Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, April 03, 2017
Duterte Under Fire, Philippines 'The Punisher' Takes a Beating / Politics / Asian Economies
By: STRATFOR
Forecast
- Challenges to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's hold on power, whether in the form of an impeachment or a coup, are unlikely to gain momentum while he remains broadly popular.
- But China's unrelenting attempts to extend its maritime boundaries will complicate its detente with the Philippines and undermine Duterte's political support at home.
- Meanwhile, the president's contentious domestic agenda will test the mettle of his ruling coalition.
Monday, April 03, 2017
The Brexit War! EU Fearing Collapse Set to Stoke Scottish Independence Proxy War / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
On Wednesday 29th May 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.
Monday, April 03, 2017
The American Empire and Economic Collapse / Politics / Economic Collapse
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Despite the widespread hope among libertarians, classical liberals, non-interventionists, progressive peaceniks, and all those opposed to the US Empire that it may have some of its murderous reins pulled in with the election of Donald Trump, it appears that such optimism has now been dashed. While the hope for a less meddlesome US foreign policy is not completely extinguished and would never have existed had the Wicked Witch of Chappaqua been elected, a number of President Trump’s foreign policy actions, so far, have been little different than his recent predecessors.
Sunday, April 02, 2017
BrExit War - Spain Warned Remember Falklands Over Gibraltar Subversion Attempts / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
With barely the Brexit process begun, Spain has already started to play their age old we want Gibraltar card with the EU issuing the following statement in support of Spain's claims on Gibraltar:
"After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom."
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Sunday, April 02, 2017
The Russia US Election Hacking Fiasco: No Evidence Required / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Here’s what bugs me about the Russia hacking story: Why would the media, whose credibility is already at its lowest point ever, go after Trump when they had no facts to back them up?
Why?
Do the media bosses really think that if they set their hair on fire and run around yelling, “The Russians did it, the Russians did it”, the American people will sheepishly nod in agreement?
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Sunday, April 02, 2017
The American Dream, Twice Removed / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Nicole Foss is in Christchurch, New Zealand right now for the Living Economies Expo, and sent me, I’m still in Athens, Greece, a piece written by yet another longtime Automatic Earth reader, Helen Loughrey (keep ’em coming!), who describes her efforts trying to find a rental home in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
The first thing that struck me is how effortless and global sending information has become (category things you know but that hit you anyway occasionally, which is a good thing). The second is that the fall-out of the financial crisis has followed the same path as the information ‘revolution’: that is, it’s spreading faster than wildfire.
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Sunday, April 02, 2017
Neocon Fury Over Trump’s Syria Policy / Politics / Syria
By: John_Rubino
Neocon senators John McCain (R. AR) and Lindsey Graham (R. SC) likely believe war is peace. Freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength - with attribution to George Orwell.
They’re furious about Secretary of State Tillerson, saying “the longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”
Separately, US UN envoy Nikki Haley said “(y)ou pick and choose your battles, and when we’re looking at this, it’s about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out.”
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Saturday, April 01, 2017
The EU Is One Big Fatal Flaw / Politics / European Union
By: Raul_I_Meijer
The true face of the EU is presently on display in Greece, not in Germany or Holland or France. Brussels must first fix what’s going wrong in Athens and the Aegean, and there’s a lot going wrong, before it can move on towards the future, indeed towards any future at all. It has a very tough job in Italy as well, which it’s trying hard to ignore.|
Saturday, April 01, 2017
The BrExit War - Britain Intelligence Super Power Covert War With the EU / Politics / BrExit
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britain may have stopped being a military super power shortly after winning World War 2, a war that virtually bankrupted the British Empire leading to its dissolution. However the cold war, another war that Britain played a pivotal role in winning, where despite Britain having one of the world’s most effective intelligence apparatus that apart from the bond movies has done a good job of mostly remaining secret, instead letting the CIA and NSA take the public limelight, however did abysmally fail to avert BrExit from becoming manifest, that virtually all saw as an impossible outcome as the following video of Brexit night illustrates.
Friday, March 31, 2017
The Brexit Has Begun: Now What? / Politics / BrExit
By: STRATFOR
Until now, the Brexit had mostly been a succession of public statements, declarations of intent, veiled threats and wishful thinking. But today, the British government made the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union manifest by officially invoking Article 50 of the EU treaty and delivering formal notification of its departure from the Continental bloc, the first member ever to do so. This started the clock on negotiations over the terms of the divorce and their future relationship, which will leave both the United Kingdom and the European Union considerably changed.
