The following story about overcharging at private care homes appeared on page 2 of yesterday’s Daily Mail: This story has many similarities to the US Department of Justice’s investigation into US Health Insurer United Health’s pilfering of the American public purse in its Medicaid programme. The man who ran the Medicaid programme when UnitedHealth allegedly overcharged the […]
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Next month former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso will speak at a Financial Times conference on the Business of Luxury in Lisbon (see bottom of image below). Barroso’s Lisbon speech will be in stark contrast to his role as Chairman of the UEFA Foundation for Children, designed to help underprivileged kids around the […]
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I tried to engage my 16 year old students’ interest with talk of LinkedIn and job hunting. I then bored them to death saying that Facebook is basically a Credit Rating Agency I mentioned that all data is credit data. I got this from Douglas Merrill:
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So we’re losing EU membership rights, destroying the NHS, increasing immigration and getting rid of financial services — and breaking up the UK via another Scottish independence referendum. Theresa May admits £350 million pledged to NHS by Vote Leave isn’t happening https://t.co/dMYmHZJnmz — Ranjan Balakumaran (@financialeyes) April 1, 2017 The Government says immigration is set to […]
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What do these two stories have in common? Looks like George Osborne, Jolyon Maugham, Tony Blair, Nick Clegg and Alistair Campbell are all on the same deregulation and war side. Meanwhile former Remain flag-waver Amber Rudd wants more snooping powers:
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What is going on with Wall Street White Collar Crime in the Trump era? Hedge Fund Managers Never Die Sheelah Kolhatkar wrote an excellent article in The New Yorker this January. Her book, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street, is all about the way the […]
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Riz Ahmed says British directors, producers and writers aren’t hiring non-white British actors. That’s why so many have to try their luck in America. Plenty of white British actors feel they have to base themselves in the States too. But this is never referred to as a problem. Migration Watch Samuel Jackson recently said American producers and directors […]
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Billionaire ex-KGB spy Alexander Lebedev has just hired George Osborne to edit London’s Evening Standard newspaper. The move has triggered concerns about media bias and conflicts of interest. This from HSBC Fraud whistleblower Nicholas Wilson. Every single day there is another jaw dropping corrupt appointment. And nothing happens. — Mr Ethical (@nw_nicholas) March 17, 2017 In Praise of Sound Money […]
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Before Brexit Nigel Farage wouldn’t have been seen dead with Marine Le Pen. But since “quitting politics” he’s already backed Trump in the US election and now he’s doing the same for the leader of the French National Front. Double Standards In the tenth minute of this 40 minute interview Farage asks Le Pen if […]
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Are all Americans deserving of the right to healthcare? Yes — Universal healthcare systems should mean free access for all at the point of delivery, focused on protecting public health, and funded via general taxation. No — No-one should ever be forced to pay for services they will never use and no-one should be allowed to […]
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If you want to know what makes Britain tick, take a look at the Bank of England. Interlocking directorships and the Old Boy Network still dominate public life as its recent appointment of Charlotte Hogg reveals. But few media commentators ever refer to this as a problem. In a recent book – Trust, Power and Public Relations in Financial Markets, Dr Clea Bourne – refers […]
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Every society has its customs. Harvest seasonally celebrates good weather and a community’s ability to feed itself. And mating rituals, often hierarchical, involve male displays of physical excellence and material resourcefulness to attract reproductive females. But when societies code their rules using abstract tools like language then inherent ambiguities and opportunities for conflict undoubtedly emerge. in 2015 Feminist Germaine Greer was ‘no-platformed’ for her […]
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I don’t remember many calls to scrap the National Living Wage before the Brexit vote. Maybe the government think such a policy might come in useful when we have to negotiate with the EU. But Brussels doesn’t seem keen on letting Brexit Britain sell Banking Services to the Eurozone. This FT article’s comment says it all: […]
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Donald Trump’s Administration has taken another step toward becoming a full dictatorship by banning the BBC and several other ‘dishonest media’ from the White House’s daily briefing. The President’s favourites far-right Breitbart, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Network, and even Turkish State Media were allowed to attend yesterday’s off-television briefing. Which means Trump now respects Turkey’s press more than Britain’s. Will […]
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Going round the room this morning I asked people where they were from. Krys, from Poland, said he had lived in South America for 24 years. I asked him if he was an Engineer. “No, I am a missionary.” Christ, I thought. “Does that make you a Catholic Priest?” “Yes. I have been here in […]
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In-Formation. Sing-Chronised. Articles. Periodicals. Pay-Peer-(Re)View. Proper Telly-vised
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Harrumph. Given that no-one actually reads this blog it will come as no surprise that my attempts at conventional blogging are to be abandoned in favour of a more relaxed stream of consciousness perhaps in line with whatever I was doing a couple of years ago when I first started posting blogs on this website. I […]
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How can the Chief Political Correspondent and Deputy Political Editor of The Telegraph put their names by this muck? Desperate stuff to get UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall into Parliament.
