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US 'no longer technology king'

news.bbc.co.uk — The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

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  • CaptainNoPants, on 10/12/2007, -44/+151Since when was the U.S. the tech king? I thought China/Japan were leading the tech push.
    • shrewduser, on 10/12/2007, -17/+60"Since when was the U.S. the tech king? I thought China/Japan were leading the tech push."

      china and japan don't even make top 10.

      its not so much based on what people on the street believe, or even where tech is manafactured... its a table measuring the impact of technology on development. (economic)

      this is just my opinion, but i would probably say a push towards more economic conservatism is whats behind the U.S falling behind in areas which it traditionally dominates...
    • LowRentDiggs, on 10/12/2007, -15/+39"this is just my opinion, but i would probably say a push towards more economic conservatism"

      How is the US economically conservative?
    • satori3000, on 10/12/2007, -16/+74The Chinese fighter the J10 is built half from stolen tech from America from the f16 and half from bought tech from Israel from the dead Lavi Jet program (and some of the tech from that is also based on the f16). China is great at stealing technology, but hardly a leader. The best thing they have going for them is a sea of hackers... and maybe WoW farmers.
    • LovingDigg, on 10/12/2007, -38/+1In Soviet Russia, technology makes kings.... Or Even you!
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -17/+62No, what has led to the US falling behind in tech development is much more than just "economic conservativism"

      1.) we haven't had a reason to develop new technology (no space race, no war{until recently}, no monopolies like AT&T that had bell labs and could dump huge sums of money into research)

      2.) much more worrying about how technology will hinder our lives than improve it

      3.) patent trolls

      4.) move to service-based economy from product-based economy

      5.) lawsuits against new technologies due to stupid misuse

      6.) Intellectual property ONLY companies (see #3)
    • quomen, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5I would think south korea is on this list.. or japan.
    • MisterWhite, on 10/12/2007, -17/+6SOX
    • InetRoadkill, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20We used to have the lead in technology, but not much anymore. Military systems seem to be the only area that has survived.

      I have to find high-tech subsystems to build the stuff we use at work. It's getting nearly impossible to find stuff here in the US. I'm having to go to suppliers in China, Japan, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands. I really don't want to. It's a pain in the ass dealing with foreign suppliers.
    • KibibyteBrain, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14Well, the US is still to a large extent the world design king. But the fact is, it doesn't matter anymore. US engineers spend 3 months a year in Asia now, French technical talent can spend months and months in the US or Asia, and Asian engineers spend a good deal of time in the US too. The high tech powerhouse that developed in the US isn't moving, but expanding to encompass the whole world.
      @ Inet Components moved out of the US a long time ago with manufacturing, but as seen by Apple's infamous "Designed in California" slogan, much actual design is done in the US, where our university system is a major help.
    • wolphcry, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16We still have cell company that use CDMA, Our "3G" is not a true 3g network. Don't even go into Broadband speeds to our homes. You can can 100MB fiber for less then I pay for cable in Japan.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -11/+14"Countries were judged on technological advancements in general business, the infrastructure available and the extent to which government policy creates a framework necessary for economic development and increased competitiveness."

      Wow, that doesn't really mean anything at all. More sensationalistic headlines on Digg. And sadly, this one was taken right from the article.
    • whiteboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12A lot of it is due to the fact that many companies have cut or gotten rid of research & development due to the fact that it doesn't generate direct revenue. If it doesn't make money on paper they want nothing to do with it. Case in point: AT&T, IBM, & GE used to be some of the leading companies in R&D, but those areas aren't nearly as prevalent as they once were.
    • ru13r, on 10/12/2007, -14/+25China? Are you serious. The Chinese have not invented or innovated anything significant in recent times. One of their former top academic got caught stealing a processor design he said he invented (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4771583.stm). The Chinese have no skill in creating new things. Their only strength is doing things cheaper then the rest of the world. Name one thing the Chinese invented in the past decade that we use here in America. They could never compete with us head to head in a technological showdown. Their whole culture is based on respecting elders and teachers not questioning them like we do in US colleges. Even though they are strong in engineering in mathematics they lack the ethos that Americans have of innovation and invention. We invented the internet / integrated circuits / ect... No one has come close to the dominance that America has had in technological inventions for the past few decades. This list is dumb anyone can come up with their own criteria and make a top 10 list. But in the real world we are still the most technologically advance society due to our huge funding (more than any country in the world look at the NSF budget) in science and our #1 ranked university system. When America is not the first to the next big internet-like breakthrough (which i bet will be in bioengineering) then you can say we have lost our positon as number 1. otherwise bury this crap as inaccurate/lame.
    • ictoan, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6@satori3000
      Your comment about China stealing everything is very misleading considering the fact that Japan is the country that 'borrows' everything from every country possible. Since you brought it up, then it's more accurate to say that Japan is the country that steals most technology not to mention languages
    • xeno439, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Notice Japan is not even on the list. This index has to do with management and rules, not who makes the best stuff.
    • Tenoq, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@ lowrentdiggs - US has implemented a number of 'protectionist' economic policies since Bush was elected: in terms of market capitalism, this is conservative behaviour and artificially changes economic conditions. The article is more about how technology is being used to advance economies - it would seem that European countries are now taking the lead in what IT can do for business and their national economies.

