Futurist Thomas Frey: Over the past couple years, internet-fueled uprisings in Egypt, Lybia, Syria, and other parts of the world have made Chinese officials very nervous. They have exerted a firm hand in controlling any communications deemed detrimental to the ruling party and have now gone so far as to block any Google searches of the English words “democracy” and “freedom.”
Continue reading… “The Great Information Wall of China”
Safe for another year or so.
One of the cornerstones of Amazon’s business has been avoiding sales taxes; because their transactions are online, you don’t have to pay Uncle Sam with every purchase. And now, thanks to some maneuvering around a proposed California law, you’ll remain off the hook for another year…
Continue reading… “Amazon staves off the tax man for another year”
Liang Wengen, founder of Sany Group is China’s richest man with a fortune of 70 billion yuan ($11 billion), according to the Hurun Rich List 2011.
Continue reading… “China’s billionaires group continues to grow rapidly”
Improved City Planning is a Really Good Idea.
It’s been estimated that 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in cities, with another two billion expected to move to already overcrowded urban areas in the next twenty years. The pressures of rapid urbanization often mean that careful urban planning is difficult, and may be completely overlooked in ad-hoc situations like slums.
In the hopes of helping urban planners and designers make better decisions in the face of such constraints, researchers at MIT’s City Form Research Group have launched the Urban Network Analysis (UNA) toolbox, an open-source software that uses mathematical network analysis to describe spatial patterns of cities. Often used to study social networks like Facebook, network analysis methods can also be used to better examine urban issues like accessibility, spatial patterns, urban growth and change…
Medical staff deliver a baby by cesarean section at a hospital in China.
Caesarean sections are on the rise globally. But China’s sky-high C-section rate is out of control and they are trying to get a handle on it.
Continue reading… “China’s c-section baby boom”
The world still thinks Americans are cool.
Americans may be witnessing their global superpower influence decline in the face of challenges from other emerging players on the world stage, but they have been voted the world’s “coolest nationality” in an international poll.
Continue reading… “Americans voted world’s ‘coolest nationality’”
Goldlink Go-Abroad Consulting Co., an immigration consulting firm in Bejing assists Chinese to immigrate to Canada and the United States.
One of the people powering China’s economy on its path to becoming the world’s biggest is Chines millionaire Su, who builds skyscrapers in Bejing.
Continue reading… “What’s at the top of wish list for China’s wealthiest? To leave China”
U.S. falls to 5th place in world ranking.
The United States has fallen further down a global ranking of the world’s most competitive economies. The U.S. has landed at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.
Continue reading… “America drops to 5th place in global ranking”
Across 12 countries, Britons between 45 and 54 were found to be in the worst shape.
Middle-aged people are meant to be in the prime of their lives. But the middle-aged people in Britain have been found to be in the world’s worst shape.
Continue reading… “Middle-aged Britons are the unhealthiest in the world”
Patents are a tricky thing these days.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman and former CEO, took the stage at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco today to talk about a host of topics, including the success of Google Apps, his feelings about Steve Jobs, Google’s recent acquisition of Motorola, with the conversation with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff even ranging into Schmidt’s thoughts on the current landscape facing the U.S. patent market.
The executive chairman began by addressing the purchase of Nortel Networks’ roster of patents by a group of buyers that included some of Google’s rivals, including Microsoft and Apple. TechCruncher MG Siegler covered the back-and-forth between Google and Microsoft that unfolded in regard to the supposition that the group that bought the Nortel patents was effectively attempting to cut the legs out from underneath Android…
Continue reading… “Google Chairman Eric Schmidt weighs in on patent issues: They’re ‘Terrible’”
The 64-mile tunnel would connect the far east of Russia with Alaska.
Plans to build the world’s longest tunnel have been unveiled in Russia. The tunnel will run under the Bering Strait as part of a transport corridor linking Europe and America via Siberia and Alaska.
Continue reading… “Russia plans to build world’s longest tunnel to America”
One of the many growing demands in China.
For the first time ever, China has just become the biggest consumer of PCs, surpassing the United States who has dropped to second. According to new market research by IDC, computer makers shipped about 18.5 million PCs in China in the second quarter with the US receiving 17.7 million. China shipped 22 percent of the PCs sold worldwide, which shows a staggering 14 percent quarter on quarter growth…
Continue reading… “China’s PC market surpasses US for the first time”
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