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Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 will require huge amounts of capital. One estimate is $131 trillion. Where will it come from. The UN Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero says financial groups with assets of $130 trillion have committed to its program to cut emissions. This WSJ report says that is enough scale to generate $100 trillion through 2050 to fund the investments needed for new technologies and provide the finance for companies to restructure themselves in a new world.  The question is how much of this is real as banks, insurers, pension funds and private investor groups are only now taking on the task of restructuring the finance industry. It was not even addressed during the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change talks. For this to be truly transformative and the transformative changes to take place governments have a critical role in requiring a common standard for reporting and measuring climate change progress. Government regulatory action and oversight is essential for timely and rapid action to take place. Financial regulators, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have agreed to add their own oversight through reviews and disclosure standards. The problem is that private sector plans are not concrete. Data is non existent or inconsistent and measurement is not taking place across all of the financial sector on key parameters. The UN has limited power to enforce rules. Who will act to ensure decisions are taken, progress measured after standards are set, transparency set, and how can governments deliver on each step through 2030 ensuring the transformation of the financial sector so that the decisions are taken according to a master plan for climate change in the US, UK, European Union, and India.   ...

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Greg Ip says all the data show the economy is much stronger with low unemployment and inflation coming down, yet for the nation people are not so upbeat, and for their own state really upbeat. He attributes it to the general mood of uncertainty of people, and the negativity with which the media presents news. Some clues to what they actually believe can be seen below the superficial look at the data. For instance as people surveyed say they feel the economy is much worse today by a significant margin for the whole nation they say just the opposite for their own state by an equally significant margin. Listen to this- the WSJ poll Greg Ip cites shows US economy is getting worse or better in the graph. For the US it shows 31% think it is getting worse. The opposite for Arizona 30% and Pennsylvania 25% think it is getting better. In other states people say it is about 18% better- the states are Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada. This suggests that the surveys have to be looked at from the perspective of their own state which reflect the data which clearly shows a big improvement. Greg Ip says the WSJ has seen this in another place, when people are about Congress they say its looking worse, when asked about their own state Congressman they say just the opposite and quite favorable. It is something that is important to bear in mind in 2024 and for the future, the American people are still rational and science based in their thinking, as they have been throughout the nation's history pioneering in the Industrial Revolution. ...

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This BBC Travel story about mindfulness, a sort of meditation with nature, and getting close to nature as a sort of healing inside, comes from the southern region of Western Australia, 360 kilometres southeast of Perth. It could have come from native peoples in America, Asia, Africa or other parts of the world. The author visits the Noorang people, part of the 750,000 native people who lived there when the first British settlers arrived there in 1788. Captain Cook had just landed there in 1770 as part of British Navy and Royal Society expedition on the ship HMS Endeavour. Today this is part of the Botany Bay National Park in the Sydney region of eastern Australia. The author visits the streams rivers and hills in the region near Perth as he undergoes a kind of spiritual reconnection with nature. The less the vibration man has the more the mindfulness and ability to connect with nature and the inner self, the author is shown as he lets things go soaking himself in a river. Many native people's rituals and are ways to respect nature and connect to it as to a mother.  In India modern people relate to ancient civilization through yoga and spiritual writings from an earlier period. There too the idea of nature or rivers and mountains as spiritual and healing, strengthening of body and spirit can be seen. The Narmada river flowing from east to west across mountain ranges in India is seen as a spiritual  mother just as rivers are in this story about native peoples in Australia's southern region south of Perth, western Australia. ...

