Reuters (October 12)
“Nerves are fraying in the Brexit talks, negotiators are trying to work out if the other side is bluffing about walking away, and a ticking clock is fast narrowing British options come March 2019.”
The Lancet (October 10)
On a somewhat encouraging note, a recent study on worldwide trends in weight finds “the rising trends in children’s and adolescents’ BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels.” On a less positive note, childhood obesity “has accelerated in parts of Asia.” Nevertheless, food security remains an urgent priority because “the number of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in the world who are moderately or severely underweight remains larger than those who are obese.” Striking the right balance remains challenging as “the experiences of east Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean show that the transition from underweight to overweight and obesity can be rapid, and overwhelm the national capacity needed to engender a healthy transition.”
Tags: Asia, BMI, Caribbean, Childhood obesity, Encouraging, Food security, Latin America, Obesity, Overweight, Study, Underweight, Worldwide trends
Bloomberg (October 10)
“Kobe Steel Ltd. unleashed an industrial scandal that reverberated across Asia’s second-largest economy after saying it falsified data related to strength and durability of some aluminum and copper products used in aircraft, cars and maybe even a space rocket.” Following on the heels of the Takata scandal and Nissan Motor’s unauthorized vehicle inspections, “Kobe Steel’s admission raises fresh concern about the integrity of Japanese manufacturers.”
Tags: Aircraft, Aluminum, Cars, Copper, Falsified data, Integrity, Japan, Kobe Steel. Scandal, Manufacturers, Nissan, Takata
San Francisco Chronicle (October 9)
“California’s fire season took an apocalyptic turn for too many Sunday as fierce winds and hot, dry air fanned more than a dozen Wine Country fires…. At least 1,500 structures and 10 lives were lost, scores were injured and tens of thousands evacuated, and smoke settled thickly over the Bay Area and beyond.” While containment remains the most urgent matter, “the latest catastrophic wildfires are also a policy problem that should motivate redoubled prevention and mitigation measures.”
Tags: Apocalyptic, California, Catastrophic, Evacuated, Fire, Mitigation, Prevention, Smoke, Wildfires, Winds, Wine Country
The Economist (October 7)
If Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy “thought that cracking heads would put a stop to secessionism, he could not have been more wrong. He has only created a stand-off that has energised his enemies and shocked his friends.” Rajoy’s reaction “has thrown Spain into its worst constitutional crisis since an attempted coup in 1981…. Only a negotiation can restore calm and it should start immediately.”
Tags: Calm, Constitutional crisis, Coup, Enemies, Negotiation, Rajoy, Secession, Spain, Stand-off, Wrong
Institutional Investor (October 5)
In a recent survey “of 101 investors managing more than $1 trillion combined, 87 percent said they would support the activist campaign of a well-regarded investor if they believed change was necessary at the company in question…. Many of the investors view themselves as change makers, with roughly half saying their firms can meaningfully influence a company’s corporate governance.”
The Guardian (October 5)
“Japan has again been forced to confront its work culture after labour inspectors ruled that the death of a 31-year-old journalist at the country’s public broadcaster, NHK, had been caused by overwork.” NHK’s delayed reporting of employee Miwa Sado’s death from overwork in 2013, “piles pressure on authorities to address large number of deaths linked to labour practices.”
Tags: Broadcaster, Death, Inspectors, Japan, Journalist, Labor, NHK, Overwork, Sado, Work culture
New York Times (October 5)
“Another day, another embarrassing foreign policy circus in the nation’s capital that can only further erode trust in American leadership at home and abroad.” President Trump undercut Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, raising “doubts among world leaders about whether he represents the president’s true intentions.” While Tillerson has his own faults, “those weaknesses are nothing compared to those of an inexperienced, self-absorbed, bombastic and impulsive president.”
Tags: Bombastic, Doubts, Embarrassing, Foreign policy, Impulsive, Inexperienced, Leadership, Self-absorbed, Tillerson, Trump, Trust, U.S., Weaknesses
The New Yorker (October 3)
“Stephen Craig Paddock’s murder of more than fifty people in Las Vegas is, according to one measure, the three hundred and thirty-eighth mass shooting…. This year.”
Tags: Las Vegas, Mass shooting, Murder, Paddock, U.S.
Las Vegas Sun (October 2)
“It feels unsavory to consider what this might mean for Las Vegas and our tourist economy. Yet I can’t help but envision the insidious trickle-down impact of one lunatic’s actions. What fun would Las Vegas be if airport security lines guarded every casino entrance? Will the world fear our hospitality? I hope not.”
Tags: Casino entrance, Hospitality, Las Vegas, Lunatic, Security lines, Tourist economy, Trickle down, Unsavory
