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Last Updated: May 15th, 2008 - 01:38:36 |
Analysis
NATO moved eastward, upping the ante yet again with Russia
By Eric Walberg
The big news at the recent NATO meeting in Romania is
that Croatia and Albania are now happy members of the family of peace-loving
nations conducting a brutal war in Afghanistan. The bad news is that Ukraine,
Georgia and Macedonia didn�t get the green light, with Russian and Greek
revanchism the culprit -- clearly a great setback to the cause of world peace.
Apr 11, 2008, 00:24
Analysis
The fading American economy
By Paul Craig Roberts
According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, the US economy lost 80,000 private sector jobs in
March, half of which were in manufacturing. Today 13,643,000 Americans are
employed in manufacturing, of which 9,849,000 are production workers.
Apr 10, 2008, 00:14
Analysis
Bernanke and Paulson turn to G-7 for ideas to stem global financial meltdown
By Mike Whitney
In a recent interview with the New York Times, former
Secretary of the Treasury Paul O' Neill, was asked how the problems with
subprime mortgages could lead to a financial crisis of global proportions. O'
Neill said, �If you have 10 bottles of water, and one bottle has poison in it,
and you don't know which one, you probably won�t drink out of any of the 10
bottles; that�s basically what we�ve got here.�
Apr 9, 2008, 00:17
Analysis
Brzezinski�s unconvincing antiwar posturing
By Larry Chin
Neoliberal elite Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the
leading architects of the "war on terrorism� across the Middle East and
the Eurasian subcontinent (and whose book The Grand Chessboard: American
Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives laid the groundwork for 9/11) has
adopted a politically expedient wolf-in-sheep�s clothing role.
Apr 2, 2008, 00:59
Analysis
Arabs divide; Israel rules
By Linda S. Heard
As the Damascus Arab League Summit has illustrated,
the principle of Arab unity has rarely been as fragile. For the people of this
region, this is a tragedy. The more Arabs are divided on crucial issues
affecting their lives, the more unprotected and powerless ordinary people feel.
For in the world of geopolitics small is definitely not beautiful.
Apr 2, 2008, 00:57
Analysis
Paulson's fixit plan for the financial markets: Less regulation, more power to the Fed
By Mike Whitney
It is being billed as a �massive shakeup of US
financial market regulation,� but don't be deceived. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson's proposals for broad market reform are neither �timely� nor
�thoughtful� [Reuters]. In fact, its all just more of the same free market �we
can police ourselves� mumbo jumbo that got us into this mess in the first
place.
Apr 2, 2008, 00:55
Analysis
Paulson regulatory reform plan falls short
By Peter Morici
The regulatory framework proposed by Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson will not address fundamental problems in the banking
sector that contributed significantly to the recession and that must be fixed
to rescue the U.S. economy from recession and avoid future crises.
Apr 2, 2008, 00:51
Analysis
The Spanish 'adios�
By Pablo Ouziel
When trying to understand the geopolitical
reality of Spain, one must never forget the two military bases the United
States actively maintains in the country. One of which currently serves as the
main transit point between the United States, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Apr 1, 2008, 00:40
Analysis
Knocking down false gods
By Peter Morici
The recession is a wake up call. Americans need to
confront some false gods -- free trade, gas guzzlers and Wall Street.
Apr 1, 2008, 00:34
Analysis
Attorney General Mukasey lies about 9/11 and international spying
By Larry Chin
In a recent
speech at San Francisco�s Commonwealth Club, Attorney General Michael
Mukasey defended the Bush-Cheney administration�s illegal domestic spying
agenda by proclaiming that the 9/11 attacks could have been prevented if the
government had been able to monitor overseas phone calls to the United States.
Mar 31, 2008, 00:18
Analysis
The West and Russia are continuing their worn-out Cold War dance routine
By Eric Walberg
As antagonists United States President George W. Bush
and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, both begin ceding power to others,
one would expect new political horizons to open up. Bush already looks more
like a footnote than a leader, with the US focusing on McCain vs Clinton/Obama,
leaving the failed president a classic lame duck. Putin is introducing his
successor Dmitri Medvedev to the subtleties of power politics, with Western
analysts slavering over hints in his biography of liberalism and even a
rejection of Putin's clear anti-imperialist foreign politics. But this
appearance of change belies the reality.
