Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
ISIS Last Stand; End Times for the Caliphate / Politics / ISIS Islamic State
By: Mike_Whitney
Hezbollah, recaptured the city of Abu Kamal in Deir Ezzor province. The city was the last bastion for the terrorist group, ISIS, which, at one time, controlled a vast swathe of land stretching from northern Iraq to central Syria. Now the group has been chased from its last urban hideaway and scattered across the arid wastelands like a nomadic tribe wandering the dessert. Abu Kamal was ISIS’s “last stand”, the final chance to fend off the advancing loyalist forces and reverse the course of the war. But the three-pronged attack proved to be too much for the demoralized jihadists who fled the city northward or surrendered to Syrian troops on the perimeter. Thus, ISIS no longer occupies any of the major towns or cities that once comprised the emerging Wahhabi proto-state. The group has been soundly defeated, its leadership is in tatters and the star-crossed Caliphate has met its end.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
The ‘End of Dreams’, and the Saving of Appearances / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Once again, to my delight, we’re back with former British diplomat and MI6 ‘ranking figure’ Alastair Crooke and his Conflicts Forum organization. We posted a few of his articles this year and last. This time, Alastair writes a reaction to one of his own articles posted at Consortium News, which I included in the November 18 Debt Rattle at the Automatic Earth. My short comment then: “Former (and current?!) TAE contributor Alastair Crooke draws his conclusions.” This morning, the Conflicts Forum reached out again:
Dear Raul, We took the hint on a recent posting your site that referred to one of Alastair’s articles! …. and below is a comment piece he has done. It is an attempt to be strategic at where we’re going.
Anytime, guys! My first reaction to that piece was that Alastair makes Donald Trump and Jared Kushner’s role in the Saudi crackdown seem very large, which makes the role played by deep state America look small in comparison. And I’m not so sure about that. The riddle of ‘who’s playing who?’ is not a straightforward one. But that’s by no means a criticism (I ain’t criticizing no MI6!). It’s a question.
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Thursday, November 23, 2017
UK Economic Austerity, Bloodletting and Incompetence / Politics / UK Economy
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Punxsutawney Phil Hammond, the UK chancellor, presented his Budget yesterday and declared five more years of austerity for Britain. As was to be expected. One doesn’t even have to go into the details of the Budget to understand that it is a dead end street for both the country and for Theresa May’s Tory party.
So why the persistent focus on austerity while it becomes clearer every day that it is suffocating the British economy? There are many answers to that. Sheer incompetence is a major one, a lack of empathy with the poorer another. Conservative Britain is a class society full of people who dream of empire, and deem their class a higher form of life than those who work low-paid jobs.
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
India's Brewing Nationalist Movement / Politics / India
By: John_Mauldin
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s revolutionary vision for his country’s future bears little resemblance to its present. Yet polls suggest that a strong majority of Indian society may have bought into that vision.
According to a Pew survey released this week, 88 percent of Indians hold a favorable view of Modi, and 83 percent are satisfied with the state of the economy. Most notably, 70 percent said they were satisfied with the direction their country is moving in.
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Saudi Arabia and Israeli Alliance Targets Iran / Politics / Middle East
By: BATR
The consequences of the failed American foreign policy in the Middle East has seldom been more vivid with the defeat of ISIS; the U.S. surrogate in the Syrian conflict. ISIS, a blended creation of the CIA and the Mossad was the inevitable result of sanctioning the murder of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. With the support of Russian involvement, Syria's President Bashar Hafez al-Assad was able to fend off the imperialist efforts of Israel to remove him from office and destroy his country. Defeating ISIS on the battlefield has never been the intention of the DC shadow government. The consistent policy under every US administration has been to protect the Zionist state above all else. Unfortunately, the Trump regime is no different and certainly does not follow a genuine America First foreign policy.