Friday, March 31, 2017
3 Maps That Explain Why South America Is Politically Isolated / Politics / Emerging Markets
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : What makes South America stand out is that it looks like a large island. Oceans split it from others by great lengths.
Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean make a divide between South America and the US. Plus, it is split by the Amazon rainforest and Andes Mountains to form two “islands.”
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Friday, March 31, 2017
3 Maps That Explain China’s Real Goal In The South China Sea / Politics / China US Conflict
By: John_Mauldin
There’s been a lot of media hype over China’s ongoing military buildup in the South China Sea. But as always, the truth lies beyond the headlines.
Chinese action has so far been largely contained to two island groups: the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands.
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Friday, March 31, 2017
The Case for Socialized Medicine / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: John_Browne
Last week the American political establishment was shaken to its foundation when the Republican Party leadership withdrew the American Health Care Act (AHCA) just before the vote was to be taken on the floor of the House of Representatives. Besides being a most unusual procedure, it exposed a fundamental split in the country,reflected not merely in Congress but within the Republican Party. GOP purists, represented by the House Freedom Caucus, demanded more significant roll backs in socialized medicine that were contained in the Ryan plan. Their refusal to back the plan, after years of promising complete repeal, doomed the bill.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Ending Syria’s Nightmare will Take Pressure From Below / Politics / Syria
By: Mike_Whitney
Ominous developments in East Syria have drawn the United States and Russia into closer proximity increasing the likelihood of a violent confrontation. The Trump administration has embarked on a dangerous plan to defeat the terrorist militia, ISIS, in Raqqa. But recent comments by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggest that Washington’s long-term strategy may conflict with Moscow’s goal of restoring Syria’s sovereign borders. Something’s got to give. Either Russia ceases its clearing operations in east Syria or Washington agrees to withdraw its US-backed forces when the battle is over. If neither side gives ground, there’s going to be a collision between the two nuclear-armed adversaries.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
John McCain’s New World Order Is Under “Enormous Strain” / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
Decades ago, John McCain was in Asia trying to kill people he didn’t know while living off the largess of money (taxes) stolen from hard working people in the US.
In any other reality but our current one he’d be considered a thieving mass murderer.
Unfortunately, in our current reality, some people call him a “war hero”.
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Wednesday, March 29, 2017
SNP Controlled Scottish Parliament Demands Right for Scotland to Commit Suicide - Indyref2 / Politics / Scotland
By: Nadeem_Walayat
As Britain counts down to triggering Article 50 later today the SNP fired another missile at Westminister Tuesday in their continuing program towards the subversion of the settled BrExit will of the British people by voting to demand that another Scottish Independence referendum be held before the BrExit negotiations are finalised with the EU. This despite the fact that in the run up to Scotland's September 2014 Independence Referendum the Scottish Nationalists from Alex Salmond and Nichola Sturgeon down promised that they would abide by the results of the referendum, declaring that it was at least a once in a generation decision if not once in a life time decision.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Brexit: The Chaotic Divorce Saga Continues / Politics / BrExit
By: Boris_Dzhingarov
"It will be a formidable challenge for Britain’s next prime minister to make an economic, diplomatic and political success out of Brexit. Or, to set the bar at a more realistic level, to contain the damage." – Andrew Rawnsley
Much has been, and continues to be written in the press about Great Britain and her extraction from the European Union (EU), and by the looks of things, it is turning out to be a very messy divorce. The bad news is that Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, has not triggered Article 50. For the uninformed and confused among us, Article 50 is the formal notice that the UK needs to give the EU that she intends to withdraw from the European Union.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017
US Secretary of State Just Showed China Matters More Than NATO / Politics / NATO
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will attend a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump April 6–7. Tillerson will skip an April 5–6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
This is the first time a US secretary of state will miss such a meeting since 2002.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Ominous Social Trends That Will Shape Our Future / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Mauldin
We’ve touched on this before, but there’s a strong sense in much of the developed world that we’re headed for harder times. Deficits increase. Unemployment rises. The benefits of the future have been unevenly distributed throughout society.
It is not just in voting patterns that you can sense malaise. You can see it in the economic numbers and in sociological research.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Foundation And Empire: Is Donald Trump The Mule? / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I analyzed the similarities of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy to Strauss & Howe’s Fourth Turning, trying to assess how Donald Trump’s ascension to power fits into the theories put forth by those authors. Now I will compare Trump to the most interesting character in Asimov’s classic – The Mule.