Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, September 06, 2010
U.S. Labor Day Insanity from Clinton's Secretary of Labor / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Shedlock
It's Labor Day. The markets are closed. Those working for government, banks, schools etc have the day off. All totaled, 17.3 million citizens do not have a job today nor a job they can return to on Tuesday. Another 8.9 million will not work as many hours as they would like, this week, next week, or the week after that.
Monday, September 06, 2010
The Great Collapse of the Carbon Trading Chicago Climate Exchange / Politics / Climate Change
By: Submissions
Patrick Henningsen writes: Plagued by a free fall in carbon emissions prices and the perennial failure of Washington to pass any binding Cap and Trade Bill, it seems that the Chicago Climate Exchange is on its last leg, announcing that it will be scaling back its operations.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Labour Day 2010, Economic Austerity, Public Services and the Labour Movement / Politics / Social Issues
By: Global_Research
Greg Albo and Bryan Evans write: This Labour Day, like the last two, is dominated by the ongoing global economic crisis. Since 2008 Canada's workers, working families, and the communities in which we make our lives, have endured a period of deep economic insecurity the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. The crisis began in the financial sector, amongst bankers, brokers, lawyers, and financial engineers of all sorts when the credit bubbles supporting the casino economy of derivatives, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps and other financial instruments began to deflate.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Conservatives are Semi-Communists / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
Three of the ten planks of the Communist Manifesto (1848) are still universally accepted.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.Read full article... Read full article...5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Dynamics of Poverty, the Destitute Index / Politics / Social Issues
By: Mike_Shedlock
In response to Reflections on the "Recovery" reader "Thomas" has an interesting question regarding U6 unemployment that I would like to share.
Thomas writes ...
Monday, September 06, 2010
Mainstream Media Depression and Deflation Propaganda / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Howard_Katz
Cause and Effect - Fanaticism has been defined as the policy of repeating the same actions while expecting a different result. If that is the case, then we live in a society of fanatics, and it is absolutely essential to know this if one is to succeed in the financial markets.
In mid-September 2008, the New York Times began to scream, in a series of big headlines, that the nation was in a financial crisis. I have studied the American media, and it is absolutely amazing. The overwhelming majority of newspapers will pick up a line of propaganda from the Times and repeat it mindlessly ad infinitum. After 2 weeks of Times propaganda the nation’s media had fallen in line, and in 10 days in early October the DJI fell by 3000 points (as the public read a large number of bearish articles about the financial system).
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 06, 2010
The NGO Invastion and Occupation of Afghanistan / Politics / Afghanistan
By: Global_Research
Yves Engler writes: They’re called NGOs — non-governmental organizations — but the description is misleading at best, or an outright lie generated by intelligence agencies at worst.
In fact, almost all development NGOs receive a great deal of their funding from government and in return follow government policies and priorities. While this was always true, it has become easier to see with Stephen Harper’s Conservative Canadian government, which lacks the cleverness and subtlety of the Liberal Party who at least funded some “oppositional” activity to allow NGOs a veneer of independence.
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Monday, September 06, 2010
A Little Rice Wine Spat: Taiwan vs. U.S. and EU / Politics / Global Economy
By: Static_Chaos
Taiwan, (aka The Republic of China, ROC), the tiny island just across the Strait from China-- found itself taking considerable heat from the United States and European Union (EU)—two biggest exporters of alcoholic beverages to the Taiwanese market--over a planned tax cut on its locally brewed rice wine.
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Sunday, September 05, 2010
America's Economic Nightmare Is Just Beginning / Politics / Great Depression II
By: Submissions
David Michael Green writes: In the 1930s, the only thing we had to fear was fear, itself. Today, the main thing we have to fear is us, ourselves.
Looking out over the horizon, I'm starting to wonder just how many shades of dark there are on the pallette. Lately, I get the feeling that we're about to find out.
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Sunday, September 05, 2010
Middle East Conflict Costs Region $12 Trillion Over 20 Years / Politics / Middle East
By: Rick_Rozoff
The Internet has provided the world with, if nothing else, instantaneous access to news and in-depth information previously available only to governments and think tanks. It has also allowed for the exchange of data and analyses between groups and individuals around the globe, in part by making one tongue, English, the language of the World Wide Web. It remains to be seen whether the keystroke is mightier than the sword.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Afghanistan Banking System Crash, Americans to Bailout Afghanistan's Biggest Bank? / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Washingtons_Blog
As I have repeatedly pointed out, American taxpayers have been bailing out foreign banks for years.
