US drone strike kills at least fifteen in Pakistan

Monday, January 18, 2010

According to local officials, a United States drone attack in Pakistan’s South Waziristan province has killed at least fifteen people, although some reports put the death toll as high as twenty. The incident occurred in the Shaktoi region of the province.

“Now the death toll is 15. It could rise further. People are still busy removing rubble,” said a senior security official to the Reuters news agency. He commented that most of the dead were foreign fighters.

“The drones are apparently tracking and targeting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, whose presence is frequently reported in the area,” said another official.

The United States has increased attacks using drones since a suicide bomber killed seven US intelligence agents in eastern Afghanistan in late December of last year.

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U.S. Coast Guard investigation finds ‘poor safety culture’ contributed to Deepwater Horizon disaster

Sunday, April 24, 2011

An investigation by the United States Coast Guard has concluded the largest oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry was partly the result of a “poor safety culture” aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The April 2010 explosion aboard the rig, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico, triggered a disaster that led to widespread environmental damage.

The report squarely blames Transocean, which managed the Deepwater Horizon, for being largely responsible for the explosion that claimed eleven lives. The rig had “serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture,” the report says. Transocean fiercely rejected allegations that crews aboard the rig were badly trained and equipment was poorly maintained.

Deepwater Horizon and its owner, Transocean, had serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture.

A slapdash safety environment on Deepwater Horizon would mean equipment was not mended or replaced if it meant losing valuable hours of drilling, the Coast Guard found. Electrical equipment believed to have caused a spark that ignited flammable gas was described as being in “bad condition” and “seriously corroded.” The report found that other deficiencies—improperly assembled gas detectors and emergency equipment; audible alarms switched off because of nuisance false warnings; complacency with fire drills; and poor preparation for dealing with a well blowout—all contributed to the disaster.

Transocean attacked the report’s conclusions and suggested the Coast Guard may have played a role in the disaster. A spokesperson for the company said Deepwater Horizon had been inspected by Coast Guard officials only months before the explosion, officials who said it complied with safety standards. “We strongly disagree with—and documentary evidence in the Coast Guard’s possession refutes—key findings in this report,” the company said.

This week, Deepwater Horizon owner BP launched legal action against Transocean. It also filed a lawsuit against Halliburton, the company that cemented the well, and Cameron, which manufactured the rig’s failed blowout preventer. BP is reportedly seeking to claim US$40 billion in damages, and alleges it has taken a massive financial hit and loss of reputation. In a statement, BP said it filed the lawsuits “to ensure that all parties … are appropriately held accountable for their roles in contributing to the Deepwater Horizon accident”.

In the lawsuit against Transocean, BP claims the company missed signs that a disaster was imminent and that it “materially breached its contractual duties in its actions and inactions leading to the loss of well control, the explosion and the loss of life and injuries onboard the Deepwater Horizon, as well as the resulting oil spill.” Halliburton, BP alleges, was riddled with “improper conduct, errors and omissions, including fraud and concealment” which led to the disaster, and continues to refuse to cooperate with investigators.

Transocean dismissed the lawsuit as “desperate” and “unconscionable,” and announced a countersuit against BP, which it claims was responsible for the disaster “through a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk, in some cases severely.” Halliburton and Cameron, which is also countersuing, announced they would defend themselves against BP’s allegations.

U.S. President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of the explosion by conceding that although “progress” has been made to ensure the safety of deep water drilling rigs, “the job isn’t done.” Obama’s comments came less than a week after leading experts raised serious questions over the security of deep water drilling as the U.S. government approves more exploration without improving safety measures.

Charles Perrow, a professor at Yale University, said the oil industry “is ill prepared at the least” to deal with another oil spill, despite repeated assurances from the industry and the government, which insists lessons have been learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. “I have seen no evidence that they have marshaled containment efforts that are sufficient to deal with another major spill,” he said. “Even if everybody tries very hard, there is going to be an accident caused by cost-cutting and pressure on workers. These are moneymaking machines and they make money by pushing things to the limit.”

However, politicians have insisted they are doing all they can to help clean the coast of oil. “Cleanup efforts in some places are still ongoing, and the full scale of the damage done to our state has yet to be calculated, but the good news is that most all of our fishing waters are back open again,” said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at a press conference. “All of us here today want the entire nation to get the message that Louisiana is making another historic comeback.”

