Last week I described how vulture funds had been banned in the UK, but allowed to continue in our offshore territories. A similar story looks likely with the new Bribery Bill. The new law will tighten up the bribery guidelines, but leaves large loopholes that mean businesses will not be responsible for bribes paid through [...]
Archive | May, 2011
The number of natural disasters is on the rise
While the scientific debate spirals on into ever more intransigent spirals of obfuscation, the world continues to change around us. I’ve written before about the extraordinary number of extreme weather events last year, and the record number of temperature records set. 2011 is no different so far, with serious droughts developing in some parts of [...]
Credit where credit is due
There are times when I can’t stand British politics. The negativity and outright lies of the recent local elections and referendum are a case in point, or Cameron touring the Middle East selling weapons. But there are also times when I’m really proud, and there have been two reasons to applaud David Cameron’s leadership in [...]
What we learned this week
Sad to see such a big step backwards for Brazil as it re-writes its forestry policy and offers amnesty to illegal loggers. Bad news for the Amazon. Bill McKibben has a great piece on making connections, and “the comforting mantra that no single weather event can ever be directly tied to climate change.” Nice to [...]
Help stop the vulture funds, again
You may remember last year we celebrated the outlawing of ‘vulture funds‘, in a bill swept through in the final days of the last parliament. It banned the pernicious practice of buying up the unpayable debts of the world’s poorest countries, and then suing them for non payment. It’s hard to imagine a more disgusting [...]
Why I don’t accept advertising
Here’s an email I received this morning: Hello, I am ……. with ………. My company represents a leader in currency trading. They would like to purchase ad space on your site’s page: http://makewealthhistory.org/2009/01/07/the-tobin-tax/. It would say “Forex” — with a link to our client’s site. We can pay you $60 via PayPal as soon as [...]
Property prices: crack cocaine for the economy
I had to laugh at the news from the housing market this week. Property sales have been sluggish this spring, and the reason? The weather has been too warm. This is amusing because of course the economy declined to grow at the end of last year because the weather was too cold. Anyway, apparently the [...]
Lobby your MP at Tea Time for Change
Here’s a neat opportunity to speak up for international development. Tea time for change is a mass lobbying event taking place on Thursday June 9th at Westminster Central Hall. It’s a chance to meet your MP, share a cup of tea, and talk to them about aid, the Robin Hood Tax, and tax havens. Most [...]
What we learned this week
Britain is the third worst country in Europe for families, according to this report from the Relationships Foundation. Great article from Lester Brown on the 2011 food crisis. I quite enjoy the Real World Economics Review, so I was interested to see they have launched a World Economics Association. Did you know that burning your [...]
Why the tar sands are bad for Madagascar
As a child growing up in Madagascar, I remember the fleet of distinctive cars driven by the American oil workers. They had their own school for the children of AMOCO families. They even had their own supermarket, which we only found out about when the company pulled out. Like the rest of the expatriate community [...]
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