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"Feierabend"- disconnecting from work the German way, the need of the times during a year of remote work 2021
04/23/2021
"Feierabend" simply means disconnecting in German so that one has time to renew and revive oneself. At 4.00 pm or 5.00 pm one simply disconnects from work and gets on the bike for a ride or does something else. Can British and American cultures learn from their German or European counterparts? Ireland has passed a law calling for this disconnect requiring it because of the huge negative impact on mental health of remote work that has no structures. Microsoft has recognized this issue in 2020. More needs to be done by companies than to simply shift this burden,shift this task on someone else, or to workers who have no idea what working from home requires. Associations and other groups also need to get involved.
Linked Articles
Right to disconnect is vital for future health of home workers
04/23/2021
How 'Feierabend' helps Germans disconnect from the workdayBBC News 07/12/2022
Coronavirus employment shock for women
12/24/2020
Women are hit hard by the coronavirus when it comes to working lives, as these reports show.
Linked Articles
Covid-19 Is Pushing Women Out of Work. Just Look at Italy.
WSJ 12/21/2020
Coronavirus Employment Shock Hits Women Harder Than MenWSJ 05/15/2020
Pope Francis and the challenge of the modern world in 2020
11/27/2020
Two crises back to back in 2010 and 2020 putting the working class, middle class and poor further behind each ten years. Pope Francis calls this a challenge for the modern world in his new book "Let us Dream- The Path To a Better Future." He says "we cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems before the pandemic, we need economies that give access to all of the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life, land lodging and labor."
Linked Articles
A Humble Pope, Challenging the World
New York Times 09/18/2015
Opinion | Pope Francis: A Crisis Reveals What Is in Our HeartsNYTimes.com 11/27/2020
How the Coronavirus test in the U.S. got delayed for 3 crucial weeks in February letting the pandemic spread quickly
08/21/2020
Three lost weeks in February starting February 9 when the FDA realized its third component of the test to test mutated virus had failed in use by labs but continued to persist in doing this on its own. Private labs of well known medical companies and university teaching hospitals were ready to develop and use their own tests with lightning speed and yet the FDA required its approval stalling that effort. FDA and HHS failure in the crisis led to the quick spread of the virus in Feb- March making any use of test and contact trace for containment ineffective. a crucial window of time was lost!
Linked Articles
FDA’s Authority to Regulate Lab Tests Is Curtailed
WSJ 08/21/2020
What Derailed America’s Covid Testing: Three Lost WeeksWSJ 08/18/2020
What to know about face masks imported from China
08/04/2020
Why FDA has failed in its quality control of face masks imported from China. WSJ analysis shows the unreliability of many of the N95 masks imported from Chinese suppliers. These imported masks follow a Chinese standard K95.
Linked Articles
WSJ News Exclusive | FDA’s Shifting Standards for Chinese Face Masks Fuel Confusion
WSJ 08/03/2020
What to Know About KN95 Face MasksWSJ 08/03/2020
Jurgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson - Liverpool's soccer of continuous work ethic and calm resolve.
06/26/2020
Linked Articles
Jordan Henderson is resilience embodied – he is my player of the year
The Times 06/26/2020
Jürgen Klopp is Liverpool’s most important appointment since Bill ShanklyThe Times 06/26/2020
How the WHO failed as early warning system in the coronavirus after being a model during the leadership of Dr. Brundtland in 2003 SARS
05/21/2020
The contrast could not be greater between the World Health Organization today and the WHO under Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a three time prime minister of Norway between 1981 and 1996 with great experience and a record of handling difficult issues of climate change and sustainable development.
Linked Articles
A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 05/20/2020
‘The only way forward for WHO is...’: Full text of Trump’s letter to WHO chiefHindustan Times 05/19/2020
Britain's Labour Party's struggle to find its soul
11/14/2019
A month before the December 2019 general election Britain's Labour Party struggles to find a connection to its working class and middle class heartland.
Linked Articles
Frank Dobson’s death is a reminder of Labour’s decay
The Times 11/14/2019
Robert Crampton’s election road trip: Labour finds hostility in its heartlandThe Times 11/14/2019
How the Democratic Party lost its blue collar working class identity to the Republican Party by 2018
07/20/2018
Linked Articles
Donald Trump is causing change in the Democratic Party too
The Economist 07/20/2018
America’s Factory Towns, Once Solidly Blue, Are Now a GOP HavenWSJ 07/19/2018
Why a new strategy is needed in the Korean peninsula- growing risks of a conflict and pressuring China an "old worn playbook"
07/05/2017
Linked Articles
Analyst: 'We need an entirely new North Korea strategy' | Asia | DW.COM | 09.09.2016
DW.COM 09/09/2016
Five Blunt Truths About the North Korea Crisis07/05/2017
Trump's business empire- overleveraging, debt, excessive risk, and shrouded in mystery, what the WSJ calls "a narrow escape"
08/20/2016
The business dealings of Trump do not reveal the wisdom and financial best business practice that will be needed to get the middle and working class in the U.S. back on its feet, and to build the country's infrastructure and defense needs.
