Compiled by Laura Slattery
Quote of the Week . . .
"In an effort to encourage decisive action in Bali this week, US Climate Action Partnership's members have committed to a 90 per cent reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050."
- A bogus press release purporting to be from USCAP, a consortium of 33 corporations, commits BP, Shell, Ford, General Motors and others to an admirable but sadly fictional slashing of their carbon outputs as the climate change summit begins in Bali.
The Numbers
10Number of times Brian Cowen used the words "priority" or "priorities" in his Budget day speech.
There were "top" priorities, "first" priorities and some "key" ones.
17Number of references Cowen made to economic growth in his speech, mostly to note that growth is now more moderate or modest than in the boom years.
$50 millionSum raised by Product Red, the brand co-founded by Bono to fight Aids in Africa, since it was launched by the rock-star activist in January 2006.
1,161,000Average audience for the Late Late Toy Show last Friday, making it the most watched television programme in Ireland this year. Nine out of 10 children tuned in to watch the annual parade of dolls and gadgets.
Good Week . . .
The Irish space industryTechnology developed by Irish firm Skytek will play a role in the operation of the European Space Agency's Columbus space research project, due to be launched - literally, as opposed to the usual business meaning - from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
Astronauts will use Skytek's system to store information relating to both routine daily tasks and "mission critical" events.
DiageoThe 450 kegs of beer stolen from the Guinness Brewery at St James's Gate have been recovered and two men arrested in relation to the theft - bad news for whichever Christmas party was hoping to get 180 kegs of Guinness, 180 kegs of Budweiser and 90 kegs of Carlsberg for free, but good news for Diageo's wobbling stout sales.
Bad Week . . .
Dublin airportIt was lights out at the terminal building for 30 minutes on Monday morning, as travellers removing their belts and fumbling with self-service check-ins were suddenly plunged into darkness - never a good thing for nervous fliers. Back-up generators failed to restore power at the airport - or Ireland's "main gateway to the rest of the world", as Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O'Dowd pointedly put it.
BeliefnetThe multifaith and spirituality website has been bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. But founder Steve Waldman's belief that "the best spiritual and religious teachers pass through News Corp doors" hasn't been met with unswerving devotion from Beliefnet users, who posted that Murdoch - or "the epitome of greed and self-interest, those very things that all religions preach against" - was trying to "buy his stairway to heaven".
