Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Detroit Bankruptcy and the Drive Toward Dictatorship / Politics / US Politics

By: Barry_Grey

The bankruptcy of Detroit is being widely cited in the media as a model for the use of unelected officials and bankruptcy courts to rip up agreements and impose sweeping cuts on the pensions and health benefits of public employees, not only in Detroit, but in cities across the United States.

The Obama administration has rejected any federal aid to ameliorate the financial crisis of Detroit and counter the effort of state and city officials, fronting for the banks and bondholders, to use bankruptcy to gut workers’ benefits. This makes it clear that the Detroit bankruptcy is part of a broader nationwide policy that is being coordinated by the White House.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Energy Regulators Battle The Post-Enron Syndrome / Politics / Market Regulation

By: Andrew_McKillop

USA-EUROPE SAME COMBAT
The EU probe into potential rigging of oil prices in Europe and outside Europe, launched in early July is comparable by its scope, possible impact and potential fines levied against wrongdoers, to the precedent set by the Libor rigging scandal. European regulators' scrutiny of Libor (the London interbank offered rate) interest rate benchmarks finally led, in 2011, to the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), UBS, and Barclays being fined a total of about $2.5 billion.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Washington's Fake Terror Threat / Politics / US Politics

By: Stephen_Lendman

They're in various forms. They repeat with disturbing regularity. America's war on terror targets Islam. At issue is duplicitous scaremongering. It advances Washington's imperium. 

Saturday, August 03, 2013

Ruinous Inflation Proposals Mean America Will Be Zimbabwe 2 / Politics / Inflation

By: Michael_S_Rozeff

In this day and age, one should never assume that “educated” persons, especially those who have “earned” advanced degrees in economics, know the least bit of economics or possess the least bit of sense that might steer them away from the refuse that passes for economic thought. This is especially true in the case of those who propose ruinous money policies, thereby joining the ranks of monetary cranks and demonstrating to one and all an economics IQ south of 25.

Saturday, August 03, 2013

Fabulous Liabilities For 'Fab' Tourre / Politics / Banksters

By: Andrew_McKillop

UNAMIMOUS JURY
A nine-member federal jury in Manhattan on July 31 unanimously found Fabrice “Fabulous Fab” Tourre guilty on 6 of 7 counts of fraud brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the financial sector watchdog. The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader was accused of misleading certain participants in a 2007 “crisis-era” deal that cost them $1 billion, and resulted in the Paulson & Co hedge fund gaining more than $1 billion.

Saturday, August 03, 2013

It will be madness in America soon, Out of control / Politics / US Politics

By: Michael_T_Bucci

I bought a copy of USA Today Weekend at the supermarket and wanted to gag. A front-page lead story showing a picture of Edward Snowden's Russian permit was titled: "Welcome, Comrade Snowden" (Is John McCain now writing their headlines?). To read American mainstream news is to collide with an illusory but impenetrable wall of rigid propaganda (rah, rah, America #1; rah, rah, S&P 1700; rah, rah, Washington vs. a world of enemies). In short, the paper's almost one-million readers were encouraged. In so many words, "Don't worry about NSA. Congress has heard the American people and is now moving to reform it. Sleep well tonight, Senator Patrick Leahy is awake."

Friday, August 02, 2013

How Obamacare Bailouts Work - A Struggling City's Best New Budget Tool / Politics / US Politics

By: Money_Morning

Diane Alter writes: Call it an "Obamacare Bailout" - while millions of Americans look for ways to opt out of Obamacare, broke Detroit is trying to get its residents signed up as soon as possible.

You see, Detroit has grossly over-pledged its benefits, pensions and fully-funded health care plans to thousands of public sector employees for decades, while its tax revenue dwindled.

Friday, August 02, 2013

Bradley Manning Still Facing a Lifetime With His Kidnappers / Politics / US Politics

By: Jeff_Berwick

Yesterday, Private Bradley Manning was charged and faces "up to" 136 years in a cage for being someone Thomas Jefferson would consider a patriot.  Considering the world's oldest person died at 116 years old last month it is quite clearly a life sentence.  For myself, at 42, I consider anything more than 10 years a life sentence.  Not that I couldn't still have fun at 52... but a lot less fun with a lot more viagra.

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Reasons Why Obamacare Is Going to Ruin Your Medical Care… and Your Life / Politics / Healthcare Sector

By: Casey_Research

By Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

Of course you've heard of "liar loans"—in the heyday of subprime mortgages, unscrupulous lenders handed out mortgages to practically everyone with a pulse. "So you're saying you make $100,000 a year? Great, check this box titled 'McMansion.'"

