Faith, Hope and Charity – harbingers of doom

Malta, a small archipelago in the centre of the Mediterranean, has played a pivotal role in the commerce and politics of Europe, Africa and Asia since people travelled across that sea. In the Second World War, as a British colony, Malta was of critical strategic importance to the Allied forces while the right wing military …
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Drawdown – a comprehensive plan to reverse global warming

Paul Hawken has edited Drawdown,  a comprehensive review and analysis of tangible actions that can mitigate the destruction of the natural environment which is now being precipitated by anthropogenic pollution and is most visible in global warming.  Drawdown is the work of many professionals collaborating to synthesise practical mitigation actions. Yesterday he collaborated with The …
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For some it’s not about people, nor ethics; just numbers.

A former hedge fund manager who bought a drug company has hiked the price of a generic drug 55x to  pay for the purchase.  The drug was $13.50 a dose but is now $750.00.   It costs $1 to produce.  The drug treats toxoplasmosis and is widely used by sufferers of AIDS. So clearly Martin Shkreli, …
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Good people are dying. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Tension is rising is the USA.   Two US police officers were shot dead in Mississippi.  Last week.a New York police officer  was shot in the head while questioning a suspect from his police car.  And riots bubbled in Baltimore after a suspect died in police custody.  The mood is confused and angry. The issue is …
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The end of fossil fuels.

The Rockerfeller Foundation plans to divest fossil fuel assets in its portfolio. The Fund will first focus on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, with a goal to reduce these investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. It is planning for further divestment as quickly …
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Sharing makes you happy.

A survey by Gallup on the relationship between well-being and community service shows a direct positive correlation. The overall pattern cut across income and age group.  The Gallup analysis also found a connection between community service and key indicators of emotional health, such as stress and worry. Sadly it seems that many more U.S. adults …
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What’s So Scary About Smart Girls? They might fix things.

What’s So Scary About Smart Girls? is a provocative read in the NYT.  It makes some sad observations and reiterates what evidence proves: that education makes life better and that emancipating and liberating females is the way to realise the great potential of humanity’s “better half”.  For example: If you want to mire a nation …
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Show love! Philanthropy doesn’t match wealth growth.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes that “Gifts surge from US donors“.  That’s good, especially in difficult times.  But BloombergBusinessWeek read between the lines and saw that “Billionaires’ Wealth Is Skyrocketing. Their Philanthropy Is Not“.  Sadly. It is unfortunate because this is another sign of a widening wealth gap between the top and everyone else, between …
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Obama: The idea that so many children are born into poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth is heartbreaking

Barack Obama gave a speech in Washington DC which described economic themes for the rest of his term. “The combined trends of increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe,” he said. “The idea that so many children …
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