Scores of Florida homeowners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Chinese drywall makers over claims that the products may cause health and safety problems. According to safety officials, the drywall may emit sulfuric odors that can cause headaches, dry eyes, and bloody noses and may damages home appliances. Presently, the lawsuit names Banner Supply, Rothchilt International Ltd., Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., Ltd. and its parent company the Knauf Group.

Here is a snippet of an article from the Blog of Adam Smith, Esq. called “LET’S JUST PULL THE COVERS OVER OUR HEADS. OR NOT.”

“America has been through many crises and challenges before, far worse than what we’re experiencing today. Need I mention (keeping it to economics and not including wars), the hardships and deprivations brought on by the Civil War, the long depression of 1873-1895, the Great Depression itself, the grinding stagflation of the 1970′s. That we’re facing a new challenge is not existentially threatening.

“The problem is that many of us seem to feel it is, or at least that’s the way the media is reporting it and, frankly, the way our political leaders seem to be responding to it–this is a crisis, they reiterate, and unless precipitate action is taken, disaster looms. Pass a three-quarter of a trillion dollar package this week, or else.

“Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale, and co-author (with George Akerloff) of the just-released ‘Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism,’ has this to say in today’s New York Times:

“People everywhere are talking about the Great Depression, which followed the October 1929 stock market crash and lasted until the United States entered World War II. It is a vivid story of year upon year of despair.

“This Depression narrative, however, is not merely a story about the past: It has started to inform our current expectations. [...]

“The attention paid to the Depression story may seem a logical consequence of our economic situation. But the retelling, in fact, is a cause of the current situation — because the Great Depression serves as a model for our expectations, damping what John Maynard Keynes called our ‘animal spirits,’ reducing consumers’ willingness to spend and businesses’ willingness to hire and expand. The Depression narrative could easily end up as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“I recommend perspective. Perspective not that we deny the severity of this near-depression. To be sure, there are plenty of reasons to worry:

“It’s global in nature;

“It has come upon us with shocking, whiplash-inducing speed;

“It’s striking at the heart of our 21st Century economy, the financial sector, as opposed to being a classic inventory hangover, consumer pullback, sustained oil price spike, or isolated tech bubble;

“Speaking parochially about our industry, we have been joined at the hip to the financial services sector for as long as the boom was going on, and even before that. The New York “white shoe” firms all made their reputations on core connections to bulge bracket investment banks, and to some extent those reputations lived on until the very recent past. I suspect they’ll endure beyond this interregnum, in fact.

“But let’s get back to perspective.

“I believe two characteristics will separate the strong from the weak firms coming out of this episode. They are: (a) cultural glue; and (b) the quality of leadership.

As for “cultural glue,” you had it going into this episode or you didn’t. If you didn’t, I sincerely wish you the best of luck, and I hope you seize this opportunity to build some, ASAP. If you have it, on the other hand, now is the time to capitalize upon and reinforce that. Other than that, I don’t have too much more to add about the strength of your culture. It takes years and years to build, as does trust, and (see: Spitzer, Eliot) can be destroyed in an instant.

“This brings us to the quality of leadership.

“I believe this will be the key differentiator in this period. We talk about “leadership” interminably, but we do so for a reason. It matters.

“In times of genuine crisis, leaders do not have to use fear to alert people about the need to change from the status quo. When the place is on fire, it is counterproductive to frighten people. In battle, no one needs to be motivated.

People want to know that their leaders are competent enough to see them through this crisis. They don’t have to like you; they have to know that they can place their faith in you because you have thought it all through”

“Successful leadership in this era comes down to four critical points.

The first is personal accessibility. We’ve seen CEOs in times of crises try to circle the wagons and stonewall the media and other stakeholders. That’s not the way to go. It’s critical to be out there.

“The second trait of an effective leader in crisis is empathy. Show some compassion for those hardest hit.

“A third quality has to do with authenticity and believability. [He proceeds to talk about how Wall Street executives performed, or didn't, on Capitol Hill recently, and excoriates those who dissembled and seemed to be unprepared.]

“The fourth great quality of leaders in crisis is that they don’t let the stress of the present preclude the boldness, courageousness, and thoughtful prudent risk-taking that is still vital to success. These leaders understand that we still have to get out there and be in business. We’re not running libraries and museums; we’re running dynamic enterprises that can’t be afraid to take calculated risks.

“It’s really tough times that bring out the greatness in leadership. Disappointments, barriers, setbacks – they are all the punctuating moments that really define a heroic career. You don’t know how good an executive is until times are tough. As such, this is the time when corporate leaders can really distinguish themselves and really punctuate successes as outstanding leaders.
Study after study, time after time, has shown that Americans are the most optimistic of all nations. It’s time to invoke that.

“There’s no sin, hereabouts, in getting knocked down. The sin–and an unforgivable one–is in not getting back up.

