Despite unattractive economic fundamentals, US stock markets are still pushing highs. In early October Indexes posted highs: On October 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 14,087.55 – the first climb above 14,000 since mid-July. On October 5, the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose to a record 1,557.59, while earlier in the day the …
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Child military recruits in Myanmar
While this news is not surprising, the Burmese government is forcibly recruiting many children, some as young as age 10, into its armed forces. The Human Rights Watch report Sold to Be Soldiers: The Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma found that military recruiters and civilian brokers receive cash payments and other incentives …
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Another US execution paused
The US Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to Mississippi death-row inmate Earl Wesley Berry moments before he was due to die. His lawyers requested the execution be stopped until the court rules on whether death by lethal injection is unconstitutional. His temporary reprieve adds to a series of stays granted since a challenge …
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BT Notes: Halloween, biking, yoga, PestalozziWorld Ireland, garden …
Halloween is one of my favourite time of year. Colours are changing. Its not quite the dead of winter. And we have an excuse to party ;-). Over the past few years I’ve also come to experience the importance of the changing rhythm of life at this time of year. Its a time when nature …
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October VC deals and data
A123Systems, which is developing nanophosphate lithium ion batteries to be used in everything from power tools to hybrid/ plug-in and electric vehicles, completed a $30 million round of funding, bringing the total capital invested in the company to $132 million. Investors include General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Alliance Capital, Motorola, Qualcomm, North Bridge Venture Partners, …
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Buzz the fat off!
Strange results from research on physiological condition of test subjects to low intensity vibration suggest that mice placed on the vibrating platform convert fat to bone. It reminds me of those extraordinary “exercise belts” prominent in the 70s in which people would stand to have their tummy fat vibrated away! It sounded a bit lazy …
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China seeking stakes in more global investment businesses
The FT reports that China’s $61.5 billion social security fund has held talks to acquire ownership stakes in Carlyle Group, KKR and TPG. It’s unclear how far along any of these discussions are, but China has already acquired positions in both The Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns. This further supports the view that China (and …
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Linux distros compared
A number of linux distributions are released at this time of year. This, combined with a warranty claim, became a good excuse to have a look at a few different distributions. I checked out openSuse 10.3, Fedora 7, Mandriva 2008, Sabayon 3.4f and Kubuntu 7.10. All were good offering slightly different installation experiences and user …
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Easy online investment in microfinance
eBay launched MicroPlace, a microfinance website that provides an easy way for the average person to invest in the world’s working poor. Investors can loan a minimum of $100 through about a dozen microfinance institutions in countries like Bolivia, Cambodia, Ecuador and Ghana. 150 people invested on the day of the launch.
Living with nature in California
The extensive wildfires in Southern California at the end of October have been devastating: half a million acres burnt, 7 dead, and 1,800 structures burnt. But they are not unexpected, have happened before and will happen again. The native Americans were more cautious about development in this area realising the fire hazard, and would even …
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