Linked Articles
Trump and His Debts: A Narrow Escape
Wall Street Journal 01/04/2016
Trump’s Empire: a Maze of Debts and Opaque TiesThe New York Times 08/20/2016
Why initiating Brexit by invoking the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 could go into 2017, or even past 2020 into new general elections- (2) the British economy and the Bank of England's stimulus effort to avoid a recession
08/16/2016
The stimulus action of the Bank of England in August 2016 was designed to avert a recession in Britain. The Bank of England estimates that even with the stimulus the Brexit move will lead to a 1% drop in economic growth every year for 3 years as compared to staying in the European Union. The British public is weary of the austerity programs for 7 years under finance minister Osborne. if higher growth under Brexit turns out to be an illusion as the Bank of England forecasts show, there would be reason for much reflection on the meaning of the vote- seeing it as a rejection of the Cameron-Osborne government in favor of a government more in tune with the interests of working class people under Theresa May.
Linked Articles
Wait and see: Theresa May is in no hurry on Brexit | Europe | DW.COM | 15.08.2016
DW.COM 08/15/2016
Bank of England unveils four-pronged stimulus package in bid to avoid Brexit recessionThe Telegraph 08/04/2016
Speaker Paul Ryan's House seat in Janesville, Wisconsin- improving economy in a U.S. midwestern factory town and the debate on trade, help for working class families
08/10/2016
The unemployment rate in Janesville, Wisconsin drops to 4.4% in May 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was over 9% following the closing of the GM plant and the recession from the 2008 financial crisis. A working class town Janesville was hit hard by the closing of the GM plant in 2008. Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post describes the impact of losing about 5000 jobs at the GM plant, and the problems typical of most manufacturing dependent towns. Throughout the period since being first elected to Congress in 1998 Ryan has continued to be able to get elected on the basis of faith, family and public service, even though some of his policies may not have helped the poor and elderly or laid off workers. Ryan voted for rescuing the auto industry and worked hard to keep the GM plant, and listens to his constituents, and as the economy recovered by 2016 won easily in this old industrial midwestern town. His influence in national politics gives Janesville an opportunity to be heard, as it tackles problems common to many midwestern towns in the U.S.
Linked Articles
Could Paul Ryan’s ideas help his struggling home town? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/19/2012
Paul Ryan beats outsider 'mini-Donald Trump' challenger in Wisconsin primaryThe Guardian 08/10/2016
U.S. China Phase 1 Trade Agreement not working out
01/15/2021
Linked Articles
A Year On, China Falls Short on Trade-Deal Targets
WSJ 01/15/2021
China Exports Generate Record Trade SurplusWSJ 12/07/2020
How to work from home and do it well- "Feierabend" and other ideas
12/01/2020
Linked Articles
How 'Feierabend' helps Germans disconnect from the workday
BBC News 07/12/2022
I’ve Worked From Home for 22 Years. Here’s What I’ve Learned.WSJ 03/30/2020
German practice of breaking off from work once the day is done and good health
11/24/2020
Linked Articles
Can Germans’ right to switch off survive the digital age?
BBC News 11/24/2020
How 'Feierabend' helps Germans disconnect from the workdayBBC News 07/12/2022
France and Germany - the struggle to get young people to adopt responsible behaviours during the pandemic
08/04/2020
Three police officers hospitalized after a protest against coronavirus restrictions in Berlin and an outbreak in the Quiberon peninsula with 72 cases after beach parties, show the persistent problem in both Germany and France to get young people to adopt responsible behaviors.
Linked Articles
Coronavirus cluster in western France pits youth against authorities preaching caution
France 24 07/30/2020
Germany: 45 officers injured at Berlin rally against coronavirus curbs | DW | 02.08.2020DW.COM 08/02/2020
Queen Elizabeth's Easter message "we shall return" in 2020 as the pandemic hits Britain
07/23/2020
Linked Articles
Prince Philip hands over military role to Camilla
BBC News 07/22/2020
'We need Easter as much as ever,' says the QueenBBC News 04/11/2020
Twitter's short form of 140 characters, the iphone, and the tech platforms building on the declining cultural and other literacy in America, Europe, other countries
05/28/2020
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's regrets on what he sees as the lack of any depth in the short form that works well on mobile phones. The first smartphones came in 2007 and 2008 iphone and android versions, Twitter started in 2006, both growing at the same time, the story of a tech boom that is paralleled by declining cultural and other literacy in America. It also parallels the decline in sense of what is in the national interest among communities in America and Europe and in other countries, leaving them with fewer defences against the coronavirus pandemic by 2020.
