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The trial of Tian Wenhua, of a large dairy company in China, for failing to monitor the safety of baby milk powder, and covering up knowledge that dairy products contained impermissible amounts of melamine. The problem of milk powder tainted by addition of melamine chemical to watered down product to falsely raise protein count has been found to be widespread in China. About 300,000 children were sickened by the formula leading to 6 deaths. Tian and three other Sanlu executives are on trial. Tian says she knew about the contaminated milk powder in May 2008 but did not alert officials till August. By that time Sanlu had made 900 tons of the contaminated powder. Executives at Fonterra Group of New Zealand, which owns a large stake in Sanlu, came to know of the problem and insisted Sanlu make a recall. China's effort to bring western companies like Smithfield Foods to enter China's pork industry is part of the effort to build safety and credibility into food products sold in China.

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A second inaugural address in which Obama outlines his priorities and liberal vision of America.

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Timothy Egan points to the huge gap between a T.R. in 1910 making the speech in Osawatomie, eastern Kansas, and Professor Obama making an election speech in 2011. T.R.'s was an election manifesto that brought up the issues of conservation, child labor, a plea for an income tax, call for worker protections, limits on corporate power and influence on the laws and direction of the country. The speech was made in 1910, after Taft had assumed the presidency with Roosevelt's backing, and would lead to T.R. running against Taft and Woodrow Wilson. Most of what T.R. advocated became part of the country's social and economic fabric, much of the work beginning with Theodore Roosevelt's two terms as president, and also pursued by Woodrow Wilson, the president elected in 1912. By contrast, in line with the timidity of today's politics, Obama's speech called for approving his nominee for consumer protection bureau chief, and continuance of tax cuts for the middle class. Egan calls it a curse of today's politics and national debate that no politician can set the course for revitalizing America the way T.R. did. Some of what T.R. said in Kansas that day is: "There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done." "The right to regulate the use of wealth in the public interest is universally admitted." Jackie Calmes covered the extensive ties of both candidates, Obama and McCain, to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in her report for the New York Times, on September 9, 2008- "For 08' Rivals a Skein of Ties to Loan Giants." Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal, who with his reporters did some of the difficult reporting on Fannie and Freddie, wrote in one of his columns with a note of pessimism, that he wasn't sure that either of the presidential candidates were interested in what was happening. ...

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Remember the pictures of all the bicyclists in cities in China, now there are cars instead, and that we assumed was progress. But crammed as we are into small urban areas, and with so many people in the planet and so many with aspirations for a better life in China, India, Brazil and Russia and other countries, this does not point to a sustainable future. We need bicycles back and a new kind of automobile that is sustainable on the streetsof urban areas. So here we are in New York City and commercial buildings like the Rockefeller Center operated by Tishman Meyer following old rules prohibiting bicycles, looking down on bicyles, and seeing bicycles as affecting safety in the building. So cyclists are on their own. The city has about 5000 bicycle racks, and will add 1200 by 2009, and expects to add 37 bike shelters each for 8-9 bikes by the end of the year at transit hubs. The number of bike racks are inadequate as nearly 131,000 people ride bicycles daily in New York City according to Transportation Alternatives. The city has plans to add 200 miles of new bicycle lanes but mparking is a huge problem. Parking on the street is also risky because of bike thieves in New York City. So new solutions have to be found and it would be nice if building had an area on the ground floor with a separate access for cyclists or a way to go to underground parking through a separate acess and directly park and take elevators just as one does for underground car parking. This would be really commuter friendly but till then its the shop owner who lets youpark there or a friend who has a business and an area where he lets you park your bike and so on, everybody having to be creative. But make no mistake bicycles matter for clean air, the environment, for congestion, for people, for healthy living, and to create a good living environment in urban areas....

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Under the Volcker Rule setup during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, banks total investments in private equity, hedge funds and similar higher risk funds cannot exceed 3% of high quality capital. During the financial crisis investment banks were highly leveraged leading to the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and the precarious financial condition of other banks. Goldman has pared down about 60% of such investments. Remaining are $4.8 billion in private equity investments, $1.2 billion in real estate, and about $1.1 billion in both credit and hedge funds. Regulators have given the bank till July 2017 to comply. As banks recovered from the impact of the crisis, the tearing of the social fabric that happened with high unemployment in some groups especially older white men, has remained six years after the crisis- as evident in the U.S. election campaigns this year. As a result the mood has shifted for tighter regulation and both party platforms, Republican and Democratic, now call for reinstatement of the Glass Steagall Act, which separated commercial banking from investment banking as part of the lessons learned from the Great Depression. Volcker, was chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve during the Carter administration, known for taking a tough line against inflation. He was the principal driver of the move to restrict banks from risky activity, and faced considerable opposition from banks during the 2009-2013 period when the rule was being formulated.  ...

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Much overdue respect for Eisenhower with the plans for the Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial. Eisenhower's greatness in ordinariness and good sense. Reminders of another president who avoided heroics and persevered with simplicity and good judgement- George Washington.

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Did Kirsten Tatlow points out the different perceptions of China's anti-corruption initiative in a country with deeply rooted corruption. China's ranking dropped to 104th of 175 countries ranked for corruption in Transparency International's Corruption Index for 2014. The current campaign under Xi Jinping is lacking because it is partial, opaque and politically driven say researchers at Transparency International. For it to be effective it has to be done in a transparent manner, and with stronger laws for bribery, whistleblower protection, asset declarations, according to the researchers. China dropped 20 places since 2013. China's score declined by 4 points to 36. Denmark is highest at 92. Turkey dropped by 5 points. Norway, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand, are at the top of the list. Transparency International points out that free speech, accountable government an independent judiciary are essential to tackle corruption. These are not sufficient however as the example of India shows. A culture of corruption or lack of transparency and effective laws can enable corruption to grow even in countries with genuine democratic process. Democratic process does provides remedies through a change in administration as happened in India with the decisive defeat of the corruption scandal affected Congress government....

