Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Navigating the US's Politicized Economy / Politics / US Economy
By: Casey_Research
Terry Coxon, Casey Research : Absent the state's involvement in the workings of the marketplace, an investor's central task would be to evaluate companies for their ability to efficiently produce and market what customers want. Shrewdness at that one task would lead to the profits investors are looking for. And there would be other consequences.
The stocks of companies that succeeded in convincing investors that they had the right stuff (primarily through good performance) would be bid up. Stocks of companies that failed to make their case to investors would tend to drift down, and any company whose stock drifted low enough would become a takeover target. A takeover would replace underperforming management with a new team of officers and directors – individuals picked by the people who laid out their own money to buy enough shares to control the company.
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Bad News For Boomers, The Sustainable Economy Rout Gets Bigger / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Andrew_McKillop
Bloomberg reports 11 October: Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s biggest wind turbine maker, will fail to repay $209 million of debt due today in the nation’s largest convertible bond default. Its 2016 note slumped to a record. Suzlon won’t be able to redeem two notes maturing today after bondholders rejected its request for a four-month extension. The default will total $209 million.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Turkey, Washington's Puppet, Illustrates America's Moral Degeneracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
On May 31, 2010, the Israeli right-wing government sent armed military troops to illegally board in international waters Gaza aid ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief. The Israelis murdered 8 Turkish citizens and one US citizen in cold blood. Many others were wounded by the forces of “the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Thursday, October 11, 2012
How the Commodity Futures Markets Impoverishes Indian Farmers / Politics / India
By: Global_Research
Kavaljit Singh writes: Thousands of guar farmers in India are today caught in a vicious cycle fuelled by the spectacular rise in the prices of guar seed and guar gum products during the six months period between October 2011 and March 2012.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Is China an Economic Miracle, or Massive Government Sponsored Fraud? / Politics / China Economy
By: Graham_Summers
History has shown us countless times that centrally-‐planned, command style economies do not produce long-term economic growth. We’ve seen this will the Soviet Union, the UK, the US-since the Tech Crash, and today in China.
I realize that many would argue China has adopted free market policies with its “free market zones.” However, even this terminology reveals China is nowhere near a free, dynamic market (a free market is simply a free market, not a “zone.”).
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Thursday, October 11, 2012
Cooked or Accurate US Employment Numbers? / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Stephen_Lendman
For over a decade, US job prospects have been dismal. Since crisis conditions erupted in 2008, they've been dire for millions wanting work.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Syria, Turkey, Israel and a Greater Middle East Energy War / Politics / Middle East
By: F_William_Engdahl
On October 3, 2012 the Turkish military launched repeated mortar shellings inside Syrian territory. The military action, which was used by the Turkish military, conveniently, to establish a ten-kilometer wide no-man’s land “buffer zone” inside Syria, was in response to the alleged killing by Syrian armed forces of several Turkish civilians along the border. There is widespread speculation that the one Syrian mortar that killed five Turkish civilians well might have been fired by Turkish-backed opposition forces intent on giving Turkey a pretext to move militarily, in military intelligence jargon, a ‘false flag’ operation.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Nigel Farage on the Rise of UKIP, the Fall of Europe, and the Parallels for the US / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Political and economic tensions are mounting in Spain. No serious economist believes the official budget forecast. Unemployment is near 25%, and tax hikes are about to make matters worse.
Moreover, a proposal from Madrid would force children in Catalonia’s schools to speak Spanish even though the dominant language is Catalan.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Fed's Sole Purpose is to Keep the Banks Afloat / Politics / Central Banks
By: Casey_Research
Is the Federal Reserve really doing such a bad job… or does it actually do exactly what it's supposed to do, but the average American is in the dark about what that is?
In this explosive video, Casey Summit speaker G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island, talks about the Fed's real role in the US economy and why – contrary to common belief – it is not this banking cartel's mission to act in the best interest of the American public.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
U.S. Jobs Report Conspiracy Theories / Politics / Employment
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes:
Can we talk about unemployment in the U.S.? And can we talk about conspiracy theories?
I thought you'd say "yes." I can almost hear you saying, "Hell yeah, bring it on!"
