From a survey of over 5,400 adult Internet users from 13 different countries, conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and INSEAD, in collaboration with comScore, “designed to better understand cross-cultural differences in user behaviour and attitudes”, it appears that there is emerging a global consensus around “core Internet values of freedom of expression, privacy, trust, and security”.
For a discussion of the survey, which is “a contribution to The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011”, see: http://tinyurl.com/3ug4rxq
A couple of questions arise, to which I cannot immediately see an answer in the report:
If a global Internet culture is emerging, with the "values" of freedom of expression, privacy, trust, and security, how come different elites/ governments/ countries continue to have totally different levels of actual commitment to such values?
And what of the future, as a clash develops between the values of elites (e.g. in China) as against the values of the internet world, not only at the global level but specifically at the level of their own populations?
Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Where to invest right now
If the world's central banks (or some of them) are indeed going to start withdrawing liquidity from the market, THEN:
- stocks in those countries are going to stabilise (not grow fast); I would short the top companies but be neutral on those at the next level - at least for the moment
- expect commodities to continue their stellar growth till the next crash
- invest in those things that are "down" at present. What are those? At present, primarily the dollar. So invest in the dollar. Invest in any commodity that is underpriced at present (is there any?). Invest in any large/ top stock which is underpriced, provided it is not likely to go bankrupt (is there any?). Avoid medium-sized businesses, unless you know them personally and consider that their strategy will get them to number one, two or three in their industry - and, if they are already in that position, are in a growing market. Invest in those small businesses that you know personally, that have a competitive edge, and that are trying to build long-term.
How long will this next "cooling" phase in the economy last? Ddifficult to say. It will depend on the skill of central bankers in withdrawing liquidity from the market at an appropriate speed. They want to cool the market, not freeze it. Let's pray they are successful. Sphere: Related Content
- stocks in those countries are going to stabilise (not grow fast); I would short the top companies but be neutral on those at the next level - at least for the moment
- expect commodities to continue their stellar growth till the next crash
- invest in those things that are "down" at present. What are those? At present, primarily the dollar. So invest in the dollar. Invest in any commodity that is underpriced at present (is there any?). Invest in any large/ top stock which is underpriced, provided it is not likely to go bankrupt (is there any?). Avoid medium-sized businesses, unless you know them personally and consider that their strategy will get them to number one, two or three in their industry - and, if they are already in that position, are in a growing market. Invest in those small businesses that you know personally, that have a competitive edge, and that are trying to build long-term.
How long will this next "cooling" phase in the economy last? Ddifficult to say. It will depend on the skill of central bankers in withdrawing liquidity from the market at an appropriate speed. They want to cool the market, not freeze it. Let's pray they are successful. Sphere: Related Content
The state of reform in the global financial system
x
Is Professor Charles Wyplosz perhaps being over-pessimistic?:
http://graduateinstitute.ch/Jahia/site/iheid/cache/bypass/institute/news?newsId=112999 Sphere: Related Content
Is Professor Charles Wyplosz perhaps being over-pessimistic?:
http://graduateinstitute.ch/Jahia/site/iheid/cache/bypass/institute/news?newsId=112999 Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
So what about the argument that governments have profited from the support they gave to banks during the crisis?
That's an argument that is often heard nowadays.
Ignoring the fact that, in several countries, banks were simply subsidised by their governments in one way or another, here is at least one view from the UK, where its Public Accounts Committee says banks did not pay enough:
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/9Z0L60/KTN4/D4VWC8/C5CILO/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=4&a3=20 Sphere: Related Content
Ignoring the fact that, in several countries, banks were simply subsidised by their governments in one way or another, here is at least one view from the UK, where its Public Accounts Committee says banks did not pay enough:
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/9Z0L60/KTN4/D4VWC8/C5CILO/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=4&a3=20 Sphere: Related Content
So we are in another global bubble
At the height of the previous bubble, we had the highest inflows into the hedge fund industry ever.
That record has now been broken. Assets under management in the global Hedge funds industry have soared to an all-time peak of $2,002bn.
As the head of the IMF has said that we are only one spark away from another global financial meltdown, it will be interesting to see how much further the hedge fund industry will balloon before our next global crash. Sphere: Related Content
That record has now been broken. Assets under management in the global Hedge funds industry have soared to an all-time peak of $2,002bn.
As the head of the IMF has said that we are only one spark away from another global financial meltdown, it will be interesting to see how much further the hedge fund industry will balloon before our next global crash. Sphere: Related Content
Friday, April 15, 2011
So is Strauss-Kahn right on Europe's debts?
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF, was quoted by the BBC as saying that "A lot more has to be done by the Europeans to fix the problem (of national indebtedness)".
He is not quoted as saying anything about HOW the debt problem should be addressed.
So let us consider the following.
"Modern" debt often happens when individuals or organisations borrow money to try to speed up growth.
This does contribute to national debt nowadays, and may even be a principal contributor, but national debt is created primarily because tax revenues and other incomes amount to less than the amount the government spends, for example on the military, on subsidies, research, infrastructure, health, education, employment or pensions.
Governments usually borrow by issuing securities, government bonds and bills., though less creditworthy countries also borrow from international institutions such as the IMF.
Government debt can be internal (lent by citizens and organisations within the country) and external (lent by foreign individuals or other entities).
In the US, it has become fashionable to include not only the actual debt at present, but also all future government liabilities, including future pension, health and other goods and services the government has in some way committed to pay. This is both reasonable and unreasonable, because one has no idea of whether a government will honour its commitments in the future or find some way of welching on its commitments, and one has no idea of the future value of money, and indeed of future government income. Future-oriented doom-mongering is usually created by right-wingers who wish to reduce spending in the name of “responsibility”. However, such doom-mongering should not be entirely dismissed because it comes from right wingers nor because their proposed “solutions” (draconian cuts to social spending) seem unpalatable. The warnings should be considered warnings, and kept in mind, without allowing one to be panicked into accepting right-wing or left-wing solutions.
Understanding public debt requires one to understand the risks posed by debt, which is a complicated subject that I can’t go into right now.
The extent to which debt crises may be caused by too much spending, by fraud, and by speculation is a matter of debate. However, European governments appeared to accept that speculation had some role because they banned “naked short selling” for at least a period. The role of credit rating agencies in contributing to the crisis is now well recognised, and there has been reasonable scrutiny of this issue.
However, if a country's debt is measured in a way that ignores that country's monetary policy, you get ridiculous results. For example, China's public debt shows up as something like 18% while Japan's debt shows up as something like 225%. Again, if one looks only at a country's debt to foreign lenders, the US appears incredibly indebted, as its external borrowings are 97% of its GDP, while China appears to be an extremely comfortable position because its external debt appears to be only some 5% of its GDP.
Whatever the actual levels of a country’s debt, and however those are measured, there are only four ways to handle national debt:
- devalue the currency
- control spending
- increase tax revenues
- borrow at more favourable terms and pay off those whose payment terms are worse (the last resort does not reduce the total amount of debt, but reduces the impact of debt because the cost of paying for the debt becomes more affordable).
