Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Social Security and Medicare Cuts, Hard to Take a Bone from a Dog / Politics / Government Spending
By: John_Browne
Most people, provided they have a minimum of experience, know that taking a bone from a dog is a risky proposition. In terms of political power, few dogs are bigger than the American voting public. Taking away, or even threatening to take away, the major entitlements to which they have become accustomed could expose politicians to a mauling at election time. As the American leadership begins to grapple with very large issues of entitlement reform in "sacred" programs such as Medicare and Social Security, many may recoil from the task once the fangs begin flashing.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Mainstream Media's Arteries Clogged Up with Theorists / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Fred_Sheehan
It was not difficult for an observer to understand Armageddon beckoned by 2006, as long as the observer listened to practitioners rather than theorists. The theorists: government bureaucrats and their sycophants, clog the media's arteries. Those who listened to practitioners were prepared in 2007.
Friday, June 17, 2011
U.S. Military Responsible for the Biggest Heist in History / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes:
For nearly a decade, U.S. military operations in the Middle East - Iraq in particular - have been criticized as a cumbersome and costly burden on the American taxpayer.
That accusation gained new credence this week when the Pentagon finally acknowledged that nearly $7 billion of Iraqi oil money might have been stolen.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 17, 2011
U.S. Life Expectancy Falling in Many Areas / Politics / Social Issues
By: Global_Research
Patrick Martin writes: Average life expectancy is falling in many parts of the United States and for many demographic groups, most notably women, according to a study being published Wednesday in the journal Population Health Metrics, and conducted by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Germany Fires Debt Shot at U.S. / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
In what will likely be the first of many European debt downgrades for the United States, Germany’s own Feri credit rating agency took down the United States’ debt rating from AAA to AA. The difference is marginal in many ways (after all, few countries ever get to become AAA rated), but for the United States, which has always been AAA, this confirms that the downside is here.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Young Americans: Forget Your Student Loans And Move To Gonzo Town / Politics / Student Finances
By: Patrick_Henningsen
Stone Pinkerton writes: Getting ahead? Going to college? Whether they know it or not, millions of young Americans are joining the ranks of the over-qualified and under paid and unemployed. But heck, you can still give it the “old college try” anyway, but be informed of the pro’s and cons of your decision.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Greece Debt Crisis Risks Bringing Government Down / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
The crisis in Greece took another step forward today as opposition leader have asked Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to step down.
In response, Papandreou offered to resign. Unfortunately, Papandreou placed strings on the offer.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
9 TRILLION Dollars Missing from Federal Reserve, Fed Inspector General Can't Explain / Politics / Central Banks
By: Videos
Rep. Alan Grayson asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that the IG does not know and is not tracking where this money is.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Vietnam Confronts China Over South China Sea Energy Riches / Politics / Energy Resources
By: OilPrice_Com
An increasingly fractious maritime confrontation is developing in the South China Sea, with enormous implications for international companies interested in developing East Asia's offshore hydrocarbon resources. Far from the radars of city of London and Wall Street investors, the clash has seen Vietnam emerge as spear carrier for its fellow ASEAN members on the dispute.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, June 13, 2011
How Bankers use the Debt Crisis to Roll Back the Progressive Era / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Michael_Hudson
Financial strategists do not intend to let today’s debt crisis go to waste. Foreclosure time has arrived. That means revolution – or more accurately, a counter-revolution to roll back the 20th century’s gains made by social democracy: pensions and social security, public health care and other infrastructure providing essential services at subsidized prices or for free. The basic model follows the former Soviet Union’s post-1991 neoliberal reforms: privatization of public enterprises, a high flat tax on labor but only nominal taxes on real estate and finance, and deregulation of the economy’s prices, working conditions and credit terms.
Monday, June 13, 2011
How the Mainstream Media Covers Bilderberg Meetings / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: BATR
The mainstream media blackout of the annual Bilderberg meeting is finally crumbling. Yet the prevarication machine continues to reinforce the delusional official line from on high. For decades, the sinister world cabal operated in the shadows of secrecy and disinformation. The timely analogy is the initial way the disgraced Anthony Weiner responded to his self-inflicted indiscretion. Ignore any rogue inquiry about the nature of their agenda or plots on forthcoming plans. High-handedness is the hallmark of their demeanor, just as arrogance is the basic character component of this pit-bull Congressional egomaniac.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A Beginners Guide to Shadow Banking, Financial Crisis and Repo / Politics / Credit Crisis 2008
By: Mike_Whitney
What if I told you that the financial crisis could be explained in just two words? Would you believe me?It's true, and oddly enough, neither of the words is "subprime".
