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A Saudi-British Comedy?

“A Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United is close to being agreed.  Approval from the Premier League could possibly come in the next 24 hours after a consortium proved the Saudi state would not have control of the club.  Instead the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is set to provide 80% of funds for the £300m deal, will be seen as separate to the state and therefore allow the takeover to pass the Premier League owners' and directors' test.” — the BBC “The  Public Investment Fund  is the  sovereign wealth fund  of  Saudi Arabia . It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of at least $500 billion.  It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the government of Saudi Arabia. It has been characterized as among the least transparent sovereign wealth funds in the world. In 2016, the  Wall Street Journal  noted that none of the fund's investments were named.” — Wikipedia
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On the ‘Evils’ of the Present Economic System

Did what Bertrand Russell say in 1916 still relevant today? “Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.” —  Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), Ch. 13: Freedom in Society.
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The Most Powerful Man in Iraq

A detailed article but too much political science, almost nothing about Iraqi capitalism and why it is not providing. Note that there are no classes anymore in Iraq; no economic institutions and capitalists; no form of economic development; no rate of profit; no foreign capital; no IMF…   In a long article by two journalists about the Sadrist movement and “the most powerful man in Iraq,” there is no word about the man’s economic programme! The word economy itself does not feature at all.  U.S. enemy and friend of Iran? Related Iraq’s “March for Reforms”
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Britain’s Gas and Electricity Crisis Explained

The crisis boils down to the form of British capitalism. “It still seems more likely that Japan and Britain will secure enough gas, in the same way they secured enough coronavirus vaccines, by the expedient of poorer countries not getting enough. But for Britain the price crisis will be harsh. Free market fanaticism combines with the brutal practice of making the poorest citizens pay a disproportionate share of the cost of funding the transition to zero-carbon energy.” On the boil Related Why India is on the brink of a power crisis
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Lebanon-UK

What a scandal!         Lebanon 2021       UK 2021
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Britain: Erasing Empire

“ The apogee of the secret state in purposefully hiding information from the public in the postwar period was necessary for sculpting an official narrative about British imperialism and its war efforts divorced from the truth of its brutality. Imperialists were often all too aware that if the true nature of their mission was exposed it would also undermine the image of liberal democracy that was deployed to distinguish the West from authoritarian regimes.” State secrecy and destruction of historical records
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