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Mr. Trump says he will wear a mask on a visit to soldiers at Army's Walter Reed Hospital. Trump says its "a very appropriate thing. I have no problem with a mask." As cases hit 3 million in the U.S., close to 1 million in India and Russia, Mr. Trump joins the movement for masks worldwide. Early on Mr. Trump  took up the issue of transmission from Wuhan by banning flights from China, failed to get WHO and China to respond quickly to the pandemic requests from U.S. by providing information and allowing a team to visit Wuhan quickly in January. A stumbling block appeared within the health ministry in the U.S. with poor leadership which Trump had to overcome by relying on Vice President Pence to lead the stop coronavirus team at the White House.   Trump's reopening decision came under criticism and he says he had to balance the damage to jobs and economic well being that also affected health. Some of the states and young people responded in ways that led to public gatherings that have led to surges in the south and the western states such as Calfornia. The WSJ reported that in Los Angeles County on June 20 half a million people went to bars after they reopened, showing that culturally even counties in states like California lacked what is accepted good sense. For instance Tokyo bars were paid by the Japanese government not to reopen, according to one report. By wearing a mask Trump is simply acknowledging facts about transmission - a German study shows 40% reduction in cases with face coverings. ...

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Jillian Michaels, health and nutrition expert shown in NYT as an example of changing political perspectives in 2025 on health, and dangers of not speaking up for nutrition and wellness in America.

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Liberal lawyers in particular have held back the efforts of president Biden for the government's role in bringing fairness and building better for the economy, says Ezra Klein in the NYT podcast. He says liberals are complicit with Conservatives in restricting president Biden's agenda for Building Better Stronger and for working families, manufacturing and infrastructure building in the US.

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NYT provides this conversation with a botanist and biochemist with a spiritual passion for trees. She reveals the many ways in which trees support the human health and souls, says NYT. She has a vast scientific knowledge of it and a spiritual connection with forests. She talks about why we should preserve old forests and plant more in this conversation.

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The effects of a winter war when the muddy ground freezes by December is likely to pose severe difficulties for troops on both sides in the Ukraine war. Everything slows down in this period and any advances become difficult. Efforts are being made to make provisions for firewood, winter clothing, and supplies for the winter in the east around Kharkiv. 

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Apple is introducing end to end encryption or Advanced Data Protection. It expects iPhone buyers to set up recovery contacts, recovery key, and to turn on this feature of Advanced Data Protection. Joanna Stern talks to Apple's head of Software Engineering  Craig Federighi in this video that shows how this works. Stern asks why this took so long.

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European businesses are increasing investment in the US because of its relative stability and growth compared to a sharp slowdown with covid lockdowns in China and political risk in China with the war in Ukraine. The US is also more attractive than Europe for investment as Europe face a slowing economy with the war in Ukraine and the embargo on Russian energy supplies.

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Home prices in cities in the western US including California and Austin, Texas, which were overvalued are now decreasing by about 10%. Cities in the east are seeing increases of a similar amount. Some cities such as Raleigh and Nashville which increased significantly in price are now expected to decline. No collapse is expected in home prices as there is not enough supply.

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Brandon Johnson wins Chicago's mayoral election 51.4% to 48.6% over Paul Vallas. He is a former county commissioner and teacher's union organizer who called for a vast expansion of social programs and higher taxes. His opponent called for a crackdown on crime. Chicago is struggling to get out of a pandemic slump and struggles in the public school system.

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Next generation logistics with India's new road, ports and aviation infrastructure building will be a key factor in increasing exports to $2 trillion by 2030, says this view in The Mint. The lack of logistics capabilities is holding back exports at the current time. This needs to change with the government's Gati Shakti plans for next generation infrastructure.

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Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch is only 6 runs short of Indian Virat Kohli as the highest run scorer in ODI one day cricket. His batsmanship has revived the Australian team with 6 centuries and 8 half centuries since the beginning of 2019 and a total of 1739 runs in 35 games.  Only Rohit Sharma comes close in centuries scored.

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The centre right coalition parties win the Italian election with 45% of the vote. Meloni's party The Brothers of Italy win 26% of the vote.  As in Sweden where a centre right party joined centrist parties to form a government immigration was an issue in the election. She campaigned for family friendly benefits, stopping immigration, and improving working families incomes.

