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Robert Kaiser, former managing editor of The Washington Post, reviewed this book on Joe McCathy in The Washington Post on August 7, 2020. It shows the link with today of Senator Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn, the then 27 year old lawyer chief counsel of the senate subcommittee on investigation when Joe McCarthy became chairman in Jan. 1953. The book is-  Demagogue The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy by Larry Tye. Roy Cohn passed on some of the methods used at that time to Mr. Trump. Kaiser points out that the senator Joe McCarthy assembled "a coalition of the aggrieved." Tye shows that it started with the junior senator from Wisconsin making a speech in West Virginia for Lincon Day dinner to the Republican ladies of Wheeling, W. Va. The senator used it to talk about threat of communists working in the State Department. He claimed there were 205 Communists. Today we know that this was just made up by McCarthy, at a time when Winston Churchill made the speech about the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and a sense of shock in America at the People's Republic of China being formed in 1949 under CCP chairman Mao tse tung. McCarthy saw this as an opportunity to gain prominence and a Senate career. What is seen from this carefully researched book is that for a while it succeeded in putting many of the Nation's best leaders on the defense. This includes Harry Truman, Eisenhower himself who disdained McCarthy's and Cohn's methods, Gen George Marshall who was a mentor to Dwight EIsenhower, Joe Stilwell, and other military leaders who ran the 1940's war effort under Marshall in Europe against the Nazis and in China against the Japanese imperialists. On the domestic side it included the head of TVA and the new Atomic Agency setup by president Truman. Gallup said at that time of McCarthy's 38% support in the US following his censure in US Senate by 67-22  -even if it was known that McCarthy killed five innocent children they would still go along with him. Tye writes that in that atmosphere similar to the sense of shock at China's rise and America's loss of manufacturing and falling behind in infrastructure by 2016, in that atmosphere if one told a small lie or big lie it made not much difference in public's penalty or censure, then why not tell a whopper of a lie. This became the ethic for a while in 2016-2024 similar to the period till the collapse of McCarthyism in America by 1957 with McCarthy's death in 1957 and in 1960 the election of John F. Kennedy. What is forgotten is that Richard Nixon a young senator from California was part of the group in Congress, so that in some shape or form it existed and remained part of the Reagan efforts to push back against the Soviets that led to wars in Afghanistan and then Iraq sapping the Nation's energies and resources and with faulty economic theory allowed China to dominate key industries and outspend America in infrastructure investment, creating the kind of shock that led to the second McCarthyist decade under Mr. Trump. ...

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Beijing residents say they began to relax in wearing masks or not wearing them, not wearing masks properly, after 8 weeks with no cases. A vegetable and fruits wholesale market in Beijing, in southwestern district of Fengtai,  which supplies 80% of the fruits and vegetables to Beijing's 21 million people is now seen by health authorites in Beijing as the source of a new outbreak. 79 new cases are traced back to this market on June 15.  In Beijing restaurants and shops had reopened. Primary schools and other schools had reopened. Public health experts are looking at the possibility that the source is a cutting board for frozen salmon imported from overseas possibly Europe-. because of the DNA sequencing of the virus experts say. Contaminated seafood or meat is suspected as a source. China's CDC says the virus can survive on frozen meat or seafood for 3 months. Just when this new cluster was detected in Beijing, the city of Wuhan the origin city of the virus is permitting indoor sports and entertainment facilities reopen, and this WSJ report says Wuhan is making masks no longer mandatory outdoors. Beijing authorites have responded with mass testing, and contact tracing through neighborhood committees. About 100,000 people are organized by neighborhood committees to visit the city's 7000 residential compounds for contact tracing to identify people who visited the market and get them to test for coronavirus. This is the typical response in China to get large numbers of low level officials, workers and volunteers mobilized for contact tracing and testing. By June 14 about 76,000 people were tested - of this 13,000 are from the 29,000 who visited the market since May 30, according to Beijing government statistics. ...

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The impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives set off by a release of president Trump's conversation with the new Ukrainian president, involves vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Mr. Trump had called for the Ukrainian government to look into corruption. The Washington Post gives this story of how Hunter Biden joined the board of an obscure Ukrainian gas company set up by a former minister and that this was brought to the attention of Joe Biden by advisers. At the time Joe Biden was representing the U.S. in Ukraine during a period in Ukraine when there was little clarity or transparency on what was happening in the country with changing governments. This story describes the thinking of people in the Biden circle who thought this was a bad idea.  This includes Hunter Biden's partner in the investment firm, a stepson of John Kerry, Secretary of State in the Obama administration, and other advisers of the Bidens. It has raised questions about why steps were not taken to prevent the perceived conflict of interest.  As a result of this Ukraine, a country at war with Russia and having elected a new president outside the conventional politics, is now at the centre of the impeachment inquiry. It is also likely to reshape the 2020 presidential election with differing views on this inquiry from president Trump who sees it to be about corruption in Ukraine, and Democrats about the president's effort to pressure Ukraine for his political campaign as U.S. provided critical aid to Ukraine.    ...