I don’t see any hope at all. We thought we’d see hope after a year, but there’s nothing.

Gulf Coast residents, activists and relatives of the crewmen who were killed in the explosion paused this week for the anniversary of the oil spill’s beginning. A helicopter took the victims’ families from New Orleans to over the site where the rig stood, where it circled. “It was just a little emotional, seeing where they were,” said one victim’s mother. Remembrance services and candlelight vigils were held in the Gulf Coast region, which continues to suffer from the fallout of the catastrophe. The families have expressed anger at BP, who they say is being unfair and slow in paying out compensation from a $20 billion fund.

The area is still heavily affected by the disaster and reconstruction of the seafood industry that once thrived is slow. While tourists are beginning to return to the region, many are angry at BP and the Obama administration over how they handled the disaster. All the fishing waters in the area have now opened again, but people who live in the area remain dissatisfied. “I don’t see any daylight at the end of this tunnel,” one fisherwoman said. “I don’t see any hope at all. We thought we’d see hope after a year, but there’s nothing.”

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India: Jammu and Kashmir government orders private tuitions to shut down for 90 days

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

On Sunday, the government of Jammu and Kashmir, India, ordered private academic coaching institutions for students until and including class XII to shut down for the next three months calling those institutions “distractions” for the students; with an exception of coaching institutions preparing students for professional exams.

After meeting the heads of some educational institutions, the state’s education minister Syed Altaf Bukhari said: “We had a discussion with our principals today to how to make the education system better. We have come to a conclusion that the distractions which affect our education system […] one of those distractions are the coaching centres”. He added the government is to review the status of the tuition centres with respect to their decisions twice a month.

High schools and colleges have suspended classes since the beginning of the month. Boycotting the classes, students protested against two encounters in Shopian that resulted in the killing of four civilians as well as twelve militants. Then there were protests against the gang rape and murder of eight-year-old girl Asifa Bano in Kathua who police said was held captive and sedated at a temple in January. Retired government official Sanji Ram and several others —including multiple police officers— were arrested earlier this month for, or in relation to, the gang rape and murder of Asifa. Asifa’s corpse was found in the village of Rasana on January 10.

Some of the protesters clashed with the state security forces, and pellets were fired over the protesters. Bukhari said, “Security of the students is paramount, that is why we kept schools and colleges closed. But now the students should control their emotions and go back to their classes […] Now, enough is enough, they have their protest and should attend school now.” Bukhari went on to add that they cannot “afford to have future a generation of illiterates and uneducated.” He said the students who come to the road for protests “would be treated as rowdies”.

According to an official in Jammu and Kashmir’s education department, the motivation behind the temporary shut down of tuitions was “when the coaching centres are closed, students would not have an option but to attend schools”. Coaching Centre Association president Junaid Yousuf responded to this ban, saying: “What is the point of ordering closure of coaching centres and keeping schools open? This defies logic. You are not shutting down the places where protests occur and closed those centres where there are no protests”.

“This distraction leads to fall in attendances in schools. We are not against coaching centres; we will first see how schools function. Therefore immediately we will request and order the coaching centres to stop their shops for some time[…] We are the custodians of the students and want that they are not distracted”, the Education Minister said.

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Digital Marketing

Types Of Printed Media Printing Companies In Fullerton Provide

byAlma Abell

There are numerous ways to convey a message to the people or group that you target. One of them is through printed media. The main purpose of printed media is to educate, entertain, and inform the public. Printed media is commonly used by companies to advertise their goods or services. If you are in need of a printed media, Printing Companies in Fullerton will provide you with the one of your choice. Below are some of the printed media available from area printing companies.

Newspapers

This is the most common and popular type of print media. It also among the cheapest and informs the public about events affecting the public, local and international news, sports, beauty and fashion, advertisements and many more. One can buy a newspaper from a vendor or have it delivered at your address.

Magazines

Magazines are more expensive than newspapers. Articles in magazines have more detailed information. Magazines are more attractive, and their articles are mostly colored therefore more eye-catching than newspapers. A magazine can cover a single topic like lifestyle, cooking, economy, fashion and others.