      Australia is 15th - surprising really, given our Government's backward attitude on infrastructure development.
    • bsmeteronhigh, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8I suspect in the future we will see a further decline. Thanks to the U.S. federal government's mandate of "No Child Left Behind" the emphasis on rote memorization and teaching for tests has taken any chance for the brightest to rise to the top. Instead, we are seeing youth and teachers bored with education. In the state I live in, they've done away with programs for gifted students because our federal government refuses to fund these programs and instead requires monies be spent on more testing. Teachers with a passion for educating are reduced to teaching to tests. It's a pity and a shame. I honestly think Einstein would have flunked out rather than endure the process. I've even resorted to teaching my youngest child simple math skills as the methods currently used are about as useful as "new math" was in the 60's. A sarcastic "thank you" to President Clinton for forming the Federal Department of Education and to George Bush for calling for no child left behind, then refusing to fund it.
    • Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm surprised South Korea isn't in the top 10. In 1950, South Korea had the same GDP as Egypt. Now, Korea has risen from their thrid-world status to the point of rivaling Japan in many cases. They lead the world in Broadband network adoption, have some of the best heavy industry capacity in the world, and was a surprising ursurper in LCD technology; back in the 80's and 90's, only NEC and Sharp (both Japanese) manufactured LCDs. Now Samsung not only makes them, but innovates and comes up with advancements all the time. Like Japan, the best of Korean consumer electronics is reserved for the home market, and hardly ever makes it across to the US. (Just check Engadget's coverage of Korean phones and PCs.)

      If there's ever a rising star, I'd say S. Korea is one of them. Korea certainly seems to surpass Iceland as far as I'm concerned, but Iceland is on the list, and Korea isn't.
    • Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11@ictoan:

      Japan's work with technology cannot be compared to China. Japan used to imitate foreign technology, but make it better, and within a generation or two, would be so far ahead due to refinement and incremental improvements that they would dominate. China has never done such a thing. China's primary activity when it comes to foreign technology is making counterfeit copies with inferior implementation, having set up parallel industries that steal technology invested by foreigners in China due to cheap labor.

      China used to be a world leader in innovation, back in the Imperial days, but modern China really cannot even be compared to Japan in the 70's and 80's when it comes to originality, invention, and innovation. This is not to say that there aren't Chinese innovators; it's just that they don't live in China. Top US firms, and many in Canada and the UK employ tons of Chinese engineers (ethnicity, not nationality) who have emigrated. Part of the problem is that China has experienced a massive brain drain. They send students to foreign countries to study, intending that they would come home and lift up Chinese industry, but something like 60% of the students they send away opt not to move back. (This was covered in an article at BBC.)

      I'm not dissing China; I'm just being honest. (I myself am ethnically Chinese. Almost every Chinese student whom I've known to have studied in the US has no intention to ever move back to China, Hong Kong, nor Taiwan, and a large portion of those who come here just for college have similar intentions.) China could do something about this by improving the quality of life impacted indirectly by many of their policies; the envirnoment, for example, and human rights. Air quality alone is a huge factor when it comes to the sense of well being that makes many Chinese emigrants feel like they can breathe easier in the US than they can in China.
    • goffy59, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I hear most technologies in Asian countries are developed in America. Isn't it cheaper to produce things in Asian countries?
      And what about all the technology our military develops that we don't know about. This isn't about conspiracy, but i promise that our government works on things well before it reaches us(citizens). Do they mean we lost our position on the level of our general population? Or as a whole?
      Hey I admit I don't know to much about this, but this is what Ive heard and believed for awhile. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
    • topace3000, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5US has been tech king for a long time, along with japan and a couple other countries. China, no, not at all. Sweatshops and factories do not equal technological innovation. They'll get there though.
    • returnofmalv, on 10/12/2007, -9/+25Still the number 1 exporter of war. Go USA!
    • enzomedici, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2
      We've outsourced most of the manufacturing. Much of the innovation and design is still done in the US though.

      Denmark or Sweden doing more technology than the US? Impossible. We do more technology in California that both of those countries
      combined.

    • grve, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2china and japan stealing tech is no big deal when compared to usa stealing top scientists from all over the world, esp. eu and east eu
    • gmarks, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I was in Europe last week and I was amazed about how much technology was just being sold in the airport. Some of our best models of phones were like nothing over there. 
    • sirkism, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I don't think the US has ever been mentioned as being on top with tech.
    • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1A country makes something
      Japan Implements it in such an innovative way that it makes the original product or idea better
      China Implements it in such a way that the product/idea is cheap

      Australia made the Lawn Mower and a few other things
    • DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5BIASED ARTICLE MUST BE TRUE.

      SO MUCH TECHONOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMES OUT OF DENMARK! ALL THE BEST TECH COMPANIES ARE IN DENMARK! LOL OLOL OLOOL INTENETS
    • MrKite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1As soon as the biotech boom goes off, the US will be right back up on the top again. I see it coming... and it's very clear that it's coming from where I'm standing. Technology doesn't just mean software and hardware. Biotech is going to change a lot, and where I live, almost every new startup is a biotech firm. It's going to happen, and I really don't see many other countries getting the funding for new businesses in in this sector like the US.
    • mtomovich, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Those rankings suck. Period.
  • GutterMoo, on 10/12/2007, -74/+8yea i dont think the US was ever the technology king, maybe during the early days from like 1700-1903. but anytime after that ill bet it was germany or other european countries. then of course japan takes over sometime after WWII
    • Auto, on 10/12/2007, -3/+70Psst. We weren't even a country in 1700. Just a tip.
    • spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+511700-1903 Britain pretty much lead the world in technology
    • Radan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, it was more or less in Britain that the whole industrial revolution began in the early 19:th century, if I remember correctly.
    • DigiRaven, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8What was it like to be the only one that failed history class?
    • illt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9We still have IBM, intel, amd(ati), sun, microsoft, apple, cisco, oracle, XM/sirius, google, yahoo, Motorola, Dell, seagate, western digital, HP, canon, Agilent, Qualcomm, Sandisk, nVidia, ETC ETC ETC.

      i think we're still doing ok in terms of economic muscle to throw around.
    • Tebixan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4America's prime time for leading the world in just about every way was from the end of the world wars to the end of the cold war. Our parents and grandparents were so xenophobic that they busted their asses to stay ahead of the rest of the world in every imaginable way.

