It is designed to attract funding for the kind of innovative enterprises the government wants to nurture here - software companies, pharmaceutical firms and creative industries.
Gem's focus on these new industries has drawn comparisons with New York's Nasdaq exchange, although with less than 30 expected to list in Shenzhen it is a fraction of the size of the US exchange which lists nearly 4,000 clients.
Zeng Xi from the Shanghai law firm Tian Yuan, one of the first to advise companies planning to list on the new exchange, says it will be some time before the new board can compete with others in Hong Kong or New York for business.
"While the intention is to build this Gem market to compete with Nasdaq or other overseas companies, the reality may be slightly different because we still have a long way to go to catch up in terms of corporate governance, the listing standard and overall system supervising this market to make it successful," he said.
China's financial industry regulator has warned investors that because there will be a small number of companies on the board they may be vulnerable to jumps and slumps.
They are higher risk investments in part because their small size means it may be harder to work out whether or not they are genuine viable businesses.
Many Chinese, though, may regard the higher risk as worth it if the potential returns are big enough.
There are very few opportunities in China for people to invest, so the Gem will be a welcome new option for those keen to try their luck and make more money.
Friday, October 23, 2009
China opens 'Nasdaq-style' market
Wal-Mart plans smaller US stores
But Wal-Mart, which owns Asda in the UK, says that international growth will outpace the US in the near future.
The company forecast revenue growth of 1%-2% this year, well below a previous forecast of 5%-7%.
Wal-Mart expects sales to rise by 4%-6% next year, chief financial officer Tom Schoewe said.
'Price leader'
The average size of one of its supercentres has dropped from 180,000 square feet as much as five years ago to 150,000 square feet over the past year, Mr Schoewe said.
"That number will continue to come down," he added.
For the financial year to 31 January, Wal-Mart said it would add about 38 million square feet globally, down from 44 million last year.
On Thursday, online rival Amazon said that Thanksgiving and Christmas sales could beat expectations - sending its shares up as much as 13% higher.
"We watch the competition," said Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke. "We will be the price leader."
Wal-Mart outlined plans to cut prices every week in the US until Christmas.
Assisted suicide
A month ago I was talkin with my father about suicide and then we started talking about assisted suicide and people who are very sick.
This got me thinking. What will happen when medical science can keep almost anyone alive indefinitely, albeit looking like a peach that has been left in the sun for a month? Isn’t it inevitable that assisted suicide will be legal?
There’s no way the global economic system can keep several billion people alive over the age of 100. And if we assume most of those people can vote, and most of them will want at least the option of checking out early, then legalized assisted suicide is a near certainty.
The people over a hundred will want it, and the young people who wish the old people were dead so it would free up resources will want it too. There’s your majority right there.
In the short term, assisted suicide only needs to be legal in one country that has a good airport. Just fly in, let the doctor kill you, and go home in an urn.
Is it inevitable?
A post on the official Google blog by Vice President of Search Marissa Mayer explained it: "We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months," the post read. "That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information."
Google has "reached an agreement," but the search results have not gone live like Microsoft's have on Bing. Reports started to surface earlier this month that Twitter was in separate talks with both Google and Microsoft--which also has a deal with Facebook that will be launching down the road.
Google plans to turn on the service "soon," said Johnna Wright, product manager for Google Search, declining to provide further details. The company has been working on this "complicated" problem for some time, she said; Mayer said earlier this year that microblogging search was a priority for Google in 2009.
It's just way too difficult to manually crawl Twitter for tweets, said Jack Menzel, group product manager for Google Search. Google would have to bombard Twitter's servers constantly via its public API, and the result wouldn't be pretty for anyone. So, instead Google and Twitter have cut a deal where Google is essentially licensing a data feed from Twitter to get that information in search results.
How will it be presented? Google isn't ready to talk about that yet in detail, but Wright said tweets would be presented within regular search results. "Relevancy is paramount," Menzel said, but it's also tricky: sometimes you might want the result from the guy with only 30 followers who knows what's happening on a given street corner, sometimes you might want the industry expert's quick take on a product announcement.
So will Facebook strike a Google deal, too? Onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said that Facebook has "nothing to announce" regarding rumors of a search deal with Google.
Google wants to work with lots of different companies that are providing this type of information, Menzel said, although he declined to comment on any specific company. Following Google's announcement regarding Twitter, it announced a Google Labs product called Social Search for organizing streams of status updates and news feeds.
