In July 2001, when Beijing was named host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chinese leaders, International Olympic Committee officials and quite a few media commentators confidently predicted the event would signal a global turning point.

In 2007, so many consumer products – from children's jewelry to all-terrain vehicles – were pulled from store shelves that consumer advocates dubbed it the year of the recall. Despite industry efforts, the problem has gotten worse.

Little things clearly mean a lot to our readers. More of them contacted me about the elimination of the Mini Page supplement from the print edition than about the announcement that the paper is up for sale. What a possible sale might mean to readers is unknown. Losing a printed Mini Page had these consequences...