      Now that Americans are returning to a isolationist, apathetic state of mind, we're slipping. Thats why we're seeing people hoping for a cold war with China, to get American's motivated again. The "axis of evil" isn't a threat in a traditional sense, so it's just not conjuring up the same kind of fear the soviets did. Our enemies now are like a cockroach infestation. Really ***** annoying, but not life threatening, and damn hard to get rid of.

      It would be great if people would strive for excellence just because it's a noble thing to do, and not only out of fear
    • irregardless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I wouldn't count out executive pay as a factor. Now that CEOs' compensation is near 400x the average worker, there's less money in the budget for R&D. Contrast with 30 years, when CEOs' compensation was closer to 20x average, you saw huge loads of money dumped in the R&D playgrounds, just to see what would stick.
  • Dissonance, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17Countries were judged on technological advancements in general business, the infrastructure available and the extent to which government policy creates a framework necessary for economic development and increased competitiveness.

    In these criteria the U.S. certainly shows some strength. The low taxes and efficient market system has always created great incentives for companies to innovate, and for investors to take some more risk.

    We still have so many of the leading companies (eg Google, Intel) but now it seems that other countries are creating better environments from which to innovate. Thoughtful policy changes are badly needed. We could also use some government help in creating Korean style broadband across this vast nation.

    Another controversial suggestion: perhaps making it easier for foreigners who come here to get advanced degrees at MIT and Stanford to stay and get a green card? It doesn't make sense to train these people here and then make them go back to India or China so they can use their skills there.

    Any other ideas?
    • unsolicited, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Globalization will only succeed when wage slavery is prevented in the developing nations.
    • smackhero, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5the top countries on that list are socialist governments and have very high taxes. reaganomics is just an excuse to let the rich get richer and increases the income gap. notice the key qualities of the top nations are efficient regulatory environments and governments focused on the general well-being of the entire nation not just rich corporations. no matter how high the GDP is, if the capital is all concentrated in the hands of a few it won't lead to greater innovation--and without progressive income taxes it won't help increase funding for societal infrastructure (like education, for instance).
    • daller, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@smackhero

      Sweden is not Socialist we have a right hand gov these days, Norway is pretty non socialist aswell even if the party at the top claims to be socialist but they have alot of money. When u look at the rest of the list most countries do not have a Socialist gov.
    • smackhero, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6yea, well i still wish the U.S. had the kind of socialized health care system/education you guys have. compared to the U.S. all those countries are extremely progressive.
  • mightydavefish, on 10/12/2007, -10/+56We don't innovate anymore, we outsource.
    • Jacob2478, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4@mightydavefish
      Outsourcing has nothing to do with our ranking. US companies usually outsource business functions that are not part of their core competencies enabling them to concentrate on value-creating functions. It helps the company run more efficiently. Our problem is culture. The good news: it can be fixed. We remain the worlds leading breeding ground for research (University Research), for now.
    • Zipp425, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1Ding Ding Ding. This guy is a genius, for reals!
      His statement is very true, im sure we've all heard that more and more jobs in america are being outsourced to cheaper companies around the world... We arent innovating, were are just doing the corporate stuff.
    • cheesy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Except most of what we outsource is manufacturing, call centers, and the tedious boring custom software development... not the real innovative stuff.
    • cupofchino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yep it hurts to outsource to China, India etc., all you're doing is sucking your own country dry.
      Corporations are undoubtedly greedy however IMO hedge funds/private equity funds are far worse. They'll sell off company assets, downsize the American workforce, screw them on benefits, outsource, and move money offshore just so they can earn the fastest buck imaginable (think Gordon Gekko but lots of them). So how do you stop these leaches? Legislation/Regulation but lobbyists will do whatever they can to prevent that from ever happening.
      How do you compete with China and India? You continuously reeducate the workforce and add competencies. Innovation brings riches, complacency digs ditches. My $0.02.
    • HappyMax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"US companies usually outsource business functions that are not part of their core competencies enabling them to concentrate on value-creating functions."

      That's not true. We are offshoring essential, advanced R&D research to other countries all the time and its only increasing.
    • cupofchino, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0We're getting dug down by the Indians.
  • MaximusIGN, on 10/12/2007, -27/+71This is exactly the goal of the Christian Fundamentalists with G W Bush leading the charge. Less science and understanding leads people back to the middle ages and believing that pray is the solution to all problems. Case in point, is the goverment getting involved in faith based initiatives which support teaching of religion instead of science in schools.

    Then burning all the US treasury on a theocracy based crusade in the Middle East. The US is currently second to last in the world in the believe of evolution, losing out to Turkey. Even the population of Iran and Afghanistan have a higher acceptance.

    What a sad state of affairs.
    • afruff23, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4Can you please give me a link to what you said about belief of evolution?
    • TheGuruStud, on 10/12/2007, -26/+8see "the southern US and midwest", that will answer your question. At least 75% of that particular populace is retarded.
    • night141, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5That's right GuruStud, blame your problems on someone else. That'll sure help out!
    • flag564, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1675% of the southern population is retarded?

      So why might I ask, oh blue state jackarse are those states seeing the biggest jump in population while the oh so cultured meccas of NYC and other rust belt areas seeing their populations dropping like flies?
    • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7afruff: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060810-evolution.html

      graph: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/060810-evolution_big.jpg

      sad.
    • maggiemerc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14@TheGuruStud

      Over generalizations are retarded. Geeze I was born in Texas and went to school in Tennessee, but I believe in evolution, hell I read /. I'm so flippin' tired of people hating on where I live. You know there are morons all over the nation? Amazing but true. And metropolitan does not equal intelligence. It's that kind of opinion that has continues the big culture gap developing in the U.S.

