Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, September 05, 2019
Brexit Incontinent Mendacity / Politics / BrExit
By: Raul_I_Meijer
No, I’m still not taking sides in the Brexit proceedings. I have no horse in that fight. As I’ve said 1000 times, I can fully imagine that a country might want to leave the trappings of the EU. But just as often I’ve said that the way the Tories have gone about leaving appears deeply flawed. They have never seemed to take serious the amount of effort required for a smooth exit.
And after being an EU member for 40+ years, that effort could only be gigantic. But not one moment during Theresa May’s ‘reign’, let alone under Boris, have I gotten the impression that the UK is ready. They’ve spent their time fighting amongst each other about the shape and form Brexit should take, but neglected the practical implications of changing 1000s of rules and regulations and treaties and laws.
And sure, maybe a lot of work was done in secret, can’t very well do nothing at all, but none of that would matter very much; you need to show that you’re ready, not merely suggest it. And from what I can gather from the latest numbers I’ve seen, expectations are still that 50-60% of trucks (lorries) will not have the required paperwork once the UK leaves.
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Wednesday, September 04, 2019
Are Central Bankers Taking Sides the in US 2020 Presidential Election? / Politics / Central Banks
By: MoneyMetals
Individual investors are nervous about the stock market and the possibility of recession.
Meanwhile, institutional money from banks and hedge funds is keeping a bid under equities, pushing stock prices higher after every minor dip. Together with the “Plunge Protection Team,” they are keeping the wheels from coming off the stock market cart.
The question is whether that will continue. Or, to be more precise, will we see the monetary stimulus typically expected from the Fed during an economic slowdown, or will central bankers try to torpedo Trump’s re-election campaign as a Fed insider has just proposed?
President Donald Trump is increasingly critical of the Federal Reserve and chairman Jerome Powell for refusing to cut interest rates rapidly enough. He wants to place the blame for any recession and falling stock prices on the central bank and not on the trade war with China.
Wednesday, September 04, 2019
US China Trade War - Trump, You’ve Got It All Wrong! / Politics / Protectionism
By: John_Mauldin
I’m going to start with a story.
There is a drug produced in China that works well on strokes and numerous other less devastating medical issues.
It is derived from pig pancreases or human urine. It isn’t approved in the US due to justifiable regulatory issues, but it is used in Europe as well as China.
A small biotechnological firm in the US has the technology to synthesize this drug without using pancreases or urine. This would be safer and cheaper.
The Chinese company agreed to pay the US company $4.5 million upon the meeting of certain guidelines and then to purchase the drug from the company at a fraction of its Chinese production cost.
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Americans DEMORALIZED, DEPRESSED, DETACHED & DEFIANT / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
I’ve now been running The Burning Platform blog for over ten years. It’s been over eleven years since I wrote my first article – Why We Need Ron Paul – in May 2008 during the Republican primaries. I really thought I could change enough minds through my writing to influence voters and help wake up people to the truth about our deteriorating financial situation. I would send op-eds to my local paper, and they would publish them. My articles on Seeking Alpha in 2008/2009 were the most read and commented on their site.
My assessment of the Wall Street banks, coming financial crisis and recession were accurate enough that I was being sought out by Glenn Beck on CNN, Neal Cavuto on Fox, and Maria Bartiromo on CNBC to be interviewed on their shows. I didn’t want that kind of attention, since it would likely have negatively impacted my day job – which actually supported my family.
I had already experienced negative blowback when I predicted the bankruptcy of General Growth Properties in one of my articles. It seems the CFO was a Wharton grad and large donor to the real estate department. He called the Dept. head, who called the Deputy Dean, who called my boss, the CFO. It was at this point where any mention of Wharton was forbidden on my part, or I risked being terminated.
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Sunday, September 01, 2019
Hong King Kong / Politics / Hong Kong
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Of course the notion of addressing Hong Kong has been in my mind for a while, but it’s a bit of a moving target: things change all the time, and seemingly on the fly. However, with today’s fresh developments, it seems silly to wait any longer. Hong Kong Civic party lawmaker Dennis Kwok yesterday expressed the reason way better than I could:
As I said time and again, the use of troops in Hong Kong will be the end of Hong Kong, and I would warn against any such move on the part of the central people’s government.”
He said that before today’s arrests -and subsequent release on bail- of a handful of alleged protest leaders Joshua Wong, Andy Chan, and Agnes Chow. Who, if you read between the lines, didn’t lead much of anything; they may be figure-heads, but that’s not the same thing. The protests are either lacking leaders or everyone’s a leader, depending on who you ask. So why arrest them to begin with? You tell me.
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Sunday, September 01, 2019
Fed Insider Proposes Using Fed Policy to Punish Trump / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: MoneyMetals
Everybody knows that President Donald Trump favors larger scale reductions in interest rates. He wants low-cost money injected to help stimulate the economy and stock market ahead of next year’s election.
Of course, Federal Reserve policymakers are supposed to stay out of politics and make their decisions based solely on the economic data before them. But it would be naïve to believe they don’t harbor political biases.
