So, while working on my last post, I found a cool tool I didn’t mention – it’s the National Atlas. You can click on a state and show its cities, counties, population, or even bodies of water. In fact, you can even display levels of arsenic in ground water, if you’d like, and you can mix and match any of the display items you’d like. There are also specialty maps showing additional information in a map format. Above, I’ve shown the distribution of zebra mussels in the US as of 2003, and if you’re interested you can check the progression …read more

This blog isn’t really about politics, but a recent statement about Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin struck me. Apparently, she doesn’t need foreign policy experience because Alaska is so close to Russia, with variations on the theme citing from seventy to 300 miles or so. Without even addressing the validity of that logic to begin with, it got me thinking – just how far is Anchorage from Moscow, where the real seat of Russian power lies? The answer to that (and any distance questions) is here, at the Distance Calculator.
Apparently, Anchorage is about 4,350 miles from Moscow, only about …read more

The University of Maryland runs an interesting International Policy program which conducts opinion polls around the world and posts them on their web site, WorldPublicOpinion.org. Most of the polls relate to politics/government policies and social issues like abortion and divorce but a recent poll looked at how folks in some of the largest Muslim countries view globalization and international trade.
The results of the poll: people in Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Indonesia, the Palestinian Territories, plus the Muslim population of Nigeria in general are very favorable towards globalization and international trade, with 63% saying that globalization is good for their own …read more

Not only the rich and famous are buying real estate in foreign countries. With markets in the US and UK down, and the low dollar doing its job, folks all over the world are gaining interest in properties outside of their own country.
But how can average realtors in the US attract foreigner buyers? One way is to have the listings translated so that foreigners can easily search for what they are looking for. Immobel, based in South Carolina, is specialized exactly in that area. Immobel works with hundreds of thousands of real estate agencies and translates listings into 12 languages.
The …read more

BusinessWeek has an interesting article on the need to develop management with international and transcultural skills, so if you’re reading this blog you’re halfway to a great new job!

The International Herald Tribune, my favorite international daily newspaper, is offering free trial subscriptions in Spain, Italy, UK, Germany and France. The paper will be delivered free of charge for 28 days to the address you specify.
Each country has their own URL:

Spain: offer.iht.com/global1
Italy: offer.iht.com/global2
UK: offer.iht.com/global3
Germany: offer.iht.com/global4
France: offer.iht.com/global5

Enjoy!
Image from wrh.noaa.gov 

Ernst and Young just recently released their latest survey on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), where they rank the attractiveness of investing in foreign countries. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) dominated the ranking, although Western Europe still receives a large share of foreign investment.
Which three countries are the most attractive investment locations in the world? (Multiple answers possible. Survey of 834 companies.)
1. China (47%)
2. India (30%)
3. Russia (21%)
4. USA (18%)
5. Poland (14%)
6. Germany (10%)
7. Brazil (10%)
8. Japan (7%)
9. Czech Republic (5%)
Reference: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 6. June 2008
Image shows “Outlays for New Investment in the US by Direct Foreign Investors, …read more

Summer is just around the corner and if you work in the US and are planning a vacation, you should consider yourself lucky: unlike Europe where 25 or 30 days paid vacation are required by law, US employers are not obligated to grant paid vacation days or sick days and many do not.
David Moberg has written an excellent article published at “In These Times” about America’s vanishing free-time and offers some insight into why paid time off is a standard benefit in all industrialized countries except the US.
Any more questions about why I choose to live in Europe?
How many paid …read more

When I travel on international business, I try to adapt to the surroundings and “do as the Romans do”. Wearing the right outfit, as Chris noted in yesterday’s post, is a part of this process.
Five or ten years ago, there used to be some regional differences in business fashion you could count on, but with fashion trends rapidly spreading around the globe via the Internet like everything else, a lot of these stereotypes have broken down.
Business fashion stereotypes:

UK is the home of pinstriped suits. The wider the stripes, the higher up in the hierarchy. Black shoes in the city, brown …read more

Since I’m preparing for another trip abroad (won’t be making it to Munich this time, though), I’ve been doing a little surfing to figure out the best travel products. This site by a fellow b5er has a number of good tips for frequent flyers, for those who are interested.