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1.1 million EVs were sold in US in 2024, compared to 1.4 million hybrids. Hybrids have made a comeback as sales of electric cars are slowing in US in 2024. Constraints being lack of enough charging stations, price of electric cars still high, driving range limited before recharge. Hybrid car sales are surging helping Toyota after a too cautious entry into EV's. Now the Biden administration is looking at the targets and how to make the transition smoother. Toyota is pushing back on strict environmental rules that expect 67% of cars to be electric by 2032.  The 2021 executive order by president Biden was for 50% target by 2030 and this included hybrids.  The gradual shift would make it less costly for the public to replace the cars and help first time buyers wanting to try it out do this with hybrids as an option. As a quick guide 12000 pounds of carbon dioxide for global warming are given out by gasoline only cars, half or 6000 pounds by hybrids like Toyota's, and half again 3000 pounds of carbon dioxide by all electric like BYD China's or Tesla/GM/VW. The actual numbers are confirmed by Dept of Energy 2022, and MIT 2019 studies- 2727 pounds all electric, 6898 pounds hybrid, and 12594 pounds all gasoline. ...

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GM shares have fallen to $32 by April 2011, having dropped by 13.5%. Ford Motor shares have dropped by 9%. All automobile manufacturers have been affected by rising oil prices. And the government's plans to sell all of its GM shares this summer at a loss create additional uncertainty about the value of GM stock. A sense that the IPO roadshow for GM last summer may have oversold GM and created expectations that may not be fulfilled.

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On Gandhi Jayanti remembering American president FDR's contribution to Hind Swaraj. FDR rejected Churchill's ideas of retaining the British Empire's colonies while fighting the German Nazis in the name of freedom. FDR said- " India should be made a commonwealth at once. After a certain number of years- 5 perhaps or 10- she should be able to choose whether she wants to remain in the Empire or have complete independence." 

FDR (US president Franklin Roosevelt) said -"I can't believe that we can fight a war against fascist slavery, and at the same time not work to free people all over the world from a backward colonial policy."

 

 

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The opposition in China and South Korea to Japan's release of slightly radioactive water into the sea stems from a distrust of Japanese data that supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency says the discharge does not affect public health. By next March 2% of the accumulated water will be released. In all 1.2 million tons are planned to be released over 30 years starting August 24, 2023. That water contains small quantities of radioactive tritium which Japan says is less than what Chinese nuclear plants release into the sea. TEPCO which manages the Fukushima plant decommissioning says it will post the data on release and level of radioactive material on its website with comparison to the levels seen as not affecting health that WHO has set.

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Biden had his PSA test for prostate cancer about 11 years back in 2014, an astounding fact given that he ran for the presidency in 2019. The nation did not know that all this time this cancer was developing and would affect the manner in which the nation's affairs would be conducted. Putting an unelected Vice President into the White House also has its own serious drawbacks. 

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Friedman says he hopes Hillary Clinton will take a mediating role to bring all the Iraqi political factions and ethnic communities to work together in a democratic framework, and not go their separate ways into sectarian conflict once more. With the US out of Iraq by June 30, 2009, this is critical. Friedman says Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are not separate wars, but part of the same war, and the same struggle to win credibility for democracy and reconciliation, education, women's rights and modenization for the Muslim world as a way forward. Its the only alternative to looking backward. He says he has never bought into the idea of Iraq as the bad war, Pakistan as the necessary war and Afghanistan as the good war. In fact he says experts point out that very little will spread out of Afghanistan when the US leaves. But Baghdad has been acentre of culture, education and influence in the Middle East for centuries, so getting it right there after so much American effort and sacrifice has been invested there, is crucial for the Muslim world to move forward in the right direction....

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Steve Jobs of Apple never intended the iPhone to be used as an ubiquitous device that is there all the time with user attention riveted to it. A computer scientist, Prof. Cal Newport of Georgetown University, says the vision of the iPhone presented by Steve Jobs at the Mosconi Center in 2007 was very different from what it has become today. It was an iPod that could make calls, help you listen to music, not a device on which you had to constantly check emails, constantly be on the alert for messages, use for getting instant breaking news you didn't need all the time. At the time in 2007 the App store did not exist and Jobs by design did not focus on apps believing that whatever apps there would be would be better designed to be aesthetically good by Apple engineers. It was an iPod that made calls, a engineer on the team that developed the iPhone at that time tells Newport. Jobs vision was of an iPhone that did a few activities well- helping people listen to music , get directions, make calls. What he did not want to do was to change the rhythm of people's lives. Newport calls it a shame that this vision got somehow diverted and disrupted by what happened afterwards. We have become so used to the constant companion model that we forget its novelty, only a little over 10 years ago none of this existed. As a computer scientist writing about the influence of technology on culture Newport says it is important to remember the magnitude of this unintended shift, to know that Jobs got it right the first time and that it would be better for many of us to return to the minimalist vision for the phone that Jobs espoused. ...

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Gaza Palestine Peace deal by DJT where all hostages are exchanged for Israel stopping war in Gaza and pulling back to one half of Gaza October 14 2025. Hamas supporters Turkey and Qatar were involved. The talks were held in Sharm-al-Sheikh seaside resort in Egypt and final talks at the villa of Gen. Rashad Intelligence Chief of Egypt. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for the US got Israel's participation. For Israel the fatigue from the long war would give it a respite. It was achieved by not getting into the smaller details so the Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza. Israel said it will withdraw from half of Gaza and establish its presence in the other half of Gaza as Israel tries to figure out a way to ensure its security and end threats from Gaza Palestinian area. For the world community including the US and European leaders in Egypt including Britain, Spain, Germany, and other leaders this was an opportunity to remove divisions in their countries on the issue of Palestine as the continuation of the war had led to hunger and flattened most of Gaza's buildings. The issues of Palestine and Israel's right to exist without wars and threats, of new settlements, once again are left for another day as the oil rich kingdoms of the Middle East and the Arab countries, US, Israel and Europe fail to open a new chapter for Israel and for Palestine. Most importantly the Palestinian and Israeli leaders exercizing the foresight to bring peace in the ways that have ended strife over territory and control in places like the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland and Britain which have been in conflict from the year 1500. It is striking how little was gained from initial events leading to the war and how little the war had to do with the problems of illegal migration, of cost of living, of infrastructure neglect facing the US, Europe. It is certain that the peace deal will now allow the focus on the problems facing the US and Europe, removing the distraction of this sudden flareup of conflict that never should have happened.  ...

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A former Defense Minister of Japan serving twice and senior member of parliament of the LDP, says Japan's arrangement in Asia with the US is for a team approach. This means if the US acts to defend Taiwan, Japan is likely to join the US. creating a wider war engulfing Asia. It is in this context that the G7 conference in Hiroshima, the nuclear war museum, and others, need to broaden the approach to give people everywhere in the US and Asia a chance to understand all narratives of all the countries involved. Including in this case China's as a country subject to invasion by colonial powers, so that all the narratives can be fully understood. There is a reason for this and that is that the 18th 19th and 20th centuries offer a poor example for prevention of nuclear war. China, Japan and India share a common connection to the two thousand years old Buddhist and Vedantic ideas no matter how bruised they were by colonial powers. They offer many openings for the Chinese, Japanese and Indian people in their common history of Buddhist thought and pathways, to find a common ground. ...

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China's plan to lift all birth restrictions by 2025. The one child policy was replaced with a two child policy, and now with a three child policy in 2021, as China's birth rate declined below the level needed for a stable population. The plan now is to lift all restrictions as the decline in population is expected to be very steep. Not enough young people to support a growing elderly population is a major problem for the economy. A mindset has developed over 70 years for one or two children that is seen as hard to change. Women now work and pursue careers, their expectations in life have changed. Couples are also finding it hard to get access to schools and afford the costs of education and home space needed for larger families. Housing in most cities is costly, making it harder to raise families. Attitudes are hard to change. Experts see little impact of the new policies. The three northeastern provinces suffered most in the shift to a market economy. This is where the drop in birthrates is very steep. The government will remove all birth restrictions in the northeast before applying it to the whole of China. ...

