LyrArc Article Gist
Things may not turn out the way polls show is the subject of this editorial in the WSJ. Prospects of some Republican candidates for the Senate in Arizona and Missouri are not what they appeared before. The division among Republicans about the legitimate votes in the 2022 presidential election as an issue in the midterms is leading to a fragmented election effort. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2021 shows Democrats responding to the issue of inflation and climate change, leading to new questions about Republicans in the rest of 2022.

LyrArc Article Gist
Action to tackle the cost of living crisis taken by G-7 countries France, Germany, Italy, Canada, US, is shown here in The Guardian. France and Germany have taken the strongest action to protect lower income people, the US with the Inflation Reduction Act has taken broad steps to limit healthcare costs and invest in the economy. The UK appears to be the weakest in taking action and the new budget of Mr. Kwarteng is seen in this way as failing to protect vulnerable parts of the population.

LyrArc Article Gist
The US government takes strict action against Binance following the action against Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX crypto exchange after its bankruptcy. The settlement fine is $4.3 billion and is intended to ensure strict compliance with US laws. Binance will also be required to monitor and report all transactions to the US government and act for enforcement of US laws and regulations. It is intended to bring this part of US capital markets that was acting as being outside the law under the strict oversight of the US government.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Inflation Reduction Act has $8.8 billion for heat pump rebates and assistance. Heat pumps are more efficient than existing furnaces or air conditioning units. Only 22% of Americans know about the heat pump rebate compared to 32% who know about the EV vehicle rebate of $7500. Heat pump rebate is for $2000 by the federal government, and $8000 for a rebate from the state beginning in 2024. Heat pump installations surged with new home sales in 2022 and slowed as home sales slowed with higher interest rates. 

LyrArc Article Gist
The UK is drasticall falling behind in renewable energy and on its meeting its commitment to the Paris Accords after failure to act on the part of Tory prime minister Sunak. It will have to ramp up action under Labour. The Climate Change Committee annual report to parliament shows Sunak approved projects would only meet one third of the emissions cuts Britain promised to cut emissions by 68% by 2030. Labour has approved three giant solar farms. This will not be enough as a five fold increase in installations is needed for solar.

LyrArc Article Gist
Aging does not happen gradually but happens in waves at early 40's and early 60's and at 78 years, say Stanford scientists. This means we should be proactive and act by having a regimen of exercises that we take extra care to do when we are at these ages so that we compensate for rapid muscle loss or other aging related issues including balance, posture, skin health, cardiovascular, and other health issues. Nutrition can also be geared to specific foods that will strengthen us.

LyrArc Article Gist
John Wojick of Boeing, John Leahy of Airbus, and the fierce competition for orders from customers at ANA, JAL, Lufthansa, American. JAL's decision to inclde Airbus in its orders with its order for 31 wide body A350's for $9.5 billion, was a disappointment for Wojick, who heads Boeing sales group. Wojick has focussed on protecting customer interests inside Boeing as the Dreamliner and other projects suffered manufacturing delays and safety issues. He has offered deeper discounts on planes and flexibility on delivery timing to defend Boeing's sales.

LyrArc Article Gist
The balancing act for Japn's new prime minister Yoshihide Suga, Mr. Abe's cabinet secretary, as he tries to protect Japanese investment in China and maintain good relations with the U.S. The Trump administration is determined to restore America's manufacturing status as a manufacturing superpower and renew its supply chain after the pandemic, which is leading to a new relations with China.

