Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, April 17, 2009
American's Tea Party Protests Against Fraudulent Bank Bailouts and Stimulus Spending / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Andy_Sutton
“Elephants and Tea Parties” - It is really no wonder that thousands of people across the nation showed up Wednesday to protest everything from the $787 stimulus package to big bank bailouts done under the cover of darkness. A failing economy, a government determined to insert itself fully in the specter of control, state sovereignty movements, and a good old fashioned tax day frown all combined to whip up enough ire to get folks to take to the streets. Still, many in the media don’t understand why this wave of protest is occurring.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Year of Cockeyed Economic Optimism Amidst a Fake Recovery / Politics / Recession 2008 - 2010
By: Mike_Whitney
"The foundations of our economy are strong" - Retail sales fell in March as soaring job losses and tighter credit conditions forced consumers to cut back sharply on discretionary spending. Nearly every sector saw declines including electronics, restaurants, furniture, sporting goods and building materials. Auto sales continued their historic nosedive despite aggressive promotions on new vehicles and $13 billion of aid from the federal government.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Goldman Sachs Tries to Shut Down Financial Blogger Mike Morgan / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Mike_Whitney
Mike Morgan is a registered investment adviser and a scrappy shoot-from-the-hip guy who doesn't mince his words. Recently Morgan has come under fire from investment giant Goldman Sachs for his hard-hitting web site "Facts about Goldman Sachs". Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Emperor Obama and Pax Roma Picayune For November 20, 301 AD, The People’s Pique / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Special Edition -
Emperor Diocletian’s Palace at Nicomedia
Tim Case writes: Officials close to Emperor Diocletian announced today that developing economic conditions, which may result in an unparalleled crisis, have made it necessary for the Emperor to take drastic steps to save the Empire.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Greedy Banks and Politicians Partners in Financial Crisis Crime / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: John_Browne
Rightly, the students of Austrian Economics have laid the blame for the current economic crisis squarely on the doorstep of the Keynesian policies of governments and central banks. However, in this case, there are other culprits involved, most notably the former titans of financial services. During this decade, major international money central banks from Wall Street to London and even to Zurich displayed unimaginable greed, reckless risk taking and gross negligence. Depositors, borrowers and shareholders should be questioning whether any major financial institution will ever again be worthy of their trust. Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Nationalization as a "Solution" to the Financial Crisis? / Politics / Nationalization
By: Global_Research
Shamus Cooke writes: "… the word "nationalization" scares the hell out of people. And so the debate has been opened up now, and that's good. Let's talk about it." Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California)Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
U.S. vs China: The Great Game for New World Order / Politics / New World Order
By: Global_Research
Park Sang-seek writes: The G20 summit in London ended with an optimistic note. But the final communique was a compromised document between the forces to preserve the basic architecture of the existing financial order and the forces to replace it with a new one: the first led by the Anglo-American partnership and the second by the BRICs with the support of the non-participating developing world. The Franco-German coalition took the intermediary position.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bailouts and Manipulations: Save Wall Street, at the Expense of Main Street / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Global_Research
Larry Chin writes: Wall Street is in the midst of a huge rally, primarily sparked by two recent occurrences. The first was the “surprising” announcement that Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America -- major “zombie” banks laden with “toxic assets,” on the verge of collapse, and the recipients of billions in government (US taxpayer) bailout money -- mysteriously posted profits this year. Wells Fargo, regarded as one of the healthier big banks, and a recipient of $25 billion, also reported a profit last week, rallying the stock markets again before the Easter holiday.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
American's 94 Years of Serfdom / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
This April 15 is the 94th year that Americans have had to file an income tax. For most Americans, the day is a non-event. The federal and state governments have already collected the taxes due by withholding from each paycheck over the course of the calendar year. Most Americans never saw the money and have no real idea that they earned it.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Turkey Key to Washington’s Geopolitical Pivot / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: F_William_Engdahl
The recent visit of US President Obama to Turkey was far more significant than the President’s speech would suggest. For Washington Turkey today has become a geopolitical “pivot state” which is in the position to tilt the Eurasian power equation towards Washington or significantly away from it depending on how Turkey develops its ties with Moscow and its role regarding key energy pipelines.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Declining American Empire, Colonial Warfare / Politics / US Politics
By: LewRockwell
Eric Margolis writes: There are a lot of unhappy campers at the Pentagon right now. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates chose last week to present a controversial new budget that will affect the course of US foreign and military policy for decades to come. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wall Street Fraud, Where Were the CPAs? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Submissions
Ralph Nader writes: Where were the giant accounting firms, the CPAs, and the rest of the accounting profession while the Wall Street towers of fraud, deception and cover-ups were fracturing our economy, looting and draining trillions of dollars of other peoples' money?This is the licensed profession that is paid to exercise independent judgment with independent standards to give investors, pension funds, mutual funds, and the rest of the financial world accurate descriptions of corporate financial realities.