Linked Articles
Opinion | A Presidential Smear
WSJ 05/26/2020
A Founder of Twitter Goes LongNYTimes.com 11/09/2013
A Tale of Two Italian Cities - Bergamo, Lombardy and Vo, Veneto- In the time of Coronavirus
04/12/2020
Bergamo in Lombardy, northern Italy, did not heed the warnings calling for strict quarantines, Vo in Veneto region did contact tracing and strict quarantines. This made all the difference. Bergamo turned into a disaster, Vo recovered quickly. Vo is 85 miles to the east of Bergamo. This is a warning to cities around the world, act late and without strict quarantine or lockdown and there is a huge disaster looming from the coronavirus spreading quickly, because it is in the words of Dr Birx "very, very contagious."
Linked Articles
Italy’s Slow Progress in Fighting Coronavirus Is a Warning to West
WSJ 03/27/2020
A tale of two provinces: mistakes that fuelled Italy’s coronavirus outbreakThe Times 03/26/2020
Ashwini Bhide and the Mumbai Metro- getting infrastructure done in India on time
10/05/2019
The desperate need for good infrastructure and millions of people in Mumbai who have put up for too long with creaky infrastructure. The Mumbai Metro led by Ashwini Bhide is a path breaking effort to speed things up, as the WSJ points out. As before petitions and other methods are used to stall projects. This time the courts not only dismissed the petition about cutting trees in Aarey Colony, north Mumbai, but also fined the petitioners Rs 50,000 for filing a frivolous petition. Trees are important, as few trees as possible are being cut for the new Metro, and new trees are being planted to replace them.
Linked Articles
WSJ 05/08/2023
‘Activists should accept defeat honourably’: Mumbai Metro MD on Aarey rowHindustan Times 10/05/2019
Tesla's stalled effort in self-driving cars
04/02/2018
Linked Articles
Tesla’s Push to Build a Self-Driving Car Sparks Dissent Among Its Engineers
WSJ 08/24/2017
Tesla Says Autopilot Was Engaged in Fatal Crash Under Investigation in CaliforniaWSJ 03/31/2018
The 1976 Montreal Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the Rio Olympics- decades long debt hangovers and costs growing from the $1+ billion in Montreal to $50+ billion in Sochi
08/24/2016
Developing and developed countries alike have seen the cost of the Olympics as a huge burden. Many countries or cities that committed to hosting the Olympic games during boom years were facing economic hard times by the time of the games. Corruption and mismanagement of public funds, overspending and cost overruns added to the problems. Citizens uproar caused cities such as Boston and Oslo to withdraw bids for the Olympics. The Olympics appears to be a costly way to show off a country, and raises questions about better allocation of funds in other directions, especially when upward mobility is a problem for the middle and working class, countries have other infrastructure needs, and neglected basic needs in education, healthcare, public services.
Linked Articles
The 40-year hangover: how the 1976 Olympics nearly broke Montreal
The Guardian 07/06/2016
Rio Games Highlight Problems With the Olympic ModelThe New York Times 08/23/2016
Why initiating Brexit by invoking the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 could go into 2017, or even past 2020 into new general elections- (3) the inclusion of key "Leave" supporters in Theresa May's cabinet
08/16/2016
By including a key member of the "Leave" vote, Mr Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London, in the cabinet as Foreign Secretary, Theresa May has given herself a lot more flexibility in tackling the Brexit issue so that it does not hurt the British economy. It would be hard for a key cabinet member not to be part of the team position on issues, and for the team to ignore the Bank of England's role in steadying the economy. By making the issues important to working class people in Britain her priorities Theresa May also lays the ground for everyone in Britain to gain moving forward as the economy recovers.
Linked Articles
Wait and see: Theresa May is in no hurry on Brexit | Europe | DW.COM | 15.08.2016
DW.COM 08/15/2016
Theresa May, New British Prime Minister, Gives Boris Johnson a Key PostThe New York Times 07/13/2016
Trump's campaign chief Manafort and the issue of consulting work in Ukraine for ousted Ukrainian president Yakunovych
08/16/2016
Linked Articles
How Paul Manafort Wielded Power in Ukraine Before Advising Donald Trump
The New York Times 08/01/2016
Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign ChiefThe New York Times 08/15/2016
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