Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Merkel's Magic Hat Running Out of Rabbits; Most Germans Believe Further Euro-zone Bailouts Are Pointless / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
A pair of articles translated from German and Spanish further highlights the pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to not give into to further demands by Spain, Italy, and France.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Emulate Scrooge McDuck, Make a Bucket List / Politics / Social Issues
By: Gary_North
On October 3, 2009, I attended my 50th high school reunion. The 50th high school reunion is the last hurrah institutionally in the United States. No other final meeting will attract as many people from a person’s generation. There is nothing like your 50th high school reunion to remind you that the clock is ticking.
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Germany Will Bail On the Euro Rather Than Bail the Euro Out / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Graham_Summers
It all boils down to Germany.
I’ve been forecasting for months that the country will increasingly focus on domestic interests and that it will ultimately opt to leave the Euro rather than prop up the EU.
The former (focusing on domestic issues) is already underway.
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Saturday, July 07, 2012
The European Union’s Latest Smoke and Mirrors Deal / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: InvestmentContrarian
Danny Esposito writes: The market cheered news out of the European Union that a deal was made to tackle this financial crisis head-on and provide capital to the Spanish banks. Forget the numbers for the moment; what is more important to note is that the money to help the Spanish banks is supposedly going to come from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which requires the approval of all 17 countries of the European Union in order to be enacted.
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Friday, July 06, 2012
Third World America 2012: A Country At War With Itself / Politics / US Politics
By: Janet_Tavakoli
On the Fourth of July, comedian Chris Rock tweeted: "Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks." Chris Rock disowns the holiday with tongue-in-cheek.
Well right back at you Mr. Rock. My continental European ancestors weren't in the USA when colonists won their independence from England. My grandparents didn't even speak English when they arrived in the U.S., but according to this tweet, their whiteness took ownership of Independence Day from African Americans. Is there nothing those poor European immigrants didn't ruin for real Americans?
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Thursday, July 05, 2012
Destroying the Young with Permanent Bank Bailouts / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Paul_Tustain
The tyranny of banking deposit insurance is leading young people to hate 'the market'...
Why aren't young people protesting against bailouts?
Younger adults are usually pretty quick to protest injustices, but they're strangely quiet on financial rescues. Few of them seem able to join the dots and see that bailouts are clobbering them hardest.
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Thursday, July 05, 2012
LIEbor Financial Crimes, Serious Fraud Office has Serious Questions to Answer / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
LIEbor rate fixing is just one aspect of the mega financial crimes of the century that continue to be perpetuated by bankster's that earlier today were rewarded with another £50 billion of free money from their god fathers at the Bank of England.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Hot Air Independence Day, Can Americans Escape the Deception? / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Hot Air Day is upon us. On July 4 hot air will spew forth all over the country as dignitaries deliver homilies to our “freedom and democracy” and praise “our brave troops” who are protecting our freedom by “killing them over there before they come over here.”
Not a single one of these speeches will contain one word of truth. No speaker will lament the death of the US Constitution or urge his audience to action to restore the only document that protects their liberty. No speaker will acknowledge that in the 21st century the Bush/Obama Regime, with the complicity of the Department of Justice, federal courts, Congress, presstitute media, law schools, bar associations, and an insouciant public have murdered the Constitution in the name of the “war on terror.”
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Thursday, July 05, 2012
Germany's Energiewende ,The Losers Line Up / Politics / Nuclear Power
By: Andrew_McKillop
European business news, 3 July, took a partial break from European crisis response Stability Funds,
which have no money but nicely written "forward looking" prospectuses, to look at Germany's sinking
giants of postwar reconstruction and growth - the Big 4 power producer companies E.On, RWE,
Vattenfall and EnBW. These are all floundering with Germany's Energiewende transition plan. RWE
has the present headlines because, after spending about 1 billion euros on its Nordsee Ost wind park in
the North Sea, it finds that it cannot start production because Tenne-T TSO, the local power transport
(grid) operator has not built the connector to the 48-mill 295 MW windfarm 30 kilometres out to sea.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/stress-on-the-high-seas-germany-s-wind-power-revolution-in-the-doldrums-a-805505.html
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
MP's Fail to Hold Bob Diamond, Barclays to Account for Libor Fraud, Public Inquiry Needed / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The 3 hour Treasury Select Committee session has just concluded and clearly it has failed to live up to expectations as the politicians failed to hold Bob Diamond the ex-ceo of Barclays to account. The facts are that the FSA and the Bank of England are incompetent because it has taken the regulators 4 years to do only half a job.
