Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, May 02, 2016
U.S. Military Drafting Women Means Equality in Slavery / Politics / US Military
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requiring women to register with Selective Service. This means that if Congress ever brings back the draft, women will be forcibly sent to war.
The amendment is a response to the Pentagon's decision to allow women to serve in combat. Supporters of drafting women point out that the ban on women in combat was the reason the Supreme Court upheld a male-only draft. Therefore, they argue, it is only logical to now force women to register for Selective Service. Besides, supporters of extending the draft point out, not all draftees are sent into combat.
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Thursday, April 28, 2016
The Central Banking Prisoner’s Dilemma: Fed Freezes, BoJ Stammers, Dollar Drops 2% Overnight / Politics / Central Banks
By: Jeff_Berwick
In today’s communist-style, centrally planned world, when big central bankers meet and make decisions, no matter how small, markets quake and currencies shake. And that’s what just happened.
Bankers at both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan met in the last 12 hours to decide where they would take monetary policy next. But when they sat down to make decisions, they were faced with a classic prisoner’s dilemma: Options were precluded. There was a lot they wanted to do but little they could do.
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Thursday, April 28, 2016
Michael Hudson: The Wall Street Economy Has Taken Over The Economy and Is Draining It! / Politics / Market Manipulation
By: Gordon_T_Long
FRA Co-founder Gordon T. Long is joined by Professor Michael Hudson in discussing his concept of the FIRE economy and its influence on the production and consumption economy, along with some of his writings.
Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and author of Killing the Host (2015), The Bubble and Beyond (2012), Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (1968 & 2003), Trade, Development and Foreign Debt (1992 & 2009) and of The Myth of Aid (1971), amongst many others.
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Thursday, April 28, 2016
MP Naz Shah Punished for Tweets Made During Israel's Genocide of Gaza Palestinian People / Politics / UK Politics
By: N_Walayat
The establishment that has ruled over the British people for centuries, offering illusions of freedom and democracy and mechanisms of consumerism and debt to keep the worker slaves sedated and occupied, today sought to silence a voice of criticism of one of the elites agenda items, that for the emergence of a Greater Israel that has been in progress for near 50 years. One that involves the systematic genocide of the Palestinian people and theft of their land, of which the 2014 Gaza war crimes demonstrated that there were no depths to which the Jewish fundamentalists would sink to exterminate the Palestinian people which included the death of over 500 children and destruction of near 1/3rd of Gaza infrastructure.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
One Year After: Freddie Gray and ‘Structural Statism’ / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
When Freddie Gray was born in 1989, Baltimore hosted 787,000 residents and 445,000 jobs. By the time his fatal injuries in police custody provoked riots last April, the city’s population had fallen by one fifth, to 623,000, and its job base had shrunk by one quarter, to 334,000.
Little wonder that throughout his life, Mr. Gray had never been legally employed. Nevertheless, friends and family considered him “a good provider,” according to The Baltimore Sun.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Forbidden History - The 1916 Irish Uprising against British Imperialism / Politics / UK Politics
By: BATR
With the Easter Rising of 1916, the world was introduced to the eulogy of Pax Britannica. Much like the coercion used by the Roman Empire, the British Crown were masters at colonial repression and exploitation of royal holdings. The long strained history between the Emerald Isle and the City of London dates back many centuries. From the punitive exploits of Oliver Cromwell to the use of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC), the shrift shed blood on both sides. Independence comes at a high price when the imperium masters dig in to keep their rule in place.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Disenfranchising Large Segments of Americans / Politics / Social Issues
By: Walter_Brasch
Several hundred thousand American citizens won’t be voting in presidential primary elections—and it’s not their fault.
In Pennsylvania, for example, a registered voter who needed an absentee ballot had to submit the request at least one full week before the election, and then return the ballot no less than four days before the election.
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Sunday, April 24, 2016
Why Russia Harasses U.S. Aircraft and Ships / Politics / New Cold War
By: STRATFOR
Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, tension with the West has been high, affecting eastern Ukraine, Syria and hot spots across the former Soviet sphere. Less overtly, Moscow has been working to protect areas vital to Russian interests by raising the stakes of U.S. operations there. This has manifested in numerous aggressive interceptions of U.S. military aircraft in flight, especially over the Black and Baltic seas. The interceptions, which are reportedly occurring more frequently, aim to dissuade Washington from operating in that airspace.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Blanket US Student Debt Amnesty Now / Politics / Student Finances
By: Mike_Whitney
A couple weeks ago the Wall Street Journal confirmed our worst fears about the student loan program, that is, that it was going to blow up in the government’s face just like all the other gigantic debt-bubbles that preceded it. For the sake of background, here’s a brief excerpt from the article that will bring readers up-to-date:
Read full article... Read full article...“More than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed, raising worries that millions of them may never repay.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Our Day of Reckoning / Politics / Social Issues
By: Richard_Mills
The second half of the 20th century saw the biggest increase in the world’s population in human history.
