Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
A Metallurgist's Insights Into the Minneapolis Bridge Disaster / Politics / Social Issues
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
The incredible collapse of the Minneapolis bridge will send a message to the nation that has been repeatedly sent for decades, but that our political system has refused to effectively respond to. America's physical, engineered infrastructure has been in desperate need for massive spending to repair and replace, but the multi-trillion-dollar cost has been rejected by local, state and federal politicians.
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Gaming the US Elections - Analysis of The Lame Duck President / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Mauldin
This week in Outside the Box good friend George Friedman of Stratfor delves into that enigma that is Executive power and Presidential elections. George ventures to assess the current President in light of former Presidents, utilizing a methodical rubric of measure to analyze the capabilities of what in all perceptions is a lame duck President with respect to domestic influence and foreign perception. He also analyzed the presidential race. I found this a very interesting piece.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
On the Evolution of Civilizations / Politics / Global Financial System
By: Christopher_Quigley
The essence of the myth of the Western tradition is the ideal of an independent life lived in liberty and dignity through family and community . This liberty and independence promotes enterprise and action. Such a myth engendered the human initiative which gave birth to such epoch-changing developments as paper money, financial credit, steam power, the combustion engine, steel hull shipping, electricity, wireless communication, television, air flight, nuclear power, the micro chip and the Internet.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
UK Health Warning - Environmental Flu Can Kill! / Politics / NHS
By: N_Walayat
How ?
Your NHS surgery is manned by smooth talking incompetent GP's who do not know the difference between flu symptoms and something far worse that can literally kill within weeks.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2007
England Flood Costs Could Exceed 3 Billion Pounds / Politics / Climate Change
By: Sarah_Jones
England has experienced the worst floods in over 50 years, first in the North of England which even included impacting home of the Market Oracle. Now later the floods have hit wide swathes of southern England mainly along the banks of the Rivers Avon and Severn.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A Political Wrap - Iran Forces Japan to Pay in Yen and Odds n' Ends in the War on Terror / Politics / Middle East
By: Mike_Whitney
Part 1; Bush to Putin: "Let them eat cake" Much has been made of the chummy relationship between George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. An incident, which was reported last week in the "UK Spectator", shows that this so-called "man-to-man" friendship is a complete fraud created by the Washington press corps to conceal the real issues and to perpetuate the illusion that Bush is a normal guy.
You be the judge:
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Migrating to new Energy Paradigms - Part 1 / Politics / Energy Resources
By: Brian_Bloom
Introduction, Summary and Conclusions
This article is the first in a series which will examine the practical realities associated with migrating away from Fossil Fuels in general, and away from our reliance on Oil in particular.
The following subjects will be examined:
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Friday, July 13, 2007
Seeking US Political Reform Through Solidarity / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
All over the Internet are sincere efforts to reform and improve America's political-government system. The downside is fragmentation of the subpopulation that has escaped brainwashing, cultural distraction, and self-delusion. Strategy solidarity is missing, but is possible.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, July 13, 2007
Welcome to the new Cold War / Politics / Russia
By: Mike_Whitney
Presidents Bush and Putin concluded their brief summit in Kennebunkport, Maine without resolving any of the main issues. Bush seeks Putin's help to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear enrichment program and Putin wants Bush to abandon his plans to deploy the US Missile Defense System in Czechoslovakia and Poland. No progress was made on either topic. Russia and the United States are now more politically divided than any time since the breakup of the Soviet Union. In fact, following the meeting in Maine, first deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, blasted Washington in the blistering rhetoric of the Cold War era:
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Friday, July 13, 2007
The iMentality and Gadget Induced Coma's / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andy_Sutton
Economics has long been described by renowned Austrian economists as being the study of human action. The basis for this assertion is that human actions are what drive all decisions that relate to economics. Behind human actions are human thoughts. So when we seek to develop a better understanding of economics, then we'd better be in tune with what people are thinking. This is also an excellent explanation for why history tends to repeat itself. Human nature rarely changes or sees major paradigm shifts. In this regard, we do drive our own destiny. It is much better to understand history than ignore it. The former serves as a crystal ball where the latter dooms one to repetition.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
China: The One-Child Policy Dilemma / Politics / China Economy
By: John_Mauldin
This week in a special Outside the Box my good friends at Stratfor addresses the current Chinese dilemma created by their One Child Policy, namely how to continue economic growth with a rapidly aging population coupled with a deteriorating labor force, mind you striving to attend to these issues simultaneously without creating significant rural unrest.Stratfor predicts a less than somber outcome, anticipating Beijing' inability to address these dire concerns simultaneously, with the result being bureaucratic malaise and rural unrest.
