Be persuasive. Be brave. Be arrested (if necessary)

It’s not often that you hear a conservative, traditional, esteemed financial guru advocating civil disobedience.  So it is fair to let you read why they advocate an energetic voice of change.  The summary is: Times are far more desperate than we think and we need to change the system to become sustainable with the utmost …
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The Old Lie: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

The lie that inspires people to kill, and to die.  Don’t forget.  Remember the shame of war.  Remember the cost of war, which honour and glory can not repay. Dulce Est Decorum Est Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned …
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Fire and Ice – sad news at both ends of the spectrum.

A couple of headlines today caught my attention.  Unimportant news to most of us, which probably won’t even make the TV version.  In the heat of Tibetan politics, two teenagers self-immolated in protest against repression, while in the chill of the Arctic there is less ice than ever before. The stories might get some play …
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Decimation of bee populations will impact food supply.

There has been concern over the past few years about colony collapse disorder as bee populations have declined dramatically.  Research reported in the journal Science indicates the collapse in bee populations has been catalysed by a virus, spread by the varroa mite, to which bees have not adapted.  We have noticed thecollapse of the bee …
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At last, a way to exterminate humanity.

So the headline reads: “Male pill: gene discovery may lead to contraceptive“.  Followed by a note that researchers in Edinburgh identified a gene critical for the production of healthy sperm. Mmmmm.  This sounds a bit like what Monsanto did with grain –  modifying the seed genetics so that it could to reproduce. The “Terminator” gene. …
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Nuclear meltdown in your back yard.

This is not funny nor trivial.  Nuclear reactions are highly toxic.  The failure to clean up the reactor in Japan is leaving us open to a far greater spread of nuclear fallout. I had forgotten about the whole tragedy.  A warning in my inbox this morning changed my day. It has always been known that …
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Tick the box. Or think.

I just had an interesting conversation with my brother. He is a senior compliance specialist who has worked with the biggest global commercial banks.  He explained the extraordinary cost and consequences of poor administration of the legal framework of the finance and securities industry in the EU. I was amazed.  His perspective from the City …
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$ 2billion “surprise” trading loss? C’mon!

So JP Morgan hung its head because it did a “Leeson” and managed to lose $ 2 billion in trading in a couple of months.  They are supposed to be one of the good ones.  What is going on?  What are regulators doing?  What are you investors doing?  Let heads roll! BBC: JPMorgan reveals shock …
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Aren’t The King’s New Clothes Wonderful!?!

Danny Kaye’s is the version I loved as a boy, though Bernard Cribbins does it well too.  If you can’t listen, the lyrics are all you need.  If you don’t cry at the the irony, smile at the knowledge that there is an answer staring us in the face, even if we choose not to …
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