According to Companiesandmarkets.com, the 2008 value of the carbon market is USD $126 billion, an increase of over 1000% in 3 years. Whilst all estimates can be debated and there’s too many nuances for a pithy response, the bottom line is: there’s money in that carbon!

Eurail has expanded Eurail pass sales into the Chinese market, a significant indicator that European tourist destinations expect greater numbers of Asian and Chinese inbound tourists. Eurail passes offer favourable rail transit prices, and are also an enabler of travel and cultural exhange.

New mobile phone technologies like social network MXit enable banking and currency alternatives for transactions, potentially useful in African nations without full support for banking infrastructure nation-wide.

Ninth Annual Dare to Dream Conference held on November 17th in New York City showed of a wide variety of student presentations on Human Rights.

China and South America will be forming closer banking and trade ties, backing the importance of the South American region in innovation economics.

December 8, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan the Financial Times, will host “Ukraine: Opportunities and Challenges,” a strategic conference focusing on Ukraine’s economic outlook, evolving business environment, key investment opportunities, and the challenges that need to be overcome to reach Ukraine’s potential.

IBM Research – Almaden, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have produced simulation experiments that move the world closer to a computer similar in size and power to the human brain.

A global meeting of the WISE – at the World Innovation Summit for Education established by the Qatar Foundation, seeks answers to the problems of global innovation in Doha, Qatar.

In good news, Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the United States’ premier high school science competition, is putting science and maths back on the national U.S. agenda. Winners of this leading competition received scholarships and recognition, and chance for further competition.

COMMENT. Melbourne — A colleague of mine, of mature age, a professional director, told me he does not understand one thing about Melbourne’s directors.
How so many directors keep getting roles with less than stellar performance.
As a competent, good Director, he is mystified.
Shhh…
Of course no-one in the community says this publicly. I am a member of peak body AICD, and never heard it there! Truth begone! Top-down folk there.
With some Directors, often I get the feeling they want to investigate, interrogate you, and pick your brains. That’s if they can’t …

COMMENT, Sydney — The NSW Government of Carr-Iemma-Rees has ended.
Nobody has admitted it yet. The decline trend is well in its death spiral, the day Iemma resigned. There is no rebirth without change.
“The Governor may…..remove from his office, or suspend from the exercise of the same, any person exercising any office, or place, in the State…”
– The Royal Instructions, Clause 10
NSW, Doomed.
NSW politicians have destroyed Australia’s most prosperous …

COMMENT, NSW — Today the NSW government release the mini-budget. ABC have it here.
A patch/hatchet job to make up for years of fundamental neglect.
The 3 Amigos: Carr, Iemma, Costa.
Neglect under Bob Carr (especially), Morris Iemma & on to Nathan Rees.OK, Nathan hasn’t had a chance yet.
A special word goes to the spectacularly self-aggrandising Michael Costa. Costa managed to leave fingerprints 3 inches deep on several disastrous portfolios.
Infrastructure.
In an economic & property boom, no funding was spent on:
1) Transport
2) Schools
3) Infrastructure
4) Urban Planning
5) Roads
6) Energy infrastructure.
Wasted opportunity.
Property Developers.
Instead, the whole process …

VIDEOS, Rwanda — Engineers Without Borders-USA are doing a great job in this Rwanda project.
Rather than more political policy, it is these hands-on initiatives that practically help people.
Local matters.
Local economics, local innovation. That’s the 2thinknow view.
Practical small things help people here and now. In this generation, not in 100 years, as may be the macro-level solution.
Practical ideas improve lives in positive ways & move beyond the ‘too-hard basket’.
What’s yours? Thoughts? Experience?

NEWS, Mauritius — The small island nation of Mauritius is worried about climate change.
So worried that they are using inbound tourism dollars to set up a sovereign wealth fund.

Source:  [

COMMENT, New Zealand –A Gen-Xer, John Key, self-made man, has got the top job as leader of New Zealand. Read more from Tony Wright in The Age.
Trends in Generational Renewal.
It started in Australia. With an almost Gen-X Kevin Rudd, and a decidedly Gen-X Julia Gillard, as deputy.
One year later, it was Obama, in the USA, another Gen-Xer. And significantly self-made. Not another white man, son-of-privilege type.
Now came New Zealand, with self-made money-man, John Key. Like Obama, 47.
Politics still continues to alternate between left-and-right. With New Zealand Left making America’s Obama …

COMMENT, Australia — Nascent trends show that the National (or Country) Party are just about to turn a corner.
Recently the National Party were kingmakers in West Australia State elections.
Now it looks like the National Party may win in the New Zealand elections.
Barnaby’s Voice.
An independent thinker, one of the few who stood up to John Howard, Barnaby Joyce has the leadership & charisma to be a national leader. In 8-12 years.
It may be too soon, and it may not eventuate, but this is an interesting thought.
Trends for the National Party.
Food supply …

ANALYSIS, USA — It’s all over!
Obama has won the US Presidency with a probable popular vote of up to 5%.

Political Winds. Economic Trends.
The key significance of Obama, is a little-noticed trend.
Economic local-ism.
Grass-roots.
Ground-up.
In Talbott’s book, Obamanomics, he refers to Obama’s ideas “bottom-up economics”.
Read it: Obamanomics: How Bottom-Up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-Down Economics
Economics is trend # 1.
Economics has changed.
With the surge of China, Economic Crisis &  under-reported power of Europe, economic intervention is back. Economic regulation is back.
The trends have shifted at the infancy stage, and represent a paradigm shift. Unimaginable …

ANALYSIS, USA — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proven to be a visionary leader of California.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, married to a Kennedy Democrat, will become the nations most senior Republican, as the party moves back to the centre.
There’s an interesting video of Governor Schwarzenegger’s idea for a “Bipartisan Commission Will Address Chronic Budget Problems”. Read the release here.
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Schwarzenegger Action, Ideas.
Interestingly, Obama winning means Schwarzenegger will be the symbolic leader. Vindicated in opposition to Bush on many policies. Bi-partisan. Moderate. Results-driven. Environmentally-focussed. New ideas.
A lot of power …

ANALYSIS – According to the Polls, Obama should win the US election only a couple of days away.
We hope this time the result is not tangled up in electoral court-cases or misanthropic journalism, as was the case in Gore v Bush.
We’ll look now at how trends support Obama.
Trends Support Obama.
Australia’s Centre Left.
The fortune of leaders are often tied to the same trends in English-speaking countries. Reagan-Thatcher. Clinton-Blair. Bush-Howard.
Australia’s Prime Minister Rudd represents generational change, Obama does too.
2thinknow accurately predicted the result of the Rudd election, and the margin within 1%, …

COMMENT –Jared Diamond’s work, Guns Germs and Steel is a pivotal work in the understanding of past phase change within societies. Jared is unique in his cross-disciplinary approach combining many fields — biology, anthropology, history, medicine and others.
I haven’t finished Collapse yet but in this talk from TED, Diamond outlines the key principles of societal collapse.
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Diamond’s observations & books have been extraordinarily influential to my thinking and writing.
Especially my work on 2thinknow nascent trend analysis, allowing for the prediction of trends & events.
I started reading …