Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Mexico At War with the Drug Cartels / Politics / Mexico
By: STRATFOR
There are two cartel wars currently raging in Mexico that have combined to produce record levels of violence in 2009. The first war is the struggle between the government of Mexico and the drug cartels. The second, a parallel war, is the fight among the various cartels as they compete for control of lucrative supply routes. Shortly after his inauguration in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon launched an all-out effort to target the cartels, which he viewed as a major threat to Mexico’s security and stability.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Ten Facts and Ten Myths About Climate Change and Global Warming / Politics / Climate Change
By: Prof_Robert_Carter
Ten facts about climate change
1. Climate has always changed, and it always will. The assumption that prior to the industrial revolution the Earth had a "stable" climate is simply wrong. The only sensible thing to do about climate change is to prepare for it.
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009
End the Fed? Or End the Market Economy? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Shamus_Cooke
When Republican Congressman Ron Paul recently introduced legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, diverse sections of the political spectrum applauded. And rightfully so. The Fed’s role in the still-developing bank bailouts is one of utter secrecy; the total cost of which — as estimated by the bailout’s Special Inspector General, Neil Barofsky — could cost taxpayers $23.7 trillion. The fact that legislation needed to be introduced to raise the question of the whereabouts of these funds points to a larger breakdown in U.S. democracy.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
The Multi-Billion Trade in Carbon Derivatives, Copenhagen's Hidden Agenda / Politics / Climate Change
By: Washingtons_Blog
As I have previously shown, speculative derivatives (especially credit default swaps) are a primary cause of the economic crisis.
And I have pointed out that (1) the giant banks will make a killing on carbon trading, (2) while the leading scientist crusading against global warming says it won't work, and (3) there is a very high probability of massive fraud and insider trading in the carbon trading markets.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Alistair Darling's UK Pre-Budget Report Full Text / Politics / UK General Election
By: Submissions
Mr Speaker, today's Pre-Budget Report takes place at a critical time for our economy and for our country.
Governments across the world have taken co-ordinated steps to deal with the biggest financial crisis for over half a century.
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Global Warming Climagate Illustrates Lying Academics for the State / Politics / Climate Change
By: Gary_North
A generation ago, Daniel Ellsberg stole thousands of documents from the Rand Corporation, photocopied them, and gave them to the New York Times, which began publishing them. Ellsberg was prosecuted by the government. So was the Times. The defendants won.
Only after the Times broke the story did the mainstream press pick up on it. The Times got its scoop, and the Nixon administration had no way to stop it. This led to Nixon's decision to stop the leaks with the Plumbers squad. That led to his defeat.
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Alistair Darling's UK Election Give Away Budget Crippled by Debt and Liabilities / Politics / UK General Election
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Race is on, How Far Can Labour Boost the UK Economy Before it Goes Bust?
On Wednesday Alistair Darling had hoped he could implement the next phase of Britain's debt fuelled economic recovery in advance of the May 2010 General Election. Unfortunately time is not on the Chancellors side as the exploding debt mountain far beyond the levels estimated by the Chancellor of a year ago (as illustrated below) has now crippled the Chancellors options in delivering a further big stimulus bounce into the General Election, as further reckless behaviour will likely send foreign investors rushing for the exit out of sterling assets.
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009
World Health Organisation ‘Mr Swine Flu’ Under Investigation for Gross Conflict of Interest / Politics / Global Pandemic
By: F_William_Engdahl
The man with the nickname “Dr Flu”, Professor Albert Osterhaus, of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam Holland has been named by Dutch media researchers as the person at the center of the worldwide Swine Flu H1N1 Influenza A 2009 pandemic hysteria. Not only is Osterhaus the connecting person in an international network that has been described as the Pharma Mafia, he is THE key advisor to WHO on influenza and is intimately positioned to personally profit from the billions of euros in vaccines allegedly aimed at H1N1.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Is TamiFlu a Scam? / Politics / Global Pandemic
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The NHS has spent more than £500 million on TamiFlu on the premise that it will prevent the transmission of flu and hospitalisation of Swine Flu patients. To help disburse millions of dosages costing £70 each, the NHS introduced a National Flu helpline during mid 2009 and an online service which has allowed millions of patients to obtain Tami-flu prescription authorisation after just a few mouse clicks.
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Gerald Celente Says Bernanke Has Devalued the Dollar and Destroyed the Economy / Politics / Central Banks
By: Submissions
Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute is strongly opposed to the idea of Ben Bernanke seeking and getting a second term as head of the Federal Reserve. Celente strongly argues that Bernanke is creating the “bailout bubble” and destroying the U.S. economy. But he says the Fed Chief will get to keep his job because he’s an “insiders.”
