Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
U.S. Housing Market Foreclosures Menace, Woman’s Home Confiscated Over Small Water Bill / Politics / US Housing
By: Submissions
One raw day in early February, Vicki Valentine stood by helplessly as real estate investors snatched her West Baltimore home over what began with an unpaid city water bill of $362.
As snow threatened to fall, she watched a work crew hired by the new owners punch out the lock on her front door. A sheriff's deputy was on the scene while Valentine and her teenage son piled whatever they could into a borrowed car.
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Friday, May 21, 2010
World Systems Breaking Down, The Time of Testing is Here / Politics / Social Issues
By: Richard_C_Cook
While skeptics mockingly point out that the “end of the world” has been prophesized over and over again for centuries with nothing happening—the latest being Y2K, they say, and another likely bust coming up when the calendar hits 2012—it’s obvious that mankind faces an increasingly unsustainable future.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Greek Debt Crisis Peoples Heresy / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
John Pilger writes: As Britain’s political class pretends that its arranged marriage of Tweedledee to Tweedledum is democracy, the inspiration for the rest of us is Greece. It is hardly surprising that Greece is presented not as a beacon but as a “junk country” getting its comeuppance for its “bloated public sector” and “culture of cutting corners” (the Observer). The heresy of Greece is that the uprising of its ordinary people provides an authentic hope unlike that lavished upon the warlord in the White House.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Declining Value of Work / Politics / Employment
By: Pravda
One of the great joys that men in free societies have long enjoyed is the ability to earn an honest wage for an honest day of work. In particular, the amazing capitalist engine that powered the U.S. economy for decade after decade greatly rewarded the incredible hard work and industriousness of the American people. America was known as the land of opportunity, and we built the largest middle class in the history of the world by working incredibly hard. But today, all of that is fundamentally changing. Thanks to rapid advances in technology, and thanks to the globalization of the work force, the labor of American workers is rapidly losing value. Automation, robotics and computers have made many jobs obsolete.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Where’s the Land of Opportunity These Days? / Politics / Social Issues
By: Doug_Horning
By Doug Hornig, Casey Research :
Recent decades have witnessed an amazing shrinkage of the American manufacturing sector, from #1 in the world to virtual non-existence. Companies, taking advantage of cheaper labor costs abroad, have either outsourced some portion of the workforce or relocated their entire operations offshore. Remember the “great sucking sound” that Ross Perot claimed he could hear? Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Citizen’s Indictment Of Co-Conspirators BP & BO / Politics / US Politics
By: T_Anthony_Michael
Picture Ali Baba and the forty thieves (read OPEC et al) sitting around a sumptuous dinner table after a big heist at the local commodity exchange. British Petroleum (BP) says to Barack Obama (BO), “Please, just one more day to cap this gusher. Remember, the tanker sitting above this well can hold 1.4 million barrels of oil. At $85 a barrel were talking 119 million dollars every time we fill a tanker. Ahh, nothing like a real undersea gusher sittin’ atop a 3 billion barrel oil field. This is the big one, BO! The real megilla! I mean the CASH COW that never stops giving!” And so it was.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Germany About to Pull the Plug On Europe, This is Going to Hurt! / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Mac_Slavo
We continue to hound on the situation in the European Union, the Euro, Greece and the rest of the PIIGS because of a similar situation that existed prior to the Great Depression. The Great Depression, some argue, resulted not from the bubble and subsequent stock market crash leading up to 1929, but rather, the defaults that spread across Europe (and parts of South America). These defaults had a direct effect on the European banking system, which subsequently led to collapses of the major banks.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Financial Crisis As A Game Of 3 Card Monte / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Danny_Schechter
You Always Think You Are Going To Win Until You lose - We live in a three card monte world. Follow the money as it moves from one shell to another. Now guess where it is. Most of us don’t know the hand can be quicker than the eye. That’s why mostly everyone who has ever been suckered into playing ends up losing except those who are allowed to win to keep the hustle going. We miss the tricks of the trade even as we swear we know where the winning card or money or ball is.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Speculators are Evil According to EU and Devila Merkel / Politics / Government Intervention
By: Brian_M_Thiesen
God and Markets in general have officially conceted that political masterminds are smarter and better than them.The easiest way to “help” markets is to ignore any and all signals and just go with your gut being the experienced trader you are. Angela I am proud to donate my entire portfolio to you, I consider Germans pretty smart so if they are willing to do it why wouldn’t I be?
