Sunday, September 23, 2007
Posted by Steve Amoia
Please note:
All original content posted in this blog is also Copyrighted © 2007 by Steve Amoia.
Most of us, when we hear the name of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, think of two things: His melodious trumpet, along with his distinctive voice. What many may not know was that Mr. Armstrong voiced strong views about race relations during [...]
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Posted by Steve Amoia
Tomorrow in Des Moines, Iowa, Senator Hillary Clinton will propose her plan to remedy a significant issue: Universal Health Insurance coverage for all Americans. According to a statistic reported by the New York Times, over 47 million Americans have no medical insurance. Many others, due to the rising costs of monthly premiums, have less than [...]
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Posted by Steve Amoia
Due to the advances in technology, some think that books may be a thing of the past. E-books, or books that can be downloaded electronically and read with computers or other devices, have made gains in the marketplace. But will most of us who grew up with a hardcover books ever migrate and/or accept this [...]
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Posted by Steve Amoia
At global leader and blue chip IBM, workers are encouraged to take time off. As much as they need. At IBM, every employee receives at least three weeks of vacation, or paid time off, regardless of seniority. And they can take it whenever they want. With a few caveats.
“Instead, for the past few years, employees [...]
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Posted by Steve Amoia
A few days ago in Liverpool, England, a new museum opened to remind present day Britons of their slave holding past. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Great Britain.
The museum was the vision of Mr. Richard Benjamin, who manages the facility.
“Benjamin, 35, who recently earned his doctorate at [...]
Posted by Steve Amoia
In Shenzhen, China, a city of over 12.4 million inhabitants near Hong Kong, a new technology has been designed to encode vast amounts of personal data on a computer chip. Residency cards must be carried by all citizens of this sprawling city. The chip was developed by China Public Security, a Chinese firm that has [...]
Posted by Steve Amoia
In an interesting article published today by the International Herald Tribune, Jon Frosch examines one of the more diverse countries in the world: France. A new social contract, called the “Sarkozy Law,” requires new members of French society to assimilate. But on the terms of the French government, and not the new immigrants. Formal classes [...]
Posted by Steve Amoia
Nova Rico is a mapmaking company outside of Florence, Italy. They produce over one million custom designed globes each year.
“‘The problems of cartography are the same that exist in diplomatic relations,’ said Stefano Strata, co-director of Nova Rico, which has been producing custom globes for 50 years in Impruneta, near Florence. For mapmakers like [...]
Posted by Steve Amoia
Last Monday, the California Supreme Court banned future sales of a particular soccer shoe (or boot as it is known in soccer circles). The shoe is made by adidas, and is called the Predator. Some of its models feature kangaroo leather from Australia. The California ruling bans the sale of derivative products that come from [...]
Posted by Steve Amoia
In their 60th year after independence from British rule, a historic event occurred today in India. Mrs. Pratibha Patil, the former governor of Rajasthan, became the first elected woman to hold the elected office of President. She won over two-thirds of the vote among state assemblies, along with members of the Indian Parliament who were [...]