Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Ben Bernanke, The Very Model of a Modern Pliant Bureaucrat / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was a safe bet to win the Senate's vote for a second term. "Safe" is what the senators want and Bernanke passed the test. He is not a man inclined to make bold decisions. A former university administrator, his institutional mind will be just as slow to foresee the next financial crisis as it was incapable of forecasting the last.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Foreigners Caused America’s Financial Crisis? A Closer Look / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Dian_L_Chu
Dian L. Chu writes: In his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his ambitious agenda to improve the economy and enact sweeping financial reform aimed specifically at the Big Banks. The European Union is also pursuing similarly ambitious changes aimed at preventing another crisis in the future.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
The Corporate Takeover of U.S. Democracy / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Noam Chomsky writes: Jan. 21, 2010, will go down as a dark day in the history of U.S. democracy, and its decline.
On that day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government may not ban corporations from political spending on elections—a decision that profoundly affects government policy, both domestic and international.
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Thursday, February 04, 2010
Bernanke's Bankster's Skimming Operation Exposed / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Mike_Whitney
The reappointment of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke means that the opportunity for change has passed and the reform movement is dead. It means that and that derivatives trading, off-balance sheet operations, securitization, dark pools and high frequency trading will go on much as they have before. It means that the public will continue to be gouged so that a handful of Wall Street sharpies can rake in obscene profits using complex "financial innovations" and over-leveraged debt instruments. It means that the entire system will continue to be put at risk to protect the interests of investment banks and hedge funds. It means that the subsidies, the preferential treatment, and the bailouts will continue to fuel populist rage and exacerbate deepening divisions in society. It means that the status quo has been preserved and that it's "business as usual".
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Israel Guilty of War Crimes on Use of White Phosphorus Against Civilians / Politics / Israel
By: Pravda
Operation Cast Lead, which Israel conducted in the Gaza Strop in December 2008 and January 2009, echoed to two high-ranking Israeli officers. They stand accountable for the use of white phosphorus during the operation. It is the first time when Israel resorts to disciplinary punishment connected with Cast Lead.
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Thursday, February 04, 2010
Gulf Defensive Buildup In Advance of Attack on Iran? / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
This weekend’s newspapers were filled with stories about how the United States is providing ballistic missile defense (BMD) to four countries on the Arabian Peninsula. The New York Times carried a front-page story on the United States providing anti-missile defenses to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, as well as stationing BMD-capable, Aegis-equipped warships in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the front page of The Washington Post carried a story saying that “the Obama administration is quietly working with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to speed up arms sales and rapidly upgrade defenses for oil terminals and other key infrastructure in a bid to thwart future attacks by Iran, according to former and current U.S. and Middle Eastern government officials.”
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Could Israel Join the European Union ? / Politics / Israel
By: OilPrice_Com
The Middle East peace talks are at a deadlock. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to move ahead with the plan established by the so-called Quartet - the US., U.N., EU and Russia -- have faltered and come to a complete standstill. Continuing with this inertia will have a long-term negative effect on the future of the region both from a political point of view as well as from a business perspective. With the exception of a few risk-takers, what company or business executive would be willing to invest in the Middle East once the region plunges onto the abyss amid renewed violence?
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
America. What Went Wrong? (Part 1) / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Stathis
As I have detailed with extensive data and accompanying analysis in America's Financial Apocalypse (2006/expanded and 2007/condensed), America’s once great economy has been gradually transformed into a Ponzi scheme through decades of unfair trade policies that destroyed millions of U.S. jobs.
Unlike many other books which discussed the real estate bubble in isolation, this book went well beyond the real estate bubble by presenting a compelling case for a long period of economic depression.
