Category Archives: Uncategorized

Through the Eye of the Needle

Now, as the 2013 Art Deco Congress is being held in our country, and invitees and delegates attend its conferences, an average of three residential structures a day collapse in the capital.

The influence of Art Deco, which dates to the 1920s and 1930s, was strongly felt throughout the world in the decorative arts, painting, fashion, sculpture, cinema and graphic design.

The most emblematic architectural example in our country is the Bacardi Building, constructed from 1930 to 1938. The Cuban architects Esteban Rodríguez Castell, Rafael Fenández Ruenes and José Menéndez oversaw its design and execution. It is considered by many to be their masterpiece and fortunately remains in a very good state of preservation.

Examples and remnants of this movement proliferate throughout the city. Among them in the López Serrano Building – a beautiful example of this style, a structure of elegance and a striking design – which has been plundered and…

View original post 453 more words

Home | no patents on seeds

The organisations behind No Patents On Seeds are especially concerned about increasing number of patents on plants, seeds and farm animals and their impact on farmers, breeders, innovation and biodiversity. These patents create new dependencies for farmers, breeders, food producers and consumers. These patents have to be regarded as misappropriation of basic resources in farm and food production and as general abuse of patent law. We call for an urgent re-think of European patent law in biotechnology and plant breeding and to support clear regulations that exclude from patentability processes for breeding, genetic material, plants and animals and food derived thereof.

via Home | no patents on seeds.

Urban Gardens NYC

The Bronx is welcoming the newly completed Arbor House to the neighborhood. Located at 770 East 166th Street at Tinton Avenue, NYCHA’s Arbor House is a part of the Morrisania community. It is 8 stories high and includes 120,000 square feet of affordable living space—124 units total.

 

But what makes Arbor House different from any other affordable housing development is one of its innovative add-ons: a hydroponic farm on the roof. Fresh, organic produce will be grown right on top of the building, providing a new food resource for the local community.

 

Sky Vegetables is a company based out of Boston that specializes in urban gardening—particularly when it comes to farming. They will operate the new rooftop garden and will oversee a Community Supported Agriculture arrangement, which gives residents the opportunity to purchase shares of the garden’s produce. Local schools, hospitals, and markets will receive about…

View original post 158 more words

Interview with German Economist Peter Bofinger on Perils of Cyprus Bailout – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Bofinger: Shaking the confidence of depositors across Europe cannot be the solution. Those seeking to save the euro should be contributing true aid during an emergency.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You mean they should give free money to Cyprus?

Bofinger: At the end of the day, it would be better to take charge and provide a billion euros to rescue the small-scale savers in Cyprus than to risk a collapse of the euro financial system.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But that would also mean entering into a transfer union and breaking another taboo that is at least as big. Greece, Portugal, Spain and co. would want their money for free in the future, too.

Bofinger: That can be easily avoided. Cyprus is a special case, and it can be communicated as such. No other euro-zone country in Southern Europe has such a bloated financial sector. And there is no other country that could have a comparable domino effect in the euro crisis. Cypriot banks lent some €22 billion to Greek firms and private households, and they have suffered very high losses as a result of the restructuring of Greek bonds.

via Interview with German Economist Peter Bofinger on Perils of Cyprus Bailout – SPIEGEL ONLINE.