European governments are pursuing a combination of the above, and they seem publicly confident that they are in control of the situation, whereas Strauss-Kahn seems to be publicly concerned.
My view continues to be that as long as debt is considered a “good” way of financing growth, we will continue to have the problem of debt spiralling upwards till it gets almost out of control, followed by draconian actions to get it back in control for a while, before the cycle starts again.
Breaking out of that cycle requires a reassessment of growth for the sake of growth, and asking questions about the nature of growth (is all growth good?).
If one follows that virtuous path, one ends up somewhere near my recommendations for a more responsible and just global order – which is the only way that we can get beyond currently dominant ways of patching things together with glue and tape, and mere delusions (such as calls for a global currency: even Europe can hardly make the Euro work, so how can any intelligent person think that a global currency will work?!) Sphere: Related Content
He is not quoted as saying anything about HOW the debt problem should be addressed.
So let us consider the following.
"Modern" debt often happens when individuals or organisations borrow money to try to speed up growth.
This does contribute to national debt nowadays, and may even be a principal contributor, but national debt is created primarily because tax revenues and other incomes amount to less than the amount the government spends, for example on the military, on subsidies, research, infrastructure, health, education, employment or pensions.
Governments usually borrow by issuing securities, government bonds and bills., though less creditworthy countries also borrow from international institutions such as the IMF.
Government debt can be internal (lent by citizens and organisations within the country) and external (lent by foreign individuals or other entities).
In the US, it has become fashionable to include not only the actual debt at present, but also all future government liabilities, including future pension, health and other goods and services the government has in some way committed to pay. This is both reasonable and unreasonable, because one has no idea of whether a government will honour its commitments in the future or find some way of welching on its commitments, and one has no idea of the future value of money, and indeed of future government income. Future-oriented doom-mongering is usually created by right-wingers who wish to reduce spending in the name of “responsibility”. However, such doom-mongering should not be entirely dismissed because it comes from right wingers nor because their proposed “solutions” (draconian cuts to social spending) seem unpalatable. The warnings should be considered warnings, and kept in mind, without allowing one to be panicked into accepting right-wing or left-wing solutions.
Understanding public debt requires one to understand the risks posed by debt, which is a complicated subject that I can’t go into right now.
The extent to which debt crises may be caused by too much spending, by fraud, and by speculation is a matter of debate. However, European governments appeared to accept that speculation had some role because they banned “naked short selling” for at least a period. The role of credit rating agencies in contributing to the crisis is now well recognised, and there has been reasonable scrutiny of this issue.
However, if a country's debt is measured in a way that ignores that country's monetary policy, you get ridiculous results. For example, China's public debt shows up as something like 18% while Japan's debt shows up as something like 225%. Again, if one looks only at a country's debt to foreign lenders, the US appears incredibly indebted, as its external borrowings are 97% of its GDP, while China appears to be an extremely comfortable position because its external debt appears to be only some 5% of its GDP.
Whatever the actual levels of a country’s debt, and however those are measured, there are only four ways to handle national debt:
- devalue the currency
- control spending
- increase tax revenues
- borrow at more favourable terms and pay off those whose payment terms are worse (the last resort does not reduce the total amount of debt, but reduces the impact of debt because the cost of paying for the debt becomes more affordable).
European governments are pursuing a combination of the above, and they seem publicly confident that they are in control of the situation, whereas Strauss-Kahn seems to be publicly concerned.
My view continues to be that as long as debt is considered a “good” way of financing growth, we will continue to have the problem of debt spiralling upwards till it gets almost out of control, followed by draconian actions to get it back in control for a while, before the cycle starts again.
Breaking out of that cycle requires a reassessment of growth for the sake of growth, and asking questions about the nature of growth (is all growth good?).
If one follows that virtuous path, one ends up somewhere near my recommendations for a more responsible and just global order – which is the only way that we can get beyond currently dominant ways of patching things together with glue and tape, and mere delusions (such as calls for a global currency: even Europe can hardly make the Euro work, so how can any intelligent person think that a global currency will work?!) Sphere: Related Content
IMF head too says the crisis is not over
Due to all my travels, I do not post my Blog as regularly and frequently as I wish, but you may have noticed that I have consistently argued that the crisis is not over.
I am glad to see the Head of the IMF, Dominque Strauss-Kahn, speaking yesterday at the meeting of the G20, saying the same thing.
Will this persuade "experts", authorities and the public to move to taking any of the sorts of steps that I have suggested to reform the system? I do not know. Sphere: Related Content
I am glad to see the Head of the IMF, Dominque Strauss-Kahn, speaking yesterday at the meeting of the G20, saying the same thing.
Will this persuade "experts", authorities and the public to move to taking any of the sorts of steps that I have suggested to reform the system? I do not know. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The moral foundations of political freedom
An Op-Ed just publised on Fox News by Vishal Mangalwadi analyses why freedom does not flourish in every culture, reflects on the prospects for democracy in places such as Africa and the Middle East, and examines the decline of freedom in the USA:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/04/13/does-bible-matter-21st-century Sphere: Related Content
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/04/13/does-bible-matter-21st-century Sphere: Related Content
By far the best analysis of the prospects for West Asia and North Africa
Thomas Friedman is sometimes simply superficial, and sometimes profound.
I don't know why it is, but he has turned out the most insightful analysis that I have read of the prospects for the current people movements in North Africa and West Asia (the latter is called "the Middle East" by people in Europe and America).
Friedman's article is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/opinion/13friedman.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212 Sphere: Related Content
I don't know why it is, but he has turned out the most insightful analysis that I have read of the prospects for the current people movements in North Africa and West Asia (the latter is called "the Middle East" by people in Europe and America).
Friedman's article is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/opinion/13friedman.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212 Sphere: Related Content
Examining the current challenges in West Asia/ North Africa
A typical article by folk who don't know the region well, or don't think about it too deeply, argues that the region's future prosperity depends on governments
ensuring that young people have the right skills for the jobs being
created. What's wrong with that argument? Just that, while the young people there are as intelligent as in any other part of the world, the key challenge in many countries is motivation: in some cases, young people believe that they will be discriminated against (for whatever reason); in other cases, the young people have simply too much money to be motivates to apply themselves either to learning or to work. Anyway, the article is at:
http://e.mckinseyquarterly.com/1af01c5dflayfousublo3jtiaaaaaa7vxpx3sjgvcfyyaaaaa Sphere: Related Content
ensuring that young people have the right skills for the jobs being
created. What's wrong with that argument? Just that, while the young people there are as intelligent as in any other part of the world, the key challenge in many countries is motivation: in some cases, young people believe that they will be discriminated against (for whatever reason); in other cases, the young people have simply too much money to be motivates to apply themselves either to learning or to work. Anyway, the article is at:
http://e.mckinseyquarterly.com/1af01c5dflayfousublo3jtiaaaaaa7vxpx3sjgvcfyyaaaaa Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The state of the Current Global Crisis
The IMF has issued a public alert regarding the state of the finances of the USA. It will be interesting to watch the reaction to this.
Meanwhile, the USA's Journal of Accountancy reports the results of a biennial survey conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas Society of CPAs. According to this, accountancy firms reported that half of their clients are still in crisis:
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Apr/20103297.htm
And that is in the USA!
Elsewhere, commodity prices are falling, and equity prices are stuck.
But the authorities would like us to believe that the crisis finished two years ago.
So much for the authorities.... Sphere: Related Content
Meanwhile, the USA's Journal of Accountancy reports the results of a biennial survey conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas Society of CPAs. According to this, accountancy firms reported that half of their clients are still in crisis:
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Apr/20103297.htm
And that is in the USA!
Elsewhere, commodity prices are falling, and equity prices are stuck.
But the authorities would like us to believe that the crisis finished two years ago.
So much for the authorities.... Sphere: Related Content
Monday, April 11, 2011
Reflections, before I issued the exclusive to PTI, on my name being dragged into the Hassan Ali case
In India, one seems to be always faced with interesting dilemmas.
The latest one concerns the problem that my name is being dragged, through radio, TV, newspapers and the internet, into the Hassan Ali case as if I am significant in this context.
When that sort of things happens, I guess one has only three options:
- speak/ write to each of the media channels to ask them to desist from involving one's name in the matter and hope they agree (unlikely that anything will come from such an approach, but it is one possibility)
- hope that the matter will cease to be of interest to the media
- make a public statement (but who is interested, and how can one ensure that the whole statement is printed and not some odd phrase taken out of context?)
Well, as I had written off the first possibility, and want a quiet life, I had hoped that the second would happen. But it has not happened, and my name keeps cropping up in the media. At parties and in relatives’ and friends’ homes, and even via phone calls and emails, I am getting asked about the matter, even when people can’t recollect who the main case concerns!
So here are the facts, the full facts and nothing but the facts, as I recollect them.
Switzerland is a small country and Zurich is a small city (population some 300,000) in which foreigners form a small fringe. Every Indian knows almost every Indian, one way or another – at least by name. Thus it was that one Philip Anandaraj introduced himself to me at the Rietberg Museum some years ago during their annual event, where we were both with our families – as many other Indians were, because the Rietberg Museum has the oldest event – a sort of mela - at which Indians (and those interested in India) gather.
Some time later, he rang me and wanted to come and see me with someone he knew who was in a certain difficulty with which I could help. I agreed.
Anandaraj introduced the man as a descendant of the Hyderabad royal family, said that the man had family property which was in dispute within the family, as a result of which he needed money, and that his personal account, which had nothing to do with the dispute and was with UBS, had been frozen because of the family dispute and could I help put the facts of the matter to the relevant authorities.
I live a busy life and did not have the time to check whether the Hyderabad royal family has any living descendants and if so whether this man was indeed one of them, what the disputes were, why his account was frozen, whether it might possibly be reopened and if so on what grounds, and so on.
So I explained that I was in a different department, and had nothing to do with such matters but, as I always try to help fellow-Indians, asked them to put their side of the matter in a letter to me, which I would pass on to the people concerned.
Shortly thereafter, a letter did arrive, and I did pass it on to the department concerned.
Mr Anandaraj rang me a few days later to ask if there was any news, and I told him that I had done my part, and that it was up to the authorities concerned to respond, and nothing further to do with me.
However, as I ran into the person to whom I had sent the letter at an evening occasion soon after sending it to him, I asked him whether he had received the latter (I had not had an acknowledgment of it from him) and he said he would check. The next morning, I received word through a colleague (who apparently does not recollect the matter now!), that I was “naïve” to have received and passed on the letter, that I should keep away from the matter, and that they would deal with it.
No one likes being called "naive" but I had certainly had no intention of being involved further, and I had already fulfilled what I had undertaken to Mr Anandaraj.
UBS did issue a public statement saying that the man had no account in UBS.
Some time later, I heard that Mr Anandaraj had left Switzerland for reasons to do with the bankruptcy of one of his businesses (no idea then or now whether that was true, though he certainly wasn’t seen or heard from by me again).
Still later, I learned that he had been arrested in India in connection with involvement in something, but I did not know him well enough, and whatever it was had nothing to do with me, and I was too busy anyway to find out the details.
Now I am told that a notarised copy of the letter sent to me by his contact (whoever he was and whatever the matter) was kept by him, has been discovered by the police and is considered a key piece of evidence.
Why would someone want to keep a notarized copy of a letter he or she writes to someone to ask for their help? I have no idea.
In any case, you cannot prevent any human being from writing to you about anything, whether they notarise the letter or not.
And if you receive such a letter as I did, you have only the following choices, as far as I can see:
- ignore the letter,
- reply to the letter saying basically “Sorry but I can’t help you” or, more rudely, "Don't bother me",
- pass on the letter to the right people.
Is it “wise” to ignore such letters? Would it have been "wiser" to write back saying basically "Don't bother me"? Perhaps.
Was I naïve to have passed on the letter to the right authorities in the company? Maybe.
But, as everyone who has anything to do with me knows, I have always been the sort of person who would rather be naïve and do my bit to help a fellow Indian abroad, specially if I can do so without too much effort on my part.
My stand on all the ethical matters involved is available to anyone who cares to investigate it, through my writings, public statements and indeed my work - which have all been in the public eye, in one way or another, ever since I was a teenager.
ENDS Sphere: Related Content
The latest one concerns the problem that my name is being dragged, through radio, TV, newspapers and the internet, into the Hassan Ali case as if I am significant in this context.
When that sort of things happens, I guess one has only three options:
- speak/ write to each of the media channels to ask them to desist from involving one's name in the matter and hope they agree (unlikely that anything will come from such an approach, but it is one possibility)
- hope that the matter will cease to be of interest to the media
- make a public statement (but who is interested, and how can one ensure that the whole statement is printed and not some odd phrase taken out of context?)
Well, as I had written off the first possibility, and want a quiet life, I had hoped that the second would happen. But it has not happened, and my name keeps cropping up in the media. At parties and in relatives’ and friends’ homes, and even via phone calls and emails, I am getting asked about the matter, even when people can’t recollect who the main case concerns!
So here are the facts, the full facts and nothing but the facts, as I recollect them.
Switzerland is a small country and Zurich is a small city (population some 300,000) in which foreigners form a small fringe. Every Indian knows almost every Indian, one way or another – at least by name. Thus it was that one Philip Anandaraj introduced himself to me at the Rietberg Museum some years ago during their annual event, where we were both with our families – as many other Indians were, because the Rietberg Museum has the oldest event – a sort of mela - at which Indians (and those interested in India) gather.
Some time later, he rang me and wanted to come and see me with someone he knew who was in a certain difficulty with which I could help. I agreed.
Anandaraj introduced the man as a descendant of the Hyderabad royal family, said that the man had family property which was in dispute within the family, as a result of which he needed money, and that his personal account, which had nothing to do with the dispute and was with UBS, had been frozen because of the family dispute and could I help put the facts of the matter to the relevant authorities.
I live a busy life and did not have the time to check whether the Hyderabad royal family has any living descendants and if so whether this man was indeed one of them, what the disputes were, why his account was frozen, whether it might possibly be reopened and if so on what grounds, and so on.
So I explained that I was in a different department, and had nothing to do with such matters but, as I always try to help fellow-Indians, asked them to put their side of the matter in a letter to me, which I would pass on to the people concerned.
Shortly thereafter, a letter did arrive, and I did pass it on to the department concerned.
Mr Anandaraj rang me a few days later to ask if there was any news, and I told him that I had done my part, and that it was up to the authorities concerned to respond, and nothing further to do with me.
However, as I ran into the person to whom I had sent the letter at an evening occasion soon after sending it to him, I asked him whether he had received the latter (I had not had an acknowledgment of it from him) and he said he would check. The next morning, I received word through a colleague (who apparently does not recollect the matter now!), that I was “naïve” to have received and passed on the letter, that I should keep away from the matter, and that they would deal with it.
No one likes being called "naive" but I had certainly had no intention of being involved further, and I had already fulfilled what I had undertaken to Mr Anandaraj.
UBS did issue a public statement saying that the man had no account in UBS.
Some time later, I heard that Mr Anandaraj had left Switzerland for reasons to do with the bankruptcy of one of his businesses (no idea then or now whether that was true, though he certainly wasn’t seen or heard from by me again).
Still later, I learned that he had been arrested in India in connection with involvement in something, but I did not know him well enough, and whatever it was had nothing to do with me, and I was too busy anyway to find out the details.
Now I am told that a notarised copy of the letter sent to me by his contact (whoever he was and whatever the matter) was kept by him, has been discovered by the police and is considered a key piece of evidence.
Why would someone want to keep a notarized copy of a letter he or she writes to someone to ask for their help? I have no idea.
In any case, you cannot prevent any human being from writing to you about anything, whether they notarise the letter or not.
And if you receive such a letter as I did, you have only the following choices, as far as I can see:
- ignore the letter,
- reply to the letter saying basically “Sorry but I can’t help you” or, more rudely, "Don't bother me",
- pass on the letter to the right people.
Is it “wise” to ignore such letters? Would it have been "wiser" to write back saying basically "Don't bother me"? Perhaps.
Was I naïve to have passed on the letter to the right authorities in the company? Maybe.
But, as everyone who has anything to do with me knows, I have always been the sort of person who would rather be naïve and do my bit to help a fellow Indian abroad, specially if I can do so without too much effort on my part.
My stand on all the ethical matters involved is available to anyone who cares to investigate it, through my writings, public statements and indeed my work - which have all been in the public eye, in one way or another, ever since I was a teenager.
ENDS Sphere: Related Content
Further clarification following the story from PTI
During the email exchange, PTI asked whether I had any contact with Kashoggi. I replied that I did not. That was reported in some places as "Guptara denies his links with Kashoggi" as if I had had links and was now denying them.
To be clear: I have never knowingly set my eyes on the man or heard his voice, and I have never had any communication from him or purporting to be from or via him, nor have I ever addressed any communication of any sort to him.
To be absolutely clear: I find arms trading morally repugnant.
Further, I find this whole subject emotionally difficult to handle as my only sister was killed because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (the US Embassy in Nairobi at the time it was bombed by a terrorist). My hair instantly turned grey, and my sleep patterns reversed. My brother-in-law too is still suffering from the trauma. Sphere: Related Content
To be clear: I have never knowingly set my eyes on the man or heard his voice, and I have never had any communication from him or purporting to be from or via him, nor have I ever addressed any communication of any sort to him.
To be absolutely clear: I find arms trading morally repugnant.
Further, I find this whole subject emotionally difficult to handle as my only sister was killed because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (the US Embassy in Nairobi at the time it was bombed by a terrorist). My hair instantly turned grey, and my sleep patterns reversed. My brother-in-law too is still suffering from the trauma. Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Media statement by me regarding the Hassn Ali case
originally issued as an EXCLUSIVE TO PTI,and released by them apparently on Sunday 10 April 2011, in a version which has not been copied to me,
HASSAN ALI CASE: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FAMOUS "ATTESTED" LETTER TO UBS
Professor Prabhu Guptara, the person named in recent media reports in the Hassan Ali case, has stepped forward and told his side of the story. “I did receive ‘a’ letter from ‘a’ Mr Hassan Ali,” agrees Guptara, “but UBS is one of the largest banks in the world and, as I was not connected with that side of the business, I simply passed on the letter to the appropriate authorities for their investigation and action – which, as far as I am aware, UBS did by publicly stating that Hassan Ali had no account in UBS”.
Indian media have widely repeated reports of the existence of an attested copy of “a” letter to Professor Guptara, recently retired from UBS as Executive Director, Organisational Development, at a subsidiary company, Wolfsberg. “The problem is that anyone can write a letter to me or to anyone else; one cannot prevent it.”
“While there is great weight being placed on the matter of the letter having been ‘attested’, the reality is that anything can be attested anywhere,” argues Guptara. “All that attestation proves is that the content of a copy matches the ‘original’. But was that original which was attested, the one that was sent to UBS?”
“All that I did was that, when I received a letter from a fellow Indian, I just passed it on to the authorities concerned,” said Guptara. “Was I naïve, as one of my colleagues said right then? Maybe. But I would rather naively help even an Indian I do not know. And I don't regret doing so, except that now it may cost me some goodwill, time and energy due to the insinuations since then.”
“My stand on the substantial matters of ethics involved has always been clear from my teenage years in Delhi through my career globally,” concluded Guptara, former lecturer at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. “Everyone who knows me or my published work, most of which is available on the internet, can attest to that.”
ends Sphere: Related Content
HASSAN ALI CASE: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FAMOUS "ATTESTED" LETTER TO UBS
Professor Prabhu Guptara, the person named in recent media reports in the Hassan Ali case, has stepped forward and told his side of the story. “I did receive ‘a’ letter from ‘a’ Mr Hassan Ali,” agrees Guptara, “but UBS is one of the largest banks in the world and, as I was not connected with that side of the business, I simply passed on the letter to the appropriate authorities for their investigation and action – which, as far as I am aware, UBS did by publicly stating that Hassan Ali had no account in UBS”.
Indian media have widely repeated reports of the existence of an attested copy of “a” letter to Professor Guptara, recently retired from UBS as Executive Director, Organisational Development, at a subsidiary company, Wolfsberg. “The problem is that anyone can write a letter to me or to anyone else; one cannot prevent it.”
“While there is great weight being placed on the matter of the letter having been ‘attested’, the reality is that anything can be attested anywhere,” argues Guptara. “All that attestation proves is that the content of a copy matches the ‘original’. But was that original which was attested, the one that was sent to UBS?”
