Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
From Bush to Obama - America's Fiscal Collapse / Politics / US Debt
By: Michel_Chossudovsky
What has been implemented under Obama is strong economic medicine with a “human face”. “Promise amid peril”. The stated priorities of the Obama economic package are health, education, renewable energy, investment in infrastructure and transportation. “Quality education” is at the forefront. Obama has also promised to “make health care more affordable and accessible” for every American.
At first sight, the budget proposal had all the appearances of an expansionary program, a demand-oriented “Second New Deal” geared towards creating employment, rebuilding shattered social programs and reviving the real economy.
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Sunday, December 19, 2010
Another Record Breaking Winter, What Happened to Global Warming? / Politics / Climate Change
By: Patrick_Henningsen
Britain and Europe have been hit hard for the third straight record-breaking winter season. Labeled by experts as the coldest winter in 100 years and set to blow well into 2011, it is already raising some very interesting questions about the new ideological split we are witnessing throughout society in the much celebrated green debate.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
In Third World America, You Can't Buy a Ream of Paper on Minimum Wage / Politics / US Politics
By: Janet_Tavakoli
In 2010, every one of my work-related conversations turned to personal wealth management. The money-class wants to preserve and increase their considerable wealth, and they are terrified of losing it. Elsewhere in America, those that don't have money are terrified of the rising cost of necessities like food and energy not captured in the consumer price index calculation.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Legal Fiction of Corporate Income and the Coming U.S. Tax Reorganization in 2012 / Politics / Taxes
By: David_Knox_Barker
Markets and pundits are celebrating the great tax deal “compromise” between the Obama Administration and the Republicans. A tax deal pitched as a compromise between the two-party duopoly that has been selling the United States into debt slavery for decades is not likely in the best interest of the country, or your bank account. The deal strikes me as a bit like a two-year-old eating homemade ice cream for the first time, believing it is the greatest possible pleasure on earth, with no earthly idea of how it stacks up against a honeymoon.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Shape of the World in 2020 / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Global_Intel_Report
None can foretell the future, and yet the shape of what we face can be shrewdly estimated with enough attention to historical trends; with broad contextual understanding; and with sufficient insight into the character of leaders, their societies, and the structures which define their basis. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, December 17, 2010
Why the U.S. Gigantic Intelligence Apparatus Is a Mega Fraud / Politics / Government Spending
By: Robert_Higgs
On July 19, 2010, the Washington Post published the first of three large reports by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin on the dimensions of the gigantic US apparatus of "intelligence" activities being undertaken to combat terrorist acts against the United States, such as the 9/11 attacks. To say that this activity amounts to mobilizing every police officer in the country to stop street fights in Camden only begins to suggest its almost-unbelievable disproportion to the alleged threat.
Friday, December 17, 2010
U.S. China Trade Dispute Resolution Progress, but Currency Roadblock Remains / Politics / Protectionism
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes:
The United States and China this week wrapped up a two-day meeting on trade that was aimed at cooling rising tensions between the two nations. Still, despite the progress, currency valuations and trade tariffs will continue to be a fixture of both countries' foreign policies.
Friday, December 17, 2010
European Nanny State Blames Germany for Debt Crisis / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
In Europe, a big finger-pointing escapade is is full swing. Those looking for scapegoats for what ails the Eurozone have found a convenient target in German Chancellor Angela Merkel for refusing to cooperate in resolving the European sovereign debt crisis. Merkel is accused of anything and everything including being "extraordinarily lazy" as well as for "taking Germany to the brink".
Thursday, December 16, 2010
U.S. Economic Austerity May Result in Unrest on America's Streets / Politics / Economic Austerity
By: Danny_Schechter
William Shakespeare put a key question this way; “To Be Or Not To Be?” Today’s economists and policy makers pose a different choice: to spend or not to spend.
Governments throughout the west are in a panic as debt mounts and economies contract.
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wikileaks Defenders Promise More Cyber Attacks / Politics / UK Politics
By: Chris_Kitze
BARRACUDA writes: A pro-WikiLeaks hacker has told Sky News an internet insurgent group will keep attacking those companies who target the whistleblowing website.
Speaking on camera for the first time, the cyber-insurgent "Bass", from the group Anonymous, revealed details of how they operate and their growing size.
