Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Sunday, March 28, 2010
California Could be Destroyed by Looming Water Disaster / Politics / Climate Change
Yasha Levine writes: There's an impending disaster in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and a handful of wealthy farmers seem to like it that way.
"That, in your own backyard there, is the scariest place after New Orleans.” —Geologist Nicholas Pinder's description of the precarious situation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta after the hurricane Katrina disaster.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Financial Fraud on Wall Street / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
The re-nomination of Ben Bernanke, as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, has to be one of the ultimate political insults, particularly coming from Republicans, as did his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, both have taken America and the world down the sewer. Ben Bernanke saved Wall Street, the banks, insurance companies and a myriad of other financial firms.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
More Greenspan Financial Crisis Excuses / Politics / US Economy
Greenspan is all over the place on here, just trying to cover his inneptitude. He claims this is a once in a century event while the US has to reel in it's debt. I got news for Greenspan, the bubble crashes will only get worse. We have the same system and it will only become more and more difficult for $1 trillion to magically appear to save these 'Bubbles'.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 26, 2010
U.S.A. Going Insane Over Healthcare Reform Bill Passage / Politics / US Politics
In the aftermath of passage of a comprehensive new health care reform bill, a wave of threats and violence has swept across the country. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer reports that some of his Democratic colleagues are being threatened with violence when they go back to their districts. He suggested that Republicans should stand up and condemn the threats.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 26, 2010
Greece Debt Crisis To Trigger Financial Tsunami across Europe / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
The summit of the European Union continued on March 26 in Brussels. The most important issue on the agenda of the summit is the crisis in Greece. The biggest intrigue of the meeting is about the stance of the EU’s largest country – Germany – which is supposed to carry most of the burden of help to the country that faces the danger of default. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated earlier that Greece was not supposed to receive any international help. She reportedly did not even want to discuss this issue in Brussels.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 26, 2010
Let the Billionaires Pay for the Financial Crisis / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
Each year, Forbes magazine releases its famous list of billionaires. The just released 2010 classifications provide insightful information that in one year, the number of billionaires increased from 793 to 1011, and their accumulated wealth is 3,600 billion, up 50% compared to the previous year. For the super rich, the crisis is long gone.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Higher Education Bubble Must Burst, The Mentality of Entitlement in Academia / Politics / Social Issues
Brian Leiter is incensed.
Mr. Leiter — famous primarily for his website containing comparative rankings of philosophy programs, as well as his blog, which covers job-related news in academic philosophy — has recently learned that King's College, London (KCL) is facing budget problems and must cut back on staff. In order to assess the extent of layoffs, the school will require every faculty member to interview for their current position. Leiter has kept his readers updated on the situation through his blog, and linked to The Times Higher Education's coverage of the event — which, in an article titled "'Draconian' measure: King's to cut 205 jobs," emphasizes how the cutbacks will affect the humanities and focuses on the reaction this has set off among academics:
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust Hospital Tip of NHS Hospitals of Death Iceberg / Politics / NHS
A lengthy report into the REAL performance of one of Britians top ranked hospitals placed The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust as a killing field for patients that walk through its doors, this is set against NHS phony statistics on hospitals and GP surgeries that relentlessly paints a picture of everything is great, against the facts of actual patient experience as reported by the Telegraph -
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Macro Effects of Healthcare Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Politics / US Politics
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is too complex a piece of legislation for me to provide anything more than a broad-brush analysis of its macro impact to the U.S economy. From my understanding of it, the PPACA primarily represents a redistribution of income from the young and healthy to the under-65 less healthy. This is the implication of mandatory enrollment in a health insurance plan. Young healthy individuals will be induced to enroll in a health insurance plan, which will enlarge the risk pool with less risky participants, thereby lowering the health insurance premiums for the riskier members.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Doug Casey, U.S. Can Never Win the “War on Terrorism”, Investment Implications / Politics / US Politics
Almost exactly three years before the 9/11 attacks, Doug Casey had one of his famous Guru Moments, writing in the September 1998 edition of the International Speculator:
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Financial Sector Regulations Fleeting Opportunities / Politics / Market Regulation
“The Senate Banking Committee has approved Democratic legislation overhauling Wall Street Regulations on a party-line vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its prospects remain in doubt…
The committee vote Monday was 13-10…
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Government Authorities are Looking Out for Themselves - As Should Everyone / Politics / US Politics
"China in Midst of 'Greatest Bubble in History'", Bloomberg told readers on March 17, 2010. That was the opinion of certain experts interviewed by the news service. One expert held the opposite view: "'People making comments about bubbles possibly don't have all the facts,' HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael Georghegan said in Shanghai today. Regulators are in control of the banking industry, and have the ability to curb lending as needed, he said."
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Social Inequality in America, Widening Income Disparities / Politics / Social Issues
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." - Brazilian archbishop Dom Helder Camara
"The difference between social service and social justice" is that social service "works to alleviate hardship" while social justice "aims to eradicate the root causes of that hardship." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Financial Fraud, Wall Street, The Next Big Fight / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
In Britain, the police are raiding Hedge Funds to bust insider traders. In America, the Hedge Funds are still raiding us, even as public opinion calls for a crackdown on Wall Street. One recent poll, in a nation that seems so divided on everything, showed 82% for aggressive action. 82%!
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
U.S. Healthcare Reform Bill, Help! I’ve Been Taxed and I Can’t Get Up / Politics / Taxes
Jeff Clark, Senior Editor, Casey’s Gold & Resource Report
Like many of you, the passage of the healthcare bill wasn’t met with the popping of champagne in my house. I found myself chanting “Uncle Sam, Uncle Sham” as the day wore on. Higher taxes and other major changes are headed our way. And yet, I think there’s something in the bill that’s even more dastardly.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Government Healthcare Intervention, The Bigger Picture / Politics / Government Spending
The prospect and reality of Obamacare have woken up many people to the need to stop the socialization of medical care in America. It will produce here what it has produced everywhere: stagnation, overutilization, rationing, and the sacrifice of individual well-being in the name of collective justice.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Federal Reserve Banking System is a Confidence Game, What They Were Saying in 2007 / Politics / Central Banks
In February of 2004, I published an article entitled "Greenspam." The general lesson was not to listen to Greenspan's deceptive testimony. Delete it from your mind like spam email messages. Watch what he has done and what he is doing, in order to protect your wealth and capital. Discount anything you read about his testimony, except Congressmen Paul's questions and commentary.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
U.S. Healthcare, More Slight of Hand From Oboudini / Politics / US Politics
The lies the government and media tell are amplifications of the lies we tell ourselves. To stop being conned, stop conning yourself ~ James Wolcott
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Obamacare and the Death of Detroit, the First U.S. City To Face Extinction / Politics / US Politics
To understand what is going to happen to America's health care delivery system, we must first understand what has happened to Detroit.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Acting Nigerian President Moves Quickly, Decisively to Get Country Back on Track / Politics / Africa
Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has moved decisively and rapidly to unify the Government under him, dismissing — on March 17, 2010 — the entire Cabinet which had been appointed by the now-incapacitated Pres. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. This followed his move, the week before, to appoint Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Mohammed Gusau as the new National Security Advisor, a post which oversees all the intelligence and security services as well as the Armed Forces.Read full article... Read full article...