Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Obghanistan, More for the Meat Grinder / Politics / Afghanistan
By: Ron_Shirtz
Throughout July and August of this year, US forces suffered almost 90 soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Heeding recommendations from military leaders and his advisors, President Obama has approved sending 17,000 troops, which includes a 5,000-member Marine Regimental Combat Team, to support the overextended combat troops in southern Afghanistan. While these numbers may seem impressive, in military terms this is the equivalent of scrounging couch change trying to pay off a balloon mortgage payment.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 03, 2009
The Mafia and the Credit Crisis Bailouts / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Danny_Schechter
TONY SOPRANO TO THE RESCUE: Government Fears Mob Moves On Recovery Funds, Undertakes Creative Counter Measure
THE MOB WANTS A TASTE….
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Obama the Last Emperor, the Crash of America / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
Professor Igor Panarin, whose book “The Crash of America” is just out, claims that by November the book will be yesterday’s news.
Panarin believes President Obama will lead his country to a breakup. Panarin compares Obama to former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
From American Citizen to Serf in 200 Years / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
America is a strange place. Liberals get emotionally distraught that the Founding Fathers stuck Second Amendment rights in the Constitution. For American citizens to possess firearms is considered to be dangerous. Yet it is quite alright for Americans to possess deadly green mambas.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Bernanke’s Victory Lap / Politics / Central Banks
By: John_Browne
Despite vocal criticism of the Federal Reserve’s stewardship of the economy over the past decade, President Obama’s renomination of Ben Bernanke to a second term as Fed Chairman nevertheless served to reassure and boost financial markets. While it is true that markets tend to crave predictability from government, rewarding the continuation of horrible Bush-era policies is perhaps pushing the boundaries of nostalgia. More interestingly, President Obama, who campaigned for ‘change,’ has clearly come down once again on the side of continuity.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
The Geopolitical Western View of Russia / Politics / Russia
By: STRATFOR
A months-long White House review of a pair of U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) installations slated for Poland and the Czech Republic is nearing completion. The review is expected to present a number of options ranging from pushing forward with the installations as planned to canceling them outright. The Obama administration has yet to decide what course to follow. Rumors are running wild in Poland and the Czech Republic that the United States has reconsidered its plan to place ballistic defense systems in their countries. The rumors stem from a top U.S. BMD lobbying group that said this past week that the U.S. plan was all but dead.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Audit the Fed Gaining Momentum in Congress / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
It has been an interesting week indeed for the Federal Reserve. Early this week, it was announced that President Obama intends to reappoint Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term in January, signaling a vote of confidence in him. Bernanke seems to be popular with the administration and with Wall Street, and with good reason. His lending policies have left big banks flush with newly created cash that covers up old mistakes and allows for new ones.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Credit Crisis Bank Bailouts, The Economics of Failure / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Michael_J_Kosares
The government has handed over hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout aid intended to ensure the survival of corporations deemed "too big (i.e., too important) to fail," even though the present vulnerabilities and failings of these same entities have been largely brought upon themselves by their own missteps and strategic imprudence.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, August 31, 2009
“We don’t want your tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to trash the planet” The Federal Reserve, 2009 / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Robert_Singer
Having trouble understanding the events since the October 2008 financial crisis?
Any of this sound familiar:
- · Banks hoarding their TARP funds
- · Gas prices going up when they should be going down
- · Automobile dealerships closed without regard to profitability
- · Health Care reform: The Kevorkian is out of jail early
Sunday, August 30, 2009
America's Deepening Inferiority Complex Begins to Bite Russia / Politics / Russia
By: Global_Research
Robert Bridge writes: As the US beats a path through a social, political and economic forest of epic proportions, is it mere coincidence that news stories on Russia are becoming more hostile than ever?
Strangely, the end of the Cold War did not significantly alter the Western media’s perceptions of Russia. In fact, the collapse of communism seems to have forced the American media establishment to dish out the dirt on Russia with more gusto than ever before.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
My Portrait/Caricature of the Late Senator Edward Kennedy / Politics / US Politics
By: Kevin_Geary
30 years ago, in 1979, I was asked by the Economist magazine to do a caricature-portrait of Ted Kennedy for their cover, because he was then seen as a serious challenger to President Jimmy Carter. The caricature-portrait wasn't used by the Economist in the end, because they decided that another story was more important for the cover at the time (such is the fate of artists who are commissioned by magazines!)
