Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
New Derivatives Regulation Is Weaker Than Current, Resulting in Greater Destabilisation of Economy / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Washingtons_Blog
As I have repeatedly pointed out, proposed derivatives legislation will not make things better:
A leading credit default swap expert (Satyajit Das) says that the new credit default swap regulations not only won't help stabilize the economy, they might actually help to destabilize it.
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Janet Tavakoli Comments on Goldman Sachs Fueled AIG Gambles / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Janet_Tavakoli
Goldman Fueled AIG Gambles - Wall Street Journal – December 12, 2009 - By Serena Ng and Carrick Mollenkamp (contribution from Amir Efrati)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. played a bigger role than has been publicly disclosed in fueling the mortgage bets that nearly felled American Insurance Group Inc.
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Labour Governments UK State Pension 2.5% Increase Con Trick / Politics / UK General Election
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Alistair Darling which much fanfare amidst a gloomy budget announced on Wednesday a 2.5% increase in state pension payments from 1st of April 2010. Which was clearly aimed at traditional labour voters ahead of a April or May 2010 General Election.
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Middle Class Debt and Economic Outrage, Solutions, and The Financial Markets / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: DeepCaster_LLC
“We don’t need The Fed, The Fed is making our lives miserable…”
“Audit The Fed, then Abolish It” Jim Rogers, Fame Investor, Tech Ticker 12/10/09
"What's so frustrating is you have an administration that is arguing such a populist (ideology) and not appreciating all the unintended consequences that the consumer and small businesses have far less credit," Whitney said.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
U.S. Taxpayers On The Hook For Ginnie Mae's Rampant Growth / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Shedlock
The Center for Public Integrity and The Washington Post collaborated nicely on a report detailing problems at Ginnie Mae.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
UK Pre-General Election Pre-Budget Report / Politics / UK General Election
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The pre-budget report (PBR) was pretty much inline with my earlier expectations as I highlighted in the article (Alistair Darling's UK Election Give Away Budget Crippled by Debt and Liabilities ) :
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.