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"No amount of misrepresentation or statistical contortion can conceal or blur or smear that record. Neither the attacks of unscrupulous enemies nor the exaggerations of over-zealous friends will serve to mislead the American people." FDR said this  on October 31, 1936, it could also be president Biden.The current Media and Hollywood efforts to choose presidential candidates of their choice runs contrary to "We the People," contrary to views of ordinary Americans, of voters, workers and families. President Kennedy was told he should not take the nomination because he was too young. Kennedys' response was that it was he not Humphrey that went to state after state and won the votes in the primaries, no one else made the effort to run in the primaries in each state. President Biden has the support of 14 million in the primaries. George Chidi from Atlanta reports that undecided voters number about 1 million in the swing states and most are much older than the average. Most may feel insulted by talk about age when they are in the same category.  A 102 years old Lockheed engineer in Atlanta suburbs says he is a Republican but will not vote for Trump. There is also the women's vote in Georgia and Atlanta suburbs with abortion ban as the issue as it was in Kentucky and Kansas. How many vote will also be a factor, making energizing the base a key factor. The idea that one party is doing better than the other is refuted clearly by some of the people in Georgia shown here, and the age factor does not get the prominence the Media have given it, as long as the government is functioning well. Media has failed to look at the policy details of each candidate in a colossal failure that calls for alternatives. Older voters who are the major part of the 1 million or so voters in swing states that are undecided also say that the fact is that with both the candidates- as it is with administrations that are led by young presidents seen as too young to lead (JFK) the opposite of today- many of the decisions are made with an experienced group of advisers around the president. Many if not all also realize that the vast experience of an older president is also an asset. Much of Biden's legislation for chips science, infrastructure, the Inflation Reduction Act have not happened in Germany, France or the UK, and would not have happened in the US without the ability of president Biden to get the bipartisan support from being the one with the most experience in Congress in a long time. The result is the hundreds of thousands of jobs created each month and a growing economy, inflation down from 9 to 3% as the first step to further cost of living action to support ordinary workers and families. Only LBJ comes close and he signed landmark legislation for Medicare and Medicaid, and for civil rights into law 60 years back. By removing America from the wars that Reagan and Bush started and Obama and Trump failed to end president Biden has given the US an opportunity to inspire and lead the free world in a way that has not happened in many decades and build a growing economy, a bright future for the Nation. ...

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Apple's plans to get a share of revenues and control customer data for digital newspapers and magazines it supports on the I-Pad.

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This in depth report in The Times reveals that after Brexit talks between Lord Frost and Michael Barnier were getting nowhere on December 3 and the EU had increased its demands, Boris Johnson came up with the idea of a direct call between Johnson and Macron of France and Merkel of Germany, with the EU Commission president Leyen present. This was rejected after Macron spoke to Merkel and both decided they should stay united in their demands that Britain agree not to relax environmental or other rules to gain unfair competitive advantage after leaving the EU. The decision by France and Germany not to talk directly with Britain had been made. Leyen at the EU headquarters in Brussels was to convey the decision. Leyen offered to meet Johnson for a dinner discussion in Brussels. Johnson hesitated. He finally accepted knowing that this would show he had done everything possible and would have the support of all his ministers including ones that supported Remaining in the EU. The whole world thought that the EU was making a genuine last effort to get agreement, but this was not the case. During the dinner meeting Leyen just listened and listened, not saying much, as the EU strategy was to convey to the British that it was serious and not going to budge. This is where the situation is today on December 12, 2020. Cabinet ministers say the chances of any agreement before December 31, 2020, the date Britain leaves are just 30%, some even say 20%. Both sides are ratcheting up the pressure. The British have taken steps to increase patrol ships to 4 and the total fleet to 8 ships to patrol its Economic Zone in British waters looking for EU, mostly French fishermen. Britain would keep the French from fishing in its waters.   ...

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Ashwani Lohani, head of the Railway Board for Indian Railways says the bullet train is creating a paradigm shift in how people travel in India. That the distance from the city where Mahatma Gandhi had his Ashram to Mumbai is covered in less time than it takes to travel by air is a huge shift for India. Some media reports have incorrectly stated that the money used for the bullet train could have been used for improvements to the railway system. Lohani says it is important that people understand that the money for the bullet train is coming from Japan and would not be available if the bullet train was not built. It is also at interest rates of 0.1% and a moratorium period of 15 years making the loans almost free. The advantage of the project is also that it has a demonstrative effect showing that a lot can be done in bringing Indian Railways into the pattern of rapid rail travel prevalent in Europe and now in China. China has shown the way by developing its rail system and also developing the technology for bullet trains using Kawasaki technology from Japan and building on this. It is imperative that India do this and modernize its own system. This is an aspect of infrastructure also that has a massive impact on people's lives. When trains can travel at bullet speed between city centres in India it also creates a new energy for bringing the rest of the system to higher technology standards.     ...

