February 2013
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#LFW Holly Fulton's patchwork
Young British talent Holly Fulton was inspired by seventies art school rockers in her intricate collection of patch-worked leathers, pony skins and patterns on Sunday.
Dominated by red and black, collages of the Edinburgh-born designer’s signature geometric prints complemented bushy mohair and leathers. Models exuded rock chic attitude with smoky gunmetal lids and harsh red pouts.
Cropped...
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#LFW Hitchcock's Hedren inspires Temperley
Tippi Hendren, who Alfred Hitchcock made a star, was also the muse in Alice Temperley’s autumn/ winter 2013 collection on Sunday.
The 41 look offering, from the designer favored by the Middleton sisters, went from boxy sixties silhouettes right through to decadent eveningwear that evoked a glamorous bygone era in fabrics sourced from Italian and British mills.
“I got a television when I was was...
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#LFW: Paul Smith
At Paul Smith androgynous tailoring in jewel tones blue was punctuated by mini-dresses on Sunday.
A photograph of an interior that the designer took in Cuba was woven into some garments and the image also appeared in print on silk tops.
This was the first fashion show at Tate Britain and the colours David Tremlett’s work above the staircase echoed the of cerise, rust and yves klein in the...
January 2013
1 post
£189m for British #bigdata
The government has announced how it will divi out the £600 million for science that was promised in the Autumn Statement.
The biggest chunk, £189 million will go on big data - which can be simply and probably inaccurately described as analysing very large and complex data sets - to
build on the research base’s capacity for analysing big data sets, in areas like earth observation and medical...
December 2012
1 post
New police unit for intellectual property?
The UK government is finalising plans for an intellectual property (IP) crime unit to clamp down on counterfeiting and piracy, the department tasked with modernising copyright policy said on Monday.
IP crime is estimated to cost the UK economy 0.1 percent of gross domestic product annually, according to an independent report in May 2011.
”We are discussing the proposal of...
November 2012
3 posts
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Constitution first, economy second for Tunisia
Tunisian President Moncef al-Marzouqi said Tunisia cannot attract external or internal resources or deal with its economic challenges, until its political situation is stabilised, when addressing a debating society in London on Monday.
The president said that graduate unemployment in Tunisia and regional disparities - unemployment averages little over 13 percent in the capital but runs at 28...
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“All to play for” in Britain’s press regulation
Dr Martin Moore, co-founder of media ethics activist group “Hacked-off” concerned about a “vacuum” after Leveson findings
Moore, director of Media Standards Trust criticizes the Sun for publishing photos
Moore still sees public appetite for change
Campaigner for media standards, Dr Martin Moore, said the UK had an opportunity to lead the world in press regulation on Tuesday, but said that he...
500 biggest funds' assets fall below 2006 levels
Assets managed by the world’s largest 500 fund managers fell by around 3 percent to $63 trillion in 2011, breaking a two year upward trend in assets, a report said on Tuesday.
Assets of the top 500 rose by 16 percent and 4 percent in 2009 and 2010, respectively, but fell in 2011 on continued weak economic conditions and a risk aversion among investors, said research conducted by professional...
July 2012
2 posts
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Productivity Pickle
On Wednesday, we’ll find out how much UK GDP grew in the 3 months up to the end of June. Forecasts are pretty dismal - an average a 0.2 percent contraction with predictions ranging from a contraction of 0.5 percent to growth of just 0.2 percent quarter on quarter. Compared with the second quarter of 2011, we’re looking at an average prediction of a 0.3 percent contraction.
But the...
June 2012
1 post
May 2012
2 posts
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Moscow Protests - A Numbers Game
This weekend’s protest in Moscow has presented journalists and analysts with another opportunity to debate the size of the crowds. One show on “liberal” radio station Echo Moskva spent over 40 minutes talking to activists and reporters in different parts of the demonstration to find out how many people they could see. This interview process is highly redundant. It’s...
