Catégorie : Politics

No more bailouts: BoE chief says banks won't be save by taxpayers

Published on Russia Today RT, Nov 10, 2014;

New rules are being proposed that will force creditors, not taxpayers, to carry the losses of banks deemed “too big to fail.” The plans come after Western taxpayers were asked to pay trillions of dollars to bail out banks in the 2008 financial crisis. The new global rules will force creditors to bear banks’ losses, ensuring that taxpayers’ money should never be used again to bail out banks.  The proposal was unveiled by Mark Carney, chairman of the Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) and governor of the Bank of England. The new rules would require big banks to hold much more money against losses, which Carney called a “watershed” moment, adding that the bailout by the taxpayers in 2008 and 2009 was “totally unfair” … // Continuer la lecture de « No more bailouts: BoE chief says banks won't be save by taxpayers »

Rosetta spacecraft to land probe on comet – and make scientific history

LIVE UPDATES – Go-go-go! Rosetta’s Philae lander descent to comet surface, on Russia Today RT, Nov 12, 2014!

Published on The Independent.co.uk, by KITTY KNOWLES, Nov 9, 2014.

Dutch astrophysicist Dr Fred Jansen is no stranger to the difficulties of space exploration. He led the team that put an X-ray observatory in orbit in the 1990s, and has since overseen exploration operations to Mars and Venus. But the Rosetta mission manager described his latest challenge as the most difficult yet. Continuer la lecture de « Rosetta spacecraft to land probe on comet – and make scientific history »

Tax avoidance – Luxembourg tax files

how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale – Leaked documents show that one of the EU’s smallest states helped multinationals save millions in tax, to the detriment of its neighbours and allies – Published on The Guardian, by Simon Bowers, Nov 5, 2014. (See also: Audio – Irish Times Business Podcast: Lux Leaks, 19.44 min).

An unprecedented international investigation into tax deals struck with Luxembourg has uncovered the multi-billion dollar tax secrets of some of the world’s largest multinational corporations.

A cache of almost 28,000 pages of leaked tax agreements, returns and other sensitive papers relating to over 1,000 businesses paints a damning picture of an EU state which is quietly rubber-stamping tax avoidance on an industrial scale.   Continuer la lecture de « Tax avoidance – Luxembourg tax files »

The “Consultation” in Catalonia: A New Episode in the Political Crisis of Spain

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin no. 1052, by Pedro Marlez, Nov 6, 2014.

… The Spanish political crisis is advancing slowly but inexorably. In the last five or six months we have witnessed a series of events that have exacerbated the process of decomposition: the turbulence produced by the European elections, the succession to the throne, the most serious corruption scandals to surface for generations, and the conflict between the central government and Catalonia. The right-wing government of [Prime Minister] Mariano Rajoy has sought relief in macroeceonomic data, but the optimism expressed is groundless: no figures are available to show a solid recovery, with the exception of the fall in unemployment, which is explicable on the basis of a seasonally favourable situation in the services sector. The period to come will be very difficult for the government, even decisive in different areas of conflict … // Continuer la lecture de « The “Consultation” in Catalonia: A New Episode in the Political Crisis of Spain »

Poverty, World Hunger: Time for a relational approach

Published on Axis of Logic (first on teleSUR), by Ezequiel Adamovsky, Nov 5, 2014.

Announcements by the World Bank, the IMF; and other neoliberal think tanks, that poverty is decreasing and the middle class increasing is just a fantasy that stems from ideologically biased research programs and conceptions of poverty … //

… All this, of course, is nothing but a fantasy that stems from ideologically biased research programs and conceptions of poverty. In the past decades, international organizations and think tanks have produced a subtle shift in the way we understand poverty and class differences. We used to think of both as relations: there is no poverty in itself, but only in relation to wealth; one can only be of “lower” condition by contrast to the “higher” class. Continuer la lecture de « Poverty, World Hunger: Time for a relational approach »

Ebola quarantines violated in search of food

Published on AlJazeera, November 5, 2014: Aid agencies say thousands being monitored for signs of Ebola in Sierra Leone are venturing out to find food.

… Kamara said that because services are not reaching them, people who are being monitored for signs of Ebola – and should be staying at home – are venturing out to markets to look for food, potentially contaminating many others.

Christian Aid’s coordinator said that with infections still on the rise, it was difficult for the government to keep up with the number of people being monitored for the disease. « The number is just rising exponentially, » she said. « The speed with which we have to have such a robust system of planning and coordination » is too fast.