“All that I did was that, when I received a letter from a fellow Indian, I just passed it on to the authorities concerned,” said Guptara. “Was I naïve, as one of my colleagues said right then? Maybe. But I would rather naively help even an Indian I do not know. And I don't regret doing so, except that now it may cost me some goodwill, time and energy due to the insinuations since then.”
“My stand on the substantial matters of ethics involved has always been clear from my teenage years in Delhi through my career globally,” concluded Guptara, former lecturer at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. “Everyone who knows me or my published work, most of which is available on the internet, can attest to that.”
ends Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, April 03, 2011
From unity to disunity in global economics
From the start of the crisis in 2007 to the present, the tendency has been for the world's central banks to move in sync with each other. Other things may have diverged but central bank policy converged.
That may be about to change. If you don't have much time, read at least the first 4 paras of the following:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/03/businesspro-us-economy-weekahead-outlook-idUSTRE73227X20110403
If central banks feel comfortable enough about the global economy to now follow divergent policies, that should result in a boom in equities - so gold and other defensive assets should fall.
Buy cheap, sell high. Sphere: Related Content
That may be about to change. If you don't have much time, read at least the first 4 paras of the following:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/03/businesspro-us-economy-weekahead-outlook-idUSTRE73227X20110403
If central banks feel comfortable enough about the global economy to now follow divergent policies, that should result in a boom in equities - so gold and other defensive assets should fall.
Buy cheap, sell high. Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, March 05, 2011
The Bible versus Tradition in Roman Catholicism
I have recently been reminded of something I wrote ages ago on a private e-discussion forum. As the following does not break any confidences, and as it still appears to me to be at least somewhat relevant, I provide it below for your interest:
The Roman Church has always had biblical material as part of its history (that is what makes it a church, I guess).
The question is what status does the RC Church ascribe to the material? Does it pick and choose material from the Bible, and the interpretations thereof, on the basis of the tradition of the RC Church, or does it allow the Bible to challenge and change the tradition of the RC Church on the basis that Scripture is superior to tradition?
Now that I think of it, wasn't the dividing line between Protestants and RCs famously summed up as: "Sola scriptura, sola fidei, sola gratia"? (I might have the order of these items wrong). That is "Scripture alone (not church tradition), faith alone (not membership of an organisation such as the RC Church) and by grace alone (not because of being earned but because of God's unmerited favour) - or something like that anyway.
And isn't the current position of the RC Church still that membership of it is the only way to Heaven? That even all Christians outside the RC Church are "separated brethren"? If the latter, then of course, historically speaking, this is a nice-sounding elision to put the blame on the Reformers, when they were in fact kicked out of the RC Church by the authorities of the RC Church (represented by the Pope) because the RC Church did not want to be reformed (not on the basis of a free understanding of the Bible, anyway) though it did later reform itself on many of its most egregious practices which had been condemned by the Reformers.
In any case, IF the Pope indeed blesses the telling of Bible stories, as I hear, is he blessing the telling of Bible stories in the context of all the other material that the RC Church usually teaches, or does he actually promote the concept of the authority of Scripture over Tradition? If the latter, then the official position of the RC Church is one, but the Pope simultaneously pursues quite different strategies from his own official position!
However, I guess that is similar to what leaders have to do in most large political or bureaucratic systems - or companies for that matter....
I should think that any large Church or Temple or other religious institution has to combine the poitical, the bureaucratic and the commercial...
Which is why it is so liberating to be a simple follower of Jesus the Lord, unencumbered by any denomination, tradition or religion. Sphere: Related Content
The Roman Church has always had biblical material as part of its history (that is what makes it a church, I guess).
The question is what status does the RC Church ascribe to the material? Does it pick and choose material from the Bible, and the interpretations thereof, on the basis of the tradition of the RC Church, or does it allow the Bible to challenge and change the tradition of the RC Church on the basis that Scripture is superior to tradition?
Now that I think of it, wasn't the dividing line between Protestants and RCs famously summed up as: "Sola scriptura, sola fidei, sola gratia"? (I might have the order of these items wrong). That is "Scripture alone (not church tradition), faith alone (not membership of an organisation such as the RC Church) and by grace alone (not because of being earned but because of God's unmerited favour) - or something like that anyway.
And isn't the current position of the RC Church still that membership of it is the only way to Heaven? That even all Christians outside the RC Church are "separated brethren"? If the latter, then of course, historically speaking, this is a nice-sounding elision to put the blame on the Reformers, when they were in fact kicked out of the RC Church by the authorities of the RC Church (represented by the Pope) because the RC Church did not want to be reformed (not on the basis of a free understanding of the Bible, anyway) though it did later reform itself on many of its most egregious practices which had been condemned by the Reformers.
In any case, IF the Pope indeed blesses the telling of Bible stories, as I hear, is he blessing the telling of Bible stories in the context of all the other material that the RC Church usually teaches, or does he actually promote the concept of the authority of Scripture over Tradition? If the latter, then the official position of the RC Church is one, but the Pope simultaneously pursues quite different strategies from his own official position!
However, I guess that is similar to what leaders have to do in most large political or bureaucratic systems - or companies for that matter....
I should think that any large Church or Temple or other religious institution has to combine the poitical, the bureaucratic and the commercial...
Which is why it is so liberating to be a simple follower of Jesus the Lord, unencumbered by any denomination, tradition or religion. Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, February 27, 2011
US widens scope of tax evasion investigations to Middle Eastern and Asian banks
Today's Financial Times reports that the US probe into tax evasion has widened to include Middle Eastern and Asian banks: http://link.ft.com/r/19JYUU/6VHZ2D/042P/OJXSJT/EW6S2C/XL/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=28
This effort of course needs to be expanded worldwide.
However, the real question is:
when will the US investigate ITSELF as a channel for evading taxes for nationals/ residents of other countries?
If it does so, it may be surprised to see how much tax evasion in other countries takes place through the USA.
Sadly, the USA (like many other countries) continues to take a narrowly national approach, which I would characterise as: "if US citizens try to evade US taxes, we are going to get them - and other countries better help us; but if your citizens evade your taxes, you can go hang".
In a globalised financial world, tax evasion is a global problem. And that needs a global approach, global rules and global co-operation. Sphere: Related Content
This effort of course needs to be expanded worldwide.
However, the real question is:
when will the US investigate ITSELF as a channel for evading taxes for nationals/ residents of other countries?
If it does so, it may be surprised to see how much tax evasion in other countries takes place through the USA.
Sadly, the USA (like many other countries) continues to take a narrowly national approach, which I would characterise as: "if US citizens try to evade US taxes, we are going to get them - and other countries better help us; but if your citizens evade your taxes, you can go hang".
In a globalised financial world, tax evasion is a global problem. And that needs a global approach, global rules and global co-operation. Sphere: Related Content
Friday, February 25, 2011
"Companies delivering values"
That's the English transliteration of the German title of the presentation I was asked to give in Germany, earlier this week.
