Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Ukraine's Civil 'Nuclear' War / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: Andrew_McKillop
Don't Expect the MSM to Warn You
Some niche publishers and blog operators actually tell you about the clear unambiguous threat of the Ukraine war, civil war, conflict, Russia-West standoff, and so on, going nuclear easily and at any time.
Wasn't Ukraine the home of the Chernobyl disaster? Maybe it was too far back in time for you to chant "Pripiat mon amour", in those times before iPhone 5.x.i but you have the Next One. It really will be on the newzak shows from MSM outlets like Sky News, Aljazeera, BBC News, CNN, RT and the others.
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Friday, February 13, 2015
When It Comes to Wall Street Crooks… Size Matters / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: If you didn’t read yesterday’s BrokeAndBroker blog by Wall Street lawyer Bill Singer,you should.
In in his earlier life, before he got a life, Singer was an attorney at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) -now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). And his latest blog is titled “A Tale of Two Streets and FINRA’s Disparate Sanctions.”
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Friday, February 13, 2015
Fourth Turning Shadow Crisis War on Multiple Fronts / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I explained the model of generational theory as conveyed by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning. In Part Two I provided an overwhelming avalanche of evidence this Crisis has only yet begun, with debt, civic decay and global disorder propelling the world towards the next more violent phase of this Crisis. In Part Three I addressed how the most likely clash on the horizon is between the government and the people. War on multiple fronts will thrust the world through the great gate of history towards an uncertain future.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
US Sinks to 49th in World Press Freedom Index / Politics / US Politics
By: Jesse
You may click on the chart below, or you may click on this link to the article and a very large, interactive chart with access to data, methodology, etc.
The US was 49th, as compared to 46th in 2014.
The UK was 34th, France was 38th, Spain was 33rd, Australia was 25th, Germany was 12th, and Canada was 8th.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Greek Issue Just Got Personal / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
It was already present over the past two weeks, for example in Yanis Varoufakis’ meetings with Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem and German FinMin Schäuble, awkwardly obvious in facial expressions and body language. A touch of personal discomfort. A touch of a threat that required chest-thumping and hubris to be brushed off. ‘You better do what we say or else’. Back then, perhaps it was still experienced from a political, deal-making, perspective. But in the course of yesterday it became clear something has changed.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
A Brief History of Inequality / Politics / Social Issues
By: STRATFOR
At an event in Beijing last November, I had the good fortune to meet the French economist Thomas Piketty, who has sold 1.5 million copies of his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, since it was first published in 2013. Pacing up and down in front of a packed auditorium, Piketty explained that because the rate of return on capital is now higher than the growth rate of the global economy, the proportion of the world's wealth that is owned by a small elite will likely keep increasing; in other words, we should expect to see a divergence of wealth as the rich get much richer. As his book says, "capitalism automatically generates arbitrary and unsustainable inequalities that radically undermine the meritocratic values on which democratic societies are based."
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Fourth Turning Seeds of Crisis and War / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I attempted to illuminate the concept of generational theory as articulated by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning. In Part Two I provided proof this Crisis is far from over, with ever increasing debt, civic decay and global disorder propelling the world towards war.
Seeds of Crisis & War
“The seasons of time offer no guarantees. For modern societies, no less than for all forms of life, transformative change is discontinuous. For what seems an eternity, history goes nowhere – and then it suddenly flings us forward across some vast chaos that defies any mortal effort to plan our way there. The Fourth Turning will try our souls – and the saecular rhythm tells us that much will depend on how we face up to that trial. The saeculum does not reveal whether the story will have a happy ending, but it does tell us how and when our choices will make a difference.” – Strauss & Howe - The Fourth Turning
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Thursday, February 12, 2015
Third Greek Bailout? Another 53.8 Billion Euro Needed? Primary Account Surplus Revisited / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Mike_Shedlock
Greece has two major financing problems. One is long-term, the other happens right now.
- Greece's overall debt load of €323 is not sustainable. What cannot be paid back, won't.
- The current payback schedule on debt owed to the ECB and IMF implies yet another "bailout" to the tune of €53.8 Billion.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Boris Johnson on Greece Euro-zone Crisis : "They've got to try and keep this thing together" / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bloomberg
London Mayor Boris Johnson spoke with Bloomberg Television's Betty Liu today about Greece's future, the outlook for the U.K.'s membership in the European Union, concerns over citizens who join Islamic State, and technology in the U.K. He also shared that during his visit, he was mistaken for Donald Trump: "I was walking down, having my photograph taken just yesterday in the street in New York, and a young woman walked by and said, gee, is that Trump?"
On Greece, Johnson said: "I have a hunch 70 percent of the Greek population want to remain in the euro. The entire Greek establishment wants to remain in the euro. Everybody in power in Europe basically reckons there's nothing for it; they've got to try and keep this thing together."
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Minsk Summit Highlights A Shaky NATO Union – Russia Is Far From Isolated / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: GoldCore
- Merkel and Hollande to attend peace talks in Belarus to resolve Ukraine’s civil war today
- US and UK not invited
- Germany and US present united front but tensions ripple under the surface
- Foreign Minister of Greece, Nikolaos Kotzias, to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov today as the crucial Eurogroup of finance ministers meet to determine the fate of Greece and the Euro
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Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Business of Global Warming Fraud / Politics / Climate Change
By: BATR
The Global Warming establishment is NOT a business. All the tentacles that suck up public money to finance crony collectivism are based upon government subsidies and artificially higher consumer prices. The absurd lunacy that economic growth and productive jobs can be created with the underlying premise of the “so called” industrial model is based upon lies, deceit and cooked data; clearly demonstrates the disingenuous nature of the zealots that benefit from the fraud.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Big Bang Explained - How the Universe Began and How it will End - Video / Politics / Science
By: Anika_Walayat
In this educational video I explain how the universe began with the Big Bang, how this was discovered by Edwin Hubble and what it means for the future End of the universe.