For example, I noted in May: As the Wall Street Journal points out, the Federal Reserve might open up its "swap lines" again to bail out the Europeans:
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Sunday, September 05, 2010
Reconstructing The IPCC / Politics / Climate Change
By: Andrew_McKillop
Propagandist Reconstruction, or PR of news, science data, other persons' views and different
opinions is a long-term stalwart in modern society. From organizing public support for wars, even
when the public itself may be attacked or be subject to economic loss, to ensuring that political
leaders are re-elected, or that women start smoking and the public keeps buying the consumer
products which generate the highest profits, the role of "communication" is primordial. What is
called Public Relations is also and most basically propaganda.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
U.S. Delusional Democracy Favors Corporate, Wealthy and Elitist Interests Over Those of Ordinary Americans / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
For years I muttered mentally to myself about the insanity of Americans electing George W. Bush president. Now I go through the same agony about the craziness of the nation electing Barack Obama president. As much as I thought Bush was a manipulated second-rate politician that carried out the terribly destructive policies pushed by Cheney and other conservative corporate shills, now I feel equally angry that so many voters fell for the slick rhetoric and lies of Obama. Disgust produces public thirst for change and Obama was wickedly brilliant at selling change. When voters are so easily victimized what does democracy amount to?
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Saturday, September 04, 2010
Rip-Off By The Federal Reserve / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
Liberty writes: The Federal Reserve uses euphemistic smoke and mirrors to obscure their operations. With full knowledge the following is not the way the Fed/government describes the system, allow me to offer a different analysis of their mathematical operation.
Congress can pay for federal expenses with funds collected from taxes, but Congress is never satisfied with this amount. The desire to buy votes/campaign contributions from special interest groups induces congress-critters to spend more, and this is identified as deficit spending. To create this make-believe money requires the assistance of the Federal Reserve.
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Friday, September 03, 2010
Putting an End to Democrats, Liberals, & Progressives...once and for all!!! / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
Robert Murchen spoke. "I don't speak about Democrats of your country because it is a waste of my time. I don't listen to them any more I do socialist and union leaders in the EU. I will plan for the day they are considered illegal aliens. They live in a fantasy world and are the single greatest obstacle to progress and wealth building." Going further, he believes that the future of America has been decided; it will be "absent the burden of the imbecilic conscience interfering with matters strictly of business."
Friday, September 03, 2010
For Labor Day Weekend, When Unemployment Happens To You / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
When your life and your work is as entwined as mine has been—fusing the personal and the political over all these years, it may be stretching things to consider yourself unemployed but that’s what I am as Labor Day approaches.
Most of the media focuses on the big companies that have slashed their work forces (even as they hoard cash.) But small companies are also suffering, cutting back, and closing. They don’t get the subsidies or bailouts or the attention.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Militancy and the U.S. Drawdown in Afghanistan / Politics / Afghanistan
By: STRATFOR
The drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq has served to shift attention toward Afghanistan, where the United States has been increasing its troop strength in hopes of forming conditions conducive to a political settlement. This is similar to the way it used the 2007 surge in Iraq to help reach a negotiated settlement with the Sunni insurgents that eventually set the stage for withdrawal there. As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the Taliban at this point do not feel the pressure required for them to capitulate or negotiate and therefore continue to follow their strategy of surviving and waiting for the coalition forces to depart so that they can again make a move to assume control over Afghanistan.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Obama’s Iraq Speech An Exercise in Cowardice and Deceit / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Bill Van Auken writes: President Barack Obama’s nationally televised speech from the White House Oval Office Tuesday night was an exercise in cowardice and deceit. It was deceitful to the people of the United States and the entire world in its characterization of the criminal war against Iraq. And it was cowardly in its groveling before the American military.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The State's "Inception" Fails, Massive unemployment and failing industries are the reality. / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Two years ago, the economy was seriously dragged down amidst an amazing banking crisis that spread throughout the world. The illusion created by loose credit — that housing could go up in price forever and we could enjoy permanent prosperity due to monetary expansion — was shattered by events. Reality had dawned. We found ourselves in the midst of an economic depression.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The GOP's Masterplan: Obstruct, Smear, Lie, Repeat / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Last Tuesday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on the estimated impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a.--Obama's $787 billion fiscal stimulus) The report provides conclusive evidence that the stimulus did exactly what it was designed to do and helped to avert another Great Depression. Here's a summary: