The Internet Archive and Open Library are related projects to put books on-line. The inspiration and motivation behind them is seasoned entrepreneur Brewster Kahle. The project itself will prove to be a wonderful resource and it is being approached in the spirit of liberty of which the web was born. Unlike Google’s project, which will …
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Author:astraea
12 year lows are rare
I don’t think that the economic contraction has ended yet, but there are signs of a bottoming out of some markets. The US market has been cleaning itself out for six months, though moral hazard remains as do some big skeletons (like the Madoff, Stanford …). The Fed Chairman is concerned about stagflation too. But …
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Friends mean money
Well, at least good social skills raise income. That’s according to a study correlating the number of friends at school with income. The underlying driver appears to be teh ability to get on with people. So while doing well in school helps, getting on with people is as important. This finding supports both the incentive …
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China’s NPC opens with some interesting indicators
China’s National People’s Congress opened today with a speech by Premier Wen Jiabao. While these presentations are usually quite unrevealing and perhaps a bit propagandist, some interesting things were said. There will be a continued push to stimulate the economy including a € 0.5 trillion investment package. But part of the bdget includes an increase …
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Which country has the greenest bailout?
Which country has the greenest bailout? You’ll be surprised. China scores very well, South Korea is top of the list in percentage terms, Europe is OK, but the US, which could do so well from an energy security perspective as well as an economic one, lags. See the handy FT graphic here in Which country …
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Don’t forget to breathe!
It might sound like a strange suggestion, but in this age we have become so disconnected from nature that it is sometimes necessary to remind ourselves how to live, even at the most basic level. A report linked here tells us how children with a sedentary lifestyle are more likely to develop asthma and generally …
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The Roman Catholic church is becoming enlightened, and catholic
The Vatican is hosting a 5 day conference to celebrate 150 years of Darwin. This shows that teh Pope is bringing that religion in to the 21st Century by seeking to include science in its doctrine, thereby widening its inclusion to be more all embracing. A step in the right direction.
BT Notes – Spring
Spring is breaking out and the mood is changing. After some proper winter weather snow drops bloomed, and now the daffodils are beginning. They should be on full display for St Patrick’s day. As people get used to a new kind of economic dynamic and the complaints about bankers and politicians become old news (though …
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Black is the new green,
A popular article from the FT describing the benefits of adding charcoal to the soil. Eprida is commercialising this technology. And we add charcoal to the compost/soil when we have it. Black is the new green By Fiona Harvey In Brazil’s Amazon basin, farmers have long sought out a special form of fertiliser – a …
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