Sally Buchanan made an important point about the inflation/deflation question in her comment below. We may require a re-alignment of our entire value system. The much-misued Utilitarian term ‘greatest good for the greatest possible number’ might depend on thinking about what we do and how we do it based upon what we, and the planet, [...]
Monthly Archives: January 2009
This is not a detour on the road to Shangri-la. It's the path to perdition.
January 30, 2009 – 10:33 pm
Inflation may be marginally less depressing than deflation . . . .
January 30, 2009 – 12:01 am
. . . . . . but that’s hardly a reason to be cheerful. And deflation might dampen wasteful consumerism. By Peter West There’s only one thing worse than inflation, and that’s deflation. Inflation got a bad name for itself in the seventies, but just recently when it has looked like being replaced by its satanic [...]
More about inflation – Crispin Odey
January 28, 2009 – 10:22 am
Writing in today’s Financial Times, often-controversial hedge fund manager Crispin Odey echoes some of the arguments put forward on THUS by Chris Gilchrist (below). With full attribution and respect for the FT’s copyright, here is a brief extract from his piece: The world’s total outstanding debts have to be reduced. Our populations and companies need [...]
Why inflation is a Good Thing
January 27, 2009 – 4:58 pm
The view that inflation is an evil ‘debasement of the currency’ with terrible social, political and economic consequences is still orthodoxy among central bankers and the vast majority of economists. Over the next few years we are likely to see it return and become embedded in Western economies. This may not be such a bad [...]
War crimes charges filed by international attorneys against 15 Israeli officials
January 27, 2009 – 9:18 am
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4599&Itemid=1 According to Palestinian News Network (PNN) – international lawyers are filing war crime charges against Israeli officials at the international Criminal Court in the Hague. The French lawyer orchestrating the case claims that there is some fear of interference from the United Nations Security Council under pressure from the United States to stop proceedings [...]
Israel lobby victorious as BBC refuses to help with humanitarian appeal
January 25, 2009 – 6:21 pm
In a display of lip-curling spinelessness, the BBC has refused to air the non-aligned Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Humanitarian Aid to the victims of the Gaza conflict. Other UK (commercial) TV channels, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, have agreed to air the appeal. Sky Television is considering its position. (UPDATE: unsurprisingly, Sky has [...]
Mission accomplished as Israel announces truce in Gaza
January 18, 2009 – 1:47 am
Having reached all ‘the goals of the war, and beyond’ Israeli President Olmert trumpeted a unilateral truce to commence at 00.00 am today, having been told to stop killing so many civilians by the US on Friday, ahead of Obama’s inauguration and with enough dead and wounded Palestinians to ensure election victory. The calculation [...]
Shriti Vadera. Crazy name, crazy gal. Gordon's most trusted advisor..
January 15, 2009 – 5:03 pm
. . . and that’s the problem. By John J Kelly. The shortcomings of ‘Baroness’ Shriti Vadera, junior Business Minister and one of the principal architects of the Private Finance Initiative, a tsunami-in-waiting for the UK economy have been hidden, largely because the Guardian and others are too scared to have a go at Gordon’s well-connected special [...]
Update: Not all the Israel lobby are unreasonable
Labour Friends of Israel vice-chair Louise Ellman joined the chorus of criticism of the BBC for refusing to air the DRC appeal. The Telegraph reported her comment: ‘The BBC should allow the appeal to go ahead. If the BBC has specific concerns about whether the money should reach those in need then it should raise [...]