Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, December 09, 2013
All The Plans We Make For Our Futures Are Delusions / Politics / Social Issues
By: Raul_I_Meijer
What worries me most about the world today, in the last weeks before Christmas and New Year’s Day 2014, is that all the plans we make for our futures and more importantly our children’s futures are DOA. This is because nobody has a clue what the future will bring, and that’s more than just some general statement. Is the future going to be like the past or present? We really don’t know. But we do exclusively plan for such a future. And that’s not for a lack of warning signs.
Monday, December 09, 2013
The Magic CIA Security Cult And Its Bungled Trip To Paradise / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Andrew_McKillop
NATIONAL SECURITY
Like a really bad film – certainly not a remake of George Orwell's 1984 – national security “concerns and threats” and the herd political response to these mostly fake threats - produces farce after farce. Absurdity piled on top of imbecility. With body parts on the sidewalk. As we know, although it wore itself out and is winding down now, global warming was an epic challenge to our civilization needing urgent extreme action by stern-jawed great leaders. Now it concerns electric bicycles. Economic challenges, as we also know, mutated into an enduring farce of selectively enriching the rich and the criminal bankster-broker fraternity, and impoverishing everybody else. The record got stuck in the groove. When our great leaders blether and gurgle about “the economic crisis”, these days, everybody turns off.
Monday, December 09, 2013
The Reaping of Wealth, Bread, Circuses & Reality TV / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
“Human history seems logical in afterthought but a mystery in forethought. In every prior Fourth Turning, the catalyst was foreseeable but the climax was not.” - The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe – 1997
We are five years into the Crisis that will not resolve itself until sometime in the 2020’s. No one can predict the specific events that will fundamentally change history over the next decade, but the catalysts of debt, civic decay and global disorder were evident sixteen years ago when Strauss and Howe wrote their prophetic generational history. The volcanic eruption occurred in 2008 when the worldwide financial system blew and the molten lava continues to spew forth and flow along the Federal Reserve created channels, protecting the corrupt establishment while incinerating senior citizens, the working middle class and Millennials. Deep within the volcano the pressure is building again as the mood of the country darkens. It will blow again and the economic, social, political and military distress will catalyze into a catastrophic emergency that will tear the fabric of the country asunder. The existing social order will be swept away and replaced by a new paradigm which could be better or far worse.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 09, 2013
NSA Inks Landmark Deal to Share Information With Central Banks / Politics / Central Banks
By: David_Hague
Dear reader put away your charts and graphs. Forget about fundamental and technical analysis. Ignore financial statements and trends. The extraordinary agreement to share information between the National Security Agency [NSA], a host of European, Russian, Canadian and Chinese spy agencies and the world's Central Banks will ensure that the only relevant force in Global Stock markets will be the trading activity of the world's Central Banks. Thanks to the data gathering of the NSA and its subsidiary spy agencies around the world, the Central Banks will be privy to the most confidential conversations and communications from the boardroom, the bedroom and the trading floor. Central Banks will now be able to trade with inside information that could only be dreamed about in years gone by.
Monday, December 09, 2013
Detroit Can Go Bankrupt! / Politics / US Debt
By: Submissions
Kerry Lutz writes: As predicted many months, Detroit’s bankruptcy filing has been validated in a ruling by Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes. He rejected numerous objections posed by unions, pension funds and retirees. They’re the big losers under any reorganization plan that scales back Detroit's long-term liabilities.
