He is also armed with strong planning approval and veto powers that hand him a direct say over which projects are built and what physical shape the city will take over the next four years.

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IndieGoGo, on the other hand, has a different financial structure: Projects are able to keep the money they raise regardless of whether or not they hit their target (albeit for a higher cut of the proceeds).

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The Communications Research Centre of Canada was on hand at NAB to demonstrate a small variety of lab projects, with agency representatives hoping to make an impression on attendees, who will theoretically apply these concepts to actual products, with no licensing fee making its way back to the True North.

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On the other hand, the president has made traditional energy projects a lower priority.

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Rob Hemsley, a research assistant at the Media Lab, was on hand to demonstrate two of his projects.

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On the other hand, Californian voters are a short-termist lot who remain sceptical about big infrastructure projects.

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On the other hand, CNOOC, a state backed oil and gas firm, has signed deals with Chesapeake Energy to develop shale projects at the Eagle Ford shale.

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