Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Ron Paul on The Supreme Court and Obamacare / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week the Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the constitutionality of the Obamacare law, focusing on the mandate requiring every American to buy health insurance or pay fines enforced by the IRS. Hopefully the Court will strike down this abomination, but we must recognize that the federal judiciary has an abysmal record when it comes to protecting liberty. It's doubtful the entire law will be struck down. Regardless, the political left will continue its drive toward a single-payer, government run health care system.
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Monday, April 02, 2012
The blind spot surrounding the 2005 'major restructuring' of the Goldman / Greek secret loan / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: ECB_Watch
The EU Commission was at the forefront of the response to the revelation in 2010 of irregularities in Greece's government statistics and in particular the 2.8bn Euros secret loan it received from Goldman Sachs in 2001 (Bloomberg). Has it delivered, and has parliamentary oversight been adequate?
Monday, April 02, 2012
The Great Depression II, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet / Politics / Great Depression II
By: James_Quinn
“Human history seems logical in afterthought but a mystery in forethought. Writers of history have a way of describing interwar societies as coursing from postwar to prewar as though people alive at the time knew when that transition occurred.” – Strauss & Howe - The Fourth Turning
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Niall Ferguson China, Turmoil and Triumph, a Flawed Understanding of China? / Politics / China
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Niall Ferguson's latest series on China to be broadcast in the UK ended in a highly convincing conclusion of what could come to pass, but I fear that Niall has let himself get too close to the subject at hand and miss the real big picture about why China is developing and where it is going, in a way he may again be repeating the mega mistake he made 12 years ago in 1999 with Gold when he stated :
"The twilight of gold appear[s] to have arrived. True, total blackout is still some way off...Gold has a future, of course.
"But mainly as jewelry." -Niall Ferguson
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Sunday, April 01, 2012
Greek Government Robbed Public Institutions to Complete the Bond Swap / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Global_Research
John Ward writes: “But Lucas my dear, if you run out of poor people, you can always steal from the sick”
REVEALED: HOW THE VENIZELOS GOVERNMENT SECRETLY REMOVED 70% OF MAJOR HOSPITAL, UTILITY & UNIVERSITY BANK ACCOUNT FUNDS TO PAY BONDHOLDERS
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Saturday, March 31, 2012
Obama Touts "Economic Recovery" Amidst Deepest Slump since the Great Depression / Politics / Great Depression II
By: Barry_Grey
While the United States remains mired in the deepest slump since the Great Depression, President Barack Obama is touting a modest improvement in employment over the past several months to boost his electoral prospects in November.
The three-month period from December through February has, according to the Labor Department, seen a net gain of 744,000 jobs, the largest for any three-month stretch since 2006. The official jobless rate has fallen from 9.1 percent in September to 8.3 percent in February.
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Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Fed's "Operation Twist". Europe and America. Grim Economic Prospects / Politics / US Economy
By: Bob_Chapman
Seven months after the official announcement on 9/21/11 of “Operation Twist” not much progress has been made at the long end of the market to reduce yields. The yield on the 10-year T-note has gone from 1.88% to 2.3% and the 30-year bond went from 3.03% to 3.41%. The episode has been marred by hedge fund and sovereign selling, which has left the short end a little higher, but the long end much higher. The question now is how much did this cost the Fed for such disappointing results?
Friday, March 30, 2012
Stormtroopin' USA, Redention, Indefinite Detention, Creeping Facism / Politics / US Politics
By: Richard_Mills
No term generates more confusion or misunderstanding than fascism, too many people believe that fascism exists solely in images on the History Channel - storm troopers pounding thundering jackboots down cobblestone streets of occupied countries while throwing up the Roman salute. But fascism is not defined by clothing, symbolism or salutes.
Fascism is a totalitarian system of government that bases its economy on capitalism, it's a marriage of government authority and military/police power managed by corporate influence.
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Who Captured the Fed? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Jesse
Future generations will look back and ask themselves, 'How could they not see what was happening? Were they blind?'
The Fed is not the only problem here, but a key enabler. White collar crimes and fraud flourished amongst the robber barons even in the days of the gold standard. It just was not as convenient, as easy, to defraud the people en masse through the debasement of the currency.
Friday, March 30, 2012
How to Prevent the Next Financial Crises / Politics / Financial Crash
By: Jesse
Nassim Taleb presents a very simple principle for avoiding financial crises.