News Letters

A newsletter is intended for the public. Most companies reach their customers or target new ones by informing them through newsletters. They are also common in places like schools where the parents are informed about the on-goings of the school. Newsletters are mostly free but can also be sold at a low price.

Billboards

Billboards are commonly used as a form of advertisements. They are made big so that they can be read or seen from a distance. They are the most expensive form of print media but how much you pay for the billboard will depend on its size, how long the advertisement should last and the location of the billboard.

Books

A book is a collection of printed pages bounded together. Books are used to spread knowledge about a particular thing or subject all over the world. Books can be used to entertain, to inform or to educate.

Printing Companies in Fullerton are professionals and have the above and other print media options like banners and brochures. For more information click here Apganaheim.com.

Sweden’s Crown Princess marries long-time boyfriend

Monday, June 21, 2010

Sweden’s first royal wedding since 1976 took place Saturday when Crown Princess Victoria, 32, married her long-time boyfriend and former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, 36. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral.

Over 1,200 guests, including many rulers, politicians, royals and other dignitaries from across the world, attended the wedding, which cost an estimated 20 million Swedish kronor. Victoria wore a wedding dress with five-metre long train designed by Pär Engsheden. She wore the same crown that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore on her wedding day 34 years previously, also on June 19. Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walked Victoria down the aisle, which was deemed untraditional by many. In Sweden, the bride and groom usually walk down the aisle together, emphasising the country’s views on equality. Victoria met with Daniel half-way to the altar, where they exchanged brief kisses, and, to the sounds of the wedding march, made their way to the the silver altar. She was followed by ten bridesmaids. The couple both had tears in their eyes as they said their vows, and apart from fumbling when they exchanged rings, the ceremony went smoothly.

Following the ceremony, the couple headed a fast-paced procession through central Stockholm on a horse-drawn carriage, flanked by police and security. Up to 500,000 people are thought to have lined the streets. They then boarded the Vasaorden, the same royal barge Victoria’s parents used in their wedding, and traveled through Stockholm’s waters, accompanied by flyover of 18 fighter jets near the end of the procession. A wedding banquet followed in the in the Hall of State of the Royal Palace.

Controversy has surrounded the engagement and wedding between the Crown Princess and Westling, a “commoner”. Victoria met Westling as she was recovering from bulemia in 2002. He owned a chain of gymnasiums and was brought in to help bring Victoria back to full health. Westling was raised in a middle-class family in Ockelbo, in central Sweden. His father managed a social services centre, and his mother worked in a post office. When the relationship was made public, Westling was mocked as an outsider and the king was reportedly horrified at the thought of his daughter marrying a “commoner”, even though he did so when he married Silvia. Last year, Westling underwent transplant surgery for a congenital kidney disorder. The Swedish public have been assured that he will be able to have children and that his illness will not be passed on to his offspring.

Westling underwent years of training to prepare for his new role in the royal family, including lessons in etiquette, elocution, and multi-lingual small talk; and a makeover that saw his hair being cropped short, and his plain-looking glasses and clothes being replaced by designer-wear.

Upon marrying the Crown Princess, Westling took his wife’s ducal title and is granted the style “His Royal Highness”. He is now known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. He also has his own coat-of-arms and monogram. When Victoria assumes the throne and becomes Queen, Daniel will not become King, but assume a supportive role, similar to that of Prince Phillip, the husband of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II.

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2006 “Stolenwealth” Games to confront Commonwealth Games in Melbourne

Friday, March 3, 2006

The possibility of large-scale protests in the face of the 3,000 journalists covering the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, has event organisers and the Government worried.

The group “Black GST” – which represents Indigenous Genocide, Sovereignty and Treaty – are planning demonstrations at prominent Games events unless the Government agrees to a range of demands including an end to Aboriginal genocide, Aboriginal Sovereignty and the signing of a treaty.

The Black GST say they hope the focus of the world’s media will draw attention to the plight of indigenous Australians during the Games. Organisers say supporters are converging from across Australia and from overseas. Organisers say up to 20,000 people may take part in talks, rallies, colourful protests and many cultural festivities designed to pressure the Federal Government on Indigeneous rights issues. They want the Government to provide a temporary campsite for the supporters, saying “organised chaos was better than disorganised chaos.”