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Guardian's Women's Blog →
Guardian’s Jane Martinson is outraged over the abuse endured by “controversial Tory MP” in the cyberspace this week. The tweets posted on Mensch’s account were extremely abusive and plain awful, not that there were that many. But the most misogynist material I’ve ever read on Mensch isn’t on Twitter. It isn’t in Vice magazine or even a kinky Tory sex blog....
February 2012
16 posts
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Absolutely ridic censorship
Alexei Navalny just tweeted this post. You’ve got Tina Kandelaki, journalist and media mini-mogul interviewed by tough as a nut Vladimir Posner. On the top is the unedited version that went out in eastern Russia. The second video is what Russians in the European part of Russia got to see. The differences are stark.
In the 2’37” clip - Posner asks Kandelaki who’s...
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On Chirikova's Campaign Trail
It’s -17 degrees and I arrive early at Planetarnaya station in North West Moscow. It’s a little before 6pm and I know a meeting is planned to promote Saturday’s (4th February) demonstration. Star of the show? Evgenia Chirikova - chief warrior for the conservation of Khimkinsky forest and campaigner for political reform. She is nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a few men with large cameras began...
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Public Sector Workers "Forced" To Pro Putin Rally
On Saturday I’ll be donning several thermal layers and a couple of Christmas jumpers to attend not one, but two rallies in Moscow. The “meeting” of protestors for free and fair elections and against corruption will, after much negotiating, gather in Bolotnaya Ploshad’. But those wanting to show their support for the current prime minister, president twice over and current...
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Bahaha Vesti news header...
кто кремлевский проект а кто пытается превратить государство в винегрет?! hehe
The candidate for president answered “tough” questions apparently such as “do you really trust us young people to monitor the election even if we prevent malpractice in your favour?”. He said that all he ever wanted was a fair vote … hashtag obvs.
“It wasn’t a talk as much as...
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Teenager Killed By Police In St Petersburg
In her weekly broadcast, Russian journalist and commentator Yulia Latynina told the story of fifteeen year old Nikita Leontiev who was beaten to death by police in Russia’s second city. These events were exposed to the public by investigative journalist Evgeniy Vyshenkov, but only after several false versions were pedalled by the those responsible. Initally they said that the youths had...
January 2012
8 posts
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Back in Blighty Fred Goodwin stripped of his...
… about time too. But what I want to know is how come the advisors who masterminded and structured the ABN Amro deal, which eventually brought about the demise of RBS are still cosy, leaning back in their ergonomic chairs.
One Merrill Lynch banker was credited with holding the key relationships for this deal - he got $33 million from the next bonus pool. Compare that with the pathetic 1...
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Navalny tries to calm corporate nerves
In talks with major Russian and international investment bankers, Alexei Navalny, a lawyer and a vocal member of the political opposition to Putin, said
“we mustn’t be afraid of these sudden and new political events… Nothing is going to happen. The system has such inertia that even in the event of total political collapse everything will keep working”
Investors in the...
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Chilly Times... Brrrr →
Just read that it’s going to get as cold as minus 25 degrees centigrade on Friday. I was going to rock up in Domodedovo that very day but booked for Monday instead… better get my thermals on.
Belarus: full control of internet handed to...
Starting from tomorrow, international websites such as Ebay and Amazon will be blocked in Belarus. To avoid getting sued, the government has made it so that if you’re a foreign site wanting to be used in Belarus, you have to get registered and meet certain criteria to make it onto a list of approved sites. Apparently this list is about 100 long now.
...
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Would You Say The Archbishop Of Canterbury Was...
A poll came out today which asked people to rate influential Russian people according to how “elite” they are - I suppose this doesn’t just mean that they have an exclusivity about them, instead it’s an amalgam of how influential, powerful and famous they are. And although it only polled 1,600 people (that’s not much, is it?) and lots of “elitnyh” CEOs are...
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Pop-itics In Russia
An “eliteness” rating shows how interconnected politicians, stars and oligarchs are.
A poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center asked people to rate famous Russians according to how “elite” they were. The final poll, unsurprisingly was topped by Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Medvedev (in that order - president first, prime minister and presidential...
Food Prices Will Not Rise Drastically
So says the new chief of the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations. Jose Graziano da Silva, who started as the head of the FAO this year, said that food prices are unlikely to actually fall dramatically, but the slowing global economy will mean that they will not rise either.
But what has been happening to food prices? This is the Commodity Price Index from the International Monetary Fund....
December 2011
19 posts
Another Problem Crops Up With GM
A corn crop which makes its own insecticide seems to be losing its effectiveness. The Bt crop was introduced in 2003 and now accounts for 65% of the corn grown in the country now… here’s a nifty diagram I found online of how it works.
But recently rootworm has been getting at the roots of these corn crops. Some scientists are saying it’s because farmers have been planting this...
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Michael... Korrrr Didn't He Do Well
* Michael Kors IPO success
* Coach Hong Kong listing - one to watch
Stocks in fashion brand Michael Kors Holdings jumped 21 percent to $24.20 on its first day of trading despite economic gloom and choppy capital markets. This was well above its expected range of $17 to $19. The initial public offering valued the fashion design company at $3.8 billion.
The listing is now being dubbed the...
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1 in 10 Mortgage Holders In Ireland Behind On...
The latest International Monetary Fund report on Ireland warns that the rate of mortgage arrears in Ireland reached 10.8% in September, while the share of people behind on their payments for more than 180 days continues to rise. 1 in 5 mortgage holders are having difficulties in making the repayments.
With the fall in house prices accelarating by 15% in October compared to a year before,...
Mercosur Closes Its Ports To Falklands Vessels
The South American trade bloc which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, has decided to ban boats which display the Falklands flag from its ports. The countries reached this decision at a summit in Montevideo yesterday.
Uruguay had already taken this step - last week it banned ships flying the Falklands flag from its ports. When British ambassadors demanded an explanation, Uruguayan...
It Was Only A Matter Of Time
A site dedicated to tracking electoral malpractice in Russia has been shut down.
The site, ruelect.com, was shut down in accordance with Article 20.29 - “The production and distribution of extremist materials… Those connected with the site have been detained and are giving evidence.”
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Tech City Admin Costing Over £1m
I’d been wondering how much Tech City was setting us back. Despite all the hype, it’s not entirely clear what the government has contributed to this project and what it actually is. Well According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mr Milo Yiannopoulos, without any kind of investment fund the initiative has so far cost £1,094,346. The annual budget of the project is a...
Micex And RTS Down On Prokhorov's Announcement
Despite the discontent of Russia’s emerging civil society, markets thirst for certainty and they know what they’re getting with Putin.
Russia stock indices Micex and RTS are down 2.9% and 2.8% respectively on the news that Russian businessman Mikhail Prohorov will be putting himself forward in the presidential elections. The stock market indicators fell last week too - each collapsing...
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"Most Serious Decision"
Russian billionaire and number 3 on the Russian Forbes Rich List Mikhail Prohorov has announced that he will run for president. Prokhorov announced his intention on Facebook and Twitter as well as at a press conference - a sign that he is trying to harness the immense power of social media in the country in a way that the current Prime Minister, and his opponent in the election, could not....
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Ukraine Pushes For Grain Pool
Ukraine wants to set up a union of grain exporting countries along with Russia and Kazakhstan to give the countries more price setting power.
The countries represent a fifth of world grain output. The prime minister of Ukraine Nikolai Azarov, said that with
“a grain pool” of this sort, prices would be dictated by our countries, not traders”.
When Russia banned wheat exports...
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Solutions To Food Security
The Fourth Annual Global South-South Development Expo takes place in Rome this week and it is looking at how to make sure countries in the southern hemisphere have enough food.
Following the extraordinary volatility of food prices in 2007-2008 and the peaks reached in 2010-2011, high and fluctuating food prices can no longer be seen as just a passing phase.
Feeling the strain
In the UK the...
