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Immigration and Gaza conflict play a part in the support for Greens and for support of Reform UK in the election in Denton (Manchester region) in England. Labour comes in third with 24% of the vote with Reform UK at 28% and Greens at 40%. Hannah Spencer, a plumber, gets elected to parliament by appealing to the Muslim vote, and students. Reform UK does just the opposite by appealing to nationalist British voters who are anti-migrant, following an asylum policy for migrants and placing them in hotels that is highly unpopular in England. Labour's loss is in a working class district that it has held since 1906.

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New German chancellor Merz's personal popularity is hitting new lows in April 2025 even before a new government takes charge in Germany. Merz speaks understandably 60%, trustworthy 21%, strong leader 40%, results of Stern magazine survey April 2025. In a fragmented scene for political parties Merz takes office as the Ukraine war continues, and new tariff challenges are raised by the US for German exports.

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The WSJ of August 24 has flaws in that no questions were asked on wages and benefits for workers and climate change. About 73% of voters see Mr. Biden's age as a factor. Voters have not grasped Biden's vision for America. A Trump 10% margin for vision and record of accomplishments is unusual considering it is Mr. Biden who is making the changes on climate change, wages and income, infrastructure building with trillions of dollars of funding. The poll itself has issues because it was done by a Republican poster who is working for the Trump campaign and does not have questions on climate change or wages and benefits of workers. President Biden does well on infrastructure, on jobs, and the effects of inflation are being tackled by increase in wages and benefits supported by Biden.

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A fascinating look in DW.com at pictures of an iceberg 158 kilometres long and 48 kilometres wide, on its way to hit the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. The island of South Georgia is known for large populations of penguins and seals, albatrosses, and humpback as well as blue whales. Prior to its splitting up the iceberg was even larger about the size of Luxembourg. The iceberg is a few hundred metres thick. The iceberg has already travelled for 1600 kilometres, and will reach South Georgia in 10-20 days.

Antarctica is the most southern region in the world, with 99% covered with ice some 5000 metres thick, 1.3 times size of Europe. Lowest temperature at -99 degrees centigrade, windspeeds can reach 155 mph. On it there are 4000 scientists in summer on research stations of 30 countries.

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Studies at the University of Padova in Italy and by France's research agency INSERM show higher risks of dementia from retiring early. The INSERM study shows that for every additional year worked we reduce the risk of dementia by 3.2 percent. Retiring at age 50 is considered very, very poor decision, and before 60 very poor decision, as cognitive development, mood, and active engagement with work offering complexity, all relate to good mental health. Countries like U.S. and Denmark where people tend to work for longer than in France and Austria are shown to be doing significantly better in cognitive performance in a 2010 study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. The Italian study shows the longer you spend in retirement the higher the risks of cognitive decline.

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The RNC speech of the former president is described by the WSJ Editorial Board as long and rambling for 90 minutes after a good start becoming a typical speech that did not broaden the appeal, and with its random comments lacking clarity. The former president's claims on crime up when it is actually down by 15% according to FBI. On inflation and cost of living the inflation peaked at 9% is now down to 3% in 2023 with cost of living actions by Biden and Powell. The former president's solution to "Drill, baby drill," would only affect gas prices a bit, and do nothing for the principal causes of inflation in housing, in rental of apartments, in prices of automobiles and auto repairs, and in cost of drugs, student loans. Only a concerted action on all fronts as Biden and Powell have done would work, along with large investments in American manufacturing and jobs, which can only be done if no tax cuts are made for the wealthy not in the Republican platform. This means the hundreds of thousands of job creation each month happening now will stall and inflation from supply chains in China will be harder to control especially with a 60% Trump proposed tariff on Chinese imports. ...