The 2006 Stolenwealth Games convergence, described by organisers as the “cultural festival of the 2006 Commonwealth Games,” was virtually opened on March 2nd with the launch of the official “Stolenwealth Games” website. Scoop Independent News and Perth Indymedia reported that the launch was held at Federation Square in Melbourne. The site contents were projected via wireless laptop by the Stolenwealth Games General Manager, and a tour of the website was given on the big screen. He said “overwhelming amusement was the response from the audience.” The group say permanent access points to the website are being set up at public internet facilities across Victoria during the coming weeks.

“Interest in the Stolenwealth Games is building all over the world and this fresh, exciting and contemporary site will draw in people from Stolenwealth Nations around the globe to find out about the latest news and events,” said a Stolenwealth Games spokesperson. “We have been getting many requests from around the world wanting to know about the Stolenwealth Games. We have provided many ways that individuals and organisations can support the campaign by spreading the word.”

The Victorian Traditional Owner Land Justice Group (VTOLJG) which represents the first nation groups of Victoria, has announced its support to boycott the 2006 Commonwealth Games until the Government “recognises Traditional Owner rights.” The group asserts that culture has been misappropriated in preparation for the Games.

Organisers of the campaign say they welcome the formal support from the Traditional Owners. “While some seek to divide and discredit Indigenous Australia, this support is further evidence that the Aboriginal people are united in opposition to the ongoing criminal genocide that is being perpetrated against the Aboriginal people” said Black GST supporter and Aboriginal Elder, Robbie Thorpe.

“We now have endorsement from the VTOLJG and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy for the aims and objectives of the Campaign and we are looking forward to hosting all indigenous and non-indigenous supporters from across Australia in March,” he said. The Black GST group have said “the convergence will be held as a peaceful, family-focussed demonstration against genocide, and for the restoration of sovereignty and the negotiations towards a Treaty.”

But the campaign has received flak in mainstream media, such as Melbourne’s Herald Sun, who wrote: “the proposal to allow BlackGST to set up an Aboriginal tent embassy at a site well away from the Commonwealth Games will be interpreted by some as the State Government caving in to a radical protest group. A major concern for the Government… is to protect the event from disruption… no chances should be taken…”

The Black GST has been planning the convergence for months, calling for Aboriginal people and their supporters to converge on Melbourne. The Melbourne-based Indigenous rights group have called on thousands of people concerned about the plight of indigenous Australians to converge on Melbourne during the Games, which they have dubbed “the Stolenwealth Games”. But the choice of Kings Domain has made conflict almost inevitable, as the area is one of the areas gazetted by the State Government as a “Games management zone”.

Under the Commonwealth Games Arrangements Act, any area gazetted as a management zone is subject to a range of specific laws – including bans on protesting, creating a disturbance and other activities. The protest bans will be in effect at different times and places, and offenders can be arrested. A spokeswoman for the Black GST, which advocates peaceful protest, said the site had been chosen because it was close to where the Queen will stay on March 15. “We figured that she is only in Melbourne for 27 hours or something like that so we thought we would make it easy for her to come next door and see us,” she said. “We are a very open, welcoming group, so she will be welcome to come and join us.”

Kings Domain is the burial site for 38 indigenous forefathers of Victoria. Black GST elder, Targan, said trade union groups have offered to install infrastructure at the site. The group initially worked with the State Government to find a suitable camp site, but the relationship broke down when the Government failed to meet a deadline imposed by the protesters. “While we are disappointed the ministers were not able to meet deadline on our request, we thank them for their constructive approach towards negotiations and the open-door policy exercised,” said Targan.

A spokesman for Games Minister Justin Madden said the Government was still investigating other sites. Victoria Police Games security commander Brendan Bannan said he was not convinced the Black GST represented the views of most indigenous people. “We are dealing with the Aboriginal community and they don’t seem to support it at all … the wider Aboriginal community don’t support disruption to the Games at all,” he said.

The Government was told that Black GST supporters would camp in Fitzroy Gardens and other city parks should it fail to nominate a site. A spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavan Jennings said the Government was taking the issue seriously, but had not been able to finalise a campsite before the deadline.

Under special Games laws, people protesting or causing a disturbance in “Games management zones” can be arrested and fined. While prominent public spaces such as Federation Square, Birrarung Marr, Albert Park and the Alexandra Gardens fall under the legislation, such tough anti-protest laws cannot be enforced in the nearby Fitzroy Gardens.

