Scott Edwards Blog

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Check out this great article from Barron’s Online about the skyrocketing Chinese stock market.

The Wall Street Journal has a good articleup about how China’s leadership is adapting to an ever more financially successful China, while they move to squash decent.  I agree that China will never allow political dissent in the foreseeable future, but believe that they will ultimately encourage their citizens to point out corrupt officials and poor governance.  I think over time you will see a gradual move toward the Singaporean model of government.  In Singapore only one party retains political power and doesn’t accept opposition parties, but in return promises good clean government and economic prosperity.  This kind of model fits well with China’s entrepreneurial spirit and lack of individual political agency.  Singapore has used this model successfully for more than fifty years, and I think China could do the same.

The official video from their website:
 

While doing a publicity stunt for a Virgin America newest service from SFO to LAS, Sir Richard Branson injured himself on a 40 story fall from the top of the Palms casino.  Branson was repelling down the side of the the casino when a sudden gust of wind shoved him against the side of the building, ripping his pants and cutting his hand.  Branson was understanably shaken up after the incident, but publicists say her returned to his schedule only a few hours later.  Yes, Richard Branson is awesome and is my hero.

Just when you get really depressed about the state of American politics, a refreshing reminder comes along that we aren’t the only country in the world that plays politics and says silly things to make ourselves look better to others. The New York Times has an excellent article up in which they discuss the shady world of upper-echelon Chinese horse trading. If you are looking for a political environment more seedy and underhanded than the American political environment, your best shot might be China.

The article is also a great chance to catch up on your who’s Hu of Chinese politics and get a ahead on likely leaders five years from now. For the most part though I just took comfort in hearing that other countries have our same problem, but at least they don’t have to watch it all play out on CNN over there.