Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Big Bank Bogus Profits, Massive Public and Investor Deception / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Money_and_Markets
Martin Weiss writes: A big bank CEO on a mission to deceive the public doesn’t have to tell outright lies. He can con people just as easily by using “perfectly legal” tricks, shams, and accounting ruses.
First, I’ll give you the big-picture facts. Then, I’ll show you how big U.S. banks are painting lipstick on some of the fattest pigs ever raised.
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Goldman Repayment of TARP Risks U.S. Governments Ability to Regulate Economy / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Pravda
Americans who even bother to examine the vanishing Twenty Dollar bills in their wallets are usually pretty clueless about the crusty old guy looking back at them. Few bother to wonder who he was or what he did to get his mug shot there. ‘Some President from back in the olden day’ is usually about the extent of the musing, if any.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Britain Sleep Walks Into a Police State as Political Dissent is Criminalised / Politics / UK Politics
By: Global_Research
Julie Hyland writes: “From foul deeds endless tragedy arises,” the World Socialist Web Site wrote, commenting on the state execution of innocent Brazilian worker, Jean Charles de Menezes, by plainclothes policemen on a London subway train on July 22, 2005.
Events have tragically confirmed that warning. In the years since Menezes’ killing, for which no one has ever been held to account, the legal framework of a police state has been enacted in Britain.
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Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Tower of BIS Basel: Secretive Plans for the Issuing of a New Global Currency / Politics / Global Financial System
By: Global_Research
Ellen Brown writes: In an April 7 article in The London Telegraph titled “The G20 Moves the World a Step Closer to a Global Currency,” Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote:“A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order. “We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity,’ it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Obama Heads the Largest Criminal Enterprise in History / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Stephen_Lendman
Since taking office, Obama, wittingly or otherwise, has headed the largest criminal enterprise in history - the mass looting of national wealth to enrich his Wall Street benefactors. He assembled a rogue economic team of Clinton/Robert Rubin retreads - to fix the current crisis they engineered.In a March 13 article, (author and former Republican strategist) Kevin Phillips called them "recycled senior (Clinton administration) Democrats (responsible for the) tech mania, deregulation binge and (1997 - 2000) stock market bubble and crash. (Obama) extend(ed) the (disastrous) mismanagement and pro-Wall Street bias of the 2008 Bush regime bailout."
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Saturday, April 18, 2009
Russian Anti-Financial Crisis Measures Inefficient / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Pravda
The anti-crisis measures of the Russian government are inefficient. Russia should have stimulated the home demand instead of giving the direct support to banks and the real sector of economy.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
U.S. Banking System Regulators Clash Over Bank Stress Test / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Mike_Shedlock
Stress is building over the stress test as Bank Regulators Clash Over Endgame.
Read full article... Read full article...The U.S. Treasury and financial regulators are clashing with each other over how to disclose results from the stress tests of 19 U.S. banks, with some officials concerned at potential damage to weaker institutions.
