“Supply Chains and Yuan Fictions - Wall Street Journal” plus 2 more |
- Supply Chains and Yuan Fictions - Wall Street Journal
- Area Vietnam veterans hold off on condemnation of ... - Danbury News-Times
- Giving RH Reality Check a Reality Check on Alternative ... - RH Reality Check
| Supply Chains and Yuan Fictions - Wall Street Journal Posted: 13 May 2010 03:35 AM PDT Joseph Sternberg is right that the yuan's value isn't important for trade balances but he still hasn't entirely captured how value is added to goods as they move through the supply chain ("The Irrelevant Yuan?" Business Asia, May 6). Take a pair of jeans made in Thailand for $3.19 a pair. Shipping those jeans to the United States adds about 50 cents of cost to each pair, after accounting for freight and insurance. At brand-name stores in the U.S., a pair of those jeans sells at a retail price between $37 and $79 (plus delivery, if the purchase is made on the Internet). The mark-up in price captures the real value added by the intellectual property of the design, advertising, distribution and financing—all services often provided by U.S. companies, in dollars. Taking the higher retail price, less manufacturing and shipping, about $75.31, or 91% of the final price is attributable to service businesses and of course profit. The value of the yuan in this process is almost immaterial. Michael Mudd Senior Partner Asia Policy Partners LLC Hong Kong Printed in The Wall Street Journal Asia, page 14Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Area Vietnam veterans hold off on condemnation of ... - Danbury News-Times Posted: 18 May 2010 04:29 PM PDT If you've served in combat, you may not even want to talk about it. You certainly don't want to brag about it. "I don't tell my students I served in Vietnam,'' said Ed Hagan, a professor of writing at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury who has taught courses on the literature of Vietnam. "I don't know what you can say about combat, except you don't want to do it.'' And the idea that serving in combat embodies you with special virtue, Hagan said, is a concept he rejects. To take on that mantle without deserving it is even worse. So when told of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's statements that he served in Vietnam -- when he didn't -- Hagan laughed sardonically. "Another wannabee,'' he said. If the news turns out to be true, Hagan said, Blumenthal would not deserve anyone's vote. "Because he's a liar,'' he said. But the public record that emerged Tuesday was full of ambiguity. There is a tape of Blumenthal telling veterans in 2008, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam.'' But Blumenthal -- now seeking the Democratic Party's nomination to run for U.S. senator -- has also made clear on-the-record statements that while he served in the Marine Corps Reserve, he never served in Vietnam. "On a few occasions I have misspoken about my service. I regret that, and I take full responsibility,'' Blumenthal said Tuesday in Hartford, surrounded by cheering veterans. "I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service.'' Several area veterans seemed ready Tuesday to give Blumenthal the benefit of the doubt -- at least for the moment. "I hope it isn't true,'' said Paul Bucha of Ridgefield, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam. "He's a decent guy. I'd like to believe in our better angels.'' Bucha declined to speculate about what his opinion might be if Blumenthal were proved to be intentionally lying. "My reaction might be far more dramatic than other people,'' he said, nothing that some of the men he commanded in Vietnam were killed there. Brookfield Police Chief Robin Montgomery was also inclined to discount the black-or-white aspects of the story, pointing out that Blumenthal never created any elaborate fictions about serving in Vietnam. "What I have problems with is guys who go out of their way to tell stories that aren't true,'' said Montgomery, a veteran of the war. Bob Coppola of New Milford, another Vietnam vet, is going to the state Democratic Convention as a delegate this weekend. He said he'll support Blumenthal because of his record as attorney general, not for his military service. "He's been in office since 1990, and he's never given me the impression he served in Vietnam,'' Coppola said. Frank Anders of Danbury is a Vietnam vet, but said he's never criticized people who served in the military reserves or got college deferments to stay out of the military. As for Blumenthal's 2008 remarks, Anders -- a Democrat -- said, "We all misuse the language. It's time to put all that stuff behind us. I think it's really petty.'' Contact Robert Miller at bmiller@newstimes.com or at 203-731-3345. Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Giving RH Reality Check a Reality Check on Alternative ... - RH Reality Check Posted: 18 May 2010 05:48 PM PDT
In an article entitled "A Natural Alternative to the Pill?" a "social media professional/Twitter lover" who goes by the name "jaz" expresses some healthy skepticism about the outpouring of praise surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Pill. Unfortunately, the article contains a lot of misinformation as well. So, here's a reality check. First, Jaz claims that "With the Pill off the table, we are left with very few options besides condoms (or diaphragms and cervical caps which are essentially out of existence and have lower effectiveness rates), or more permanent solutions like the IUD and sterilization which do not make sense for younger women or women who want to have children in the next few years." According to this table, male condoms have a 2% failure rate if used "perfectly" — i.e. every time a couple has intercourse, and the condom doesn't break or fall off. Diaphragms have a 6% failure rate. IUDS are not the same as sterilization either. Second, the article tries to suggest that herbal contraceptives are effective. Jaz discusses an herb called wild carrot (aka Queen Anne's Lace) and mentions the work of Robin Rose Bennett which "has been surrounded by controversy and naysayers in her efforts to bring this to American women." Well, count me in as one of the naysayers. Even Bennett says that her study was unscientific, i.e. was not a controlled clinical trial. Her sample was also very small — only 13 women — and three of them became pregnant. So far, not a good alternative to barrier methods. Jaz implies that this natural remedy is safer than oral contraceptives. According to Bennett, wild carrot is an estrogenic herb — in other words, it contains the same chemical as many birth control pills. So, the same contraindications for use of oral contraceptives would apply to wild carrot. The underlying assumption of the article is that natural remedies are safe because, hey, they're natural. Well, those who are looking to try this method on their own better be sure they can tell the difference between wild carrot and poison hemlock. Even jaz says she's "a little wary of making my own contraception, since it's more serious than making a smoothie or a mojito, though I do want to experiment with my inner alchemist and my green thumb!" She should be just as wary of herbal treatments prepared by so-called experts. Since herbal remedies are considered dietary supplements, they not regulated by the FDA as are drugs. This means no one is checking to make sure the health claims are valid. Also, there is no national system of licensure or certification for herbalists. This means that anyone can hang out a shingle and call her/himself an herbalist. [NB: if you take St. John's Wort be aware that it can interfere with the effectiveness of oral contraceptives]. So, while I agree with jaz that "women deserve to have a wide range of options readily available to make the ideal decisions for their bodies and sexual health," they also need accurate and reliable health information. RHReality Check usually does this and gives guides on how to detect inaccurate information. In their section, "Fact v. Fiction," the editors write: "One trademark of the far right is misinformation. They make ideology sound like fact, belief sound like scientific data. We bring you the most widely circulated fictions about reproductive health, and the facts and resources to dispute them. If you are confused about how to determine if a study is real, this primer provides you with a great framework to evaluate any research study you read." Too bad the editors of the site didn't apply these same criteria to misinformation from the left. Women deserve better. Disclosure: My research is funded by the National Library of Medicine and the Connecticut State University American Association of University Professors Research Grant. I have no financial ties to pharmaceutical companies of any kind. Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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