But sometimes the simplest principles are the most difficult to implement. For example:
Read full article... Read full article...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with your whole heart, and your whole mind, and your whole strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the whole of the law.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Germany Monetary Policies Openly Working Against the ECB… What’s Next? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
While the mainstream financial media and 99% of investors continue to believe that Germany will align itself with the EU, we’ve been pounding the table Germany will in fact look after its own interests rather than the EU’s and that it might in fact leave the Euro temporarily.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Europe's Monetary Bazooka Will Fire Blanks / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
Europe continues to take a page out of Hank Paulson’s “Crisis Combat” booklet, by unveiling one monetary “bazooka” after another. Obviously, EU leaders didn’t notice that Paulson’s “bazooka” completely failed to stop the 2008 Crash.
Even more strangely, they keep pulling out bazooka after bazooka, first unveiling the EFSF which was supposed to raise €1 trillion but failed to raise even €10 billion without having to intervene in its own bond auctions.
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Europe's Nuclear Exit Strategy / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
At this time in April 2012 the nuclear industry has springcleaned its rhetoric and is making predictable
rearguard action, claiming it isn't dead yet. What almost any honest observer will say is that just one
more Fukushima type disaster will totally seal the fate of nuclear power, relegating the nuclear industry
back to only the domains of weapons, medicine, engineering and research. As the Japanese government
is obliged almost daily to up the estimate of costs that it and taxpayers will have to bear for the
Fukushima disaster - the latest estimate is for a total of around 11 trillion yen to 2020 - Japan moves
further to a probable complete exit from nuclear power. The costs were simply too high, like the risks
which are perceived by public opinion as far too high.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Before Making That IRA Contribution, Make Sure Your Pension Plan Assets are Safe / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Larry D. Spears writes:
The middle of April is fast approaching and everyone knows what that means - time to get those 2011 income tax returns filled out and filed.
What few people realize is that they also have until Monday, April 16, to open a new individual retirement account (IRA) for 2011 or make your annual contribution to an existing one.
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Are High Taxes About to Make Silicon Valley Pack Up and Leave? / Politics / Tech Stocks
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
California Governor Jerry Brown is at it again.
He's cut a deal with the teachers' unions that would take the top rate of state income tax from 10.3% to 13.3%.
If passed on the November ballot, that would increase taxes on the top tier by a hefty 29%.
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Secret China Coup Could Send These Stocks Higher / Politics / China Stocks
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
Reports of a coup in the past week have startled many long-time China watchers.
Of course, we've seen next to nothing in the Western media about it despite the fact that what is going on behind the scenes now may be the biggest political play we've seen in decades.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012
Goldman Sachs Should 'Stop Saying' It Puts Customers First / Politics / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Bloomberg
Former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, who serves as a senior policy advisor for Goldman Sachs, spoke to Bloomberg TV's Erik Schatzker this morning on "Inside Track." Levitt said that Goldman should "stop saying" the firm puts customers first and that Lloyd Blankfein's "future is determined really by what the business is over the course of coming months."
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Washington Obsesses Over Syria Whilst Mexico Burns / Politics / Mexico
By: STRATFOR
While the foreign policy elite in Washington focuses on the 8,000 deaths in a conflict in Syria -- half a world away from the United States -- more than 47,000 people have died in drug-related violence since 2006 in Mexico. A deeply troubled state as well as a demographic and economic giant on the United States' southern border, Mexico will affect America's destiny in coming decades more than any state or combination of states in the Middle East. Indeed, Mexico may constitute the world's seventh-largest economy in the near future.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Death of the Entertainment Industry / Politics / Sector Analysis
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
There are things that many people in the developed world take for granted, especially in the states and Western Europe. Jobs, health benefits, social safety nets, affordable credit for homes/cars/etc. and cheap energy certainly rank among the most vital expectations, but even those things have been called into question within the mainstream consciousness, if for no other reason than the fact that they have simply evaporated in many locations. What hasn't really disappeared, though, are the [mindless] entertainment industries - i.e. sports, movies and video games.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
From Obamacare to Taxes: 5 Hot Topics Politicians Love to Lie About / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes:
Political lies are as old as the Republic, but that doesn't make the practice any less of an insult to the American people.
Whether they are about Obamacare or taxes, political lies are a special kind of deception.
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