Friday, April 17, 2009
American's Tea Party Protests Against Fraudulent Bank Bailouts and Stimulus Spending / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Andy_Sutton
“Elephants and Tea Parties” - It is really no wonder that thousands of people across the nation showed up Wednesday to protest everything from the $787 stimulus package to big bank bailouts done under the cover of darkness. A failing economy, a government determined to insert itself fully in the specter of control, state sovereignty movements, and a good old fashioned tax day frown all combined to whip up enough ire to get folks to take to the streets. Still, many in the media don’t understand why this wave of protest is occurring.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Year of Cockeyed Economic Optimism Amidst a Fake Recovery / Politics / Recession 2008 - 2010
By: Mike_Whitney
"The foundations of our economy are strong" - Retail sales fell in March as soaring job losses and tighter credit conditions forced consumers to cut back sharply on discretionary spending. Nearly every sector saw declines including electronics, restaurants, furniture, sporting goods and building materials. Auto sales continued their historic nosedive despite aggressive promotions on new vehicles and $13 billion of aid from the federal government.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Goldman Sachs Tries to Shut Down Financial Blogger Mike Morgan / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Mike_Whitney
Mike Morgan is a registered investment adviser and a scrappy shoot-from-the-hip guy who doesn't mince his words. Recently Morgan has come under fire from investment giant Goldman Sachs for his hard-hitting web site "Facts about Goldman Sachs". Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Emperor Obama and Pax Roma Picayune For November 20, 301 AD, The People’s Pique / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Special Edition -
Emperor Diocletian’s Palace at Nicomedia
Tim Case writes: Officials close to Emperor Diocletian announced today that developing economic conditions, which may result in an unparalleled crisis, have made it necessary for the Emperor to take drastic steps to save the Empire.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Greedy Banks and Politicians Partners in Financial Crisis Crime / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: John_Browne
Rightly, the students of Austrian Economics have laid the blame for the current economic crisis squarely on the doorstep of the Keynesian policies of governments and central banks. However, in this case, there are other culprits involved, most notably the former titans of financial services. During this decade, major international money central banks from Wall Street to London and even to Zurich displayed unimaginable greed, reckless risk taking and gross negligence. Depositors, borrowers and shareholders should be questioning whether any major financial institution will ever again be worthy of their trust. Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Nationalization as a "Solution" to the Financial Crisis? / Politics / Nationalization
By: Global_Research
Shamus Cooke writes: "… the word "nationalization" scares the hell out of people. And so the debate has been opened up now, and that's good. Let's talk about it." Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California)Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
U.S. vs China: The Great Game for New World Order / Politics / New World Order
By: Global_Research
Park Sang-seek writes: The G20 summit in London ended with an optimistic note. But the final communique was a compromised document between the forces to preserve the basic architecture of the existing financial order and the forces to replace it with a new one: the first led by the Anglo-American partnership and the second by the BRICs with the support of the non-participating developing world. The Franco-German coalition took the intermediary position.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bailouts and Manipulations: Save Wall Street, at the Expense of Main Street / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Global_Research
Larry Chin writes: Wall Street is in the midst of a huge rally, primarily sparked by two recent occurrences. The first was the “surprising” announcement that Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America -- major “zombie” banks laden with “toxic assets,” on the verge of collapse, and the recipients of billions in government (US taxpayer) bailout money -- mysteriously posted profits this year. Wells Fargo, regarded as one of the healthier big banks, and a recipient of $25 billion, also reported a profit last week, rallying the stock markets again before the Easter holiday.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
American's 94 Years of Serfdom / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
This April 15 is the 94th year that Americans have had to file an income tax. For most Americans, the day is a non-event. The federal and state governments have already collected the taxes due by withholding from each paycheck over the course of the calendar year. Most Americans never saw the money and have no real idea that they earned it.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Turkey Key to Washington’s Geopolitical Pivot / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: F_William_Engdahl
The recent visit of US President Obama to Turkey was far more significant than the President’s speech would suggest. For Washington Turkey today has become a geopolitical “pivot state” which is in the position to tilt the Eurasian power equation towards Washington or significantly away from it depending on how Turkey develops its ties with Moscow and its role regarding key energy pipelines.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Declining American Empire, Colonial Warfare / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: There are a lot of unhappy campers at the Pentagon right now. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates chose last week to present a controversial new budget that will affect the course of US foreign and military policy for decades to come. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wall Street Fraud, Where Were the CPAs? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Submissions
Ralph Nader writes: Where were the giant accounting firms, the CPAs, and the rest of the accounting profession while the Wall Street towers of fraud, deception and cover-ups were fracturing our economy, looting and draining trillions of dollars of other peoples' money?This is the licensed profession that is paid to exercise independent judgment with independent standards to give investors, pension funds, mutual funds, and the rest of the financial world accurate descriptions of corporate financial realities.
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Monday, April 13, 2009
All the Banks Pass their Stress Tests, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Paul_J_Nolte
I can just hear Gomer Pyle crying out “surprise surprise surprise”. All the banks passed their stress test. What remains an open question is just how stressful was the test – a stroll about the park (benign economic growth with very little defaults) or something to get the heart racing. Best guess, based upon the results – a lap around the kitchen table. Another big surprise was Wells Fargo’s earnings report – well above expectations, however little background as to quality of loans/balance sheet and how much bad debt is still hanging around.Read full article... Read full article...