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Lack of vaccine supplies and differences between the European Union Commission in Brussels and the German, French governments is slowing the vaccination drive in both countries. The lack of a national concerted effort with the whole country, local and federal governments in agreement, is restricting the effectiveness of the vaccination drives. The failure to contract for more vaccine supplies adds to the problems. By contrast India has coordinated its drive for vaccinations, with the local and federal governments in agreement, and the whole population largely behind the effort to vaccinate. Very critical for a population of 1.4 billion when one includes Bangladesh which has received 2 million doses of vaccine. India has gone one step further with supplying of vaccines to Brazil, Morocco, and other countries. BBC says India has exported 60 million vaccine doses to 76 countries. This is an amazing story and much credit goes to the concerted government effort at all levels local, state and federal and public support. Germany and France can gain by looking at the Indian experience in vaccination drives, just as India has gained by looking at the vaccination drive in the UK, Israel and the US. ...

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Paul Peterson, a professor who heads the Program on Education Policy at Harvard, says that public school education has not done as well as private or charter school education. In two areas character or values, and school discipline, public schools lag far behind private schools or charter schools. Private schools score 59% and 46% in these two areas, public schools lag far behind at 21% and 17%, in the 2016 Education Next Survey, says Peterson. He says by appointing Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, the Trump administration sees the need to think how public schools can benefit from improvement in these areas.

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Spain's cabinet announced new changes to labor laws to provide incentives to business to hire. Spain has some of the most restrictive labor laws in Europe and high unemployment. The unemployment rate reached 23% in December 2011, and about half of the people under 26 are unemployed. The cost of downsizing is so high in Spain that Spain's representative on the executive committe of the European Central Bank, Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, says companies prefer to close rather than downsize. The World Bank has singled out the labor laws as one of the main reasons for Spain's rising unemployment rate. New rules will reduce severance payments to 33 days per year of employment from 45 days. Severance packages will be reduced to a maximum of 24 months from 48 months. To encourage companies to hire permanent workers and depend less on temporary workers the new rules say employers must switch temporary workers to permanent contracts after two instead of three years. As an incentive for companies with a maximum of 50 employees to hire young people the rules give a 3000 euros corporate tax break for each new person hired under age 30. If the hired person was jobless he can still collect 25% of previous unemployment benefits for a limited period with 50% of the unemployment benefits going to the employer. Companies having losses for three consecutive quarters are allowed to pay less in severance payments- only 20 days per year of employment. Companies will now find it easier to leave collective bargaining agreements and make deals with their own staff. Luis Garicano, a professor at the London School of Economics, says this is a good step forward. He finds missing from the new rules subsidies to train young and unemployed people given the high dropout rates in Spanish schools. The government approved the rules by decree, but they will be discussed in the Spanish parliament. The government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy was recently elected with an overwhelming majority in parliament. This makes making major changes different from the process in Italy where a consensus has to be established....

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S&P drops France's credit rating one notch from its AAA credit rating on Jan. 13, 2011. Italy, Spain and Portugal were also downgraded.

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Nature Conservancy reports that trees planted in cities reduce particulate matter by between 7% and 24%.  Particulate matter are microscopic particles we breathe in when there is polluted air from automobiles, factories, or smoking. The cooling effect is about 2 degrees centigrade or 3.6 degrees fahrenheit. Outdoor air pollution causes asthma and other lung diseases, and led to premature deaths of about 3 million people in 2012, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Hospitalization from high pollution levels is another major problem, especially in poor and middle income nations, such as Brazil, Mexico, India, China and Indonesia. Air Flow should be considered when planting trees in congested urban areas. Cities in the west also benefit from tree planting, and London has benefitted from the park spaces and tree planting.

