Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Nov 25, 2013

choi

I usually visit the library at Massachusetts state house, which did not have the issue. So today I call upon the business library of Boston University and browse it.

(1) Pete Coy and Dexter Roberts, The Power of Xi. After one year as China's president, Xi Jinping promises 'reform and opening up.' But he's clearly flexing muscle.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... ation-not-democracy

the last two paragraphs:

"The Ammerican Dream is personal: Work hard, and there are no limits to what you can achieve. The Chinese Dream is about national greatness: 'the great renewal of the Chinese nation,' as the document [released at the end of CCP Third Plenum] put it. Xi has warned that the Soviet Union fell because of ideological rot and lack of courage; he wants to ensure that the same fate doesn’t befall China.

"Is Xi a reformer? On his own terms, certainly yes. But those who associate reform with democracy are bound to be disappointed.

My comment:
(a)
(i) This article is Opening Remarks, one per issue that is placed at the very beginning of the content (after table of contents, of course). Invited outside writers or BusinessWeek journalists (as here) contribute to Opening Remarks.
(ii) The article summary at table of content:  Xi is reforming China, but don't expect democracy to bloom

(b) The title might be a word play on Ang Lee's 2012 film Life of Pi.
(c) The article talks about Mr Xi's domestic stance--never about foreign affairs. So "flexing muscle" is not about Japan.
(d) The "illustration" (that is what its caption says) shows Mr Xi displays the hand gestures for English quotation marks ("  ").
(e) term (n):
"[phrase] on one's own terms
:  in accordance with one's wishes :  in one's own way <prefers to live on his own terms>"
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/term
(f) There is no need to read the rest.

choi

(6) Ari Levy, Cisco's Tough Sell for Conference Rooms.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... nferencing-software
"Cisco's prices for telepresence hardware in smaller conference rooms have run as low as $20,000. That’s still high compared with monthly videoconferencing software subscriptions now offered by newer rivals like FuzeBox and Blue Jeans Network [both start-ups are 4 years old and work through the cloud]. For $10 to $15 per user per month, these competitors provide software that works with a range of smartphones, tablets, and other devices to turn conference calls into videoconference calls. It’s not the same as talking in hardware-linked boardrooms, but not everyone needs that. Cisco 'designed something that’s fit for a king, and only kings can afford it,' says Krish Ramakrishnan, who worked there before co-founding Blue Jeans Network")

Note: summary underneath the title in print: Cheaper software undercuts the company's telepresence

choi

(5) Brad Stone, Thank You for Vaping.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... rs-use-real-tobacco

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Ploom's electronic cigarettes use real tobacco

(b) The company website says Ploom is based on San Francisco, but does not say when it was founded.
(i) In the "support" Web page
www.ploom.com/support
, click "VAPORIZATION" and read
* How does Ploom work?
* Is Ploom the same/different from e-cigs?
* What is in your vapor?
(ii) Other quotations in the company website:

"Ploom is a pipe tobacco product based upon hookah or shisha. Ploom creates a vapor through gentle heating of the tobacco, using a patent-pending technology.

"What goes into the Ploom pods? What are they made out of?
Ploom pods are single-serving tobacco capsules used in the Ploom modelTwo. They are filled with the highest quality natural ingredients including the finest grade whole leaf tobacco, choice herbal botanicals and all-natural flavors. To vaporize the tobacco, humectants are added. Ploom pods are made from anodized food-grade aluminum. Pods can be recycled. Before disposing, careful! Pods may be hot if you were just plooming.

"Can I refill a pod with my own tobacco?
Refilling a pod with your own materials and using it in your Ploom could void your warranty. Ploom’s other product, Pax, was specifically created to deliver an optimal tobacco experience with loose-leaf pipe tobacco. If you would like to use your own tobacco, we recommend utilizing Pax, which was created for this purpose.


(c) In other words, Ploom is a portable hookah, kind of.
(i) hookah
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah
(also known as shisha; The word hookah is a derivative of "huqqa," which is what the Arabs called it; Persian word shīshe, meaning glass; section 4.2 Operation)
(ii) hookah (n; from Urdu huqqa, from Arabic huqqa "pot, jar")
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hookah

choi

(4) Chris Reiter, BMW Has Seen the Future, and It's Carbon.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... ber-bodies-for-cars

Figure in the window of print: 330lb[:]  Approximate weight of i3's carbon frame

My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: The luxe automaker is betting on lightweight carbon fiber for cars
(b) my summary: electric car i3 to be built in a $100 million factory in rural area of Washington state
(c) There is no need to read the text.
(d) Elsewhere it is reported car industry hopes for 100 mog (miles per gallon) with carbon frame. What about accident and impact?

choi

(3) Aki Ito, The Free Web Has Economists Puzzled.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... e-internet-services

My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Calculations of gross domestic product exclude many Web services
(b) There is nothing to puzzle over. GDP definition excludes any and all activities where no money change hand, such as volunteerism.
(c) Read paragraph 1 only.

choi

(2) Jeremy van Loon with Randall Hackley, Land of Tar Lakes.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... ic-wastewater-lakes

Quote:

"Canada is blessed with 3 million lakes, more than any country on earth—and it may soon start manufacturing new ones. The oil sands industry is in the throes of a major expansion, powered by C$20 billion ($19 billion) a year in investments. Companies including Syncrude Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, and ExxonMobil affiliate Imperial Oil are running out of room to store the contaminated water that is a byproduct of the process used to turn bitumen—a highly viscous form of petroleu
m—into diesel and other fuels.

"Canada boasts the world’s third-largest reserves of bitumen after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Canada plans to build reservoirs filled with tar sands wastewater
(b) bitumen-based fuel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitumen-based_fuel
(c) There is no need to read the rest.