      @flag564

      I don't know if higher birth rate is an indication of lack mental deficiency. Personally I think Idiocracy summed up the birth rate question pretty well.
    • CobolNoFun, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3i live in kansas, while your right the midwest is a little "off". its a pretty big gerenalization to say the midwest is the cause of the problems. I never believed that the fundementalist were a problem, until the stem cell bill came up, and 2 of the best medical research facilities in the country were almost baned from doing experiments on stem cells.

      Personally i feel the problem is the age of our goverment officials. They believe there are multiple Internets, and they are made up of either tubes or trucks(they cant make up thier minds). Until we get younger goverment officials, we will contiue to fall behind in tech. lowering the presidential age would be a great start.
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3the south isn't retarded...the school system is. Trying to get a teaching job requires a religious test...or almost does. This is why science is dead here.
    • happygiraffe88, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2"So why might I ask, oh blue state jackarse are those states seeing the biggest jump in population while the oh so cultured meccas of NYC and other rust belt areas seeing their populations dropping like flies?"

      If you've seen the first 10 minutes of Idiocracy, this trend in population growth is explained pretty well. While educated and cultured couples are having fewer (or no) children, the uneducated lower-class is pumping out scores of babies.

    • joshuakuhn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I graduated from high school in South Carolina in 2002... Where was all this creationism philosophy when I was in middle and high school?!? Strictly evolution theory taught at school...
    • afruff23, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Umm.. I found that study too through Google but Iran and Afghanistan weren't on that list.
  • MercedRocks, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Considering the abysmal state of our primary education system is it any wonder?

    With less than half of students recently able to find NEW YORK STATE on a map, science and tech proficiency are lofty goals. We can only steal the educated people of the world for so long, China's a perfect example.
    • burtonbe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I agree with you for the most part. That is, all except how the US "steals" educated foreigners. I'm pretty sure those people came to the US on a voluntary basis.

      I believe global free-market competition results in a net positive effect. For example, now that other countries are catching up to/surpassing the US, America will be forced to innovate and improve to remain competitive. This is healthy for the US; it's a kick in the pants telling us to get our ***** together!

      I have faith in America. We're willing to work hard and compete. This situation will only force the US to improve, which will in turn force other countries to improve, resulting in net positive benefits for the world.
    • HappyMax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2We "steal" in the sense that most countries, such as India, pay the cost of their student's educations. If they spend all this money on education only to have these student bolt to the U.S. India is essentially subsidizing U.S. company's workforce.
  • Plasmatica, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Pretty surprising to me. I always thought the US was indeed leader in technology. But I guess even we (The Netherlands) got them beat which I would've never expected.

    PS: http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Information%20Technology%20Report/index.htm

    You can download the .pdf there with the complete rankings.

    • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2We've been leading for decades (even 2005), but last year we just plummeted.
  • AudioAtrocity, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Dissonance (posted above) makes a several very good points. I still believe that America is the top technological innovator. A very good example of this is the number of patents granted by the US Patent Office. Compare those amounts to those of other countries and you'll see who is actually innovating more.

    Also, some research on the World Economic Forum will provide you with some intelligible data on why not to trust them as a source. Finally, the World Economic Forum does not decide this information democratically. There are only a few people who decide which information is pertinent to their cause. I wouldn't trust what's coming from them.
    • MercedRocks, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17I think it may really come down to R & D, and perhaps all the billions of dollars that investors here are willing and able to pour into it may just be what keeps us afloat.

      The Global Information Technology Report rankings
      http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Information%20Technology%20Report/index.htm

      1. Denmark
      2. Sweden
      3. Singapore
      4. Finland
      5. Switzerland
      6. Netherlands
      7. US
      8. Iceland
      9. UK
      10.Norway
      11.Canada
      12.Hong Kong SAR
      13.Taiwan, China
      14.Japan
      15.Australia
    • maggiemerc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Patent doesn't = innovation now days.

      I mean come on. Creative patented looking for music via artist, title, album and genre. That's not innovation, just common sense.
    • bergur1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Never new Iceland was that high as it is a small country.
    • Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Honestly, I'm seriously shocked that South Korea isn't ranked in the top 15.
    • jesuschrysler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Anyone ever been to Iceland? It's like a Bizzaro USA where everyone's smart and religion is quaint.
    • UberC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Japan #14? This article is such *****.
  • tjathf, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Didn't we loose the lead like.... a lot of years ago?
  • Georgy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6how can it be,if half their students dropout and think workin in a super market will pay all their bills...
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9are you talking about our American students?

      Here's a hint. In your country do they try to separate the family? Do they take children for sucking their thumb or because they are breastfed by a healthy mother at 4 months old? Do they take them based upon allegations with out evidence what so ever? Do companies market to children in order to influence their parents spending...sometimes to the detriment of the child?

      Answer these questions.

      Will the government try to take your child if you don't own a TV?
      Will the government try to take your child because your parents were lousy?
      Will the school do testing on your child for IQ, personality, psych, and interview your child with out a lawyer or parent present?
      Can the government force you to medicate your child with drugs which are not even sold or recommended by the FDA for minors?
      If you refuse comply on the basis that the FDA did not approve it for minors will they take your child?

      If you answered yes to any of those...you should know why our children drop out. They separate the family and remove the social support...leaving the child confused and afraid. Then at 18 the child is dumped into society usually with less than a High school diploma. 30 percent of America's children experience this. Of that 30 percent less than 2 percent ever attempt college. Of the 2 percent that do attempt only 15 percent ever receive an AA. Fifty percent of all government sanctioned kidnaps result in maladjusted adults, with little to no education, and no viable means to support themselves, mental health issues ranging from PTSD to Social Anxiety, fewer than half are housed after foster care and less than half employed. If your government had a policy that produced these statistics would it continue this social program?

