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| USA |
The United States is the most influential country on the planet with currently the worlds largest economy.
The United States is the largest player in the global Internet supply ecosystem, capturing more than 30 percent of global Internet revenues and more than 40 percent of net income.
The levels of debt that the US economy has amassed is causing nervousness in world markets and many feel there is going to be a currency crisis in the next 2-3 years. The US moved away from the Gold Standard when President Nixon was in power and since the 1970's the developing world has become more significant due to rapid growth through manufacturing and services.
China and India will both pass the US in less than 50 years time as their economies grow rapidly through technology and a cheaper labour pool.
How the US manage the money markets in the next 5-10 years will be a key to the survival of the US as the most influential country in the world economy.
Latest News | The US fiscal position is appalling with a $1.6 trillion deficit projected for fiscal 2012 alone. For those who have lost count, the US national debt has risen to over $14.8 trillion. The latest updated projections reveal that the US will reach a 100% debt to GDP ratio by Halloween 2011.
US Weather Trends | There have been a total of 27 billion-dollar hurricanes and tropical storms combined since 1900. Out of the full list of 27, there have been seven hurricanes which have surpassed the 10 billion-dollar mark. Six of these seven have occurred since 2004! (Source Weather Channel)
Forecasters have predicted a very active 2011 Atlantic season with between eight and 10 hurricanes, above the long-term June to November average of six to seven hurricanes. (Source PocketInfo)
United States Key Facts and Figures
Capital - Washington DC
Alpha++ Cities - New York
Alpha+ Cities - Chicago
Alpha Cities - Los Angeles, San Francisco
Alpha- Cities - Miami , Dallas , Atlanta , Philadelphia
Beta+ Cities - Houston
Beta Cities - Seattle, Minneapolis
Beta- Cities - Detroit, Denver, St Louis, San Diego, Cleveland
Gamma+ Cities - Cincinnati, Charlotte , Baltimore , Portland
Gamma Cities - Kansas City , Phoenix , Tampa, Columbus , Indianapolis, Pittsburgh
Gamma- Cities - Orlando , Richmond, Austin , Milwaukee, San Antonio
Largest City - New York
Profiled Cities - Green Bay
WELT - USA Ranked largest Economy (Jan 2012)
US Population - 307m
Area - 9,826,675 sq km (4th Largest Country)
Currency - US Dollar $
Debt Ceiling - $US14.29 trillion (Reached May 16th 2011)
US Debt Clock - Eye Opening site on the US National Debt
Language - English
GDP - 14.4 trillion USD (Ranked 1st)
Gold Producer - Rank 4th 205,000kg
US Mint - HQ Washington DC
United States Bullion Depository - Fort Knox, KY
Reserve Bank Federal Reserve
Central Bank Rate 0.25%
Inflation 3.6%
Current Credit Rating AA+
Google Censorship - Jan-June 2011 Up 70%
Arable as % of total land - 19%
Urban Population - 80.1%
Drive on the -right
Calling Code - +1
Internet TLD -.us
HDI - Ranked 13th (0.956)
Press Freedom Index - 20/178 (likely to drop in 2011 due to Wikileaks Cyber war)
G20 Member - United States of America
APEC Member - USA (see APEC article )
HDR Index 2010 - 4th USA
WEF* Tech Pioneers - 18/31 for 2011
Book a Hotel - No Booking Fee USA
USA Rank 18th - FIFA 2011HIV/AIDS Rate - Rank 6 USA
Shark Attack Hotspots 2010 - USA 34 Attacks
WWF - US Site - Arctic Sea Ice Levels Plummet to Record Lows
Spam Generation - USA Ranked 1st (see SPAM article)
PocketInfo article | US will participate in World Book Night 2012
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| American Silver Eagle |
PocketInfo Coin Collecting Glossary
American Silver Eagle - is the official Silver Bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one-troy ounce size which has a face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver.
The United States Mint operates 6 facilities across the United States. Current facilities include the Headquarters in Washington, DC; production facilities in Philadelphia, PA; West Point, NY; Denver, CO; and San Francisco, CA; and the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, KY.
