Interview: Mr. Brian Newman, Founder & CEO, Green Cities Asia Ltd

Established in London, Green Cities Asia Ltd has chosen Seoul, Korea as the corporate base for its Asian property development expansion. The company’s founders – Mr. Brian Newman and Mr. Jason Ahn – are merging their international property development, investment financing and real estate marketing experience with some of the world’s leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development to give Green Cities Asia Ltd unparalleled capacity to deliver world-class projects for governments, investors and stakeholders. As noted by Mr. Newman who is also the CEO, Green Cities Asia Ltd is a response to a growing need in Asia for real estate companies who understand the unique complexities of large-scale urban development. We are a leader a leader in sustainable urban development...

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Just so you know...

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Koreans Don't Have Big Faces

Just so you know.....a study by the Korea Food and Drug Administration seems to contradict the stereotype that Koreans have bigger faces than Caucasians. The KFDA measured the facial dimensions of 387 adults and 304 children and adolescents between 2007 and 2009 and found that the average Korean male's face was 419 sq. cm in area or about 92 percent the size of Caucasian males' 453 sq. cm. The face of the average Korean woman measured 371 sq. cm, a little smaller than the average Caucasian woman's 380 sq. cm. Experts say the faces of Koreans appear to be bigger due to a kind of optical illusion. "Koreans tend to have relatively flatter facial features than Caucasians so they could be perceived as having bigger faces, but from a three-dimensional perspective, Caucasians have bigger...

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Want to read 3D books?

Researchers at South Korea's Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have been developing 3D software technology for books over the last three years. To date, they've been able to animate two Korean folklore children's books. Certain pictures will trigger animations for those wearing 3D glasses, but don't expect to see it in books any time soon, says Kim Sang-cheol, team leader on the project.Read more he...

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The advantage of being rich and famous in Korea

If you are rich in Korea, everything is forgiven! Even if you drive your company bankrupt and run away like a coward, or cheat your shareholders and evade taxes, you will eventually be pardoned. The trick is to lay low for about a year and come back on the public stage, lecturing others on how to make Korea a great nation... Take former Daewoo Group Chairman Kim Woo-choong. He was on the list for the Interpol when he was in exile, because of how he left the company with insurmountable debt. He was arrested soon after he returned to South Korea on June 14, 2005, and apologized "for hurting the nation and accepted full responsibility for the collapse of the group, adding he is ready to accept whatever the authorities have in store for him." In May 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after...

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Interview: Mr. Ian Thomas, Chairman of Thomas Consultants

Thomas Consultants Inc. is a consulting firm that specializes in providing optimal retail development strategies for: Retail Projects and Shopping Centers; Downtown Retail Precincts; Resort Retailing and Master Planning; Airports and Cruise Ship Facilities, as well as Transit Nodes and other large-scale Mixed-Use Development. Thomas Consultants‘ head office is based in Vancouver, Canada, with additional offices in both Korea and Australia. The firm is recognized as a leader in the strategic planning of retail facilities in a wide range of project types, including shopping centers, street retail districts, resort villages, master-planned communities, urban entertainment centers, airport and cruise ship terminals, and transit-oriented development projects. The firm is currently engaged in...

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Interview: Mr. Kim Sung-Hwan, Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs & National Security

The inauguration of Mr. Lee Myung-bak as President in February 2008 represented a significant shift in South Korea's foreign policy. Since then, the government has pursued a “pragmatic” foreign policy based on strengthening relationships with key regional powers and promoting conditional engagement with North Korea, while also enhancing South Korea’s role in the international community.The seven point doctrine of the present administration can be characterized as: Complete denuclearization and opening of North Korea; Pragmatic diplomacy based on a national consensus; Strengthening of the ROK-U.S. alliance; Expansion of Asia diplomacy in partnership with other regional states to move toward the opening of an Asian era; Contribution to the global community as the world's 12th economy and a...

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Rascal, the ugliest dog in the world

Rascal won the title of ugliest dog Sunday at the 15th annual Ugly Dog Contest at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. His owner boasts that Rascal is the 'world's ugliest dog.' I am sure my four dogs will love this video and laugh their heads off. Have to show it to them tonig...

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HP Slate takes on iPad

Even as I am excitedly waiting for the iPad to go on sale, i was caught unawares by the news that HP is ready with its own version of a tablet called Slate that will run Windows 7 operating system and support Flash. While the above videos that the company released looks promising, one will have to wait and see. I have never been a fan of the windows OS and am pretty sure that I will settle for the iPad. Just hope that the HP tablet does not keep crashing as frequently as the desktop/laptop versio...

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Interview: Ms. Regina Lee, General Manager, Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management

Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management, headquartered in Seoul, is a joint venture between Shinhan Financial Group and the French financial group, BNP Paribas. It is the fruit of an eight-year-old partnership between one of the three largest Korean financial groups and the largest euro-zone bank by assets. In January 2009, Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management was created when Shinhan BNP Paribas Investment Trust Management and SH Asset Management merged. Shinhan BNP Paribas Investment Trust Management was created in 1996 as Shinhan Investment Trust Management and in 2002 the name changed to Shinhan BNP Paribas when BNP Paribas acquired a 50% stake. As noted by Ms. Regina Lee, General Manager, Real Estate Investment Team, the joint venture is currently ranked third in the Korean asset management...

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Linux Mint- a fantastic alternative to Windows

I have never been a fan of Windows and found the outdated capabilities of the operating system an annoyance. For this reason, I stopped using my desktop computer at home (with Windows OS) and switched over to an iMac 2 years ago. Prior to that I had also bought a Macbook for my girlfriend and found that the learning curve was really not as steep as people made it out to be. Slowly but surely I got infatuated with my Mac and have never looked back since. Although, I still use Windows at work, since this is Korea, and there is no way out  ! Moreover since my girlfriend needs to use Internet Explorer for all her banking needs I resultantly...

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