      My government does. I am one of the few that has graduated with a degree working on my second. These children are taken sometimes for ridiculous reasons, the parents never get the children back as the children are shuffled around, sold, or abused by perverts with in the system. (See current Juvenile sex scandal in Texas) Children are at higher risk, it has been proven, in foster care systems...to sexual assault, violence, neglect, etc.. while in these programs.

      Don't assume. The government is waging a war against American Parents that don't meet the standards...the rule is keep up with Jones Family and spend your money away to indebtedness, or lose Johnny. It specifically states any impoverished conditions are grounds for removal.
    • spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Wow, what a bizarre rant
    • theboyqueen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Do they take children for sucking their thumb or because they are breastfed by a healthy mother at 4 months old?"

      What is this (and the rest of it) about?
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Do you not think taking children from their parents for little to no reasons would contribute to a lack of education and or a decline in an educated populous?

      If you research the statistics of these children they end up having almost no education while in state care and end up ...well working at Walmart IF they are lucky...this could be why we aren't innovative...we are destroying our resources (potential human capitol in the form of children) by illegitimately breaking up families thus creating long lasting emotional trauma for transient and non essential reasons.
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The thumb sucking was a reference to the local state authorities taking a boy because he sucked his thumb. They deemed it a sign of social neglect.

      The breast feeding a four month old was a reference to another local case where in they considered this nutritional neglect because the mother was not feeding formula only breast feeding. Since breast don't have handy ounce lines on them to tell how much they contain and or are dispensing the state claimed the mother couldn't prove with out a doubt she was actually feeding the child.

      The destruction of the family is the under lying cause as to why American students do poorly. The policy of allowing impoverished children to be taken is misdirected. Furthermore treating any complaints of neglect as legitimate based on here say and no evidence is unconstitutional. Besides that, removing children often causes more harm than it alleviates. This is based on proven science. However, American Social workers have economic incentives to pull children form homes and place them in adoptions as quickly as possible after the waiting period. This corrupts the motives of social workers, which now primarily target young and poor parents, in order to economically benefit themselves or their department.
      This policy leads to children with documented inability to function in society.

      If you can't see how this "rant" which it is not, correlates...please don't comment. Unless you have a specific question I can answer.
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2In a nut shell...
      The foster care system is state sponsored kidnapping.
      They can take your kid for stupid reasons...like breastfeeding, or thumb sucking.
      They can take your kid on allegations with out evidence.
      They can force your kid on medicine that isn't for children and force you to comply or have him taken. (called medical neglect)
      They can take your kid if you look poor, (stained clothes, dirty lawn, animals in the home, small home,)

      Taking kids from mom and dad hurts them. It is like psychological war fare on a child's brain. It leads to mental health problems. Kids that are placed in state care don't usually finish school and aren't required to. They don't usually end up being employed well or housed well. Most end up pregnant with in one year of leaving foster care (females). Over half of the males end up in prison. Children are usually at a higher risk of danger while IN foster care. More foster children report being abused by foster parents while in the system then by the biological parents previous to going to the system. This is a system of destroying the children's ability to foster friendships, trust, social abilities, lasting relationships, comprehension of society at large, and self esteem. More children are harmed by removal from their homes than are helped.

      Add to this the federal government gives special payments for every child adopted to both the adoptive parent and the coordinator.

      In the future these children will not succeed because of the destruction of their childhood by the state, and the destruction of their mental health by the state. The government is doing this even though it knows all of the things I just said. Why? It was supposed to help the children but hurts them instead.
    • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Damn, ain't I lucky to live in Australia
      UNSW is ranked 16th in the world, for Engineering
  • tuxidomasx, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5heeeey

    7th place isnt all that bad

    all the places that beat us are pretty cool places anyway. (three of them are xyz-land countries. and those are always cool. switzerland, netherlands, finland)

    it'd suck if we got beat by like Somalia or something
    • CobolNoFun, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3if we would of lost to somalia, that would of been the last straw. my bags would be packed and i be driving to canada.
  • TheBlindGuy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5In light of this story, Digg has been outsourced to Indonesia.

    The servers may run a little slow at first.
    • arunarun2000, on 10/12/2007, -15/+1lol.... really true or what ?
    • joshuakuhn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4yes, arunarun, really true... and i've got this bridge you may be interested in...
  • NanoStuff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Wow, the nordics are absolutely kicking ass. I'd like to live in Denmark, seems like a top class country, and damn do they make good speakers!
    • patience, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24Speakers? They make good BLONDES.
    • Erroneus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Not when you see our hardware / tech prices :(
  • Dan11023, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2this is bull
  • patience, on 10/12/2007, -16/+4The majority of those foreigners are US trained. Innovation lacking my ass.
    • deepfish, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4who wants to immigrate to the US?
    • xeno439, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7who wants to immigrate to the US?

      Uh, ever heard of Mexico?
    • Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The native US population isn't producing many engineers, but many engineers and innovators emigrate here. If you look at how recent emigrants (1st or 2nd generation) are represented in US technical schools and in masters and PhD programs, and how many of those stay for employment in the US, you'll see the root of our technological strength. It's the people, even if they're not "home grown". The US (and Canada) have proven to be fertile ground, like a patch of garden that bears fruit from seeds brought in from elsewhere. That, in my humble opinion, is why the US still seems to be the source of so much technological development. Yes we rank low compared to recent gains from the scandinavians, but then again, consider that Korea and Japan aren't even in the top 10. I don't think the rankings mean what people think they mean.
    • UrsusMorologus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3deepfish, the US takes more immigration (legal and illegal) than the rest of the world combined

    • daller, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3So you say that the Nordic ppl is all getting educated in US? are you retarded or just ignorant?
  • mortigon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15God dammit WoW... all of our nerds are too busy for anything else now.
  • aggierandy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Yeah but everyone knows;

    "First is the worst, Seventh is the best"

    and by that I mean, I am sad we suck now. And I agree with MaximusIGN
  • Araxen, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5With the way software patents are in the US now, we'll never be king again. It has stifled innovation in this country.
  • sachmanb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3my theory: it's too cold to do most things in the winter at those countries so ppl stay indoors and on pcs
    • daller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You mean that as we have the same temprature as big parts as the US we do not go out?
  • sgong1145, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4"Denmark, in particular, has benefited from the very effective government e-leadership, reflected in early liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, a first-rate regulatory environment and large availability of e-government services," said Irene Mia, senior economist at World Economic Forum.

    anyone notice this line? What the hell is "e-leadership" and "e-government services"?

