Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Western Civilization Lies Dying / Politics / Social Issues
By: John_Kozy
The Western commercial system exists to extract more from consumers than it supplies in products and services. Its goal is profit and has never been to improve the human condition but to exploit it. When governments institutionalize this system, they place their nations on suicidal paths, because as Jefferson recognized, "Merchants have no country." It is not terrorism that threatens the security of the Western World, it is the Western World's commercial system.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Can Politicians Help Us? / Politics / Government Intervention
By: Kel_Kelly
The word "politician" usually comes with a negative connotation. It often brings to mind thieving, lying, corruption, and malfeasance. Nonetheless, most people seem to look to politicians to manage their world for them, to protect them, and to make their lives better. In every instance of local or national elections, citizens are deeply focused on choosing the politician they think will do the best for their community or nation. They seek politicians with experience, knowledge, insights, and ideas. They seek a leader.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Free National Health Services, Time is Price / Politics / NHS
By: MISES
Predrag Rajsic writes: Canadian emergency rooms are infamous for their long wait times.[1] A recent study has shown that in most of them the average wait time exceeds 6 hours and sometimes reaches up to 23 hours. While some call for action in reducing these extremely high figures by increasing the supply of healthcare services, others try to present the situation as, in principle, an unavoidable fact of life.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
U.S.-China Trade Tensions Evident in Futile House Currency Bill / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes:
The U.S. House of Representatives today (Wednesday) will vote on legislation that would let the U.S. government take punitive actions against countries that undervalue their currencies.
The bill isn't likely to have any tangible impact on U.S. policy, but it's yet another manifestation of the growing friction between the world's two greatest economic powers.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The US Does Not Own Or Control Its Money System / Politics / Central Banks
By: Graham_Summers
What is money?
Most of our adult lives are devoted to making this stuff. Next to food, water, and sleep it’s the #1 concern for most human beings in the US. Nearly 80% of divorced couples cite financial difficulties as a reason for the divorce. And the American Psychological Association reports that 73% of Americans cite money as a source of significant stress.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Don’t Fear a Trade War With China / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
The House Ways and Means Committee has just approved a bill that would attempt, albeit modestly, to crack down on Chinese currency manipulation, a key cause of America’s trade deficit. The Ryan-Murphy currency bill (HR 2378) would allow the Commerce Department to treat currency manipulation as an illegal subsidy for the purpose of calculating countervailing duties intended as retaliation. This bill has to be passed by the full House of Representatives and then the Senate before becoming effective, but already the prophets of doom are squealing about the dangers of starting a trade war with China. They are wrong.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Cost of Fed Incompetence / Politics / Central Banks
By: Richard_Daughty
I have grown old yelling at my neighbors and family members to buy gold, silver and oil, to little-to-no avail, and I can see that they are getting bored with my same old million reasons why they should, and how their deliberate inaction only proves their stupidity, which I never tire of pointing out, so they can't say that they "didn't know" that they were stupid.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
NATO Expands Afghan War Into Pakistan / Politics / Pakistan
By: Rick_Rozoff
On October 7 the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization military allies will begin the tenth year of their war in Afghanistan, over 3,000 miles from NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
The following month midterm elections will be held in the U.S. and NATO will hold a two-day summit in Portugal. The American administration is eager to achieve, or appear to have achieved, a foreign policy triumph in an effort to retain Democratic Party control of the Congress and NATO something to show for the longest and largest military mission in its 61 years of existence.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Pakistan and the U.S. Exit From Afghanistan / Politics / Pakistan
By: STRATFOR
Bob Woodward has released another book, this one on the debate over Afghanistan strategy in the Obama administration. As all his books do, the book has riveted Washington. It reveals that intense debate occurred over what course to take, that the president sought alternative strategies and that compromises were reached. But while knowing the details of these things is interesting, what would have been shocking is if they hadn’t taken place.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Billionaires Unite! Against Public Education and Teachers / Politics / US Politics
By: Shamus_Cooke
In less than a week two billionaires have joined the anti-teacher "Billionaires Club": a group of ultra-wealthy individuals hell-bent on destroying public education and teachers’ unions. The newest members of the club are Oprah Winfrey and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg.
Monday, September 27, 2010
U.S. Healthcare Reform: A Huge Misdiagnosis / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
This week marked six months since Congress passed the healthcare reform bill in what has become all-too-typical legislative chicanery. Those in power crafted a mammoth piece of legislation and rammed it through Congress under a dire sense of emergency. Insisting on time enough to read the bill was dismissed as dangerous and crazy in a time of crisis. We were told that if we really wanted to see what was in the bill, we would have to pass it first. I cannot imagine the founding fathers intended for Congress to legislate in this manner. I would think if a Member is not absolutely certain the entire legislation meets Constitutional muster, the default vote should be "no" in accordance with our oath of office.