Games chairman Ron Walker has urged the group to choose another date for its protest march through the city, which is currently planned to coincide with the opening ceremony on March 15. The group believes that an opportunity to gain attention for indigenous issues was lost at the Sydney Olympics and has vowed to make a highly visible presence at the Games.

The Black GST said the Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy’s sacred flame, burning over many years at the Canberra site will be carried to Melbourne before the Games, and its arrival would mark the opening of the protest camp from where a march will proceed to the MCG before the Opening Ceremony.

Black GST claims supporters from all over Australia, including three busloads from the West Australian Land Council, will gather in Melbourne during the Games for peaceful protests.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings had offered Victoria Park to the protesters. Victoria Park, former home of Collingwood Football Club, where one of the strongest statements of Aboriginal pride, when St Kilda star Nicky Winmar in 1993 raised his jumper and pointed to his bare chest after racial taunts from the Collingwood crowd.

Black GST, which has labelled the Games the Stolenwealth Games, said the State Government had failed to find a suitable venue. Black GST may encourage protesters to camp in prominent parks such as Fitzroy Gardens and Treasury Gardens. Graffiti supporting the action has also appeared in central Melbourne.

Melbourne City councillor Fraser Brindley has offered his home to the Black GST organisers. “I offered my home up to people who are organising visitors to come to the Games,” he said. Cr Brindley will be overseas when the Commonwealth Games are held and has offered the free accommodation at his flat at Parkville. He said he agreed with the protesters’ view that treaties needed to be signed with indigenous Australians. “I’m offering it up to the indigenous people who are coming to remind Her Majesty that her Empire took this land from them,” said Cr Brindlley. Nationals leader Peter Ryan said: “This extremist group has no part in the Australian community.” Melbourne councillor Peter Clarke said the actions were embarrassing and that he would try to discourage him. “It’s not in the spirit of the Games,” he said.

Aboriginal elder, Targan, said the possibility of securing Victoria Park was delightfully ironic. “There’s a lot of irony going on,” Targan, 53, a PhD student at Melbourne University, said. “GST stands for Genocide, Sovereignty and Treaty. We want the genocide of our people to stop; we want some sovereignty over traditional land, certainly how it is used, and we want a treaty with the government,” Targan said.

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Sub-prime lenders send jitters through global markets

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Just two weeks after China sent global markets into a tumble, growing worries about sub-prime mortgage lenders in the United States are sending jitters through stock exchanges around the globe. The three major US stock market indices each fell two percent from Monday’s closing price, marking the second-biggest loss of 2007. London’s FTSE 100, Paris’ CAC 40 and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 indices each closed down more than 1 percent.

As the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that late payments on mortgages and home foreclosures in the US homes rose in the fourth quarter to their highest level in years, investors are concerned that not only US banks but also multi-national banks around the globe could have exposure.

More than two dozen sub-prime lenders have closed or sold operations as defaults on those mortgages have risen. “The delinquencies and defaults have started to soar,” said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Housing Studies at Harvard University. “A lot of these lenders started to make loans and lost track of some of the fundamentals.”

New Century Financial Corporation, the second largest sub-prime lender in the US, has recently revealed that its creditors were no longer providing funds and, further, it has become subject of an SEC investigation. The New York Stock Exchange has said it will delist New Century. Accredited Home Loan Lending, another major sub-prime mortgage specialist, said it was seeking fresh capital and waivers on its lending covenants.

Sub-prime lenders provide mortgages to people who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders, typically due to their credit histories. The lenders then bundle these mortgages as collateral for loans that they obtain from other financing firms, such as GMAC. Such firms can then repackage these loans and sell them as mortgage-backed securities. These securities may end up in the hands of major multi-national banks such as Citibank, HSBC, and Commerzbank. Each level of lending assumes a level of financial risk, but trouble can arise when the risk tolerances are exceeded. If too many homeowners default on their mortgages, the sub-prime lender can end up defaulting. If too many of these lenders default, as it is feared may be happening now, the defaults can cascade upward. While no one is predicting major bank failures at this point, it is feared that their profits could be hurt.

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Cash Management

A Hidden Road To Recovery? The Magic Money Tree We Had All Along

As lockdown measures ease, people return to work, and retailers open their doors once again, a big question is looming large in the background.

