Next month, the New England Venture Network, a regional social group for venture capitalists, is launching VentureNetwork.vc, an online social network for professionals looking for another channel to connect and talk shop. It would be great to see a global portal of this nature, especially if it contains substantial public access.
Attention to diet and health at school is working in the US
The results of a survey of US schools, which is conducted every six years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows improvement in diet and lifestyle. 30% of school districts have banned junk food from school vending machines, up from 4% in 2000. Other signs are good too: schools offering fried potatoes in …
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How to build a better education system – lessons from around the world
A new report by McKinsey examines the common characteristics of school systems producing students who perform well on international tests. How the World’s Best Performing School Systems Come Out on Top (9.46 MB pdf). Their conclusions are not rocket science but do help clarify myths and reality. Getting good teachers depends more on how you …
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Oceans’ CO2 absorption halved
New research shows that the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world’s oceans has significantly reduced. University of East Anglia researchers gauged CO2 absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments during a 10-year study in the North Atlantic. The data shows CO2 uptake halved between the mid-90s …
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HP warranty service experience
The wireless NIC in my laptop failed a few weeks ago, which led to engagement of technical support and a warranty claim. Following are some reflections on that experience. The machine is an HP Pavilion DV9292eu. The problem occurred with the Broadcom Wireless NIC BCM 43xx. This has always been a problem because firmware is …
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World Development Report: we must focus on agriculture and rural opportunities
“Poverty is overwhelmingly rural and will be for decades to come” according to the World Bank and their annual World Development Report. The World Bank warned that the UN goal of halving the incidence of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries would go unmet unless agriculture took centre stage in development aid. While 75% …
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Central banks and the world economy
The Economist delivered a comprehensive review of the role central banks and financial policy have played in the global economy, focusing on the past five years and the recent credit crunch: Only human- A special report on central banks and the world economy. The report discusses the challenges faced by central banks over recent decades, …
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At last, well spent Iraqi reconstrcution funds on power from China and Iran
It is welcome news that Iraq is working with Chinese and Iranian businesses to expand the country’s power infrastructure. Shanghai Heavy Industry of China will build a $ 940 million, 1,300 MW plant and Sunir of Iran will build a $ 150 million, 160 MW plant. Together they will increase Iraqi electricity generating capacity by …
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GMO complacency is destroying habitats
The complacency over the dangers of genetically engineered food is extraordinary and worrying. While the EU bans a genetically modified potato made by BASF and three corn varieties developed by Monsanto, the US is planning to deregulate another GM soyabean (the comments on this link reveal the dangerous nature of GM). And against this background, …
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Humans causing wetter climate too
New research, reported in the journal Nature, confirms the global increase in humidity found in previous studies and that humidity is increasing in a pattern consistent with man-made climate change. The research shows that the pattern of humidity increases in various parts of the world resembles that projected by computer models of man-made global warming. …
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