So, let's have at it.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Bernanke Riding Into The Sunset Or A Brick Wall? / Politics / Government Spending
By: Peter_Schiff
A month ago, I presented the case for why Fed Chairman Bernanke would have strong motivation to launch another round of quantitative easing (QE) before the election. In short, it would save him his job. Now, I didn't predict with certainty that he would do so - only the few men at the FOMC knew that for sure - but it seemed likely. Shortly thereafter, Bernanke not only announced more stimulus, but promised to keep it flowing to the tune of an additional $40 billion a month until conditions improve. As I had written, this is essentially the election platform of the Obama-Bernanke ticket: we will keep the party going indefinitely.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Government Dependency Will End in Economic Chaos / Politics / Government Spending
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
The media insists on characterizing statements about dependency on government handouts as controversial, but in truth such statements are absolutely correct. It's not that nearly half of Americans are dependent on government; it's actually more than half. If one includes not just people on food stamps and welfare, but also seniors on Medicare, Social Security and people employed by the government directly, the number is more like 165 million out of 308 million, which is 53%.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
U.S. Emerging Doctrine of Controlled Engagement / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Over the past weekend, rumors began to emerge that the Syrian opposition would allow elements of the al Assad regime to remain in Syria and participate in the new government. Rumors have become Syria's prime export, and as such they should not be taken too seriously. Nevertheless, what is happening in Syria is significant for a new foreign doctrine emerging in the United States -- a doctrine in which the United States does not take primary responsibility for events, but which allows regional crises to play out until a new regional balance is reached. Whether a good or bad policy -- and that is partly what the U.S. presidential race is about -- it is real, and it flows from lessons learned.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
They Cook the Books, You Can't Trust Official Statistics / Politics / Economic Statistics
By: Lewrockwell
Jack D. Douglas writes: All official, statist statistics are only about the subjects and categories, and use only operational definitions and procedures to construct those statistics, which are determined ultimately by the politicians who control the state. All official statistics are, thus, inherently biased by the powerful individuals who run the states, so official stats. vary wildly among nation-states and other political groups. In America, for example, there are massive official stats. on the deaths the state categorizes as due to drug uses defined by the state as "illegal," almost entirely those of poorer people.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Barack Obama's Power Elite Roots / Politics / US Politics
By: Lewrockwell
Anthony Wile writes:
We track power elite dominant social themes large and small. As part of this effort, we've uncovered what we believe to be patterns of "directed history" leading toward ever-bigger government at both national and international levels.
Elites love government because they control society via mercantilism, the use of public power to enhance private advantages.
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Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Euro-zone Bailout, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Fitch has given the ESM, which reportedly became "operational" today, even though the Eurozone members will take years to full its coffers from today's €200 billion to the desired €500-600 billion, an AAA rating. The European (hey, what happened to Emergency?) Stability Mechanism needs this rating in order to sell bonds. Since eurobonds are not deemed acceptable by too many parties involved, the new pride of Europe will start selling ... right, eurobonds, just under another name.
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Tuesday, October 09, 2012
George Osbourne Targets Britain's Benefits Culture Baby Making Factories / Politics / UK Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
George Osbourne's speech at the tory conference laid down the reasons for an additional £10 billion cut in benefits spending that are needed to get to the heart of Britians benefit culture crisis that over the last Labour government's regime has resulted in a state where those out of work can receive more in benefits than those in work earn that has contributed towards Britians accelerating trend towards bankruptcy.
Monday, October 08, 2012
The Great American Empire - Decline, Decay, Denial, Delusion & Despair / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
The majority of Americans seem OK with just waddling through life, accepting the lies and misinformation blasted from the boob tube and their various iGadgets by their owners, gorging themselves to death on Twinkies and Cheetos, paying 15% interest on their $10,000 rolling credit card balance, and growing ever more dependent on the welfare/warfare state to provide and protect them from accepting personal responsibility for their lives. A minority of critical thinking people have chosen to question everything they see and hear being spewed at us by the propagandist mainstream media, the corporate fascist government, and the powerful banking cabal that has an iron grip upon our throats as they choke the life out of the global economy in their never ending desire for more riches and more power.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Rational Egoism, Irrational Greed And Ayn Rand's Creed / Politics / Propaganda
By: Andrew_McKillop
Oil in New York is breaching long-term technical support at $89.83 a barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On the weekly chart, that’s the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement of the drop to $32.40 in December 2008 from an intraday record high of $147.27 in July that year. Losses tend to accelerate below chart-support levels from that retracement.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Income inequality: Cause of our predicament or a convenient scapegoat? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Colin_Twiggs
A reader reminded me of this 2011 Vanity Fair article, where Joseph Stiglitz argues that growing income inequality will harm future US economic growth.
Read full article... Read full article...“What matters, [some people] argue, is not how the pie is divided but the size of the pie. That argument is fundamentally wrong……..