Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Brain Dead Union Puts its Members Out of Work / Politics / Recession 2008 - 2010
On Monday, the Boston Globe union voted down a contract proposal that would have cut pay and benefits by 10%. Now the union faces cuts of 23%, and possibly the end of the newspaper altogether.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Wall Street Goes on the Political Offensive / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Barry Grey writes: Bolstered by the policies of the Obama administration, Wall Street is waging a political offensive to shed the minimal limits on executive pay that were tied to government bailout funds and to further weaken regulations on the banks’ speculative practices.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Obama Becomes America's Gorbachev / Politics / US Politics
History may repeat itself two or three times or even reach the point, which Francis Fukuyama described as the end of history. The US historian of Japanese origin introduced the notion during the time when there were two dominating superpowers in the world – the United States and the Soviet Union.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Mexico: A Country in Crisis / Politics / Mexico
Mexico is grieving after more than 38 toddlers perished in a fire at a pre school day care centre in Hermosillo on Friday (05/06/09). But perhaps even worse for some fanatical football fans the national team lost 2 to 1 in a World Cup qualifying match to El -Salvador over the weekend. It seems only appropriate that as I write this piece, the national university’s philharmonic is performing that mournful choral work by Anton Dvorak his “Sabat Mater”. This might be a musical remedy to sooth the wounded pride of a nation, already battered by a constant barrage of bad news lately. Most recently by the devastation and fall out from the H1N1 epidemic and as well an economic collapse and now more unfathomable losses befall the nation.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Wall Street Ends Hope for Homeowners Via Congress / Politics / US Politics
Shamus Cooke writes: As if the bank bailouts weren’t proof enough that Wall Street owned Congress. History will likely show that these bailouts involved the largest transfer of wealth ever — from the working class to that small group of billionaires who own the corporations.
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Gordon Brown Makes Way for Nick Griffin Britain's BNP Fuhrer / Politics / UK Politics
Nick Griffin the Fuhrer of the extreme far right BNP, British National Party that is also referred by many as the British Nazi Party capitalised on Labours vote meltdown and the Westminister MP's expenses scandal that has hit all mainstream parties by the BNP winning 2 MEP seats in the Labour heartlands of North West England and Yorkshire and Humberside.
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Economic Collapse, Time to Run? / Politics / Great Depression II
Is it time to run?
That's what I've been asking myself for three years now.
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
U.S. Interest in Caspian Sea Oil to Bring More Trouble for Russia / Politics / Crude Oil
Oil and natural gas of the Caspian states seems to be of strategic significance for the West, Richard Morningstar, the US special envoy for Eurasian energy issues said. Why does the US administration show so much interest in the Caspian Sea region? Does it mean that US army bases will soon be deployed there?
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Saturday, June 06, 2009
Grim Picture of Obama's Middle East / Politics / Middle East
Noam Chomsky writes: A CNN headline, reporting Obama's plans for his June 4 Cairo address, reads 'Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.' Perhaps that captures his intent, but more significant is the content hidden in the rhetorical stance, or more accurately, omitted.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Balance of Global Financial Power Shifting to China / Politics / Global Financial System
Mike Larson writes: So this is what it’s come to: Our Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, has to jet off to Beijing to beg for mercy from our biggest global creditor.
He has to sit by and be lectured in the ways of finance by Chinese officials.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Securitization The Biggest Rip-off Ever, Financial Deregulation has Opened Up A Pandora's Box / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
Is it possible to make hundreds of billions of dollars in profits on securities that are backed by nothing more than cyber-entries into a loan book? It's not only possible; it's been done. And now the scoundrels who cashed in on the swindle have lined up outside the Federal Reserve building to trade their garbage paper for billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded loans.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Mealy Mouthed Caroline Flint Quits Browns Government, Statement / Politics / UK Politics
The reason why voters view MP's as being mealy mouthed, full of self interest with little real interest in doing what is best for those that elected them was made clear by Caroline Flints behaviour (Minister for Europe) and statements over the past 24 hours where comments of support for Gordon Brown a little over 12 hours ago were replaced by a vicious attack on Gordon Browns Premiership after she failed to get her way in terms of promotion within the cabinet.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Making Sense of a U.S. Owned General Motors / Politics / US Auto's
Shamus Cooke writes: Now that the United States owns General Motors, many are asking, “What’s in it for taxpayers?” This is an extremely good question, considering that taxpayers may spend up to $100 billion [!] towards a company that’s currently worth around $450 million. (Wall Street Journal, 6/02/09)
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Why GM Really went Bankrupt, When They Could Have Been the World's Leading Car Company! / Politics / US Auto's
GM is bankrupt, and yet it could have now been the world's leading car company, way ahead of any competition. It had a world-beating, world-leading, unique, battery-operated car called the EV-1. It got 140 miles on a single charge! And yet it deliberately destroyed its own invention!
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
President Obama's Speech in Cairo, Egypt, Transcript and Video / Politics / Middle East
Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning; and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. And together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I'm grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum. (Applause.)
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Labour Ministers Stab Gordon Brown in the Back, MP Email / Politics / UK Politics
The latest in a line of resigning Labour Government Ministers to stab Gordon Brown the British Prime Minster in the back was the local government Minister, Hazel Blears, who struck a day before the local elections with maximum damaging effect. In her resignation letter, Hazel Blears is clearly pushing for Gordon Brown himself to follow suit and resign:
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
The End of the American Century / Politics / US Politics
Ever had roasted pig cooked slowly over an open pit?
Fun to watch that baby smoke and burn! Pictures of barbeque ribs, fresh pork sausage, and those luscious heavily loaded pork sandwiches. Of course there remains the tea, beans, and home made fresh cut Idaho fries. That’s a real depiction of the American lifestyle, huh? Freedom to stuff our stomachs and enjoy our time off as we please.
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Frankenstein Corporations Avoiding Liability / Politics / US Politics
Ralph Nader writes: Once upon a time early in the 19th century, corporations came into existence by state legislatures approving charters, which were granted for a limited period of time and for limited purposes. These corporations - producing textiles and other products in New England - raised capital in part because their investors had limited liability. That meant they could not lose any more than their investment if things went wrong.
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The Socialist Bailout of Wall Street / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Jacob G. Hornberger writes: The massive federal bailout of U.S. financial firms reflects everything that’s wrong with the economic system of welfare and interventionism under which the United States has operated since at least the 1930s. There are critically important lessons in the bailout that the American people ignore at their peril. While most politicians and mainstream pundits are viewing the bailout as a necessary “reform,” it is imperative that we place this “reform” in a much wider and deeper context. In doing so, we need to return to first principles.
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Monday, June 01, 2009
The Grand Theft Auto Bankruptcy of General Motors / Politics / US Auto's
Greg Palast writes: Screw the autoworkers.
They may be crying about General Motors' bankruptcy today. But dumping 40,000 of the last 60,000 union jobs into a mass grave won't spoil Jamie Dimon's day.
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