Articles on China’s naval ambitions, how a Capone thug got a strangle hold on Hollywood, the 14 key ideas shaping the high income world, Malcolm Gladwell on other minds, European crossroad, Afghan women and the Taliban, more Ignatieff, how old will Britain be in 2041, Greece’s inevitable restructuring, how a single moment can change a life, and start up Asia.

China’s naval plans.

Foreign Policy – China’s Blue Water Dreams
On a visit to Washington this month, Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff, confirmed what Asahi Shimbun and the Financial Times reported last December: China, he said, has officially committed itself to deploying aircraft-carrier task forces, a program that has evidently been under way since 2009.

Related.

The Diplomat – Asia’s Maritime Confidence Crisis
To the casual observer, recent security tensions in Asian waters might seem a storm in a Chinese teacup.

The bad old days. (ed’s note – hence Tom Hagen’s easy access to visit Hollywood mogul Mr. Jack Woltz). )

Playboy – When the Mob Ruled Hollywood
On November 4, 1955 William Nelson, a short, stocky 55-year-old retiree who dabbled in stocks and bonds, left his suburban Phoenix tract home, waved good-bye to his wife, slid into his 1953 Ford pickup truck, turned on the ignition and was immediately blown through the top of the cab by a blast so powerful it ripped the door and roof off the nearby garage and rattled windows as far as a mile away.

The big 14.

The Atlantic – The 14 Biggest Ideas of the Year
A guide to the intellectual trends that, for better or worse, are shaping America right now.

Just in case you have a few dollars to spend.

Sotheby’s – Coming Auctions
Founded in 1744

Six minutes with a smart guy.

The Farnam Street Blog – Malcolm Gladwell: Seeing the World As Others Do
Great Big Think interview with Malcolm Gladwell on seeing the world as others do.

Europe’s real problem, it isn’t anything. Thanks to David of Victoria.

Pdf below -- Stratfor - The Divided States of Europe

A terrible female fate in Afghanistan.

Asia Sentinel – Afghan Women Fear Taliban Talks
They fear despotic, misogynous Islamic fundamentalists likely to return them to the dark ages.

A famous Canadian ex-pat stirs up painful memories.

Globe and Mail -- My name is Michael Ignatieff, and I am Canadian
According to a report from the Asia Pacific Foundation, Canada has become a nation of expatriates.

Thinking about ageing.

Independent -- A modest proposal for the benefit of the elderly
Among the most interesting documents released today, 28 June 2041, under the 30-year rule concerning the release of government papers, is the following memorandum from the senior special advisor to the then Chancellor George Osborne: "Chancellor, you asked me to outline for Cabinet's discussion of the imminent publication of the Dilnot Commission's report on the funding of care for the elderly, the salient demographic and financial issues and the most cost-effective solution, fitting these straitened times.”

From Florida to Tokyo.

Japan Times -- 'Reluctant' musician blows success his way with horn
Over half his lifetime ago, reluctant horn player Jonathan Hammill, at 15, slumped in the back seat of the family car.

Entrepreneurs look to India and China to get going.

Tehelka – Brain Returns with Brawn
A new phenomenon has gripped the US. Skilled immigrants are leaving the country in droves.

Charlie Fell on Greece’s end game.

Charlie Fell – The Greek End Game
Jean Monnet, the man behind and considered to be the father of the European Union, penned the unforgettable words in his memoirs that, “Europe will be forged in crisis and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises.”