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Coalition Against Climate Disinformation at the COP30 Belem Brazil Summit. CAAD says about the state of disinformation-

"Big Carbon's spending and Big Tech's algorithms are preventing us from seeing and hearing one another online. Instead, we're exposed to one lie after another."

The frequent fires and floods all over the world which happen suddenly and quickly show the effects and costs of climate change are real. Actions need to be taken on climate change even as the cost of living crisis and struggles of people in China,India and Africa and in the US and EU have to be considered for access to electricity and for cost of living concerns. Fossil only provides a short term transition to a long term plan for the future based on renewable energy, and the fight for climate change action to be renewed by EU, China, Brazil and India as the US sorts out its own problems with the transition.

 

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President Trump plans to introduce  tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium. It is not clear whether this will be targeted at Countries flooding the U.S. market with cheap metals, or generally for all countries. Executives from the steel industry and aluminium industries met with Trump at the White House. This would fulfill one of the president's campaign promises.

There is a vigorous debate in the White House between advisors who advocate limiting the measures such as Gen Mattis at Defense, Gary Cohn at the Economic Council, on one side, and the Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Peter Navarro, on the other. 

Mr. Lighthizer has convinced the president of the need for strong action, yet he has hesitated in the past. Now president Trump says he wants "free, fair and smart trade," and will not let "American companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer."

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Mr. Erdogan is reelected in the second round of voting with 52.1% of the vote. Mr Kilicdaroglu got 47.9% of the vote with almost all the votes counted. The four percent margin also reflect the use of all state powers by Mr. Erdogan in the election. Overall it could be said that the vote was a close one after an earthquake and 40% inflation in Turkey. Mr. Erdogan efforts to run for another term is not limited by limits in terms a president can serve in Turkey. By the time he finishes another term in office he will have been in power for over 25 years. He faces difficult conditions for the Turkish economy which badly needs foreign investment. The mayors of Istanbul and Ankara the two main cities in Turkey are from the Opposition Republican party of Mustafa Kemal who founded the modern Turkey we know today in 1923 with the victory over the Entente western powers and Greece ratified by the Treaty of Lausanne. The future looks to be set by one of these two leaders as change is likely so that it has a chance to live up to the aspirations that surrounded its founding in 1919-1923. The transformation of a society at the dividing line between Europe and Asia into a modern state with the best that Europe had to offer from 1923 to 1938 including a new language that would promote the literacy of its people. Mustafa Kemal stated clearly in a speech at Nutuk in 1923 that lasted for several days the process that he had to trust would create a modern state that would compare with the best in Europe- the Turkish people and the National Assembly of the people of Anatolia and Rumelia. Mustafa Kemal did not see the six centuries of Ottoman rule as an example for Turkey in what Ismet who led the struggle for independence on the Greek front and as leading negotiator at Lausanne in 1923 called stemming from "the fire of his soul." Of Kemal it could truly be said he fought for the four momentous years 1919 to 1923 both the Entente Powers as well as the remaining elements of six centuries of Ottoman rule. ...