LyrArc Article Gist
Rising tensions in the Middle East after an American airstrike at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. This happens at a time of public protests against government corruption and mismanagement in Iraq and Lebanon. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Not a very flattering picture of the chancellor. She has already lost 1.3 million CDU voters to the Greens, and about 260,000 to the far right AfD party. In all about 4.3 million CDU voters have shifted from Merkel's CDU to other parties on the right or the left and to the Greens, between the general elections of 2017 and the European elections in 2019, according to Infratest Dimap. It had 33% of the vote in 2017, now it polls at 27%, down 6 points. The Greens come next at 22%, in recent Politico poll. Merkel's sentiments may have overtaken the reality of how much Germans wanted to integrate war and economic refugees from Africa and Asia. She has since revised her judgement that it was a decision made at the time based on what happened at that time without enough time to prepare for the sudden influx of refugees from Budapest. A new party the Alternative for Germany AfD emerged from the migrant crisis in the eastern part of Germany that had 13% of the votes in 2016, building on discontent from reunification, depopulation of the east, and a sense of drift and neglect. Even a sense that the affluent western part of Germany was more concerned about refugees than its own economically insecure countrymen in the east. After being in power since 2005 Merkel's period shows signs of aging. Her record on investment infrastructure and health, education and child care is also found to be weak. The effort to maintain austerity for so long following the financial crisis of 2008 by profligate banking and bad accounting by member states in the EU including Ireland, Spain and Greece, has hurt parts of the middle and working class stuck with low wages and inequality in the EU and in Germany. The migrant crisis and refugees have split her party and German opinion adding to the problems of the economy in the EU and Germany.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Foreign born population after a series of restrictive Immigration Acts dropped from 15% in 1890 to 12% in 1930, to 5% in 1970. The effort of 1924 Act was to make the southern and eastern European immigration that jumped by 1924 to 41% of total to much lower numbers. A look at the Immigration Act of 1924 under the Coolidge administration sponsored by senators from Washington state and Pennsylvania, Albert Johnson and David Reed, by Chishti and Gelatt in MPI. It shows the prejudices of the early Europeans from one country to Europeans from other countries that followed, after the British, the Germans, the Irish, the Italians and Polish, as the immigration waves shifted to Eastern and southern Europe in the period between 1880 and 1920. During this period Southern and Eastern European immigrants that made up 16% of the population reached 41%. In 1882 Chinese immigration to the US came under the Chinese Exclusion Act restricting it. The Dillingham Commission of 1911 stated the merits of different racial types with northern European and western European preferred to southern and eastern European. Still only 1% of the immigrants entering America were turned back between 1880 and 1924.  The 1917 Immigration Act set up an "Asian Barred Zone" that included Japan, a head tax of $8 on immigrants, requiring proof of read and writing of all immigrants, vetoed by president Woodrow Wilson. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set the first quotas at 358,000. Under the Immigration Act of 1924 it was revised to 165,000. President Hoover asked for strict consular restrictions so that between 1929 and 1945 immigrant numbers fell below 100,000 a year.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
EU foreign policy is process driven and requires the agreement of 27 countries in the EU, which is called the coalition of the unwilling. British foreign policy is ideologically driven. After the Brexit deal was reached in the last week of December 2020, no mention was made of coordination in foreign policy. The Boris Johnson government has quietly dropped the whole idea of cooperation with the EU in foreign affairs that the government of Theresa May supported. May supported deep cooperation between Britain and the Eu at the Munich security conference in 2018.  Today most cooperation is absent and Britain sees itself freed from the constraint of coordinating its foreign policy. Britain is now free to act independently in foreign policy they very reason for Brexit. It means Britain will negotiate its own relationships with other countries based on what is good for  Britain. British euroskeptics were always critical of the French way of saying France would act independently in making foreign policy and at the same time saying it was working within the EU. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
How Dreamliner lithium-ion batteries work. What could have caused the batteries to reach thermal runway temperatures and ignite causing the fire that led to emergency landing of the ANA Dreamliner in Jan 2013. Overcharging is one possible cause say experts, another is a manufacturing defect.