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In September the Radical Housing Network revealed that government money originally earmarked for protecting vulnerable tenants from unscrupulous landlords is being used to fund deportation raids. The following pieces appeared in RT and VICE. This is how the Daily Mail spin it: Below is how Capita are profiting — by selling councils the Rogue Landlord Database for them to […]
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The President was rude to Jewish and African American reporters yesterday, uttered untruths about his election results, and was combative when asked about about his campaign’s contact with Russia. He also contradicted himself over the sacking of senior adviser Mike Flynn. Trump accuses all journalists of issuing fake news — consistent with his senior advisor […]
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According to Dale Purves what we hear is often determined by our Darwinian programming which filters out sounds that don’t help us reproduce. Purves points to the McGurk Effect: How does this apply to modern politics? As mentioned in a previous post Lord Ashcroft has released Hopes and Fears based on polling he did in the US 2016 Presidential election. In […]
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Bins financial regulation & consumer protection Extreme Vetting, But Not for Banks – Rolling Stone https://t.co/yX3YCCTBLY — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 3, 2017 But there is some hope, Government Sachs are facing some resistance outside their offices. .@GoldmanSachs security & cops using excessive force against activists protesting #doddfrank. #GovernmentSachs @OccupyWallStNYC pic.twitter.com/NfeU1sWSm8 — Government Sachs (@Govt_Sachs) […]
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Shelves could be full of cheap American meat in UK supermarkets within two years. What does the meat industry think of the UK-US trade deal.https://t.co/u0fvmiFw0n — Oscar Rousseau (@OscarRousseau) 3 February 2017 Was the Brexit vote a vote for growth hormones, genetically engineered food and cloned meat?
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I came across Transatlantic Aliens in the bookshop today. The blurb referred to the cultural contribution made by Europeans who moved to the US in the 1930s and 1940s. By looking at how celebrated outsiders such as Theodor Adorno, Simone de Beauvoir and Vladimir Nabokov experienced American life, Will Norman celebrates their transformation of alienation […]
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Max Keiser says Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Seduces Unions Max Keiser tells how Trump is seducing unions with his infrastructure plans and dropping TPP. Max Keiser to run in North Carolina In mid-January Max Keiser said he will announce his official candidacy for Congress in March. Trump the Autocrat David Frum, author of George W Bush’s […]
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Special Relationship with Trump At yesterday’s press conference May talked about NATO and ISIS but chose not to mention the bonfire of rights and regulations and the deeper privatisation of NHS services and imminent entry of GM food, pesticides, cloned meat and growth hormones in UK supermarkets if Britain increases trade with America. The Prime […]
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This is their way of helping UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall destroy the Labour party in the North. Could this backfire on the entire country? The election is on February 23rd. It had been rumoured that the Tories would field a feeble candidate.
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Tories to join forces with UKIP, say Huff Post sources The Conservative Party has struck a deal with UKIP and won’t field a candidate in the upcoming Stoke by-election, it was alleged yesterday. The story, reported by Martha Gill of the Huffington Post, has not yet been fully picked up by bigger media outlets. John […]
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As far as Donald Trump is concerned UK laws, like women’s private parts, are all up for grabs. He’s acquisitive by nature — so where are we headed? The Front Page of Today’s Telegraph is looking all excited about new US jobs. TELEGRAPH: May trade deal will open door to US jobs #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/QwKRCa46WS — Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 22, 2017 […]
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In November 2015 Theresa May was being lined up to lead the Out campaign. Nigel Farage said he’d have been delighted had she accepted. What side are you on? But then she backed Remain. In the speech she gave to defend continuing with EU membership she said it was better for security for the UK […]
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Was Barack Obama Bad for Democrats? http://nyti.ms/2hfoxkt It appears that Republicans listen better than Democrats! Or did Obama and the Clintons simply not pay enough attention to US unions?