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mexico and the Cartel Wars / Politics / Mexico
By: STRATFOR
In our 2010 annual report on Mexico’s drug cartels, we assess the most significant developments of the past year and provide an updated description of the dynamics among the country’s powerful drug-trafficking organizations, along with an account of the government’s effort to combat the cartels and a forecast of the battle in 2011. The annual cartel report is a product of the coverage STRATFOR maintains on a weekly basis through our Mexico Security Memo as well as other analyses we produce throughout the year. In response to customer requests for more and deeper coverage of Mexico, STRATFOR will also introduce a new product in 2011 designed to provide an enhanced level of reporting and analysis.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
EU Agrees to Disagree on Debt Crisis until 2013 Whilst Greece Smoldwers in Riots and Firebombs / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Pretty speeches regarding solidarity will not solve the European debt crisis. Yet, as Greece smolders in riots and firebombs over various austerity measures, pretty speeches, untenable pledges regarding haircuts, and continual bickering remain the only action items of note coming from Europe.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Ron Paul Terrifies Ben Bernanke / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
I have good news and bad news for Ben Bernanke.
First, the good news.
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Wednesday, December 15, 2010
What if Wikileaks is PSYOP? / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
Mr. F. William Engdahl has contributed a controversial opinion about the Wikileaks phenomena and it deserves reading and remembering [1]. No one can prove or disprove the legitimacy of any leaked document since its original author is undisclosed. Furthermore, as it now stands, the actual "source" (person) behind a document can no longer uphold or refute his or her own leaked words publicly without the risk of facing charges by Washington and the U.S. Military. Equally disturbing is the world media - self-proclaimed champions of high journalistic standards and integrity. The world media never asked the critical question: Are these cables authentic?
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The IMF and the ECB on Perfecting Stupidity / Politics / Global Financial System
By: Richard_Daughty
This week's winner of the coveted Mogambo Bluster And Incompetence Award (MBAIA) goes to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
I will skip the part where I heap disdain on the IMF and say rude things like how I think that the IMF is a worthless bunch of incompetent, self-serving, socialist scumbags.
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The US Economy is A Giant Ponzi Scheme, Prosecuting Wall Street Fraud / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Washingtons_Blog
Bill Gross, Nouriel Roubini, Laurence Kotlikoff, Steve Keen, Michel Chossudovsky and the Wall Street Journal all say that the U.S. economy is a giant Ponzi scheme. Virtually all independent economists and financial experts say that rampant fraud was largely responsible for the financial crisis. See this.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
What the State Fears Most: Information / Politics / US Politics
By: J_M_Finegold_Catalan
History tells a cyclical story of man versus state: man persistently creating new ideas and the state tirelessly laboring to destroy them. Bureaucracy has never been a friend to the ideas that undermine its artificial legitimacy.
All too often, history provides us with examples of state-enforced book burnings and other forms of extreme censorship. Many of us today take our so-called freedom of speech for granted, and few realize just how pervasive government censorship remains. It is true that not many of us living today in the industrially advanced world have experienced the worst kinds of censorship[1] — few have memories, for example, of the Nazi book burnings that took place throughout the 1930s, which claimed over 18,000 works.
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Taking Stock of WikiLeaks / Politics / US Politics
By: STRATFOR
Julian Assange has declared that geopolitics will be separated into pre-“Cablegate” and post-“Cablegate” eras. That was a bold claim. However, given the intense interest that the leaks produced, it is a claim that ought to be carefully considered. Several weeks have passed since the first of the diplomatic cables were released, and it is time now to address the following questions: First, how significant were the leaks? Second, how could they have happened? Third, was their release a crime? Fourth, what were their consequences? Finally, and most important, is the WikiLeaks premise that releasing government secrets is a healthy and appropriate act a tenable position?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Lies, The New Foundation of the Financial System / Politics / US Politics
By: Bill_Bonner
Lies, lies, lies…
The days are dwindling down fast now. There are only a precious few left in 2010. The Dow rose 40 points on Friday. Gold fell off $7.
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Monday, December 13, 2010
Ron Paul, Audit the Fed in 2011 / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Since the announcement last week that I will chair the congressional subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve, the media response has been overwhelming. The groundswell of opposition to Fed actions among ordinary citizens is reflected not only in the rhetoric coming out of Capitol Hill, but also in the tremendous interest shown by the financial press. The demand for transparency is growing, whether the political and financial establishment likes it or not. The Fed is losing its vaunted status as an institution that somehow is above politics and public scrutiny. Fed transparency will be the cornerstone of my efforts as subcommittee chairman.
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