They have been under relentless attack by President Trump. They see his attacks as posing a threat to the so-called “independence” of the Federal Reserve. They may even fear that if he is re-elected he will threaten the existence of the Fed as an institution.
Could the Federal Reserve be deliberately withholding stimulus to try to get Trump defeated?
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Here’s Why Rising Global Temperatures Are Very Real / Politics / Climate Change
By: Rodney_Johnson
Climate change has continued to be a big topic in the news, especially with record temperatures again this summer. Are humans the primary cause?When this first became a major issue many years ago, I initially was more skeptical of the human impact. I had studied long-term climate cycles and saw how much they’ve varied simply from natural trends. Were we big enough to impact substantially?
The first wake-up call I got was when I looked back at the key very predictable longer-term cycles. Every one of them, from very long to shorter, were pointing towards moderate cooling. Even the shorter-term sunspot cycles keep coming in lower intensity since 1959 – and more so since 1990, which has a cooling effect – and temperatures keep rising anyway!
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Thursday, August 29, 2019
Trump’s Trade War Is Over and Nobody Won / Politics / Protectionism
By: Patrick_Watson
“You break it, you own it.”Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell cited this Pottery Barn rule back in 2002. He was advising President George W. Bush of the consequences should an Iraq invasion go badly.
In fact, Pottery Barn has no such rule. You can go in their stores and handle the merchandise all you wish. They see occasional breakage as a cost of doing business.
But Powell still chose a good metaphor. Presidents aren’t just shopping for knickknacks when they make economic and foreign policy decisions. They have real, sometimes deadly consequences.
Bush should have listened more closely.
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Tuesday, August 27, 2019
The British Betrayal of Hong Kong / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: BATR
What a long yesteryear between the British Empire and the Chinese Dynasty. The English Crown used the Opium Wars to subjugate the Red Dragon and keep it at bay. A brief summary of the East India Company and the HSBC Bank: Secret Origins To Laundering The World's Drug Money is crucial to understand the role of the City of London in establishing a global trading cartel.
"As the opium and other trade with China expanded, Britain’s new territory of Hong Kong became a major imperial commercial center. The opium dealers gathered together to form a bank, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, as the financial flagship of the British opium trade. Over time, the bank—now known as HSBC—would extend its reach into the drug fields of the Middle East and Ibero-America, as befitting its role as the financial kingpin of Dope, Inc."
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Sunday, August 25, 2019
Fresh Water Crisis Unfolding / Politics / Climate Change
By: Richard_Mills
When planetary scientists search for life on other planets the first thing they look for is evidence of water.
“There are two main questions in the search for life: With so many places to look, how can we focus in on the places most likely to harbor life? What are the unmistakable signs of life -- even if it comes in a form we don't fully understand?
"Before we go looking for life, we're trying to figure out what kinds of planets could have a climate that's conducive to life," del Genio said.
Del Genio recognizes that life may well exist in forms and places so bizarre that it might be substantially different from Earth. But in this early phase of the search, "We have to go with the kind of life we know," he said.
Further, we should make sure we use the detailed knowledge of Earth. In particular, we should make sure of our discoveries on life in various environments on Earth, our knowledge of how our planet and its life have affected each other over Earth history, and our satellite observations of Earth’s climate.
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Sunday, August 25, 2019
Trump Floats Payroll & Capital Gains Tax Cues to Forestall Recession / Politics / US Politics
By: MoneyMetals
Gold and silver markets test some near-term technical support levels late this week, investors are focused on takeaways from the Jackson Hole symposium.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell headlined a list of other central bankers, academics, and financial elites at the annual Wyoming gathering. Powell was widely expected to signal a rate cut ahead during his speech on Friday. But many on Wall Street and in Washington were hoping he would make a bigger, broader commitment to monetary stimulus.
For his part, President Donald Trump is urging the Fed to slash rates by 100 basis points.
On Tuesday, President Trump also said he would consider new tax cuts to stimulate the economy. The following day, he appeared to change his mind, saying we don’t need tax relief after all because “we have a strong economy.
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Monday, August 19, 2019
The Google Globalism Gulag / Politics / Google
By: BATR
The puzzling switch in the corporate motivation of Google seems confusing on the surface. But if you dig deeper into the manure of globalism, the notion that Google is primarily a business for profit is exposed as a distraction of what it really is and how it operates. It is entirely understandable that free internet services, especially when they usually work well and use superior features will attract the public in droves. However, the filtration of search results that only provide a biased outcome can no longer be denied. Notwithstanding, who benefits the most from the abandonment of the old motto, "Don't be evil"?
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Monday, August 19, 2019
The Geopolitical Consequences of a Coming Recession / Politics / Recession 2020
By: Antonius_Aquinas
With the recent ominous inversion of the 2-10 year yield curve and its near infallible predictive recessionary power, the consequences for the economy are plain to see, however, what has not been spoken of by pundits will be the effect of a recession on US foreign policy. If a recession comes about prior to November 2020, or if economic indicators such as GDP plummet even further, the chances of a Trump re-election is extremely problematic even if the Democrats nominate a socialist nut case such as Bernie Sanders or Pocahontas.