    Also, this article is pretty inconsistent and vague.

    The tagline says the US has lost its position as the world's engine of tech innovation, but then it says that the table ranks the impact of technology on the development of countries. Then it changes again to saying that countries were judged on infrastructure and basically the ease with which companies CAN innovate in each country. These are 3 different things.
    • UrsusMorologus, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Yeah it's a bad article that wraps nonsense in a left-leaning political policy blanket. This your first time reading the BBC?

    • bewing77, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10The e-government stuff (we have that kind of stuff here in Sweden aswell) basicly means that you can access all authority services 24/7 online. We can do our taxes online, register relocation online, register a new business online etc. In the near future we may even be voting online (which is a big deal, 80%+ votes in our elections). It saves you having to que for hours to get things like this done, and it also means there is less need for clerks.

      Another big thing is that almost everyone pays their bills and do their banking online. I can't remember the last time I visited a physical bank. I don't know how common this is in the US though.
  • fuxjoey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I expected Japan to be up there somewhere.
  • MuZiKMafia, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1I know we all joke about Bush being a dictator, but I still considered us the "leading democratic republic" of technology, not the monarchy...
  • flatliner81, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3While I certainly agree that America may not be the most innovative nation when it comes to emerging technologies, I am not completely sure what these rankings actually prove. Yes, compared to some small countries (with populations that are less than some states in the US) with administrations that are probably quite active in promoting certain fields of technology growth, the US will undoubtedly lag in terms of to-the-market products and technologies. Still, I am not sure that a more proactive nation is necessarily going to result in better technologies. I think it is a testament that a country 30+ times larger than some of the countries ranked ahead of them is still able to promote technology growth in a multitude of fields. That said, it would be in our best interests as a nation to study how these countries promote technological growth and see if we can incorporate some of these tools into our own repertoire.
    • UrsusMorologus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Denmark is about the same as Maryland btw

  • DeFex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4it might help if the education system teaches people how to be smart, rather than how to pass tests.
  • xShad0w, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1does this mean on impact to the economy, i think techonology is so overgrown into our economy that it doesnt make a difference either way and thats probably why were getting a lower rating...who really cares though
  • sleepingcow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i dont think so its that fair to say usa is the 7th. if you look at the first to the 6th, they all are very small countries. it is easier to develop a good infrustructure for small countires. if only we did not spend so much money on stupid war, and if only we let more man power immigrate to our country to help build a better infrustructure....
    • galore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0RuneX2:

      "are Liberal havens, compared to the US"

      You didn't read the latter part, did you?

      Edit: oops, this should go to the next mini-thread...
  • nastronomical, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4wow....amazing how a few of you just had to mention BUSH. Out of curiosity how many of you forget that the sad state of education is due in part to Liberals taking it over and turning the system into a garbage dump? Oddly enough when the education system was run by people who viewed education, religion and patriotism as an investment, the students whom graduated made this country the best in technology. Anyone care to explain why we shouldnt go back to what worked?
    • galore, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12" Out of curiosity how many of you forget that the sad state of education is due in part to Liberals taking it over and turning the system into a garbage dump?"

      1. Denmark
      2. Sweden
      3. Singapore
      4. Finland
      5. Switzerland
      6. Netherlands

      Too bad that 5 out of the 6 countries beating the US in this matter are Liberal havens, compared to the US. How does that inconvenient fact fit into your silly worldview?
    • LowRentDiggs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Think you could oversimplify the problem of education more? What does religion and patriotism have to do with education? Nothing.
    • RuneX2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2"Too bad that 5 out of the 6 countries beating the US in this matter are Liberal havens"

      1. Denmark (Conservative gov.)
      2. Sweden (Conservative gov.)
      3. Singapore
      4. Finland
      5. Switzerland
      6. Netherlands (Conservative gov.)
    • galore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"RuneX2:

      "are Liberal havens, compared to the US"

      You didn't read the latter part, did you? The only conservative government in Europe that is comparable to the US is in Poland (esp. about social issues like abortion, gay rights, religion, education etc.). All other ones, especially the Scandinavian "conservative" governments, are left to the US Democrats, who the original poster was referring to when he was talking about the liberal boogie man.
    • RuneX2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"The only conservative government in Europe that is comparable to the US is in Poland (esp. in social issues like abortion, gay rights, religion, education etc.)"

      That's certainly a matter of discussion. For your bullets:
      * The US has more liberal laws on abortion than Denmark. In part of Denmark, abortion is only allowed if the result of rape of incest.
      * There's no gay adoption in Denmark and until recently artificial fertilization of lesbians were prohibited. May be again soon.
      * Denmark has a protestant state church.
      * Denmark has pretty strict curriculum every school child most go through and next to no home schooling.
    • e68895f, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Too bad that 5 out of the 6 countries beating the US in this matter are Liberal havens, compared to the US. How does that inconvenient fact fit into your silly worldview?"

      umm, the right-wing Conservative party (kokoomus) just won big in the latest elections in Finland. True liberals are a very small party, that gets only a few thousands votes.....
  • mekman, on 10/12/2007, -12/+19Ahh, yes, another European based "World" organization stating that the US is now second rate to...

    wait for it...