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Iran's Option In Case Of Attack On Its Nuclear Facilities / Politics / Iran
By: Global_Intel_Report
INCIDENT: Sources in the Gulf region report that Iran is preparing for a possible attack by Israel and/or the United States on one or more of its nuclear production units by stockpiling arms and munitions with its proxy militias in Kuwait and Bahrain. This comes as Bahrain arrests 23 opposition leaders accused of terrorism offences and hints that Iran is behind an alleged plot to overthrow the government.
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Oliver Stone's New Wall Street Film Money Never Sleeps is Asleep / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Danny_Schechter
The lead headline in the New York Times is “EXTENSIVE FRAUD APPEARS TO MAR AFGHAN ELECTION.” The line below, “A BLOW TO CREDIBILITY,” as if anyone who follows Afghanistan, a country known for blatant and notorious corruption was at all surprised by this latest “blow.”
Today’s “blow” followed an earlier “blow” a few weeks back with the disclosure of the crash of the Kabul Bank with $300 billion still unaccounted for.
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Russia to Spend Trillions on New Arms Race / Politics / Russia
By: Pravda
In the next ten years, Russia will spend up to 22.5 trillion rubles on armaments. It was planned that the state program will not exceed 13 trillion rubles. However, the Defense Ministry considered that these funds are insufficient. The new program is designed to bring the share of new technology, adopted in the RF, to 70-80%. Now the number is approximately 10%.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
SEC Denies China's Dagong of Market Entry After U.S. Debt Downgrade / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Dian_L_Chu
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday denied the application by China's largest credit rating firm--Dagone Global Credit Rating Co.--to become a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) in the U.S.
The SEC cited concern regarding cross boarder supervision since “It does not appear possible at this time for Dagong to comply with the record keeping, production, and examination requirements of the federal securities laws."
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Obama and Congressional Democrats Trying to Blackmail China / Politics / US Politics
By: Professor_Emeritus
President Obama has just issued a blackmail to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China: "You immediately revalue the yuan or else..." According to an article of David E. Senger in The New York Times dated September 23, 2010, the two leaders met at the United Nations in New York and spent most of their two-hour session in a spare conference room, usually used by members of the Security Council, to discuss the currency issue. The session ended by Obama's issuing an ultimatum that is bound to be followed by trade war. Surely, this is a most unseemly use to which the sacred grounds of the Security Council, dedicated as it is to the maintenance of peace and prevention of war, have ever been put.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Richest People in America, The Forbes 400 List 2010 / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Tom Eley writes: While 2010 has seen the vast majority of the US population suffer the consequences of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression—mass joblessness, wage cutting, plummeting home prices, record foreclosures, and spending cuts by near-bankrupt states and cities—for the handful of plutocrats who control the nation’s wealth it has been a very good year indeed.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
Red Ed Miliband New Leader of the Labour Party / Politics / UK Politics
By: Pravda
Ed Miliband, 41, is the new leader of Britain's Labour Party, beating his brother, former Foreign Secretary David, in the final round of voting, having wooed the Left, promising to unite Labour after years of covert division between Blairites and Brownists, promising tax rises over public spending cuts and earning the label "Ed Red".
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Saturday, September 25, 2010
India's Commonwealth Games Fiasco, Shaky Foundations of a Cheap Labour Economy / Politics / India
By: Finian_Cunningham
As the Commonwealth Games open in Delhi, India, the controversy over sub-standard accommodation and facilities for the participating nations continues to rage.
Several weeks ago, visiting country delegates voiced concern over the shambolic state of the newly built facilities. Now, as the games open, the event promises to turn into an embarrassing fiasco for the Indian government, with glaring publicity on what is still being widely reported as filthy and shoddy conditions. Media reports say that cleaners and labourers are “working through the night” in order to salvage conditions at the so-called Games Village, where more than 7,000 athletes from over 70 countries are scheduled to stay for the 12-day sporting tournament.
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Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Credit Meltdown and Wall Street's Shadow Banking System / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Ellen_Brown
While local banks are held in check by the new banking czars in Basel, Wall Street’s “shadow banking system” has hardly been curbed by regulators at all; and it is here that the 2008 credit crisis was actually precipitated.
The banking system’s credit machine is systemically flawed and needs a radical overhaul.
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