‘Serious failings’ at BBC let Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall go unchecked ... Dame Janet Smith report finds 'climate of fear' at BBC 'Macho culture' led employees to keep quiet ... She concluded that "an atmosphere of fear still exists today in the BBC possibly because obtaining work in the BBC is highly competitive and many people no longer have the security on an employment contract"....Read More

Lying Press? Germans Lose Faith in the Fourth Estate “Mendacious swine journals” reads this sign held by a German protester at a recent PEGIDA demonstration in Dresden, listing various German media outlets ... Germans are losing faith in their media. Nowhere is this more apparent than in mistrust of refugee crisis media coverage. Where did journalists go wrong? And how much of this ske...Read More

EU referendum: Leaving EU a ‘leap in the dark’ says Cameron ... The prime minister says his only agenda is what is best for the country ... David Cameron has warned that leaving the European Union “could hurt working people for years to come”, as he put the case for staying in the EU to MPs. He said the choice was between an “even greater Britain” by staying in,...Read More

HPV Sharply Reduced in Teenage Girls Following Vaccine, Study Says ...The vaccine for human papillomavirus, a cause of cervical cancer, has proved effective, but immunization rates remain low ... A vaccine introduced a decade ago to combat the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer has already reduced the virus's prevalence in teenage girls by almost two-thirds, federal researchers...Read More

Retail sales in Canada fell 2.2% in December from November on a seasonally adjusted basis, but not adjusted for inflation, to C$43.2 billion ... But just because retail demand is crummy doesn't mean that retail prices can't power higher. Stagflation comes to mind. Now happening before our very eyes. And forget deflation, however much central bankers bandy the term about like a cudgel to justify th...Read More

The article in question, about DeMarcus Cousins showing support for embattled head coach George Karl, was published February 13 … Now when you click on the article on Amico Hoops, it immediately redirects you to Sactown Royalty … it’s probably a lesson learned for Amico’s site. Just because you throw a link up at the bottom doesn’t mean you can just take someone else&...Read More

Starbucks CEO warns the U.S. presidential elections are turning into a 'circus' … CEO Howard Schultz criticized the presidential candidates for making 'bombastic attacks' without 'respect' for each other. He warned the run-up to the U.S. election had 'turned into something none of us has ever seen before… almost a circus.' – Daily MailThe outspoken...Read More

This is becoming very concerning.The momentum to "ban cash", and in particular high denomination notes like the 500 euro and $100 bills, is seriously picking up steam.On Monday the European Central Bank President emphatically disclosed that he is strongly considering phasing out the 500 euro note.Yesterday, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers published an op-ed in the Washington Post about...Read More

Why Buying Gold Won't Save You from the Zombie Apocalypse … Despite any advice you might have heard to the contrary, gold bullion is far from a good investment, even if the world is coming to an end. The idea of having a hedge against the end of the world and the collapse of our financial institutions might be alluring. But actually, buying and storing significant amounts of gold bullion...Read More

February 5, 2016Sovereign Valley Farm, ChileThirteen years ago my life changed forever.Colin Powell, then US Secretary of State and the most credible person in George W. Bush's cabinet, made the case for war in Iraq on February 5, 2003.As a young military intelligence officer at the time, watching from a makeshift Army base in Kuwait not far from the Iraq border.Back then I was a true believer...Read More

Loy wonders why we acquiesce in the appalling realities of global inequities and sleep so peacefully at night. He finds his answer in Rodney Dobell’s explanation that “lies largely in our embrace of a peculiarly European or Western [but now global] religion, an individualistic religion of economics and markets, which explains all of these outcomes as the inevitable results of an object...Read More

Central banks face credibility test … The retreat from unconventional monetary policy was always going to be tricky. While economists are almost equally divided on whether Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will raise U.S. interest rates this week, the bond market suggests policy makers will wait. October's Fed minutes will be scrutinised for signs around the argument to raise rates at t...Read More

Mission incomplete: Rajan's overhaul of RBI … In a video conference in mid-2014, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan told employees that he wanted to hire talented external candidates and improve the quality of research at the 81-year-old central bank. The proposals, described to Reuters by three officials who heard Rajan speak, would hardly seem out of place in any major...Read More

Republicans have spent the entire Obama presidency engaging in acts of disrespect against this president, and the office that he has been twice elected to by a majority of the voters. By refusing to give his budget a hearing, House Republicans have moved beyond disrespect of the man and into disrespect of the office of the presidency. It looks like House Republicans are so afraid of the President&...Read More

New Hampshire is the second state to make its picks for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. Residents will cast ballots in primary elections on Feb. 9, one week after the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa, where Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Hillary Clinton emerged victorious from the caucuses … While all the early primary states are in the business of winnowi...Read More

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been exploiting conflict and instability in war-torn regions whilst making gargantuan profits for the least 15 years – and they've only increased in numbers … Hundreds of new companies have been established in the last few years alone … "The UK is an important hub for the PMSC industry. At the height of the occupa...Read More

Stock markets suspect Federal Reserve has interest rate jitters … Hints that the Fed won't raise interest rates in March are proving to be good news for miners and oil producers' share prices The Federal Reserve's William Dudley said further strengthening in the dollar could have 'significant consequences' for the health of the US economy. – UK GuardianBlame it on t...Read More

The Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the biggest multinational trade deals ever, has been signed by ministers from its 12 member nations in New Zealand. … US President Barack Obama said the agreement was a new type of trade deal "that puts American workers first". – BBCBeware TPP. It's nothing more than the further formalization of the worst part of the 20th century: The...Read More

Indeed, maintaining the policies that enforce intellectual property rights is one of the few issues today that we can say truly has bipartisan support–politicians, legislators and pundits on both sides of the political aisle recognize that in order to keep our industries competitive, encourage innovation and make potentially life-saving advancements in the field of health care, we must prote...Read More

[South African based market study firm, Frost & Sullivan's] latest study titled The Telecommunications Market in East Africa — Key Fixed and Mobile Market Indicators, says text-based and online-based payment services will be deepened more when the ongoing national Internet backbone rollout is completed. The study says mobile phone operators could take advantage of the prevailing cond...Read More