Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Tuesday, November 30, 2010
WikiLeaks, Major U.S. Bank Flagrant Violations, Gold and Silver / Politics / US Politics
I’ve always occupied the emotional frequencies ranging between disgusted and outraged when it comes to WikiLeaks. Regardless of your stance on governments and sovereign interference, putting the lives of human beings at risk by exposing their participation in intelligence programs is aiding and abetting in murder. The psychotic fundamentalists that perpetuate the bulk of the violent crimes on its own and foreign citizens need not be encouraged by the provision of a list of fresh targets by idealistic or simply amoral grandstanders desperate for attention.
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wikileaks: Will the Truth Make Us Free? / Politics / US Politics
Ron Holland writes: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" ~ John 8:32
Although these leaks are a first step toward controlling Washington foreign policy, they do show how incremental actions providing open information can counter the Anglo-American foreign and domestic policies which have brought the world right to the edge of another Middle East war.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Don't Raise the U.S. Debt Ceiling! / Politics / US Debt
As of November 7th, the total U.S. public debt outstanding reached an astonishing $13.7 trillion. This means that although Congress just raised the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion back in February, the new Congress will face another debt ceiling vote almost immediately next year. Otherwise, the Treasury will not be able to continue issuing debt to fund government operations.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
U.S. Foreign Policy Conspiracies Exposed by Wikileaks / Politics / US Politics
David Walsh writes: The batch of 250,000 US classified documents released by WikiLeaks to several news outlets, some of whose content was made public Sunday, sheds new light on the sordid nature of American imperialist intrigue and conspiracy around the globe.
The WSWS will analyze the documents more thoroughly in a subsequent article, but “highlights” published by the Guardian and the New York Timesare revealing.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Wikileaks: Secret US Embassy Cables / Politics / GeoPolitics
Wikileaks began on Sunday November 28th publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
U.S. Empire Built on a Foundation of Lies / Politics / US Politics
“Every single empire, in its official discourse, has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort.” – Edward SaidRead full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Stench of US Economic Decay Grows Stronger / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
On Thanksgiving eve the English language China Daily and People’s Daily Online reported that Russia and China have concluded an agreement to abandon the use of the US dollar in their bilateral trade and to use their own currencies in its place. The Russians and Chinese said that they had taken this step in order to insulate their economies from the risks that have undermined their confidence in the US dollar as world reserve currency.
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wikileaks Revelations Show U.S. and its Allies Covertly Discussing Military Attacks and Actions Against Iran / Politics / US Politics
The latest massive Wikileaks revelations released Sunday show how the US and its allies have been covertly discussing military attacks and covert actions against Iran. If history is any judge, this doesn’t always work out the way Washington wants as Danny Schechter recounts in this report on a recent visit to the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, known locally then as a “spy nest.”
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wikileaks Secrets Revealed, Attack Iran Now, Pakistan Nuclear fears, Royal Family Member Inappropriate Behaviour / Politics / GeoPolitics
Wikileaks aims to publish 250,000 secret diplomatic cables between the U.S. State Department and its Embassies, in advance of the full release on its website, Wikileaks has made available the cables to the mainstream press which has been publishing select extracts that represent the tip of the iceberg to emerge over the coming weeks:
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
Ukraine Falls Into IMF's Trap / Politics / Eastern Europe
Small businessmen protest against the new Tax Code in Ukraine. There are many flaws in the document indeed, but it was passed in a rush because Ukraine had to meet the requirements of the IMF. At present moment, the IMF is a savior for Ukraine - economic catastrophe is inevitable otherwise.
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Irish "get it" / Politics / Economic Austerity
The people of Ireland "get it". The people of Greece, Spain, and Portugal "get it". It's the American who doesn't. What do they "get"? They realize the austerities imposed upon them are to shield, protect and defend the profits of the bankers, the traders, the market speculators, hedge funds, bond holders and entire investment class who will suffer little if at all from their market loses - the people will bear their loses.
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Can U.S. Afford Political Gridlock Already? / Politics / US Politics
With the near collapse of the financial system in 2008, the Bush Administration, with the Republican party in control of both houses of Congress, took aggressive, unprecedented action. The government was not grid-locked. Decisive action was possible and was taken.
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Friday, November 26, 2010
While North And South Korea Exchange Artillery, China and Russia Fire A Warning Shot Against The Bernanke Bow / Politics / US Dollar
When time permits I like to relax with a good mystery story. One of my favorite masters of the genre is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Shirlock Holmes. A few days ago a story appeared on the front page of China Daily on 11-23-10, that is worthy in emulating the masters great classic: “The Dog That Did Not Bark.”
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Euro Fatally Wounded by Serial Sovereign Debt Bailouts / Politics / Euro
I have been warning since 2007 that European banks were in at least as bad a shape as US banks. Recent events in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain should make it clear to even the Euro bulls just how severe the stress on the Euro is.
One would think this would have caused the dollar-centric hyperinflationists and those who thought the Euro would be the world's next reserve currency to go into hiding, but instead several hyperinflation proponents have attracted followings by calling for hyperinflation in the US by the end 2011. One even offered seminars on how to deal with it.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Ellen Brown endorses Bernanke and QE2 / Politics / Quantitative Easing
In my November 22 article announcing Ellen Brown's defection to the Federal Reserve, I wrote this:
If she tries to defend herself by saying, "This is consistent with what I have always said," then she is dumber than dirt, or else she thinks her followers are dumber than dirt.
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving, A Tale of Two Colonies / Politics / US Politics
Gary M. Galles writes: At Thanksgiving, Americans recall their blessings around bountiful meals, with imagery going back to the Pilgrims, especially Plymouth Colony's 1623 Thanksgiving. But little attention is paid to what allows that bounty to be created — capitalism — though Jamestown and Plymouth both illustrate that lesson.
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
The TSA's False Tradeoff / Politics / Gold and Silver 2010
The national furor over the TSA's new procedures — culminating in yesterday's "Opt Out Day" — has elicited the typical response from the bureaucracy and its apologists. Why, these invasive scans and "enhanced pat-downs" are only for your good, in order to ensure safe flying. You don't want another attack, do you?
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Memo to Ireland: "Tell the EU and the IMF to 'Shove It'" / Politics / Economic Austerity
Imagine that Yasser Arafat had succeeded in ending Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Now imagine that 10 or 15 years later, new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to hand over control of his country's budget to the IMF so his people's future would be controlled by outsiders. Do you think Palestinians would praise Abbas as a patriot or denounce him as a traitor?
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Stench of the Police State at U.S. Airports / Politics / US Politics
Patrick Martin and Joe Kishore write: As tens of millions of Americans travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend, they will come face to face with the new regime instituted by the federal Transportation Security Administration. More than 70 major airports have installed full-body scanners, where randomly selected passengers are compelled to undergo the electronic equivalent of a strip search. Travelers who decline that scan will be subjected instead to an extremely invasive body search that includes an open-palm patdown of the genital area.
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Do You Really Want To Be a Republican or a Democrat? / Politics / US Politics
My main purpose is this. I want to suggest how most of us can get closer to our heart’s political and social desire. The exceptions are those immoral persons who insist on lording it over other people against their wills, i.e., the authoritarians of any stripe.
I present an imaginary scenario. It is not meant to be a detailed photograph of a new reality. It is to suggest the concept to you as a possible new reality. I am following in the footsteps of Paul Emile de Puydt.
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