Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Soothing East Asia's Nerves as Trump's Administration Reaffirms US Power in Asia-Pacific / Politics / US Military
By: STRATFOR
Forecast
- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's 10-day tour of East Asia will focus primarily on easing uncertainty among U.S. allies about the administration's policies in the region.
- U.S. moves to contain North Korea and compel China toward cooperation will dominate discussions in Seoul and Tokyo, though tension over the Trump administration's trade policies will loom large in both visits.
- Indonesia and Australia will remain wary of joining U.S. initiatives that risk provoking China but also receptive to U.S. efforts to lay the groundwork for more robust defense cooperation.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
On the Commemoration of World War I: From Woodrow Wilson to Donald Trump / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
It is altogether fitting that the US attack on a Syrian airport, the dropping of a MOAB on defenseless Afghanistan, and the potential outbreak of nuclear war with North Korea have all come in the very month one hundred years earlier that an American president led the nation on its road to empire. President Trump’s aggressive actions and all of America’s previous imperialistic endeavors can ultimately be traced to Woodrow Wilson’s disastrous decision to bring the country into the First World War on April 6, 1917.
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Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Brexit War - Article 50 Triggered, General Election 2017 Called - Let the Games Begin! / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
On Wednesday 29th March 2017 Theresa May's post man in Brussels hand delivered a 6 page letter to Donald Tusk the President of the European Council, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty starting the formal process for the UK exiting the European Union within 2 years' time, with the negotiations expected to begin during May following the conclusion of the French Presidential elections.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Russia, China... Will They Ever Learn? / Politics / US Military
By: DeviantInvestor
In the 1960s Peter, Paul and Mary popularized a song written by Pete Seeger – “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
The short version is:
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them.
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Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Maps That Explain Wars In The Middle East And North Africa / Politics / Middle East
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : The Middle East and North Africa region runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean and from Turkey to Yemen. The bulk of the region is along five waterways: The Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea.
Here are four maps that explain the dynamics and inherited divisions in these regions. (Download my FREE e-book, The World Explained in Maps, to get more insight into the forces shaping our physical and financial worlds.)
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Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Theresa May Calls Snap BrExit UK General Election Capitalising on Crippled Labour Party / Politics / UK General Election
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Theresa May surprises everyone by calling a BrExit snap UK General Election on 8th June 2017. And this really is a surprise to all because previously she has repeatedly stated that she would not be calling an early general election. Instead in a statement today she made clear that her slender majority in the House of Commons was not large enough to secure a strong BrExit outcome for the United Kingdom.
Monday, April 17, 2017
‘Ruralization’ and ‘Agriculturization’: The Last Option for Human Survival and Growth... / Politics / Social Issues
By: Dr_R_M_Mathew
... in the Age of Economic Crises and Terrorism
From the Myth of Growth and Abundance, the Humanity has entered into the Reality of Poverty and Survival, besides the Prolonged Economic Crisis for the destabilization of the rural economies, drastic decline of farm or food production and shrinking global economy as the byproducts of urbanization and aggressive industrialization. Deflating drinking and irrigation water supply due to changes in seasons and the weather, rising atmospheric heat or cold resulting in floods, draughts and wild fire and above all encroachments of fertile farm lands for industrialization and urbanization have become more evident.
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Monday, April 17, 2017
Turkey's President Wins Sweeping Powers in Cliffhanger Vote / Politics / Turkey
By: STRATFOR
In an apparent cliffhanger victory, with challenges from the opposition still outstanding, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President (and now party leader) Recep Tayyip Erdogan are claiming a hairline victory in a decisive referendum that will greatly empower the presidency. Some 48 million of 55 million eligible voters cast ballots on a raft of 18 constitutional amendments that will fundamentally alter the Turkish government, taking effect in the next scheduled election in 2019. With nearly all votes counted, the "Yes" vote garnered 51.34 percent of the vote with the "No" vote coming in close behind with 48.66 percent of the vote, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Trump US North Korea First Strike Smoke and Mirrors, China is the Real War Target! / Politics / China US Conflict
By: Nadeem_Walayat
There is growing speculation in the mainstream media and BlogosFear that the Trump regime following blasting of an mostly empty Syrian air-field with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles and then dropping a MOAB on caves in Afghanistan is next set to launch a pre-emptive first strike against the North Korean rouge state's nuclear and missile infrastructure before it manages to achieve its objective of being able to put nukes onto missiles.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Korean Peninsula Brinksmanship / Politics / WW3
By: Stephen_Lendman
For a day at least, Washington and Pyongyang stepped back from the brink.
The DPRK refrained from conducting an expected sixth nuclear test, likely postponed, not cancelled.
Trump showed restraint by not belligerently reining on North Korea’s Day of the Sun commemorative parade, honoring its founder Kim Il-sung’s 105th birthday.