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The pandemic brings together companies in three countries U.S, Italy and France with the merger of Fiat Chrysler with PSA. Fiat Chrysler is owned by the company Exor owned by the Agnelli family in Italy. PSA is owned by the Peugeot family in France. In addition the government of France and Dongfeng Motors in China have stakes in PSA.  During the 2008-2009 crisis Chrysler merged with Fiat with the help of the Obama administration which pursued a policy of promoting small cars. Instead the merger saved jobs but led to the PR effort for small Fiat cars and the focus on the Jeep Cherokee and SUV's like the Dodge Ram. Today one hardly ever hears about small Fiats from Fiat Chrysler that was the basis for government help on the merger. 

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Tensions on the India China border as India builds roads and infrastructure in the mountainous Himalayan area close to the border in Ladakh to match the Chinese buildup of roads in the region over the last decade. India has also built up its troop presence in the region to match China's troop presence along the border in Ladakh.

India has supported a call from Australia for an investigation into the early origins of the coronavirus. The call was supported by many countries around the world and by the U.S., Japan and France. The 350,000 deaths from coronavirus and the 5.5 millions confirmed cases, the economic damage, most of them in western nations in North America and Europe, have  led to growing tensions between China and the rest of the world. 

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A detailed story on Fethullah Gulen, once an ally of president Erdogan in his effort to reduce the influence of the nation's military but now seen by him as a rival. Gulen lives in Pennsylvania. The recent coup in Turkey, and the efforts by Erdogan to reduce the influence of Gulen supporters in Turkey, has increased tensions between Turkey and the U.S. This is happening just as Turkey's relations with Germany are worsening after the failed coup, the  Erdogan response, and what is seen as a drift to authoritarian rule. Earlier corruption inquiries in 2014 critical of the Erdogan government by judges in the Gulen faction of the AK Party led to the split between the two factions, followed by Erdogan controlling judicial appointments and controlling the media.

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Contact tracing apps in the U.S. Britain and France have failed. Contact tracing app in Germany was downloaded 12 million times in the first week. Yet much of the contact tracing in Germany and cluster isolation has been achieved using low tech methods- using a computer with database, and teams of people in district offices all over Germany calling people.

The NHS App in Britain failed to get the cooperation of Apple. In the U.S. Google and Apple planned to have a contact tracing app ready but failed to come up with one. Tech has failed to come up with solutions during coronavirus and low tech solutions have worked well as in Germany and in places such as Kerala, India, when implemented quickly with very little delay.

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FR24 reports from a teashop in the old Turkish city of Gaziantep before the Turkish elections on May 14, 2023 in which the two decade rule of Mr. Erdogan is contested by a civil servant from the Republican party of Kemal Ataturk Mr. Kilicdaroglu. Ataturk was the founder of the Republican party, became president in 1923, and modernized Turkey. 

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Cities that drop in the Livability Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit include New Delhi with poor air quality and petty crime slipping 6 places to 117  and Mumbai for culture downgrade by two places to 118. Karachi is at 136 place and Dhaka is the third lowest with weak infrastructure. Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria are the top 2 places.

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U.S. president Trump will host NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on April 12, 2017, as tensions between Russia and the U.S. increase following the U.S. missile strikes in Syria. White House officials say Trump is "100% committed to NATO." In May Trump will meet other heads of government at a NATO meeting in Brussels. 

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On the Matterhorn mountain at night the messages "Stay at Home,"  "Hope," and the Swiss flag are beamed on snowy slopes, as Switzerland enters the 11th day of quarantine. It is about working hard at following simple rules and staying at home, an appeal to Swiss people who believe in working hard and being sensible.

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World Cup Soccer fans in Kerala and the enthusiasm for teams of Argentina, Brazil and Portugal, attacking goal scoring players Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo.

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Australia defeat England by 71 runs in the Women's Cricket World Cup after sensational batting by Alyssa Healy who scored 170 runs. 

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Following the line in the Woody Guthrie lyric The Guardian sets up this series on America's Public Lands, and its National Parks. 

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The peace plan calls for the establishment of an International Stabilization Force. IDF, Israel Defense Forces would hand over parts of Gaza to the ISF made up from troops from Egypt and possibly Jordan, and other countries that would along with the US be responsible for demilitarizing Gaza removing tunnels and munitions and weapons so that it no longer poses a threat. An Economic Plan supported by the Saudis, UAE and the US would step in to rebuild Gaza for the benefit of the people of Gaza. No militant group would be allowed, complete demilitarization assured, the focus would be on economic develoipment for the area and other areas of Palestinian territory in West Bank. 

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Importance of hearing aids and using ear plugs near loud noises in avoiding early dementia. Other actions to prevent early dementia are wearing helmets to protect from brain injury, getting vision checked, engage your core when sitting and getting every 20 minutes, long walks or hikes, checking cholesterol, maintaining good sleep habits. The expression "use it or lose it" is key if vision, hearing, body movement is not used one loses it and with it the paths to social connections that the brain needs for stimulating its function. Maintaining good sleep and food, exercise habits shows that overall health has much to do with mental health.