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Monday, April 13, 2009
All the Banks Pass their Stress Tests, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Paul_J_Nolte
I can just hear Gomer Pyle crying out “surprise surprise surprise”. All the banks passed their stress test. What remains an open question is just how stressful was the test – a stroll about the park (benign economic growth with very little defaults) or something to get the heart racing. Best guess, based upon the results – a lap around the kitchen table. Another big surprise was Wells Fargo’s earnings report – well above expectations, however little background as to quality of loans/balance sheet and how much bad debt is still hanging around.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Nationwide Tax Payers Revolt is Coming / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Mike_Shedlock
Shortly after I posted a Nationwide Tax Revolt Is Coming, Jack Dean at Pension Tsunami replied "My friends at the Orange County Register agree with you about a revolt brewing."
Monday, April 13, 2009
Time To Breakup Goldman Sachs / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Mike_Shedlock
It's time to breakup Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and for that matter any bank or holding company deemed too big to fail. It's not just the "too big to fail" hazard that is troubling, it's also the power these corporations have and the potential to abuse that power that is also troubling.Please consider the article Incredibly Shrinking Market Liquidity as posted on the Zero Hedge blog.
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Can Bernanke's Loose Monetary Policy Save the US Economy? / Politics / Quantitative Easing
By: Gerard_Jackson
As expected a great deal of attention is still being paid to the financial sector and its "toxic assets". And then we have the Dow that now seems -- at least to a great many market players -- to be signalling a recovery despite the fact that unemployment is still rising and looks like reaching the 10 per cent level. Reinforcing the Pollyanna's view of the economy is the emergence of a positive yield curve. In addition, figures from the Institute of Supply Management show that its Performance Manufacturing Index for March was up by 0.5 per cent while new orders were up by 8.1 per cent, production by 0.1 per cent and prices by 2 per cent and employment by 2 per cent.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
U.S. Financial Crisis Could Lead to New World Order / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Global_Research
In the U.S. about to lose its status as the dominant global superpower? Will the dollar collapse? If so, what would become the new global reserve currency and what would replace U.S. hegemony in a new world order?
American troops are currently stationed in over 150 countries around the world and have been actively engaged in combat since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. The pretext for the invasion of Afghanistan was provided by the 9/11 attacks.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Obama's New Financial World Order / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Stephen_Lendman
This article addresses Washington's financial coup d'etat in the context of discussing Michael Hudson's important, very lengthy and detailed one titled: "The Financial War Against Iceland - Being defeated by debt is as deadly as outright military warfare." It reviews its key information in advance of Hudson's April 15 scheduled appearance on The Global Research News Hour to discuss. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Bubble Denier Bernanke's Revolution / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Mike_Shedlock
Inquiring minds are reading a long and glaringly misguided post by the Washington Post on How Bernanke Staged a Revolution . Bernanke's ability to understand and synthesize the views of his colleagues goes a long way toward explaining how he has revolutionized the Federal Reserve, which under his leadership has deployed trillions of dollars to try to contain the worst economic downturn in 80 years.
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Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Financial War Against Iceland Part 2 / Politics / Credit Crisis 2009
By: Global_Research
Continues from Part1 - Nations that have not paid their debts - Let us draw up a roster of nations that have annulled their debts – or run them up with no intention of paying. The list starts with the world’s largest debtor, the United States. Its government owes $4 trillion to foreign central banks. A moment’s thought will show that there is no way it can pay, even if it wanted to do so. The United States is running a chronic trade deficit, on top of which is a deepening outflow of military spending.