Here is the outline of what I said:
We are assured by various "authorities" that the crisis is past, but that only indicates how unreliable most such "authorities" are now
Most economic tools and approaches have become unreliable. This is demonstrated by the fact that Germany had such an unexpectedly high rate of growth last year - unexpected by ANY of the "authorities"! We are in a volatile world where all the traditional instruments we have are useless - we can be surprised positively and we can be surprised negatively.
We should expect continued and increasing volatility in the global economy (and of course in national economies), leading to larger crises, if the underlying problems are not sorted out (and they are not being sorted out).
The only satisfactory solution is to have a set of minimum global rules that are sensible, and light.
It would be easy to have an inappropriate set of global rules, or rules that are excessively burdensome - and both those dangers need to be recognised and fought against.
Meanwhile, we need to recognise too that capitalism was damaged by its so-called friends. The free market was damaged by free marketers who wanted so much freedom that they wanted no rules at all!
And we all know what happens when there are no rules - it becomes like what Americans call the Wild West and what we Indians call a jungle - a place without rules is a place without the rule of law - and that is bound to be a place where the fastest or strongest win, at the cost of those who seek to do business fairly, honestly and in accordance with universally acknowledged values.
Of course there are companies, such as Abus and Loh and Obi, which are represented here, who at least have a reputation for trying to do what is right. But they are exceptions - or at least they were sufficiently out of the centre that whatever influence they had counted for nothing in terms of opposing the conditions that led to the crisis.
The fact is that we are in the middle of a global civil war today where it is not enough to simply have some values, it is necesaary first to be aware that we are in the middle of a war, and then to consider carefully the nature and resources of the opposition, as well as one's own resouces, allies and cobelligerents in order to develop and follow the most effective strategy possible.
Let me put it this way.
The first level is to ensure that one is following values oneself as an individual. That is only possible if one is self-reflective and self-critical. I find that following Jesus the Lord has made that possible for me, because I do not need to be either afraid of such self-reflection or surprised/ upset at the results - I can ask for forgiveness, seek to ensure restitution, and start again on the difficult (because delicate) journey to be a person of values.
The second level is to try to ensure that values are embedded in the conduct of a company one owns or for which one works or with which one is assocated - as Abus and Obi and Loh try to do.
The third level is to try to ensure that values are embedded and followed in the companies associated with the company in the second level (above). Again, companies such as Abus and Loh have tried to do so, for example with supplier companies and subsidiaries and joint-venture partners in China. Delivering values is easier in Germany than in China. And we sometimes forget that it was equally difficult in Germany till the 16th century when the Reformation transformed society in ways that make it even today easier to deliver values here versus in all non-Reformed parts of the world, including Eastern and Southern Europe.
But of course even the third level (above) is simply the start of the real battle, because while that sort of voluntary action is to be commended, it entails both a cost and a benefit to individual businesses (the cost of the extra mangaerial effort and any financial consequenes; and the moral and reputational benefit of being known as an ethical business with the implications of that for customer preference and loyalty).
The fourth and more essential level is therefore for companies to seek, through direct lobbying as well as through industry associations (and where legally permissible) through political processes, to influence national rules, regulations and legislation in the right direction, so that ALL companies in that national area are required to comply at least at some minimal level with humane values.
So why is the fourth level (above) inadequate? Because there is every incentive for multinational or international companies to exploit any discrepancies between the legal systems of different countries, and to focus their activities on that national system which imposes the lesser (or the least) requirements for compliance with universal values. Companies can even move their entire headquarters out of countries which are perceived to work for greater compliance with universal human values. That is why a merely national or regional approach (while admirable and somewhat useful) is finally inadequate. That is why we need global rules.
May I conclude by saying that it is fatally easy for us gathered here for this conference to start with thinking at the level of ourselves as individuals or as individual companies - and to stop there. We need to recognise that the really important battles are taking place at the national and global levels.
So it is important for us to follow those and to addresss those, however naturally disinclined we are to do so, if we are to really deliver on values. May I remind you that even the Bible, the basic text of your civilisation, does not focus only on the individual. It starts with God creating the universe in such a way as to reflect his glory and character, but when individuals want to run their lives in a way that violates God's design, that wrecks God's system, so that God then has to search for individuals who WILL be willing to live in His way out of love for Him - but even those individuals are not meant to live merely in a cosy love relationship with Him, but to live in that relationship for the purpose of being a blessing to the world - that is, of changing the world positively.
That is why, when Abraham decides to follow God, it results in the eventual deliverance of his descendants from Egypt and their being given a new orientation and new policies and structures in economics and politics - deepened of course by Jesus the Lord.
It is in following those economic and political principles even today that policies and structures can be created which bring light and blessing to the world. There are in fact no values apart from those social, economic and political principles.
To the extent that you and I study them, understand them, and apply them individually and corporately, we will become real deliverers of vlaues - that is, those who contribute to creating the right global laws, regulations, policies and structures.
Thank you. Sphere: Related Content
Here is the outline of what I said:
We are assured by various "authorities" that the crisis is past, but that only indicates how unreliable most such "authorities" are now
Most economic tools and approaches have become unreliable. This is demonstrated by the fact that Germany had such an unexpectedly high rate of growth last year - unexpected by ANY of the "authorities"! We are in a volatile world where all the traditional instruments we have are useless - we can be surprised positively and we can be surprised negatively.
We should expect continued and increasing volatility in the global economy (and of course in national economies), leading to larger crises, if the underlying problems are not sorted out (and they are not being sorted out).
The only satisfactory solution is to have a set of minimum global rules that are sensible, and light.
It would be easy to have an inappropriate set of global rules, or rules that are excessively burdensome - and both those dangers need to be recognised and fought against.
Meanwhile, we need to recognise too that capitalism was damaged by its so-called friends. The free market was damaged by free marketers who wanted so much freedom that they wanted no rules at all!
And we all know what happens when there are no rules - it becomes like what Americans call the Wild West and what we Indians call a jungle - a place without rules is a place without the rule of law - and that is bound to be a place where the fastest or strongest win, at the cost of those who seek to do business fairly, honestly and in accordance with universally acknowledged values.
Of course there are companies, such as Abus and Loh and Obi, which are represented here, who at least have a reputation for trying to do what is right. But they are exceptions - or at least they were sufficiently out of the centre that whatever influence they had counted for nothing in terms of opposing the conditions that led to the crisis.
The fact is that we are in the middle of a global civil war today where it is not enough to simply have some values, it is necesaary first to be aware that we are in the middle of a war, and then to consider carefully the nature and resources of the opposition, as well as one's own resouces, allies and cobelligerents in order to develop and follow the most effective strategy possible.
Let me put it this way.
The first level is to ensure that one is following values oneself as an individual. That is only possible if one is self-reflective and self-critical. I find that following Jesus the Lord has made that possible for me, because I do not need to be either afraid of such self-reflection or surprised/ upset at the results - I can ask for forgiveness, seek to ensure restitution, and start again on the difficult (because delicate) journey to be a person of values.
