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The British Council in Colombo, Ceylon, as far back as the 1960's, has shaped the founder of Lyrarc.com's knowledge of Britain in shaping the ideas of the Modern World we know today, knowledge of its parliament and democracy, that are vital in shaping society in China, India, and other nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa to this day. For this reason the closing of the British Council facilities around the world to pay a loan it had taken years ago under the Conservatives during Covid, is to be seen as a major blow. This report in The Guardian is about fears the world's leading soft power agency, which is more than that a transmitter of ideas that shape the Modern World and all our democracies in Europe and America, Asia, other parts of the world, will disappear in a decade. The Madrid building which houses the British Council in Madrid at 13 Paseo del Martinez Campos in Madrid's Chamberi district, has been put up for sale to pay Covid era debt. About 5000 Spanish students attend classes in English and prepare for exams in 35 classrooms. Over the years hundreds of thousands of Spanish people passed through this building. 320 jobs will be lost, employees with passionate dedication who it will be difficult to replace. Another center in Barcelona also is expected to close. This comes at the wrong time when Britain needs to make its voice heard in the world, when a mediocre level of British parliamentarians and leaders since Blair and David Cameron have allowed this to happen. English language classes in Italy at the British Council are also being shut down. Paris building may also be sold, and shrinking operations in the Baltic Republics, Croatia and Austria. This will be a major blow to helping spread knowledge of British parliamentary traditions, its history and participation in shaping the Modern World we know today.  It is now hoped and this is a message to Labour's Andy Burnham who studied English at Cambridge, to restore Britain's image and the value of its parliamentary and other lasting contributions to the Modern World, to the benefit of all nations, to cancel this debt and give the British Council new leadership for the next 2 decades. Neil Kinnock, a Labour leader, and a chair of the British Council says- “The British Council does not want to make these cuts. They are being forced into it by the conditions required by the Treasury." “I sympathise very much with the staff, so does the leadership,” he said. The British Council had “camped out” in the Foreign Office for last three or four years and put up a “hell of a fight”. Kinnock said: “What the government should do is either find a way of cancelling the debt, or even rescheduling the debt. Because it’s to absolutely nobody’s advantage to lose the British Council.” A desperate effort to pay an outstanding £197m debt from a Covid-era Conservative government emergency loan on commercial terms, with interest to be repaid by September, is what is causing this massive destruction of a century old institution that belongs to Europeans, to Asians, and to the world at large for better societies through knowledge. Who runs Treasury in Britain? Rachel Reeves, who has no concept of the role constructive Britons have played for two hundred years from the time the British agent at Rajkot encouraged Mohandas Gandhi (Gandhiji) to study in London in 1888, a role that the British Council has played since its founding. His name Sir Frederick Souter, who wrote the letter of recommendation for Gandhi to enter the University College, London. Sir Dingle Foot, Solicitor General of the UK, another Labour leader, played that role for a youngster of 22 years at the University of Baroda in India, for Law School at the University of London in 1969, after years of educational experience at the British Council in Colombo, Ceylon. Now the founder of Lyrarc.com. We call upon Andy Burnham to make this one of is first priorities to put Britain First, and India, other European nations, the US, to assist in this effort, to preserve one of Britain's brightest contributions in throwing light on the brave scientific, educational and industrial endeavors that built the Modern World. ...

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France's Macron introduces a three step plan for reopenings after lockdown, with dates of December 15 and January 20 for reopening the economy. Shops will be allowed to open under strict social distancing rules for Christmas sales. If cases per day drops below 5000 the government will lift the lockdown on Dec. 15 and replace it with a 9 pm curfew. " After saying that spirits can be low, debates get heated, Macron said "we need to do everything to prevent a third wave, a third lockdown."

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The new trend of work and wellness hotels is becoming popular so that busy workers in office jobs can get a chance to relax, do yoga and exercize, eat healthy, and get renergized for work. Employees working on projects who are getting burned out with endless hours get a break with a week continuing work but also having a few hours to devote to mental and physical health each day. Hotels are adapting to meet this demand with mindfulness and yoga-pilates classes, and healthy food. 

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Mikaela Shiffrin is now one of the best downhill skiers of all time. After she failed in four races in the Beijing Olympics she lost some of the spirit she had. Rachel Bachman describes a visit to Roger Federer's home in the Alps that helped restore Mikaela's spirit and gave her some important advice on longevity in sport. First it was time to take a look around you notice things and breathe it all in. As Federer put it- "You need to take the moments to look up and around you, to appreciate where you are, breathe it in." It is when you are in the depths of your career and it is difficult to do this, that when it is the most important to do this, Federer told Mikaela Shiffrin and her mother Eileen on that day at lunch in the Federer home in the Swiss Alps.

