Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Russia Flexes Its Muscles, War for Caspian Sea Inevitable? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Pravda
The countries of the Caspian region are trying to find a solution to a long-standing dispute about the Caspian Sea. There is something to argue about indeed: sturgeons, crude and natural gas deposits, as well as the transportation of oil and gas. The leaders of Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan gathered in Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan) to discuss the problem in detail.
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Saturday, November 20, 2010
Bernanke's Crybaby Blabber Speech at ECB Conference / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Whitney
Say what you will about Alan Greenspan, he was never a whiner. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about present Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke's speech on Friday at a conference for the European Central Bank (ECB) was so full of crybaby blabber that attendees must have thought they'd ducked into a Frankfort daycare center by mistake. What an embarrassment! For nearly an hour, Bernanke went on and on about how mean China is and how they manipulate their currency to gain competitive advantage. It was surreal; like listening to a serial arsonist complain about his wife smoking in bed.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Capitalism Destroys Ireland's Workers Republic / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Submissions
James Connolly, the Irish socialist and trade union leader shot by the British in May 1916 for his part in the Easter Rising, was convinced, early in the last century, that capitalism simply could not develop fully in Ireland.
From that assessment he argued that only a Workers’ Republic could really free Ireland from foreign domination. In any case, he didn’t want capitalism to develop — didn’t want the Irish bourgeoisie to climb on the backs of the working people of Ireland.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Perhaps Bernanke And Geithner Should Try Acting? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Richard_J_Greene
When Ronald Reagan became President of the United States some people were surprised that an actor could reach such a high level of government service. Do you think maybe it could work in reverse and that these two in government "service", Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner, could make it in the acting business? They certainly have had some on the job training and I guess you could say their ongoing screen tests have passed with flying colors.
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Friday, November 19, 2010
From One Corrupt Congressman to Another / Politics / US Politics
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
"A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain." -William James
The House Ethics Committee has just voted to confirm there is "clear and convincing" evidence that Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has violated at least eleven different Congressional ethics rules. His violations include failing to pay taxes on his property in the Dominican Republic, illegally transforming a rent-controlled residential apartment into a campaign office and using his status as head of the Ways and Means Committee to secure funds for his public policy center.
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Friday, November 19, 2010
Misplaced Values Distorted Our Financial System / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Barry_Elias
Last week, I discussed how modern economists were insufficient in modeling real world financial decision-making.
My son, a junior at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, recalls our evening time spent working with his “math folder” when he was a young child, no more than three.
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Friday, November 19, 2010
Europe’s Dirty Secret, Financial Elite Looting Public Treasuries / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Barry_Grey
In a revealing admission concerning the relationship between capitalist governments and international financial interests, the Financial Times on Tuesday wrote of “Europe’s dirty secret.”
The newspaper editorialized against the plan of the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund to loan Ireland tens of billions of euros in order to guarantee in full the investments of international bankers and bondholders in the country’s failing banking system.
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Friday, November 19, 2010
America Surrenders, The Collective Will is Broken / Politics / US Politics
By: Barry_M_Ferguson
I always wondered what it would feel like. A collective will is broken. A great people are humbled. Concessions are made. The symbolic white flag is raised. Surrender is offered. Control is conceded. Power is transferred. A new era begins. ‘America’ surrenders. It is not a good feeling.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The American Way of Life, As Things Fell Apart, Nobody Paid Much Attention / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
The American way of life – which is now virtually synonymous with suburbia – can run only on reliable supplies of dependably cheap oil and gas. Even mild to moderate deviations in either price or supply will crush our economy and make the logistics of daily life impossible. – Jim Kunstler - The Long Emergency
Friday, November 19, 2010
Don't Fly Until the TSA is Abolished / Politics / US Politics
By: Lewrockwell
Becky Akers writes: Wow, but the fur – and clothing, and screeners’ hands – are flying at airports, aren’t they? Yee haw! Christmas came early this year for those of us who hate the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who have prayed for nine long years that the good Lord would smite it from the face of the earth, who can’t wait to take to the skies again once LaWanda and her porno-scanners roast in Hell.
