“The question is whether finance will promote economic growth and rising living standards or create unproductive credit and use government to enforce creditor claims by imposing austerity and reducing large swathes of the population to debt peonage.”
Howard Richards
This précis of the pickle that is our prison was written by Michael Hudson.
It could have been written by Yanis Varoufakis; or, perhaps slightly altered, by Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Reich, Bernie Sanders’ advisor Stephanie Kelton, or any of the distinguished scholars committed in their hearts to serving the common good, which I shall call “the Economists on the side of the Angels.” (EA)
Let me start by fleshing out the sort of point of view I take the quote to epitomize with a seven-point telegram. It aspires to highlight typical elements of an EA rap:
You get to choose which of the 15 documentary films on the Festival’s website will win the People’s Award (for the film which receives the most votes) and the Favourite Film Award (for the most-viewed film)..
The 2019 selection is a look at the environmental challenges we all must tackle. They highlight practical solutions and citizen initiatives underway worldwide.
Happening for 15 days only, the Festival is aimed at anyone who wants to learn about the environmental crises we’re facing.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, stated on Saturday [19 January 2019] that “no effort should be spared” in saving lives at sea, following reports of two new shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea, in which some 170 people either died or went missing.
Geneva, Switzerland, 20 January 2019 (World Economic Forum)* – A global opinion poll published today by the World Economic Forum finds that a clear majority of people in all regions of the world say they believe cooperation between nations is either extremely or very important. Deutsch I Français I 日本語 I 中文
The big picture view: People are supportive of an interconnected world | Image from World Economic Forum.
It also finds that a large majority rejects the notion that national improvement is a zero-sum game, and that most people feel that immigrants are mostly good for their adopted country.
18 January 2019 — Amid reports that Cameroon is forcing several thousand Nigerians to return to Borno state in the country’s crisis-gripped north-east, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) deplored the move, saying it has put lives “at risk”.
OCHA/Leni Kinzli | New arrivals in Teacher’s Village in Maiduguri, Nigeria, after the attack in Baga at the end of December 2018.
“We are gravely concerned for the safety and well-being of all these people”, UNHCR said in a statement. On 16 January, 267 Nigerian refugees, who had crossed into Cameroon in 2014, were forcibly returned.
Despite years of promises to address the “vulnerable heart” of Libya – the country’s south – conditions around its water and oil resource wealth have continued to deteriorate at “an alarming rate”, the United Nations envoy for the country told the Security Council.
Iason Athanasiadis/UNSMIL | Clouds over the desert in southern Libya. Deserts form a large part of the country and human settlements are mostly found around oases.
Warning against the dangers of widespread fear and mistrust in our planet, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, told journalists on Friday [18 January 2019] he wants to reaffirm the UN as a “platform for action to repair broken trust in a broken world.”
UN Photo/Manuel Elias | Press conference by the Secretary-General António Guterres (right) on 18 January 2019, with his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric (left).
“The best-selling brand in our world today is indeed fear,” stated Mr. Guterres. “It gets ratings. It wins votes. It generates clicks,” he added, during the press conference, held at UN headquarters in New York.
An evangelical pastor will head the upcoming CNN Brasil and the channel will adhere to Bolsonaro’s policies.
Upcoming CNN Brasil’s CEO will be an evangelical pastor. | Photo: Reuters | Photo fromteleSUR.
17 January 2019 (teleSUR)* — Edir Macedo, an evangelist pastor will be the CEO of CNN Brazil. The United States media giant Cable News Network (CNN) will open for the first time in the Latin American country during the first year of the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.
Edir Macedo is the founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus). He is the main evangelist leader of the country and an open supporter of Bolsonaro and his policies.
Washington’s wars are unendable as well as unwinnable
17 January 2019 (openDemocracy)* — President Trump’s sudden decisions in December to withdraw United States forces from Syria and halve the number of troops in Afghanistan caught almost all his advisors by surprise. They led to the resignation of defense secretary James Mattis, and hasty backtracking in the state department as Turkey vigorously protested.
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 
