Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Myth of a Middle Class / Politics / Social Issues
By: Global_Research
Cristian Gherasim writes: Almost a year ago, during the State of the Union address, President Obama came up with another plan to ease the economic burden on middle-class families. No news here. In fact, he gave that same do-or-die case for big government we have heard over and over: "The middle class has been under assault for a long time. … We've just come through what was one of the most difficult decades the middle class has ever faced."
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Anti Government Protests Spreading Across North Africa and Middle East / Politics / Middle East
By: Barry_Grey
As thousands continued to demonstrate in Tunisia over the weekend against the interim “national unity” government, antigovernment protests spread to Algeria, Yemen and Jordan.
State forces in Algeria and Yemen responded to the protests with deadly force. The Associated Press reported that more than a dozen people were killed in Algeria Saturday when police blocked a march on the parliament building in the capital city, Algiers. Some 300 people intending to march from the city’s Place de la Concorde to parliament were quickly blockaded by police armed with batons, tear gas and other weapons.
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Financial Crisis: Mistake or Crime? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Danny_Schechter
QUESTION: WHEN IS A CRIME NOT CONSIDERED CRIMINAL? ANSWER: WHEN IT’S HATCHED ON WALL STREET.
As President Obama Delivers His State Of The Union Address, calls for tough financial rules and a crackdown on the Crimes Behind The Crisis Have Moved Off Of His Agenda.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Will China's Yuan Overtake US Dollar? / Politics / US Politics
By: Andrew_G_Marshall
US President Barack Obama is hosting China's President Hu Jintao to discuss their economic co-dependence, currency and trade. Does this mean the US is losing ground to China's new found success?
RT's Kristine Frazao is joined by Andrew Gavin Marshall from the Centre for Research on Globalization and Michael Hudson, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri.
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
U.S. Wars to Continue Until Economy Goes Bust / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
Chris Hedges writes:American wars will continue until the country's giant corporations, which pay the politicians in Washington's corridors of power, become financially unsustainable, says senior fellow at the Nation Institute, Chris Hedges.
Hedges told Press TV's U.S. Desk in a Wednesday interview that the economy will fail "because we're paying for it through debt, through borrowing."
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Libertarian Delusion That "Real" Free Trade Would Work / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
In the angry responses to my recent blog post, "Libertarianism, the new Anti-Americanism," one argument came up again and again:
"The problems with free trade that we see today are not the result of true free trade; they are the result of the bastardized version inflicted on us by treaties like NAFTA and the proposed Korea free trade agreement, and if only we had true, authentic free trade, all these problems would go away."
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Friday, January 21, 2011
Net Worth of the 25 Richest People in Congress and the White House / Politics / US Politics
By: Chris_Kitze
To paraphrase author Jim Hightower, our political system doesn't need a third party. It needs a SECOND party.
Every time you encounter someone bashing Conservatives or Liberals, think back on this chart (which is only the tip of the iceberg). Our members of Congress all belong to the same party: the party of the rich and elite.
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Friday, January 21, 2011
U.S. Breaking China Legally / Politics / US Politics
By: Walter_Brasch
Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States this past week has been met by both praise and political posturing. Hu, an intellectual with a strong sense of culture, hopes he is leading what he wishes to be "a Harmonious Society" with peaceful development. To that end, Hu said his government was prepared to “engage in dialogue and exchanges with the United States on the basis of mutual respect and the principle of noninterference in each other's internal affairs” on human rights questions. Although it seems as if Hu is saying that he wants each nation to continue to conduct its business without interference, he also acknowledged that “A lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights."Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, January 21, 2011
Irish Government Collapses, Election March 11; How To Negotiate Debt Bond Market Haircuts / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
In a fitting tribute to a disgraceful performance by Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in which Cowen crammed losses of Irish banks down the throats of taxpayers, his government has at long last collapsed. Six cabinet members (40%) resigned representing justice, health, trade and enterprise, defense and transport. Earlier in the week his foreign minister resigned making the total six.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Fourth American Revolution / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
The next Fourth Turning is due to begin shortly after the new millennium, midway through the Oh-Oh decade. Around the year 2005, a sudden spark will catalyze a Crisis mood. Remnants of the old social order will disintegrate. Political and economic trust will implode. Real hardship will beset the land, with severe distress that could involve questions of class, race, nation and empire. The very survival of the nation will feel at stake. Sometime before the year 2025, America will pass through a great gate in history, commensurate with the American Revolution, Civil War, and twin emergencies of the Great Depression and World War II. - The Fourth Turning - Strauss & Howe -1997Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Europe Debt Defaults, Austerity, and Death of the “Social Europe” Model / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Michael_Hudson
Prof Michael Hudson and Prof. Jeffrey Sommers writes: A spectre is haunting Europe: the illusion that Latvia’s financial and fiscal austerity is a model for other countries to emulate. Bankers and the financial press are asking governments from Greece to Ireland and now Spain as well: “Why can’t you be like Latvia and sacrifice your economy to pay the debts that you ran up during the financial bubble?” The answer is, they can’t – without an economic, demographic and political collapse that will only make matters worse.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Libertarianism, the New Anti-Americanism / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
Sometimes the bad guys do us all a big favor, by openly stating what they stand for after spending years denying it. I recently received exactly this sort of favor from an economist, one Don Boudreaux, at the renowned libertarian Cato Institute, a hotbed of free-trade thinking. He wrote:
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Greenspan Confirms the Fed's Highly Leveraged Fix / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
On January 7, 2011, Kelly Evans of the Wall Street Journal interviewed former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He rooted for the stock market.
