L'Ombre de l'Olivier

The Shadow of the Olive Tree

being the maunderings of an Englishman on the Côte d'Azur

29 January 2009 Blog Home : January 2009 : Permalink

The International Coalition for British Reparations

For reasons that are unclear to me - though possibly because of this - I seem to have got on the mailing list for something called The International Coalition for British Reparations. I think this is a very ironic leg pull as one of the reasons why Britain is singled out for being "awful" is The Industrial Revolution.

Still they sent me a great press release today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carrie E. Carnegie

Public Relations Director

International Coalition for British Reparations

What England Doesn't Want You To Know About The Global Financial Crisis

January 29, 2009-Nearly one month into the new year, the global financial crisis has not alleviated. Quite the contrary, in fact, as the crunch has spread and wrecked innumerable livelihoods. Much blame has been put squarely on the shoulders of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for allegedly lying to the public regarding the appropriation of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The initial intent of TARP was to purchase bad assets from major banks so they could resume lending to people. This scheme was scrapped at the recommendation of our transatlantic neighbors, the British. They insisted the money be pumped directly into the banks, noting that once banks had more capital, lending would resume. As of today, banks are in even worse shape, and lending has not proceeded. It is of utmost importance to point out that the world would not be in this situation had it not been for one Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, 'father of modern economics' and a Brit. It was he who heralded the virtues of free trade and capitalism. His centuries-old philosophies have been carried on by British Prime Ministers, causing the turmoil we face today.

The British, and more specifically Gordon Brown, have been the root cause of several financial meltdowns recently. Iceland's economic bust, for example, can be directly traced back to Mr. Brown, who used antiterrorist laws to take over assets and operations of Kaupthing and Landsbanki, two Icelandic banks in the U.K. He then demanded the Icelandic government guarantee foreign deposits, causing Reykjavik to reimburse European savers up to €20,000 (causing a debt close to 100% of Iceland's GDP). Iceland has been left with a crumbling government and an uncertain future. This, however, has not discouraged Gordon Brown's megalomaniacal ways, as he went on to proclaim, in front of the House of Commons, that England had "saved the world."

Now Mr. Brown is facing his very own economic meltdown, as England is in woeful financial shape (and is even threatening to default). The blame for the crisis comes from sheer greed. For decades, they have been reaping the benefits of being a hub for the world's capital. This enabled them to build London into a financial mecca, allowing foreign companies to take over with no political obstructions. With many foreign institutions relying on the strength of the British economy, its unraveling has a worldwide effect, which could result in a catastrophe bigger than any in modern history.

British greed has put the world in a calamitous predicament — one that they are entirely responsible for mending. To that end, The International Coalition for British Reparations has called for the British government to pay £35,160,000,000,000 in reparations to the citizens of the world.


I do hope they sent a copy to "Occupant", 10 Downing St, London... I also note that given the current collapsing valuation of the pound £35,160,000,000,000 will probably be enough to allow a Zimbabwean to buy a crumb of bread in another couple of months.