LyrArc Article Gist
See the video of Trump Mamdani meeting November 20 2025, on the White House site. The US president says  "I don't care for affilitations or parties, we are going to be helping him." DJT says it is all about the good of New Yorkers, if we disagree on some things he will try to convince me or I will try to convince him." DJT says he had a very good meeting with Mamdani and found much more agreement on many things than he had ever expected. Again and again in the response to questions from the press Mamdani and DJT showed a collegiality that astounded the press and is likely to astound most people. Again and again DJT and Mamdani came back to the central issue for New Yorkers living in the 5 boroughs- the cost of living. DJT said he and Mamdani are together on this issue of affordability in New York. DJT described himself as a New Yorker, New York as a great city with great potential , that he himself aspired to be Mayor of New York, and he wants Mamdani to do well spectacularly well for the people of New York. This is a good sign for New York and the Nation. That a Democratic Socialist and a Republican business person can find common ground in the interests of the people and the Nation they love. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Efforts to revive the Chinese Communist party, and facilitate the evolution of a new economic--political model that helps control corruption. Efforts also to get the involvement of non-governmental organizations from society. The city of Shenzen, near Hong Kong, is being used as the model. It was here that the current economic-political model was first established, through the Shenzen Special Economc Zone.

LyrArc Article Gist
What would a EU Britain relationship look like under Keir Starmer's Labour party? For education and student exchanges, for agriculture, and for defense? For Starmer why waste any capital when there is a need to deliver for working people and families in Britain, overcome the financial mess the Tories have left and still invest in Britain year after year, to permanently rest fears of the working class in Britain who left Labour.

A small test is happening over student exchanges as the EU's Leyen revives the plan for a 4 year college level student exchange. Here British universities say their finances cannot handle what the EU proposes that in the year spent overseas tution would be paid to the host country university. Another concern is that this is not seen as freedom of movement which the British public have not supported.

Alternative proposed is for a 2 year exchange that the EU has with Canada and Australia. 

LyrArc Article Gist
In the first week of the his administration DJT plans to end birthright citizenship by executive order. He will work with Democrats to protect Dreamers who he says are middle aged people by now and do not even speak the language of their country, as children brought to the US by their parents. He will pardon Jan. 6 defendents in the attack on the Capitol on the first day.

DJT says he will not act to replace the head of the US Federal Reserve Bank, though he plans to replace FBI Director Wray, who he says "invaded my home." 

DJT says-

“I’m really looking to make our country successful. I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success.”

 

LyrArc Article Gist
Carlos Alcaraz finishes a five set 4 hours at the US Open semifinals, after a quarter finals game that lasted 5 hours all the way to the early hours of the morning at 5 am. The youngster from Spain meets another new face at the US Open Casper Ruud of Norway. The old game had disappeared with very few net points and fewer lob shots. Ruud and Alcaraz are taking the game back to how it was played by the likes of Laver and Nastase in the 1960's and 1970's when a whole mix of shots and agility at the net was always part of the game.

LyrArc Article Gist
The old Fifth Avenue NYC building that Lord & Taylor department store opened in 1914 is remodeled by Amazon for offices that will have 2000 employees or a fifth of its New York workforce. Konrad Putzier of the WSJ looks at the problems of renovating old spaces in cities across the US. The cost is a factor as it cost Amazon $978 million. Renovating it means staying within what the old Italian Renaissance based design would allow without too much cost. This means less natural lighting, putting more interior meeting space which does not require windows. Only the new rooftop 2 floors have flexibility to put in modern windows. 

LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ video shows the complex operations required, R&D over many years, new machinery developed, to produce, transport and install natural grass to specifications across stadiums in many cities of North America. FIFA'S experiment with consistent natural grass across stadiums in cities as different in climate and altitude as Mexico City Houston Dallas New York City Kansas City and Vancouver. The grass in all the stadiums in the venue locations has to be consistent so that players and team get the same feeling of playing on the grass. This was a huge challenge and machines had to be developed in Tennessee, research done at Michigan State over many years, and production set up in Denver, transport arranged for delivery to stadiums, and some stadiums having to lift the pitch by 1 inch to put the grass on top of existing turf. The game of soccer requires that players can slide across the grass without scraping their feet and this is why natural grass is the only grass surface for the sport. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The WSJ's Juan Montes, in an exceptional report from Mexico City, tells the story behind a landmark achievement for Mexico- Pacto Por Mexico of Dec. 2, 2012. The major political parties of the right, centre and left forge an agreement for the way forward for Mexico- beyond monopolistic pricing and industry structures in Mexico that hurt consumers, to increase foreign investment and new technlogies to modernize the national oil company Pemex operations, change labor laws, and create a climate for higher growth. The pact is broad ranging, shows a grasp of the problems facing modern Mexico, and ranges from anti-monopoly laws to getting junk food out of schools considering Mexico's high obesity and diabetes rate. It covers 95 goals. It is hard to overstate the significance of this achievement for modern Mexico. Montes describes the initiative of the PRD leader Zambrones in rebranding his PRD party as a moderate left wing party open to new ideas. This happened after the departure of Lopez Obrador from the PRD to form his own party in September. Zambrano and PRD moderates brought up the idea based on what happened in a landmark deal in Spain in 1977, that helped transform Spain after decades of stagnation under the Franco dictatorship. Around July after the presidential election, PRD president Zambrano, and the PRD's Jesus Ortega, held meetings in Mexico City with Jose Murat, a senior PRI politician, and PRI president elect Nieto's top advisor, economist Luis Videgaray. The decision was made by president Nieto and economist Luis Videgaray to pursue the discussions for joint agreement on vital issues facing Mexico. The PAN party was brought into the discussions. By mid-September nine people from the PRD, PRI and PAN started work on a draft agreement at Murat's home. The ground rules were set for discussions to be private, to have agreement on all points or assume nothing had been agreed, and not let current events disturb the talks. The nine participants set up the broad principles, and then a group of three, one from each party was given the task of coming up with the right language for the pact. By the end of November a 34 page draft was put together. A night of intense work to 2 a.m. followed the inauguaration of president Nieto on Dec. 1, with the Pact ready for announcement on Dec. 2, 2012. The Pact is a landmark achievement in its potential for changing Mexico and creating decades of economic progress similiar to that envisioned by the Spanish parties for Spain in 1977. ...