    Europeans

    • mtmal, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Yeah, I can't really understand what the hell this is measuring or evaluating. When I sit here at my desk, I'm typing this on an Apple computer using my Microsoft Mouse, I just finished using my Motorola PVR to watch American Idol on my Panasonic TV. I wrote an email to my coworkers on my Blackberry... I mean, I could go on, but which piece of that technology was created in Denmark? Singapore? Seems to me that the US, the Japanese, the Canadians, etc. have technology-based industries that Sweden et al would kill for.
    • avasol, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@mtmal

      Sweden has a high number of gorgeous blondes. (Proven statistically as well as empirically).
      This means as a nerd you have a high chance of ending up working with a hottie.

      Nothing is as good for work morale as working with a hottie. Or several.

      I think I figured it out....
    • bewing77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3True, I'm a geek and am married to a gorgeous blonde ;)

      But seriously, no, we don't actually manufacture alot of hardware devices and such here in Sweden. We are a small country and most of our industries are wood or steel manufacturing. However, in the IT sector, the Nordic countries have been, and are driving alot of research and development. Quite a few methods for developing software are based on Nordic research, and we do have a big sector specializing in software development in relation to our population. We also do have a large percentage of university graduates. Basically, our governments have realized that we, being small, can't compete with larger nations when it comes to production capabilities so we need to specialize in fields like IT, biochemistry and whatnot where we have a chance to excel, give our rather well functioning educational system. Also, things such as partially government funded expansion of the broadband fiber networks and UMTS networks and a program where you get a tax deduction for getting a home computer system through your employer might have worked towards increasing overall technology readiness.
    • Ichibanit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6
      Well, just to name the biggest:

      C++, C#, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Skype.
      Both Nokia, Sony Ericssson, Microsoft has major development departments in Denmark.
    • ir6c, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Could it be that - "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
      Just had to say it.
  • ChicknBot, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Well we are too busy winning the war on terror and getting missions accomplished.
  • j.carcinogen, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Yeah when I see Google, AMD, Intel, Apple etc. stop making the headlines I'll agree. Besides this doesn't take into account Military technology from which the likes of GPS and the internet were born.
    • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Except those were born in the PAST, this is talking about the year 2006.
    • NicP, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You have never seen Nintendo, Sony, Samsung, LG etc in the news?
  • TheActionCombo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14Because last time I built a PC it used a microprocessor developed in Denmark...

    NASA? The U.S. military? Intel? AMD? IBM? Apple? Boeing? Lockheed Martin?

    If we aren't the leaders in technology, then I'd love to see some tangible evidence...not rambling from a bitter and biased news outlet.

    Also, it amuses me that Iceland is ranked higher than Russia. The article and the ranking are a joke.
    • maggiemerc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Russia stopped being relevant around the same time Yeltsin took a swig o' vodka.

      You think corruption here (U.S.) is bad? Russia doesn't have time to innovate they're too busy paying protection money to the mob.
    • HairyPoter, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4"NASA? The U.S. military? Intel? AMD? IBM? Apple? Boeing? Lockheed Martin?"
      ESA,
      US MILITARY and Lockheed martin = US is best investing in war and devices to kill people.
      INTEL, IBM, AMD, APPLE = NOKIA, ERICSSON, SIEMENS, ALCATEL
      BOEING = AIR BUS (the most advanced plane ever made).
      MERCEDES, FERRARI, PORSCHE, JAGUAR, AUSTIN, ROVER, BMV, ROLLS-ROYCE, BENTLEY (the best cars ever made).
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I disagree Toyota and Mazda are the best cars ever made!
    • etnu, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1US MILITARY and Lockheed martin = US is best investing in war and devices to kill people.

      Lockheed martin is also responsible for developing satellite and space exploration technologies.

      INTEL, IBM, AMD, APPLE = NOKIA, ERICSSON, SIEMENS, ALCATEL

      You've got to be ***** kidding me. Nokia and Ercicsson can be compared to other small consumer electronics vendors (like motorola, obviously), but to even THINK that they're in the same league as Intel, AMD, Cisco, Sun, IBM, or any other major hardware innovator is wishful thinking at best. I'll be the first to chide the big tech companies for their ***** ups, but you clearly know nothing about these companies if you think that's a fair comparison.

      BOEING = AIR BUS (the most advanced plane ever made).

      Boeing and airbus compete pretty fairly, with both companies getting ridiculous government funding. Neither is particularly innovative, and in general they're merely profit machines. True aviation innovation is coming from small companies all over the world.

      MERCEDES, FERRARI, PORSCHE, JAGUAR, AUSTIN, ROVER, BMV, ROLLS-ROYCE, BENTLEY (the best cars ever made).

      You do realize that many of those brands aren't even owned by european companies now, right? Not only that, but most of them are ***** cars to begin with -- and none of these companies are doing anything particularly innovative. The only real innovation in automobile tech happening right now is coming from companies like tesla motors. The big automakers gave up on innovation long ago.
    • Jacob2478, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0@etnu
      I couldn't have said it better myself.
    • HunkOfLove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.ossur.com/
    • ninjakoala, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Even though it's not even what the article is about, you may at least have heard of/seen Bang & Olufsen (http://www.bang-olufsen.com/) and LEGO (http://www.lego.com/). Chances are you've even touched the latter unlike the former (which is prohibitively expensive to most people).
  • abstraxion, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9I know it's not "cool" to talk about good aspects of the US, but most important technological and medical innovations still come from America. Just because Denmark has some awesome e-iStrategies doesn't make them particularly influential on the world stage, although I do commend them for their progress.