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The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says in a new report that the cost of renewable energy production in India in 2020 is the lowest of 8 countries, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, U.S. It also points out that India has lowered the cost of solar energy faster than any other country since 2017- by 80% for the period 2010-2018. Solar energy for India in 2018 cost 27% lower than in 2017. Major achievements have been made in solar energy and are continuing with bold targets. In 2020 solar makes up 36% of total energy capacity, with production at 136 gigawatts. In India the conditions with high degree of sunlight in most parts of the country, and the technology cost reductions, lower cost of land and labor, help bring down the cost of solar energy every year. The bold targets and action taken are symbolic of the new efforts in India. The early efforts in India are described as overcoming the hurdle of preconceived notions that electricity shortages had to be accepted as a way of life. In Gujarat the first efforts over 15 years ago were taken by rejecting the idea that electricity could not be made widely and freely available. To do this policy had to be set by starting with first a clean slate and then with a clean heart say pioneers in India's early gains. A clean heart because of how desperately people needed electricity. And a clean slate because how desperately people needed to start from scratch with a new structure and new way of doing things set in place. As Vivekananda put it over 100 years ago "This I have seen in life. One who is overcautious about himself falls into dangers at every step. he who is afraid of losing honor and respect gets only disgrace. He who is always afraid of loss always loses." By taking bold action, making small experiments then setting bold targets and setting structures in place to execute manned with resources, India has achieved 4G in all parts of the country, and is doing the same for renewable energy to make electricity widely available in all parts of the country. ...

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Larry Fink thinks there has been for retirement "an historical shift from certainty to uncertainty," from security in the earlypost war years of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and LBJ to precarious living in the post Reagan era of "free to choose." It is mind boggling to grasp the idea that 4 in 10 Americans lack $400 in emergency funds for a health emergency. It has been hard to wrap my mind around such a fact. Are you in the same boat? Larry Fink CEO of Black Rock financial firm with half of its $10 trillion of funds in investment assigned to retirement has joined us. Fink says- "America needs an organized high level effort to ensure that future generations can live out their lives in dignity." He wants some hard conversations. And here are his initial thoughts- Create predictable income streams like pensions for all workers including lower paid or part-time workers.  Follow 20 states in setting up retirement systems to cover all workers, including gig and part time workers in lower paid income jobs. This covers a huge number of workers counted by the millions who perform the work that makes the country and the economy run. From workers in restaurants to hospitality workers, and in lower paid health care jobs, in help for the elderly, help for children in child care. Encourage employers to offer matching funds. ...

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As the Nation looks to take care of it's farmers, a look at two farms in Wisconsin dairy country. One is a milk farm Norm Lane in Chili Wisconsin which supplies 200,000 pounds of milk to a cheesemaker Nasonville Dairy in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Shown in this story in NYT are the Master Cheesemaker Ken Heimann who runs the Nasonville Dairy which produces Colby, Cheddar and other cheeses. Also shown are Josh Meissner whose grandparents started the mil dairy Norm Lane in 1946.  The economics of dairy farms are such that they depend on the government to set the price and with all the competition the margins on milk are quite thin. This is true for cheese also where there is the West Coast production of cheese that has larger output and greater mechanization than Wisconsin's cheesemakers. What keeps the dairy industry going these days is the production of whey protein a byproduct of the cheese making process. This has much higher margins with prices up from $3 a pound of whey protein to $10 a pound. On a typical day the Nasonville Dairy can turn out 150,000 pounds of cheese, and 150,000 pounds of liquid whey protein. ...

