Join the Berkeley faculty for an impromptu teach-in on swine flu: the virus, its spread, and the likelihood of a pandemic. Panelists will describe the epidemiology and biology of the illness (which is caused by the A/H1N1 virus) and discuss the effectiveness of the U.S. and international response to the outbreak.
Panelists: Art Reingold (Public Health), Russell Vance (MCB), Wayne Getz (ESPM), and Amy Herr (Bioengineering)
The recent re-emergence of swine flu has triggered a strong response from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the pharmaceutical industry--which claims that an effective vaccine could take months or years to produce. Impacts are being felt broadly, with governments issuing travel warnings, stock markets declining, and schools closing (including a school in San Jose, CA, where a student tested positive for the flu earlier this week). To date, swine flu has been confirmed in nine countries including the U.S., where nearly 100 people in 9 states have been infected. In Mexico, there have been more than 850 cases of pneumonia since March, with 59 deaths. So far, 26 of these cases have been confirmed as swine flu.
Sponsored by The Berkeley Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases ( http://globalhealth.berkeley.edu/cend/ ) and The Center for Global Public Health ( http://globalhealth.berkeley.edu/cgph/ ).
"What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money"
Stephen S. Cohen, Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Stephen S. Cohen for a discussion of the new book he has written with Professor Brad Delong entitled The End of Influence. Professor Cohen argues that the 2008 economic collapse demonstrates the failure both domestically and internationally of neo-liberal economic policies embraced by both democrats and republicans during the last three decades. Neoliberalism assumed that an unfettered market and a fettered government are the best route to prosperity. These policies increased economic inequality and led to the bloating of the financial sector. The policies also led to unbalanced trade and the transfer of dollars to sovereign funds in many of the emerging powers especially China. The future course of the sovereign funds will be a key determinant in whether centers of innovation develop in these emerging powers which control enormous reserves in dollars. In conclusion, Cohen raises a second key question: will the US redefine its reluctance to embrace greater government involvement in the economy once the crisis has past and the U.S. confronts challenges emanating from states with enormous assets in their sovereign funds. Ironically, neoliberal policies intended to limit government intrusion in the market has hastened the increased involvement of government in many emerging countries and led to the redistribution of power in the international system.
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/iis/Kreisler.html
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/
http://conversationswithhistory.typepad.com/conversations_with_histor/
http://www.thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1721
The University of California, Berkeley's new C.V. Starr East Asian Library - the first freestanding structure at a United States university erected solely for East Asian collections - opens its stately bronze doors to the public. This video includes interviews with Peter Zhou, Director of the Library, Deborah Rudolph, Executive Manager of Administrative and Editorial Services, and Alan Tansman, Professor of Japanese Literature, as well as shots of the building's spacious interior and rare Chinese, Japanese and Korean collections.
(2:30 min.) Contact: Roxanne Makasdjian, UCB Media Relations
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/10/16_eal.shtml