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Threat of "European Monster State" About to Splinter Merkel Coalition / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: Mike_Shedlock
Winning the Summit but Losing the War
German chancellor Angela Merkel was the EU Summit Winner. She gave next to nothing to Italy and France, and a pittance to Spain.
However, there was a price to that pittance, and it could cost Merkel dearly. Please consider German Party Leader Threatens To Axe Coalition
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Europe Wake-Up call Whilst U.S. Politicians Continue Snoring Away / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bloomberg
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink spoke with Bloomberg Television's Erik Schatzker and Trish Regan on "Market Makers" today and said that, "our politicians are guardians too, and they're not acting in ways that guardians should...Europe is a great wake-up call and they're still snoring away."
Fink went on to say, "we need more clarity, and that is my message to every politician I see...it's all about confidence. No one is investing for tomorrow."
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Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Supreme Errors by U.S. Supreme Court in Upholding Obama's Health Care Plan / Politics / US Politics
By: Peter_Schiff
In the wake of my last commentary on the horrendous Supreme Court decision upholding Obama's health care plan, several people have pointed out that I erred in saying that the income tax is a "direct tax." While it is technically correct that the Court ultimately declared it to be an excise, not a direct tax, it is important to understand how it arrived at that opinion and why the decision has no practical relevance to the way the tax has been enforced. Just as it has done with Obamacare, the Court came up with a technically constitutional pathway to allow the government to collect a tax in a blatantly unconstitutional manner.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Angela Merkel Celebrates Declaration of Austerity / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Axel_Merk
Spain may have the best soccer team, but it lost control of its banking system. That's good news: the success of the Eurozone summit is not about money, but about process. For the first time in months, it appears there's a sensible path forward. For the budding euro rally to continue, actions must follow words; regardless, however, there will be investment opportunities, but don't count on the U.S. dollar to carry the day.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Governments Spend Wealth Instead of Building It / Politics / Government Spending
By: Bill_Bonner
Paris, France – “The US seems to have gotten the worst of it,” said a French friend this morning. We were taken aback. Everyone knows Europe is in a state of permanent crisis. The US seems solid by comparison, no?
“Now that the Supreme Court has approved Obamacare, you have the same problems we have in Europe, social welfare spending with no limits…plus you have your colossal military spending. You have both ‘bread and circuses,’ just like the ancient Romans. You are doomed.”
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Tuesday, July 03, 2012
U.S. Taxmageddon Just Got More Frightening / Politics / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
Diane Alter writes:
Political battles will take center stage in the second half of 2012, but few loom larger than the scheduled tax increases - "Taxmageddon" - set to take effect in January 2013.
Bush-era tax cuts, payroll tax breaks and other provisions set to expire next year could pack an enormous financial hit, harming the already-fragile U.S. economy and thousands of struggling families. While Democrats and Republicans alike are opposed to letting all the cuts expire, they disagree on exactly what to do about it.
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Tuesday, July 03, 2012
The Greatest Story Ever Written or Will be Written / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Steve Christ writes:
Ask practically any American this week about their country, and they will likely tell you that - despite its faults - the United States is the greatest nation on earth.
I would even take it a step further by saying the United States is the greatest country there is, ever was, and ever will be...
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Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Notes On Mainstram Economics Is A Cult / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Submissions
Mark Blair writes:
‘Such disdain for empirical verification is not found in the physical sciences.’
Washington’s Blog
Maternal instinct? ‘Probably imaginary. An excuse to justify and perpetuate sexism.’
Encyclopedia of Feminism, Tuttle, L.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
God Particle Finally Found: Brand New Physics Now In The Making? / Politics / Technology
By: DK_Matai
Scientists working with the world's most powerful atom smasher -- the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) -- outside Geneva at the European organisation for nuclear research (CERN) are expected to announce to the world on Wednesday 4th July 2012 that they have finally found the elusive Higgs boson – dubbed the 'God particle' because it brings mass and defines order in the universe. The results Cern scientists are preparing to announce are exactly like finding the very first fossilised imprint of a dinosaur: One sees the footprints and the shadow of the vast and formidable creature, but one doesn't actually see IT at all!
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Audit the Fed Headed for the House Floor! / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week supporters of Federal Reserve transparency had a major victory when the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform passed my Audit the Fed bill, HR 459 unanimously with all major audit provisions intact. This clears the way for a House floor vote expected sometime in late July, and with a whopping 263 cosponsors, the chances of it passing have never looked better! This is an unprecedented opportunity for transparency into how the currency of the United States is handled, and mishandled by the Federal Reserve. It is more important than ever that my colleagues in the House and Senate understand what this legislation does and why it is so important.
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