“Although Apple pressured Foxconn, Steve Jobs wasn’t about to sever ties with Hon Hai, not with preparations under way for the production of Apple’s next big product, the iPhone, which came out the following year. ‘Steve Jobs’ achievements wouldn’t be possible without Terry,’ says Chang Tien-wen, author of the 2005 book The Tiger and The Fox: Terry Gou’s Global Competitive Strategy.”

Basically a repeat of when everyone got on Nike about sweatshops. I wonder though how much our gadgets would cost if they were all manufactured/assembled in the U.S.?

“A mood of defeatism is growing about Afghanistan, just as it once did with Iraq. Indeed, many of the same critics that would have delivered failure in Iraq are back again with calls for unconditional troop withdrawal, partitioning the country, a retreat to large bases and so on.”

There are some good things to say about the results of Operation Iraqi Freedom, but Iraq is no doubt still a mess. Hopefully the lessons learned will carry over at this critical juncture in Afghanistan.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575459983690019468.html

“Innovation is by definition unpredictable and uncertain. Bosses may sing a pretty song about innovation being the future. But in practice the heads of operational units will favour the known over the unknown.”

An honest swipe at the overuse and misuse of innovation as a buzzword. Schumpeter offers several great aims for organizations, and provides current examples of how firms are innovating.

http://www.economist.com/node/16888745

“Gallup surveyed people in more than 100 countries in 2009 and found that religiosity was highly correlated to poverty. Richer countries in general are less religious. But that doesn’t hold true for the United States.”

I would venture to guess that the wealthy are more self-reliant, and thus don’t need God. And yet the most wealthy nation is statistically mostly Christian.

http://nyti.ms/9uhpfL

“After Medvedev publicly scolds Belykh for tweeting, Belykh resumes, blaming Presidential Adviser Arkady Dvorkovich for snitching on him.”

It is pretty hilarious that this actually went down. One might think that messing with your iPad during a meeting with Medvedev would be a bad idea. This proves that meetings are boring, and electronic gadgets are distracting.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421104575463462516661500.html

“The Pew study found that the flow of Mexicans, who represent 60% of all illegal immigrants in the U.S., plummeted to 150,000 annually during the 2007-2009 period, compared with the annual average of 500,000 during the first half of the decade.”

Not a case for or against immigration policy/reform, but an honest look at the data. Amidst all the controversy, the drastic changes in movement is still contingent upon supply and demand.

http://bit.ly/a0yB4t

“In an unfolding crisis, many are still trying to grasp how far Pakistan has been set back. Some say three years, some say three decades. For millions of the displaced, even that is an understatement. ‘Life in a camp is like returning to medieval times,’ says Saeed Khan, a 40-year-old farmer made homeless by the floods and staying outside the northern city of Peshawar. ‘There is no life here.’”

Utter devastation and unthinkable tragedy. It is telling of human frailty in this world.

http://bit.ly/aInzV3

One way to help: http://bit.ly/bizFua

“‘Mr. Millin inquired, half-joking, whether he should walk up and down in the traditional way of pipers. “Oh, yes. That would be lovely.’ Three times therefore he walked up and down at the edge of the sea. He remembered the sand shaking under his feet from mortar fire and the dead bodies rolling in the surf, against his legs.”

A ridiculous and unbelievable story. It would have been a nice addition for Saving Private Ryan to add Mr. Millin’s insane heroics. Thankfully the Nazi snipers decided not to take him out on D-Day.

http://www.economist.com/node/16885894?story_id=16885894&fsrc=rss

A surprisingly supportive piece for prayer and religion from a secular newspaper. Most interesting is its claim that specific prayer is most effective.

http://www.economist.com/node/16886238

“Facebook is now worth as much as $33.7bn based on secondary market transactions, giving the privately held company an implied valuation greater than the market capitalisations of publicly traded internet stalwarts such as Ebay and Yahoo.”

Given all the silliness that goes on on Facebook, its valuation of nearly $34 billion is unthinkable. eBay is worth $3.6 billion less than Facebook, and it actually has paying customers. There’s no way this valuation will be sustainable.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/054fc0ee-afa7-11df-b45b-00144feabdc0.html