June 2007
Up one levelMonday, June 25, 2007
If the war on drugs were itself a prescription medicine, this would be the ad. . . Lunar real estate? The Chinese courts stifle some creative marketing. . . Apple’s iTunes continues to climb the charts. . . The Senate’s new ethanol bill: farm subsidy masquerading as energy policy?. . . For young professionals, it's New York over San Fran by a nose. . .
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Economically speaking, the home run is "an act of genius". . . Americans are heading to Mexico for discount dentistry. . . Retailers are picking sides in the battle of the DVD formats. . . "Happy Father's Day, Mom!" Social change revealed at Hallmark. . . For cocktail conversation in the Big Apple, the field narrows to Freakonomics vs. Lolita. . .
Monday, June 18, 2007
As biofuels become more politically viable, they may have unintended consequences on the market at large. . . India's defense R&D struggles to attract talent. . . For business stretegies, basketball superstar Lebron James consults the Oracle of Omaha. . . An Oregon golf course receives a gimme from the federal government. . . The psychological benefits of submitting your W-2 forms could be edifying. . .
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Popular economics books are part of a long tradition...Are Harvard's endowment managers the new oil sheiks? The Hatfields and the McCoys are at it again: Welcome to a world of "hyper-local" journalism...Rolling Stone magazine, eager to be eco-friendly, has switched to "carbon neutral" paper--but it isn't recycled. Tsk, tsk...The Sopranos have finally said arrivederci...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Nairobi is getting bourgeois suburbs. . . A new idea for urban schools: give kids cash incentives. . . Anti-trust: Sauce for Google's goose is also sauce for the gander. . . Cheap foreign labor has arrived in cyberspace. . . Does globalization require global currencies?
Friday, June 1, 2007
Is plagiarism losing its infamy? Russia should focus on growth. Democracy is also needed, but only later, when the rule of law has been established. . .NYTimes reports: Wal-Mart is too cheap for its own good. The Italian prime minister, central bank president, and treasury minister are all Goldman Sachs alumni. A recipe for elegance? Not exactly. John Maynard Keynes understood that once companies get large enough, they start to socialize, just like countries.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Shelling crabs may be a labor of love in Maryland, but Americans don't want to do it. . . Palm's Treo franchise will take on the iPhone by hiring Apple veterans. . . Imagination: Is it all in your brain? Plan to take "sick days" just because the sun is shining? You've got plenty of partners in crime. . .
Friday, June 8, 2007
Doing business across timezones has never been easier. . .For Wikipedia, much of the action is at the frontier of obscurity. . .Don't prejudge the use of stereotypes. . .A rundown on how New York makes its money. . .Add "walkathon" to the list of things gone virtual. . .One reason airline tickets cost so much: they're now hiring customer service reps to lurk in chat rooms. . .
Friday, June 15, 2007
Why we should still draw a line against profanity. . . "Emission Impossible": The Euro carbon trading scheme is 'set to fail'. . . China suffers a shortage of surnames. . . In Seattle, popcorn may no longer be microwave safe. . . The impact of impact studies. . .
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Using spare radio spectrum for internet service would interfere with existing broadcasters financially, if not technologically. . . Free community college might be more expensive than it sounds. . . The G8 should tell Putin his hardball tactics can't restore Russian greatness. . . The better virtual reality gets, the more it converges on plain old reality. . .
Thursday, June 14, 2007
That iPhone has a keyboard, but it’s not mechanical. . . Peter Beinart and Jonah Goldberg discuss: So what’s wrong with income inequality? The heart of today's London was once understood as unsightly sprawl. . . Scaring you green: how the business magazine climate is changing. . . In response to EU pressure, Google may cut the lifetime of its tracking "cookies" from thirty years to two. . .
Monday, June 4, 2007
Rock, paper, scissors, which dates from the Han dynasty in China, will soon crown a new world champion. . .On Thursday, Beijing's state-controlled Anglophone press told foreigners in China that a summit with US leaders was a "complete success." Chinese language papers all but ignored the meeting. . .New, from USA Today: The one-example "trend". . .Sam Brownback claims that evolutionary biologists are practicing "atheistic theology posing as science". . .Have trouble imagining disaster scenarios for your business or government office? Sci-fi writers are here to help. . .
Monday, June 11, 2007
Copyable music might be less of a piracy problem than it seems, if the users' fingerprints are on each file. . .Globalization hits China, in the form of pricey pork. . .There are some questions Google won't answer. . .Wireless Internet is too important for the private market to provide. Instead, we should let slow, inefficient, pliable municipalities do it. . .The ease of selling homes online is great for most of us, but it may make realtors obsolete. . .
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
By 2030, one in four human beings will live in a slum. . .Steroids, in the alternate universe occupied by bodybuilding magazines, are all part of fair play. . .20th century cultural history in a nutshell: Affluence makes America restless. . .Hollywood's anti-business bias leaves room for some great indie work. . ."Blue dogs" might save the federal budget. . .
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Fahrenheit 451 wasn’t about the dangers of state censorship, but of television…In the state of New York, market reform has arrived in the box office…British bookies have stopped accepting bets on Harry Potter's fate--the smart money all seems to have him dying. But it’s not too late to wager on a prospective perpetrator…
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Philanthropy has gone virtual. . .Throw something useful away, and they'll dig it up: say hello to the "freegans". . .If Mugabe finally falls, hyperinflation may deserve the credit. . .Tycoon? The Apprentice? These reality shows are successes not because business is cool, but because "they don’t have anything to do with business at all". . .Football is learning to take care of its own. . .
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
For Toyota, it may be lonely at the top. . . Faced with forced privatization in Venezuela, some oil firms just say no. . . The postal service opens up to competition--in Europe, anyway. . . Print is dying fast, at least for The New York Times. . .
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The bleeding edge of video games: They are no longer fun. . . Larry Lessig has a new mission: keep government focused on the truth. .. Early verdict on the iPhone: slow, but glorious. . . Tom Friedman is "a human airport nonfiction table". . . Facebook is for the college set. MySpace, on the other hand, offers "bling". . .
Friday, June 29, 2007
A disgruntled ex-Googler is not impressed by the company's famous culture. . . In a globalized America, foreign government investment is a laissez faire dilemma. . . John Updike reveres the New Deal. . . Private space flight aims ever higher. . .