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China's GDP declines by 6.8% in the first quarter 2020 year over year, and 9.8% from the previous quarter, the first such decline since 1992, even going as far back as 1976 with the passing of the Mao era. It is not power production or coal consumption which have returned to prior levels. It is the demand from the U.S. and Europe, other countries which are in lockdowns. Estimates are that 80 million people in a population of 900 million working age people lost their jobs, with another 10 million expected to be lost, about 10% of the total. Global trade companies are hardest hit.  Consumers inside China are reducing spending. Some are using only the small government issued vouchers designed to get people to go out and spend.  The Trump administration plans to bring back some of the production lost to China in essential areas such as public health and security back to the U.S. The supply chains are already shifting to other countries from U.S. tariffs. As a result some estimates show zero growth in 2020 for China. Financial instability and prior leveraging concerns remain to prevent any serious stimulus. By contrast the U.S. is cushioning the impact with $2 trillion aid package benefitting from a strong dollar and healthy economy before the virus. ...

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The increased availability of car loans and eased standards for auto loans has played a large part in rising auto sales in the U.S. Annual sales of cars and light trucks maintained a pace of 14.1 million vehicles in July 2012, and could reach 15 million for 2012. Lenders see the car loan market as more profitable and less risky than mortgage lending because of the shorter periods of the loans- 3 to 5 years and the low default rate. Currently only about 2.52% of auto loans are 30 days past due for second quarter 2012, according to Experian. Auto loans outstanding at the end of the 2nd quarter 2012, are $725 billion, according to the automotive division of Experian, up 5.7% from a year ago. The market for securities backed by auto loans has rebounded since the 2008 financial crisis. About $50 billion in bonds backed by auto loans were issued in the Jan-July 2012 period, according to Dealogic, compared to $53 billion in 2011. To get a picture of how this compares with mortgage securities- auto loan backed securities are up 33% above pre 2006 levels, and mortgage backed securities are about 70% below 2006 levels. A recent Fed survey of bank lending officials shows easing lending standards reported by 20% of respondents for the last 3 months for auto loans, compared to 3% for prime residential mortgages and 11% for credit cards....

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Most questions about the vaccines from Oxford, Pfizer and Moderna are answered in this Q&A in The Times.  The Oxford vaccine is the only vaccine that is being provided at cost to the public at a cost of 4 pounds, Pfizer using German technology at 15 pounds and Moderna from Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 28 pounds. The Oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, the others use mRNA technology of messenger RNA which requires ultra low temperature storage. Astra Zeneca could have handled the trials and methodology for results in a better way. As the two trials one that produced results of 62% and the other results of 90% cannot be combined to give results of 70% but are two distinct and separate trials. However too much emphasis has been placed on the vaccine, as other prevention measures remain important for 2021. Other vaccines are being developed in Britain with new technology and in India by ICMR which are in trials stage and about which not enough is known. The Russian and Chinese vaccines have not released detailed data limiting their use around the world. ...

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What is it like in Fushun, China? A city of 1.7 million in northern China it was a city that led in China's revolution against feudal regime and colonial occupation, and in cutting the birth rate. It is similar in size to Detroit, yet has only 5000 births compared to 20,000 in Detroit. Signs of aging are everywhere in Fushun as China's birthrate drops below 1.  For population to remain stable birthrate has to be 2.1. It is 0.7 in Fushun.

In Fushun most refineries and coal mines are closed. A third of the population is over 60 years old and half of the young people have left the city. In 10 years half of the population will be 60 years old. 

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The effects of drought on the Colorado river and the dams in the arid west of the US which support 40 million people. This is also part of the fastest growing region in the US. The seven states along the river must negotiate major cuts in water use by mid-August or the federal government has to step in an make the cuts, says this NYT report. Years of overuse of water and climate change have led to this situation.  Lake Mead the US's largest water reservoir is two thirds empty. It is fed by the Colorado river. The upstream states or Upper basin states are Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah. The downstream states or Lower Basin states are Nevada, California, and Arizona. Downstream and upstream states have to figure out how the water cuts will be made. Agriculture use makes up 70-80% of the water use. Then there are the sprawling cities such as Los Angeles and Denver and Salt Lake City. Affected are the Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California, a major agricultural area. Las Vegas has come up with solutions for its 1.6 miillion metro area population by conserving water and staying under its 1.8% of the river allocation even as the population grows. Converting lawns and turf to desert and growing only arid zone vegetation to conserve water is being applied. This is a reality check for climate change and a reversal from the earlier effort in the 1930's to impose brute will on the landscape to build huge sprawling cities and agriculture zones. Now all that has to go into adapting to the landscape and fitting into it, limiting the use of water, recycling it, and conserving water in every way possible. It means adapting in every way, not acting in crisis solution mode but shifting to a whole new way of adapting to the environment that should have been there in the first place with some respect for Nature. ...

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In total this is a 50% tax on Indian imports to the US with DJT executive order of  August 6, 2025, 25% baseline for trade and 25% for Indian buying of 2 million barrels a day of Russian oil. US and EU say this money s fueling the Ukraine war, along with higher purchases than this by China from Russia, which add to Russian oil revenues and higher oil production. The order takes effect in 21 days so that India has time to come up with an agreement with the US. The Swiss also are scrambling to get an agreement, hit with 30% tariff.

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The new president of India Droupadi Murmu is from the state of Odisha, formerly called Orissa. She is from a tribal community in the state and brings a new face for development through "sab ka vikas sab ke sath" new India's slogan today of development for all Indians through their own efforts, as it brings to the forefront the tribal communities all over India. The tribal communities in India have a population of 106 million or about 9% of India's population. In Orissa percentage of tribal is over 25%, in most of the northeast it is at least 25%, and in borders areas with China Arunachal 70%, Sikkim 34%, Jammu & Kashmir 12%. In key states of Madhya Pradesh 20%, Gujarat 25%, Rajasthan 13%. The strategic nature of the decision for the unity of India can be seen on how the tribal communities are critical parts of the northeast, the border areas,  and even of the central, eastern and western regions of India which most people are not aware of. Bringing in the tribal communities through respected leaders is part of the unfinished work of Mohandas Gandhi in getting the delivery of services to the last man in the line, and the tribal communities are a forgotten part of this.   ...

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The word "elderly" is going out of common use, the CDC in the U.S. has crossed it out and uses the words 'over 60." Parents bristle as the term elderly takes on a new meaning in the days of coronavirus in March 2020. One of the baby boomers at age 64, who has completed 40 triathlons in last 7 years asks if she can really be called elderly. Parents bristle with texts and calls from children in the thirties to change travel plans, with most deciding to stay put at home. Yet as other reports show most younger people in their thirties and forties are also working from home with their kids around them.

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Jim Dwyer discusses proposed legislation in the New York City Council in November 2011, to set a "living wage" of $10 per hour, plus benefits, for workers at new developments receiving more than $1 million in public money. Under this legislation employers who do not include benefits would pay an hourly wage of $11.50. Discussion in the City Council has led to questioning this legislation on the grounds that the developments would not be built under the new rules. Dwyer points to San Francisco, which has set the minimum wage at $10.24 for January 2012, plus mandatory contributions to health insurance funds. The number of low wage workers in New York City with some college education has increased by 70%, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Wages at the bottom were $10.85 an hour, adjusted for inflation in 1990, in 2010 the wages were $10. What this does is further increase the income disparities and inequality in the U.S. Because of the demographic changes in America with Hispanic children representing a large proportion of young children, and the high rate of dropouts from highschool in the Mexican American community in New York, this means more children in New York City growing up below the poverty line....

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The growing number of women in their 40's who are childless, one person homes, "child-free" adults, higher rates of divorce, are not limited just to Western Europe, the U.S. and Japan. This is spreading rapidly in lower income countries in the Arab world and Asia also. In Europe the progress is relentless. With divorce rates higher and fewer women marrying, the probability of a women of reproductive age getting married in Belgium is about 40%, and divorce at about 50%, according to Eurostat. So that the probability of women getting married and staying married is about 20%. This is true of other European countries also. There is a huge increase in "child-free' adults, men and women choosing voluntarily to not have children. The proportion of childless women in their 40's is highest in Berlin and Hamburg, nearly 33%, about 25% in Italy, and 20% in Sweden. One person homes are increasing in Western Europe, with about 32% in Europe and 45% in Denmark, not from aging alone as in Denmark as many as twice the number of one person homes are under age 65 than over 65. The UN population Division's "World Marraige Data 2012," shows that places like Morocco, Libya, and other parts of the Arab world are also experiencing these trends, with income and schooling levels much lower than in Europe and the U.S. These trends are now worldwide and affecting traditionally conservative societies like China....

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A 70 year rivalry between two of the greatest teams in American baseball gets off to another start in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night, October 25, 2024. In 1978 44 million viewers tuned into to watch them compete in the World Series. New players such as Shohei Ohtani are playing for the first time in a World Series that is bringing new energy to baseball as an American pasttime.

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This report in WSJ says about 70 130 members of Peru's Congress are under investigation for corruption and other charges. This has put Peru's government in crisis situation even when it has the second highest per capita number of deaths from coronavirus after Belgium.

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Prices of gas for cooking and electricity are up 30% in Brazil in 2021 adding to the pain after the pandemic. Countries in Europe and Canada to Indonesia face much higher prices in 2021. Energy prices have jumped and supply bottlenecks have increased inflation. As more people are vaccinated the return to normal activity is also putting pressure on prices. About 72% of Brazilians have at least one dose of vaccine, higher than in the US. There is less vaccine hesitancy in Latin America and Asia.

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Aging US dams are a problem like this one that was almost taken out in Midwestern states floods. The Rapidman dam in southern Minnesota was in "imminent failure condition" when floods hit last week. With the average of American dams at 60 years it looks like things will get worse. This dam 90 miles southwest of Minneapolis was built in 1910 on the Blue Earth River. With extreme weather events becoming common these dams are one more part of our infrastructure that needs rebuilding.

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The Stimson Center looks at the closing of an era of Conservative politics in Japan which ended in 2025 after the death of Shinzo Abe and the 2 year premiership of Kishida. Interview is conducted by the Stimson Center of a senior Japanese political figure with 30 years of experience in the Foreign Service, and the author of the only English language book on Shinzo Abe, reflecting the paucity of research on Japan. Shinzo Abe was premier for a short time in 2005-2006 and for a full term in 2012. He made changes to Japan's SDF, its partnership with India, Australia in the Quad, and his economic policy which increased women's participation in the economy. For the first time in post war Japan there was a new sensde of confidence under Abe and he is missed sorely in Japan today. Yet as this senior Japanese politician says, Japan has changed the way the US and Europe have changed, and nationalist politics are replacing old Conservative politics of the LDP. In a way also how the deindustrialization of US, Europe and Japan has also taken place discrediting that era. Takaichi Sanae is itself a representative of the new era, as she did not hesitate to say Japan would get involved if China attacked Taiwan. Her popularity is at 62% and she has called a snap election, as she came in to replace Shigeru Ishiba in October 2025 and was not directly elected PM. Yet in the long view this is also a misconception because neither the Stimson Center or the interview participants had a keen sense of who Abe really was and Abe's grasp of the history of the Kamakura period of Buddhist Japan and China, India, of the 12th century before the foreign invasions from the north. One of Shinzo Abe's biggest legacies is the relationship that was close to his heart, the relationship with India and prime minister Modi. This week chancellor Merz of the Federal Republic of Germany was at the kite festival with PM Modi in Ahmedabad and at the Sabarmati Ashram of Gandhiji. The same degree of warmth shown by the German leader and Modi reflecting Vivekananda's time in Germany, was seen long time back between Modi and Abe. The bullet train project Mumbai to Ahmedabad and the ones that follow across India are a testimony to the warmth shown by Abe for India, and his knowledge of history from the Buddhist period in India when by the 12th century in Japan in Dogen's time Tenjiku (India) was the sacred homeland of Buddhism. Today India has revived the Buddhist traditions and centers of Buddhism, the universities and research centers for Buddhism from that period in Indian history. Buddhism started in India near Nepal in what is now Bihar state at Sarnath and Kushinagar, and spread through China to Japan and Korea. The whole continent of Asia would reflect Buddhist ideals and ideas without the intervening period of Vedic culture in India and China's Mongolian and Manchurian northern invasions, and the periods of European colonialism. Today Buddhism and The Bhagavad Gita are itself strung like pearls on a string as the Gita itself says, part of the long spiritual traditions of three nations- India, China and Japan, and of the many others Vietnam and Korea. ("All these worlds have their rest in me as many pearls on a string." -Mascaro tr. of Bhagavad Gita, Penguin). As Asian nations and peoples come to their own inner selves, find their inmost self, this is the culture that really pervades all of Asia. ...

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Companies like P&G and Walmart in Mexico, and Lever Brothers and Cadbury in India, are taking developing markets seriously and going after the low price points for products; selling in areas away from the large cities. See the links to Nestle,P&G and Walmart. Cadbury is adding another element, by investing in the growing of cocoa in southern India, to have access to a cheaper supply to meet those low price points. Cadbury Dairy Milk Shots, are pea sized chocolate balls with a sugar shell to protect them from the heat. This product was launched this year. It sells for 2 rupees or 4 cents for a five gram packet. The low price makes it accessible to more people. For Cadbury emerging markets are crucial for new growth, and affordability a critical way to go after this market. Emerging markets account for 35% of Cadbury's sales and 60% of the growth. The potential is huge considering India's low per capita consumption of chocolate. Half of the people in India have never tasted chocolate in their life. And India's total chocolate consumption is $465 million compared to $4.89 billion in the UK. Growth has been at about 20% for the last 3 years. Cadbury controls over 70% of the chocolate market and 30% of the confectionery market in India, with combined sales of $338 million, according to AC Nielsen. Nestle is next with 25% of the chocolate market. To keep prices low the company is moving factories to lower cost locations and improving its supply chain. It has setup 20 nurseries in southern India, from where saplings are sent to nearby farms for cultivation. Cadbury provides the saplings, technical expertise, and advice on where to get free government assistance in fertilizers. This is called the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership and has planted 5 million saplings in India in 2008. Another 7.5 million saplings are planned for 2009, and already Cadbury imports only half of its cocoa needs. Local coca costs 30% less because of a 30% tariff on imports....

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The place is Spain, see adjacent article on places within Spain. If you know Spanish that is an added advantage to talk to the locals. It has changed over the years. In the 1990's one could go to Madrid and freely walk out of the Puerta de Atocha main train station there with little traffic. Over the years after the financial crisis Madrid and Spain suffered. Under PM Pedro it has recovered. Yet it is not the same with international tourism from China, India, US having made visits crowded and less friendly. There is the garbage can index for tourism that tells you something is wrong when garbage cans are overflowing- it happened as tourism jumped to France in the last 2 decades- with garbage overflowing outside Notre Dame before renovation. (After 1993 Japan removed all garbage cans from streets.) About 100 million tourist visited France in 2024 and 80 million to Spain. It brings $100 billion in tourism receipts to Spain and about $80 billion each for France and UK, so that it is a key source of revenue for countries. How to make trips that avoid the rush - careful planning for season and month, finding the right places depending on one's interests nature, history, science, or other, and avoiding tours as there are plenty of resources to do it on one's own, finding right places to stay and visit, using local transport, tram and speed trains in Europe, giving enough time for each place, talking to locals and taking a lesson on Rocket languages online which uses locals and practices word pronunciation so you sound like a local. ...

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How Southwest continues to hedge 70% of its fuel requiremets this year at $51 a barrel, when other airlines are only hedging 30% of their fuel requirements and will pay upwards of $85 for the fuel. Many of these other airlines are in bankruptcy protection and their hands are tied by creditors.