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Global Warming – Can scientists be blindly trusted? / Politics / Climate Change
By: Brian_Bloom
Introduction
Arising from earlier articles which I published on the subject of the possible causes of Global Warming, I have been in email communication with three “heavyweights” in the fields of Physics, Geophysics, Astronomy and Chemistry. These gentlemen have taken the trouble to point out where, as a layman, my knowledge of science was deficient. They have also educated me in the processes involved in the phenomenon – as they see these processes.
Of the three, one is committed to the linkage between Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming. The other two are not. I thank them for straightening out my thinking, and for enabling me to write the article below which sets out the state of play.
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Friday, July 06, 2007
Financial Markets Update - Ahead to US Elections 2008 / Politics / US Utilities
By: Roger_Conrad
Political parties' power waxes and wanes in Washington, DC. But regardless of who's in or out, the size of our federal government and its social and economic mandate continue to grow, for better or for worse.
At its core, politics is about interest groups. Those who get their views heard and acted on are the winners. Those who don't—or, worse, are trumped by others' interests—are the losers. And the larger the government grows, the more critical it is to be on the winning side.
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Sunday, July 01, 2007
NHS Doctors are Terrorists, London and Glasgow Attacks / Politics / Iraq War
By: N_Walayat
Allegedly two of the suspect terrorists held by Police for the Glasgow and London bombings attempts are NHS Doctors.
One of the doctors was the person to emerge on fire from the burning SUV Jeep at Glasgow Airport and is said to be from Iran. The other alleged doctor arrested on the M6 and is said to be of possible Jordanian origins and is thought to be behind the planning of the attacks.
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Saturday, June 30, 2007
Global Warming – Facts Trump Opinions / Politics / Climate Change
By: Brian_Bloom
The two previous articles which I wrote on the subject of Global Warming were seriously flawed in their science. As a result, I received a wave of emails.
If I offended anyone by having the temerity to talk about a subject in which I am clearly inadequate in my knowledge, I apologise. However, there was a method in my madness – as the following will hopefully reveal:
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Gordon Brown Takes Over From Tony Blair - Any Difference? / Politics / UK Politics
By: John_York
The long goodbye is over, Tony Blair steps down as the British Prime Minister today and looks set to embark on a long cruise to the Mediterranean to help, did I say help ?, Apparently to help find peace in the middle east on behalf of the Quartet group (USA, EU, UN and Russia).
But now, finally, Gordon Brown, the man who has engineered 10 years of prosperity for Britain has his hands fully on the levers of power. What differences can we expect ?
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Monday, June 25, 2007
Iraqis to Bush: “You have left us with nothing” / Politics / Iraq War
By: Mike_Whitney
“Never had I fathomed, not even in my remotest imagination, that a day will come when God's houses will be attacked and destroyed. The way they are today, in Iraq...Never. This Red Line is now crossed...Crossed, transgressed, trespassed into blasphemy.” Layla Anwar “A Red Line” from An Arab Woman's Blues
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Monday, June 25, 2007
Monetary Causes of the US Immigration Crisis / Politics / Immigration
By: Richard_C_Cook
There is nothing mysterious about the U.S. immigration crisis, or the presence of twelve million or more illegal aliens, or the fact that many more are coming to a neighborhood near you.
They are coming to the U.S. because they are human beings who have to eat.
They have to eat because they want to live.
They cannot eat and live in their own countries because there are no jobs.
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Sunday, June 24, 2007
Political Attention Deficit Disorder – New Psychiatric Condition Explains George Bush / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
According to a report not yet released, the Council on Science and Public Health of the American Medical Association has recommended that a chronic and widespread affliction of Americans be officially declared a psychiatric disorder. It has been named the Political Attention Deficit Disorder (PADD). It is recommended that the disorder be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The current manual was published in 1994; the next edition is to be completed in 2012. The benefit to people of an official classification is coverage by health insurance. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Article V Convention, Are Americans Unready to Boil? / Politics / US Politics
By: Joel_S_Hirschhorn
The frog-in-boiling water model helps us understand political upheavals: how citizens wake up early enough (or too late) to respond to social and economic oppression. Sometimes the greed and arrogance of Ruling Classes makes them careless and social waters heat too quickly. Sensing doom, alert citizen-frogs escape or revolt. Or they stay complacent and boil. The Bush Administration has turned the heat up on us, explaining why nearly 75 percent of Americans believe their country is on the wrong track and 70 percent think the economy is worsening.Read full article... Read full article...