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  Biden this day July 22 told his campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, that he would be “working like hell” to campaign for Harris. “We’re still fighting in this fight together,” said Biden “I’m not going anywhere. And I want you to know … you’ve always had my back. And I promise you, I will always have your back.” O'Malley Dillon will still head the campaign for Harris as she did for Biden. And Julie Chavez Rodriguez whom Biden had as campaign manager will also do the same for Harris. On Monday the staff greeted Kamala Harris and the second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Harris told them: “I have full faith that this team … will be the reason we win in November.”  ...

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This Washington Post editorial says many Republican leaders have shown lack of courage to speak up against the anti-immigrant rhetoric, and other extreme positions taken by Trump. A separate op-ed piece by Robert Kagan, says this leaves him little choice as a Republican but to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

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Joe Biden will hit the campaign trial in key states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin starting Labor Day. This is the Joe Biden who stood on a picket line in Detroit. Across these states white working class voters see Biden as having their interests at heart. The United Auto Workers endorsed Biden and Harris. And Kamala Harris says this of Biden in interview with CNN Dana Bash- "History is going to show, not only has Joe Biden led an administration that has achieved those extraordinary successes, but the character of the man is one that he has been in his life and career, including as a president, quite selfless and puts the American people first.” The extraordinary successes are the bipartisan legislation only Biden with 50 years in Congress could have achieved in this century- trillions of dollars going to fight the pandemic, fight inflation, fight the battle for bringing manufacturing home to America. And instead of Trump doing nothing for infrastructure after talking for years about it Biden has launched the biggest infrastructure effort in the US in 50 years. Never in recent history has so much been done in so short a time, with so much to follow, and never has it been so little reported or discussed. Yet history will show what Biden has set out to do and given the opportunity for his vice president to do in her turn.  ...

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives his radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat -Conversation from My Mind- for June 2024, returning from the months long general election. The arrival of the monsoon rains gives Modi an opportunity to showcase umbrellas made by small industry in Kerala, on the southeast coastline of India. To showcase Indian products is a regular aspect of the radio show. Here Modi shows that snow peas from Pulwama, Kashmir are now going to London, England. Araku coffee gives employment to 150,000 tribal people in Andhra Pradesh. It is becoming known in Europe. Modi extols the images of hundreds of thousands of people doing yoga near the Nile river and on the Red Sea coastline in Egypt, and Yoga day sessions in Kashmir and in Saudi Arabia. International Yoga Day was an opportunity to do yoga in Srinagar, Kashmir.

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It is not far away as India and Canada have a long relationship in the British Commonwealth of Nations as prominent members. India and the Eu relationship was also building up for years to get to the takeoff stage with huge potential. The US India trade relationship will also benefit from the deals signed with Germany and EU as it gives new approaches to do trade with US.

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Are elite colleges worth it and do they embody virtue today even if they did in the past. Dartmouth is not the little college embodying virtue that it was in the days of Daniel Webster. Some of the elite colleges have turned into business propositions that have neglected their history and their heroes in favor of an imported mix of ideas that have nothing to do with America's past, places where Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln would find they are foreigners.

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Andy Burnham, Labour's Mayor of Greater Manchester region, launches his bid for Makerfield seat in British parliament with a natural style following daily runs and running Manchester. He says-

“I’m prepared to take that fight as high as I can go. I want to play whatever part I can in changing this party back to the party here people used to know, and the party that is solidly on the side of working-class community.”

He added: “I‘ve not done the usual thing of talking in code. I’ve said it plainly what I’m trying to do.”

 

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There is a lot the US can and needs to do in healthcare, pharmaceuticals and housing, in correcting overinvestment in AI that needs to rebuild US infrastructure and industry that creates jobs that Kessler fails to mention. Yet what is clear is that the insight and the knowledge of how to accomplish this will not come without a strong educational background that includes professional courses as well as strong coursework in Economics, Government and History, and Languages. City Journal shows zero schools require Economics and 15% require Government and History to graduate- creating an ill equipped generation of students in 2026, poorly equipped to understand, grasp and tackle the Nation's problems.

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This report in the WSJ says the increase in Saudi production announced on June 2 will do more for Saudi Arabia diplomatically as it improves relations with the Bdien administration, and much less for oil markets. The increase of 648,000 barrels a day for both July and August is seen as a drop in the bucket. Only Saudis and UAE have spare capacity- estimated to be at 3 million barrels a day of spare capacity. The Russian oil production has already dropped by 1 million barrels a day since the start of the war in Ukraine and will drop further after the European Union oil embargo on 90% of oil supplied by Russia to the EU. Russia may even withhold supplies from the market to keep oil prices high as it is selling oil at a large discount. Russia evades western oil sanctions by selling oil using transfers out at sea and in other ways that do not reveal the source of the oil. Saudis and UAE are seeking better relations with the US to gain security guarantees after drone and other attacks by Yemeni rebels and Iran. Earlier president Biden had distanced himself from Saudi Arabia following human rights situations that led to deteriorating relations. The EU oil embargo, high oil prices that are hurting poorer countries all over the world, and the commitments by the US and other European partners to reduce fossil oil fuels production and increase renewable energy production are now added factors that the US is including in its relations with the Middle East as it seeks to balance different factors. Saudis see an opening for improved relations.   ...

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We live in a period of anxiety, some anxiety is natural but when facing extended periods of anxiety for over 6 months causing distress and impacting day to day life, do something about it, says this expert. About 18 percent of people in America over the age of 18 will suffer from anxiety disorder each year, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. This increases to 28 percent in the course of a lifetime for Americans. Take a walk, reduce alcohol intake because of the association with anxiety, exercize, deep breathing, and yoga. Meditation is highly recommended and a natural way to combat anxiety and stress in life. As anxiety includes an excessive focus on future that we don't feel we control, it helps to let go. In meditation practice start with 5 minutes and deep breathing called pranayama in yoga. Yoga routine with simple basics can be part of the morning exercize. Any yoga studio can help or it can be done at home. Creating a safe space that is calm and healing helps a lot. Medical experts also recommend spending time with nature and natural surroundings. It takes away some of the stuff that is worrying oneself, and shifts attention to the  to the trees, nature outside. Turn off the phone ringer and put away the iPhone. Reduce other activities that crowd one's schedule to focus on calming activities such as these.  At other times read poetry or a book that relaxes, or a program showing scenery on television. Being with other people in settings such as volunteering to help others, and connecting with friends and family in a comfortable setting are also part of healthy living.   ...

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Here self control is about allocating resources between present and future self, between momentary transient stuff of today and long term goals. At work it involves taking a future oriented approach to your day and using this to change behaviours. To do this practicing healthier living away from the workplace is important to get the energy and stamina to thrust future building behaviours forward.

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Mr. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the select committee on foreign affairs, a Tory MP, says UK companies are vulnerable to takeover by foreign state backed entities and calls for new laws to protect British companies. Prime minister Boris Johnson is preparing to announce new laws that will make it mandatory for British companies to report to the government when any foreign company attempts to take over 25% of the shares in a British company, or which could pose a security threat, with strong sanctions. Failing to do so would have directors jailed, disqualified, or face large fines.

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When do Democrats support Republicans? When do Republicans support Democrats? Arrogance for one thing, belittling your opponents, not having that humility and listening skills essential to govern. Carter belittled Ted Kennedy for challenging him, his chief of staff Jordan ignored opponents. Clinton spent too much time outside the country as Secretary of State lost touch with working class people. Trump demeaned other Republicans- Esper, Milley, Bush Sr and Jr. and most painfull of all Senator Lankford. Trump came across in the debate with Harris as arrogant and demeaning to Harris.  The hero today is Republican Senator Lankford who authored critical immigration legislation, loyalty to Nation. Profiles of Courage by John F. Kennedy was written in 1954, and covers Republicans and Democrats in Congress over 175 years who had the courage and humility to question the accepted views even at the risk of being set aside by a overzealous public.  ...

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The mass transit system in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, cost $150 million and provides transport connections cutting commutes by 2 hours for 400,000 people. 
Dar es Salaam has population 6 million and has grown eightfold since 1980. Four of five people live on the sprawling fringes in informal settlements that take a commute of over 2 hours to city centre. Dar es Salaam has chosen a bus system with dedicated lanes and areas instead of a metro which is costlier to build. The city has only four arterial roads with 2 lanes each way. Most of the growth is on the periphery and unplanned. The Dart System now in place separates the bus lanes from other traffic to reduce stoppages. The average journey from the centre to the terminus at Kimara is now down from 2 hours each way to 45 minutes.saving 50 hours each week for the average bus passenger.

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Guardian's Essay on the War and how it has undone Iran pushed it back by decades with internal suppression of dissent, the diversion of vital resources that could be used for building the economy and standards of living, failing to build a sovereign investment fund like Norway and other countries setting aside money for a rainy day. Much of the young educated voters and business in markets is in the cities in Asia and this class has to be integrated into development to create advanced developed nations instead of a small class of people controlling the nation's resources under an ideological or religious sectarian leadership. It failed in Spain in the Franco years, and now in Venezuela and Iran, Pakistan, because it does not grasp what happened in Asia- in China, in India, in South Korea where even under communist (China), military (South Korea), the integration of the students, middle class business, all sectors of society, leads to all sections of society building advanced societies improving education, healthcare, and modernization infrastructure, joining Europe and the US to build the future of science and technology. ...

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Iran's (IRGC's not the people of Iran who are protesting) strategy in talks is to stall peace talks, to use the help of global media which is creating perception for Iran, and see if the strategy of no nuclear materials turned over to Russia or some other country, see if that strategy works. This is  what German Foreign Minister Wadephul is saying on Day 16 of the Naval Blockade. Earlier this week German chancellor Merz called it unfortunate that the Iran War is continuing in explaining to ordinary Germans why the German economy is slowing down, yet he understands the danger posed by nuclear weapons in Iran or for that matter anywhere inthe volatile and explosive Middle East. Almost like the volatile and explosive Balkans that ignited World War I in 1914. This strategy of IRGC Iran does much irreparable damage to the Iranian economy in weeks to come. Iranian protests were intended to put the economy on a new path in which not just students, the middle class in the bazaars, the younger generation of Iranians who had the most to lose participated. Why is this happening? It is happening because of the complicated politics of the Middle East and centuries old differences within the Islamic world between different sectarian beliefs and cultures. It is not happening because of the US. The US cannot be responsible for what colonial empires of the British and French did in this region in the 1920's by creating artificial states of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, out of the Arab portion of the collapsed Ottoman Empire defeated in World War I with Shia, Sunni populations in these states mixed up into unmanageable states. Five decades of wars in the Middle East are the result of these unmanageable artificial states of French and British Empires by 1921. The British Empire also controlled Iran in the 1900's and its oil resources. There was no involvement of America as the British and French did what they wanted to do even in the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI.  The fall of the pro-Soviet Mossadegh regime in 1956 was the only fragmentary situation which is an anti Soviet Cold War move by the US in 1952, and was done by a group that had British connections deep inside the Eisenhower administration led by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that took this unfortunate step for America (looking back over  5 decades of wars). A British oriented group was active inside the Republican party that continued to operate in the Reagan administration's involvement in support for Iraq in its war with Iran. And which no longer exists in the Republican party led by DJT which puts America First, grasps the fact of unmanageable states of British and French Empires and seeks to distance the US from the Middle East. Gandhi and Patel (and Jinnah) avoided the creation of such a state in British India's partition into India and Pakistan. Afghanistan is simply an extension of this Middle Eastern complicated setup, including 9/11. Why is all this important? Arab Middle East is a dangerous place for nuclear weapons- this is all the US is trying to accomplish, thankfully without the cooperation of the British and French whose Empires are responsible for the creation of a hodge podge mix of peoples in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq which (check this out) never existed before British and French Mandates of 1921. The global and American media that sees DJT Republicans as too conservative on cultural issues and the political establishment intending to return to power have completely obscured or not presented this side of the Middle East, yet is key to devising a policy that keeps America out of Middle East wars but keeps the goal of no nuclear weapons in this powderkeg of a region. ...

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The WSJ provides an excellent guide to working at home, how to overcome the struggles and get some of the benefits from working at home. A large part of the struggles in working from home is not being able to unplug, and working like you are in an office. Working from office is different because of meetings and office distractions, and one gets less done, maybe 4 hours of decent work in a workday. So that in solo work one would say work 5 hours and accomplish what one would have done in 8 hours at the office.  At home consistently working 5 or 6 hours at a stretch can get a person exhausted and isolated.  Don't look at the clock for it to say 5 pm. Take breaks early, if one reaches ones limit or gets restless it is time to take an extended break or get outside for a walk, or do some stretches, yoga, or something else. Loneliness is another part of the struggles. Important to setup some video calls to make sure you get human interaction. Get some chance to refresh and talk to humans, get some interaction.  Leave stuff such as clearing inbox and less brainy tasks for the evening. Set top 3 priorities for the day or week so you have an idea of progress in a larger task. Time theming is a way to set aside certain days or time periods to get specific things done. Staying physically fit and mentally rejuvenated is the big challenge.  Exercize routines, stretches, yoga, meditation early morning, help keep ones mental and physical health. They are most important. They form the basis for the whole day and lay the foundation for getting things done. This is where the process sets the tone and helps get the best results. Once this is established one can let the ebbs and flow of work motivation and feeling ready to work happen, seeing them as natural, without concern that one won't get done what needs to be done to be effective. ...

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This report says Biden and other G7 leaders toured the Hiroshima Museum but does not say that they visited the East end of the Museum shown in an NHK documentary where most of what happened, of people who lived and died in Hiroshima on that day, are shown. It is not shown that Mr. Fumio Kishida is himself a cousin once removed of a 4 year old boy whose remains are shown at the museum. Mr. Obama also has not visited the East end of the museum according to reports. Lyrarc.com has suggested that the NHK documentary that was broadcast in Asia last week should be shown to G7 leaders if they have not actually seen that part of the museum that shows the lives of the people on that day. The point is not to see the dead as from one nation but as people who could be from any other nation in a different conflict with different countries, the responsibility of any one nation or of nations on opposite sides should not obscure the importance of seeing the dead as just human beings- without nationality.     ...