As a Financial Survival Network listener you knew this day was coming. The decision, which will be appealed, will eventually allow the city to proceed with what is currently the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Defeated By The Taliban, Washington Decides To Take On Russia And China / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
The several days of organized protests in Ukraine are notable for the relative lack of police violence. Unlike in the US, Canada, Thailand, Greece, and Spain, peaceful protesters have not been beaten, tear gassed, water cannoned, and tasered by Ukrainian police. Unlike in Egypt, Palestine, and Bahrain, Ukrainian protesters have not been fired upon with live ammunition. The restraint of the Ukrainian government and police in the face of provocations has been remarkable. Apparently, Ukrainian police have not been militarized by US Homeland Security.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Central Bankers Will Ruin the Economy, America's Demographics Destiny / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: John_Mauldin
I'm not certain how many interviews I've done over the last decade. Hundreds? I know it is a lot. There are some interviewers who can somehow tease out what you really have in you. Tom Keene at Bloomberg, for instance, forces you to bring your A game, at whatever level you play. He brings it out of you. You know that he is smarter than you will ever be and that you should really be asking him the questions. Except that you're not smart enough to ask the questions. I have to confess that every time I walk into the room with Tom I'm a little intimidated. I try never to show it, somewhat like the new kid on the block trying to put on a brave face, but inside I keep looking for the exit doors just in case I throw up all over myself. At the end of the day I'm still a small-town country boy from Bridgeport, Texas, trying to figure out how the big city works.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
An Idea! Let the Fed Drop Money into Your Bank Account Instead of Raining it Down on the Rich / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Ellen_Brown
The Fed could be an institution that serves all the people, not just the 1%.
The Federal Reserve is the only central bank with a dual mandate. It is charged not only with maintaining low, stable inflation but with promoting maximum sustainable employment. Yet unemployment remains stubbornly high, despite four years of radical tinkering with interest rates and quantitative easing (creating money on the Fed’s books). After pushing interest rates as low as they can go, the Fed has admitted that it has run out of tools.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Amend the Federal Reserve: We Need a Central Bank that Serves Main Street / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Ellen_Brown
December 23rd marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve. Dissatisfaction with its track record has prompted calls to audit the Fed and end the Fed. At the least, Congress needs to amend the Fed, modifying the Federal Reserve Act to give the central bank the tools necessary to carry out its mandates.
The Federal Reserve is the only central bank with a dual mandate. It is charged not only with maintaining low, stable inflation but with promoting maximum sustainable employment. Yet unemployment remains stubbornly high, despite four years of radical tinkering with interest rates and quantitative easing (creating money on the Fed’s books). After pushing interest rates as low as they can go, the Fed has admitted that it has run out of tools.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Guardians of the Warfare State / Politics / US Military
By: MISES
T. Hunt Tooley writes: An analysis of the U.S. secretaries of war and defense (the name was changed from secretary of war to secretary of defense in 1947) gives us some insight into the nature of the relationships within the “military-industrial complex.” Though these secretaries are not the only gatekeepers of the warfare-welfare state (and perhaps not even the most important ones), they do perform a crucial function in coordinating the collectivist, rent-seeking corporate entities with the political parties and their largely social-democratic agendas.
Saturday, December 07, 2013
The State Causes the Poverty It Later Claims to Solve / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Andreas Marquart writes: If one looks at the current paper money system and its negative social and social-political effects, the question must arise: where are the protests by the supporters and protectors of social justice? Why don’t we hear calls to protest from politicians and social commentators, from the heads of social welfare agencies and leading religious leaders, who all promote the general welfare as their mission?
Saturday, December 07, 2013
The Mainstream Media Makes and Changes History / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Fred_Sheehan
"The Economist's Sell Signal," (November 30, 2013) critiqued the "The Perils of Falling Inflation," in the magazine's November 9, 2013, issue. "The Perils" attempted to erase history, an effort to protect the central-banking version of history from criticism.
In Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself, Sheila Bair, the former FDIC chairman, described an enlightening encounter with The Economist. In that instance, a malignant diatribe was published, either sanctioned or produced by the sieve of banks, bank regulators, globe-hopping bureaucrats, and politicians who fashioned it.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, December 06, 2013
The Fate of U.S. Dollar Hegemony / Politics / US Dollar
By: Andy_Sutton
Despite the quiet nature of things lately from a geopolitical standpoint, coupled with the mainstream media’s obsession with new nominal highs in the various paper indexes, there is definitely turbulence below the surface. There have already been a number of thought-provoking articles written regarding the future of dollar hegemony and the purpose of this week’s piece is to hopefully add to the discussion and stimulate some thought.
