Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Obama Administration's Clueless Trade Diplomacy / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
Obama clearly doesn't get it yet on trade agreements.Despite the fact that every major American trade agreement since NAFTA has worsened America's trade balance, he actually seems to think he can improve America's export performance by going for more, starting with a free-trade agreement with South Korea.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Libya Crisis and its Energy Industry / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Libya’s political strife has already begun to impact its energy production, and this is just the beginning.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is Central Economic Planning at its Worst / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) presented its results to the Financial Services Committee. As with most other politically-appointed commissions, the results of the FCIC's investigation were easy to predict. Established by the same congress that gave us national healthcare and with a majority of its members appointed by those who seek to solve every problem with more government intervention, it was no surprise that the commission's findings would favor increased government intervention in the economy. Minority members were not substantively involved in the commission's operations, and the commission attempted to exclude their dissenting views by granting them very limited space to do so.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
American Manufacturing Slowly Rotting Away: How Industries Die / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
I wrote in a previous article about why America's manufacturing sector, despite record output, is actually in very deep trouble: record output doesn't prove the sector healthy when we are running a huge trade deficit in manufactured goods, i.e. consuming more goods than we produce and plugging the gap with asset sales and debt.
Monday, February 21, 2011
CNBC Presenter Gets Slapped as Chip Stocks Race Higher / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Investment_U
Steve McDonald writes: Have you seen the movement of chip stocks recently?
The sector is on the march, with stocks like Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) blasting 60% higher over the past three months.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Libya Red Alert: Unrest and the Libyan Military / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has ordered the Libyan air force to fire on military installations in Libya, according to what the BBC has characterized as a reliable source. Al Jazeera has suggested that air force fighters have opened fire on crowds of protesters.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Real Crisis That Will Soon Hit the U.S. / Politics / Food Crisis
By: Chris_Kitze
Phoenix Capital Research writes: Forget stocks, the real crisis is coming… and it’s coming fast.
Indeed, it first hit in 2008 though it was almost entirely off the radar of the American public. While all eyes were glued to the carnage in the stock market and brokerage account balances, a far more serious crisis began to unfold rocking 30 countries around the globe.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wall Street Capitalism: A Love Affair / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
BATR writes: What once was a mercantile world has become a global playpen for moving hot money to squeeze out the highest return on investment. Replacing nation states with international capital is now sport. Undermining the sovereignty of countries by an elite club of financial manipulators is the purpose for the grand game.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Fed New Accounting Change Means its Impossible for the Fed to go Bankrupt! / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
Back in early January, the Federal Reserve made an obscure announcement in its weekly report. It appeared to be an inconsequential accounting change in the treatment of earnings, and was sold as a step toward greater transparency.
The change was buried in such jargon that it took weeks for the financial bloggers to fully digest what had happened — the new move made it effectively impossible for the Fed to go bankrupt! In this article I'll explain the rule change and speculate on the Fed's motives.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Bahrain State’s Lethal Crackdown Backfires on the Regime / Politics / Middle East
By: Finian_Cunningham
There was an uneasy calm in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, last night following nearly a week of lethal repression by state security forces which has left eight civilians dead and hundreds injured.
But the appalling violence inflicted by state forces seems to have now galvanized the protest movement and radicalizing its calls for the entire regime to go.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Libya Red Alert: Clashes in Tripoli / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Emerging reports early Feb. 21 indicate the unrest in Libya is spreading from eastern Libya to the capital of Tripoli. According to initial reports, heavy gunfire was heard in central Tripoli and in other districts with Al Jazeera reporting 61 people killed in Tripoli on Feb. 21. Other unconfirmed reports say protesters attacked the headquarters of Al-Jamahiriya Two television and Al-Shababia as well as other government buildings in Tripoli overnight.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Madoff Talk Excuses From Crimes, Says Banks Didn’t Want to Know About His Ponzi Schemes / Politics / Scams
By: Danny_Schechter
Thank you Bernie for breaking your silence, even if you are still clinging to that cover-up mode you adopted since your guilty plea took all the blame for your crimes on yourself.
What is clear is that ripping off the rich is punished far more severely than ripping off the poor. The lengthy sentence you were given has spared who knows how many other greedsters and goniffs from facing the music, what music there is.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saif Gadaffi's TV Speech Full Text as Libyan Regime Collapses / Politics / Middle East
By: Submissions
SultanAlQassemi writes: I saw that I had to speak to you. Many Libyans asked me to speak. I don't have a paper or a document to read from.I will not speak in classical Arabic, I will speak in Libyan, I don't have any papers, this is a talk from the heart & mind. We all know that the region is passing through an earthquake, a hurricane or change. If this change does not come from the govts it will come from the people, we have seen this in other Arab countries. Today I will tell you only truth only. We know that there are opposition figures living abroad who have support in Libya. There people try to use Facebook for a revolution to copy Egypt. These people want to bring Libya to what happened in Egypt & Tunisia.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Oil Revolution, Iran's Answer to the West / Politics / Middle East
By: Pravda
The riots spread to the oil-rich Arab countries. During the clashes with police in Bahrain on February14-15, at least two protesters were killed. What is the cause of such instability in Bahrain? It would seem that one of the richest "oil cats" of the Persian Gulf cannot be threatened in principle.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Did US-backed NGOs Help to Topple Mubarak / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Mike Whitney----Do we know whether foreign agents or US-backed NGOs participated in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square? Could they have played a part in toppling Mubarak?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Google's Revolution Factory 2.0 / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Tony Cartalucci writes: In 2008, the Alliance of Youth Movements held its inaugural summit in New York City. Attending this summit was a combination of State Department staff, Council on Foreign Relations members, former National Security staff, Department of Homeland Security advisers, and a myriad of representatives from American corporations and mass media organizations including AT&T, Google, Facebook, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and MTV.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Revolution Handbook for Americans / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
As recently presented, there is global respect for and use of the classic and brilliant work by Gene Sharp “From Dictatorship to Democracy.” It is credited for empowering many actions around the world to overthrow dictatorships, including recent actions in the Mideast . My thesis is that his ideas, strategies and tactics, a handbook for revolution, can and should be applied to the US where there is a form of corporate dictatorship operating.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Palestinians plan 'Day of Rage' to protest U.S. veto on UN settlement resolution / Politics / Middle East
By: Submissions
Haaretz Service writes: Palestinians are planning their own "Day of Rage" to protest the American veto on a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements, Ma'an News Agency reported a top Fatah official as saying on Saturday.
"They are liars who pretend to support democracy and peace. Far from it," Fatah official and former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, referring to the U.S., told the news agency.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Logic of Outsourcing / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
Recently, I wrote an article on why every business that has an in-house staff of video production specialists should shut down the department. I argued that it would be far better to encourage the staffers to create their own video production company. Then the business can let the newly created company bid on projects.
There is no question that this would be better for the business. But would it be better for the now-unemployed staffers? If they are talented, yes. If they are not, yes.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 19, 2011
U.S. National Debt, Pump It Up / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
Down in the pleasure centre,
hell bent or heaven sent,
listen to the propaganda,
listen to the latest slander.
There's nothing underhand
that she wouldn't understand.
Pump it up until you can feel it.
Pump it up when you don't really need it. Elvis Costello - Pump It Up