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National Grid sells 61% stake in gas arm to Macquarie/CIC consortium – https://www.ft.com/content/6f421412-bd00-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080 via @FT
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Now that OPEC are cutting production to stop Oil prices from falling through the floor, will Mr. Trump & Theresa May usher in an age of Peak Renewable? Renewables require government subsidies, but governments give bigger tax breaks to fossil fuel producers. Seeing as most leading Brexiters want us to rely on fossil fuels for […]
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Donald Trump: Nigel Farage would do great job as Britain’s US ambas… http://dailym.ai/2gwIAM8 via http://dailym.ai/android
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ALEC The American Legislative Exchange Council are in the ascendant. Most Brits don’t even know who they are. But they hold the real clout around here. Trump Aide: Japanese Internment Camps are Precedent for a Muslim Registry White America rejects American Values Trump voters claim not to be racist but many voted to deport Latinos […]
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The Devolution agenda: Outsource the cuts. Outsource the liability for the much needed infrastructure spend. Overrule councils if they dont do as they’re told. Otherwise give them full freedom. Freedom to get into debt. To sign LOBOs and PFI deals. And interest rate hedging products. Embedded derivatives. Swaps. Bermudans. Callable. Floating Rate Notes. Inverse Floaters. […]
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Makes perfect sense. Have Fox ever loved Hillary? Imagine Murdoch wanting to deal with May and Hillary. Why wouldn’t he prefer Trump, Corbyn and McDonnell? Similar overall view of the world but from different perspectives. Most people recruit in their own mould!
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EU and Canada sign deal amid fears about future of trade policy – https://www.ft.com/content/450bea68-9d9f-11e6-86d5-4e36b35c3550 via @FT What prospects for a UK trade deal with either EU or Canada? Both know how desperate UK is to sign a deal.
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How star central banker Mark Carney turned into a Brexit target – https://www.ft.com/content/d598e4c2-9e9f-11e6-891e-abe238dee8e2 via @FT Did Roy Hodgson or Fabio Capella come under this kind of sustained pressure to go? Who could they possibly replace him with? Or is the plan to transfer the power back to Downing Street?
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Health and safety prosecutions treble in a year – https://www.ft.com/content/bb955028-9e87-11e6-891e-abe238dee8e2 via @FT Figures found via FOI by a law firm
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FCA accuse Sunday Telgraph of laundering RBS’s reputation as FCA continues to . . . launder RBS’s reputation.
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Carney out Farage in. Tory press are committing treason by not holding this shambolic government to account.
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Deconstructing the contradictions in Saturday’s Guardian and a primer on Trumpy climate denial vs Clinton Greenwash.
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Fallon Bypasses Brexit to Block EU Army Sir Michael Fallon has been unmasked as one of the UK’s biggest security threats. The FT has dug up a document addressed to the Defence Minister by General Sir Richard Barrons, the recently-retired head of the country’s Joint Forces Command, in which Fallon was told “There is no military plan to defend the UK […]
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Post-Brexit EU Reform Two groups of EU countries are banding together to call for stricter internal and external border controls and an end to austerity at the first full post-Brexit EU meeting in Bratislava on Friday. Club Med Last Friday in Athens, the Club Med Countries told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that austerity is killing […]
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Attention This week Japan wrote an open letter threatening Britain with divorce. The Japanese government said its firms could quit UK over Brexit-related uncertainty. [gview file=”http://londonconversation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/japan-letter-1.pdf”] And the Financial Times advised British companies to pay attention. A Call to ARMs But despite this, Japan’s SoftBank snapped up Britain’s largest technology firm. What is going on? Is ARM so strategic that SoftBank […]
