We have this debate in America that is almost a theoretical debate about the role of government in the economy and whether government should be involved, and I worry that while we’re having this theoretical debate, on the other side of the world, the Chinese government is vigorously promoting industry after industry, the German government is vigorously promoting its manufacturing center, the South Korean government is vigorously promoting its manufacturing sector — and by the time we’ve resolved our debate, there won’t be any industries left to compete in. It is absolutely clear that government plays a key role, as a catalyst, in promoting long-run growth.

— Fareed Zakaria, on the relationship between government and innovation. [complete interview here]

Source: CDC

Tomorrow: the story of American medical care as seen from the perspective of an inner city Chicago hospital, where most of the patients are uninsured.

lookhigh:

Of the 5,193 public outdoor sculptures of individuals in the United States, only 394, or less than 8 percent, are of women….And none of the 44 national memorials managed by the National Park Service (such as the Lincoln Memorial) specifically focuses on women and their accomplishments….

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington [was] dedicated in 1993 after a nine-year effort to bring it to fruition. But it didn’t happen easily, according to its founder.

“It was incredible how hard we had to work not only to get a sculpture, but one that looked like women,” says Diane Evans, who had been an Army first lieutenant and head nurse in Vietnam and spearheaded the initiative. “We were told by J. Carter Brown, the head of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., that a woman’s statue would upset the delicate balance of tension at the Vietnam Memorial.” (via Washington Post)

(Photo: Jeff Kubina via Flickr)

A visualization of tweets sent on New Year’s Eve 2010

US (by Twitter)

Audio for today’s story on investigating the hidden life of guns, including how guns from the United States have ended up on Mexican streets, is now up. 

James Grimaldi, on why 60,000 guns from the United States have been found at Mexican crime scenes in the past four years: “We’re the closest country, it’s easy to get guns, it’s not difficult to cross the borders with the guns when you get them and there’s very little stopping gun runners from doing that.”

Mexican violence, American guns

As Mexico drug violence runs rampant, U.S. guns tied to crime south of the border. The Washington Post has a nice photo gallery showing how authorities have struggled to keep U.S. retailers’ firearms from falling into the hands of drug cartels.

What struck me most recently was that the Chinese who used to be a lot more discrete that they view the United States as a fading power and view themselves as the rising power, today come out and say it outright. They make it very clear that they think that the U.S. is not only a debtor nation but that since it is in debt to China since the U.S. bears a considerable responsibility for what triggered the global financial crisis, that Washington is now in no position to be lecturing to the Chinese, either about economic management or about diplomatic management around the world.

— New York Times Washington Correspondent David Sanger, on U.S./Chinese relations, in an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, 12/8/2010.