new temporary housing for refugees, courtesy of Ikea

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682416/a-new-ingeniously-designed-shelter-for-refugees-made-by-ikea?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#1

"The tents the UN usually provides refugees start to disintegrate after six months. The new Ikea-designed shelters are built to last 10 times that long."

The government might be more helpful than you think

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/who-created-the-iphone-apple-or-the-government-.html

"Of the roughly 100 most important innovations from 1971 to 2006, as identified by R&D Magazine, almost 90 percent depended heavily on federal research support, according to Mazzucato. And whatever big pharmaceutical companies might say about the risks they take and amounts they spend to develop new drugs, most of the really innovative discoveries the past few decades have come from publicly funded laboratories."

Gee, and I thought the rugged individual Thomas Edison type was out there making the world a better place for us.  Turns out it's a team effort.

Costco; the better model for retail in the U.S.?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2013_06/the_secret_of_costcos_success045176.php

"Getting back to Costco: the abstract theorizing that MBA students learn in microeconomics courses often has little relevance to practical business situations. The simplified textbook models do teach the lesson that policies like unions and the minimum wage are wrong — that message comes through loud and clear. Economics as it’s taught in most American colleges today encourages poor labor practices.
No wonder why Costco prefers its own cart-pushers to fancy MBA bean counters. Costco’s business model relies on investing in its workers."

comparing Walmart and Costco should be a part of any MBA program.  Costco cares for its employees.

Government cencorship

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/04/tiananmen-square-yellow-duck-meme-weibo_n_3383181.html?just_reloaded=1

"Chinese authorities have imposed a traditional social media blackout on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests - but China's 'netizens' have come up with creative of remembering the massacre.
Some Weibo and Twitter users dubbed the anniversary 'National Amnesia Day', and certain words have been banned from the Chinese microblogging site, including the words 'remember', 'today', 'tonight', 'June 4' and 'Big Yellow Duck'.
The big yellow duck ban is in reference to a parody of the iconic image of the tanks rolling into the square in central Beijing, with the tanks replaced by big yellow ducks, akin to the current installation of yellow ducks in Hong Kong harbour."

In other words, you can TRY to censor, but people are good at finding ways around it.