"A friend of mine who knows nearly all the widely used languages uses Python for most of his projects. He says the main reason is that he likes the way source code looks. That may seem a frivolous reason to choose one language over another. But it is not so frivolous as it sounds: when you program, you spend more time reading code than writing it. You push blobs of source code around the wayby ProjectC - Project C
By Dave Dubyne (Language Matters) October 21, 2007 Source As energy jitters continue to rattle the global economy, regional alliances are being solidified to ensure that China will remain a viable and growing economy as oil depletion becomes a permanent fixture of our daily lives. As cheap trans-oceanic shipping of non-essential goods goes the way of the dinosaurs, these new partnershipsby ProjectC - Project C
"Granted, these dynamics have been evolving for some time now. What has changed is the speed and breadth of financial crisis enveloping the U.S. financial system. When I read of mounting energy and food shortages and witness the unfolding run on the U.S. financial sector, as an analyst I must contemplate the likelihood we have entered a uniquely unstable monetary environment. In short, the bby ProjectC - Project C
By Logan Ward Video by Virtual Beauty Video Produced by Allyson Torrisi Photograph by Gregg Segal Published in the November 2007 issue. Source Hod Lipson didn’t set out to revolutionize manufacturing. He just wanted to design a really cool robot, one that could “evolve” by reprogramming itself and would also produce its own hardware—a software brain, if you will, with the ability to creatby ProjectC - Project C
What is the meaning of to be alive? J. *** "In America's darkest hour, Franklin Delano Roosevelt urged the nation not to succumb to "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror." ... Just to be clear, Al Qaeda is a real threat, and so is the Iranian nuclear program. But neither of these threats frightens me as much as fear itself -- the unreasoning fear that has taken oby ProjectC - Project C
By Stephen S. Roach 10/22/2007 Source After nearly five fat years, the global economy is headed for trouble. This will come as a surprise to policy makers and investors, alike-most of who were counting on boom times to continue. At work is yet another post-bubble adjustment in the world's largest economy - this time, the bursting of America's massive property bubble. The subprimby ProjectC - Project C
By Alastair Otter & James Archibald 24 October, 2007 Source Open Document format (ODF) yesterday became an official standard for South African government communications. The ODF standard is included in the government's Mininimum Interoperability Standards for Information Systems in government (MIOS) released yesterday. In the foreword to the document, department of public servby ProjectC - Project C
By Tom Sanders 24 October 2007 Source Redmond forced to provide free, irrevocable patent pledge to non-commercial open source.. Microsoft's compliance with the 2004 EU anti-trust ruling offering some good news to open source developers and users. The agreement will make it much easier for commercial and especially open source providers to create products that work with Microsoft pby ProjectC - Project C
'The report presents a bleak view of the future unless a radically different approach is adopted. It quotes the British energy economist David Fleming as saying: "Anticipated supply shortages could lead easily to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just muddling through is not an option any more as this situatby ProjectC - Project C
Energy Watch Group, press release via YubaNet 23 October 2007 Source According to a newly published global oil supply report to be presented by the Energy Watch Group at the Foreign Press Association in London, world oil production peaked in 2006. Production will start to decline at a rate of several percent per year. By 2020, and even more by 2030, global oil supply will be dramatically lowby ProjectC - Project C
Global Peak Oil Period 2005 - 2010. J. *** ( The Oil Drum ) Report: 'World at peak oil output' CNN Oct 24, 2007 Source LONDON, England (CNN) -- The world has reached the point of maximum oil output and production levels will halve by 2030 -- a situation that will eventually lead to war and disaster, a report claims. The German-based Energy Watch Group released aby ProjectC - Project C
"Finance is the lifeblood of commerce; to expect the general economy to prosper if the internal malfunctions of the finance sector are rendering it unable to fulfill its traditional function as an intermediary between lender and borrower is about as realistic as assuming a body can survive without a circulatory system. In contrast, using the prosperity of America's overpriced, gold-platby ProjectC - Project C
The First Crisis of Financial Globalization and Securitization. And the Coming Generalized Credit Crunch Nouriel Roubini Oct 22, 2007 Source Project Syndicate has recently published a comment of mine on the "First Crisis of Financial Globalization and Securitization". And I presented similar views at a seminar at the recent annual meetings of the IMF. A more extensive version oby ProjectC - Project C
"You learn in college through journalistic writing that every good story should have a compelling protagonist. It makes the story personal. So we will hear about Joe or Michelle in relation to an article. It is a template many journalist follow." Blame it on the Ritz: Market Psychology. Blame the Downturn on Homebuilders and Banks. By Dr. Housing Bubble October 16th, 2007 Sourby ProjectC - Project C
"The fall in asset prices has “wealth” effects. US consumption, based on borrowing against the inflated values of financial assets, drives the export driven economies of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Lower commodity prices already point to slower global growth. While main street was trying the assess the fallout, Wall Street was already issuing “pink slips” by the thousands as bankby ProjectC - Project C
