Mannkal's e-Focus
January 2016
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Greetings and Happy New Year! After a short break to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, Mannkal is back in search of new ways to spread the message of the free market and expand our student programs.
Mannkal is also excited to sponsor 10 students to attend the Asia Liberty Forum in Kuala Lumpur this February. To read more about the Asia Liberty Forum please scroll down.
If you haven't read our latest Mannkal's Musings please click here for our October issue.
Please feel free to forward this email or any of this material to your own contacts. To subscribe to this publication, please click here (for new subscribers only). Check out Ron's regular Mannerisms this month, "Celebrating Mannwest's 120 Years in Business", and Paul's Perspective, "Cuba - Behind the Blockade" (please scroll down). Paul McCarthy CEO
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What's new with our scholars?
With all our 2015/16 scholars off and away on their internship adventures, there is plenty to catch up on! The best way to keep up to date is to follow their weekly blogs here!
Here are a few snippets......
John Hugo (Manning Foundation, Calgary)
"The current Calgary government seems to erect communication barriers around projects, and procedures, to increase the difficulty of its electorate to hold it accountable for its actions. These difficulties can be found from the way the City Council broadcasts open meetings, through to the accounting methods of the budget.
Throughout the week I started to grow frustrated at how much the municipal government seemed to want to make its tax payers disenfranchised. A prime example of this is the difference in accounting method that the city uses for its budget compared to its financial statements. During the week I was tasked to write opinion pieces on briefs constructed by the C.D. Howe Institute, one of Canada's most influential think tanks, on this exact issue. My piece titled "Cash Based Budgeting Systems: A Prehistoric, Incompetent and Secretive Method of Fiscal Planning Disclosure," illustrated municipal governments utilising an unsophisticated accounting system with their budgets, called cash basis, while their financial statements are disclosed with the internationally recognised accrued basis of accounting."
Sofie O'Mara (Atlas Network, Washington DC)
"I continued my research on the Internet marketing and social media of think tanks, for Alex's Forbes article. In early February I will collect data from various social media sites and analytical programs that can measure the effectiveness of the think tank's internet marketing.
On Wednesday night, I was very lucky to be invited to Kristina and Ed Crane's beautiful home in Virginia for their annual Christmas party! The party was very extravagant with lots of food and drinks, and fellow libertarians! Adriana, my fellow Atlas intern, kindly invited me to spend Christmas with her and her Salvadorian friends who were having a traditional Salvadorian Christmas!
As I am writing my blog, I am sitting in a famous bagel shop in Chelsea, New York City, with a cup of tea, and a bagel with walnut and raisin cream cheese."
Sharni Cutajar (Institute of Economic Affairs, London) "It is not exactly a research paper that will put you in a festive mood for Christmas, but Christopher Snowdon's latest research paper, Death and Taxes: Why Longer Lives Cost Money, may be the exact read you need to make you feel less guilty this holiday season about indulging your appetite. Snowdon argues healthy lifestyles lead to increased government spending as the size and age of retired pensioners increases. For most, the economic factors of living a healthy lifestyle on the economy are not even a consideration when adopting a new fitness regime or in deciding to quit smoking, however for the NHS and the IEA, these cold figures are a serious issue, especially when governments seek to use the allegedly higher health expenditure as a result of unhealthy living as an excuse for more government spending and nanny state regulations to support preventative action against smoking, obesity and alcohol-related health issues."
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"It is infinitely better to rely on the pursuit of economic interest by landowners or street companies than to depend on the dubious "altruism" of bureaucrats and government officials."
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The Asia Liberty Forum is a three day conference to discuss challenges facing the region and to learn from one another how to most effectively advance free market reforms. Some of the
highlights include:
- Speed networking
- An Elevator Pitch Competition
- Training workshops in marketing, social media and entrepreneurship
- Documentary screening of India Awakes
For more information on this conference and to register click HERE
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HR Nicholls Society Conference
Mannkal scholar, Leticia Clark, recently attended the HR Nicholls Conference in Sydney.
Leticia discusses the many topics reviewed throughout the conference by influential speakers, Gerard Phillips and Kyle Kutasi-from the RICO legislation to the Gems of the Fair Work Commission.
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Paul's Perspective
Cuba - Behind the Blockade
"My recent honeymoon saw us spend four nights in what is not only a pleasant city for tourists but a country whose political problems give it a unique nature, and it is this uniqueness rather than tourist travelogue that is most interesting"
After recently travelling to Havana, Paul gives an interesting insight on life in the socialist country.
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Happy 80th Birthday to Ron!
Mannkal wishes Ron Manners a happy 80th birthday for this coming Friday!
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'The Brilliance of Ron Manners on his birthday.'
-FEE
The Foundation for Economic Education kindly congratulates Ron on
his 80th Birthday.
As a long-time supporter of FEE and one of the world's most
dedicated advocates for liberty and free markets, Ron has been instrumental in sponsoring top quality students to intern at their foundation.
'Ron Manners, we thank you sincerely for all that you do for FEE and for liberty!'
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Read All About It!
Australia's Property Rights - How do we Compare?
The International Property Rights Index of 2015 shows that Australia ranks #12 out of 129 countries. Find out why we are ranked 12th and which countries
Why China's Market Fell So Much
"The Shanghai market fell nearly 7 per cent yesterday on the first trading day of the year, its worst day since the height of last summer's market crash. The sell-off triggered circuit-breakers on their first day in effect, shutting down the market in the early afternoon." To find out why China's market fell and how this is affecting other countries read more HERE. A Wake Up Call for Big Businesses
"In the opening months of this year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will be deploying a taskforce to contact large companies and government organisations seeking to examine their contracting practices.
My guess is that most of Australia's top 500 companies and vast areas of the public service will have contracts in breach of the new unfair contracts act. They have until November 2016 to rewrite hundreds of thousands of 'unfair' contracts and change the way they do business in large areas of their operation." Click HERE to read more. If steel production falls as predicting, how will this affect Western Australia? David Archibald writes "The iron ore boom is over and the industry's shake out gathering strength. With what should have been enduring gains squandered, look to Western Australia's jobless to reflect the first, harsh symptoms -- and don't imagine that pain won't spread". To read Archibald's analysis click HERE.
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Look Who's Talking
Should Australia Adopt RICO Legislation for Dealing with Corrupt Trade Unions?
A discussion by Gerard Phillips, one of Australia's well known industrial lawyers and a partner at K&L Gates, on whether Australia should adopt the United States' RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act) legislation for dealing with corrupt trade unions. Click HERE to watch the discussion.
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Apply Now!
Applications are now open for mid 2016 scholarships. Be sure to send your applications through this Summer. Scholarships are available in the following 22 cities:
- Berlin
- Cambridge
- Hong Kong
- London
- Los Angeles
- Melbourne
- Ottowa
- Perth
- Sydney
- Vancouver
- Vilnius
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- Guatemala City
- Athens
- Cambodia
- Washington D.C.
- Wellington
- Lithuania
- Halifax
- Canberra
- Bali
- Seoul
- Atlanta
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- CV;
- Cover letter; and
- Academic transcript
Please list your preferred host think tank, however you will be considered for all scholarship opportunities. To explore past scholar experiences, check out Emma Dyce's video here!!
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Mannerisms
Celebrating Mannwest's 120th Year in Business
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