    Let's not even get started on what a 50%+ tax rate in the Nordic countries does to development. There's a reason why Sweden has Ikea, Finland has Nokia, and that's pretty much it. Also, if Europe is so superior, why do they need their entire sub-continent to make an STATE-SUBSIDIZED airplane company whose planes aren't even better than PRIVATE Boeing?

    And to those who say that America was "never" the technology king, you're just clearly stupid and ignorant. The airplane? The transistor? The microprocessor? The rotary engine? Vaccinations for polio and smallpox? The precursors to the Internet itself? The modern MP3 player?

    Sure, we have some real dopes in our education system. But we have some real geniuses, too. I guess when I go to my PUBLIC University of California classes, I guess everyone there is just a bunch of stupid pricks? Or when I pass by the labs where some of the most important clinical and bioengineering research in the world is occurring, that's just an anomaly right?
    • galore, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3"aren't even better than PRIVATE Boeing"

      PRIVATE Boeing would't exist, if it weren't heavily subsidized by defense contracts and government protections. PRIVATE my ass. On paper, yes but in reality, it is just as subsidized as Airbus, if not more...
    • abstraxion, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5So Boeing is more subsidized than Airbus? Do you have a source? Didn't think so.
    • TheActionCombo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You do realize Boeing is one of the largest contractors for the International Space Station, right? Last time I checked Airbus didn't develop the majority of the systems on the ISS.
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1yes but why have a government agency and then a private agency to do the same thing? Why not contract out...it's most efficient.
    • Tippis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Just because Denmark has some awesome e-iStrategies doesn't make them particularly influential on the world stage, although I do commend them for their progress."
      True enough, but that's not what the ranking is about (and the BBC tries to obfuscate this a bit with the title they've chosen). It's about how tech has penetrated society, not how the nation influences tech.

      "Let's not even get started on what a 50%+ tax rate in the Nordic countries does to development."
      Nothing, since it's not 50%+...
      That said, though, it is true that a lot of Nordic tax money has been spent on technical innovation, particularly in the mobile communication area. On the other hand,

      "There's a reason why Sweden has Ikea, Finland has Nokia, and that's pretty much it."
      Not quite. Ikea is, in fact, not particularly big as Swedish companies go. Heck, it's not even in the top-10. :O
    • BadgerUMD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually, in Sweden, taxes to exceed 50% GNP (although it is the only European country that has taxes that high)

      Source:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeden#Politics
  • functionifelse, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I think we stopped being tech kings after we invented like.. the Internet.. or something.
    • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The internet was around 1970. This organization says we've been king until last year. People seem to have a difficult time reading the graph..
    • avasol, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Hey Al Gore invented the Internet!

      *Your skill at dodging has improved!
      *Your skill at dodging has improved!
      *Your skill at dodging has improved!
      *Your skill at dodging has improved!
  • graywolf323, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I'd say at worst we would be #2 to Japan that list seems rather suspect
  • fjalanis, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Who cares who is first or last in technology, this is the freaking 21st century, not the 1800 hundreds with every country trying to be the most macho. We had all the 20th century to learn why we should work internationally towards goals. Nationalistic mentalities have never helped anyone in the long run, so we should worry about how much we advance in human technology not who has the most inventions.
    • maggiemerc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You're adorable.

      Competition leads to innovation. That's why the U.S. was top dog for so long.

      Now I'm all for everyone working together and the U.S....oh I dunno...actually being a PART of the international community rather then playing wise older brother, but dreams need funds and funds come from competition.
  • goldentofu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Just because someone says it don't make it true.
  • KnightMareInc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3much more money to be made making pills for old men's wee wee
  • djames82, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1World Economic Forum...googling right now to see who these people are...

    • djames82, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2an organization with a $hitty web site...nothing to see here folks
  • bigdt87, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2where we ever? we are the rats that steal the cheese from the king
  • AsylumAleikum, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13Bravo! The Europeons finally invented a benchmark that put them ahead of the U.S. Let's hope this will make them feel better as they battle marauding "youths" over control of their train stations.

  • stonedgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Oh yeah? Well what about the giant robotic Michael Jackson?
  • geeke, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1no ***** could have told you that. we could be the king but the corporations want to be so damn greedy.
  • scrambled, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I, for one, welcome our new technology overlords.
  • k4zz4m, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Should have known when the core solo , core duo chips werent designed in the USA :P
  • Mc_Carter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Doc Brown: No wonder this camera doesn't work it was made in Japan.
    Marty McFly: Doc all the best stuff is made in Japan.
    - Back to the Future 1985
    • kpsk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0You win, discussion over.
    • martinj88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Still aint made the damn hover boards yet have they.........I'm waiting Japan!!
  • p00man, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5This isn't surprising at all. Europe has been the leader in R and D for a long time. For example look at the technology in a european car maker versus american car makers. It's also leader in Environmental technologies.

    @Abstraxion. Mp3 was developed by the Frauenhofer Institute in Germany. Everyone knows that.
    • abstraxion, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I should have said modern MP3 player, not MP3. Oh wait, I DID, numbnuts.
  • KuntaKinte, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0I thought Jamaica was the leading Tech King, or Papua New Guinea
  • HairyPoter, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5our government is interested in invading and stealing other countries to get their natural resources, sponsoring terrorism and creating intrigue between countries and governments (divide and conquer). There's no time or money for such things as investing in culture, technology, education and development.

    Many people profit from this. Just follow the war money.
  • Barbarino, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Yes, Iceland is beating the US, lol, what a dumb article. I don't think the whaling industry is a technological leader.
  • etnu, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Yeah, it's a good thing all the world's leading tech companies are based in Europe.

    Oh, wait...
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