“Tax heavens” (May 30th) looked at how to tax businesses that operate in space and the growth of offplanet finance. The more immediate market failure is not untaxed Martian income, but unpriced, man-made orbital debris; there are 140m pieces up there already.
Continue reading “Space-Junk Bonds”
Professor Michael Mainelli, World Technology Congress, Thursday, 23 April 2026, Lake Como, Italy
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I want to begin with a confession. I came to Lake Como this week telling myself it was a professional duty. But with this weather and this location, I have since revised that position. The view is magnificent, but the problem we’re here to discuss is also extraordinary: we have built the most powerful cognitive tools in human history, and we shipped them without an ethics manual.
Continue reading “Ordinary Wisdom For Extraordinary Machines”
Spending poisson d’avril by the French Alps and now able to marry it with German Backfisch, I was also able to hone my Holmes’ skills and solve one of life’s circular mysteries before noon.
Continue reading “Grill That Backfisch”
A Response From The Guests To The United Wards Club
Professor Michael Mainelli, Guildhall, 16 March 2026
President, Past President, Past Past Presidents, Chairmen, Masters, Ward Club members, distinguished guests all:
Continue reading “What’s In A Ward?”
Thirty-two Broad Street Ward Club members and guests attended a special whisky tasting at the Guildhall during Burn’s Week, hosted by Chairman Richard Muir with excellent tutoring from John McCheyne, Master Brand Ambassador at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Continue reading “Blow Hard – Piping The Haggis & Clearing The Pipes”
As many know, I had a vicarious frisson from the ex officio post of Admiral of the Port of London which I held in 2023 and 2024 as Lord Mayor. The post is ancient and today honorific. In trying to find which ensign to fly, I found out that the Lord Mayor is required to design his own and the continue to use it during the rest of his life. This had not been done for well over a hundred years, so with a bit of cheek I restarted with the result below.
Continue reading “Admiral Of The Port? The Fleet?”
This week King’s College London hosted the Anniversary of the Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU), a celebration and exploration of the fundamental values of being a university. Over 200 universities have gathered to discuss ‘What are universities for? Higher education principles, values and responsibilities in a fragmented world’. Over three days, participants engaged in keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive sessions exploring the evolving role of universities amidst global challenges. KCL President Shitij Kapur and Professor Liviu Matei explain, “Affirming shared values will help academic freedom weather the storm”.
Continue reading “Magna Charta Universitatum”
Today’s Lady Mayor Show reminded me to share a little history about the mace that accompanies me in the Show, in turn accompanied by the Broad Street Ward Beadle.
Continue reading “Broad Street Ward Mace”
My dear friend Dr Geoff Browell and his team, Tam McDonald, Christopher Winn, and Mark Mason, producers of the London Timeline podcast, had the courage to ask me to hold forth on an eclectic and personal view of London’s history while sitting in the Jamaica Wine House, the original Pasqua Rosée coffee house of 1652.. Here is the resulting 53 minutes of sauntering sagacity, peripatetic pomposity, or perhaps freewheeling flaneuring.