LyrArc Article Gist
Classic DJT letter to Japan. WSJ annotates the letter but its annotation does not say that Japan has used the relationship with the US to its advantage, putting the US companies and industries at a serious disadvantage since 1970's. US Trade Representative under DJT first term 2016-2020 was Robert Lighthizer. Lighthizer was Deputy Trade Representative under Reagan in the 1980's negotiating with a Japan that would concede little. 2024 USTR Jamieson Greer was Deputy Trade Representative under Lighthizer. The Letter starts setting the tone that we have borne Japan's unwillingness to negotiate fairly with patience, ends stating we are ready to act. "It is a Great Honor for me to send you this letter in that it demonstrates the strength and commitment of our Trading Relationship, and the fact that the United States of America has agreed to continue working with Japan, despite having a significant Trade Deficit with your great Country." "We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with Japan, and have concluded that we must move away ....Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal...Goods transshipped to evade a higher Tariff....If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs..." ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Applied Materials, a maker of machines that make computer chips, will invest $4 billion over 7 years in a new research center in Sunnyvale, California. Part of this investment comes from federal subsidies in president Biden's CHIPS Act to increase American semiconductor production inside the US. The investment will create jobs for 2000 engineers. The idea is to build an ecosystem for research and experimentation in Silicon Valley close to other research centers and universities so that the cost of production can be brought down with the access to latest technologies in usable form.

LyrArc Article Gist
WSJ covers Intel's efforts to turn itself into a contract chip manufacturer with large investments under Pat Gelsinger are covered in this report in the WSJ. Intel wants to be the second largest contract chip manufacturer serving companies such as Tesla, Nvidia, and others. By making chips only for its needs Intel lost ground to companies in the foundry business such as Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor. Gelsinger who was with Intel in the early days has rejoined Intel to regain its leadership role in computing, and has the support of president Biden with the CHIPS Act.

LyrArc Article Gist
The European Stability Mechanism made its first short term debt auction Jan. 8, 2013, by selling 1.927 billion euros of treasury bills. Japan remains a key investor. Japanese finance minister, Taro Aso, said Japan plans to to be an active investor in the ESM bond sales. He told a news conference: "Japan will purchase some ESM bonds using its foreign exchange reserves as it monitors progress in efforts to stabilize the European situation." Japan holds $1.27 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. The move pushed the yen lower. Investors pay the ESM to keep cash for three months- the ESM treasury bills had an average yield of minus 0.0324%. The ESM fund will be used for aid to Spain's banking sector, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Plans are for the ESM to issue three month and six month bills twice a month to reach 18.5 billion euros by the end of 1st quarter 2013. The ESM fund rating is Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service, and AAA by Fitch Ratings.