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Nirmala Sitharaman tells vegetable vendors that she spent time at the Mylapore vegetable market in Chennai when she was young. She shopped for vegetables and greens on her way to visit MLA Srinivasan's home. Sitharaman is India's finance minister and brings extraordinary simplicity and  feeling for the average person to her role at every level of government.

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Japanese prime minister Kishida replaces four members of his cabinet after a probe of fund raising by a faction within the LDP.  Saito Ken is the new minister for economy, trade and industry. Hayashi Yoshimasa is new Cabinet secretary. Also with incoming ministers are the ministries for agriculture and for internal affairs. Prosecutors were investigating the sales of fundraising tickets.

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Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visits Ukraine on the way to Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. As head of the Greens Party Baerbock brings an independent voice in the German government on issues relating to Eastern Europe. Baerbock favors a firm stance for Germany and NATO in response to Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine.

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US president Biden now plans to break the $2 trillion Build Back Better into smaller pieces so that where there is greatest support such as early childhood education, action on climate change, and other parts of Build Back Better, these parts can move forward in 2022. This is seen by Biden as a better strategy to accomplish the same goals.

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Nikki Haley calls TikTok "a dangerous social media asset" in a Republican debate for presidential hopefuls. Strangely the debate also had in a commercial break an ad for TikTok. Social media has been shown to have an harmful affect on the mental health of children. Use of social media also affects the reading ability and concentration of children and young people. 

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David Ignatius reflects on the changes in Saudi Arabia under MBS particularly women's rights to education and participation in society, and women free to exercise fundamental rights. Kemal Ataturk brought these kinds of changes to Turkey in the 1920's, after Turkey's disastrous participation in the First World War and conflict with Greece and colonial powers. 

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Inflation is down in industrialized countries of Europe and in the US. Inflation has dropped from about 10% to about 3% in the US and Europe. In the Netherlands prices are lower than a year earlier. In the eurozone inflation dropped to 2.9% in October from 4.3% in September. In 2024 further decline in inflation is expected as retail sales slow or decline.

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The Judge in the classified documents case sets the trial date for a speedy trial that takes place not in December as requested by the prosecution but a few months later in May 2024. This means the American people can have all the full facts and information to make their decisions on the course for America to follow in the next 25 years.

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This WSJ report points out that upto this point the US volatility index in 2024 has been very low. The drop in the US stock market on August 5, started with the effects of monetary tightening in Japan and its effect on the market in the US. Because of this the underlying situation in the US, the underlying low volatility has not changed.

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Japan's Sanseito anti-immigration party gets 7 seats, enough to deprive the ruling LDP-Komeito alliance of its parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Ishida of the LDP party may not last more than a few months. The LDP seems to have lost its way like the Democrats in the US. A recent article in NYT says LDP wanted to bring in 60 million tourists to Japan each year to boost the economy. Yet Japanese people in cities have a hard time handling 40 million tourists in 2024, with reports of disturbance of the once quiet life in city neigborhoods and failure to adopt the culture and language of Japan. Reports of migrant/tourist or immigrant crime get much press coverage. Japan has 124 million people and birthrate of 1.26 below the birthrate of 2.1 needed to stabilize population. Business asks for new immigrants to fill unfilled positions. The public has different ideas and the migration is causing disturbance in traditional way of life in Japan. Similar to what is seen in the US and Germany in more striking ways. The nationalist parties including Sanseito say even if the population falls to 100 million this is more than the population of 90 million in Germany, and is enough to sustain its economy. Use of robotics and AI is not talked about as much but offers Japan, US and Germany, a way to make up for the loss of foreign labor. In essence both American, British, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Austrian, Dutch, Danish and Japanese society share a yearning for traditional ways of life that are being ruffled and disturbed by the migration, immigration, or over tourism affecting their countries. Politicians need to pay attention to people affected and not live isolated in their own neighborhoods from the people in other less sheltered communities and neighborhoods across their countries. ...