Here’s some of our top picks for stories in culture:
Fast Company: How to Keep Conflict Minerals Out of Your Daily Life (Sort Of) — Don’t want to deal with the feelings of guilt that come with having conflict minerals in your gadgets? The Enough Project, an initiative with the incredibly ambitious goal of ending genocide and crimes against humanity, has you covered. The project this month released a report ranking major electronics companies in their progress moving towards conflict-free supply chains that don’t fuel violence in war-torn areas of the Congo and elsewhere…Continue Reading
Worldcrunch: Taiwan’s Fading Chinese Identity — TAIPEI – Flags have a particular knack for causing trouble in Taiwan, the de facto sovereign island state, which is nevertheless still lacking full sovereignty and therefore does not have much say in the matter when it comes to showing off its national colors. The Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan) is participating in the Olympic Games under the name of “Chinese Taipei,” with an adapted flag, different to the official Republic of China flag…Continue Reading
Mashable: Why Startups Choose New York City Over Silicon Valley — When Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai started building their location-sharing startup, Foursquare in 2008, they chose New York City for their headquarters. Crowley’s kitchen table in the East Village served as their first workspace…Continue Reading
Grist: Keeping the peace between beekeepers and their urban neighbors — In late July 2010, up to 200,000 honeybees, kept in hives and dutifully producing honey at the Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco, were massacred. That might seem like strong language, but how else might one describe the act of spraying pesticide directly into the entrances and ventilation holes of three beehives?…Continue Reading
BBC News: The rise of the affluent Muslim traveller — Muslims are predicted to make up almost one in three of the world’s population by 2025, and increasing numbers of well-heeled, well-educated Muslims are already seeking out goods and services that meet their needs – not only at home, but also when they travel…Continue Reading
Photo by: TingChang