How are we going to pay for all this?

I am of course talking about expensive government policies such as the furlough scheme, small business rates relief grants, bounce back loans, self-employed income support payments, and the many other measures which were introduced to try and nurse the UK economy through the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and associated lockdown.

The conventional knowledge is that public spending will have to be drastically decreased (which would harm public services), or taxes substantially increased (which would likely harm growth), in order to make a dent in the debt mountain which has piled up over the past few months.

For example, on July 11th 2020, The Observer published an article by former Treasury minister David Gauke, which was entitled ‘Tax Rises and Cuts Only Way to Pay for Covid-19’.

In it, Gauke stated that, ‘Once we are through the economic shock, the government will have to fill this gap with tax increases or spending cuts.’

Similarly, in an article published on the BBC website on July 9th 2020, which was called ‘Coronavirus: How much will it cost the UK?’ a conclusion of the article was that, ‘The deficit leaves the government with a choice: increase borrowing, raise taxes, or cut spending.’

However, the conventional wisdom is sometimes incomplete at best, and entirely wrong at worst. For example, it was once conventional wisdom that Earth, and not the Sun, was at the centre of the solar system.

In terms of the post Covid-19 recovery, inaccurate conventional wisdom has reared its head once again.

How To Make Money… Quite Literally

At this point, it’s worth remembering that money is a man-made construct.

Pounds, Euros, Dollars, or anything else, these currencies have all been created from scratch by human societies, in order to assist with the exchange of goods and services of value.

Also, if you were to ask people how money is created, most would probably suggest it was printed by the Royal Mint in the form of notes and coins.

This is true, but only to an incredibly small degree.

In actual fact, over 97% of the money in the British economy (and the figure is similar in almost all industrialised countries) is created when commercial banks (e.g. HSBC, NatWest, Santander) issue loans to their customers.

A 2014 bulletin by the Bank of England entitled ‘Money Creation in the Modern Economy’ stated this very clearly. The exact words they used were:

Where does money come from? In the modern economy, most money takes the form of bank deposits. The principal way in which they are created is through commercial banks making loans: whenever a bank makes a loan, it creates a deposit in the borrower’s bank account, thereby creating new money. This description of how money is created differs from the story found in some economics textbooks.

This process of ‘creating a deposit in the borrower’s bank account’ is as uncomplicated as it sounds. Perhaps even more so.

It simply means that the bank approves a loan, then types the numbers of the loan amount into the customer’s bank account. The process is entirely digital; no physical money has been created or exchanged at any point.

This has several implications.

Firstly, it means that individuals and businesses receiving loans from commercial banks is the source of nearly all the money in our economy. To put it more starkly – without people taking on bank debts, there can be no money.

This puts a different spin on the concept of ‘the irresponsibility of debt’.

I’m sure we all know of people who have taken out a bank loan, and then wasted it on trivial things. Often, we judge these people, calling them irresponsible or indulgent, and perhaps they are, but whenever anyone takes on bank debt, we too owe that person a kind of debt, as their taking out a loan has increased the amount of money in the economy which can be earned, spent, and taxed. This in turn means that a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will likely rise as the money supply increases.

‘But Why Has No-one Told Me This Before?’

Good question.

If the truth about money creation was news to you, you’re not alone. The overwhelming majority of the general public don’t know how money is created, and a 2017 poll by the campaign group Positive Money found that even 85% of MPs were unaware.

However, once you understand that money can be created out of thin air, with the push of a button, the debate on how to pay off the debts accumulated during the response to Covid-19, seems rather different.

This is even more true once you understand how central banks work.

Central banks are the national banks of specific countries. For example, in the UK, the Bank of England is our central bank, while in the USA, it is the Federal Reserve, and in the EU, it’s the European Central Bank.

Nearly every country in the world has a central bank, and much like commercial banks, they have the power to create money out of nothing – although central banks have the additional responsibility of trying to ensure the economy as a whole stays healthy.

But whereas commercial banks lend money to businesses and individuals, central banks chiefly lend money to governments, commercial banks, and other financial institutions.

The ability of central banks to create money and lend it to their national government, is of particular interest.

‘There’s No Magic Money Tree That We Can Shake, That Suddenly Provides For What People Want’

Those words were spoken by Theresa May on June 2nd 2017 when appearing on the television show Question Time, in response to a nurse asking why she hadn’t had a pay rise in 8 years.

