Category Archives: Politics

IGNORING CHICAGO, TORONTO HAS A BIG, STUPID IDEA

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

IGNORING CHICAGO, TORONTO HAS A BIG, STUPID IDEA By Joyce Nelson, counterpunch.org, March 8, 2017 Last weekend, the good folks of Toronto, Ontario learned that their elected officials at City Hall are considering selling off the Toronto Parking Authority – which operates dozens of municipal parking lots as well as on-street parking.1 It’s a big, stupid idea that indicates our “city fathers” apparently don’t read, but also that they can’t see through the latest scam being sold by some corporate lobbyist. It’s as though the Innocents in Toronto City Hall have never heard of the parking meter scandal that ate Chicago and has become an unmitigated disaster – even though more press has likely been given to that fiasco than to any other public-private partnership (P3) undertaken in recent US history. To recap: in 2008, Chicago’s then-Mayor Richard Daley convinced city aldermen to approve a 75-year lease by which the … Continue reading →

Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Revolution in Banking?

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

An interesting possibility is debated… Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Revolution in Banking? – in an article at http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Central-Bank-Digital-Curre-by-Ellen-Brown-Central-Banks_Digital-Technology_Public-Banking-160919-489.html  It reports that the Bank of England is considering the possibility of using ‘blockchain’ technology as with bitcoin, to make personal accounts possible with it, and with little need for current accounts with private banks to continue. … Continue reading →

world-war-iii-nuclear-war

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

Prepare for the next nuclear war? If anyone really believes America’s claim that regardless that it might start a nuclear war, Russia is preparing to attack the West, this article, below, should convince them otherwise. For the real doubters, it embeds a number of links to the originals which support what Eric has written: http://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-and-news-media-pump-for-world-war-iii-nuclear-war/5533297 By Eric Zuesse, June 29 2016 … Continue reading →

European Federal Super State

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

Recommended article in New European, Spring 2016 Why the Greens must resist a European federal super state, by Sir Julian Rose (page 27) -All ‘Greens’ should read this article! Not yet on the New European website, so copied below, with author’s permission The European Union is a centralised super state trading block whose conceptual origins lie in the Third Reich of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The concept of ‘global trading blocks’ was already well established under Hitler’s regime, but their origins go back further: to the British Royal Society. Post British Empire colonial ambitions were hatched around the desire to form a number of global trading empires whose leadership would be essentially elitist and corporate, with banks mostly at the helm. Here lies the origin of the ‘free trade’ concept. A trading pattern which is anything but ‘free’ due to the fact that it is designed to prevent any one country … Continue reading →

The Evil Empire Has The World In A Death Grip

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

The Evil Empire Has The World In A Death Grip Paul Craig Roberts February 22, 2016     In my archives there is a column or two that introduces the reader to John Perkins’ important book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. An EHM is an operative who sells the leadership of a developing country on an economic plan or massive development project. The Hit Man convinces a country’s government that borrowing large sums of money from US financial institutions in order to finance the project will raise the country’s living standards. The borrower is assured that the project will increase Gross Domestic Product and tax revenues and that these increases will allow the loan to be repaid. However, the plan is designed to over-estimate the benefits so that the indebted country cannot pay the principal and interest. As Perkins’ puts it, the plans are based on “distorted financial analyses, inflated … Continue reading →

New Model Charter of Critical Thinking

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

Critical Thinking aims – New Model Charter http://freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/886   I recommend support for the ‘New Model Charter’ of Critical Thinking – see here. It was originally published on 21 March 2014, but is still worth considering for support. It rightly criticises usury and debt, though it does not note the origin of most current debts in the take-over of money creation by the private banks.  If all national money were to enter circulation through government creation-and-spending, then little debt, or need for it, would remain. There would be no interest-on-debt due to the method of money creation. This currently ‘justifies’ other usurious charges. As well as interest on money, the Charter covers , as it puts it: “The value of land, resources and other commons (such as water, the radio spectrum, genes, nature and knowledge) cannot be appropriated by individuals, corporations or governments; they are gifts from the universe or are communally created. … Continue reading →

The Crash is Here!

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

The Final Crash is Here!   Forecast by many, though hidden in the mainstream media, it looks as though the perhaps final crash is now upon us. Debts and inequality have grown to the final level of unsustainability. See the latest article from Global Research, which indicates a drastic plunge in economic activity, worldwide: http://www.globalresearch.ca/nothing-is-moving-baltic-dry-index-crashes-as-insiders-warn-international-commerce-has-come-to-a-halt/5501779 The remedy has been promoted over many decades, but ignored by the Establishment: end ‘fractional reserve’ money-and-debt creation by private banks; instead have government-spending of all new money needed by society; tax all the privatised ‘commons’ – land rental values, materials and services extracted from ‘nature’, knowledge and skills developed over centuries, etc.; use this to fund Universal, unconditional, Basic Incomes; end usury – the charging of interest on loans by those with more than they need, to those with less, so funelling up wealth to the already-rich. Hopefully, this crash will at last end … Continue reading →

BBC: unbiassed?

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

Is the BBC unbiassed?   It is claimed that the BBC is outstanding internationally for its unbiassed news coverage; the campaign to ‘save our BBC’ from the government’s threats of funding cuts are justified, in that they limit its capacity to produce high-quality programmes; but its reputation for unbiassed news reporting is not justified by the facts. The latest report by Media Lens deals with this issue, and is well worth reading; please log on to: http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2016/810-our-only-fear-was-that-he-might-pull-his-punches-bbc-caught-manipulating-the-news.html … Continue reading →

The time for Critical Thinking is now!

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

The time for Critical Thinking is now! http://freecriticalthinking.org/daily-pickings/1246… http://freecriticalthinking.org/component/mailto/?… Published on Sunday, 25 January 2015 11:24 [As the title says, ‘The time for Critical Thinking is now!’. Re-published on Saturday, 26 December 2015. This seems to me to cover most of the important issues for a sustainable, just future. – BL] All of us alive today are both blighted and blessed. Never before, in human history, have we faced such threats (WWIII, global economic, environmental and societal collapse etc.) but never before have we had access to almost limitless information and analysis (both good and bad) and the ability to communicate as a global family of human beings. We aren’t “consumers”, defined by ideology, race, ethnicity or culture but genetically related human beings and we are presented with a unique opportunity to transform humanity and the planet. We have the accumulated wisdom and history of multiple civilisations from which to … Continue reading →

An interesting development?:

Sustainable Economics Posted on by

An interesting development?: Russia Debates Unorthodox Orthodox Financial Alternative – F. William Engdahl 
http://journal-neo.org/2015/11 …   This rather long essay on an interesting development in Russia suggests options to end the banks’ power over society. Please read and comment! … Continue reading →