Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Health Care and the Candy Store Called Socialism / Politics / Government Intervention
By: MISES
Jim Fedako writes: Some 27 years ago, I spent two weeks in Yugoslavia, the supposed workers’ paradise cobbled together by the strong arm of Marshal Tito. And, if my memory serves, the country was an overflowing candy store — a middle schooler’s sweet-toothed delight. Socialism as a candy store? Sure. But you have to consider the question and its answer in context.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Theocracy Democracy - In Debt We Trust / Politics / Social Issues
By: Andrew_McKillop
In Debt We Trust
Kevin Phillips is rightly known for his serial books and articles which all focus what he calls “the scary intersection of oil, debt, and religion”. He could have added climate and global warming to the list, but did not. His key theme is that “the financialized economy” is a bunch of speculative froth that creates little or nothing real, a symbolic wealth play with its own high priests, that hinges on more than simple public tolerance. The party can't go on unless the people believe.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Robbing Main Street to Prop Up Wall Street: Why Rainy Day Fund Is a Bad Idea / Politics / Banksters
By: Ellen_Brown
There is no need to sequester funds urgently needed by Main Street to pay for Wall Street's malfeasance. Californians can have their cake and eat it too - with a state-owned bank.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Global Paradigm Shift Underway, Swing States and Event Schedule / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Jim_Willie_CB
The crucial swing states for deciding the US presidential elections through voting system fraud were Ohio and Florida. Whether by machine software with rigged software programming or by bussing in Somalians or by altering the vote count upon final submission or basic bully tactics to prevent entrance into the voting centers, the US national elections were truly tainted. The commonly followed Exit Polls are proof of vote fraud. The Paradigm Shift was to the fascist state in full blossom. A law was even passed to prevent challenges of the voting machines and software, a certain brand always in the spotlight. Recall that voter system fraud is a key trait of a Third World nation, along with bank fraud, absent rule of law, economic decay, and devotion to war. On the global stage, the swing states are of a different more macro meaning in the shaping of the Paradigm Shift. The shift is toward the East as financial center of gravity, altered by the extraordinary movement of Gold bullion from London and Swiss banking centers.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
U.S. Economy Death Cross - A Parasite Is Devouring The Heart Of America / Politics / US Economy
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Tyler Durden runs a few lines by us from casino mogul Steve Wynn that paint a micro cosmos of everything that’s going wrong in our economies. Wynn calls the present conditions in which he conducts business “nirvana” because of prevailing artificially low interest rates and downward pressure on the dollar, but he also recognizes who pays for his nirvana. In very few words, he defines with precision how measures ostensibly intended to save the economy instead serve to destroy it, even as – and because -they make it – too – easy for him and his “class” to enrich themselves even further.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
First Time In 800,000 Years: CO2 Levels Above 400 ppm / Politics / Climate Change
By: Raul_I_Meijer
This just in from, of all sources, CBS. It’s quite a milestone we’ve passed here. Time for some contemplation perhaps. Time to wonder if enough people will care enough soon enough. Doesn’t look like it. Looks like we’re too busy drilling in the ever scarcer remaining pristine locations we haven’t yet exploited, and too busy preparing to go to war over access to the very resources that lifted us all the way up over 400ppm in what’s really no more than the blink of an eye in the 800,000 year timeframe. We’ll all just get into our cars again this morning and tell ourselves we’re looking out for number one. Maybe we need to be reminded what number one really is.
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Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Warning: Ukraine Is At A Flashpoint / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: Dr_Martenson
Regrettably, I am very close to issuing an official Alert over the situation in Ukraine as it has continued to both escalate and deteriorate.
More than 50 people died in violence on Friday, May 2, in Odessa and other eastern cities in Ukraine. Relations between Russia and the US are finding new low,s while China and Russia grow closer.
For those living in Europe who are exposed to the possible fallout that would result from the loss of supplies of Russian energy, the time to begin preparing is right now. As we say often on this site, you’d much rather be a year early than a day late in your preparations.
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Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Beginning of the End for Leaders Of the Free World... Humanity Awakens! / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
The leaders of the "free world" are on the run. In many cases, they can’t go out and travel due to the risk of being arrested, protested or even having a shoe thrown at them.
In just the past few weeks, First Lady Michelle Obama, Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Attorney General Eric Holder have had to cancel appearances due to protests.