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Interview with Levinson of Genentech and answers to a wide range of questions about ther drug discovery process at Genentech, the cost of Avastin to treat cancer, the long years taken to develop the drug, the development and pricing of Lucentis for macular degeneration from the basic process of blocking the VEGF protein that helps the macular degeneration develop. The reasons for the pricing of Avastin- $55,000 for one year. And of Lucentis $2000 for one shot and the possible equivalence of Avastin and Lucentis so that doctors can take a small fractional dose of Avastin and use it in a tiny opthalmic syringe for cost of $50. The research budget of $1.86 billion. And the philosophy of Levinson about attracting the best scientists to Genentech by giving them opportunities as he puts it for "doing great science." And his emphasis on making Genentech a great place to work. Genentech was on Fortune's top twenty list 4 years in a row and No 1 in 2007 and No 2 in 2008 behind Google. Can Roche keep this up without Levinson and his team and the culture they have fostered, and the way they have created a great place to work ? ...

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Greg Ip of the WSJ looks at the experience of states such as Illinois and California with lower economic growth than Florida and Texas during the pandemic because of increased restrictions and lockdowns or partial lockdowns. The Biden administration's approach in winter 2021 is to vaccinate as many people as possible, including use of vaccine mandates so that there is less need for the lockdowns that restrict economic activity and growth. In states such as Michigan which are evenly divided between the two parties Republican and Democrat, there is a sense of fatigue with lockdowns. Even with the recent surge in cases putting Michigan in November 2021 at the top of states with the highest number of cases, the state government and local governments sought help from the Biden administration with health teams dispatched from Washington, yet avoided restrictions to economic activity. Greg Ip says of the 10 states with worst job performance 8 had Democratic governors and voted for Biden. The new approach of president Biden is to keep economic activity and push vaccination and booster shots as quickly as can be done. Investments in infrastructure and other action is planned for rapid infusion of needed roads, bridges, with attention to local needs, and broadband to help generate economic growth.  ...

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A 5 month investigation by Adam Tolley KC into bullying claims from the British Civil Service led to his resignation. The bullying claims came from three departments- the Brexit Department, the Foreign Office, and the Ministry of Justice. Raab's contention was that he was not aware that it was bullying, that behaviour should count as bullying if he knew it was bullying. Tolley disagrees. He says it is the victim's experience that matters more than Raab's intention. Raab says he was faced with "cultural resistance" at the Ministry of Justice on developing a British Bill of Rights to replace the European Convention of Human Rights. Tolley stays out of this but does say there was "an adverse impact of the health" of civil servants and that their complaints were "acting in good faith in raising concerns that they genuinely held." It could be said that this is part of the role of the civil service to share their genuine thoughts on a matter pertaining that could lead to wise decisions or changes in decisions. The Guardian reports that the style of cutting people off because he did not want his time to be wasted, had the effect of being intimidating and abrasive. ...

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Indifference on the Republican side, and a sense that not much is going to get done on the Democratic side, as President Obama pitches a $447 billion second stimulus plan in a speech to both houses of the U.S. Congress on September 8, 2011. Dana Milbank documents the attitudes and skepticism with which members of Congress received the proposals- a general sense that President Obama was too weak and ineffective to get things done and has lost credibility. John Taylor, senior economic advisor on the Republican side pointed out in a Wall Street Journal column a few days before the speech, that the jobs proposals Obama and economic advisor Alan Krueger were presenting were similiar to old plans that have not produced results. Taylor viewed them as placing too much reliance on government and not enough on the private sector to generate economic growth and jobs.

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In the next 15 years approximately India will have a higher percentage of working age population to non-working age population than China, based on information from the UN and Morgan Stanley. The number of people over 64 and under 15 has declined from 69% to 56% in 2010, according to UN figures. By 2020 the working age population will increase by 136 million in India, compared to 23 million in China. From this it can be seen that a huge demographic change is playing out. As China's economy matures and with the one-child policy in place, China's working age population is expected to decline; just as India's working age population picks up. This should give India momentum in the next 15-20 years, and lead to an increasing growth rate in India, just as China's growth rate slows. India's weak areas are infrastructure, and education. Infrastructure development will accelerate nevertheless, with larger private investments and participation in projects; and India will move up the experience curve as more projects are completed. Education for the poorer classes and in public schools will remain a problem. Private schools are making up for the weakness in this area, and private schools now make up 20% of attendance even in the rural areas according to one estimate. The strong points are democratic structures and the rule of law, private enterprise and private companies, English speaking middle class, and smart initiatives by business to develop low cost products that are affordable for all segments of sciety in India. For instance a $35 laptop developed by the IIT and Indian Institute of Science researchers, and Tata Chemicals development of a filter for 30 rupees or 65 cents that would filter water for a month for a family of five. This will bring the benefits of development to all segments of society as development progresses, and is crucial for balanced development in the poorer parts of Asia. Tata Motors 1 lakh ruppees car concept and the Tata Nano as its tangible product, is another verson of this kind of development being pioneered in India. Being a democratic country makes some processes slower, yet at the same time the private initiative enabled by democratic processes -cultivated over a long period from British times -enables a creative sort of development that could be turned into a distinct advantage....

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Bond and derivative deals made between U.S. banks and Jefferson County in Alabama have resulted in steep losses and higher taxes to pay for the losses. Spencer Bachus represents Jefferson County in the U.S. Congress. He also received $7.1 million from financial companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. J.P. Morgan Chase which arranged the deal for Jefferson County, is also the largest contributor for the political campaign donations to Bachus.