“It will soon be time to get back up. Wall Street may be dead for now, but it’s Lazarus. It has reinvented itself every decade or so for as long as I’ve watched it. And [Law] firms are the handmaidens to its serial reinventions.

“Prepare to be optimistic. Prepare to be an American. Prepare to lead.”

The Los Angles Times reports that 20% of the people living in Los Angeles County now receive public aid and officials expect that number to rise significantly.

Nearly 2.2 million people are receiving public assistance payments or benefits, a level county officials say will rise significantly over the coming months.

With unemployment in the county currently standing at 9.5% more people are expected to seek aid to once their other benefits run out.

The total includes those receiving food stamps and general relief as well as other county-administered aid programs, such as in-home healthcare. The cost — shouldered by the county, state and federal governments — was $334 million a month by the end of last year, according to the latest report by the county’s Department of Public Social Services.

The rising demand has left public assistance offices ill-equipped to deal with the growing multitude of indigent people. In some locations, lines routinely snake hundreds of feet outside entrances.

Qualifying for help most often means they already have run out of unemployment insurance and drained their bank accounts and other assets. What it also means, however, is that they have not spent 40 hours a week looking for work or have been willing to take what is offered in the way of employment.

Being on welfare is both degrading and addictive, especially if one can learn to live on what handouts the government provides.

But people who expect to receive the equivalent of full wages when they are not working would be fools to look for work. It is far easier to ride in the wagon than to pull the wagon.

While it is critical that ‘We The People’ should always be willing to lend a hand to those in need, it is not appropriate for people to expect life-long support as an option instead of working.

If only the politicians would learn one simple lesson – jobs are the ONLY important thing, get people working and problems just seem to fade.

The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay meets the standards for humane treatment of detainees established in the Geneva Convention accords.

In a report for President Obama on conditions at Guantanamo, the Pentagon recommended some changes — mainly providing some of the most troublesome inmates with more group recreation and opportunities for prayer.

Some of the most dangerous inmates at Guantanamo have been prohibited from meeting with other prisoners for prayer or socialization; they are kept in their cells for as long as 23 hours a day. That includes self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other self-styled Al Qaeda leaders charged with overseeing the 9/11 attacks, who would be likely to be affected by the proposed reforms.

Obama has criticized the detention center, and human rights advocates have condemned it as violating the Geneva Convention, a series of international rules established to protect the rights of those detained by other countries, including in times of war.

The administration official said the report’s primary conclusions supported the Department of Defense’s long-standing contention that Guantanamo was in compliance with the global convention, including Article 3, which requires the humane treatment of prisoners taken in unconventional armed conflicts, such as the war on terrorism.

The parents of a Wal-Mart security guard trampled to death by shoppers may pursue a lawsuit against Nassau County and its police department, according to a court filing. An attorney for the family filed a notice of claim Tuesday indicating that they may seek damages up to $35 million. The guard died last year when a mob of holiday shoppers rushed the Valley Stream Wal-Mart where he was working as a temporary security guard.

A Vermont jury began deliberations in a case that accuses a Burlington eye doctor of pressuring a patient into unnecessary cataract surgery. In closing statements, an attorney for the plaintiff argued that the Doctor intentionally misinterpreted test results in order to perform surgeries. The lawsuit seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages and $450,000 in punitive damages. Jurors are scheduled to resume deliberations on Friday.

Oklahoma lawmakers have received committee approval for a bill that would make it more difficult for people to file lawsuits for professional negligence. Under the bill, which was approved by the Oklahoma House Judiciary Committee, plaintiffs would have to submit a so-called certificate of merit expert affidavit before their lawsuit could proceed. Critics of the proposed bill say it creates an unconstitutional monetary barrier to the courts.

Two whistleblower lawsuits got backing from the federal government Thursday over claims that a Johnson & Johnson unit, Scios Inc., engaged in off-label marketing for one of its heart drugs. According to a statement issued by the Department of Justice, Scios aggressively marketed the heart failure drug Natrecor to patients with less severe conditions beginning soon after the drug was approved in 2001. The cases are U.S. ex rel Strom et al v. Scios Inc. and Johnson & Johnson and U.S. ex rel Smith v. Scios and Johnson & Johnson.

Congressional lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation that would override the 2008 Supreme Court decision that protects medical device makers from lawsuits. Critics of the decision say it leaves injured patients with virtually no recourse against devices approved by a hamstrung Food and Drug Administration. However, medical and conservative groups are already mounting opposition to the proposed legislation

The nationwide salmonella outbreak linked to the Georgia peanut processor should alert lawmakers in every state as they consider legislation to add punitive damages in civil trials. Punitive damages can be an appropriate deterrent to corporate misconduct and that current laws are sufficient to prevent abuse of punitive damages.