Continuer la lecture de « Ebola quarantines violated in search of food »

Monetary Fallacy? Deep Divisions Emerge over ECB Quantitative Easing Plans – part 1

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Anne Seith, Nov 3, 2014 (Photo Gallery – A Growing Rift Between Central Bankers – translated from the German by Christopher Sultan).

To prevent dangerous deflation, the ECB is discussing a massive program to purchase government bonds. watchdogs are divided over the measure, with some alleging that central bankers are being held hostage by politicians … //

… A Heated Dispute: Continuer la lecture de « Monetary Fallacy? Deep Divisions Emerge over ECB Quantitative Easing Plans – part 1 »

Can Capitalism and Democracy Coexist?

Can Capitalism and Democracy Coexist? – Videos with Journalist Chris Hedges and political philosopher Sheldon Wolin, uploaded on YouTube by TheRealNews, August-November 2014: (1/8), 20.15 min; (2/8), 25.04 min; (3/8), 22.32 min; (4/8), 26.37 min; (5/8), 23.23 min; (6/8), 19.37 min; (see comment on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Nov 3, 2014 – also links on the website of The Real News Network TRNN, per Nov 2, 2014);

Capitalism Democracy-Related Links:

Global War and Peace: Insanity’s Quagmire

Published on The People’s Voive, by Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja, Nov 2, 2014 (also on The Sri Lanka Guardian, Nov 2).

In a knowledge-based age, contemporary world is fraught with perpetuated violence and killings to undermine the sustainability of mankind’s future. Complex societal conflicts need rational and flexible strategies using men of new ideas, diplomacy and peaceful means to conflict management … // Continuer la lecture de « Global War and Peace: Insanity’s Quagmire »

ISIS eyes using Ebola as bio weapon – or: what fundamentalist dictatorship is serving

Published on Russia Today RT, Nov 1, 2014.

The Spanish government said it is concerned that terrorists could use the Ebola virus as a biological weapon against the West. A close eye is being kept on online chat rooms, where such attacks are reportedly discussed among jihadist groups. Extremists connected to the Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS) have been considering using Ebola as a weapon against the West, Spain’s State Secretary for Security, Francisco Martinez, said in an address to the parliament.   Continuer la lecture de « ISIS eyes using Ebola as bio weapon – or: what fundamentalist dictatorship is serving »

NYPD arrests, brutalizes peace activist McGovern ahead of Petraeus speech

Published on Russia Today RT, Oct 31, 2014.

The New York Police Department has detained prominent peace activist and former CIA agent Ray McGovern, with witnesses saying he was “yelling in pain” during arrest. McGovern was detained ahead of a David Petraeus speech that he planned to attend.

McGovern was detained before the start of a talk between former CIA director David Petraeus, retired US Army Lt. Col. John Nagl, and author Max Boot on American Foreign Policy at the 92nd St Y., an Upper East Side cultural community center.   Continuer la lecture de « NYPD arrests, brutalizes peace activist McGovern ahead of Petraeus speech »

Where have all the Flowers Gone?

Published on Dissident Voice, by Denis A. Conroy, Oct 28, 2014.

Thinking through the binary oppositions of “have” and “have nots” is like segregating the homeless from the Paris Hiltons of the world in order to present a narrative that represents a ‘going America’s way’ kind of reality, a reality that uses finance, by way of speculation and specialisation, to foster advantages for elites and their hierarchical institutions for the sole purpose of amassing capital in order to leverage control of the social narrative through the commodification of culture itself.   Continuer la lecture de « Where have all the Flowers Gone? »

Gold and Banks

Why Do Banks Want Our Deposits?

Hint: It’s Not to Make Loans – Published on truthDig (first on Web of Debt), by Ellen Brown, Oct 26, 2014.

… Reckoning with the Fed:

Ever since the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913, banks have been required to clear their outgoing checks through the Fed or another clearinghouse. Banks keep reserves in reserve accounts at the Fed for this purpose, and they usually hold the minimum required reserve. When the loan of Bank A becomes a check that goes into Bank B, the Federal Reserve debits Bank A’s reserve account and credits Bank B’s. If Bank A’s account goes in the red at the end of the day, the Fed automatically treats this as an overdraft and lends the bank the money. Bank A then must clear the overdraft.   Continuer la lecture de « Why Do Banks Want Our Deposits? »

still on my dashboard

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