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Professor Patterson of Harvard University has some serious observations on what has happened and what could be the way forward in America as it faces the lack of opportunities for a better life for minority communities trapped in cities with a deteriorating quality of life.  Between 1985 and 2000 a higher percentage of black children, about two thirds of black children, grew up in high poverty segregated areas than in the period between 1955 and 1970, according to a Pew Trust study of 2009. This affects everything from social mobility, life chances, potential for downward mobility. Particularly so because by 2016 the gap between black and white incomes has worsened, says professor Patterson. With this segregation has become worse in America at the level of neighborhoods where people actually meet, he says, citing a 2015 paper by Daniel Lichter of Cornell University.  In some ways segregation says Dr. Patterson is worse than in the 1960's. This could be because of downward social and economic mobility. Events such as the mortgage financial crisis of 2009 with bad decisions by the banking industry disproportionately hurt the black and minority communities. The trade imbalance and shift of manufacturing overseas hurt manufacturing jobs for white and black communities. Weakness in education and health services also hurt poorer communities of all races and color. In some ways the work of presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson in the 50's and 60's may have created more hope and a sense that "a rising tide lifts all boats" in economic opportunities that may have been lost in the work of presidents after Clinton with loss of jobs in manufacturing for ordinary black and white Americans alike. The bad decisions by the banking industry and selling of bad mortgages, worsening health care options with overpricing in the medical field, all compounding the effect on  ordinary Americans. In a separate interview in the Harvard Gazette professor Patterson says de-ghettoization, moving to the suburbs is one way to better opportuntiies in the suburbs. For this to happen more moderate income housing is needed in the suburbs. A cultural change in attitudes comes with a shift to neighborhoods where communities can interact and meet. For this to happen strict zoning laws that prevent moderate income housing in suburbs such as in California and many other states needs to change. As professor Orlando Patterson says here in the Harvard Gazette and in the WSJ more Americans with liberal views need to put their money where their voices are. A stronger economy, education for changes in cultural attitudes in classrooms, cultural literacy, more manufacturing in America to create better middle class wages and jobs for Americans of all communities giving industry a role, and more of the affluent putting their money where their voices are for better integrated living in the suburbs not just for a few, are ways to bring better life for Americans.   ...

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The vaccine cost varies with the company Astra Zeneca at $4 and Moderna at $25. Government money is taking away much of the risk for manufacturers. The U.S. government has allocated massive investments with different manufacturers to ensure that a vaccine is available. Worldwide demand is about 2 billion doses over 2 years. Seven manufacturers have joined together to reassure the public that a vaccine will be tested carefully for safety and effectiveness. Some manufacturers excluding Pfizer and Moderna have stated that the vaccine will be provided at cost.

To return to some level of normal economy and people able to live normal lives the vaccine has to be available to all people at an affordable and widely available level.

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Greg Ip of the WSJ says a second term of former president Trump would look very different from the first. Republicans achieved their goal of tax reform in the first two years of that term. Following that trade tariffs ensued against China creating a different environment in world trade. A second term would lead to more action on trade and more tariffs. Ip says the former president could impose tariffs on all Chinese imports and this would lead to retaliatory tariffs from China and be met with EU retaliatory action in a tit for tat manner. The result would be disruption in world trade and affect the world economy. Higher inflation could also be result of such disruptions.

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From the country of "Feierabend" the much appreciated German term for cutting off the workday to do something else like biking or running which is very healthy way of living during the pandemic and everyday, come more German expressions which tell us  more about how to live.  "Na Wie Lauft's" is the German expression most people learn because it means "how are you running", and shows people you care about them. Here DW.com, looks at other German expressions with wonderful pictures of people and scenery in Germany to accompany each expression that has a soothing, calming effect on all. The meanings are given by DW.com, the German national broadcaster which also helps people learn German. "Die Dinge Laufen Lassen," is another German expression that has a Zen nature and is one that one take comfort in for its calming effect. It means "let things run their course, and everything will be alright in the end." "Noch in den Kinderschuhen stecken It means things are only in the early stages, beginning to develop, unfold, the ball is only beginning to roll. With it goes "Laufen Learnen" which means you have to walk before you can run. "Lugen Haben Kurze Beine" means "Lies have short legs." It suggests walking or running. It says you won't get far with lying, you won't get ahead with it, somebody will see through you. "Auf dem Ruder laufen" means to lose control of an oar while rowing a boat to stay on course. It also means hang tight and things will right themselves eventually. And to go with this is the German expression about learning the procedure or techniques for getting the work whatever it is done correctly. Wie est der Ablauf" how will things run, what is the procedure for doing it? Positive expressions from the images of running or walking at the time of the pandemic when this can have a soothing and calming effect.   ...

