Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, July 02, 2009
Make Bernie Madoff the Next Fed Chairman / Politics / Market Manipulation
Bill Bonner writes: Poor Bernie. The man has been ordered to spend 150 years in the hoosegow. What for? Who did he kill? A century and a half seems a little excessive for a financial crime. You could hold up three liquor stores and rape a whole convent and still not get 150 years. With a little bit of good lawyer-ing, a history of child abuse in the family, and good behavior in the big house, you’d be back on the street in 18 months.
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Thursday, July 02, 2009
Independance Day as America Becomes More Dependant on Creditor Nations / Politics / US Debt
Danny Schechter writes: As Independence Day approaches, the question of the day remains—how Independent are we?
Our Declaration signed on a July 4th declared us so to be. And, dutifully, generations of Americans have believed we were and always would be. The late Michel Jackson even had us singing and thinking “We Are The World.”
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
U.S. Launches Offensive Operations in Cyberspace (CYBERCOM) / Politics / US Politics
Tom Burghardt writes: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed a memorandum on June 23 that announced the launch of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). A scheme by securocrats in the works for several years, the order specifies that the new office will be a "subordinate unified command" under U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM).
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Is America Broke / Politics / US Debt
“The time is near at hand which must determine whether
Americans are to be free men or slaves.” [1]
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
The Great Bank Robbery: How the Federal Reserve is destroying America / Politics / Central Banks
Robert Bridge writes: As global leaders struggle to rescue their nations from economic breakdown, the legitimacy of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency is under attack. Perhaps the problem lies with the Fed.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Obama: Wrong on the Economy, Wrong on Healthcare (Part 1) / Politics / US Politics
If you’ve been following my commentaries, you’ll recall how poorly of a job I feel Obama is doing. Perhaps you realized this on your own. But just in case you have any doubts, you might want to read an article I wrote a few weeks ago.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Goldman Sachs The Fourth Branch of the U.S. Government / Politics / Market Manipulation
Quietly and almost unnoticed by most Americans, the US Federal Government introduced a fourth branch to its political structure in 2006. As you know we already had three branches, they are:
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Cap and Trade Bill HR 2454 Will Lead to Capital Flight / Politics / Market Regulation
In my last column, I joked that with public spending out of control and the piling on of the international bailout bill, economic collapse seems to be the goal of Congress. It is getting harder to joke about such a thing however, as the non-partisan General Accounting Office (GAO) has estimated that the administration's health care plan would actually cost over a trillion dollars. This reality check may have given us a temporary reprieve on this particular disastrous policy, however an equally disastrous energy policy reared its ugly head on Capitol Hill last week.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Power Shortage at the U.S. Fed? / Politics / Central Banks
William Patalon III writes: Documents brought to light by key by congressional investigators hightlight real disagreement between top-level U.S. Federal Reserve officials about how it should address the Bank of America Corp.(NYSE: BAC) acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. are almost certain to fuel the ongoing congressional debate over the central bank’s push to expand its authority over the U.S. financial system.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Bernanke is a Total Failure Unsuited for Role as Fed Chairman / Politics / Central Banks
Inquiring minds are reading Bernanke Flubs Tryout, Still Up for Leading Role by Caroline Baum.
Most often I agree with Caroline, but not this time.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Big Banks Have Won through Deception and Fraudulently Structured Assets / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
The trouble started 24 months ago, but the origins of the financial crisis are still disputed. The problems did not begin with subprime loans, lax lending standards or shoddy ratings agencies. The meltdown can be traced back to the activities of the big banks and their enablers at the Federal Reserve. The Fed's artificially low interest rates provided a subsidy for risky speculation while deregulation allowed financial institutions to increase leverage to perilous levels, creating trillions of dollars of credit backed by insufficient capital reserves. When two Bear Stearns hedge funds defaulted in July 2007, the process of turbo-charging profits through massive credit expansion flipped into reverse sending the financial system into a downward spiral.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Lessons from the Humbling of General Motors / Politics / US Auto's
Sam Gindin writes: Of all 20th century industries, it was the auto sector that best captured the sway of capitalism and the rise of American dominance. The assembly line showed off capitalism’s remarkable productive potential and the automobile flaunted capitalism’s consumerist possibilities. At mid-century, with Europe and Japan emerging from the devastation of war, 80% of the world’s cars travelled on North America roads. Pursuing the United States model became a common aspiration across the developed capitalist countries.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
European Governments Bow to the Banks / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
Peter Schwarz writes: For over a year leading European politicians promised to regulate financial markets and rein in the activities of speculators in order to prevent a repetition of the international financial crisis. Now finally the mountain has moved and given birth to a mouse. The regulations agreed by the European heads of state and government at their conference a week ago in Brussels are even weaker than the noncommittal regulations adopted by the US.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Fed Market Manipulation, Surmounting The Main Threat To Profits And Protection / Politics / Market Manipulation
“Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government Institutions. They are private monopolies which prey upon the people of these United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculators and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders.” - The Honorable Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee in the 1930s
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
How the Media Uses Buffett to Make Money / Politics / Mainstream Media
In the previous part of this article we saw how what Buffett invests in doesn’t matter to you.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Obama Gets Billions for ‘Pandemic’ Swine Flu / Politics / Global Pandemic
Buried amid news stories about World Breastfeeding Week, World Suicide Prevention Day and World Rabies Day, the WHO has a small item giving the latest supposed count of ‘laboratory confirmed H1N1 cases. It is something on the order of 55,000 persons worldwide since this April at a factory pig farm in Veracruz Mexico a small child got ill and the world was told of a deadly new ‘Swine Flu’ that was allegedly spreading from pig to person. Yet the US Government is gearing up as if it ere preparing for the new outbreak of the dreaded 1918 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic. The reality does not support the government response. Is something else going on?
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Friday, June 26, 2009
The Source of the Current Economic Crisis: "A Chicago State of Mind" / Politics / Market Manipulation
Maidhc Ó'Cathail writes: Worried about the global economic crisis? It’s all in your head, says a leading financial expert.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Bernie Madoff, Will Other Financial Criminals Be Investigated And Prosecuted? / Politics / Scams
Danny Schechter writes: “indeed “ adverb
1 used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested : it was not expected to last long, and indeed it took less than three weeks | “She should have no trouble hearing him.” “No indeed.”
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Is Obama Pushing Us Toward State Controlled Capitalism? / Politics / Market Regulation
Shah Gilani writes: With its regulatory overhaul of the U.S. financial system, the Obama administration has granted the federal government new powers to take over systemically important businesses, but has done so in a way that may well mask a potentially dangerous drift toward American state capitalism.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Bernanke Suffers From Selective Memory Loss; Paulson Calls Bank of America "Turd in the Punchbowl" / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's memory seems to be failing at an amazingly convenient time, for Bernanke. Please consider Bernanke Blasted in House.
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