Monday, November 20, 2017
Trump’s Asia Strategy, Goals and Realities / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Dan_Steinbock
Trump’s critics claim he lacks a comprehensive approach to Asia. In reality, his current approach is aligned with moderate “America First” goals. But what did Trump really achieve in Asia?
If President Obama’s pivot was based on multilateral trade agreements, which were mainly geopolitical and predicated on exclusionary politics against China, Trump’s interest is in bilateral trade deals, which are fueled by US exports, foreign investments in US jobs and foreign purchases of American military weaponry.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Universal Credits Christmas Scrooge Nightmare for Weekly Pay Recipients / Politics / UK Benefits
By: N_Walayat
The Universal Credits nightmare is set to continue for the working poor this Christmas as over 100,000 people look set to receive no payment over the festive season. The reason being that Universal Credit can not cope with something as simple as that there being 5 fridays (pay days) during December, where such months can tip recipients over the monthly limits for claiming Universal Credit as UC is not able to do the simple calculation of averaging earnings throughout a year that is the case for the likes of tax credits.
Friday, November 17, 2017
The New US-Chinese Globalization Opportunity / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Dan_Steinbock
While US postwar policies in Asia are shifting, a new Sino-US historical opportunity has emerged. US and Chinese visions of globalization could still prove complementary.President Trump’s grueling 12-day Asia tour took place amid a worrisome historical moment. Since the mid-2010s, global economic integration - as measured by trade, investment and migration - has come to a standstill. Trade has been falling. Investment continues to stagnate. And slower migration has given rise to elevated global displacement and refugee crises - the worst since 1945.
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Thursday, November 16, 2017
Trump’s Asia Tour: From Old Conflicts to New Prospects / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Dan_Steinbock
Trump’s grueling 12-day Asia tour was a quest for mega deals. US policies in Asia are shifting. The stress on competitive strategic visions is being redefined by historic bilateral economic opportunities with China, Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines and other ASEAN and APEC nations..
Diplomatic history has its ironies. In the Obama era, US President initiated a pivot to Asia that he had little time to visit. In the Trump era, US President has been so busy fortressing America against the world that he has had to spend more time in Asia to tame rumors about US disengagement.
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Wednesday, November 15, 2017
The Trump Administration’s IP Battle Against China / Politics / China US Conflict
By: Dan_Steinbock
In recent weeks, friction between the White House and China has escalated in intellectual property. The question is, will it result in a global trade war.In mid-August, President Trump asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to open an investigation into China's intellectual property (IP) practices. “This is just the beginning,” Trump told reporters.
In turn, Lighthizer, a veteran Reagan administration trade hawk, seized the notorious Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which in the 1980s was used against the rise of Japan.
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017
The Unbearable Slowness Of Fourth Turnings / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“The next Fourth Turning is due to begin shortly after the new millennium, midway through the Oh-Oh decade. Around the year 2005, a sudden spark will catalyze a Crisis mood. Remnants of the old social order will disintegrate. Political and economic trust will implode. Real hardship will beset the land, with severe distress that could involve questions of class, race, nation and empire. The very survival of the nation will feel at stake. Sometime before the year 2025, America will pass through a great gate in history, commensurate with the American Revolution, Civil War, and twin emergencies of the Great Depression and World War II.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning
Monday, November 13, 2017
How the US Has Secretly Subsidized China to Produce Eco-Unfriendly Solar Panels / Politics / Solar Energy
By: John_Mauldin
BY PATRICK WATSON : The US is about to fire another salvo in the international trade war, and this one may actually make sense.
That’s because the US government will, if President Trump approves, help an industry it almost destroyed a few years ago.
And stranger yet, this policy puts the Trump administration and environmentalist groups on the same side.
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Monday, November 13, 2017
The Increasingly Unstable Middle East Must Be On Every Investor’s Radar / Politics / Middle East
By: John_Mauldin
While we here in the US were focused on President Trump’s visit to Asia, a powerful drama with vast geopolitical implications played out in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad bin Salman, the king’s son, is the de facto ruler of the country and has been making increasingly aggressive moves in an attempt to shift Saudi Arabia from its status as an ultraconservative, oil-producing nation to a 21st-century manufacturing superpower.