And she was right; we don’t have a magic money tree that we can shake to raise money.

The truth is, it’s much easier than that.

All over the world, central banks have the power to create new money, which can then be used to pay for whatever is needed. And they certainly do use this power, although not in a way which benefits the general population as much as it could.

For example, in the UK, the Bank of England created 456 billion of new money between 2009 and 2017 through the use of quantitative easing, and this money went straight to commercial banks and other financial institutions, rather than into the hands of individuals or SMEs. Furthermore, none of this money has ever been repaid.

More examples of money being created to serve privileged interests, have come as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A case in point, is the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), which has provided 58 billion worth of newly created money to some of the UK’s largest companies, including Easyjet, Greggs, and First Group.

In fact, the CCFF is not even available to small and medium sized businesses, as the terms of the scheme mean that, in effect, only the UK’s largest corporations are eligible for it.

Another example comes from the US Federal Reserve, who, in the early months of 2020, injected over $2 trillion dollars of newly created money into the American financial markets, in order to try and prevent a recession.

This proved successful to a large extent, but sending the funds directly to investment banks and corporate financiers means it is highly unlikely much of this money will filter down to ordinary working families.

Proof Of Concept

While much of the money which has been newly created by central banks in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has gone to the corporate class, the creation and distribution of these funds has at least shown what can be done.

Namely, money can be created from scratch by a central bank, and injected into the economy where it’s needed most. Indeed, the concept of a nation’s central bank creating new money to finance government spending, is not a new one.

It is a policy known as Direct Monetary Financing, and some influential supporters of Direct Monetary Financing include the economists Milton Friedman, Adair Turner, Willem Buiter, Jordi Gali, and Ben Bernanke, who was Chair of the US Federal Reserve between 2006 and 2014.

The Bank of England has in fact always had the power to create money for the UK government to spend in whichever way it sees fit, and occasionally this power is used. More specifically, the account which the government has with the Bank of England is called the Ways and Means facility, and every so often these two institutions work together to create new money, that the government can use to pay for the extra expenses which arise during challenging circumstances.

For example, following the 2008 financial crash, the size of the government’s Ways and Means facility (i.e. the amount of money the Bank of England created from thin air to assist with the government’s spending requirements) was nearly 20 billion.

And as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, the UK government has already worked with the Bank of England to create new money, which will be used to help finance the government spending programs that have been introduced to protect the British economy through the pandemic.

Confirming this, a press release published by the Bank of England on 9th April 2020 announced that they had granted the Treasury a ‘temporary extension to the Ways and Means facility’ to help the government ‘smooth its cashflows and support the orderly functioning of markets, through the period of disruption from Covid-19’.

However, the Bank of England also said such an extension would be, ‘temporary and short-term’.

When reporting on this announcement, the Financial Times ran with a headline of ‘Bank of England to directly finance UK government’s extra spending’.

Making It Rain

So if money can be created by the government and the central banks at will, then why is this power not used more often to better fund the public services which we all rely on? Indeed, as Positive Money noted, the Bank of England creating money for the UK government to spend during the Covid-19 crisis, ‘demonstrates once and for all that the government need not depend on private markets to finance its spending’.

In short, if the NHS is low on funds, if schools are lacking resources, or if the police don’t have the equipment they need, then why can’t the government order the creation of more money, so all these things (and more) can be afforded?

Generally, the answer provided is that doing this would increase inflation.

This is not incorrect, but it is by no means assured that increasing the supply of money in an economy will make the goods and services more expensive.

The somewhat hysterical examples of Zimbabwe and the Weimar Republic are sometimes used as cases where the government creating money for itself to spend has led to hyperinflation, but when looking closer to home, both in terms of location and time period, it is easy to observe different outcomes.

Firstly, it is important to note that new money is entering the economy all the time, as a result of banks providing loans to their customers, foreign investment capital flowing into the country, and governments borrowing money from financial markets to fund their public spending commitments, yet whenever money from these sources enters the economy, the argument is never made that the increase in money supply will cause inflation to rise. And at times when inflation is high, rarely is the finger pointed at the money supply being too high.

