Category Archives: Futurism

Newt Gingrich speaks at the 2012 New York Republican State Dinner on April 19.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of the new book "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

(CNN) -- If I had my way, Newt Gingrich would run in every presidential primary there ever was. This year, his ego made him shine in a Republican field populated by nonpersonalities. He's certainly a lot more fun than the presumptive nominee. Having Mitt Romney at your cocktail party is the social equivalent of two people not turning up.

But with the defeat in Delaware, Gingrich's run is over. How the journalists shall miss him. His 2012 candidacy was indicative of a career kept alive by showmanship, and undermined by colossal arrogance.

If Sinclair Lewis had lived long enough to write a novel about Newt Gingrich, he'd have cast him as a grifter. He'd move from town to town, living out of a suitcase and renting by the night. Gingrich would probably sell shares in The Fully Patented Ultra-Sonic Moon Shuttle, an expensive stake in a nonexistent rocket. "Reserve your ticket to the stars! Dip your toes in the Sea of Tranquility! Breathe the mineral rich air of the moon!" Of course, as soon as the jig is up, he'd be gone -- leaving behind irate debtors, bankrupted old ladies and the odd angry husband or two.

Timothy Stanley

A fantasy perhaps, but Newt has always lived on his wits, surviving only so long as people never spotted the con. The clues were there at the very beginning of his career, when he took a position teaching history at West Georgia College in 1970. Within a year, the 28-year-old applied to be college president. When that failed, he waited another year before trying to become head of the department. Again, he was rebuffed. After delivering a handful of lectures on "futurism" and "environmentalism," this ambitious young man defected to the geography department.

That's been the pattern of Newt's life: Ambition and bravado open a limited period of attention and praise, followed by disappointment, a quickly packed suitcase and a fast cab ride out of town. "Take me to the airport, buddy," says Newt as he ducks out of sight onto the car floor.

Elected to Congress in 1978, Gingrich shifted from being a self-described "Rockefeller Republican" to a man who liked to see himself at the heart of the conservative revolution. Ronald Reagan thought little of his ideas and his Georgia constituents grew tired of a man with a reputation for preferring Washington to Georgia. After redistricting forced a move in 1990, Newt won the primary for a new seat by just 980 votes and the general by only 978. Shockingly low totals for a man who had talked himself into becoming Republican minority whip the year before.

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Opinion: For Newt, fun is over

Newt Gingrich speaks at the 2012 New York Republican State Dinner on April 19.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of the new book "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

(CNN) -- If I had my way, Newt Gingrich would run in every presidential primary there ever was. This year, his ego made him shine in a Republican field populated by nonpersonalities. He's certainly a lot more fun than the presumptive nominee. Having Mitt Romney at your cocktail party is the social equivalent of two people not turning up.

But with the defeat in Delaware, Gingrich's run is over. How the journalists shall miss him. His 2012 candidacy was indicative of a career kept alive by showmanship, and undermined by colossal arrogance.

If Sinclair Lewis had lived long enough to write a novel about Newt Gingrich, he'd have cast him as a grifter. He'd move from town to town, living out of a suitcase and renting by the night. Gingrich would probably sell shares in The Fully Patented Ultra-Sonic Moon Shuttle, an expensive stake in a nonexistent rocket. "Reserve your ticket to the stars! Dip your toes in the Sea of Tranquility! Breathe the mineral rich air of the moon!" Of course, as soon as the jig is up, he'd be gone -- leaving behind irate debtors, bankrupted old ladies and the odd angry husband or two.

Timothy Stanley

A fantasy perhaps, but Newt has always lived on his wits, surviving only so long as people never spotted the con. The clues were there at the very beginning of his career, when he took a position teaching history at West Georgia College in 1970. Within a year, the 28-year-old applied to be college president. When that failed, he waited another year before trying to become head of the department. Again, he was rebuffed. After delivering a handful of lectures on "futurism" and "environmentalism," this ambitious young man defected to the geography department.

