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Daily Bafflements

TechCrunch recently hosted a meetup in Dubai for would-be startup entrepreneurs in the hopes of “disrupting” the Middle East.

• Right in The Baffler’s own backyard, the Boston Redevelopment Authority is seeking to extend its “urban renewal authority” [read: eminent domain]. Though the mayor has promised not to take any property for the Olympic facilities themselves, the BRA has plenty of ideas about snapping up land to make the city vibrant enough to woo the International Olympic Committee with its bid for the 2024 Games.

• PayPal cofounder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the launch of a new product line, expanding the company’s reach beyond the automotive market. What do we have to expect from the web mogul-cum-space explorer’s new line? No one knows, but Musk isn’t concerned; you’ll buy it anyway.

• Writing for Forbes, Manfred Buchmann advises us to innovate better by creating “a culture of ‘fast-fail.’” Remember, it’s not the quality of your ideas, it’s just the time-to-market.