The second level is to try to ensure that values are embedded in the conduct of a company one owns or for which one works or with which one is assocated - as Abus and Obi and Loh try to do.
The third level is to try to ensure that values are embedded and followed in the companies associated with the company in the second level (above). Again, companies such as Abus and Loh have tried to do so, for example with supplier companies and subsidiaries and joint-venture partners in China. Delivering values is easier in Germany than in China. And we sometimes forget that it was equally difficult in Germany till the 16th century when the Reformation transformed society in ways that make it even today easier to deliver values here versus in all non-Reformed parts of the world, including Eastern and Southern Europe.
But of course even the third level (above) is simply the start of the real battle, because while that sort of voluntary action is to be commended, it entails both a cost and a benefit to individual businesses (the cost of the extra mangaerial effort and any financial consequenes; and the moral and reputational benefit of being known as an ethical business with the implications of that for customer preference and loyalty).
The fourth and more essential level is therefore for companies to seek, through direct lobbying as well as through industry associations (and where legally permissible) through political processes, to influence national rules, regulations and legislation in the right direction, so that ALL companies in that national area are required to comply at least at some minimal level with humane values.
So why is the fourth level (above) inadequate? Because there is every incentive for multinational or international companies to exploit any discrepancies between the legal systems of different countries, and to focus their activities on that national system which imposes the lesser (or the least) requirements for compliance with universal values. Companies can even move their entire headquarters out of countries which are perceived to work for greater compliance with universal human values. That is why a merely national or regional approach (while admirable and somewhat useful) is finally inadequate. That is why we need global rules.
May I conclude by saying that it is fatally easy for us gathered here for this conference to start with thinking at the level of ourselves as individuals or as individual companies - and to stop there. We need to recognise that the really important battles are taking place at the national and global levels.
So it is important for us to follow those and to addresss those, however naturally disinclined we are to do so, if we are to really deliver on values. May I remind you that even the Bible, the basic text of your civilisation, does not focus only on the individual. It starts with God creating the universe in such a way as to reflect his glory and character, but when individuals want to run their lives in a way that violates God's design, that wrecks God's system, so that God then has to search for individuals who WILL be willing to live in His way out of love for Him - but even those individuals are not meant to live merely in a cosy love relationship with Him, but to live in that relationship for the purpose of being a blessing to the world - that is, of changing the world positively.
That is why, when Abraham decides to follow God, it results in the eventual deliverance of his descendants from Egypt and their being given a new orientation and new policies and structures in economics and politics - deepened of course by Jesus the Lord.
It is in following those economic and political principles even today that policies and structures can be created which bring light and blessing to the world. There are in fact no values apart from those social, economic and political principles.
To the extent that you and I study them, understand them, and apply them individually and corporately, we will become real deliverers of vlaues - that is, those who contribute to creating the right global laws, regulations, policies and structures.
Thank you. Sphere: Related Content
Monday, February 14, 2011
One simple action for reducing corruption, exposing human rights abuses and promoting democratic values
There are not many broadcasting organisations left that are dedicated to such widely accepted human values.
One of the most important of such organisations, the BBC World Service, is now threatened with deep cuts being imposed by the UK government, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
If you would like to help protect the BBC World Service, please write, email or fax the British Embassy in your country and/or the office of the BBC. If you are a British citizen, please write to your MP, or directly to the Prime Minister.
In the material below, please note that the word "chapel" refers to a branch of a trade union, and the term goes back to the time when the only form of organisation for mutual help among workers were groups of follwers of Jesus the Lord who dissented from the political, economic and religious establishment. They were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and other groups from what is called the Radical Reformation, as against the Magisterial Reformation which allied itself with State power (e.g. Lutherans and Calvinists) and usually opposed these "chapels".
The cuts include a quarter of all staff and five foreign language service closures. The consequence will be a 30 million drop in weekly global audience from 180 million to 150 million.
David Campanale is the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Father of Chapel in the international television service BBC World News and a director of the Christian aid agency, Tearfund. He comments:
"At its best the World Service can challenge corruption, expose human rights abuses and promote democratic values. By cutting the service the government will cut British influence in the rest of the world and also damage objective quality international news. Some of these services are in regions of great vulnerability because of suppression of religious liberty and the abuse of human rights. The closure of language services in Azeri, Mandarin for China, Russian, Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese and Ukrainian are all causes of concern."
The BBC's trade unions believe that impartial observers across the globe will be mystified by the government’s strategy of talking about promoting democratic values and international human rights while inflicting cuts on the BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring (Foreign Secretary William Hague announced he is allocating £58.5 million of Foreign Office spending in the coming year ‘for the support of democratic values, human rights and British diplomatic influence overseas’).
Brian Dale is a rep in one of the BBC's trade union branches covering technical staff at Television Centre and is part of the Community Church, Surbiton. He said that the ability of the Mubarak regime to close internet and mobile phone services during the Egyptian uprising made ridiculous the BBC's justification that short and medium wave broadcasts were no longer needed as audiences were "migrating to other platforms". He said:
"By cutting services, the BBC will lose the ability to control broadcasting in times of emergencies. The host government will have the ability to shut down the World Service at times when it is most needed - whether by switching off the power, shutting down the internet, putting journalists in jail or just locking the doors. Egypt is the latest example where events show the need for a continued shortwave presence."
The cuts proposed include 16 per cent of £267m government grant over the next five years, during which time the international aid budget will increase by 37 per cent to over £11bn. Mike Workman is Father of Chapel of the BBC World Service who set up Facebook’s SOS BBC World Service page. The site has been inundated with baffled listeners from all over the world who can’t understand why Britain doesn’t value the BBC World Service as one of its most important exports. An Anglican who has organised staff protests at Bush House in the Strand, Mike commented:
"The BBC World Service has a unique role in international relations and could be saved by providing a fraction of the aid budget. Nothing distributed abroad by Britain can compare with the effect of the World Service in supporting democratic values and human rights. That pride in such an excellent service deserves the support of Foreign Secretary William Hague and his government. The Foreign Office should allocate support for democracy overseas by finding the £19 million needed this year to protect the BBC World Service output.”
ENDS
For more information: David Campanale 07873 625396
NOTE:
The BBC World Service cuts proposed include:
• Five language services totally closed (Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, English for Caribbean, Portuguese for Africa)
• Radio programming ending in seven languages: (Azeri, Mandarin for China, Russian, Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese and Ukrainian)
• Immediate end of short wave radio (March 2011) in Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili and the Great Lakes Service for Rwanda and Burundi.
• Immediate end to short and medium wave in English (March 2011) to Russia and former FSU
•The average age of a World Service audience member is 29 years old.
