I recently witnessed first-hand a bank run in the UK. While I’ve long believed the global economy cannot continue the way it is, I never thought I’d see a real life bank run.

A bank run is when customers withdraw their savings en masse because of fear a lender will become insolvent, which can cause it to go bankrupt.

A similar thing happened with Countrywide Bank in California on Friday 17 August. This after they were forced to draw the entire $11.5 billion line of credit available to them. Since then, Bank of America has bought $2 billion of Countrywide stock, effectively saving them. Continue reading

Richard Dawkins: Richard Dawkins Foundation now officially a charitable organizationWhile I have my quibbles with Richard Dawkins' every now and then I was extremely pleased to read at Richard Dawkins' site that after a year has passed the Richard Dawkins Foundation For Reason And Science is now recognized as a charitable, tax exempt organization in both the US and UK. While every now and then I find the way Dawkins' chooses to phrase something in regards to atheism, religion or (more recently) pseudoscience and the paranormal cringe inducing I can not help but think that he is fulfilling a vital role. Sometimes I'm just not sure what that role is.

However, the Richard Dawkins Foundation does have a clearly defined role and goals and the very first one mentioned is something that I believe to be of the utmost importanceread more »