FDA will Open Inspection Office in China

Well I would hope so. We have gotten so much poisonous stuff from China lately. Last year already, there were toys recalled by the thousands. Then came the toothpaste. As part of a broader plan to assure the safety of imports, the Food and Drug Administration will establish its first office in China before the end of the year. They have laid out a plan to place more than 60 food and drug regulators worldwide over the next year. They are going to particularly focus on India, Latin America and the Middle east.

The staffers will inspect foreign facilities, and provide guidance on U.S. quality standards. Eventually they will train local experts to conduct inspections on behalf of the FDA. They expect to post 8 U.S. staffers in China next year and then open additional outposts in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The government will also send 10 employees to India. We want the imports we receive to be safe for our people and this sounds like a good way to do it.

China Flooding

The United States is not the only place suffering from flooding. There are one million homeless in China from flooding. They have had weeks of rain which have pushed rivers over their banks in southern China. More than 1.27 million people have been forced out and some huddle on rooftops as the region braced for more downpours. So far 112 people have been killed by the floods in 12 provinces. The raging rivers have collapsed tens of thousands of homes. Crops are damaged across more than 2.12 million acres and this has caused more than an estimated $1.5 billion (U.S. dollars) in economic losses. The Beijiang river, converges with the Xijiang in Foshan and has swallowed a neighborhood that had been home to about 100 people. For those who read the Bible, read Revelations. I think we are in the end times and it can only get much worse.

China's Leader Targets Corruption

The five-yearly congress of the Chinese Communist Party has opened in Beijing with a tough message from President Hu Jintao to more than 2,000 delegates. Mr. Hu said he party's very survival depends on resolutely punishing corrupt officials. He said that despite economic growth there were many social and environmental concerns facing China. President Hu is expected to consolidate his grip on power but a new generation of leaders for 2012 is set to emerge.

EU Will Retain Light Bulb Tariff

The European Commission has decided to retain import tariffs on Chinese made energy efficient light bulbs for up to another 12 months. The decision was made even though only one of Europe's four energy efficient light bulb producers, Germany's Osram, had called for more time to adjust. The tariffs, introduced to stop cheap Chinese imports entering Europe, can add up to 66% to the price of bulbs. The tariff extension will require the majority backing by EU member states. They now have a month to decide.

China Fear Over "tainted" US Soy

China has accused some United States exporters of supplying tainted soy bean crops. Chinese officials said potentially harmful weeds and contaminated dirt had been found in the beans, but made no mention of any import restrictions. China has recently been the center of concerns about the safety of some of its own exports, including toothpaste, pet food and in the latest case, toys.

South China Bracing for Typhoon

Typhoon Sepat has battered Taiwan with winds and heavy rain and is heading for provinces of south China where hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing. It disrupted power to some 240,000 homes, uprooted trees and caused mudslides in Taiwan, forcing 1,800 people to evacuate. In China, more than 540,000 people have left low-lying areas and flights have been cancelled. Nearly 300,000 were evacuated in Fujian where the storm is due next.

Toy Woes Prompt China To Check Goods

A senior US senator has called for all toys being imported into the country from China to be inspected after a massive recall by toymaker Mattel. Dick Durbin accused China of having "lax safety standards" and said that toy firms should voluntarily allow third party inspectors to check goods. Mattel recalled more than 18 million toys worldwide, the second such operation in two weeks. This followed the discovery that paint used on some toys may contain lead.

China's Economy Will Become Biggest

A century ago, Britain was the economic superpower but it slipped into second class status, in part because it was bled by the cost of wars. There is no law of nature that says the same can't happen to the United States. Sometime in this century, China will become the world's largest economy. It could then be in a position to call the tunes that the United states now calls. American self-indulgence has put this country in a position to become subservient. We haven't been paying our bills, so we became a debtor nation and much of that debt is held by China. This is a scary situation when you think about it. We should be a lending nation, not a debtor nation. China, a developing country should be a borrower, not a lender. The roles have been reversed. Being deep in debt to China does not bode well for the US remaining master of its own destiny. Nor does the war in Iraq. Not even a country as rich as the United states can sustain the estimated $1 trillion drain on its economy from the war.

Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Dies

Chinese Vice-Premier Huang, Ju, one of the most senior leaders in China, has died at the age of 65 in Beijing. the official Xinhus news agency has reported. He was in charge of financial and economic policymaking in the Politburo, China's highest decision making body. He had not attended official functions since March 2006, when it was announced he was ill, reportedly with cancer. He was described as a "long tested and faithful Communist fighter" and an "oustanding leader" in his official obituary.