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The two front runners among Democrats in the campaign for President in the U.S. are building their lead on the basis of programs to reduce inequality and build the social fabric. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren support a program of Medicare For All. This program is a single payer program run by the government so that medical costs can be cut by the government directly negotiating cuts, which would reduce some of the cost.The WSJ looks at the ways this can be financed at a cost of between $11 trillion over a decade. Programs of less extensive coverage  in Medicare for All excluding undocumented workers and having individuals share some costs would cost this much, according to some experts.The gap would be financed by taxes such as that on Medicare currently. Sanders additional tax premium would be 7.5% paid by employers and 4% by employees. About $1 trillion is generated by each percentage point of taxes over a decade says CBO, so that a combined 11.5%  tax would cover Medicare for All. Alternatives or some combination would include this with taxes on the wealthy. Tax hikes on wealth, income and financial transactions would generate $11 trillion over a decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget. Currently a majority favors a Medicare for All plan, and this support could grow as people understand that it would be progressive and reduce the burden on the middle class by shifting some of the burden to the wealthier in society in today's economy, where much of the increase in wealth over the last 3 decades has gone to upper income people. Much more so in the U.S. than in Europe creating a tear in the social fabric and disaffection with Democrats, who in earlier administrations from Clinton to Obama failed to maintain the gains made under FDR, Truman and Kennedy. This has led to a Republican administration under president Trump that won over disaffected Democrats but hope to merley to maintain the status quo. Warren is trying to change this with bold social programs that fit today's needs and circumstances. ...

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After the hearing on November 18, 2007, in the Senate in front of the Banking Committee, most senators remained unconvinced. Prof. Morici of the University of Maryland and some senators including the senator from Tennessee asked tough questions about the automakers business model and viability going forward and some senators voiced deep concern about the automakers resistance to better fuel efficiency standards. The testimony given in advance and the remarks ahead of the questions showed the Detroit automakers CEO's were in a disconnect as they did not come forward with an acceptance of past mistakes on fuel efficiency, lack of vision on energy conservation, and failure of union and management to address benefits and work rules that were obsolete a long time ago, relying too heavily on lobbyists and on the plea by Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow for aid. Failure to do this and relying too heavily on the job losses and economic threat may have alienated many senators who are outside the midwestern region where most of the Detroit automakers are concentrated....

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The large Soroka hospital in Beersheba with 1200 beds in southern Israel for 1 million people is hit by Iranian missile June 18, 2025. This marks another turning point in the war with attacks on civilian targets. 

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A supply chain crisis, shortages of coal and oil are affecting major world economies. The Guardian looks at the economies of Britain, the US, Germany, Russia and Australia. Inflation is above 4% in Germany for the last month. Shortages of workers is affecting most economies. Ports are filled with container ships that have not downloaded their shipments because of a lack of workers. There were a record 10 million job openings in the US mostly in the restaurant and entertainment industries. Low wages have led many to reconsider their careers during the pandemic, a phenomenon called the Great Resignation. Other people have dropped out of the workforce because schools have not reopened and there is a lack of good affordable childcare. The chairman of the US central bank Jerome Powell, says "It is frustrating to acknowledge that people getting vaccinated and getting Delta variant under control remains the most important economic policy we have. It is also frustrating to se the bottlenecks and supply chain problems not getting better- in fact at the margin getting a bit worse." ...

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Five of eight unions in the German Confederation of Trade Unions DGB have increased membership. There is a shift to younger members as older workers retire. Membership is more engaged than ever before. More unions are taking up the issue of wage increases after workers were accomodative during the pandemic and Ukraine war. DW.com shows graphs of German workers having lost 18 days due to strikes coming ninth in the developed economies compared to 92 days in France, Canada 78, and the US 9 days. Cost of living action is seen as needed by workers for fair wages. There are 1.8 million open jobs and workers are now getting more confident to ask for better working conditions and higher pay, say experts. This is also happening in the US with president Biden's support. The problem is that only 50% of jobs in Germany are covered by collective bargaining agreements designed to ensure that companies pay decent wages. The EU directive in 2022 set a target of 80% for collective bargaining agreements. This makes it harder for unions yet the unions and workers are taking up the work with enthusiasm.   ...

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How politics is shifting in Germany as Die Linke a party of discontented Social Democrats and heirs to the East German Communists has 14% support in opinion polls and the public opinion is shifting in favor of more state involvement and protecting workers.

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Gretchen Morgenson sees systemic risk looking ahead beyond 2013 in the $4.6 trillion repurchase obligations market or repo market. Problems in the repo market caused the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the financial crisis of 2008. Bernanke, Dudley, Bair and other finance officials have referred to the risk in the repo market which have not been reduced since the 2008 financial crisis. In the repo market money market mutual funds provide short term funding to banks accepting collateral such as mortgage securities. These are overnight loans made to banks and other financial institutions based entirely on trust. During normal functioning the trades are rolled over. The risk is that the trust disappears in a few days as happened for Bear Stearns and Lehman and the firms not able to obtain this short term financing. This is a very unstable form of financing and Lehman depended on it because of the low cost and not having to set aside capital for the trades. Basel III rules require that banks set aside capital against the assets they finance inthe repo markets, and a recent JP Morgan report says the 8 largest banks would need to raise $28-$34 billon in capital for their repo business....

