In a new partnership coordinated by the U.S. Government through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), leaders from the private sector are joining forces with the public sector and non-governmental organizations to revolutionize HIV prevention for youth through the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HIV-Free Generation).

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Measles deaths worldwide ...

Spiegel reports that world economic woes have taken the wind out of green energy’s sails:

Plunging oil prices have made renewable energy sources relatively less cost-effective, while thinner profit margins have prompted big industrial users of power to tighten their budgets for sustainable energy programs — cutting into sales by green energy suppliers.

At the same time, the rising cost of capital is making it harder for both consumer and suppliers of alternative energy equipment and services to finance new green projects. The impact will be felt especially acutely by small, independent manufacturers and electricity producers, some of whom could go out of business or be forced to sell out to larger companies.

With demand weakening and prices in decline, the green sector is hoping for more government support to carry it through the economic turmoil. Many forms of alternative energy already enjoy government subsidies to move the cost of green power closer to parity with cheaper fossil fuels. Now companies are looking for direct investments by governments in clean energy projects.

Being leveraged to the hilt means going under for green startups. Big utilities companies, meanwhile, have a decided advantages both in buying smaller companies and receiving government funding. Green energy might be more of a slow, silent transition than an economic bubble.

It’s something to keep an eye on as Obama enters office.

DAKAR, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Africa is facing a critical stage ...

Reuters - Central banks in Europe are poised to slash interest rates on Thursday to try to contain a global economic slump that appears to be spreading faster than policy makers in the industrialized countries had anticipated.

Thailand led a new round of global interest rates cuts on Wednesday, with countries from Europe to New Zealand expected to follow in the next few days to fight an unrelenting financial crisis.

In London, the British government said it would help families and small businesses survive an impending downturn. But it made no mention of measures to force banks to lend more as it laid out a policy agenda for a difficult year ahead.

The first ever two day Global Entrepreneurship Workshop organised by Young Arab Leaders-bahrain in association with Bahrain Development Bank and Bahrain Business Incubator Centre was concluded yesterday. The Workshop was held at Elite Suites with Philip

Reuters - Thailand led a global charge to cut interest rates on Wednesday, with countries from Europe to New Zealand expected to follow in the next few days to fight an unrelenting financial crisis.

Infrastructure and real estate related activates are key growth drivers for any economy. Eitehr success or doom can be driven if the balance in these activities is tipped.

th, the NYSE, a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext (NYX) will host a Global Virtual Investor Forum: Entrepreneurial Companies Behind China's Growth Story. Beginning in the U.S. NYSE Qiao Xing Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. (NYSE : QXM) VanceInfo Technologies

th, the NYSE, a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext (NYX) will host a Global Virtual Investor Forum: Entrepreneurial Companies Behind China's Growth Story. Beginning in the U.S. at 9:25 a.m. (EST), and in Continental Europe at 3:25 p.m. (CET) and accessible via

Also News Release (U-CMM) CHINA MASS MEDIA INTL ADV CORPAlso News Release (U-NYX) NYSE EURONEXTAlso News Release (U-QXM) QIAO XING MOBILE COMM CO LTDAlso News Release (U-VIT) VANCEINFO TECHNOLOGIES INCAlso News Release (U-XIN) XINYUAN REAL ESTATE CO LTD

PC World - Global semiconductor revenue is expected to fall this year as demand for PCs and consumer electronics slows down, with the trend continuing to affect chip makers next year, analyst firm iSuppli said on Monday.

Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband today called for a European deal on renewable energy and reducing emissions as the "only route" to securing an international agreement on global warming.

By Joseph Romm

It is all but inconceivable that Obama can deliver the 67 votes in the Senate needed to ratify a global climate treaty -- no matter what happens in the 12 months between Poznań and Copenhagen. And the only thing worse than no global climate treaty in 2009 is a treaty that Obama can't get ratified.

Yes, Democrats have expanded their majority in the Senate, edging closer and closer to the magical 60 votes needed to stop filibusters. But the conservatives in Congress are stuck in 1985 (1885?), unwilling or unable to acknowledge the now painfully obvious reality of global warming or the remarkable advances that have been made in clean technologies.

Conservative Senators lined up as a solid block against the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner climate bill (see "Is 450 ppm politically possible? Part 6: What the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner bill debate tells us"). Worse, the GOP seems to think that among all the losing issues they pushed in their historic drubbing at the polls, their "drill baby drill" message was actually a winner. As one post-election story put it

But several prominent party officials said they believe the GOP's message is fundamentally sound when it comes to energy policy, pointing to that issue as one of the few political bright spots in recent years.

Again, that was not from an article by The Onion.

The GOP has apparently borrowed their motto from Talleyrand's comment on the dying French aristocracy, "They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing." As I noted in "Notes from the conservative stagnation, Part 10," Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, "suggested that some calls to update conservatism -- by taking global warming more seriously, for instance -- were essentially disguised calls to move the party to the left." He added, "They will be cheerfully ignored." Denial is bliss.

Every major conservative think tank remains fervently blind to reality (see, for instance, "The intellectual bankruptcy of conservatism: Heritage even opposes energy efficiency" and "The American Enterprise Institute: Still crazy with denial and delay"). The major conservative pundits are equally blinkered (see "Krauthammer, Part 2: The real reason conservatives don't believe in climate science" and "George Will nails the difference between conservatives and progressives").