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Saturday, April 15, 2017
Syria: Where the Rubber Meets the Road / Politics / Syria
By: Mike_Whitney
You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that the case against Syrian President Bashar al Assad is extremely weak. The chemical weapons attack in Khan Shaykhun, has produced no smoking gun, no damning evidence, in fact, no evidence at all. Similar to the Russia hacking fiasco, (not a shred of evidence so far) the western media and the entire political class has made the case for attacking a sovereign country on the thin gruel of a few videos of an incident that took place in a location that is currently under the control of militant groups connected to al Qaida. That’s pretty shaky grounds for a conviction, don’t you think?
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Trump 2013 is Against Everything That Trump 2017 Does / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
In 2013, Donald Trump could have almost been mistaken for a Dollar Vigilante subscriber. He was against almost anything Obama was doing, was against all the wars and occupations, was against Obamacare and constantly pointed out all the corruption, criminality and waste in government.
Friday, April 14, 2017
MOAB - US Military Madness / Politics / US Military
By: Stephen_Lendman
WW I French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was right, saying: “War is too important to be left to the generals.”
Trump delegated warmaking to neocon hawkish generals, favoring belligerence over diplomacy - heading toward escalated war on Syria along with possibly striking North Korea preemptively.
Trump’s geopolitical agenda risks confrontation with multiple countries. It risks nuclear war in Europe and East Asia.
Russia warned it’ll down US warplanes and missiles if its personnel in Syria are endangered. US policymakers and Pentagon officials know it.
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Friday, April 14, 2017
The Thieving IRA Going Beyond Extortion to Outright Theft / Politics / Taxes
By: Jeff_Berwick
People need to realize what government is. It isn’t there to protect you. All government really is is a criminal enterprise that is the most successful one in each geographical jurisdiction.
The only difference between the mafia and government is size. And the IRS is just the largest protection racket in the US.
If you pay the IRS its “protection money,” which they call taxes, they won’t kidnap you and put you into a rape camp. That’s the “protection.”
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Thursday, April 13, 2017
Preparing for the Reign of the First Widow / Politics / US Politics
By: Stewart_Dougherty
We believe the 6 April 2017 Tomahawk missile attack on Syria indicates that Donald Trump has concluded that the fiscal, economic and political situations in the United States are beyond repair, and that without continued, massive military interventionism and spending, U.S. GDP will plunge, taking all of his campaign commitments down with it. Therefore, he has capitulated to the agenda of the Deep State looters and war profiteers. Trump’s capitulation has profound personal and financial implications for the citizens of the United States and the world.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
United Airlines "Just Kill Him" - A Symptom of New Fascist Reality In America / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
I’ve never understood airlines overbooking their flights. What other industry does that?
“Hi, I’m here to pick up the painting I bought from you online.”
“Oh, there are two other people here who bought it too. I guess I sold it too many times, sorry. I’ll just have some armed men escort you out!”
It sounds crazy, right? But, when it comes to airlines it happens all the time.
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Thursday, April 13, 2017
America, the Waning Days / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Potential earthquakes and black swans are right ahead of us. What else is new? On April 16, Turkey has a referendum to decide whether Erdogan will become de facto supreme ruler. What happens if he loses the referendum is completely unclear, undiscussed even, but it’s obvious a loss would have the country shake on its already shaky foundations.
The Turkish economy is in horrible shape and Erdogan’s post-coup firings (hundreds of thousands) and jailings (tens of thousands) have made large parts of society unattended. The biggest of which may well be the army; you can’t fire large numbers of officers and pilots and expect to retain the same strike effectiveness.
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Trump Supporters Winning Gold Medal In Mental Gymnastics Trying To Justify His Actions / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
Donald Trump said one thing to get elected and then, once elected, did the other.
The fact that people are surprised is, in itself, the surprising part.
Hasn’t that been the history of democracy and politics since it was created?
Democracy is one of the most bizarre systems ever created, to begin with. Here is how you would explain it to a newbie:
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017
The Cost of a Trump Presidency / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Last Thursday’s wanton attack on a Syrian air field by the US and its bellicose actions toward North Korea have brought to the forefront the real cost of candidate Trump’s landslide victory last November.
Unlike most laymen, accountants, and financial analysts, economists look at cost differently. For economists, cost or more specifically, “opportunity cost,” means “a benefit that a person could have received, but gave up, to take another course of action. Stated differently, opportunity cost represents an alternative given up when a decision is made.”
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Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Solutions For Surviving US Healthcare Collapse In 2018 / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: John_Mauldin
BY PATRICK WATSON : My weekly letter, Connecting the Dots, has two goals: to be informative and to be thought-provoking (subscribe here for free). Last week, it accomplished both—but not the way I expected.
Many people call the Affordable Care Act a great success that only needs minor adjustments. So when I picked the title of last week’s issue, How to Survive the Obamacare Collapse, I thought some people would be upset that I questioned its viability.
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