Never again!

David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, has said "never again" to powers that are being transferred from the UK to Brussels without a referendum. I read this article from BBC news and I found it very interesting because he recently outlined his new european policy and he said that all future treaties would be put to a public vote. I think this is a great new reform because citizens should be capable of taking decisions from their countries. He also promised a sovereignity bill if the tories win the next election; what he wants to assure is that they'll lock in the supremacy. What Mr. Cameron and his new policies are trying to create is to abandon a pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, this is coming to grow in December 1st.
"I did not promise a referendum come what may, because once the Lisbon Treaty becomes law there is nothing people cand do about it." He then added: "I recognise there are some who, now that we cannot have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, want a referendum on something else... anything else.
"But I just don't think it's right to concoct some new pretext for a referendum simply to have one for the sake of it."
People has to know why treaties are being processed, what is their goverment working on. Is important to cover any future attempt to take Britain into the European single currency.
What Mr.Cameron is doing is very helpful for citizens, what he is attempting to do is to make a commitement with people.

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New Banks in United Kigndom

The United Kingdom will create three new chains of banks from the sale of three institutions saved from financial crisis. The three institutions are the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds Group Banking Group and Northern Rock. The British government owns 43% of Lloyds, 70% of RBS, while Northern Rock is completely nationalized. These banks received a lot of financial help from the government about a year ago due to the financial crisis.The British government confirm this Tuesday the creation of the new institutions. The creation of the new banks will be done by 2015.The new banks will focus on retail operations, especially in deposits and mortgages.
They will be sold to new groups that enter the bank market. The government confirms that an owner of a bank in United Kingdom can’t participate in the new institutions. Because of this, the institutions may be owned by groups from the United States, Australia and Middle East. Regulators are worried that institutions help by the government have an advantage over other banks that did not receive it. What functionaries want is something better for the consumer by recovering the cash from taxpayers. Also they want to create a stronger mortgage market and more competition. If there is an advantage, competition will not exist.

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Swine Flu in the UK

Professor Andrew Pollard from the University of Oxford is heading a research on swine flu vaccines. This 2 types of vaccines are put to trial in the UK since yesterday.

"We are doing this trial to compare head-to-head the two vaccines which are going to be used in the UK against swine flu to see which one works best in children and which one is best tolerated. We are sort of in a race against time because we know the flu season is already started. We hope to immunise the children over the next 10 days or so. There are very few exclusions - people with immune system problems and egg-allergic children because one of the vaccines is made using egg." - Professor Andrew Pollard

The Baxter vaccine, (the other vaccine put into trial) is made in cell culture, so is suitable for those who have an egg allergy. Among the expected side-effects are sore arms and fevers.

They are aiming to recruit 1,000 youngsters aged six months to 12 years to try the vaccines.

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Global Economic Cooperation....G20 Meeting on the way!

I am not going to keep my pleasure a secret! How fitting that we are discussing globalisation and economic integration, whilst under our very noses and in front of our eyes we are witnessing economic events whose impacts are expected to be long-lasting, and perhaps fundamentally change the very nature of the economic system in which we live.

We talk about globalisation, and if you like, you may now say that even regulation is becoming globalised - countries, in the wake of the economic crisis, want to work together more and more, to prevent future problems. Such acts can only serve to economically integrate countries further, albeit without a formal document or agreement.

So my pleasure stems from the fact that all what I speak about in class can be directly connected to the world around us - we are not looking at history, nor are we looking at the future, but today Ladies and Gentlemen. Always take the chance to read and passively learn more - even if you don´t understand everything, constant exposure helps you build knowledge.

A new era of global economic co-operation.


This article written by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses his (and we can assume the British people) views on what must be done at the upcoming G20 meeting. I want to draw your attention to two parts:

"Now is not the time to lose our focus, however – the recovery is not automatic – rather it is the moment to redouble our efforts. We must not switch off the life support we are giving to our economies. People are still losing their jobs, their homes and – in some cases – their hope and we must not fail them. Complacency is the enemy of recovery.

So at next week's G20 Summit in Pittsburgh concerted international co-operation is again required. To this end, I am proposing a new global compact to entrench economic recovery and secure stability, growth and jobs."


Here, he proposes his idea for a "global compact." Later, he goes on to say......

"Our international financial institutions have a vital role in supporting this drive to recovery and growth, so I have been consulting widely within the G20 and beyond to develop proposals on modernising them.

They must be better placed to meet the challenges of globalisation, promote sustainable global growth and prevent and respond to future crises."

And there you have the connection with globalisation. You see how international institutions, economic globalisation, and the world economy in general, are all connected?

Comments on this article, and an exploration of your own thoughts, are as always most welcome.

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