Just heard that Obama is to forbid proprietary trading by American Banks in general - and Goldman Sachs in particular.
At least Obama is taking a firm line with banks, in contrast to the weak and ineffectual action the British Government has taken. The only thing Alistair Darling seems to have done is attempt to impose a 50% tax on bankers' bonuses; this doesn't actually affect the banks themselves, just some of their staff.
Thursday 21 January 2010
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Cadbury's. The crumbliest, flakiest takeover in the world
My manager recently brought back some Hershey chocolates from her trip to New York. They were disgusting, really gross. Like chalk. Everyone hated them. Kraft are no better. What chocolates do they make? Does anyone like their stuff? And now Cadbury’s, a great British institution, is to be sold to Kraft.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Chris Mullin MP to stand down - a shame, we need more like him
I read in The Independent today that Chris Mullin MP is to stand down after 23 years in Parliament.
He is best known to the public as the man who secured the release of the Birmingham Six. I attended a talk he gave at Warwick University in 1992 (I think) when I was a student there. I remember him commenting on the aftermath of the Birmingham Six case. This case was, of course, one of the darker episodes in British criminal history. Obviously for the atrocity committed by IRA cowards who threw bombs into pubs. But also for the further outrage that saw followed it: the police 'fitted up' 6 Irishmen that they knew very well to be innocent. They were physically and psychologically abused before confessions were fabricated and they were given life sentences. If the death penalty had been available they would have been hanged.
He is best known to the public as the man who secured the release of the Birmingham Six. I attended a talk he gave at Warwick University in 1992 (I think) when I was a student there. I remember him commenting on the aftermath of the Birmingham Six case. This case was, of course, one of the darker episodes in British criminal history. Obviously for the atrocity committed by IRA cowards who threw bombs into pubs. But also for the further outrage that saw followed it: the police 'fitted up' 6 Irishmen that they knew very well to be innocent. They were physically and psychologically abused before confessions were fabricated and they were given life sentences. If the death penalty had been available they would have been hanged.
Want an iPhone? Read this first!
This is a great article. I worked for this website -http://www.moneymagpie.com so I can vouch for them.
First it tells you which phones are actually better than the iPhone, feature-for-feature; then it does a true cost comparison; and best of all it shows you a clever way to save money by using a cashback credit card. I will do this myself. My Sony Eriksson Cybershot was good when I got it about 2 years ago but is now a bit of a dinosaur. The models in the article are a few months out-of-date but haven't changed that much.
Check it!
http://www.moneymagpie.com/article/672/dont-buy-an-apple-iphone-until-youve-read-this-article/
First it tells you which phones are actually better than the iPhone, feature-for-feature; then it does a true cost comparison; and best of all it shows you a clever way to save money by using a cashback credit card. I will do this myself. My Sony Eriksson Cybershot was good when I got it about 2 years ago but is now a bit of a dinosaur. The models in the article are a few months out-of-date but haven't changed that much.
Check it!
http://www.moneymagpie.com/article/672/dont-buy-an-apple-iphone-until-youve-read-this-article/
Chilcott - the non-event
The Chilcott Enquiry has been rumbling on for a while now. I have found it interesting, but not revealing. It has gone over - yet again - material that has been done to death by two earlier enquiries and endless debates. What surprises me is that anyone at all is surprised by any of the revelations that have emerged. I’m surprised by all the surprise.
So it seems that Tony Blair committed to disarming Iraq by any means necessary. If it couldn’t be done peacefully it would be done by force. Further, it seems that he supported Bush’s plan for regime change regardless of the WMD contortions at the UN. The UN was to be used to try and secure a resolution authorising war, but if it wouldn’t acquiesce the invasion was always going to go ahead anyway.
So? Tell us something we don’t know. Of course regime change was the goal. It was obvious to me from 2002.. It was plain as the nose on your face that the Bush administration wanted to remove him, by hook or by crook, and that WMD was used a convenient lever to try and bring world opinion, or at least the UN, onside. Saddam Hussein was a tyrant and his removal has done the whole world a favour. Check the record. He killed enough people to warrant removal.
Yes politicians probably did lie, or at least bend the truth, to accomplish this. You mean this is a surprise to you? I hope not, because if it is you are either very naïve or have been living on the dark side of the moon all your life. Politicians are never transparent.
Iraq is a democracy, all groups and parties are represented there and the country is getting back on its feet. I support Iraqi people and every opinion poll that’s ever been taken there shows that they supported the war and supported their process of elections. Then they wanted an end to occupation, so we left. They now have a democratically elected government and will soon be selling their oil by the oil-tanker load. They will do fine by themselves. In fact in a few years I look forward to visiting their ancient culture as a tourist. I wish them well. The war has done them a favour, and they’re intelligent enough to know it. End of.
So it seems that Tony Blair committed to disarming Iraq by any means necessary. If it couldn’t be done peacefully it would be done by force. Further, it seems that he supported Bush’s plan for regime change regardless of the WMD contortions at the UN. The UN was to be used to try and secure a resolution authorising war, but if it wouldn’t acquiesce the invasion was always going to go ahead anyway.
So? Tell us something we don’t know. Of course regime change was the goal. It was obvious to me from 2002.. It was plain as the nose on your face that the Bush administration wanted to remove him, by hook or by crook, and that WMD was used a convenient lever to try and bring world opinion, or at least the UN, onside. Saddam Hussein was a tyrant and his removal has done the whole world a favour. Check the record. He killed enough people to warrant removal.
Yes politicians probably did lie, or at least bend the truth, to accomplish this. You mean this is a surprise to you? I hope not, because if it is you are either very naïve or have been living on the dark side of the moon all your life. Politicians are never transparent.
Iraq is a democracy, all groups and parties are represented there and the country is getting back on its feet. I support Iraqi people and every opinion poll that’s ever been taken there shows that they supported the war and supported their process of elections. Then they wanted an end to occupation, so we left. They now have a democratically elected government and will soon be selling their oil by the oil-tanker load. They will do fine by themselves. In fact in a few years I look forward to visiting their ancient culture as a tourist. I wish them well. The war has done them a favour, and they’re intelligent enough to know it. End of.
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