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The American withdrawal from Iraq, and the future for Iraq under prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

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Martin points to some opinion in the Republican Party that sees the Supreme Court decisions as a way to move beyond social and cultural issues to issues relating to national security and the economy.

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With Macron refusing to accept Oliver Faure as the pick for prime minister from the largest bloc in the National Assembly, the focus now shifts to selection of the presidency of the National Assembly, the speaker's role in the Assembly. The Popular Front will put forward its own selection for Speaker.

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About two thirds of American 4th graders lack Reading Proficiency in English as shown in this report in NAEP. Resources are needed in this work when $346 billon went into investments in new ventures with much capital wasted in 2021. And a negative return of -7% for venture firms in 3rd quarter 2022, as reported in WSJ. The entire capital allocation system is flawed and not doing what it is supposed to do, to invest in America and the potential of its people.

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This leader article in The Economist refutes the notion in an article by Greg Ip in the WSJ that Britain would benefit by being self reliant. Self reliant on what it asks? Self reliant on British selves for people outside of London by limiting contacts with mainland Europe and keeping out people. It points out that it is not just a rejection of Europe but also of London, the main financial centre of Europe before Brexit. It refutes the notion that the decline in the value of British currency, the Pound, would automatically lead to higher exports by saying that this was always one of the "inanities of Brexit"- that with supply chains spread out in many countries Britain which was integrated into the supply chain in Europe could suddenly integrate into supply chains far away in Asia. It predicts pain from Brexit, and sees the "hard Brexit" as a bad choice for Britain, as announced by Theresa May in October 2016 and planned for 2017.

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Because of pervasive corruption, low oil prices, and the effects of years of sanctions on the Iranian economy, experts now see the Iranian economy recovering only slowly in 2016-2017. The low oil prices below $30 a barrel in Jan. 2016 could cancel out the effects from unfreezing of about $50 billion in Iranian assets and removal of sanctions. Another severe problem is the way the Iranian economy is now structured with benefits going to businesses and groups close to the military and government, some of the benefits lost through corruption, taking it even longer for benefits to be seen for ordinary Iranians. This could even lead to Rouhani losing some of the credibility with the public that he had gained during the negotiations, says Warrick of the Washington Post.

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Procter & Gamble, America's largest maker of soaps and detergent increased sales during 2020 by meeting demand for higher priced soap and electric tooth brush costing $300. P&G also makes diapers and Gillette razors. The company is making more high end products to boost sales. Consumers stuck in their homes are willing to spend more to keep themselves and their homes clean. This is also a requirement during the pandemic and considered a wise consumer spending item. P&G generated $3.9 billion in net income for 2020 fiscal 2nd quarter, with sales of about $20 billion.

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The covid test requirement applies for entry to the US from China and South Korea. It also includes airports in Canada at Vancouver and Toronto. Japan and India have their own covid test requirements for travelers from China following the surge in cases in China in December 2022 after all covid restrictions are removed.

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Sanofi will use its manufacturing plant in Ridgefield, New Jersey, in the US to fill vials and finish packaging of 200 million doses of Moderna vaccine, under a new agreement. This will supply the US under Moderna's US supply of vaccine agreements that run through April 2022. This is part of industry collaboration to expand supply of global vaccines, that includes Merck and Novartis.

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The northeastern region of Brazil, the poorest region of Brazil, has benefitted from the economic expansion in Brazil. The region's GDP went up by 4.2% a year for the last ten years compared to 3.6% for Brazil. Bolsa Familia, President Lula's anti-poverty programme has benefitted the northeast, but the Getulio Vargas research institute shows three quarters of growth coming from earnings and expansion of export based agriculture in soyabeans and other products and from mining export industries. Projects in the northeast include development of the port and industrial area around Suape. A petrochemical plant, a shipyard and a Petrobras refinery, are under construction. A new railway will link Suape to the interior. Much of the development is for export industries in soyabeans and iron ore, and for the rail and port infrastructure that supports these exports to China. As a result the development looks similiar to what is happening in Australia with the huge expansion in rail and port infrastructure in that country to support iron ore and other mining exports to China. Any slow down in China will affect Brazil as the IMF has recently warned, because of an overdependence on commodity exports to China. Alexandre Rands of local Datametrica consultancy points to this when he says that infrastructure booms while helpful are not enough to sustain development. Big firms train the workers they need which is how Brazilian companies cope with a weak educational system. Schools in the northeast are however not getting the financial support to improve education, a situation that affects Brazil as a whole, but is even more evident in the northeast....