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Spain has so far in Sept. 2011 consolidated 45 cajas savings banks into 17. Some of the assets were sold to Spain's commercial banks. In July the central bank seized Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo, which had failed the stress tests. This Journal editorial says the Bank of Spain and the Spanish government approach is too slow to install new management, recapitalize the banks if possible and privatize the assets. Attention also needs to be given to minimizing taxpayer losses. The sweeping guarantees on the caja's losses , and 2.8 billion euro credit line to buyers of Caja del Mediterraneo does not look like privatization, because it simply hands private buyers the gains, with the government taking on the risks and the losses.

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A key figure in approval ratings is 46% with DJT getting 46% approval for the economy and on a range of issues including immigration. On tariffs the situation is steadily improving with new trade agreements with Japan, the EU, South Korea that were announced after or just when this WSJ poll was taken on July 20. Among Republicans 88% support the president and 66% strongly support him which says this report means more of them would turn out to vote. More significant is that the optimistic rating of the economy went up by 11 percentage points from April 2025 to 46% in July 2025. This is also the view of Fed chairman Powell. Each step of the way as DJT tariff actions result in tangible improvements in trade relations for the US and result in concrete real world trade agreements for a level playing field in world trade, the president's actions are seen in a different light. The first Trade Agreement with the UK, then with Japan and now quite possibly with the European Union. All this within 6 months of the president acting in February 2025. A major role played also by Bessent, Greer, Luttnick and others in the cabinet of ministers. This lifts perceptions of the president in the eyes of the American people in handling the economy, business and world trade, and protecting the interests of America's farmers, and rural communities. ...

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Mr. Lindner of the FDP withdraws from negotiations leading to a stalling in the talks for a Jamaica coalition in Germany. FDP won 11% of the vote, the CDU about 32%, and the Greens 9% in the recent election. The CDU needs the FDP to form a coalition government as the Social Democrats have turned down requests to join the CDU in a future government. The SPD party sees no advantages in joining a coalition because it lost more of its worker base support by working with the CDU. If no coalition is formed a new election could be called by September 2018.

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"Memories of a Nation," an exhibition on Germany and how it is viewed in Britain, first shown at the British Museum is now being shown in Germany at Martin-Gropius-Bau, from October 8 to Jan. 9, 2017. It gives Germans insights into their own history and how it is viewed in other countries such as Britain. The original exhibition was prepared from objects at the British Museum in 2014, to go with a BBC Radio 4 Series and a book by Neil MacGregor, who came up with the concept in the context of British-German relations. MacGregor, a former director of the British Museum, is now leading a cultural history museum in Berlin called the Humboldt Forum. About 200 objects were chosen to cover 600 years of German history. One of these objects fascinated the British- a hand wagon used by Germans expelled from former German territories to carry their belongings. About 14-16 million Germans were expelled. Other aspects that were shown are the cities of Konigsberg, Strasbourg, Prague and Basel, formerly having German history that has since faded. Also shown the fragmentation of Germany with many states, and the idea of decentralized government, compared to a more centralized Britain. ...

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Both sides are presenting the issue differently creating confusion. Many Misconceptions- 1. The Department of Education did not exist before president Carter set it up in 1976. 2. It does not run Education in the US. It mostly administers student financial aid programs. These could be run by the Department of Treasury where they belong.  3. Reagan called the education department as creating "a bureaucratic boontoggle."  4. The goal of Republicans is to take education back to the states. Well run states can then run it better than by one agency setting rules and responsibility lying in the states anyway, but creating a perception of diffused responsibility so that no one can be held accountable for the woeful state of American education. Math and reading comprehension skills for students 8-15 years at different grade levels from 4th grade are dismal. US ranks low across developed countries in math and reading comprehension skills. 5. It is about sending education back to the states and parents where it belongs. Once states compete there will be an effort to  copy the initiatives of states delivering better results in math and reading comprehension. 6. Lyrarc Movement for Global Literacy is for creating high levels of ability in math and reading for children 7 to 16 years for strong foundational skills. 7. Everything starts with parents and a home that nurtures these skills and a home environment that is supportive and this can be possible across income groups given the motivation and seriousness. ...

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Good news for the eurozone economy. Growth has accelerated to 0.3%. It is estimated by OECD for growth in Eurozone at 1.2% for 2025 and 1.4% for 2027. The number of people employed rose by 0.6% for 2025 which shows the eurozone economies are resilient inthe face of tariffs and China's aggressive export drive in the EU. Investment growth picked up by 0.9% in the third quarter quarter of 2025 over prior quarter after a drop in the second quarter of 1.7%.