European laws present challenges for Google Books
The controversy over Google's settlement with groups representing book authors and publishers rages on, almost a year after it was first reached. After Google was sued in 2005 for digitizing books without explicit permission, it reached a proposed settlement in October 2008 that would give it unique rights to scan out-of-print yet copyright-protected books, exciting some librarians but raising the ire of many within the publishing and literary communities.
Nevertheless, Google has made painstaking attempts to engage with its enemies in the publishing world. Dan Clancy, engineering director for Google Books, has traveled the country meeting with opponents and supporters, patiently explaining Google's position and preaching the value of a publicly available archiOn Thursday, Google hosted a group of four librarians from Europe, where Google has signed partnership agreements with five libraries to discuss the benefits of the project.
The settlement is obviously a U.S. matter, but the contentious issues in the settlement do not exactly apply to Europe, because Google says it has not scanned out-of-print but copyright-protected books published in Europe.
Therefore, in Europe Google has only scanned public domain works held by its library partners and books for which it has negotiated scanning rights with rights holders. Still, the settlement process is being watched closely by European authors who have had books published in the U.S., as well as European librarians who are a little jealous over the resources their American counterparts could enjoy under the settlement.ve of digital books.
Copyright laws vary across Europe, but the concept of fair use generally does not exist, and most books are protected by copyright for 70 to 80 years after the death of the author, the librarians said. Historical works are in the public domain, but that's just a fraction of the overall number of books stored in libraries throughout the world.
Out-of-print books will only be available as limited previews to searchers with links to stores at which they can be bought, but those books will be part of a database that is available to researchers and librarians through an institutional subscription. Researchers outside the U.S. won't have access to that database, which means U.S. libraries and universities would have an advantage.
This, of course, is part of the opposition to Google's settlement in the U.S. Instead of leaving it up to Congress to reform U.S. copyright laws to settle once and for all whether digitizing out-of print but copyright-protected books should be allowed, the settlement is granting that unique sweeping right to a single corporation, and forcing others who may want to digitize these books to cut licensing deals with an organization funded by Google and staffed by directors picked by the groups representing authors and publishers.
So while Google works feverishly on a new settlement in the U.S. ahead of a November 9th deadline, its legal battles may be just beginning. Chinese authors are reportedly gearing up to oppose Google's efforts, and its mission of organizing the world's information may be stymied if European copyright laws forbid the digitization of a huge swath of books published in the last century.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Area 51 goes public
On Wednesday, October 7th, and Thursday, October 8th, the Atomic Testing Museum and Roadrunners Internationale will separate the myths from the realities of Area 51 through a special presentation and exhbit: SPY PLANES OF GROOM LAKE (AREA51).
The Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, is partnering with Roadrunners Internationale, an alumni organization for Groom Lake workers, to provide the first public access to former U.S. Air Force, CIA, and contractor personnel who worked on some of the nation’s most closely guarded Cold War projects under a strict blanket of secrecy. This is an opportunity for the public to learn the history of the secret Groom Lake test site and the role it played during the Cold War, and to discuss newly declassified details about cutting edge technologies with the people who developed them. Lectures and moderated discussion panels will include former and current CIA staff, military commanders, historians, and other notable individuals.
There will be opportunities both days for the public to “meet and greet” former Area 51 test pilots, engineers, and technicians and ask them questions. A temporary exhibit will feature actual Area 51 artifacts, memorabilia, and photos. Events on Wednesday will include presentations on the history of Area 51 and Project OXCART by historian Peter Merlin, followed by a panel discussion with people who actually worked at the secret Groom Lake test site. Moderated by KLAS Channel 8 investigative reporter George Knapp, this panel will feature CIA Historian Dr. David Robarge and former pilots and engineers from Area 51. On Thursday, historian Paul Suhler will give an in-depth presentation on CIA projects Rainbow and Gusto and the design evolution of the triple-sonic A-12 spy plane, followed by a discussion panel of former Groom Lake pilots, staff, and technicians moderated by author Annie Jacobson.
