North Korea agreed to a specific timetable for the North to disclose all its nuclear programs and disable all facilities in return for 950,000 metric tons of fuel oil or its equivalent in economic aid by the end of the year. The agreement does not discuss when North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons. …
Continue reading North Korea agrees to halt nuclear arms for food, for now
Africa growing with China or the west
This Jamestown Institute article African Perspectives on China offers a summary of the growing relationship of Africa with the rest of the world, especially China. Two main conclusions are apparent: China deals with Africa in a straightforward way (eg access to oil for a railway or factory) which is difficult for western businesses, particularly American …
Continue reading Africa growing with China or the west
TV makes you bad
A study carried out at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US analysed 2,707 children aged two and five, based on information from their parents and found that children aged five who watch television for 2 hours a day are more likely to suffer behavioural problems and poor social skills – fresh evidence that too much …
Continue reading TV makes you bad
Ice shelf disintegration signals faster melting
The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada’s northern shores has broken in two – far earlier than expected. The original Manhattan-sized berg (16km by 5 km) broke off the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005. A team which landed on the Ayles ice block in May found it to have an average thickness of 42-45m …
Continue reading Ice shelf disintegration signals faster melting
Corporate investor relationship failing to communicate to investors.
The results of a summer survey from Thomson Financial make worrying reading for investors. On the plus side, 36% of the mainly US-based investors questioned said they considered corporate responsibility criteria “very important” when making investment decisions. But only 8% of investor relations officers (whose job it is to communicate with shareholders) said investors considered …
Continue reading Corporate investor relationship failing to communicate to investors.
Online offices
Adobe just purchased Buzzword and online office suite. We’re not yet taken by the idea of running office software from an online repository, but its obviously gaining interest. Here are some sites you might like to try: Buzzword , Zoho, Ajax 13, Microsoft Office Live Workspace, Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
Middle East worst case scenario
A number of commentators have discussed a middle east worse case scenario over the past couple of months. The Futurist joined in with their September-October issue. The discussion is interesting and you can see a summary online here. The lead article acknowledges that a regional war engulfing the Middle East is still a “low probability …
Continue reading Middle East worst case scenario
September VC deals and data
According to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, 107 private equity funds focused on investing in the emerging markets of Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa raised US$21.5 billion in capital commitments in the first half of 2007, compared to US$33.2 billion raised by 162 funds in all of 2006. Here’s their …
Continue reading September VC deals and data
A quick solution to climate change from the US: stop fighting
This linked article by Daniel Kammen at GreenBiz offers simple options to change the US energy consumption profile. His six point plan is: A national commitment to saving money and energy through energy efficiency measures at every step of the economic value chain (some states, including California are fully 40 percent more efficient than the …
Continue reading A quick solution to climate change from the US: stop fighting
Are US organic standards becoming worthless?
Aurora Organic Dairy just a few weeks ago had a portion of its organic certification suspended by the USDA for “willfully” violating National Organic Standards thanks to pressure from OCA and others. Since 2003 it has failed to pasture its animals and by bringing conventional calves onto its feedlots and then declaring them organic. But …
Continue reading Are US organic standards becoming worthless?