- The weekly reach of the World Service broken down into the five language services
that are proposed for closure:
o Albanian 510,000
o Macedonian 160,000
o Caribbean 660,000
o Portuguese 1,498,000
- The audience figures for the seven languages radio programme which are scheduled to end:
o Russian radio 1,241,000
o Chinese radio 595,000
o Turkish radio 450,000
o Azeri 150,000
o Vietnamese 100,000
o Ukrainian 910,000
o Spanish 9,000
ENDS Sphere: Related Content
One of the most important of such organisations, the BBC World Service, is now threatened with deep cuts being imposed by the UK government, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
If you would like to help protect the BBC World Service, please write, email or fax the British Embassy in your country and/or the office of the BBC. If you are a British citizen, please write to your MP, or directly to the Prime Minister.
In the material below, please note that the word "chapel" refers to a branch of a trade union, and the term goes back to the time when the only form of organisation for mutual help among workers were groups of follwers of Jesus the Lord who dissented from the political, economic and religious establishment. They were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and other groups from what is called the Radical Reformation, as against the Magisterial Reformation which allied itself with State power (e.g. Lutherans and Calvinists) and usually opposed these "chapels".
The cuts include a quarter of all staff and five foreign language service closures. The consequence will be a 30 million drop in weekly global audience from 180 million to 150 million.
David Campanale is the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Father of Chapel in the international television service BBC World News and a director of the Christian aid agency, Tearfund. He comments:
"At its best the World Service can challenge corruption, expose human rights abuses and promote democratic values. By cutting the service the government will cut British influence in the rest of the world and also damage objective quality international news. Some of these services are in regions of great vulnerability because of suppression of religious liberty and the abuse of human rights. The closure of language services in Azeri, Mandarin for China, Russian, Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese and Ukrainian are all causes of concern."
The BBC's trade unions believe that impartial observers across the globe will be mystified by the government’s strategy of talking about promoting democratic values and international human rights while inflicting cuts on the BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring (Foreign Secretary William Hague announced he is allocating £58.5 million of Foreign Office spending in the coming year ‘for the support of democratic values, human rights and British diplomatic influence overseas’).
Brian Dale is a rep in one of the BBC's trade union branches covering technical staff at Television Centre and is part of the Community Church, Surbiton. He said that the ability of the Mubarak regime to close internet and mobile phone services during the Egyptian uprising made ridiculous the BBC's justification that short and medium wave broadcasts were no longer needed as audiences were "migrating to other platforms". He said:
"By cutting services, the BBC will lose the ability to control broadcasting in times of emergencies. The host government will have the ability to shut down the World Service at times when it is most needed - whether by switching off the power, shutting down the internet, putting journalists in jail or just locking the doors. Egypt is the latest example where events show the need for a continued shortwave presence."
The cuts proposed include 16 per cent of £267m government grant over the next five years, during which time the international aid budget will increase by 37 per cent to over £11bn. Mike Workman is Father of Chapel of the BBC World Service who set up Facebook’s SOS BBC World Service page. The site has been inundated with baffled listeners from all over the world who can’t understand why Britain doesn’t value the BBC World Service as one of its most important exports. An Anglican who has organised staff protests at Bush House in the Strand, Mike commented:
"The BBC World Service has a unique role in international relations and could be saved by providing a fraction of the aid budget. Nothing distributed abroad by Britain can compare with the effect of the World Service in supporting democratic values and human rights. That pride in such an excellent service deserves the support of Foreign Secretary William Hague and his government. The Foreign Office should allocate support for democracy overseas by finding the £19 million needed this year to protect the BBC World Service output.”
ENDS
For more information: David Campanale 07873 625396
NOTE:
The BBC World Service cuts proposed include:
• Five language services totally closed (Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, English for Caribbean, Portuguese for Africa)
• Radio programming ending in seven languages: (Azeri, Mandarin for China, Russian, Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese and Ukrainian)
• Immediate end of short wave radio (March 2011) in Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili and the Great Lakes Service for Rwanda and Burundi.
• Immediate end to short and medium wave in English (March 2011) to Russia and former FSU
•The average age of a World Service audience member is 29 years old.
- The weekly reach of the World Service broken down into the five language services
that are proposed for closure:
o Albanian 510,000
o Macedonian 160,000
o Caribbean 660,000
o Portuguese 1,498,000
- The audience figures for the seven languages radio programme which are scheduled to end:
o Russian radio 1,241,000
o Chinese radio 595,000
o Turkish radio 450,000
o Azeri 150,000
o Vietnamese 100,000
o Ukrainian 910,000
o Spanish 9,000
ENDS Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Facebook and Renewable Energy
A Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace India writes to me as follows, and I pass it on in the hope that at least one or two of my readers who have not yet asked Zuckerberg to support renewable energy will do so:
Dear Prabhu,
Facebook, one of the biggest social networks, has over 500 million users. If it were a country it would be the 3rd most populous in the world. Unfortunately, this huge network is choosing dirty energy to power itself.
Facebook plans to start a new data center in Oregon, USA, which will be powered by coal. The same coal which threatens forests, wildlife and the entire environment.
People from across the world have been asking Facebook to go green by using renewable energy to power the network.
Recently they have started to move, but nowhere near enough. To encourage them to do so, we have now given Facebook a deadline - Earth Day, April 22, 2011.
Can you ask Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pledge to go coal free before Earth Day? If so, please click
Facebook is big and getting it to power itself from renewable energy will help make a big difference. It will be difficult for Mark Zuckerberg to ignore a demand made by its current and potential users. People from all over the world asking him to go green will help put pressure on him to act.
Coal is the largest single source of carbon dioxide, leading to runaway climate change. All this is happening when we have viable renewable energy options which are clean and green.
With the kind of reach and power Facebook enjoys, it can easily set a green example for the rest of the world and the IT sector to follow. Remind Facebook to keep its deadline.
Ask Mark Zuckerberg to take the pledge.
Thanks a billion!" Sphere: Related Content
Dear Prabhu,
Facebook, one of the biggest social networks, has over 500 million users. If it were a country it would be the 3rd most populous in the world. Unfortunately, this huge network is choosing dirty energy to power itself.
Facebook plans to start a new data center in Oregon, USA, which will be powered by coal. The same coal which threatens forests, wildlife and the entire environment.
People from across the world have been asking Facebook to go green by using renewable energy to power the network.
Recently they have started to move, but nowhere near enough. To encourage them to do so, we have now given Facebook a deadline - Earth Day, April 22, 2011.
Can you ask Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pledge to go coal free before Earth Day? If so, please click
Facebook is big and getting it to power itself from renewable energy will help make a big difference. It will be difficult for Mark Zuckerberg to ignore a demand made by its current and potential users. People from all over the world asking him to go green will help put pressure on him to act.
Coal is the largest single source of carbon dioxide, leading to runaway climate change. All this is happening when we have viable renewable energy options which are clean and green.
With the kind of reach and power Facebook enjoys, it can easily set a green example for the rest of the world and the IT sector to follow. Remind Facebook to keep its deadline.
Ask Mark Zuckerberg to take the pledge.
Thanks a billion!" Sphere: Related Content
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