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A supercomputer called Aurora to be delivered in 2021 to the Argonne National Laboratory would do quintillion calculations per second. Supercomputers offer more accurate simulations of climate changes, solar panels, inner workings of engines.

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The irony of the Afghan war is that the same pilots and planes that worked for the Soviet supported Afghan government, that the US under President Reagan supplied weapons and antiaircraft missiles to bring down, are now fighting the American war against insurgents. Antonov aircraft for transport and Mi-35 Hind helicopters, and Afghan crews that flew them are part of the airforce that the US is training and building up. The commander of Afghanistan's air corps is a formerMiG-21 pilot. By 2016 the 32 aircraft airforce is expected to grow to 120 aircraft at a total cost of $5 billion.

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Jannik Sinner grew up in South Tyrol in northern Italy near Austrian Alps. His first love was skiing and he was skiing since the age of 4 years. By 12 he had won an Italian championship. He shifted to tennis because he says in skkiing you make one mistake and you are gone, everything happens very quickly in a minute and a half a race is won. Tennis appealed to Sinner because it gave him more time, you did not have to be the best all the time, and mental fitness counted a lot over a longer period. He says giving it his all through good days and bad days is important in practice and this is true also in winning a game. Sinner says- "I always go on a practice court with a purpose, and I believe that the mindset you start to build in practice sessions, when you struggle, when you have pain, when you at times don’t want to practice, but you still go and you still do everything possible to make it a good day." “If you cannot do it in practice sessions, then you cannot do it in the real matches. So, I think this is one of the biggest parts.” ...

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For the first time the number of people vaccinated in a single state in India reaches 40 million. In Maharashtra state in western India, with state capital Mumbai, the vaccinations crossed 40 million on July 20, 2021, according to the state's Additional Chief Secretary for Health. India has vaccinated 410 million people by July 20, 2021. About 3 million people are getting vaccinations daily.

Maharashtra was one of the top 5 states in the first and second waves of the coronavirus in India. About 2 million healthcare and front line workers have been fully vaccinated in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has a 2021 population of about 125 million according to Aadhar and is the second most populous state in India after UP which has an effective vaccination drive. 

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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says this is not chaos in tariff policy because you don't change 70 years of policy overnight. He says China's is highest because it has the highest trade deficit, then EU, Japan, South Korea at 15% because of the smaller deficits with these nations, Vietnam because it is used  by China to send products to the US, India because of geopolitical reasons buying Russian oil. See Dasha Burns, Politico White House Bureau Chief's  interview with USTR Jamieson Greer.  He says about India- Jamieson USTR calls India "an outlier" and says "I'm confident we will get a deal with India in the near future." India he says has largely corrected its imports of Russian oil and negotiations are underway for a deal.  ON USMCA Greer says of the $31 trillion in trade with Canada and Mexico $29 trillion is us right. trade between Canda and Mexico is small. So he says it makes sense to negotiate separately with Canada and separately with Mexico. This suggests that there doesnt need to be a USMCA- separate deals are just fine says Greer. Mexico has gained much in automobiles under USMCA- US wants to make more in the US including auto parts which it can do by negotiating this with Mexico. It does not make a ton of economic sense to marry the three economies together, says Greer, as the import export profiles, lab,or situations are all different. Are Tariffs good for the economy and do they lead to higher prices? Greer says inflation was down in the first DJT term in trade with China and tariffs. Greer says there is never a 1 to 1 with tariffs. It tariffs become a kind of leveage in getting agreements. That is the style of these tariffs. You tell Ecuador or Brazil we don't make these here so there will be no tariffs on bananas and on coffee. Says Greer- we have seen inflation in check, imported goods relatively low priced. We have seen that we can have growth and higher wages with tariffs at the same time. The growth in 2025 third quarter at 3.8% annual growth, and Atlanta Fed predicting 4.2% growth in 2026. And tariff money can be used for paying down the debt and financing America's reindustrialization, Greer says members of Congress are asking about this.When a new administration comes tariffs will still be part of the playbook. ...

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The Fed's interest rate policies to fight inflation have increased the return on US assets vs overseas emerging market countries such as Brazil and India. US Treasurys now offer 2% return after inflation. This means investors shy away from emerging markets as the extra yield offered by emerging market country bonds is diminishing. This reduces inflow of investment into countries from Turkey to Brazil. Higher rates also increase the value of the dollar vs other currencies including that of China and India, Brazil, Mexico. This means it is costlier for other countries to buy goods priced in dollars (India, Mexico)  or service dollar denominated debts (Argentina or Turkey). Where countries had raised rates to fight inflation this means central banks have less room to cut rates to stimulate their economies. This also happens as China's growth of 5% in 2023 as it has high debt and little room for stimulus measures, reduces any growth in countries in Latin America or Africa that export commodities from copper and iron to other materials. ...

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Workers are resorting to campers, garages and tents as there are few housing options in resorts like this one in Sun Valley Idaho in the US. It is also a reflection on living standards for Hispanic communities in the US in 2022 who provide workers for the hospitality and construction industries in the US.

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Psychologically richer lives from new experiences that offer fulfilling life experiences and add to the joy of life. Travel, meeting interesting people, reading books open up our imaginations to new possibilities and enrich our lives in different ways that staying in one place does not. It involves taking some risks to make life interesting and meaningful, being curious about things and the world around us.

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Biden's executive order to expand legal protections of undocumented spouses of American citizens in June 2024 recalls a similar moment in the Obama campaign in 2012 when Obama made took similar action at that time. It bolstered Obama with Hispanic voters at a time in his campaign when his support among Latinos was not that strong.

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Of ten countries from which India gets oil Russia is at No.9 just before Brazil at No.10, a is shown in this Reality Check on BBC News. India gets only less than 2% of its oil from Russia. Most of it comes from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Middle East countries. In January and February India did not import oil from Russia and in March oil was imported at about 30% discount. By comparison Europe still gets 15% of its oil from Russia and this is not likely to change in the next couple of months says S. Jaishankar, India's Foreign Minister.

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How the one child policy affects China between now and 2020. By 2020 a third of Shanghai's population will be people over the age of 59. Shanghai reflects a trend throughout the country which is more accentuated here. As prosperity increases people are opting to have fewer children and this affects population even when the one child policy is not tightly implemented.

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Seen as a rural urban divide, less educated and well educated and tech workers the situation in France looks similar to that in the US in the elections of 2016 and 2020. With business in the US and European Union shifting manufacturing to China and the governments neglecting rural areas, decline in standard of living for people on pensions that have not kept up with the cost of living, the situation in France as in the US is decades in the making. Bernie Sanders and Melenchon were appealing in different ways to younger people yearning for change and a system that would correct these changes.   Melenchon coming this close to less than one percentage point of Le Pen in the first round of French elections shows that a straight Macron Le Pen version of what has happened is an oversimplification, just as seeing the changes in America under president Biden vs Trump would be a simplification, as voters for Sanders who voted for Biden are changing the Biden agenda and setting America on a new path. A path to reshoring jobs that were sent to China, rebuilding American manufacturing, increasing workers wages and restoring workers leverage for higher wages, investing $2 trillion in child care, housing, supporting worker incomes and families, supporting older Americans on pensions. In the same way beneath the idea that nothing has happened after the yellow vest protests for cost of living, that has not only not gone away- but increased in the concern for cost of living in this election with the surging inflation - new developments are happening.  Even as Germany under Merkel appeared not be changing in 2020- 1 year after Merkel the situation will have changed completely to address social concerns that were ignored earlier and to invest in infrastructure in a big way. Behind this is a fundamental change that is taking place. Facing a challenge from totalitarian states the fabric of society in the free world, the US, Germany, France, other EU states, India, and nations in the free world will have to respond with changes that restore the fabric of society to what it was before this kind of fracturing, bringing all parts of society together to bring all the energies in place for rebuilding, investing in infrastructure, restoring local manufacturing and renewal. It requires a unified effort to be put in place to respond in the right way.     ...