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
America's Next War is with Iran / Politics / US Politics
By: Global_Research
Richard Becker writes: U.S. policy towards Iran is not based on 'intelligence,' faulty or otherwise; it is based on the desire to dominate a geo-strategic region.
"There is a large body of evidence including some of America’s most highly classified intelligence assessments, suggesting that the United States could be in danger of repeating a mistake similar to the one made with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq eight years ago–allowing anxieties about the policies of a tyrannical regime to distort our estimations of the state’s military capacities and intentions."
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The Rich Are Destroying the Economy / Politics / US Politics
By: Shamus_Cooke
Ever since the Great Recession shook the foundations of the U.S. economy, President Obama has been promising recovery. Evidence of this recovery, we were told, was manifested in the massive post-bailout profits corporations made. Soon enough, the President assured us, these corporations would tire of hoarding mountains of cash and start a hiring bonanza, followed by raising wages and benefits. It was either wishful thinking or conscious deception. The recent stock market meltdown has squashed any hope of a corporate-led recovery.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
That Speeding Freight Train You Hear is the Next Financial Crisis / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Gary_North
The mainstream financial media are running stories on the next financial crisis. This is unheard of two years into a so-called economic recovery. So weak is this recovery that the old pre-2008 confidence has not returned.
The first sign that "this time, it's different," was Treasury Secretary Geithner's statement, which received widespread coverage, that there will be another crisis.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 10, 2011
Welcome to Police State Amerika / Politics / US Politics
By: David_Galland
I just had a conversation with constitutional lawyer and monetary expert Dr. Edwin Vieira. I first became acquainted with Dr. Vieira, who holds four degrees from Harvard and has extensive experience arguing cases before the Supreme Court, at our recent Casey Research Summit in Boca Raton, where he spoke on how far off the constitutional rails the nation has traveled. Here is a summary of what he told me…
Friday, June 10, 2011
America in Dire of a Mental Paradigm Shift Towards a Simpler Life - “A New Mission” / Politics / US Politics
By: Andy_Sutton
A sabbatical is usually a good thing as it gives a nice opportunity to take a step back, assess, reassess, and potentially relax. I’ve enjoyed the past few months away as I took time to do the above and also to try to impart a little common sense and perhaps some wisdom on the up and coming generation regarding economics, the study thereof, and more importantly, the dire consequences of failing to recognize and follow basic economic laws.
Friday, June 10, 2011
U.S. Politicians Engaged in Ongoing Sabotage Of Financial Reform / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Danny_Schechter
Some years back Thomas Franck nailed it in his book, “The Wrecking Crew.” It was subtitled “How Conservatives Rule” and showed how narrow self-interest and well practiced cynicism in the service of partisan warfare has crippled our political system resulting in a deep paralysis despite the threat of a collapse.
I call it sabotage, a tactic that goes way back and involves deliberate effort to insure that reforms are effectively undermined.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 09, 2011
U.S. - Venezuelan Relations - Just 'Frozen' or Beyond Repair? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: OilPrice_Com
According to the U.S. Energy Administration, two months ago the United States total crude oil imports averaged 9,033 thousand barrels per day (tbpd), with the top five exporting countries being Canada (2,666 tbpd), Mexico (1,319 tbpd), Saudi Arabia (1,107 tbpd), Venezuela (930 tbpd) and Nigeria (918 tbpd.)
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Is the White House Up for Grabs? / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Barack Obama figured his reelection was in the bag. All he had to do was throw the progressive wing of his party a bone by pulling a few thousand troops out of Afghanistan, and then wait for the economy to gradually get stronger. What could be easier? 2012 would be a romp. He never thought that his chief economic advisor, Lawrence Summers, might have misjudged the severity of the downturn or that all those pesky "lefty" economists (Stiglitz, Baker, Reich, Thoma, Krugman etc) were right in pushing for more fiscal stimulus. After all, what did they know? Most of them would have supported another W.P.A. if they were given half a chance. Good luck slipping that by the deficit hawks in congress! Besides Wall Street wants "austerity"; so austerity it is. You don't get reelected by rocking the boat.