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Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Russia Sanctions - Why Hasn't The U.S. Gone After Gazprom? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: OilPrice_Com
Amidst the deepening war of words over Moscow's annexation of Crimea, U.S. President Barack Obama on April 28 added more Russian individuals and companies to a sanctions list that already included influential members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and Bank Rossiya, which has close ties to the Russian leadership. The new list freezes the assets of Igor Sechin, head of Russia's major oil company, Rosneft, six other individuals and 17 companies. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Borderlands: The New Strategic Landscape / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
I will be leaving this week to visit a string of countries that are now on the front line between Russia and the European Peninsula: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Azerbaijan. A tour like that allows you to look at the details of history. But it is impossible to understand those details out of context. The more I think about recent events, the more I realize that what has happened in Ukraine can only be understood by considering European geopolitics since 1914 -- a hundred years ago and the beginning of World War I.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Putin is Dangerous - A Dangerous Time For Us All / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Putin is Dangerous
France, which is happy to have sold two Mistral-class “invasion platform” attack ships to Russia for about $1.5 billion and to this day is still training 400 Russian sailors how to use them, is also running what can be called “sophisticated” anti-Putin propaganda through its State-owned and controlled media outlets. One of them, France-Inter radio runs regular interviews with Russian-origin political writer Vladimir Federovski who is promoting, with French State help, his latest book “Putin-The Secret Itinerary”. He is given copious interview sessions on a regular basis.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Ukraine Civil War - Russia's Iraq $1 trillion 10 Year War About to Start? / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The deaths in Odessa were an inevitable consequences of over 2 months of Russian dark military forces having been busy sowing the seeds of dissent right across South Ukraine, an area that would never have proven as easy to digest as had been the peninsula of Crimea without first setting Ukrainian against Ukrainian.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Democracy, War, and the Myth of the Neutral State / Politics / Social Issues
By: MISES
Luigi Marco Bassani and Carlo Lottieri write: The constitutionalist claim to justify the State’s monopoly of violence has been challenged directly by the radical libertarian tradition (Molinari) and by individualist anarchists (such as Lysander Spooner). However, an important role in bringing the modern State into perspective has also been played by European political realism and, in particular, by Carl Schmitt and the Italian elitist scholars (Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto).
Monday, May 05, 2014
China Displaces America, Ron Paul on Why We are No Longer Number One / Politics / US Politics
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week World Bank economists predicted that China would soon displace the United States as the world's largest economy. The fact that this one-time economic basket case is now positioned to surpass the US is one more sign of the damage done to American prosperity by welfare, warfare, corporatism, and fiat money.
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Sunday, May 04, 2014
Obama And The Multipolar World / Politics / US Politics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Happy Change to Flaky Change
Its now a long time in US politics since Mr Barack Obama was Mr Happy Changey. His domestic critics love to pummel him with the slogans he used at the time – and tries hard to forget, today. The happy-change theme has gone. One key to this which his critics will never let him forget is that his slogans of the time never had any substance.
Were American supposed to be happy about uncontrollable debt and the stalking fear of the next 2008-style crash, company failures, more unemployment and – of course – massive bailouts and handouts for the real Happy Few? The 1% who predate and feed off everybody else. Who was Obama kidding?
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Sunday, May 04, 2014
Civil War in Ukraine But Please Don't Call it That! / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: Mike_Shedlock
A civil war is underway in Ukraine. Curiously, no one has labeled it as such even though the Ukrainian government launched an offensive, helicopters were shot down, dozens were killed in the process, and military operations took place in multiple cities.
Read full article... Read full article...Two Ukrainian government helicopters were shot down and six people reported to have been killed on Friday morning as state forces launched a military offensive in Slavyansk, the eastern separatist-held city where armed pro-Russia militia fighters are holding several people hostage.
Sunday, May 04, 2014
The WAR for the Ukraine: What’s the real story? / Politics / Ukraine Civil War
By: T_Anthony_Michael
The WAR for the Ukraine: Clash of the Titans - There have been many wars — terrible wars — fought on Planet Earth over the past 100 years. However, the greatest war of them all could literally be around the corner, unless it is stopped by the people of this planet. The epic confrontation in the Ukraine presents the most dangerous and unprecedented conflict between the world’s superpowers since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Truly, this clash between East and West represents an economic, political and religious battleground that will dwarf every other war save WWI and WWII. If the conflict in the Ukraine is not resolved peacefully, it has the potential of evolving into a full blown World War III scenario.
Saturday, May 03, 2014
Washington Intends Russia’s Demise / Politics / US Politics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Washington has no intention of allowing the crisis in Ukraine to be resolved. Having failed to seize the country and evict Russia from its Black Sea naval base, Washington sees new opportunities in the crisis.
One is to restart the Cold War by forcing the Russian government to occupy the Russian-speaking areas of present day Ukraine where protesters are objecting to the stooge anti-Russian government installed in Kiev by the American coup. These areas of Ukraine are former constituent parts of Russia herself. They were attached to Ukraine by Soviet leaders in the 20th century when both Ukraine and Russia were part of the same country, the USSR.
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Saturday, May 03, 2014
Millenial Warfare Quest In The Ukraine – Praise God And Pass The Munitions / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Warfare Quest Goes Millenial
The conventional definition of “millenarianism” and millenial cults identifies them as usually found in pre-western or so-called primitive societies. They always feature deliberate acts of fantasy and social delirium. Cults often includes sexual abstention and a sharp reduction in pregnancies and births, which for us would mean breeding fewer consumers who - later on - can imbibe war-crazed claptrap. In so-called primitive societies, millenarian cults often include “extreme risk” sport activities, with frequent death and injury because cult adepts believe they cannot be harmed and are untouchable.
Friday, May 02, 2014
Russia’s Counterstrike: Currency and Palladium / Politics / Russia
By: Submissions
Georgi Ivanov writes: The ongoing tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine have already been expressed in mutual sanctions, the expulsion of diplomats and the suspension of cooperation in nearly all forums – from NATO to the Arctic Council. Yet further sanctions are possible on Russia if an understanding on Ukraine is not reached soon, but Moscow’s reaction can have equally reverberating effects.
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