Friday, November 19, 2010
NATO Encircling Russia, Targeting China as Part of U.S. Grand Strategy / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Global_Research
Diana Johnstone writes: On November 19 and 20, NATO leaders meet in Lisbon for what is billed as a summit on “NATO’s Strategic Concept”. Among topics of discussion will be an array of scary “threats”, from cyberwar to climate change, as well as nice protective things like nuclear weapons and a high tech Maginot Line boondoggle supposed to stop enemy missiles in mid-air. The NATO leaders will be unable to avoid talking about the war in Afghanistan, that endless crusade that unites the civilized world against the elusive Old Man of the Mountain, Hassan i Sabah, eleventh century chief of the Assassins in his latest reincarnation as Osama bin Laden. There will no doubt be much talk of “our shared values”.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Ron Paul Decries TSA Abuses Enough is Enough! / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Congressman Ron Paul decries TSA abuses on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Friday, November 19, 2010
The Tea Party Moron Complex, Anti-intellectualism its Rallying Cry / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
Matt Taibbi writes: If American politics made any sense at all, we wouldn’t have two giant political parties of roughly equal size perpetually fighting over the same 5–10 percent swatch of undecided voters, blues versus reds. Instead, the parties should be broken down into haves and have-nots -- a couple of obnoxious bankers on the Upper East Side running for office against 280 million pissed-off credit card and mortgage customers.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Ireland's Economic Suicide Pact with the E.U. / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Mike_Whitney
Ireland could be the next Lehman Brothers. That's what has the markets worried. If Irish leaders refuse to accept a bailout from the EU's new European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), then bondholders will be forced to take haircuts on their investments which will leave banks in Germany and France short of capital. Bonds yields will rise sharply slowing activity in the credit markets. An Irish default will trigger hundreds of billions of dollars in credit default swaps (CDS), which will push weaker counterparties into bankruptcy and domino through the financial system. Contagion will spread to Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy widening bond yields and forcing governments to increase their borrowing at the ECB. Business activity will sputter, unemployment will rise, and growth will shrink. It will be a second financial meltdown.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Financial End Times, Ruling on the Behalf of Wall Streets Super Rich / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_Hudson
Now that President Obama is almost celebrating his bipartisan willingness to renew the tax cuts for the super-rich enacted under George Bush ten years ago, it is time for Democrats to ask themselves how strongly they are willing to oppose an administration that looks like Bush-Cheney III. Is this what they expected by Mr. Obama’s promise to rise above partisan politics – by ruling on behalf of Wall Street, now that it is the major campaign backer of both parties?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Quantitative Easing is Sinking the Fed's Status / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
Uh oh, Mr. Bernanke, the natives are getting restless. Now it's not just Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, or foreign central bankers, but more and more American economists who are starting to openly challenge the second round of "quantitative easing."
It's tough to rule the world, and sometimes the benighted masses get uppity. The first surprising pushback came in the summer of 2009, during the healthcare "town hall" meetings, which scared many legislators back to DC. More recently, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials seemed unprepared for the outrage over invasive pat downs and body scans.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Russia Loses China Arms Race / Politics / Russia
By: Pravda
Russia is losing the Chinese arms market. An official spokesman for Russia's defense export giant Rosoboronexport, Sergey Kornev, stated at Airshow China 2010 that the amount of orders between Russia and China had dropped because the Chinese market had been saturated with arms. It particularly goes about the aviation technology. Russia, the official stated, has delivered 280 Su fighters to China during the recent years.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Ireland Bailout Imminent, Press Euro-zone Breakup Speculation, Germany Leaving the Euro? / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Irish politicians during the past week have been playing the game of stating that Ireland does not want an E.U. / Euro-zone bailout (loan), not because Ireland can survive without a bailout but rather Ireland is trying to ensure that the strings attached to the inevitable bailout will not wreck the Irish economy for the next decade, especially as the likes of Germany (primary bailout funder) wants Ireland to raise its highly competitive 12% Corporation Tax that entices businesses across the E.U. to relocate to Ireland. Which I am sure that the Irish Government will intensely resist giving up, which therefore acts as a measure against which to evaluate the degree to which the Irish negotiators have been successful in gaining the bailout at a too high price for Ireland.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
How Many Grad Students Do We Need? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Daniel_Coleman
The recent fad of text-to-speech videos has placed its crosshairs on the unfortunate case of many young Americans who — facing a much higher unemployment rate than the nation as a whole — have turned to graduate school in record numbers. They typically do so to improve their job prospects, fulfill their intellectual fantasies, or simply escape the harsh reality of a depressed economy for another few years. It is clear that this trend cannot end happily for a large number of these students.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
U.S. $60 Billion Saudi Arms Sale Into the Arms of King Abdullah / Politics / Middle East
By: MISES
Congress was recently notified by the US administration that it would be selling weapons to Saudi Arabia in one of the largest arms sales in history. The $60 billion deal includes advanced military aircraft, new helicopters, and other weapons such as missiles and bombs.