This video is especially suitable for children, and forms the first part of series of science & learning videos.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Greece Euro-zone Crisis, Ukraine - Germany Emerges / Politics / Germany
By: STRATFOR
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, accompanied by French President Francois Hollande, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 6. Then she met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Feb. 9. The primary subject was Ukraine, but the first issue discussed at the news conference following the meeting with Obama was Greece. Greece and Ukraine are not linked in the American mind. They are linked in the German mind, because both are indicators of Germany's new role in the world and of Germany's discomfort with it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Courage to Face True History / Politics / Social Issues
By: BATR
History is philosophy teaching by examples. ~Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War
Human consciousness and the ability to understand that which really occurred in the past, is a skill that many people have little experience with mastering. Scholarship and researching the yesteryear relies upon analyzing accounts of others and is usually based on chronicles written centuries ago. Most of the original evidence used in writing the accounts may be lost, based upon oral myths or accurate translations of vanished languages. Even when the original sources are impeccable in their authenticity or go unquestioned in the ivory towers of academic scrutiny, the crucial question still remains, Was It So? Attempts to provide definitive proof, when it comes to explaining political events, relies more often on the art of understanding the connection among factions, based within the context of their intended agendas than smoking gun documents.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Greece Dependency Has Created Dangerous Illusions / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: John_Browne
Once again the crisis in Greece is threatening the unity of the entire euro zone. Many analysts are asking what must be done to restore viability to the Union's weakest link. Lost in this discussion is that modern Greece, formed in 1830, has never really been required to stand on its own. Generations of support from abroad, typically given for strategic reasons, has created a false sense of prosperity in the country and has prevented the Greeks from accepting the realities of their current situation.
Monday, February 09, 2015
Good News From Egypt - Dinosaurs Are Finished / Politics / Egypt
By: Andrew_McKillop
Bad News for al-Sisi
At the state-owned Airforce Stadium in Cairo about 200 young male supporters of the Zamalek team were injured by riot police beatings, water cannon, birdshot and live bullets, and about 35 to 45 were shot dead, Sunday 8 Feb. Mainly targeted by the police, the White Knight vanguards of the Ultras movement of Egyptian football fans. The previous police atrocity against Ultras, at Port Said stadium near Cairo left about 74 dead and 500 injured, and helped spark the downfall of "lifetime president" and former airforce general Hosni Mubarak. Muslim Brotherhood recuperation and re-use of the Ultras as political chaff troops and cannon fodder stopped dead when the Muhamad Morsi government maintained and extended the 2-year ban on all football matches in Egypt, contrary to promises given by the Morsi government to the Ultras. The state had lied to them.
Monday, February 09, 2015
Greece Debt, Who is Accountable? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
Raymond Matison writes: There are millions of individual and institutional investors worldwide who purchase equities and fixed income instruments. When they make a decision to purchase an investment, they hope to make a profit, but they also take on a risk of losing their money. If the stock or bond purchased loses value, it is solely the investor or lender who takes the loss.
When a family purchases a home and seeks a mortgage loan, the bank making the loan used to be at risk. That is, they made an evaluation of the borrower’s ability to repay, and used the property as collateral to secure the loan. If the loan went bad, the bank was at risk of losing money. Over the last decades, banks sell off their mortgage loans to be packaged into a security which is sold to investors, thus passing the loss risk to individual and institutional investors. It is the ultimate investor or lender who accepts the risk of loss.
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Saturday, February 07, 2015
The Fallujah Option for East Ukraine / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: Mike_Whitney
“I want to appeal to the Ukrainian people, to the mothers, the fathers, the sisters and the grandparents. Stop sending your sons and brothers to this pointless, merciless slaughter. The interests of the Ukrainian government are not your interests. I beg of you: Come to your senses. You do not have to water Donbass fields with Ukrainian blood. It’s not worth it.” — Alexander Zakharchenko, Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic
Washington needs a war in Ukraine to achieve its strategic objectives. This point cannot be overstated.
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Friday, February 06, 2015
Greece To Return Classical Masterpiece / Politics / Global Debt Crisis 2015
By: Raul_I_Meijer
An Automatic Earth afficionado who goes by the moniker GeoLib posted something in the comments section for yesterday’s Debt In The Time Of Wall Street that I think deserves a better fate than to be stuck there. He makes a gracious connection between 19th century American writer, politician and political economist Henry George, in particular his book Progress and Poverty, which in its day was a huge bestseller, and Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who, in GeoLib’s words, “is graciously returning the book to us”.
Friday, February 06, 2015
Moses Was a Terrorist - Egyptian Empire vs U.S. Empire, Today's Islamic Freedom Fighting Terrorists - Video / Politics / Religion
By: Videos
"In an interview with ABC’s Nightline, Christian Bale described his Exodus: Gods and Kings character Moses as a “freedom fighter” and a “terrorist” against the slaveholding Egyptian empire.
Enter Fox & Friends with a segment ridiculing the actor’s comments part of their regular “Fight for Faith” segment (normally reserved for stories on the persecution of Christians and/or Todd Starnes).