Germany has a system of television where people are forced to pay for public channels even if they are not watching. All citizens are required to pay a tax for some channels even if they have no interest in anything they produce. The German Federal Constitutional Court sees this tax as constitutional, because they assertContinue reading “German Public TV about Bitcoin and Climate Change”
Author Archives: kflenz
Berlin Referendum on 2030 Climate Neutrality
Hans-Josef Fell just announced a referendum in Berlin with the goal of enacting a law requiring climate neutrality until 2030. In contrast to the federal level, Berlin has a system of referendum since 2006. There have been three successful initiatives in the last decade, two of them concerning airports and the other one privatization ofContinue reading “Berlin Referendum on 2030 Climate Neutrality”
Shark Duck Living on a Tree
A year ago, I never heard of Michael Saylor. Now of course I follow him. And here is what he just said about one of the altcoins, when asked if he was investing. He explained it like an ecosystem. There are species that have been around for hundreds of millions of years, because they areContinue reading “Shark Duck Living on a Tree”
Røkke Shareholder Letter about Seetee
I just read a letter to shareholders by Kjell Inge Røkke on the subject of the new company “Seetee” he just funded. I had never heard of Røkke, but I just searched at Wikipedia and found out that he is Norway’s richest person with a career started in fishing and expanding to all sorts ofContinue reading “Røkke Shareholder Letter about Seetee”
Bitcoin Energy Use Problem
The Guardian released a short video yesterday where Alex Hern discusses his wrong views about the matter. He notes correctly that the Bitcoin network uses a lot of electricity. He also notes correctly that the percentage of renewable in the mix is large compared to other industries. He then somehow proceeds to tell people theyContinue reading “Bitcoin Energy Use Problem”
Lack of US Transmission Lines
David Roberts writes about this in a series of posts on his new David Roberts writes about this in a series of posts on his new “Volts” mailing list. First he notes why this topic is important. As in many other places that want to add massive renewable capacity, people find out that good locationsContinue reading “Lack of US Transmission Lines”
Fast Lobbyist Reaction
After the recent insurrection failed to overturn the election results, there is a long list of companies that have pledged not to give money to those who voted against confirmation of the election results. Since many politicians rely on corporate money to finance their campaigns, this will have some influence going forward. And it isContinue reading “Fast Lobbyist Reaction”
FinCEN Rule Proposal
FinCEN just published a proposal for a new rule. It requires regulated exchanges to keep records on who owns the address some bitcoin is first moved to from the exchange for transactions over $10,000 in value. The EU has floated similar ideas in Recital 9 of the 2018 money laundering Directive. It reads: “The anonymityContinue reading “FinCEN Rule Proposal”
XLink Desertec Project
As I learn from this Greentechmedia article by Jason Deign, there is a new startup in the United Kingdom with big plans. Their big plan is to connect North Africa directly with the UK. They want to build a long subsea cable hugging the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and France, at a cost of $21.6Continue reading “XLink Desertec Project”
Book Review: Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry of the Future
This book was released in October 2020. I liked many things about it and disliked some others. Let’s get rid of the negative points first. This is supposed to be fiction, but the story is incoherent. Readers are treated to lots of completely different sets of characters and independent short stories. The whole thing feelsContinue reading “Book Review: Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry of the Future”
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