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Straits of Hormuz 21 miles wide at its narrowest point in the Gulf where Iran faces Oman and Saudi Arabia.  Hormuz waterway that carries 90% of Iranian oil exports to China, 82% of all Asian oil imports, could be disrupted but it is very unlikely because of the $67 billion in oil exports from Iran according to its central bank, 90% of these oil exports going through Hormuz waterway go to China. It would be to unfund it's own oil based economy and affect China not the US or Germany. Germany gets most of its oil supplies from Norway, US and other sources, US is self sufficient after shale oil production surge.

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Amanda Anisimova 23 year old Wimbledon finalist 2025 talks to BBC on struggling with mental health issues and burnout. She took time off from the tennis circuit to find herself and what she enjoyed doing outside of tennis, including a semester at university, holidays, exploring life with friends, after reaching the French Open semifinals at age 17 years in 2019. Soon after she felt the effects of burnout and did not go near a tennis racquet for months. 

She says about this period in life- "I learned a lot about myself, my interests off the court and just taking some time to breathe and live a normal life for a bit." 

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More than 6.7 million persons are displaced inside Ukraine most of them from the war torn eastern part of Ukraine, and most of them women and children. In addition over 3 million are refugees in neighboring countries such as Slovakia and Poland. 

The war is now extending to the Donetsk region with about half of the population of the population in eastern Ukraine having left that region for safety in central and western Ukraine. The rolling farmland and old coal mines of the region, the destroyed infrastructure and industrial facilities, make the area of no use to Russian forces. A fraction of the Russian population in the area has also left says this report in the NYT. 

The scale of the damage and the refugee situation is hard to imagine and can be seen in the pictures in this NYT report. Boarding trains and buses civilians have poured out of cities in eastern Ukraine where the war has intensified.
 

 

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A study and analysis in the One Earth journal for climate change action shows oil companies owe about $209 billion annually to pay for damage caused from climate change. The leading companies accounting for about 10% of global emissions are Gazprom and Saudi Aramco. These companies have benefited greatly from the oil price surge. The US and European oil majors who also have profited greatly from the oil price surge come next. Further distorting the effects of wars, financial crises since 2010, the war in Ukraine creates price surges from which oil companies benefit while the vast majority of people in the world are affected by a cost of living crisis made worse by higher energy prices. This is what is important to keep in mind as the US under president Biden prepares to play a leadership role in correcting these unneeded and bad distortions on how it affects the lives of workers and families in the US and Europe, as well as in Asia, Latin America, Africa. ...

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Conditions such as these are simply unacceptable for average young American families and their children when they rent apartments. A business called syndicated apartments which pools together small investors with promises of high returns in apartment real estate is the focus of this report by the WSJ. As the mayor of Houston has pointed out it has created deplorable conditions for renters in his city, with similar conditions in other cities. In pursuit of profit apartment quality deteriorates creating difficulties for ordinary Americans who rent. This report shows the collapse of this as a business activity with losses for investors with the Fed's increase in interest rates. Another article in the NYT this week shows what a city friendly to renters can look like- Vienna, Austria, which is next on this page. With the increase in mortgage rates doubling home ownership payments more average Americans will look to rent. Conditions such as these are a gross violation of what America's implicit promise is to its people for quality of life. ...

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How are royals educated? Elizabeth Paton gives a glimpse of how girls from royal families are educated in Europe in 2023. Two are graduating from Atlantic College in a small castle on the southern Welsh coastline, with a focus on diversity, internationalism and peace. Students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds go to the school which makes them more diverse than a typical Ivy League school in US or Europe which is a good thing. Princess Leonore of Spain shown here with her parents and princess Alexia of the Netherlands. Both girls just graduated at the age of 17. Princess Sofia of Spain is next to go to the college.  It is part of United World Colleges Group. In the modern age it is important for royals to have a deep awareness of their country's problems. Spain and Netherlands have had their convulsions, Spain in the Civil War and the role the two girls grandfather former King Carlos had in restoring democracy in Spain, Netherlands during occupation in the 1940's. ...

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Gerard Baker in the WSJ says there is a dizzying collapse in the quality of leadership in  Britain and also in the US and other countries of Europe.  we are led by too many inferior people, he says. Liz Truss, Johnson and Sunak in Britain are examples of this, he says. They lack the experience and the capabilities needed. This is also true of Meloni in Italy, Macron in France and Merkel in Germany, ineffectiveness of Obama and Trump in some ways in the US.

Yet he says there is another problem for Brexiters in Britain and for Trump Republicans in the US. This is one of the abject chaos that emerges from trying to reconcile the desire for strong government and government support of working class supporters and the tradition of lower taxes and no deficit spending in the Conservative and Republican parties. This is he says a warning for the Republicans from what he sees happening in Britain with Truss, Johnson and Sunak after Brexit.