LyrArc Article Gist
Much of the reward for Labour goes to Health, Nutrition (food choices), and Education (schooling choices for children). This is the backbone for any Nation that is going to be strong and have a good future. Yet economic structures in 2026 and for decades has swung too far in one direction away from Labour and more and more for Capital, creating grave risks for the Nation, and setting the US as the wrong role model. Labour and Capital in 1980 vs 2026- increasing reward for Capital from 7% to 12% of GDI decreasing for Labour 58% to 52% in same period. In some areas this is not so because other regions have set their own priorities and this is a good thing Europe has a strong and fair access healthcare system, India has a strong and fair access pharmaceuticals healthcare system, which act as role models for the US. In 2026 RFK Jr, Dr. Oz at HHS and DJT are focused on getting US pharmaceuticals prices down to levels in the European Union. The real dangers of the skewing in the direction of Capital of rewards is creating a class that is not sensitive to the lives of ordinary people resulting in fracturing of society. Something like that happened in 1600-1800 in India and China leading to the disintegration of society and becoming overcome by foreign European powers which had more dynamic societies from the bottom up that led to discoveries in science leading to the industrial revolution. One detects something like this happening by accident by poor governance and bad decisions for wars (Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama), and the same administrations pushed by bad advice from economists to ship the productive manufacturing resources of the Nation to China. If not reversed it would lead to the kind of decline Asia witnessed after 1600- hitting all classes of society and destroying the economic structures as foreign powers get the upper hand. The surrendering of research labs and higher education in advanced science fields to foreigners at US and European universities poses similar risks as fractured society with Capital dominant and unaware of the risks. Such societies have less perception of such risk than a bottom up built social, economic and political framework with large numbers of aspiring local citizens seeking these positions in science and technology in the Nation. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Does the ICC, the International Criminal court have jurisdiction over US policy in the Western Hemisphere? The ICC was founded in 1998 with the Rome Statute which was signed by US president Clinton but never ratified. President Bush unsigned for the US and Congress passed the ASPCA American Servicemen's Protection Act to protect Americans in the armed forces from prosecution by ICC. The US sees the ICC as infringing on its sovereignty. As most UN institutions with members from 125 (ICC) or 193 countries (UN) the tendency or bias is to be critical of the US in a "anti-imperialist" sense and for European states that practiced colonialism to also have the same tendencies. For instance the Monroe Doctrine was to keep European colonial powers out of the western hemisphere, out of Latin America, so that institutions modeled on the US and the UK including democratic representation, courts and rule of law could thrive. In today's context it is for the US to keep drug trafficking gangs and crime out of the western hemisphere. The ICC easily ignores the lack of rule of law, drug trafficking, and millions of of refugees, in favor of single incidents where violation has not caused massive harm to tens of millions of people and enormous deaths such as the Mexican drug trafficking that has cost more lives from fentanyl than the Korean, Vietnam and World War 1 combined.  In fact without the US and the UK on which US institutions are modeled, much of the framework of civil liberties, rule of law, independent court, democratic representation would be lost.  The ICC is part of institutions that are answerable to no one and made up of the many independent states emerging from the colonialism of Europeans in the 20th century that have little experience in such institutions that are with science and industry the achievements of the modern world, and in many cases these new and numerous states are proof of egregious violations. It took many centuries for the UK to develop these institutions from the 16th century and the US from the 18th century, and it is American and UK institutions that are the foundations for protecting the rights of citizens and of the people in the modern world. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Partido Popular party wins the most votes but loses its parliamentary majority in most of the country's provinces. Ada Colau in Barcelona, and a retired judge Manuela Carmena in Madrid supported by a left wing party, Podemos, are likely to become the new mayors. Spain's ruling Partido Popular party faces national elections in November 2015.

LyrArc Article Gist
Tax credit of $1700 to Scholarship Granting Organizations or SGO's, is part of the One Big Beautiful Act. This means that one gets a direct tax credit to offset taxes due in the tax return, so that a donation to an SGO will cost the one donating nothing. The government allocation for this is $254 billion to 2034 and will help parents with upto 3 times the median wage in the region finance their children's education. Will Blue states (states run by Democrats) under pressure from Education unions favoring public schools oppose the school choice this offers parents. Parents are increasingly frustrated with the public school education system's failure to give children a good education to get jobs and pursue higher education or apprenticeship education.

LyrArc Article Gist
The less known role on July 25, 1947 of  Lord Mountbatten in getting the 550 Indian princely rulers to sign the Act of Accession to India is shown in The Indian Express. The British Empire was built from the British East India Company's acquired territories in India as the Company expanded in northern India and near the ports of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta with trading and using its army to protect regional states and monarchies. This happened from the period of the decline of the Afghanistan/Iran based dynasties in northern India called the Mughals from 1650 to 1756, and 1756 to 1857 with the decline of the Maharashtra based Maratha dynasty in two phases. The Empire left one third of India in the hands of princely rulers after a rebellion in 1857, with the British offering guarantees  of protection to these rulers.  The forming of and independent India under Gandhi, Patel and Nehru in 1947 led to the need to avoid a balkanized state and regionally disrupted India. It was Patel and V.P. Menon who accomplished the task of cajoling and pushing 550 princely rulers to join India including states as different as Mysore, Jodhpur and Baroda. Viceroy Mountbatten joined in this effort. Mountbatten is shown here on July 25, 1947, of dramatically playing around with around glass paperweight referring to it as a crystal ball that had answers to the queries of princes, and then suggesting with much tenacity- "sign the Act of Accession."   ...