So we can expect the vast majority of GOP Senators to keep beating the drums that any cap-and-trade bill -- domestic or international -- will raise energy prices and ruin the economy. We can expect repetitions of lines from the Senate debate last summer:

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.: "The vast majority of scientists do not believe that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are a major contributor to climate change."

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.: This bill means "people must turn off air-conditioning in the summer."

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.: "This bill will attack citizens at the pump" and "increase job losses."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.: This bill will "leave us less competitive in the world marketplace."

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.: This bill "could bankrupt U.S. air carriers."

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo.: "Nobody in their right mind" believes we can get half our power from wind and solar or drive a "fleet of golf carts."

Note that these attacks can be trotted out whether we are in a recession and energy prices are low or if we have recovered economically and energy prices are rising again.

So even if there are 60 Senate votes to override a right-wing filibuster against a strong domestic climate bill, there aren't 67 votes for a new climate treaty. And that means the UNFCCC process as we now know it is essentially a Dead Man Walking, even if nobody knows it yet.

Obama needs to think very hard about whether he is making promises he can't keep. International negotiators are now in Poland to figure out how to create a follow on to the Kyoto protocol in Copengagen next December (see "Will Poznań be a good COP, a bad COP or just another COP out?").

Last month, Obama gave a surprise post-election climate address in which he directly said to delegates around the world headed to Poland that "your work is vital to the planet":

And once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change.

We do need a new era of global cooperation on climate change. But Obama will need all of his eloquence and smarts -- and that of his new exceptional Secretary of State -- to figure out how to replace the UNFCCC process with something more viable. And he needs to think hard about the value of "engaging vigorously" in the negotiations of a global treaty he can't ratify.

The prize we must keep our eyes on, however, is not any particular process but a particular outcome -- keeping total planetary warming to under 2°C warming from preindustrial levels. How Obama might pursue that Herculean challenge on the international stage outside of the UNFCCC process will be the focus of Part Two.

YouTube sure has come a long way since launching in 2005 and being acquired by Google within a year for $1.65 billion. The company has today announced a collaborative project with a bunch of classical music institutions and artists in the context of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra program, and I think it’s awesome.

Starting today until January 28, 2009, musicians are invited to submit two videos: a personal interpretation of an original Tan Dun composition, written specifically for this program, and a talent video designed to demonstrate their musical and technical abilities. The semi-finalists will be selected by an impressive panel made up of members from the London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and other orchestras from around the globe.

Of course, the YouTube community gets to have their say as well; users will be invited to vote on the semifinalists from February 14, 2009 through February 22, 2009.

In April 2009, YouTube will follow up by co-hosting a three-day classical music summit featuring the finalists and classical music stars and orchestras at Carnegie Hall. Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, will be conducting.

I’m particularly looking forward to the mashup video of ‘memorable entrants combined into one ensemble piece’ that will be distributed worldwide after the event.

I think this is a great way to push the boundaries of what has been done to date to marry classical music with modern technology, and give the world’s most talented musicians an opportunity to showcase their skills to a potentially massive audience.

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, put it like this:

For musicians of all ages, nationalities, and instruments, the YouTube Symphony Orchestra provides a unique opportunity not only to perform on the world’s most famous stage – Carnegie Hall – but also on its largest stage — YouTube.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Reuters - Australia slashed rates by a full percentage point on Tuesday and Japan's central bank met to consider its response to an acute cash squeeze, kicking off another global push to shore up economies and soothe markets.

Reuters - Asian equities slid on Tuesday after signs of a deepening global economic slump slammed stocks worldwide the previous day, driving benchmark U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest since the 1950s.

Always wanted to play in a symphony? Here's your chance - without even leaving your living room. YouTube has just announced the "world's first collaborative online orchestra" - the YouTube Symphony Orchestra - a one-of-a-kind experiment that provides individual musicians with an opportunity to collaborate with other musicians all over the world.

But that's not all. If you play well enough, show some creativity, and exude passion, you may find yourself seated in the famed Carnegie Hall, performing live with other YouTube musicians.

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The contest is open to all musicians over age 14, regardless of instrument or skill. But it's not going to be easy. It's going to take some practice.

To begin, download the sheet music and start learning your part. The music? You get to pick your favorite classical piece to showcase your talent. And you'll also have the opportunity to perform a new piece - "The Internet Symphony" - by Chinese composer Tan Dun, the Grammy and Oscar winning composer of the score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

But you won't be practicing alone. YouTube will help you learn the music, rehearse, and upload your performance for the virtual symphony video. Along the way you'll gain insight from Tan Dun and the London Symphony Orchestra, and get tips from pianist Lang Lang. Rest assured, all of your hard work and practice will pay off, culminating in a unique YouTube concert composed of users from around the globe.

If you perform well enough, there may be more in store for you. Musicians who exhibit that certain je ne se quois will get the opportunity to perform at the renowned Carnegie Hall, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony.

Submissions are open until January 28, 2009. The live performance in Carnegie Hall will be held in April 2009.

Now, would be a good time to start practicing.

Discuss

AS many as 90 computer science scholars from all over the world converged in Doha last week to attend the 15th annual Logic for Programming, Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning Conference (LPAR), organised by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar for the first time in the Middle East.