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Friday, August 16, 2019
Epstein Is Like JFK All Over Again / Politics / Conspiracy Theory
By: Raul_I_Meijer
It’s been a few days since I did anything but my news aggregator, and that’s not so strange, since so much of it ‘encircled’ Jeffrey Epstein. Now that he’s supposedly died, though we have no proof of that, from an ‘apparent suicide’, there are other topics as well that we can turn to.
But let’s start with Epstein just for good measure. We still don’t have an autopsy report, though New York City Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson apparently performed one on Epstein on Sunday, which private pathologist Michael Baden “observed on behalf of Epstein’s representatives”.
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Thursday, August 15, 2019
US Government Is Beholden To The Fed; And Vice-Versa / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Kelsey_Williams
We hear quite a bit today about the issue of Federal Reserve independence. The crux of the argument usually centers on monetary policy executed by the Fed versus opinions of politicians and others who want and expect something different, which they believe will provide more favorable results.
President Trump has been ardently vocal in demanding that the Fed be more aggressive in cutting interest rates. He also wants, and is encouraging, action that would result in a weaker US dollar. He believes that it would be good for American businesses. His reasoning is that a weaker US dollar would make American-made goods more competitive.
Whether or not the President is correct doesn’t matter for purposes of this article. What is important is that there is a wide difference of opinion between the Federal Reserve and its current policies (re: Jerome Powell) as compared to the wishes of the United States government (re: President Trump).
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Tuesday, August 13, 2019
London Under Attack! Victoria Embankment Gardens Statues and Monuments / Politics / Travel & Holidays
By: Anika_Walayat
If your visiting London then your likely going to visit the Embankment gardens whether your aware of them or not, given that they are situated just next to the house of parliaments and surrounded by several prominent buildings such as New Scotland Yard.
Victoria Embankment Gardens are part of the chain of open spaces along Victoria Embankment opened in 1865. The compact park features various statues including that of John Stuart Mill, Lady Henry Somerset statue of girl with begging bowl, William Howard Forster statue, and a memorial to the poet Robert Burns amongst many others. Unfortunately as is the case for many statues, the are under permanent attack from pigeons! And tend to be covered in acidic pigeon poop as this video illustrates.
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Sunday, August 11, 2019
Social Media Civil War / Politics / Social Media
By: Raul_I_Meijer
The US government has to come up with very very strong legislation for social media, and it has to do that very soon. Because if it doesn’t, it risks those same social media inciting a civil war (that’s no hyperbole, that is real) on American soil.
And beyond as well, but as Donald Trump said about European efforts to curtail Twitter, Facebook et al’s activities, they’re American companies and hence America’s responsibility. Well, cool, but that means you have to do your job, and you ain’t doing it. Those EU efforts by the way were all about financial issues, tax paying etc., not inciting civil wars or being undemocratic. In short, Brussels doesn’t get it yet either.
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Saturday, August 10, 2019
Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match in China / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Ellen_Brown
When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4% and gross domestic product growth was above 3%. If anything, by the Fed’s own reasoning, it should have been raising rates.
Market pundits explained that we’re in a trade war and a currency war. Other central banks were cutting their rates, and the Fed had to follow suit in order to prevent the dollar from becoming overvalued relative to other currencies. The theory is that a cheaper dollar will make American products more attractive in foreign markets, helping our manufacturing and labor bases.
Over the weekend, President Trump followed the rate cuts by threatening to impose, on Sept. 1, a new 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese products. China responded by suspending imports of U.S. agricultural products by state-owned companies and letting the value of the yuan drop. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 770 points, its worst day in 2019. The war was on.
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Wednesday, August 07, 2019
The Fourth Turning Trump Economics / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I laid out the unsustainable economic conditions which will drive the next phase of this Fourth Turnings and detailed the economic factors which drove the previous three American Fourth Turnings.
Strauss and Howe, when writing The Fourth Turning in 1997, did not know the exact circumstances and events which would propel the next Turning. But their study of economic and demographic trends along with the attitudes of generations and historical precedents in prior Fourth Turnings, led them to conclude the driving factors of this Crisis would be debt, global disorder and civic decay.
As I watch what is currently happening in this country and around the world, it is evident to me they nailed it. The volcanic eruption in 2008 unleashed a torrent of molten lava, which continues to flow along channels of distress, but is currently threatening to burst free of these channels and wreak worldwide financial and physical devastation. A multitude of possibilities described by Strauss and Howe below are already happening or will happen in the next few years.
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Monday, August 05, 2019
A Tale of Two Cummings / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Last weekend, I noticed that two of the main newsmakers were both named Cummings, one in the US, the other in the UK. At first glance they don’t look like family, but I’ll readily admit I can’t be sure of that. What I do know is that both are symbolic of what’s wrong with the political systems they figure in.
Also last weekend, I saw a comment somewhere, think it was Twitter, that said something in the vein of: let’s hope the British don’t make the same mistake with Boris Johnson that the Americans made -and make- with Donald Trump, that is, labeling every single thing he does as “Bad”, because then they would lose all of their credibility, fast.
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