Monday, December 07, 2009
Bernanke Blamed for the Fiscal Mistakes of Congress, The Buck Stops Where? / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Browne
Last week, we witnessed Ben Bernanke's Senate confirmation hearings for a second term as Fed Chairman. The air was thick with hypocrisy, as Senators vied with each other to cast blame on the Fed Chairman for the fiscal mistakes of the Congress. As an overtly politicized figure who has looked to bolster the poll numbers of successive Administrations, Bernanke certainly should shoulder a large share of the blame for steering the United States towards the brink of bankruptcy; however, he did not act alone. Ironically, many of his co-conspirators are currently his harshest critics.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
There is NO Consensus On Global Warming / Politics / Climate Change
By: Prof_Richard_Lindzen
A clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition
According to Al Gore's new film "An Inconvenient Truth," we're in for "a planetary emergency": melting ice sheets, huge increases in sea levels, more and stronger hurricanes and invasions of tropical disease, among other cataclysms -- unless we change the way we live now.
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Saturday, December 05, 2009
Ben Bernanke, You are the Moral Hazard / Politics / Central Banks
By: Submissions
Jim Bunning writes: Four years ago when you came before the Senate for confirmation to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve, I was the only Senator to vote against you. In fact, I was the only Senator to even raise serious concerns about you. I opposed you because I knew you would continue the legacy of Alan Greenspan, and I was right. But I did not know how right I would be and could not begin to imagine how wrong you would be in the following four years.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Bernanke is Not the Problem But the Rogue Fed Institution / Politics / Central Banks
By: Andy_Sutton
Yesterday a poll was released that only 21% of Americans support giving Helicopter Ben Bernanke a second term as chairman of the US Fed. This compared to 41% thinking that someone else should be given the job. I must say this is quite an improvement. I wonder if Rasmussen would have been able to say 2 years ago that 21% of Americans even knew who Bernanke was? If nothing else, the financial crisis and economic debacle of the past two years have certainly shone some much-needed but unwanted light on the Fed and its clandestine activities. As much as I disapprove of Bernanke’s policies and his handling of virtually every aspect of what has gone on, I’ll be the first to admit that Big Ben isn’t the problem. No, it isn’t him or Greenspan, or Volcker. It’s the institution itself that is the problem.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Everybody Wins in Health Care Reform Except You! / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: DailyWealth
"Everybody wins."
That's my theme for investing in health care in 2010.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Distortions, Lies, and Muggings by the Fed, Bank of England / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Shedlock
The first priority of Central Bankers in any crisis is to buy time by any method available. By now, it should be perfectly clear that Central Bankers are willing to unconstitutionally usurp authority in an effort to buy that time.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Global Warming and the Age of the Earth: A Lesson on the Nature of Scientific Knowledge / Politics / Climate Change
By: David_Deming
The world stands on the verge of committing itself to limits on the emission of carbon dioxide that would drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels. If this fateful decision is made, the economies of developed nations will be strangled. Human prosperity will be reduced. Our ability to solve pressing problems, both human and environmental, will be severely limited. We have been told that these shackles must be imposed to forestall a hypothetical global warming projected to occur some time in the distant future. But to date the only unambiguous evidence for planetary warming is a modest rise in temperature (less than one degree Celsius) that falls well within the range of natural variation.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Ukraine Economic Catastrophe the Problem Not H1N1 Swine Flu / Politics / Eastern Europe
By: F_William_Engdahl
The Ukraine deaths attributed by WHO and Ukraine authorities to an uncontrolled outbreak of H1N1 Swine Flu are not the result of H1N1, a virus whose very existence has never been demonstrated by WHO. The deaths appear to be a consequence of collapsing general health conditions as well as supplies of basic grains. The IMF conditionalities imposed on Ukraine as precondition for a stabilization loan and not Swine Flu is where we should look for the cause.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Obama's Afghanistan Plan and the Key Battleground / Politics / Afghanistan
By: STRATFOR
U.S. President Barack Obama announced the broad structure of his Afghanistan strategy in a speech at West Point on Tuesday evening. The strategy had three core elements. First, he intends to maintain pressure on al Qaeda on the Afghan-Pakistani border and in other regions of the world. Second, he intends to blunt the Taliban offensive by sending an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan, along with an unspecified number of NATO troops he hopes will join them.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Why Obama’s Troop Surge in Afghanistan? / Politics / Afghanistan
By: Shamus_Cooke
Tuesday’s announcement that President Obama will send an additional 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan — while begging his foreign allies to send an extra 10,000 — will have dramatic effects throughout the American and world society.
The hope that Obama’s election would drastically change U.S. foreign policy has been destroyed. The effects of his troop surge will change the minds of millions of Americans, who, until this point, were giving Obama the benefit of the doubt.
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