News | Gold and silver never really lost their safe-haven status per se, but traders were not treating the metals as such. Gold and silver were caught in the tide with equities. The WSJ recently reported that since July 1, 90% of S&P 500 stocks have moved in the same direction on the same day on 26 days. For comparison, this only happened 38 days for all of 2010. This week is a different story. Gold futures for December delivery increased $48 on Monday, and another $16 on Tuesday. Silver futures have climbed nearly $2 in the same period. The move higher yesterday was very telling for both metals. (28th Oct 2011)
PocketInfo Roundup
Week ending 14th Nov - USA 2 Articles 21st Nov - 1 Article
2011 Events - Mardi Gras New Orleans
Mardi Gras 2011 falls on Tuesday, March 8. Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”, is the last day of the Carnival season as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Most visitors will plan to arrive no later than Saturday, March 5, 2011 in order to enjoy an extended weekend of festivities. Book ahead through this link.USA Special Dates and Articles on PocketInfo
1) Thanksgiving2) Black Friday
3) Cyber Monday
4) Golden Globes 2011
5) Aspen Fashion Week
6) The Nixon Shock - Ending the Gold Standard
7) World Book Night
10 Events that Changed our World - USA
#8. The Cuban Missile Crisis 14th - 18th Oct 1962
A horrific Nuclear War between the Soviet Union and the USA never came closer than on one October weekend in 1962. A stand-off between the Superpowers over the placement of nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba left the future of the planet as we know it in the balance.The Soviets were reacting to missiles being placed in Turkey within striking distance of Moscow. US president John F Kennedy and soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev played out probably the most intense diplomatic standoff the world has ever seen.#6. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" Speech 28th Aug 1963
King's speech, in front of a vast crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, would lead, eventually, to the end of racial segregation in the USA. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream, that one day his children would live in a nation where they'd be judged, not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. The most quoted line from the speech (which was voted top American speech of the 20th century) is " I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."#3. The First Moon Landing Apollo 11 - 20th Jul 1969
It was an event so unbelievable and significant that some still claim it did not even occur.But when the pictures of Neil Armstrong were shown live in 1969, the world watched in awe.With 600 million eyes watching , he uttered the immortal words , "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".The Apollo program completed 6 more lunar landings 3 years following Apollo 11's successful mission.#2. The Twin Towers Terrorist Attacks ( 9/11) - September 11 2001
Two American airliners were flown into the World Trade Center towers by Islamic Fundamentalist (al-Qaeda) hijackers. Similar attacks would follow in Washington and Pennsylvania. The day is now universally known as 9/11 .(Ironically the same number you dial for an emergency call in the USA). The US administration's reaction , headed by President George W Bush , was far reaching and more than a decade later reverberations Wars in Iraq , Afghanistan and operations against al-Qaeda in other parts of the world are being felt.| 2011 | Feb | NFL Football | Super Bowl | Arlington, Texas |
| 2011 | April | Golf | Masters | Augusta, USA |
| 2011 | June 16–19 | Golf | US Open | Bethesda, Maryland |
| 2011 | June | Ice Hockey | Stanley Cup finals | |
| 2011 | June | Basketball | NBA Finals | USA |
| 2011 | Aug 8-14 | Golf | US PGA | Johns Creek, GA |
| 2011 | Aug-Sep | Tennis | US Open | New York |
Rank 2nd William Gates III Age 54 Wealth 53bn
| Rank 3rd Warren Buffett | Age 79 | Wealth 47bn |
| Rank 6th Lawrence Ellison | Age 65 | Wealth 28bn |
| Rank 12th | Christy Walton & family | Age 55Wealth | 22.5bn |
| Rank 15th Jim Walton | Age | 62 | Wealth 20.7bn |
| Rank 16th Alice Walton | Age | 60 | Wealth20.6 bn |
| Rank 18th S. Robson Walton | Age 66 Wealth 19.8bn |
| Rank 23rd Michael Bloomberg | Age | 68Wealth | 18bn |
| Rank 24th Sergey Brin | Age | 36 | Wealth 17.5bn |
| Rank 25th Charles Koch | Age | 74 | Wealth 17.5bn |
Great People of the World | USA
Martin Luther King - I have a dream speech |
| Manhatten | Wallpapers |
Famous Quotes | USA
Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - - the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.Donald H. Rumsfeld, Department of Defense news briefing, February 12, 2002
PocketInfo Pub Quiz Trivia
