Technology, Dealmaking and the +/- of In-person Conferences
To me it’s a little bit inefficient in that you’re spending a lot of time sitting around waiting while people go and discuss things, and that could be three hours and you’ve pretty much worked your way through all the food there,” Tonsfeldt said.
French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets Reality (NYTimes.com)
But this latest French utopia has met a prosaic reality: Many of the specially designed bikes, which cost $3,500 each, are showing up on black markets in Eastern Europe and northern Africa. Many others are being spirited away for urban joy rides, then ditched by roadsides, their wheels bent and tires stripped.
With 80 percent of the initial 20,600 bicycles stolen or damaged, the program’s organizers have had to hire several hundred people just to fix them. And along with the dent in the city-subsidized budget has been a blow to the Parisian psyche.
So sad.
USA and UK moderately risky for climate investment; feed-in tariffs make the difference (Deutsche Bank via @cop15)
Deutsche Bank has digested climate policies of 109 countries to assess the risk for investors. While Italy is labeled most risky, climate related investments in both USA and UK would be of “moderate” risk. Both countries are hampered by a lack of so-called feed-in energy tariffs, which can be used to support development of renewable energy technologies.
“If you’ve got a feed-in tariff, you know what you are dealing with. It is well defined,” Kevin Parker, Deutsche Bank’s global head of Asset Management, tells Reuters.
Dept of Happy News: Radical Cleric Calls on Muslims in Germany to Reject Violence (via SPIEGEL ONLINE)
Fazazi wrote that opposition to Germany’s military involvement in Afghanistan must only be expressed through peaceful demonstrations. He added: “The strength of an argument does not lie in a rifle bullet.” He also urges Muslims not to live off state benefits. “It is better for a Muslim to live from the work of his hands and the sweat of his brow because that mouthful is flavorsome and sweet,” wrote the preacher.
Heartening news item.