Friday, December 06, 2013
The Kress Cycle and the Fate of the Middle Class, And China's Gold Appetite / Politics / Cycles Analysis
By: Clif_Droke
Just how much pain has the middle class suffered in the last four years? The data is quite conclusive: the pain has been harsh.
According to government statistics, wages for the middle class have shrunk appreciably in the past decade. The Census Bureau points out that the typical middle class household made $51,017 this year, roughly the same as the typical household made a quarter of a century ago. Adjusted for inflation, that's a decline in living standards too big to ignore.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Taxes Don’t Matter… Until They Do / Politics / Taxes
By: Don_Miller
Since the latter part of 2008, the yield on cash has been so low that sheltering it from taxes didn't seem to matter. But if—as we expect—high rates of price inflation are waiting in the not-too-distant future, then sheltering interest income will be very important.
There may be lag time, but interest rates generally track the rate of inflation. So if inflation returns to a 1970s-like 14%, a one-year CD might yield near 15%. Don't get too excited. The real, after-inflation return would still be in the 1% neighborhood, but you would be taxed on the full 15%. So much for your windfall! No one wants to pay taxes on a real yield of 14%, let alone 14% in phantom income. In this high-inflation world, enjoying the safety and readiness of a cash reserve would be painfully expensive. Unless, of course, you could shelter your interest income from taxes.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 05, 2013
The Future of OPEC / Politics / Crude Oil
By: STRATFOR
The prospect of revitalized oil production in Iraq and Iran may add to tensions between those two countries and Saudi Arabia over export quotas. On Dec. 4, representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet in Vienna to discuss a number of topics. OPEC is facing two challenges. First, OPEC's historically biggest consumer -- the United States -- is rapidly increasing its own domestic production. At the same time, OPEC must deal with plans to expand oil production envisioned both by Iraq and Iran, which could lead to lower prices than the cartel desires. Ultimately, however, emerging markets in Asia will set global demand, and their energy thirst will determine the scale of the problem OPEC faces.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Nigerian Man Rescued From Sunken Boat At Bottom of Atlantic Ocean for 2 days - Video / Politics / Social Issues
By: Videos
This remarkable video shows when Nigerian Harrison Odjegba Okene was surprisingly found to be alive by divers tasked with recovering dead bodies from a tugboat that had sunk 2-3 days earlier.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
America in Worse Fiscal Shape than Detroit - Video / Politics / US Debt
By: Videos
Boston University Economics Professor, Laurence Kotlikoff, says, “The country is in worse fiscal shape by many miles than Detroit. So, the country is essentially bankrupt.” Dr. Kotlikoff estimates the long term debt and liabilities of America are more than $200 trillion! He is spearheading a bill in Congress called The Inform Act. It is an attempt to wake up the nation to our dire financial situation so something can be done to fix this enormous problem. Dr. Kotlikoff explains, “The bill has been endorsed by over 1,000 economists, including 15 Nobel Prize winners in economics . . .
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Central Banks and Pentagon Wars - Control Via Interlocking Complicity / Politics / US Politics
By: DeviantInvestor
The reality is relatively simple even though the appearance is complicated and confusing. What are we talking about?
- Wars that are hugely profitable for a few individuals and businesses
- Unauditable Pentagon accounting
- Government debt that will never be repaid
- Levitation of S&P and bond markets
- Gold price suppression
- So much more
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Detroit Bankruptcy: Banksters and Unions Conspiracy Against the Working Class / Politics / US Debt
By: Global_Research
Joseph Kishore writes: Last week, the Michigan branch of the main US union for state and local government employees filed a joint motion in federal bankruptcy court to push for the sell-off of artwork at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). In precise legal language, the document exposes the unions as full participants in the bankers’ conspiracy against the rights of the working class.
The motion (available here) was drafted by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 25, an AFL-CIO affiliate, in collaboration with Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, a major bond insurance firm. The FGIC and AFSCME Council 25 were joined in the motion by a number of other banks and financial institutions.