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You Choose! Winning & Losing Stories
Mandatory Tips Foreign-Language Diners
A Waikiki restaurant is causing a stir with the fine print on its menu which reads: "A 15 percent gratuity will be added to your check for parties of six or more and for non-English speaking guests." According to the AP, the restaurant said it is merely trying to help it's wait staff because its costumer base includes many international travelers, who, by custom, do not tip. via AP
George W. Bush warns of "Nativist"
Click here to hear Former President Bush's remarks.
Sumo 'Fixing' Scandal
Japan's national sport of sumo wrestling was rocked by a match-fixing scandal yesterday after three wrestlers admitted to rigging bouts. Japan's Kyodo News Service claimed that Tokyo Police found suspicious messages on a number of wrestlers' phones that suggested fight outcomes were planned and money changed hands. Naoto Kan, the country's Prime Minister, said "Sumo is our national sport. If match-fixing has occurred, it is a very serious betrayal of the people." This is the latest controversy to hit sumo after a gambling scandal emerged last July. via CNN
BIG I: Backlog of Patents
Every day on the show we have a segment called The Big I. It's all about big new ideas and innovations. Those ideas become innovations when products or processes are developed. To get those processes to the market, you need a patent.
The blog How To Be a Retronaut posted some incredible pictures of patents of toys from over the years. If these patents were submitted today, they likely would have taken much longer to get approved. Many say the patent system today is busted. Its antiquated and underfunded. And if we want compete as a country when it comes to innovation, we have to fix this broken system of getting new ideas actually on the market.
We are making headway on some reform. Just this week, a Senate Judicial Panel passed the Patent Reform Act of 2011.
Click here to read up on the Patent Reform Act of 2011.
Click here to head to the US Patent Office.
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