Furthermore, as noted earlier in this article, the Bank of England created 456 billion of new money between 2009 and 2017 through the use of quantitative easing, yet inflation only rose by 2.77% a year on average in the UK for the period between 2009 and 2020. In terms of historical inflation rates for both the UK and other developed economies, this figure is remarkably low.

In fact, as a result of lockdown measures having reduced the amount of money being newly created by commercial banks granting loans (such as mortgages or startup loans etc.) over the past few months, some economists argue that we now have the opposite problem in the form of deflation, and that what we need now more than anything, is a fresh supply of money entering the economy.

For example, David McWilliams, a former economist at the Central Bank of Ireland, has said that:

We have an economic vaccine – it’s called money. We know the central bank prints it. It doesn’t even have to print it, it just has to put a zero after people’s accounts.

We have the vaccine, we know what to do. And amazingly, we’re not using it because of some morality idea that we can’t do this because it will lead to inflation, when we know we’re in a deflationary spiral.

It is absolutely nonsensical. It is as mad as a laboratory having the vaccination for COVID-19, and saying “we’re not going to use it.”

While Canadian historian Quinn Slobodian has noted of the US Federal Reserve injecting newly created money into the American economy, ‘Economists see no sign of inflation on the horizon. Some have become concerned about inflation in recent weeks, but others worry about the opposite – deflation.’

The Path Not Mentioned

Returning to the quotes at the beginning of this article from David Gauke, and from the BBC, about how the only options on offer to pay for the extra government spending that has arisen from the Covid-19 pandemic, are to raise taxes, increase borrowing, or cut spending, it should now be clear that this represents an incomplete set of choices.

One of the other options, which has been outlined in the article, but which (for one reason or another) is rarely mentioned by politicians, or by the media, is simply for the Bank of England and the British government to work together and create enough new money that the bulk of the Covid-19 spending commitments could be met through Direct Monetary Financing.

This is an option you may agree or disagree with, but knowing that it is even an option in the first place, will help us all to make properly informed decisions about where to go next.

This article was produced byNew Frontiers Marketing

Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics

Monday, December 3, 2007

At Thanksgiving dinner David Shankbone told his white middle class family that he was to interview Reverend Al Sharpton that Saturday. The announcement caused an impassioned discussion about the civil rights leader’s work, the problems facing the black community and whether Sharpton helps or hurts his cause. Opinion was divided. “He’s an opportunist.” “He only stirs things up.” “Why do I always see his face when there’s a problem?”

Shankbone went to the National Action Network’s headquarters in Harlem with this Thanksgiving discussion to inform the conversation. Below is his interview with Al Sharpton on everything from Tawana Brawley, his purported feud with Barack Obama, criticism by influential African Americans such as Clarence Page, his experience running for President, to how he never expected he would see fifty (he is now 53). “People would say to me, ‘Now that I hear you, even if I disagree with you I don’t think you’re as bad as I thought,'” said Sharpton. “I would say, ‘Let me ask you a question: what was “bad as you thought”?’ And they couldn’t say. They don’t know why they think you’re bad, they just know you’re supposed to be bad because the right wing tells them you’re bad.”

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CanadaVOTES: CHP candidate Vicki Gunn in York—Simcoe

Friday, October 10, 2008

In an attempt to speak with as many candidates as possible during the 2008 Canadian federal election, Wikinews has talked via email with Vicki Gunn. Gunn is a candidate in Ontario’s York—Simcoe riding, running under the Christian Heritage Party of Canada (CHP) banner. The CHP is a minor, registered political party running a significant number of candidates across the country, looking to earn its first ever seat in the House of Commons.

The riding has existed from 1968 to 1979, from 1988 to 1997, and from 2004 to present. As of the next provincial election in Ontario, it will be recognised as a provincial electoral district as well. Over the years, the riding has been represented by the Liberal Party, Progressive Conservative Party, again by the Progressive Conservatives, again by the Liberals, and since its recreation, the seat has been held by the Conservative Party of Canada.

Peter Van Loan, the Conservative incumbent, is the Minister Responsible for Democratic Reform and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The other candidates in the riding, besides Van Loan and the CHP’s Gunn, are New Democrat Sylvia Gerl, Liberal Judith Moses, and the Green Party‘s John Dewar.

The following is an interview with Gunn, conducted via email. The interview is published unedited, as sent to Wikinews.

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