We all know how this charade ended. Now Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D., an acclaimed expert on the subject of Obamacare, warns that the delay of the employer mandate by one year will force Americans into a single-payer system, raising insurance premiums and encouraging "liar subsidies" that might prove fiscally devastating. Not to mention that under the new health care system, you may well end up dead…

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Capitalism, A Norwegian Rat And Some Cockroaches / Politics / Science

By: Raul_I_Meijer

Often, for some reason, when you want to make a simple point, before you know it it mushrooms into something much bigger. Like in this case, blasphemy. All I started out with was the notion that if we put a dollar value on something like an Arctic melt, or the extinction of species, we are making fundamental mistakes. Which invariably show in the way we reach the conclusions, presented as "scientific", that make us put such values on potential or already final events.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

How We Can Fix State Education and the U.S. Economy / Politics / Educating Children

By: Money_Morning

David Zeiler writes: One of the biggest threats to the future of the U.S. economy is that more and more of the U.S. workforce lacks the skills needed to fill the jobs being created in the 21st century.

Last year, a survey by ManpowerGroup found that 49% of U.S. employers are struggling to fill essential jobs, because they can’t find workers with the proper skills.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

J P Morgan and Commodity Manipulation / Politics / Market Manipulation

By: BATR

The practices and methods of manipulating commodity markets, is a staple topic in financial journalism. Options, futures and exotic forms of derivatives, often put under the microscope, gives rise to calls for substantive regulation. One area of the commodity trade, seldom examined is that involved with physical commodities trading. With much fanfare, Under siege, JPMorgan to quit physical commodities, a Reuters announcement has many seasoned street professionals shocked.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Snowden's Dad Confronts Tyrannical Obama / Politics / US Politics

By: Jeff_Berwick

July 26, 2013
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Re: Civil Disobedience, Edward J. Snowden, and the Constitution

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Socialism - Appeasing Envy / Politics / Economic Theory

By: Henry_Hazlitt

Any attempt to equalize wealth or income by forced redistribution must only tend to destroy wealth and income. Historically the best the would-be equalizers have ever succeeded in doing is to equalize downward. This has even been caustically described as their intention. “Your levellers,” said Samuel Johnson in the mid-eighteenth century, “wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves.”

And in our own day we find even an eminent liberal like the late Mr. Justice Holmes writing: “I have no respect for the passion for equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy.”[1]

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Larry Summers or Janet Yellen, Who will Obama Pick as Head of Fed? / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank

By: Money_Morning

Garrett Baldwin writes: With Ben Bernanke prepared to step down as Federal Reserve chairman within the next year, the human resource debacle of locating the next Federal Reserve chair is underway.

Despite reports of Timothy Geithner, Alan Blinder, or Roger Ferguson being modest replacements (the latter I personally endorse), it seems that the candidacy has been narrowed to two.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

How Obamacare Will Affect Medicare / Politics / Healthcare Sector

By: Money_Morning

Diane Alter writes: We've talked about how Obamacare will affect our regular health insurers and routine doctor visits, but how about how Obamacare will affect Medicare?

We've all known for a while that the future of Medicare, the program than provides health insurance to seniors, is in dire straits. What we're just finding out is that Obamacare is making it worse.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"World Citizen" Dies Missing The Point About Government / Politics / Social Issues

By: Jeff_Berwick

Garry Davis, called "World Citizen #1" and founder of WorldService.org and provider of the "World Passport", died a few days ago.  Newser reports that the former American citizen died after decades as a stateless "citizen of the world." Davis was 91 when he died and had spent 65 years stateless since renouncing his nationality along with all others since 1948. 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Algerian Scenario For Egypt? / Politics / Egypt

By: Andrew_McKillop

WESTERN APPROVED COUP
On November 3 1988, Algeria's one-party state run by the FLN, the 'historic' liberation front which fought the French in the 1956-63 colonial war, under prodding from Western democracies, amended the constitution to allow parties other than the FLN to stand. The FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) was founded shortly after, on February 18 1989, led by the elderly sheikh Abbassi Madani and the charismatic young mosque preacher, Ali Belhadj. Elections held in December 1991 were cancelled by the FLN after the first round, exclusively because the FIS was well ahead. The country's military took control. The FIS was banned and thousands of its members arrested. Islamist guerrillas rapidly emerged and began an armed campaign against the government and its supporters, that terminated in 2002 so far as major fighting was concerned, leaving at least 250 000 dead.

Monday, July 29, 2013

How the U.S. Empire Actually Functions / Politics / US Politics

By: LewRockwell

ROCKWELL:  Well, what an honor it is to have as our guest today on the show, John Perkins.  I think that if Hollywood weren’t so connected to the Pentagon, maybe there’d be a movie about him, staring George Clooney.  But there’s not a movie because of the sorts of books he’s written, especially Confessions of an Economic Hitman that was on The New York Times best-seller list for a year and a half and translated into 30 languages.  He’s also author of The Secret History of the American Empire and his newest book, Hoodwinked.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Ready for World War III with China? / Politics / China US Conflict

By: BATR

"U.S. policy must create a climate in which a rising China is never tempted to use its growing power coercively within or outside the region."  - Richard Haas, chairman of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations