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Women feel overwhelmed with housework during the pandemic. About 80% of women feel responsible for house work compared to 28% of men, according to a NYU and U Penn study. On average women do one and half times the house chores compared to men. This difference is wider when looking at households where men do very little of the housework. The author of "Fair Play" a book about dividing housework says women are burned out, stressed and full of rage about the way household chores are handled. The pandemic has seen a further deterioration in the amount of time men spend doing household chores, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, creating a situation of tension. As men have worked from home during the pandemic the once invisible labor of women is now in plain sight. For women who have quit their jobs and looking for a way to get back to work there is an additional element of frustration. WSJ looks at ways in which men can make the changes to create a healthier situation at home, and reduce the tension. ...

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What did Biden mean when he said- "history is watching," about his call for Ukraine aid to Congress. After a swift course of events and British withdrawal from Greece and Turkey by March 1947 this is the address to the US Congress made by US president Harry Truman on March 12, 1947, for $351 million in aid to Greece and Turkey facing Soviet threat to the two democracies after German armies had destroyed most of the infrastructure in Greece, thousand villages burned, 85% of children tubercular, with no savings, tragic conditions and facing political chaos. Truman said in this address aid was one tenth of one percent of the $341 billion spent to fight threats to democracy in World War II. "One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, upon other nations." "At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms." "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way."   ...

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A survey of 2000 workers by Prudential shows about 25% of workers plan to look for a better job after the pandemic, and 38% say challenges with work-life balance are a reason for them to change jobs. This is a trend seen also in labor statistics as there is a mismatch between jobs offered and jobs people are seeking in the job market in US and other countries, with job seekers looking for stability and work-life balance, and making physical and mental health a priority. This WSJ report shows how women are handling this challenge. It says it is not enough to go by a company's online policies one has to look deeper. Look for people in the know, look for clues in the interview, have a clear idea of what is important to you- flexible schedule, family friendly benefits. WSJ gives names of sites that can help provide more information- Mom's Project, InHerSight, Glassdoor, List Your Leave, Working Mother. Look for onsite child care center, fitness facilities, does company do followup emails at night, do employees appear frazzled, stressed or disorganized? Connect into alumni and other professional networks for clues and patterns at companies. Also says WSJ experts cited here employers will appreciate your asking the question early rather than later. Questions such as "does a firm promote associates with alternative work schedules" are normal questions to ask. ...

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Boris Johnson was never for austerity and says this in his new book, yet he failed to make the major investments in the British economy in the way Biden has done in the US, and in some ways has left Labor's Starmer with difficult decisions with the strained budget finances of Britain. Of the investments he protected from John Osborne and his austerity plans as chancellor under Cameron Boris Johnson says- “Those big investments – Crossrail, the Olympic site, the Westfield Centre at Shepherd’s Bush – were fortuitously timed for London: vast counter-cyclical programmes that kept the spades going into the ground and people in work.” This was as Mayor of London in 2016. Of Osborne and Cameron so little is left, and so little came out of the period of austerity other than the failed investments Britain failed to make, simply a lost decade for Britain. And the diversion of Brexit under Johnson not taking Britain to a good place for the standard of living of the British people. Of the intraparty conflicts in the Tories he says Sunak's resignation as chancellor should never have happened calling it "worse than a crime," and a mistake for Sunak, the party, and the country. Johnson says that many days as PM he would come back to No.10 flat, exhausted and working into the evening when he should have been talking to colleagues, MP's to keep them all together. After Sunak's resignation from Boris Johnson's cabinet the Tory Conservatives split further apart, this time in the Boris Johnson faction of the party. Sunak's elevation to prime minister was short lived ending up with the Tories going downhill from there.  On the singular goal that led to the splits- that of Brexit- Johnson has little more to say than that in his travels he had found people wanted more Britain. ...

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About 86% of the total value of cash in circulation was affected by the withdrawal of 1000 and 500 rupee notes by the Modi government on Nov. 8, 2016. This is about 22 billion bills. The effect on the economy will take about a year to work its way through. The government has removed restrictions effect a March date for withdrawals from ATM machines previously limited to Rs 2500, as it says it has enough new bills printed in Rs 2000 denomination.

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Three years of non stop mask wearing in Japan makes people's smile fade. Facial muscles no longer work the way they do. Exercizing facial muscles or doing yoga for the facial muscles can relieve the disuse. This is a problem not just for Japan. Key is to strengthen the muscles under the eyes and around the corners of the mouth by mild stretching using yoga or Japanese shiatsu exercizes.

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Jake Spring of the Washingotn Post shows how DJT, Kevin Hassett of the National Economic council and NY Governor Kathy Hochul are putting jobs first to work together to revive the northeastern communities that have hurt the most. This one is a waterfront that has seen better days in Brooklyn before 1945, when it was one of the busiest ports in the world- gone into disrepair and abandoned by the 1970's. Norwegian company Equinor invested $2.7 billion in a huge wind farm for Sunset Park in Brooklyn which would bring clean air to a chemically polluted Asian and Latino neighborhood. It would create thousands of jobs and provide clean energy for a million homes.  The DJT Interior Department under Doug Borghum stopped the project and it could have been cancelled, if not for NY Governor Kathy Hochul working with the DJT administration to support pipelines that will take Pennsylvania shale gas to New York hub for where it can reach all parts of the northeast. Interior Secretary Borghum wrote on X- “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.” Hochul supported the revival of the Constitution pipeline for shale gas.  It is this kind of cooperation to support jobs, workers and create a space for projects in the public interest that are needed today. ...

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Experts say wisdom is important for well-being the older you become. About 150,000 people are over 85 years age in New York City. This series in the NYT in Dec. 2015 looks at people in the city, their lives, and their attitudes to life. At this age as other physical abilities decline it is wisdom that makes up for this. By being positive about their aging and adapting to their limitations older people make better lives. Laura Carstensen, director Stanford Center on Longevity, says this period can be better than people think for seniors who have gratitude, forgiveness, calm and appreciation in greater degrees from 50 years to 70 years, continuing into the later years. Anger and stress being replaced by conveying gratitude. The positive attitudes to aging also affect memory and heart disease. One of the people covered Ping Wong, 90 years, plays mah-jongg with friends every day and does everyday activities that make her happy. Jonas Mekas, 93 years, is a filmmaker who continues his working activities- doing an exhibition in Brescia, Italy, publishing an anthology of his writings, and giving a lecture in Berlin on filmmaking. Mekas has an interesting philosophy of life- he says do what you are doing and don't think about it much, it will all end sometime, just do something good for humanity that someone else can pickup from you when you are gone, which is normal. A sense of optimism prevails in these lives. Says Mekas its important to not give up on the idea of paradise....

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After winning the Nation's League final over Netherlands next we will see her playing soccer in the Olympics. Aitana Bonmati talks about her life and experiences. Bonmati has given a boost to women's soccer with her talents, hard work and resilience, and by reaching out to fans all over Europe and the world. Alex Ibaceta interviews Spain's Bonmati in The Guardian. She started out playing with the boys because there were no girls to play with. She signs up for the town's football team Club Depotiu Ribes and Club de Football Cubelles playing with boys. As a cadete (14-15 years) she had to switch to playing on women's teams. This was a change at first as she had to learn to interact with girls. She says we had worse general conditions in life simply for being girls and even more in football. These were years when there was no professional women's soccer. She thought she wold play for a few years and then go to the US for studies, considering the University of Oregon. This is when she gets called to the women's first team. Bonmati talks about her mentality, not just the talent and hard work, but the mentality of sacrifice, resilience, fight and want to be better every day. To every young girl trying out a new sport, she describes this- it is a journey that is not pretty at times, there are bad moments, but these bad moments are what make you better as you learn to keep improving and know how to keep getting better. And to take on difficulties as opportunities. When she was goinghome from training with her father, they would use public transport and get home at 1 am. Looking back to where she is now idolized by young girls , what she has been able to accomplish she says it was not down to luck but all the hard work throughout the years. ...

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Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor in New York, only a second crime turns it into a felony. WSJ Editorial Board asks the question what is the second crime in the Trump indictment that turns a misdemeanor into a felony under New York law. District Attorney Alvin Bragg says "under New York election law it is illegal to promote a candidacy by unlawful means." With the hush money payments Mr. Trump is seen as promoting his candidacy unlawfully, and the payments themselves as illegally done campaign contributions. Another aspect of law is that the situation was not brought up in 2017, yet is perceived very differently in 2023. Much more is known in 2023 than in the early days of  the election campaign in 2017.

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The increase in child care costs in the US and impact on families is the subject of this report in NYT. In New York City Montessori in affluent neighborhoods can run $4000 a month and working class families have to stretch budgets to pay for $2000 a month for child care.

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A new study by the City University of New York of the largest retailers in New York city shows retail workers earn $9.50 an hour. Ony 40% of workers were full time, and over 50% were part-time, and the others being temporary workers. Lower work hours worsen the impact of low pay per hour, according to professor Stephanie Luce of the Murphy Institute of the City University of New York, the main author of the study. Only 3 of 10 workers receive health insurance with their jobs. The study is based on interviews of 436 nonunion employees at department stores, electronic stores, clothing stores, bookstores, and other retail stores, and includes stores ranging from Fifth Avenue to the Bronx.

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An unattended vegetable stand in the Ebusi neighborhood of Tokyo. A few minutes from the rail station is this vegetable stand run by Tomo from Hiroshima and her son 14 year old Satoru, a former real estate office worker who quit to open a vegetable store. One day she was shocked to hear a customer say she had money enough to only come once a month for vegetables. Tomo closes this store and opens a vegetable stand which prices vegetables at prices young workers on low wages can afford. One young worker from Okinawa who works for a large company made so little that she had only $70 for food in her monthly budget. She becomes a regular customer and asks her grandmother how to cook zucchini, eggplants so she can save money by cooking at home. This is a really heart warming video about Tomo's farm in a prefecture near Tokyo a 2 hour drive away. Tomo prices everything at 70 cents or 100 yen a plastic bag of vegetables. Her son learns to farm and to run the stand. Mostly the stand is unattended with long caring messages on a message board to customers. It tells young workes not to worry too much about the future. ...

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Paletta, Hilsenrath and Solomon give an exceptional journalism report on the silence and tension in the room at the meeting on Monday, October 13, 2008, at 3.00 pm in the Treasury building. It was an historic meeting between Treasury Secretary Paulson, Fed chairman Bernanke, and FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair on one side, and the head of America's leading banks on the other side. The situation was explained, the bankers asked questions, bankers were not allowed to negotiate, and at one point Bernanke had to intervene saying there was no need for this meeting to have a confrontational tone. Wells Fargo's Kovacevich asked why banks had to accept a capital injection. Kenneth Lewis of Bank of America softened the tone of the meeting by saying that "any one of us who doesn't have a healthy fear of the unknown isn't paying attention." Even before the meeting an anxious John Mack of Morgan Stanley asked Paulson for the reason for the meeting and Paulson told him, "come on down, you will be pleased." John Mack who had fought so many rumors of the firm's demise, was surely pleased with the $10 billon injection of capital in Morgan Stanley by the government in return for preferred share and a dividend of 5%, which helped assure markets about Morgan Stanley's future. Goldman Sach's also received $10 billion. The meeting was ended at 4.30pm. Before this Timothy Geithner, head of the New York Fed, acting as the point man went around handing each CEO a term sheet with a place to sign. Another meeting was setup for 6.30 pm and at that time all the term sheets were returned - and all were signed. There was no meeting. Treasury officials and Fed officials and others had hoped that the intervening time would give CEO's a time to talk to their boards, to think things over, and clear their heads. In a few hours the government took preferred shares in the nation's leading banks and injected $125 billion into the largest banks. Treasury injected $25 billlion in Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, And between $20 and $25 billion in Wells Fargo, and $3 billion in Bank of New York Mellon, and $3 billion in State Street. Another $125 billon would be injected into other smaller banks in coming days. Officials at Treasury, Fed and FDIC and other government officials hoped this would give a "confidence shock" to the nation's banking system. ...

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Susie Wiles is a Florida native where she gained most of her experience running Republican campaigns from Bush/Qualyle, Romney, more recently Scott, De Santis and Trump. She also worked for lobbying firm Mercury, was an assistant to Congressman Jack Kemp. She has learned to brush away some of the boorish traits and rhetoric of the former president, says Politico.  As DJT's campaign manager of Florida in 2016 she told the Tampa Bay Times why-  "I don’t want this to continue. I think it seriously will damage our republic and who among that group can really have the fortitude to shift what I’ve seen happening over all these years?” "I will tell you this: The Donald Trump that I have come to know does not behave that way, and the lens that I look at him through, I don’t see any of that. I see strengths, I see smarts, I see a work ethic that is unparalleled,” she told the Tampa Bay Times in 2016. “I blanch sometimes. But, again, it’s not the Donald Trump that I have come to know.” During 2016 and in 2024 her disciplined attitude, humility, trying to be self effacing and focused have helped bring discipline out of the chaos in DJT's campaigns. She also has unique ability to get through at critical moments to restrain DJT from impulsive moments that create political liabilities.   ...

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The southern U.S. which was early to reopen the economy after the lockdown with some states having only partial lockdowns, is emerging from the coronavirus in much better shape than the rest of the U.S. The unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in August, the lowest of any region. The number of people employed was only 6% lower in August than in February, when most of the U.S. went into lockdown, compared with declines of 10.6% in the Northeast, 8.2% in the West, and 7% in the Midwest. Some of this was a result of aggressive reopening in Texas and other southern states. Overall deaths in the south were 60 per 100,000 people compared to 132 in the Northeast including New York and New Jersey, Midwest at 52, and West at 40. The Northeast numbers are high because of the elderly in nursing homes hit hard in New York and New Jersey.  In the southern states by comparison the deaths came later and among young people taking risks. The virus hit the northeast early and parts of the midwest, southern states had the advantage of some of the work already being initiated in March to fight the virus nationwide. Many of these states are also Republican and residents feared the virus much less. Republican Governors followed their instincts and aggressively reopened putting the economy first. The numbers tell the story. In South Carolina 44% of Republicans say they aren't afraid of the virus outbreak in the local area, compared to just 2% of Democrats, according to Civiqs poll. Georgia and Florida have similar numbers, all with Republican Governors. One factor favoring southerners is that cities in the south are much less dense and less populated than in the North and West. Smaller cities than Los Angeles and New York. ...

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Germans are afraid to move in public spaces after dark, especially young women. DW.com confirms this in its investigation in September 2025. It includes discussion with criminologist Susanne Karstedt that is cited here. The area around the main Frankfurt train station is a site for prostitution says this report, and this attracts crime and drug crime. This was unknown during our previous visits to Frankfurt over 15 years ago and is a result of changes in the Merkel years when infrastructure was neglected allowed to deteriorate ,and migrant populations were allowed into the country. It is astonishing for a visitor to see the Frankfurt station in such a dilapidated state as it is the commercial and banking city of Europe and Germany, where the European Central Bank is located. Chancellor Merz says Germans are "afraid to move around in public spaces due to migrants who do not have permanent residence status, do not work, and do not abide by our rules." A recent poll shows only one third of the poll participants think the chancellor is incorrect. Many people want to avoid the label of racism when asked about it,  but still know that public safety is clearly not what it was in the past in the 1980's and 1990's. The chancellor is only stating what he sees- "I don't know whether you have children. If you do, and there are daughters among them, ask your daughters what I might have meant. I suspect you'll get a pretty clear and unambiguous answer. There's nothing I need to retract." "There are a lot of people who say, see, and judge it this way. Once again: Ask your children, ask your daughters, ask your friends and relatives. They will all confirm that this is a problem — once it gets dark, if not before." For a visitor to Frankfurt this is clear to see as plain as daylight and reflects the decline of the Schroeder-Merkel years  similar to the decline in the US over the last two decades under Clinton-Bush and Obama. To see this in Frankfurt and other German cities near urban hubs and train stations is astonishing, sad and very disconcerting. ...

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Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim will provide $250 million to New York Times in return for warrants that can be converted into 15.9 million common shares at a strike price of $6.36, close to where the price was last week. The notes carry a interest rate of 14% and are due in 2015. The Sulzbergers control 19% of the company's equity and control the company through super-voting shares. If Slim exercizes the warrants he would control 18% of the company's equity. Times faces a liquidity crisis and the $250 million may not be enough for it to survive as an independent company. The New York Times borrowed heavily in the boom years and it had $1.1 billion of debt at the end of September 2008, and only $46 million in cash. Much of that debt is coming due in the next couple of years. It has a $400 million credit facility that expires in May 2009, $250 million in notes due in 2010, and a $400 million credit facility expiring in 2011. Its stock has fallen 50% already and its debt is rated "junk" by S&P....

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This Washington Post editorial says Obama and the politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, want something for nothing. The Ryan budget, Obama's health care plan, all require paying for it with higher taxes, but the mention of the word "tax" is the last word any of the politicians will say. These comments come as the U.S. Supreme Court considers the mandate that young Americans and others be forced to pay for health care along with the rest, as required by the health care mandate, with the idea of keeping costs down. The idea of getting something for nothing was also emphasized in an op-ed in the WSJ, March 29, 2012, by Mayor Bloomberg of New York City, where he called for letting the Bush tax cuts expire for all income groups, and an up or down vote in Congress on the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan, as part of a two step plan.

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The U.S. Senate voted 51 to 49 on a Democratic party measure for further reductions in 2012 Social Security payroll taxes for workers and employers, including a surtax on incomes over $1 million. A measure supported by the Republican party to pay for the payroll tax cut by reducing the Federal payrolls was defeated, with half the Republicans voting against it. Democrats hope to use this issue to show Republicans favor the rich over the middle class, as the payroll tax cut benefits most Americans. Polls show Americans by a large majority see Republican policies favoring the rich. A New York Times/CBS poll in October showed 7 of 10 Americans feel this way. Pollster Geoff Garin says the income inequality issue is beginning to override other issues including antigovernment feeling. This is one way in which the Occupy Wall Street Movement's slogan of "the 99 percent" has resonated with U.S. public opinion. The Democratic party sees this as an opportunity to define the campaign issues for 2012, with Republicans running for reelection cautious about being seen this way....

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This NYT report follows other reports about the inefficiencies and mismanagement in the New York Subway System. As a result it cost $3.5 billion for laying one mile of subway track on the Long Island Rail Project- 7 times what it costs in other parts of the world. It cost $2.5 billion for the Second Avenue Subway just to lay one mile of subway track on the Upper East Side of New York. In this way cost for the Long Island Rail Project jumped to $12.5 billion. What this means is that there is less money for regular maintenance, a topic covered in another NYT report. With less required maintenance there are costly delays for people using the subways. Worse the NYT reports politicians have not hesitated to do what they should not have done- burden the MTA with debt and divert money away from things that are badly needed such as maintenance. 

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This WSJ report shows how retirement looks in America from the financial and lifestyle aspects. The median net worth for people 65-74 years is about $266,000 compared to an average net worth of 5 times that of $1.2 million for this group. This means wealth is highly skewed in America today with a small percentage of high wealth group pushing the average up this much- a result of neglect of American manufacturing that sharply reduced income and savings security of working families, and the impact of laissez faire policies of the administrations since the 1970's with financial crises hurting workers and families. The impact of wars was also borne heavily by workers and families with the neglect of infrastructure and public services in a misallocation of the nation's wealth.  Other points of note are the way time is spent today in retirement with less educational activity or volunteer work than one would imagine, and not enough time for exercize. Only a miniscule amount of time goes to volunteer work (.17 hours) or reading (.57 hours) compared to watching television (4.50 hours) for retirees. Exercize that keeps people healthy one would expect it to go up in retirement only shows .29 hours. Arts and entertainment or cultural activities only 0.05 hours, people are lonelier spending less time with each other with 0.57 hours for socializing and communicating. All showing how Americans in retirement can do better and live better lives by increasing the amount of time they spend in these healthy activities and less on television. Television which is also a sedentary activity takes up 3 times all the other activities essential for healthy living just mentioned combined. Little or no time is spent in meditation, mindfulness or mental wellness, as this grouped under prayer shows only .07 hours or just a few minutes a day.  Small changes that are made in the right direction would do much good for the quality of living for all Americans. Combined with an effort for the renewal of infrastructure and public services this would be an effort in the right direction, contributing to the well being of America.   ...

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Photographs and descriptions of a picturesque cycling tour through some of the best scenery in New York state all the way to Canada. From New York City head straight north by bicycle through Poughkeepsie and Albany to Rouse's Point and the Canadian border for a cycling route of 400 miles. The NYT shows Jane Margolies doing this bicycle route in small sections and having her husband drive her back, till she had reached the Canadian border. It is actually 2 sections- a Hudson Valley trail and a Champlain Valley trail that takes one to the Canadian border. A separate trail takes one from Albany to Buffalo. The entire stretch is 750 miles which was completed at a cost of $200 million. It showcases New York's history and natural beauty,

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The critical variable in knowing whether lockdowns of cities and countries are working is called the coronavirus RO, or reproduction ratio. This ratio measures the average number of people infected by a carrier A. It could be that he infects 1 person at work and transport call it B people , or in large gatherings call it C people he infects 2 persons, or in other surroundings such as restaurants he infects 1 person call it D people. The people A has infected B+C+D are the ones now not infected by A with the lockdowns such as in New York, Italy, Germany, UK and France. It is determined by global health experts that the number of B+C+D is about an average of 4 persons infected by 1 person A with coronavirus, though it may be much higher in practice in some areas. The natural rate of RO or reproduction ratio is considered by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to be 3.86 or about 4, if no lockdown or social distancing or other prevention is practiced. This in a situation where people behaved as before unaware that the virus was around them. Governments such as New York and France, UK, Germany are including this key variable in their determination of how long a lockdown lasts, and for determining if the reopening is not going the right way or failing. In such situations the lockdown would be reinstated, or if it is a phased reopening such as in the U.S. and other countries go back to the previous phase. In Italy and Germany the RO reproduction ratio for coronavirus is estimated by official experts at 0.8. Germany's RO estimated by the Robert Koch Institute and Italy's by Franco Locatelli, scientific advisor to the government. In New York the margin is thin- with RO of 0.9, estimate from the state's governor. In France which has one of the tightest lockdowns of all with a document required to go outside it is at 0.6, the figure coming from the prime minister Mr. Philippe. In the UK it is below 1.0 but no accurate figure is reported. As Dr. Birx- leading the coordinated response in the U.S. - emphasizes over and over again this is a very contagious virus, about which not much is known. Social distancing, wearing masks, basic prevention measures such as frequent handwashing, and not gathering in large numbers of people, is essential for defeating this virus. This has to be followed up with extensive testing and contact tracing to win this fight.   ...

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New York Governor Hochul says "judges should have more authority to set bail and detain dangerous defendants." The rise in crime in New York as a result of a law that eliminated bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies passed 4 years ago, may have cost Democrats several seats in the US House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm election, leading to a virtual tie with Republicans in the House.