The fictional Cafe used in the Friends TV sitcom was called Central Perk.PocketInfo News | USA
USA : (Dec 6th 2010) The US diplomatic cables being released by the Wikileaks site indicate that Chinese authorities ordered cyber attacks on Google which led to Google's withdrawl from the Chinese market Source: WSJLonely Planet Top Cities to visit 2011
1. New York | USA
Since 9/11, the site of the World Trade Center’s twin towers has stood out as a closed-off, out-of-view, painful gaping void. This year that changes, as the former WTC site finally reopens to the public with the National September 11 Memorial, a 6-acre, tree-filled plaza with 30ft-deep waterfalls at the footprint of the former towers, rimmed by the name of each victim and illuminated at night (its museum will follow in 2012). For the city, this will be more momentous than if the Yankees, Knicks, Rangers and Giants won simultaneous championships while the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. For all of New York, 11 September 2011 will be a defining moment.WEF* = World Economic ForumFamous People from the USA who failed before they succeeded
Henry Ford - see 1
Bill Gates - see 6
Walt Disney - see 8
Abraham Lincoln - see 18
Oprah Winfrey - see 19
Fred Astaire - see 23
Stephen King - see 36
Jokes US Related
Barack Obama - HereEvents | 2011-2012
Volvo Ocean Race | Miami is the sixth port stop for the Volvo Ocean Race.The ocean boats are coming in from Itajai in Brazil after 4800 nm of sailing and arrive in the Florida port on or around May 6th 2012.
Economy Watch | USA
The number of Americans signed up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which provides food stamps — has reached its highest level since it began in 1939. One in seven Americans now receive aid from the program.
US Housing | Bank of America have taken on a new tactic when it comes to dealing with foreclosures. 100 homes in Cleveland have been bulldozed and the Banks have donated the land back to the City. Economist Thomas Lawler believes fewer houses might revive prices!
US Auto Industry | The US auto industry has added 133,000 jobs since its low point in 2009.
US Environment | A US company called 'Boral Roofing' plans to launch an environmentally conscious roof tile that absorbs Smog
New Film Contagion | Nothing Spreads Like Fear
The fascinating thing about Contagion is how seriously it takes its epidemiology, its virology and even its sober sense of how unprepared most Americans (and the World) are for a mass-casualty disaster (as captured in this April report from the National Biosurveillance Advisory Committee). Full article can be read at Wired
US Music | Broken Spindles is the lo-fi electronic solo project of bassist Joel Peterson, the founding member of Omaha, NE‘s The Faint. (Listen on Pandora)
US Blogs of note
Boston | The Big Picture
Cars | The Truth about Cars
The Everywhereist | Travel blog with a difference
Highline Ballroom | New York Music Venue Event Guide
Benjamin Cumming | Chicago based blogger with a love for the MLS and other stuff
Choose What | Helping Small Businesses make big choices
- USA | Each year about 17,500 individuals are brought into the United States and held against their will as victims of human trafficking.Some estimate the number is as high as 60,000 annually. These numbers do not include those who are here from previous years, migrants already in the US, runaways, displaced persons, and those from oppressed/marginalized groups and the poor.What are the signs of Trafficking - Human Trafficking Site
Great US Lyrics | PocketInfo loves Andy Kaufman
REM | Man On the MoonMott the Hoople and the game of Life.Full lyrics here
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match.
Monopoly, Twenty one, checkers, and chess.
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess.
Let's play Twister, let's play Risk.
I'll see you in heaven if you make the list.
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| Michael Pollen |
Omnivore's Dilemma | Pollan's narrative strategy is simple: he traces four meals back to their 'species'. He starts with a McDonald's lunch, which he and his family gobble up in their car.
Surprise: the origin of this meal is a cornfield in Iowa. Corn feeds the steer that turns into the burgers, becomes the oil that cooks the fries and the syrup that sweetens the shakes and the sodas, and makes up 13 of the 38 ingredients (yikes) in the Chicken McNuggets.
Indeed, one of the many eye-openers in the book is the prevalence of corn in the American diet; of the 45,000 items in a supermarket, more than a quarter contain corn. Pollan meditates on the freakishly protean nature of the corn plant and looks at how the food industry has exploited it, to the detriment of everyone from farmers to fat-and-getting-fatter Americans.
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