Media Update: Morning Joe, Yahoo Finance, 'Happy With Crappy'

I will graft these onto my Official 'China Airborne' Info Page shortly, but at the moment and for the record:

1) A discussion on Morning Joe this morning, in which I was talking about what there is to worry about, and not, in the panoply of current Chinese high-tech ambitions. Plus, what the example of Colin Powell shows about the People's Liberation Army:
 

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2) A similar discussion with Daniel Gross on Yahoo Finance this afternoon. More emphasis on economic and technical ramifications. 

3) I love how Knute Berger, of the estimable Crosscut in Seattle, has applied the "Happy with crappy" aspects of China's hyper-rapid development drive to its future prospects -- and those in America too. I first wrote about the "Happy with crappy" philosophy -- that is, not messing around with the fine points but just moving ahead as fast as you can -- back in 2007 in a long article about Chinese factories. The phrase came from Andy Switky of IDEO, who spent much of his time in China trying to find the sweet spot between speed and quality.

4) If you are in Louisville this evening, I'll hope to see you at the Free Public Library. Then, Shanghai. Back to non-promo discussions shortly.

James Fallows is a staff writer for The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States and once worked as President Carter's chief speechwriter. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, are the authors of the new book Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, which has been a New York Times best seller and is the basis of a forthcoming HBO documentary.

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