August 2006's Issue
Asking people about how they make their money is simply not the done thing. Unsurprisingly, bankers nurture this custom. No questions asked means no dirt exposed. That’s why those squeaky-clean Swiss bankers – portrayed as the epitome of banking etiquette because of their ‘discretion’ – have been able to hide the proceeds of theft by Nazi criminals or corrupt officials in Africa for decades. Under this shroud, bankers everywhere have quietly furthered their monopoly in the business of money making, setting up tax-avoidance schemes and shifting capital in quantities beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Few discover how. It’s all too complex.
Or is it? This month, the NI explains in straightforward language how banks make money.
Every month, we put up a selection of articles from the magazine. To enjoy the complete magazine, subscribe and receive three free issues and a world map. Or buy a digital subscription which gives you unlimited access to all magazines since 2007 and for a year after purchase on your computer or mobile device, in their original full-colour design.
Featured in issue 392
Md Main Uddin
I was on an assignment at Domra Kanda, an asylum for the mentally ill in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, where the only medications provided are these ‘medallions’ filled with spiritual spells and ‘blessed water’ from traditional spiritual healers.
Confessions of a banker
Together with a whistleblower, Lucy Komisar exposes the offshore operations of the world’s biggest bank.
- Lucy Komisar
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Havana Black
Havana Black by Leonardo Padura and translated by Peter Bush
- Vanessa Baird
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
The banks are made of marble
The true owners of the silver in the vaults.
- Les Rice and Pete Seeger
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
The Death of Mr Lazarescu
The Death of Mr Lazarescu directed by Cristi Puiu
- Malcolm Lewis
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Sustainable security
Chris Abbott argues that the ‘long war’ is the wrong war on terror.
- Chris Abbott
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
On the people's account
New Internationalist campaigners explore alternative banking and resources.
- Chris Richards
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
The bang in the buck
Dheepthi Namasivayam goes in search of banks that refuse to lend to arms traders.
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Give them credit
As the credit card consumes Chile, Lezak Shallat takes stock.
- Lezak Shallat
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Belize
Belize is a renowned eco-tourist destination for ‘reef and rainforest’ holidays. Tourism has come at a cost though, including damage to the reef, adding to that from pollution and global warming.
- Ian Peedle
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Assault on free speech
Government desperate to restrict the spreading rural revolt
- Kristin Jones
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
The kingdom of capital
Chris Richards steps into the secret world of high finance.
- Chris Richards
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Thomas Alva Edison
(1847-1931), US inventor of the light bulb, phonograph and movie projector.
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Empire's exiles
The Chagos Islanders: Lindsey Collen introduces the women who have kept the decades-long struggle alive.
- Lindsey Collen and Sarah John
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Interview with Lalo Moreyra
and local environmentalists causing an international stir in Latin America.
- Sharona Coutts
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Transfer the problem
Banks ditch the poor, reports Yvonne Chua from the Philippines.
- Yvonne Chua
- 1 Aug 2006
- 1
Banks against the wall
Anil Netto finds out how Malaysian Government money ends up in the pockets of the wealthy.
- Anil Netto
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
The privatization of Patagonia
Fences are marching across the Patagonian wilderness, displacing indigenous peoples and turning pure water into private property. Tomás Bril Mascarenhas reports on another conquest, this time by foreign investors.
- Tomás Mascarenhas
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
Bolivian land returned to the people
Two million hectares have been earmarked for women and indigenous peoples.
One laptop at a time?
A small but powerful $100 laptop designed for school children in the Majority World.
- Peter Steven
- 1 Aug 2006
- 0
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