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Thoughts on Obama’s New Retirement Initiatives / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
Last week I told you about some of Washington’s latest ideas on “fixing” Social Security. And the very next night — as part of his first State of the Union address — President Obama referenced some of his own ideas on the broader topic of retirement.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Banking Sector Regulation, A Breath of Fresh Volker / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Andrew_Butter
There are moments in history that define a change of direction, Paul Volker’s testimony on Capital Hill last night was one of them. Perhaps it’s a co-incidence, but the minute he opened his mouth the 10-Year yield dropped, gold’s new breakout attempt stalled, and the S&P 500 rose.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Who is the Enemy, Dr Ron Paul? / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
Recently, Representative Ron Paul addressed the House [paraphrased here], and after depicting the absurdity, cost and futility of fighting our Middle Eastern wars, asked: "Who is the enemy? We don't even know who the enemy is! If we don't know who the enemy is, how will we know if we won?" Though I disagree with his Party's platform and agenda, I admire Ron Paul's bold independent position and thoroughly uphold his viewpoint and opinion. Dr Paul is perfectly correct. Who is the enemy?
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Thoughts On The Bernanke Re-Appointment / Politics / Central Banks
By: Graham_Summers
The US Congress decided to re-appoint Ben Bernanke as Fed Chairman of the US Federal Reserve. This decision is completely and utterly insane.
Please understand, I do not use the word “insane” for humorous purposes, but as a factual observation. For there is truly no other way to look at Congress’ decision.
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Strategic Geopolitical and Economic Forecasts for 2010 / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: OilPrice_Com
A great - and still growing - divergence appeared in 2009 between public statements by leaders and their public performance. The politicized, romanticized theater of increasingly populist “democratic” leaders and media seemed to be of a different planet from activities taking place in the real world.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
The Fed as Giant Fiat Currency Counterfeiter / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
San Jose State economics professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel tells all his students that the easiest way to understand the Federal Reserve is to think of it as a giant, legalized counterfeiter. I had always known that the Fed and other central banks were like counterfeiters, but I still thought that the actual mechanics of open-market operations and so forth actually provided some important distinctions.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Isle of Man, The Greatest Tax Haven? / Politics / Taxes
By: LewRockwell
Nathan Blevins writes:The Call of Ellan Vannin - Freedom isn’t some fanciful creature of the imagination, like Bigfoot. It actually exists, and I’ve seen it. For in the year of our Lord, 2006, I had the marvellous privilege of fulfilling a lifelong personal dream: the dream of travelling to an enchanted place I’d always wished to visit. Well, perhaps I’d not held the dream that long. For you see, it was roughly 6 or 7 years ago that I was reading some smashing stuff from fellow liberty lover, Ron Holland, when I happened upon a trivia question of his that gave me pause:
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Iraq War Inquiry Shows Blair the British Neo-con / Politics / UK Politics
By: Submissions
Alan Hart writes: Putting Tony Blair on trial would be much too cruel. The man is ill, delusional, quite possibly to the point of madness. What he needs most of all is psychiatric help. Any doubts I might have had about that diagnosis were removed by his six-hour presentation to the Chilcot Inquiry of his reasons for joining the neo-conned “Dubya” Bush in the war on Iraq.
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Obama Threatens China and Iran, Another U.S. War? / Politics / US Politics
By: Shamus_Cooke
The possibility of yet another U.S. war became more real last week, when the Obama administration sharply confronted both China and Iran. The first aggressive act was performed by Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who “warned” China that it must support serious economic sanctions against Iran (an act of war).
Monday, February 01, 2010
U.S. Government Spending Freeze Not Likely / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week politicians in Washington made a few things clear about how they really feel about the state of the union. First, they are beginning to hear the growing discontent with the size and scope of government and the broken promises that keep piling up. Certain events in Massachusetts recently made that statement loud, clear and unavoidable. In the face of those events, the powers that be made the determination that some populist rhetoric was in order, and the idea of a spending freeze in Washington was proposed, albeit with several caveats. These caveats to the proposed spending freeze ensure that we are not at any real risk of actually doing anything about spending.
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Monday, February 01, 2010
Are You 100% Sure They Saved the Financial System? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2010
By: Mac_Slavo
Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday, that the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousands points the first day, another couple thousand the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Secret Banking Cabal Conspiracy Theory Going Mainstream / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Paul Joseph Watson writes: In another measure of how what the establishment labels “conspiracy theory” is quickly becoming mainstream, Bloomberg News carries a story today acknowledging that those derided as “crazy” for warning that the world is run by a secret banking cabal have largely been proven right in light of the AIG cover-up.