The submitter of this article, pg, is in fact a major contributor to the FWD.us intiative [1]. But it's probably better to assume there's a good faith basis in

The submitter of this article, pg, is in fact a major contributor to the FWD.us intiative [1]. But it's probably better to assume there's a good faith basis in the submission of this article, since we've no reason to believe otherwise. You're very right that Berlin in recent years has been aggressively pushing itself as the next Valley (and I guess to some extent it is succeeding -- you're seeing a few big players emerge from there, Soundcloud being one that everyone knows about). The reason why it'll never be the next full-on Valley though, in my opinion (as another poster has already mentioned) is the racism there. As a brown guy who's been to a lot of places, let me tell you that there is racism basically everywhere but in America (and Canada). It is of a particularly sharp type in Berlin (and the rest of East Germany). It really puts a burden on you mentally when you have to make everyday life decisions (should I take the train at this time? alone? at $X place?) in efforts of just escaping harassment. For as much as I rail on America for the eroding civil liberties and all, I can not imagine leaving this place for any other. [1]: http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters http://www.fwd.us/our_supporters