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 28, 2009
News Corporation's Murdoch Blames BBC For Driving Independent Journalism Out of Business / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Nadeem_Walayat
James Murdoch of the media giant News Corporation lashed out at the licence fee funded BBC for driving out independent media that cannot compete against the BBC's free services, especially the online services that cost the BBC £186 million per annum to deliver but are paid for via the licence fee, whereas mainstream news organisations operate their free online services at a huge loss and are increasingly being forced to charge for online access as the print media continues to shrink as more people turn to the internet for news and information.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Who does Ben Bernake Really Work For? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Justice_Litle
The announcement of Ben S. Bernanke’s successful nomination for a second term brings forth a curious question. Whom does the Fed Chairman really and truly work for?
Before we get into today's topic, a quick comment on the state of the market here and now.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Bernanke's REAL Legacy Helping Goldman Sachs Fleece Us All / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Graham_Summers
I’ve watched with first amusement, then disgust, and ultimately outrage as various pundits proclaimed Bernanke’s efforts “saved the financial system” or helped the US “weather the storm.” Bernanke did NO such thing. You could train a chimpanzee to hit the “print money” button at the Fed every-time the Fed phone rings with a Wall Street number and get the same results. To date, Bernanke has spent or put the taxpayer on the hook for some $24 TRILLION in bailouts, lending windows, and off balance sheet arrangements.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Great Depression Rhyming, Bloomberg and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Paul_L_Kasriel
On November 7, 2008, Bloomberg LP sued the Federal Reserve Board under terms of the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the names of borrowers of funds from the Federal Reserve as well as lists of the collateral posted by the borrowers. On August 25, 2009, a U.S. District judge ruled in favor of Bloomberg, ordering the Federal Reserve Board to turn over to Bloomberg the requested information within five days.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Lord Turner Fights to Save the Incompetent FSA Banking System Regulator / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Lord Turner, the ex-banker head of the FSA banking system regulator that repeatedly failed to regulate the UK banking sector over the boom and bust years that resulted in a near catastrophic collapse of the UK banking system requiring the tax payer to underwrite the whole banking system to the tune of £1.5 trillion and counting, today stepped forward with strong words criticising the financial sector as well as calling on for a new tax
on transactions to prevent bonus abuse that allowed bank executives and boards to turn the institutions they worked for into hollow shells, after having banked billions in bonuses on fictitious mark to market profits.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Global Fresh Water Crisis, Peak Water / Politics / Water Sector
By: James_Quinn
“It should be obvious from simple arithmetic that population growth is on a direct collision course with increasingly scarce resources.”
Jeremy Grantham
The notion of peak water probably sounds crazy to most people. The earth is 70% covered by water. The water cycle replenishes water on a continuous basis. The global warming enthusiasts tell us that glaciers are melting and oceans are rising. This should make water more plentiful.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Growing Poverty and Despair in America / Politics / Recession 2008 - 2010
By: Stephen_Lendman
In 1962, Michael Harrington's "The Other America" exposed the nation's dark underside enough for John Kennedy to ask his Council of Economic Advisor chairman, Walter Heller, to look into the problem and for Lyndon Johnson to say (on January 8, 1964) that his administration "today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America."
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Want To Halve US Medical Costs? Easy Just Break-Up The Monopoly / Politics / Healthcare Sector
By: Andrew_Butter
All government policy decisions come down to three choices:
(A): Create a monopoly and force the customers to pay whatever price they can be forced to bear. That's called parasite economics, the trick is not to bleed so much that the cow dies, (http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article10998.html).
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Facts, And Understanding, Are Often In Conflict: / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Living In A Culture of Delusion Leads To Denial, Ignorance and Worse
What do we have a right to know? In this web-based age, where we can Google almost everything, you’d think we would be better informed than we are.
Read full article... Read full article...