Mar 28, 2008, 00:21
Analysis
How to survive the recession
By Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar
By now it should be clear to all but the craziest of
optimists that we are in a recession, at least in US. What is not clear,
however, is the severity of this recession and if this will turn into a
depression. A technical recession is defined as the economic decline in two or
more consecutive quarters. This means that the real economy instead of growing,
contracts. This economic decline may involve a general decline in employment,
investment and corporate profits. Recessions can be accompanies by inflation or
deflation.
Mar 27, 2008, 00:14
Analysis
Learning to listen: Cultural perspectives on Rev. Wright
By Alan Strachan, Ph.D. and Janet Coster, M.A.
As white Americans, it is natural to view the narrowly
excerpted comments of Obama�s Reverend Jeremiah Wright through the lens of
white culture, and therefore to condemn him. As citizens of our democracy,
those of us who are white must not fall into this trap. It is incumbent upon us
to attempt to understand the meaning of Reverend Wright�s sermons from the
context of the African-American experience and the role of the black church
within that experience. We must take into account, as well, the countless
sermons of Reverend Wright that we have not heard, and the overall context of
his message and his life.
Mar 26, 2008, 00:22
Analysis
The economy: US and the world
By Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar
And no madness is worse than greed. Every so often
people assume that somehow they can make money out of the thin air. The most
famous example was the Tulip mania of 1636-1637 in The Netherlands and the most
recent one was the �dot-com� bubble of 1995-2001 (on March 10, 2000, the NASDAQ
peaked at 5,132.52). Today we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the
real estate bubble.
Mar 24, 2008, 00:54
Analysis
Winding up Bear: Paulson's gift to his bankster buddies
By Mike Whitney
One picture tells the whole story. It's a photo
of five grim looking men in gray suits staring ahead blankly like they were in
the dock with Saddam awaiting sentencing. Every one of them looks downcast and
dejected; shoulders rounded and jaws set. This is what desperation looks like,
which is why the photo was kept off the front pages of the leading
newspapers.
Mar 24, 2008, 00:44
Analysis
The collapse of American power
By Paul Craig Roberts
In his famous book, The
Collapse of British Power (1972), Correlli Barnett reports that in the
opening days of World War II Great Britain only had enough gold and foreign
exchange to finance war expenditures for a few months. The British turned to
the Americans to finance their ability to wage war. Barnett writes that this
dependency signaled the end of British power.
Mar 20, 2008, 01:05
Analysis
U.S. records $738.6 billion current account deficit
By Peter Morici
Last week, the Commerce Department reported the 2007
current account deficit was $738.6 billion, down from $811.5 billion in 2006.
The deficit exceeded 5.3 percent of GDP. The fourth quarter deficit was $172.9
billion.
Mar 20, 2008, 01:02
Analysis
Roubini's nightmare scenario: A vicious circle ending in a systemic financial meltdown
By Mike Whitney
"It's another round of the credit crisis. Some
markets are getting worse than January this time. There is fear that something
dramatic will happen and that fear is feeding itself." [Jesper
Fischer-Nielsen, interest rate strategist at Danske Bank, Copenhagen; Reuters]
Mar 19, 2008, 00:12
Analysis
Between a ROK and a hard place
By Eric Walberg
To date, 25 countries have formally recognised the
Republic of Kosovo (ROK), and six others have initiated the recognition
procedure. Among these 31 countries are 14 of the European Union's 25 members,
the United States, Australia, Switzerland and Norway. Of the former Yugoslavian
republics, only Slovenia has recognised it so far, with Croatia committed (it's
on the EU membership short list).
Mar 14, 2008, 00:38
Analysis
Republicans and �free market� zealots bring death to America
By Paul Craig Roberts
Crude oil for April delivery hit $110 per barrel. The
US dollar fell to a new low against the Euro. It now takes $1.55 to purchase
one Euro.
Mar 14, 2008, 00:34
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