That's been the pattern of Newt's life: Ambition and bravado open a limited period of attention and praise, followed by disappointment, a quickly packed suitcase and a fast cab ride out of town. "Take me to the airport, buddy," says Newt as he ducks out of sight onto the car floor.

Elected to Congress in 1978, Gingrich shifted from being a self-described "Rockefeller Republican" to a man who liked to see himself at the heart of the conservative revolution. Ronald Reagan thought little of his ideas and his Georgia constituents grew tired of a man with a reputation for preferring Washington to Georgia. After redistricting forced a move in 1990, Newt won the primary for a new seat by just 980 votes and the general by only 978. Shockingly low totals for a man who had talked himself into becoming Republican minority whip the year before.

See original here:
Stanley: Goodbye again, Newt Gingrich

The United States, like almost every other rich country in the world, is getting older and slower. But we have a natural advantage over the rest of the world, if only we're wise enough to use it

Reuters

When countries get rich, they can get predictable. They live longer. They get older. They use their wealth to pay for the insurance and security of the elderly. As the workforce moves away from farms into factories and cubicles, working parents tend to have fewer kids. Fewer children grow up to become fewer workers. And fewer workers paying into expensive programs ironically puts strains on the very wealth that made this all possible, in the first place.

An aging country faces three deficits. First it faces this entitlement deficit. Second, it creates an creativity deficit, as a declining share of working-age people are finding and tweaking smart ideas. Third, it creates a savings deficit. Broadly, young people save for retirement and retired people spend down those savings.

We see this hydra of deficits inflicting pain in Japan, whose the working-age population has already peaked and debt-to-GDP is the highest in the advanced world. We see it in Europe, where the ratio of working-age adults to seniors is poised to fall by 38 percent in the next two decades. We see it in Taiwan, and South Korea, and Hong Kong, where birth rates are below 2.1, which is commonly considered replacement level. We see it in China, where rapid aging and a bizarre one-child policy has created a "4-2-1 phenomenon," where one child's income supports two parents and four grandparents. We see it across the developed world, where the 60+ population will be growing more than three times as fast as the general population by 2030.

We also see it in the United States, which is also facing the strains of an older population demanding expensive medical services from a slower-growing workforce. But the U.S. has a trump card that makes us different from Europe. Fareed Zakaria calls it our "secret weapon" in his book The Post-America World. It's immigration.

People want to move here, and we can take them. That's why, if you'll permit a bit of futurism, we're projected to have a lower share of seniors than most of the developed world by 2050.

Immigration is a big part of what distinguishes the U.S. from, say, the EU. Immigration makes us younger. That's what you see from the graph above. Immigration makes us smarter. Half of all Silicon Valley start ups have a co-founder no more than one generation separated from an immigrant. Immigration gives us workers. The U.S. fertility rate is below 2.1, so it's immigration that pushes us above replacement level.

Go here to read the rest:
America's Secret Growth Weapon: Why Immigration Really, Really Matters

Newt Gingrich speaks at the 2012 New York Republican State Dinner on April 19.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of the new book "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

(CNN) -- If I had my way, Newt Gingrich would run in every presidential primary there ever was. This year, his ego made him shine in a Republican field populated by nonpersonalities. He's certainly a lot more fun than the presumptive nominee. Having Mitt Romney at your cocktail party is the social equivalent of two people not turning up.

But with the defeat in Delaware, Gingrich's run is over. How the journalists shall miss him. His 2012 candidacy was indicative of a career kept alive by showmanship, and undermined by colossal arrogance.

If Sinclair Lewis had lived long enough to write a novel about Newt Gingrich, he'd have cast him as a grifter. He'd move from town to town, living out of a suitcase and renting by the night. Gingrich would probably sell shares in The Fully Patented Ultra-Sonic Moon Shuttle, an expensive stake in a nonexistent rocket. "Reserve your ticket to the stars! Dip your toes in the Sea of Tranquility! Breathe the mineral rich air of the moon!" Of course, as soon as the jig is up, he'd be gone -- leaving behind irate debtors, bankrupted old ladies and the odd angry husband or two.