‘All along the watchtower, princes kept the view…’ -- Confusion & Change - Crossroads *** A Tale of Two Princes Minyanville's Hoofy & Boo look at a recent meeting between Citigroup's Chuck Prince and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. See Here. ( Source: Problems For Banks, Problems For You? & Drowning in Debt: How do we protect ourselves? )by ProjectC - Project C
"...At the root of the current crisis is an information crunch that cannot be easily resolved." Is the storm over? Credit market conditions look changeable By Gillian Tett October 3 2007 Source A month ago, the mood on the credit trading desks of JPMorgan was decidedly dark. As turmoil erupted in the credit markets this summer, activity in many parts dried up and traders atby ProjectC - Project C
Mandriva.com Tuesday October 02 2007 Source Mandriva today announced that the Federal Service on Technical and Export Control (FSTEC) in Russia has agreed to authorise the certification of the Mandriva Linux OS for all safe and legal use in organizations dealing with confidential information. The certification process will be finished in 3 to 6 months. This decision was released during a conby ProjectC - Project C
2Grid shall focus on two global pillars during the 2007 - 2012 period. 1. Learning for All (Personal learning with a computer tutor) 2. A new Global Financial Architecture (Precious metals, Paper money + old fashioned accounting) One step at a time. *** "A further restructuring will have to take place in education. It is already counterproductive to concentrate educatioby ProjectC - Project C
"Better than anyone else Korolyov understood how important it was to open the space era," Grechko said. "The Earth had just one moon for a billion years and suddenly it would have another, artificial moon!" Sputnik at 50: An improvised triumph By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Sep 30, 2007 Source MOSCOW - When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the worldby ProjectC - Project C
"But Loginova suggests, the country would earn immense returns from creating a super-agency or ministry that would oversee the transportation ministry – which she suggests has been especially neglectful about planning – the customs service, and the economic development ministry. Were that to happen, even for a short time, she argues, it would be possible for Moscow to take five steps thatby ProjectC - Project C
"The Soviet geologists had turned Western orthodox geology on its head. They called their theory of oil origin the "abiotic" theory - non-biological - to distinguish it from the Western biological theory of origins. ... Following their abiotic or non-fossil theory of the deep origins of petroleum, the Russian and Ukrainian petroleum geophysicists and chemists began with a deby ProjectC - Project C
Concerted efforts needed in rich and poor countries to stem flow of corrupt monies and make justice work for the poorest Transparency International London/Berlin, 26 September 2007 Source The divide in perceived levels of corruption in rich and poor countries remains as sharp as ever, according to the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released today by Transparency International, tby ProjectC - Project C
"The next several weeks are liable to be a time of great stress as these realities become increasingly undeniable. I imagine the public chatter will become increasingly delusional as the wave crests. When it it finally comes, the shock of recognition that we are a bankrupt nation will present itself at first as a great silence. The public's collective jaw will fall open, but no sound wiby ProjectC - Project C
STOIBERS VERMÄCHTNIS Münchner Transrapid kann starten Spiegel 25. September 2007 Source Der Weg für die Transrapidstrecke vom Münchner Flughafen in die Innenstadt ist frei. Bayern, die Deutsche Bahn und die Industrie haben sich geeinigt, wie die Finanzierungslücke des 1,85-Milliarden-Euro-Projekts geschlossen werden kann. Die Opposition kritisiert dies als "Abschiedsgeschenk für Sby ProjectC - Project C
CNews September 14, 2007 Source Russian OS is to be installed on every school computer in Russia by 2009. Furthermore, every pupil will get the opportunity to operate the applied software produced in Russia, Leonid Reiman, acting Minister of Communication stated at a press conference. Experts and market participants consider the terms within which software is to be developed quite reasonableby ProjectC - Project C
The Four Day Work Week: Sixteen Reasons Why This Might Be an Idea Whose Time Has Come Posted by Prof. Goose September 20, 2007 Source Reason #1; the impact a 4 day work week could have on crude oil imports I’m talking about perhaps a 40% reduction in the amount of oil we need Monday through Friday simply by rearranging our work week. No wonder this idea was utilized in the 70’s. Bby ProjectC - Project C
( Source ) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Video of the Day For thosby ProjectC - Project C
"All this occurred against the background of what has come to be called Peak Oil, the turnaround point in global oil production, and indeed the all-time high-point of world oil consumption, which can be dated precisely now (in the rearview mirror) as having topped absolutely in July of 2006 -- the exact moment, incidentally, that a gigantic pin first pierced the outermost molecules of the soby ProjectC - Project C
"...So that was really what we were all dealing with from the very beginning: the possibility of creating not just a reconstruction of Europe, but of advancing a structure that might bring peace to the world as a whole." 'This Process Will Go On' An EU visionary discusses the future of a united Europe —and whether it can be a counterweight to U.S. power WEB EXCLUSIVby ProjectC - Project C