Greenspan's circular logic was unenlightening: "Stocks are cheap if earnings are to continue higher." Taken as a whole, this does not mean much, akin to prophesizing: "The Red Sox will win if they score more runs than the Tigers." Greenspan's successful impoverishment of the American people often hinged on the suppression of his dependent clauses: "Stocks are cheap," was all we needed to know.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hu’s On First: It Is China-US Summit Time / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
On the eve of the Chinese President’s visit to the United States, and the intense speculation about his intentions—and ours—I found myself a dark room at the Anthology Film Archive in the East Village watching a spectacular documentary by Chinese filmmaker Zhao Liang called Petition.
It's about the tens of thousands of people with grievances who seek redress in China at offices ostensibly set up to resolve their problems.
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Bourgeoisie's Favorite Forms of Socialism / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
The mindset of the middle class is off-putting — to the heterodox, to the sovereign, and to the individualist. The mindset is a dull recital on the virtues of moderation and proscription: don't stay up too late; don't drink too much; don't exercise too hard; don't risk too much; don't challenge authority; don't question orthodoxy. By all means exist, just do so on an even, bovine keel.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Why Tunisia Changed the World / Politics / Middle East
By: Shamus_Cooke
Tunisia woke up the Middle East with a thundering yawn. After years of domination by western-backed tyrants, the working people of the Arab world are rising from slumber. Once fully awake and aware of their surroundings, they'll shake off the influence of the western nations with a collective flick of the wrist.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
China's Military Comes Into Its Own / Politics / China
By: STRATFOR
Chinese President Hu Jintao is visiting the United States, perhaps his last state visit as president before China begins its generational leadership transition in 2012. Hu’s visit is being shaped by the ongoing China-U.S. economic dialogue, by concerns surrounding stability on the Korean Peninsula and by rising attention to Chinese defense activity in recent months. For example, China carried out the first reported test flight of its fifth-generation combat fighter prototype, dubbed the J-20, during U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ visit to China the previous week.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
America's Arab Puppet Dictatorship Regimes Are Going Down / Politics / Middle East
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: Oops! Something has gone terribly wrong with Washington’s plans for regime change in the Mideast. Wasn’t there supposed to be a US and British engineered revolution against Iran’s mullahs, followed by installation of a cooperative pro-western government and a bonanza for western oil companies?
The revolution came, all right, but in the wrong place. The explosion of popular fury in Tunisia that ousted its dictator of 23-years is sending shock waves across the Arab world and has alarm bells ringing in Washington.
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Dallas Fed President Attacks Ron Paul / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Those lawmakers who advocate "Ending the Fed" might better turn their considerable talents toward ending the fiscal debacle that has for too long run amuck within their own house. The Fed does not create government debt; fiscal authorities do. ~ Richard Fisher (Jan. 12, 2011)
When the president of any regional Federal Reserve Bank stands in front of a bunch of Harvard University graduates to tell them about how the economic mess is not really the FED's fault, you know what's coming. It came.
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Monday, January 17, 2011
Food Riots 2011 / Politics / Food Crisis
By: Chris_Kitze
The stunningly violent food riots in Tunisia and Algeria show just how quickly things can change. Just a few months ago, these two northern Africa nations were considered to be very stable, very peaceful and without any major problems. But now protesters are openly squaring off with police in the streets. Many of the protesters are throwing "fire bombs" or are shooting fireworks at the authorities, and the police are responding with a tremendous amount of violence themselves.