Watch this.

I was speechless and horrified. I know this happens, I just had not realised it is at this scale. I can’t even start to think about how this could be “made better”…

Please share your reactions below.

For a refreshing and optimistic take on how we could evolve the concept of government, read Emma McCreary’s post The Next Paradigm of Government.

Wow!

The following quotes are from the article Consumer trends in three different worlds by Andy Hines, in The Futurist July – August 2008.

These are the top 20 trends affecting consumer life around the world:

Trend 1: ageing population. Non-retiring seniors … stay active. Companies … want to tap their valuable expertise and experience. Many seniors will insist on working on their terms, … working conditions … …

In no particular order:

The immigration system actively welcomes qualified individuals.
The taxation levels are extremely low (compared to Australia).
The city is very safe and comfortable to live in.
People are generally highly qualified, polite and accommodating.
There is sufficient exposure to Western culture to avoid significant culture shock.
There is an effective command of English within professional circles.
Food is plentiful, diverse, good and inexpensive.
Taxis are significantly inexpensive (compared to Australia).
Public transport is …

The most commonly seen forms of sales/marketing incentive techniques in Singapore:

Pamphlets – everyday I see armies of people stand in street corners, escalator landings, and shop fronts dispensing thousands of tons of printed pamphlets to all and sundry. Even at a recent computer show – there were probably more people handing out pamphlets than actual gear to look at.
Product demonstrations – I see these on street corners and …

In the introduction to Bo Burlingham’s Small Giants – Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, he made some interesting points about limited our prevailing benchmarks of what makes a “successful” business really is. Much of the writing about business has been around data that is limited to:

Publically listed companies – primarily due to the easy access of financial data.
Companies that are well know – thanks …

The fear of being an individual is a more noticeable trait in Singapore. This is the fear of standing out “inappropriately”, in a way that is not approved by the majority. This is not surprising given the country’s Confucius heritage which places a lot more emphasis on the collective than the individual.

Shopping is a national pastime. But there is an apparent shortage of independent brands here. People …

This is a nicely written piece by Stephen McElhinney reflecting on the challenges faced by Singapore in its attempts to become more creative as a nation.

The “Missing T” refers to Richard Florida’s three T’s required to jump start a creative economy: Technology, Talent and Tolerance. McElhinney argues that Singapore’s key challenge is the historical suppression of the last T.

On the subject of tolerance, …

Does the subtleties and nuances, the richness and adaptability, of a language impact a culture’s (a population group’s) ability to innovate?

If the language:

is rich with borrowed words;
is open to playful metamorphosis by the majority of the population and not just the hyper- educated elite;
is actively used by many people in diverse (but not isolated) geographical regions so has to promote both variation and cross pollination);
has been in use …

Here’s a great demonstration of using a risk management technique to make decisions when faced with uncertainties and the lack of hard facts.

It also provides an interesting take on the global warming debate. You don’t actually have to believe or disbelieve in global warming to think about the situation at hand and make a reasonable decision.

I am sure you can …