Truth be told, the USA Today piece is a very good sketch on the forced abortion scheme – and the web of corruption that preserves it and profits from it. The hideous chemical burning of Pan Chunyan’s child (“because the whole body was black and the skin on the face had peeled”) would be enough [...]
…because its central bank could certainly use his special attention. Philip Aldrick (Telegraph, UK) has the details on the grilling that Sir Mervyn King (head of the UK’s central bank, known as the Bank of England) received at the hands of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee. Ben Bernake flatly contradicted King’s assertion that [...]
American and British banks are not the only ones under the microscope regarding the LIBOR scandal (Telegraph, UK): The EU investigation into a “shocking” interest-rate rigging scandal in the world’s biggest money market in London also includes Japan, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has said. “The alleged rate-rigging is a major competition concern,” Mr Almunia [...]
As most of America waited for the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, and then reacted to its judicial transformation into Robertscare, the rest of the world was watching a major financial scandal unfold. It’s roots were in London, but Wall Street played a critical role. The scandal surrounded LIBOR – the London InterBank Offered Rate. [...]
The Spanish government announced a new list of “austerity” measures today (Telegraph, UK – see from 8:11 to 9:30 AM). They include the usual (a Value Added Tax increase; public sector pay cuts), plus a reduction in unemployment benefits after six months (not bad, although numbingly small). I can’t speak for the state of Spain’s [...]
As Angela Merkel tries to hold off banking union by calling for a full-blown budget union, the German people express their opposition to any more EU integration (Bloomberg via Andrew Stuttaford): A directly elected EU president was rejected by 63 percent of Germans while 59 percent said the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, should [...]
Africa has been blessed with resources for centuries, yet once again, stupidity from outsiders is preventing their use to bring the continent’s people into prosperity. Today’s example regards elephants, rhinos, and Gabon (Reuters): The central African nation of Gabon will burn its government stockpiles of ivory on Wednesday against the backdrop of a surge in [...]
Two centuries ago this month, the United States of America completed a fourteen-year series of blunders by starting an unnecessary war that led to the destruction of the capital, embarrassing defeats in what is now the Midwest, a peace that solved none of the issues that started the war in the first place, and a [...]
My favorite European politician (well, among the living) is on the news again (Guardian, UK): Italy was abuzz with speculation that Silvio Berlusconi is planning a comeback – and could return to lead the right into an early general election, perhaps as standard-bearer of a party bent on withdrawing Italy from the euro. I have [...]
The spasm of “relief” over the victory of the corporatist New Democrats in Sunday’s Greek election lasted less than a day, a sign that investors (a.k.a. “the markets” or “speculators”) are no longer as dumb as they used to be on this. Nor did it take long for the NDs – supposedly the folks who [...]