Simulation shows why World Trade Center towers fell
National Geographic has a fascinating simulation of why the US World Trade Center towers collapsed after the planes hit them on September 11 2001. It's part of a program investigating "science and conspiracy". http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/9-11-science-and-conspiracy-4067/conspiracy-vs-science?#tab
Basically, it's because the fuel in the (nearly-full) tanks caught fire, which weakened the columns, which bent slightly, which meant that the roof - and other floors- fell in. We know that from the real-life example, of course. But it's interesting to see it demonstrated here. Not, of course, that this will satisfy the wingnuts who think it was a conspiracy.
Their loss. But sometimes this is what engineering is about: figuring out why things happen after the event. (Other videos on the National Geographic site ask whether controlled demolition could have done the same job, and whether the hijacked planes were replaced by planes carrying explosives.)
ENJOY!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
JFK Case (conspiracy theory continue)
In the JFK case we know that there were 4 shots. We also know, that it is impossible that one person made all the shots. We know since we have definitive video proof, that one of those shots, the final fatal shot, could not have come from behind JFK, because the bullet blew his head backwards. So lets apply what we've gone over. We know the indisputable facts, and we know the official story of the event which states that, Oswald, stationed behind the car in the depository, shot 4 bullets that ultimately executed the President. Now anyone who watches the film, can clearly see his head go backwards, and must then come to the conclusion that at least one shot was not from behind (where Oswald would have been). So is anyone here about to debate that the official story of the JFK assassination is a fabrication? We can tell it is a lie because it does not, and cannot add up with only one shooter, especially a shooter, placed behind the president. We are clearly being lied to.
Read More......
Conspiracy Theory USA
Just as many things in our life, the term Conspiracy Theory is thrown around far too often, and as a result has become an ambiguous social anchor in our mind. Anyone you talk to, when the term comes up, or if you are describing to them, something socially deemed a “conspiracy theory” causes our brain to launch associative triggers. Based on our past experience, what we've been taught and how we feel about the topic, our mind will immediately trigger the anchor. Depending on who you are, this anchor could bring you feelings of doubt, feelings of anger or disbelief, or as a conspiracy theorist, it may have your mind running in circles trying to draw links between what you know, and what you are hearing. But first I think it necessary to discuss why we use the term, what it means, and how it has ultimately become the conspiracy of all conspiracies. Additionally, I am going to show how the past years Mainstream Media's, snuggle fest (with CT'ers) is extremely detrimental to any true conspiracy, and further, how they (MSM) have pulled the bait and switch to influence what we believe. I will also show how this word, or term, has been and is being used as a tool to discredit and belittle people such as you and I, all in an effort to stop us from asking real questions and instead debating useless theories which create division.
Lets look at that for a second, because I know that this important detail is almost always overlooked by the masses. Planning and acting secretly. This is the root of the problem, because essentially every single major thing that the president, or his administration, the CIA, the FBI, etc. does, is all done secretly. The public is most often absolutely oblivious to what goes on behind closed doors.
China and India
1) What are the consequences of economic growth?Most of the countries are so obsessed ith economic growth. Is what makes for increasing standards of living as measured by life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. Some positive consquences about economic grwoth is the development of thecnologies, more poruducttivity, but this can led to the negative consequences, such as contamination, low quality of life, among other things.
2) Do you consider China to be a threat to the rest of the world? Yes. China owns more than 20% of the National Debt. Their economy is growing stronger though they will inevitably hit a roadblock as their capacity to produce catches up with the demand for their products. They are starting to build more skilled labor and building more advanced products such as cars and computers as opposed to 25 cent toys. Their "One Child policy" will catch up with them as their older population begins to age. There aren't enough younger people to care for the older people. These are some of the reason why I think that China is a treat to the rest of the world, and particulary to the US, I mean that China can take the place of the powerful country in the future.
3) What are the potential positive and/or negative impacts on the people of China and India of globalisation?
*Positive:
Globalization has created the concept of outsourcing.
Work such as software development, customer support, marketing, accounting and insurance is outsourced to developing countries like India. So the company that outsourced the work enjoys the benefit of lower costs because the wages in developing countries is far lower than that of developed countries. The workers in the developing countries get employment. Developing countries get access to the latest technology.
Increased competition forces companies to lower prices. This benefits the end consumers.
Increased media coverage draws the attention of the world to human right violations. This leads to improvement in human rights.
*Negative:
Developed nations have outsourced manufacturing and white collar jobs. That means less jobs for their people. This has happened because manufacturing work is outsourced to developing nations like China where the cost of manufacturing goods and wages are lower. Programmers, editors, scientists and accountants have lost their jobs due to outsourcing to cheaper locations like India.
Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods.
Job insecurity. Earlier people had stable, permanent jobs. Now people live in constant dread of losing their jobs to competition. Increased job competition has led to reduction in wages and consequently lower standards of living.
Terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons enhancing their ability to inflict damage. Terrorists use the Internet for communicating among themselves.
Companies have set up industries causing pollution in countries with poor regulation of pollution.
Fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC are spreading in the developing world. People are consuming more junk food from these joints which has an adverse impact on their health.
The benefits of globalization is not universal. The rich are getting richer and the poor are becoming poorer.
Bad apects of foreign cultures are affecting the local cultures through TV and the Internet.
Enemy nations can spread propaganda through the Internet.
Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travellers to the remotest corners of the globe.
Local industries are being taken over by foreign multinationals.
The increase in prices has reduced the governments ability to sustain social welfare schemes in developed countries.
There is increase in human trafficking.
Multinatonal Companies and corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Mexico: Biological Remedy For Sickened Soil
Mexico is beginning to take on the environmental debts left by the oil industry, applying biological techniques to break down alcohols, solvents, glycerines, gasoline, benzene and acetone, turning them into carbon dioxide and water. Known as biological remediation, it involves a process in which bacteria or mould 'degrade hazardous chemicals into less toxic or nontoxic substances,' according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The chemicals are food to certain microorganisms. I found this in an american news paper, and I think that this is very intersting for everyone. Mexico is taking responsability for the problems that is causing the oil industry. I think that every country should do the same, it is important to help the environment, after all, it is our planet and it's going to be our children the ones who are going to live the consequences of our actions. We have to analize our actions and think about the concequences of our actions. We just have to look around the corner to realize what is happening with our planet, the meltin of the artic, all this because of the global warming that we are causing.
Poverty facts and stats
At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.
More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.
The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.
According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”
Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Based on enrolment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimisitic numbers.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
I foud this in http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats.
It is very impressive how many kids die a day because of poverty. And all the people who live with less than $10 a day. I can't imagine living like that, it must be very difficult.
Another fact is the one that says that a billion people doesn't know how to write their own names, this is unacceptable, how can someone is unable to write their own name?
I think that it is becasue of the government, not because of the poverty, because if a govenment had a good education system this wouldn't be hapening.
Pensioners deny smuggling drugs
Two pensioners helped to flood Britain with millions of pounds of cannabis disguised as frozen chicken imports, Southwark Crown Court has been told.
Derek Mercer, of Sandown Road, South Norwood, and John Rowe, both 70, of Mansford Street, Bethnal Green, deny drug smuggling on or before 16 March.
The prosecution alleges the gang of five transported the Dutch consignments from Bury St Edmunds to Grays in Essex.
The court heard three other men have admitted taking part in the operation.
Andrew Marshall, prosecuting, said the next stage was to "very quickly distribute" the Class B drug to customers so "the evidence disappears".
I find this news in the internet from BBC here is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8234600.stm
I found it fery intersting because I had never heard a problem about drugs in the UK, and now I see that they also have problems with drugs as we have in México.
I think that is time now to fight against the drugs, here in México and all around the world, and this will only be possible if we join together and do something.
México: a powerful country
I think that México will be a powerful country, this is because at some point, all the countries that now are more powerful than México will be at war in the future. It can be becuase of their differences, territory, money or other reasons. When this happens, as we all know México will not me involved in this war, and there is when México become a powerfull country among all others. I know that this may happen in a 100 years or maybe 200, but at some point, I know I'll be right.
Read More......Tuesday, September 1, 2009
If Japan dominates the future...
Japan, a powerful country. Organize country, technologic country, rich country, powerfull country, etc. With this characteristics Japan for sure is consider one of the powerful countries. The U.S. has been at the top for may years and for sure they like this idea. Maybe with this crisis it has gone down, but still is a powerfull country. Sometimes I think that Japan is more powerful than U.S..If Japan rises its economy, technologies, power, etc., it will be a clear difference between Japan and U.S.. The U.S. will want power again. This makes me think that maybe this country want war to win power again. In the otherside, maybe the U.S. will be scare of Japan. If the U.S. wants power, this will be related with realism. They want to go fighting for power and competition. So, what will happen if Japan dominates the future?
Read More......