Timothy Stanley

A fantasy perhaps, but Newt has always lived on his wits, surviving only so long as people never spotted the con. The clues were there at the very beginning of his career, when he took a position teaching history at West Georgia College in 1970. Within a year, the 28-year-old applied to be college president. When that failed, he waited another year before trying to become head of the department. Again, he was rebuffed. After delivering a handful of lectures on "futurism" and "environmentalism," this ambitious young man defected to the geography department.

That's been the pattern of Newt's life: Ambition and bravado open a limited period of attention and praise, followed by disappointment, a quickly packed suitcase and a fast cab ride out of town. "Take me to the airport, buddy," says Newt as he ducks out of sight onto the car floor.

Elected to Congress in 1978, Gingrich shifted from being a self-described "Rockefeller Republican" to a man who liked to see himself at the heart of the conservative revolution. Ronald Reagan thought little of his ideas and his Georgia constituents grew tired of a man with a reputation for preferring Washington to Georgia. After redistricting forced a move in 1990, Newt won the primary for a new seat by just 980 votes and the general by only 978. Shockingly low totals for a man who had talked himself into becoming Republican minority whip the year before.

Read the rest here:
Goodbye again, Newt Gingrich

Florida-based Alan Kaufman created an umbrella that can be worn around its users head and shouldersso that its user is kept protected from the rain, while having his/her hands free.

The Nubrella looks similar to the Space Bubble protective plastic hood worn by air hostesses of American airline Braniff International, during the 60s, that were inspired by astronaut helmets and designed by Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci as part of space-age futurism fashion.

The wearable umbrellalike the Space Bubbleis a bubble designed to protect hair of its wearers from wind and weather.

Users just have to strap on a shoulder support and extend the canopy around their heads.

The major advantage is the wearer doesnt have to carry anything when not in use as it goes behind the head like a hood, Kaufman told The Telegraph.

No people can ride their bikes and work outdoors completely hands free while staying protected.

No more struggling with inverted umbrellas with this hands-free umbrella that weighs just over 1kg, and costs US$ 50.

Would you wear this umbrella?

Read more:
Avid Cyclists, A Hands-Free Umbrella While You Ride

Jonathan Ende is bringing the TED brand of futurism to the heart of high finance: the New York Stock Exchange, for TEDx Wall Street.

TEDx, the TED-approved "ideas worth spreading" event empire, has landed in an unlikely place--the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE is hosting the first TEDx WallStreet on Friday, March 30, in a conference that's bringing TED's futurist ethos to the often straightlaced world of New York finance. Speakers include CNBC personality Jim Cramer, StudentsFirst CEO and former Washington, D.C. school chancellor Michelle Rhee, Fuel Outdoor founder Sergio Fernandez de Cordova, and venture capitalist/Singularity University cofounder David Rose.

According to TEDx WallStreet founder Jonathan Ende, the event has been in the works approximately one year. Although thousands of TEDx talks have taken place in the past, TEDxWallStreet is one of the first aimed directly at the tech sector. Ende stressed that this particular TEDx iteration is not a traditional finance conference; he instead calls it "an exciting platform for the brightest, most inspiring minds in and around the Wall Street community to put them on a global stage to share their most compelling ideas worth spreading." The official theme of the conference (and, given the TEDx format, there's almost always one) is "Redefining Success."

In a coastal rivalry twist, TEDx WallStreet isn't even the only TEDx conference aimed at the finance community. TEDx NewWallStreet took place on March 11 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Participants at the West Coast conference included former Intuit CEO Bob Harris, and MultiFunding CEO Ami Kassar. The event was held to encourage Silicon Valley to become "the new Wall Street." TEDx WallStreet staff are scheduled to ring the NYSE Closing Bell at 4 p.m. Eastern today; the event is also being livecast.

For more stories like this, follow @fastcompany on Twitter. Email Neal Ungerleider, the author of this article, here or find him on Twitter and Google+.

[Image: Flickr user Manu_H]

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TEDx Plans To Occupy Wall Street