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Feedback on Opting Out of Social Security / Politics / US Politics
By: Nilus_Mattive
Last week’s column on the Amish opting out of Social Security generated a tremendous response. Within a few hours of publication, I had hundreds of comments on my blog.
I want you to know that I appreciated all the comments, even the ones that were critical. It’s a touchy, complicated subject. There are no easy answers. And that’s precisely why I continually try to initiate conversation and debate on this very important topic.
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
U.K. Capital Gains Tax Rise From 18% to 50% Would be Legalised Theft / Politics / UK Tax & Budget
By: Mike_Shedlock
Those hoping that any good would come out of the alliance between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats making Conservative party leader David Cameron the UK Prime Minister (replacing Labour Leader Gordon Brown), just might need to think again.
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Monday, May 17, 2010
Governments and Central Bankers No Better than Common Identity Thieves / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
The spotlight remains on the Greek sovereign debt crisis as the riots continue. The terms of the Greek bailout from the IMF and Eurozone countries remain contentious with citizens on all sides. Europeans hate having their governments throw public money away as much as Americans do. The Greeks are not happy about having their taxes raised while their pensions and salaries are cut.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Knowledge, Truth and Human Action: America Hits the Wall / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Kozy
"Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true." [paraphrased Buddhist saying]
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Vicious Circle of Debt and Economic Depression, It's Class War / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
Ismael Hossein-zadeh writes: Never before has so much debt been imposed on so many people by so few financial operatives—operatives who work from Wall Street, the largest casino in history, and a handful of its junior counterparts around the world, especially Europe.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Rating Agencies Are Dead: Long Live The Rating Agencies. / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Andrew_Butter
Once upon a time rating agencies were independent research companies advising end-buyers and traders on the fundamental value of securities. They sold opinions of value, i.e. they did valuations – they gave an opinion on how likely it was that projected cash flows would materialise in the future; and once you got a fix on that, working out present value is just arithmetic.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
How We Became Debt Slaves And Learned to Love It / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
Gordon Arnaut writes: Who is in charge of these United States?
If you guess that it’s the people with the money, then you are correct. Not the elected representatives of the people. Not the men and women in uniform, not the factory workers, or farmers, or teachers, or bus drivers and pilots. Just the guys and gals with the moneybags.
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
Market "Thumbs Down" on the EU Bailout / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Mike_Whitney
Barack Obama must have been very frightened, indeed. Otherwise he never would have inserted himself so forcefully into Greece's debt crisis. The truth is, there's much more at stake then people seem to realize. A Greek default would be a major blow to the banking system and the damage would not be limited just to Europe. It could easily spread to the United States and trigger another meltdown. That's why Obama spent most of his weekend on the phone, exhorting EU finance ministers to take swift action to put out the brushfire. Not surprisingly, the details were omitted in the US. media. Here's an excerpt from the UK Independent explaining what happened behind the scenes last weekend:
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
Democracy’s in Debt Death Spiral From Greece to the United States, Enemies of the State / Politics / US Politics
By: David_DeGraw
As the Economic Elite continue their plunder, the people in Greece riot and the big banks score yet another big blow against the people of the United States.
Democracy throughout the world is under attack. Many people can make the argument that our democracy here in America is only an illusion, but even the illusion of democracy is crashing down. Tragedies are currently playing out across the world on an epic scale. Unprecedented economic and environmental catastrophes have become the norm. Billions of people, the overwhelming majority of humanity, have been sentenced to a slow death due to a concentration of wealth and resources within humanity’s economic top 0.5%. Ultimately, short-sighted greed has proven to be humanity’s most severe disease.
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
U.S. Big Bank Bailout Costs Trillions More than Stated / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Washingtons_Blog
Granted, the $700 billion dollar TARP bailout was a massive bait-and-switch. The government said it was doing it to soak up toxic assets, and then switched to saying it was needed to free up lending. It didn't do that either. Indeed, the Fed doesn't want the banks to lend.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
United States Political Insurrection Has Begun / Politics / US Politics
By: Gary_North
On Saturday, May 8, an extraordinary event took place. United States Senator Bob Bennett, a 3-term Republican, failed to make the cut for his party's primary. Not only was he not nominated to run, he did not make the cut to get nominated. He was a distant third. Two Tea Party candidates beat him.
Bob Bennett is a legacy Senator. His father served as Senator before him.
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