Category Archives: news

China’s loans

15 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by in China, Economics, Economy, news, Politics

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An interesting read from FT AlphaVille:

“China is the world’s biggest lender to governments. And that’s not just because of its gigantic stockpile of US Treasuries. For much of the past decade Beijing has sought to plug massive infrastructure funding gaps across multiple continents through its Belt and Road Initiative. The overarching aim, other than to bolster global influence, is to upgrade transport links on the old silk road routes which enabled trade between the Far East and what lay to the west of it.” More HERE at FT. You may have to register (for free) to read this article.

Supporting articles: How China Lends Data Sets from AidData and How China Lends PDF from The Peterson Institute for International Economics.

We gave up our privacy

06 Friday Aug 2021

Posted by in Data hack, news

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We gave up our privacy to fight Covid-19, can we get it back? An FT film starring Lydia West and Arthur Darvill in collaboration with Sonia Friedman Productions and supported by Luminate. An interrogation scene explores how Covid-19 has exposed the tension between the need for data to track and trace, and the right to privacy and justice.

NH State

05 Thursday Aug 2021

Posted by in america, news, Politics

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NH legislators work on about 1000 bills every year. Each legislator is assigned 1 staff person. Legislators are paid $100 a year. Add all that up and I start to wonder; How does each legislator find time and research skill to determine what to do with each bill.

  • Party leaders
  • Lobbyists
  • Its their thing
  • Lobbying by citzens
  • Something else

We have seen instances of legislators putting forth bills whose wording matches that of similar bills (including misspelled words) presented in other states. These bills, written by lobbyists can be fine, depending on a number of factors:

How and why did the lobbying group target one legislator? In some instances it is the party leader who picks the one.

Does the bill reflect the views of the legislator and their voters?

World order in the 21st century:

30 Friday Jul 2021

Posted by in global, news, Research

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The authors of an important new essay collection discuss proposals for international order in the 21st century. This webinar launches Anchoring the World: International Order in the Twenty-First Century, published by Foreign Affairs. This anthology marks the Centennials of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, the Council on Foreign Relations and Chatham House. The anthology is the culmination of the Lloyd George Study Group on World Order.

How artists make money in the $21bn music industry | FT Film

16 Friday Jul 2021

Posted by in Music, news

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Why do artists go broke in the music industry? Streaming platforms like Spotify now dominate the music business. Social media apps like TikTok and Instagram are changing the playing field. And some artists are moving away from traditional record deals and revenue sources in favor of independence. The FT’s Don Newkirk asks some of the world’s biggest music companies, record labels, and producers how they are adapting to this fast-changing industry. And he follows an up-and-coming hip-hop artist struggling to make his fair share as the coronavirus pandemic hits.

How a $450 Million Loss Was Hidden From Sight

09 Friday Jul 2021

Posted by in Economics, Economy, news

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11 years after one of Europe’s biggest banking scandals, 13 executives have been sentenced and financial penalties of $175 million have been dealt. Bloomberg investigates how Deutsche Bank and Monte Dei Paschi cooked their books to make a half billion dollar loss disappear. Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi for Bloomberg.