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The perception comes from seeing decisions made but not the process of decisions which is lengthy and even seen by participants as long, in which Mr. Modi act as a patient listener to all voices. Could'nt it be shorter is felt by some participants, yet Mr. Modi would have 2-3 meetings listening to all participants with humility before arriving at a decision. Tough decisions were made on vaccines to get to 1 billion vaccinations goal, on demonetisation and GST, and on digital India, housing schemes, bank accounts, and Jal Jeevan.  Mr. Shah points out that where earlier governments had brought bank accounts, electricity water, and cooking gas to some people, the approach of Mr. Modi was to get electricity, water, cooking gas to all homes for 1.4 billion people in India. He says Mr Modi is hard for even his colleagues to understand in terms of his passion and endless capacity for hard work for bringing essential services to every Indian, and the last Indian is a concept that not the BJP or any party had, it was entirely Mr. Modi's idea for New India. Mr. Modi he says is not the BJP or himself even, he is always thinking how could the lives of ordinary Indian be better in every way, and every rupee going to that last man in line in a nation of 1.4 billion. It can best be understood through Vivekananda's writings some 125 years ago. The passion for India and the Indian people of Vivekananda in his writings is a huge reservoir of energy for someone like Modi, that Modi has tapped into from his beginnings in Gujarat government and more so when he left Gujarat for Delhi. Vivekananda's foresight, energy, and passion for the Indian people is reflected in the efforts for New India. ...

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Arango and Gordon look at Abadi's background- including long years suffering persecution from the Saddam Hussein government in Iraq, including 2 brothers murdered- and see both hope because of his period of 2 decades spent in London alongside skepticism that he can make the transition to bringing Sunnis and Shiites together.

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The Russian position for a ceasefire in Ukraine and peace talks is set forth by president Putin. "Our principled position is that state of Ukraine must be neutral, non aligned and free of nuclear weapons." Putin wants Ukraine to give up Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Russian speaking regions in the east of Ukraine. Capitals of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and some of the territory is controlled by Ukraine today. It means that Russia could accept a ceasefire under the present lines of control. It also means Ukraine would not be part of NATO, though it could be part of the European Union, as a peace settlement. All western sanctions on Russia would have to be lifted. Throughout the decade of this war Russia has maintained close connections to the Russian speaking eastern part of Ukraine with historically close ties to Russia and as Ukraine public opinion shifted to the EU Russia began its efforts to bring these regions under its control even when German-Russian relations were better during Merkel years. Russia has the support of China and Brazil in its position. At some point if a settlement is reached one possibility is that the line of actual control or LAC would be put in place. It happened in the Korean War, when the demilitarized zone was setup and in other conflicts on the Indian border with China and Pakistan, in Cyprus between Greece and Turkey. For it to happen Russia will have to dispel fears in the EU and the US that Russia will continue the conflict at some later stage till all its objectives are achieved. This requires removing the perception that Putin is set on achieving all his objectives to reopen the war at some later stage. Mr. Putin hinted at this by saying "today we are making a concrete real peace proposal," and adding that Russia was not ''talking about freezing the conflict, but its final resolution." In this situation it is the western doubt about Putin's intentions that is another barrier to a settlement on European security, with continued destruction in Ukraine when the war has entered a stalemate where both sides have exhausted their resources and have little to gain by prolonging this conflict. ...

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Rafael Nadal makes a remarkable comeback to beat Medvedev after losing the first two sets in the 2022 Australian Open tennis tournament. The match lasted 5 hours till 1 am the next day. Nadal says "Being honest one month and a half ago, I did not know if I will be back on the tour plying tennis again... you don't know how much I fought to be here." Nadal is one of the of the most resilient players in sports having comeback from difficult situations repeatedly, as he gives his all down to the last point regardless of the score. 

 

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The Brexit issues and Tory leaders talking to their supporters has and effect on French British relations. Macron comments on UK Foreign Secretary and likely prime minister Liz Truss's recent remarks that "the jury is out" on whether the French president Macron was "friend or foe." Macron says "its not good to lose your bearings too much." He says in answering the same question "I would not hesitate for a second. France is a friend of the British people." It all goes to show how British relations with France have been affected under the Conservatives party.