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Monday, November 13, 2017
What President Trump and the West Can Learn from China / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Instead of a demonstration of its overwhelming military might intended to intimidate tiny North Korea and pressure China to lean on its defiant communist neighbor, President Trump and the West should try to learn a few things from China.
The President’s trip to the Far East came on the heels of the completion of China’s 19th National Congress where the current president, Xi Jinping, has cunningly positioned himself as China’s unchallenged leader. In an address at the opening of the Congress, Xi cautioned that the country faced “challenges” that are “extremely grim” yet, despite these, the nation’s future is “extremely bright.”*
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Sunday, November 12, 2017
Is Hillary Just the “Fall Guy” for the Intel Agencies and their Moneybags Bosses? / Politics / US Presidential Election 2016
By: Mike_Whitney
For nearly a year, Hillary Clinton failed to admit that her campaign and the Democratic National Committee had provided funding for the notorious dossier that alleged Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election. Then, two weeks ago, the Washington Post published a blockbuster article that proved that Clinton had been misleading the public about her Campaign’s role in producing the report. Here’s a snippet from the article in the Post:
Read full article... Read full article...“The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about President Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said.”
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Finally, The Fall Of The House Of Saud / Politics / Saudi Arabia
By: Jim_Willie_CB
*** COLLAPSE OF THE KINGDOM ***
The Saudi Kingdom will fall, a longstanding Jackass forecast, an inevitable event
The Saudi Kingdom will fall alongside the ruined collapsing Petro-Dollar
The Saudi foundation has been the primary element to entire Petro-Dollar system
This Saudi situation is loaded with intrigue, corruption, cunning, collusion, criminality
The Saudi region will erupt in chaos ruin decay and gross destabilization
The entire Saudi situation is a grand mixture of deep corruption and wreckage
The Saudi Royals will scatter and escape with stolen wealth, an absolute guarantee
Friday, November 10, 2017
What Can Pot Teach Us About Economics and Government? / Politics / Cannabis
By: Barry_M_Ferguson
Whether for it or against it, we can all learn something from marijuana, or pot.
Specifically, we can see how government interferes with and impedes both the will of the citizens and the heart of economics - capitalism.
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Thursday, November 09, 2017
Turkey Faces An Economic Dilemma That Will Have Global Implications / Politics / Turkey
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN AND XANDER SNYDER : A country’s decision to borrow money is not always strictly economic. Take Turkey, whose ratio of gross external debt (all public and private sector debt) to GDP has jumped from 39% in 2012 to 52% today.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been pushing to increase available credit to spur economic activity. This is a political goal, though one motivated by economic objectives.
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Tuesday, November 07, 2017
When Civil Liberties are Violated by Government / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
Behold, who really cares about civil liberties in a society that puts government as the final arbitrator of authority? Well, sadly the prospects for a rebirth in recognizing that individual liberties are the basis for a civilized union are more remote now than at any time in the last half century. Most people view civil liberties as defined by protecting the personage. Notwithstanding, constitutional freedom has an important component is maintaining a just and functioning government regime. Sinking into a despotic authoritarianism is the expected risk when governments go amok. However, inadequate attention is given to the discussion and study of what constitutes a responsible state power.
Monday, November 06, 2017
Donald Trump tells me our best days are ahead. Once his tax cut plan is passed... / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
Donald Trump tells me our best days are ahead. Once his tax cut plan is passed, the future will be so bright I’ll have to wear shades.
Sometimes a single chart reveals the truth being obscured by the Deep State propaganda machine, working overtime selling their economic recovery narrative. The economy most certainly is booming for Wall Streeters and D.C. parasites sucking on the teet of Federal government largess. But for the average working deplorable, this supposed recovery has passed them by.
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