Our population surged because:
- Medical advances lessened the mortality rate in many countries
- Massive increases in agricultural productivity because of the “Green Revolution”
The global death rate has dropped almost continuously since the start of the industrial revolution - personal hygiene, improved methods of sanitation and the development of antibiotics have all played a major role.
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Thursday, April 21, 2016
EU's Growing Refugee Panic, How to Change Terms of Deal with Devil (Turkey) / Politics / Refugee Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
When you make a deal with the devil, it's certain the devil will insist you keep up your end of the bargain.
That's precisely where we are at today in regards to the European refugee crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel signed off on a deal with the devil (Turkey) that would give 80 million Turkish Muslims visa-free access to the EU. As part of the deal, Turkey will receive €3 billion in aid.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Another Record Collection from Federal Taxes / Politics / Taxes
By: BATR
There is not a single American alive that has a recollection of a time without a Federal Income Tax. Yet, the country existed and prospered greatly before the constitution was perverted to fleece the pockets of Americans. As with most deceptive schemes to defraud, the sales pitch seldom resembles the reality of the final outcome. The fact that the excessive growth, reach and scope of the District of Criminals government has developed into an oppressive empire during this time, is no accident.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Obama Syria, Iraq 'No Boots on the Ground' Backpedaling Begins / Politics / US Military
By: Mike_Shedlock
President Obama's "no boots on the ground" pledges have been broken so many times it's hard to keep track.
Today the president is back at it. Another 200 boots are on their way to the Mideast.
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Monday, April 18, 2016
Rousseff Impeachment Neoliberal Coup Attempt in Brazil / Politics / Brazil
By: Stephen_Lendman
Washington still thinks of Latin and Central America as its backyard. Colonial thinking never fades.
Make no mistake. Its dirty hands are behind the attempt to oust democratically elected Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
She’s not neoliberal enough to suit US policymakers. Her social justice programs have to go.
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Monday, April 18, 2016
The Oppressed U.S. Taxpayer, A Morally Sound Tax Reform Proposal / Politics / Taxes
By: Antonius_Aquinas
This year, Americans’ day of tribute to their federal overlords falls on April 18. As calculated by the Tax Foundation, the average American will work from January 1 to April 24 (Tax Freedom Day) to pay his share of taxes to all levels of government with some $3.3 trillion to be forked over to the federal government and $1.6 trillion to state and local jurisdictions.*
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Monday, April 18, 2016
What Did Fed Chairman Yellen Tell Obama? / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
This week, President Obama and Vice President Biden held a hastily arranged secret meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen. According to the one paragraph statement released by the White House following the meeting, Yellen, Obama, and Biden simply "exchanged notes" about the economy and the progress of financial reform. Because the meeting was held behind closed doors, the American people have no way of knowing what else the three might have discussed.
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Sunday, April 17, 2016
Corruption and Impeachment in Brazil, Chance for Change in Brazil's Scandal / Politics / Brazil
By: STRATFOR
For the past two years, Brazil has been mired in the costliest corruption scandal ever uncovered in a democracy. Evidence surfaced in 2014 that contractors in Brazil had formed an alliance to overbid on projects for government-owned energy company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras). Contractors pocketed the extra cash and bribed politicians and Petrobras executives to keep quiet. The scandal — the investigation of which came to be known as "Operation Carwash" — was so blatant and implicated such prominent political figures that it shocked Brazil, a country accustomed to high-level corruption. And now the odds that Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, will survive the fallout are looking slimmer and slimmer.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Human Population Explosion - Our Day of Reckoning / Politics / Demographics
By: Richard_Mills
The second half of the 20th century saw the biggest increase in the world’s population in human history.
Our population surged because:
- Medical advances lessened the mortality rate in many countries
- Massive increases in agricultural productivity because of the “Green Revolution”
The global death rate has dropped almost continuously since the start of the industrial revolution - personal hygiene, improved methods of sanitation and the development of antibiotics have all played a major role.
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Friday, April 15, 2016
How Elites Justify Global Taxation - Anatomy of a Jubilee Psyop / Politics / Taxes
By: Jeff_Berwick
In this article I will explain how the Panama Papers leak, an appearance by Alan Greenspan on national television and a Spring Meeting (of the IMF and World Bank down in Washington DC) create an argument for global taxation.
It’s not something I intended to write about, but the pieces fell into place yesterday and provide us with an object lesson about the way the world works. Actually, I’m writing this on April 14, a very timely tax extortion day for Americans.
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Thursday, April 14, 2016
Saving Middle-Class Jobs in America: Is It Worth $30 Socks? / Politics / Employment
By: Rodney_Johnson
My younger daughter doesn’t conform to, well, much of anything. As a very young girl she insisted on doing her own hair. She liked pony tails – lots of them – but as a four or five-year-old, she didn’t have much skill at getting them right. This meant that she often had 11 or 12 fountains of blonde hair sticking out all over her head. She was very proud.Read full article... Read full article...