegal Gambling Business." The FBI also seized their domains.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Myth of Debt-Free Living, You Are Getting Stiffed / Politics / Debt & Loans
By: Gary_North
I have set up a free website for people who are deep in consumer debt.
I am a great believer in getting out from under the burden of consumer debt. But I am not a believer in getting out of debt. There is a reason for this. The only way to get out of debt is to die.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Why Donald Trump is Right on Trade / Politics / Protectionism
By: Ian_Fletcher
The usual suspects are racing to debunk Donald Trump’s foray into the most serious protectionism—a 25% tariff on China—proposed by a major presidential candidate since Patrick Buchanan ran in 1992.
They know this is big. Our long-delayed national trade debate has begun.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The E.U. Cracks Up / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: LewRockwell
Political upheaval has hit Finland, and it’s merely a foreshadowing of bigger changes ahead. The core issue is whether Finland ought to be paying for bailouts for other EU states. In reaction to establishment support for the bailout, voters ousted the pro-bailout ruling party and gave an upset victory to the bailout-critical conservative party. Against every expectation, the eternal rule of the social democrats is at an end.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Nuclear Power Mercantilist Myth / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
The myths surrounding nuclear power have been worked up into a complex web as massive and multiple as the debts and deficits assailing government leaderships and central bankers in most OECD countries, but like these myth-based no alternatives the nuclear myths are easy to cut back to basics.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Bretton Woods II - The Final Enslavement of Mankind, Totalitarian Collectivism / Politics / Global Financial System
By: BATR
“The rising powers must be present at the creation of this new system in order to ensure that they will be active supporters.” - George Soros
Monday, April 18, 2011
Trade Tariff Would, Too, Fix Our Trade Mess / Politics / Protectionism
By: Ian_Fletcher
I and my employer, the Coalition for a Prosperous America, are unabashed protectionists. I have written previously about how, for example, a flat tariff on all U.S. imports may well be the key to solving the ongoing trade crisis that is depleting our national wealth and gutting our industries.
Monday, April 18, 2011
U.S. Debt Ponzi Scheme, Years of the Modern / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
Is humanity forming en-masse? for lo, tyrants tremble, crowns grow dim,
The earth, restive, confronts a new era, perhaps a general divine war,
No one knows what will happen next, such portents fill the days and
nights;
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Cancer of Socialism Infecting the United States / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The following text is excerpted form the NEW The Stocks Stealth Bull Market Update 2011 70 page ebook is available for FREE Download. Chronic economic under performance by much of Europe as most notably illustrated by the bankrupting PIIGS is as a consequence of socialism, where the greater the degrees of socialism implemented the greater the economic under performance observed, where governments rely upon unsustainable inflationary deficit spending, money printing to give the illusion of temporary prosperity as a consequence of socialist policies that always eventually bankrupt economies.
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Sunday, April 17, 2011
U.S., Britain and France Prepare to Invade Libya / Politics / Middle East
By: Global_Research
The stage is now set for the imperialist invasion of Libya.
The former colonizing and enslaving powers of Africa—Britain, France and the United States—have committed themselves to the ouster of the Libyan government.
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Sunday, April 17, 2011
Fake Unemployment and Inflation Figures Sustain the Illusion of an Economic Recovery / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
How do the powerful keep the US population dumb and distracted? A key tactic has been using methodologies that produce totally misleading underestimates of key economic factors. First we learned that official unemployment figures are too low by a factor of two. Now, understand that the official rate of inflation hitting consumers is even more inaccurate. You will hear about a low inflation rate of less than 3 percent. In reality, it is closer to 10 percent, according to the highly regarded analysis by John Williams.