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Most of the world's poor still live in India, China, Brazil and Zoellick sees the need to continue working in these countries to help them meet the challenges of the environment, of the the need for development in rural areas, challenges in meeting health care and so on.

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Mundell remarks at the Asia Society. Is for a cautious gradual and careful approach to the Chinese yuan. Mundell thinks that with full convertability the yuan would actually fall. Even if the Chinese government stopped intervention to keep the yuan stable this should be done gradually.

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Till 1997 there was a limit on how many and what drug ads could be placed on television. During the year Bill Clinton was president  the US Food and Drug Administration under Acting Commissioner Michael Friedman is reported by the WSJ as opening up American television for a flood of drug advertising that is damaging for the Nation's health leading to overuse of drugs in the US for three decades. 31% of ads on US evening television news programs are from drug brands in 2024. DJT said while appointing RFK Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services- Drugmakers and  big food companies, “have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation.” RFK Jr. says- "We are one of only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers on television. US and New Zealand. Everybody agrees it is a bad idea. Not surprisingly, Americans consume more pharmaceutical products than anyone else on the planet. As I said earlier on my first day in office I will issue an executive order banning pharmaceutical advertising on television." ...

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Google's event planner Ms. Pollack describes the way she handles the job of creating the right image at events- no clutter, simplicity, beanbags and Google colors. Lorraine Twohill, Google's vice president for global marketing, says its all about creating the right kind of emotions. Branding is done through viewers of ads becoming emotional about Google products, to remind people about how Google has had a positive influence on people's lives, and letting people know about the Google products outside of search.

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AI stakes are big enough to expect the US Congress "the most underachieving branch of the US government ," to be jolted into action says The Editorial Board of the Washington Post. Illinois wants to set the national standard after California and New York set rules for AI. Senator Bill Cunningham of Illinois says the 3 states could together cover 40% of the AI market in the US. Illinois laws would have the following rules-

1. Chatbots would remind users they are not human every 3 hours.

2. companies using Ai for customer service would disclose they are not areal person.

3. Teachers cannot use AI to set grades in schools and colleges.

4. Landlords would not be allowed to set monthly rent using AI. 

5. BanAI companions for minors.

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After the hearing on November 18, 2007, in the Senate in front of the Banking Committee, most senators remained unconvinced. Prof. Morici of the University of Maryland and some senators including the senator from Tennessee asked tough questions about the automakers business model and viability going forward and some senators voiced deep concern about the automakers resistance to better fuel efficiency standards. The testimony given in advance and the remarks ahead of the questions showed the Detroit automakers CEO's were in a disconnect as they did not come forward with an acceptance of past mistakes on fuel efficiency, lack of vision on energy conservation, and failure of union and management to address benefits and work rules that were obsolete a long time ago, relying too heavily on lobbyists and on the plea by Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow for aid. Failure to do this and relying too heavily on the job losses and economic threat may have alienated many senators who are outside the midwestern region where most of the Detroit automakers are concentrated....

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Anne Applebaum of the Washington Post points out that after the faltering campaign of Republican Party nominee Fillon, the only serious candidates remaining in the presidential election in France are Marie LePen of the National Front, and the former Economy minister in the Hollande government, Emmanuel Macron. Macron is now the only person with enough popularity to win over LePen's nationalist movement. Macron launched his En Marche movement in 2016 and his strategy is to bring together the centre right and the centre left moderate voters, and voters who favor remaining in the European Union. Older voters in France unlike that in the U.S. and the UK are favoring candidates other than LePen because they fear the impact on the French economy and their pensions from leaving the European Union. LePen favors holding a referendum to decide whether France should remain in the EU. Macron takes an opposite view fully supporting France's role in the European Union. He has not advocated the huge cuts that Fillon has for job cuts in the public sector, and is able to draw moderate centre left voters to his side. A look at the French presidential election in another piece in the Economist magazine shows that further out one goes from major cities in France there is a surge in the support for the National Front. Moderate parties other than the National Front draw support in most of the major cities and urban areas. Another similarity with the UK and U.S> is that more educated voters support moderate parties other than the National Front. As polls have been proven wrong in other elections it is difficult to know what is likely to happen in this election. Unemployment is high in France at 10% with little change since the election of the Socialist Hollande government. Other issues such as terrorism have unsettled French voters, making this election difficult to predict. Voter dissatisfaction is especially high among younger voters who face a high unemployment rate and stagnant economy. Neither candidate Macron or LePen offers a way out of the low economic growth and lack of new jobs. A lot depends on whether French voters are willing to take the risks of a LePen administration and the further uncertainty from a referendum for leaving the EU which cannot enhance the economic prospects of France.     ...

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Italian born Canadian Sergio Marchionne, a former tax consultant turned auto executive who joined Fiat in 2004, planned the acquisition of Fiat in 2009. GM's payout to Chrysler following a decision not to acquire Fiat, and the U.S. government's need to merge Chrysler with another auto company after a bailout, gave Marchionne the opportunity to acquire Chrysler on favorable terms. Hard bargaining with the government led to acquiring Chrysler for free, using the $2 billion from GM to show the government that it would make the needed investments to bring Chrysler back from bankruptcy. This decision, the bringing in of outside talent, and the revival of the auto industry following the bailout, has led to the success of Fiat Chrysler.  Sergio Marchionne had the right instincts to persuade the government that Fiat with its small cars including the Fiat 500 was the right company to run Chrysler, and supporting president Obama's fuel efficiency goals gave him the right credentials with the Obama administration. A chain smoker of cigarettes who also gulped down espressos, her was a workaholic sometimes carrying 5 smartphones. He passed away at the age of 66 from health complications. Ironically the Dodge Dart was presented as the car that would get 40 miles per gallon. Other efforts at fuel efficient automobiles have not happened in the way it was envisioned by the Obama administration. The Dart did not become popular. Only the redesigned Fiat made it as a hit in Europe. The plan to import small Fiats to the U.S. remained only on paper. As the auto industry revived Marchionne canceled plans to make nearly all of the Chrysler cars and shifted production to more popular Jeeps and Dodge Ram, a move followed by Ford and GM. Fuel efficiency issues from the bankruptcy period are still alive today with the decision to leave small car manufacturing to Japanese and German carmakers, and the efforts of the Trump administration to turn back the Obama administration fuel efficiency targets.  ...

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NYT fails to see the importance of delivering on infrastructure building in scale, reshoring, wages and jobs for workers, and climate change action that president Biden is achieving to build a better America. NYT looks at the 2023 and the midterm elections and points out a well known fact that women (and men) in the suburbs care about legalized abortion rights for women, and this extends to states that vote Republican in the south. No attention is given to the importance of infrastructure building, increasing wages and jobs for working class and middle class Americans, bringing factories and investment back to the US, three issues that brought Mr. Trump into office in 2016 coming out of nowhere. Mr. Biden is old is the refrain. Yet it is president Biden who has delivered on infrastructure where Mr. Trump merely talked about it -Building America Better- as Biden pointed out in the State of the Union address in 2023. Biden has delivered in support for wage increases for workers, even joining the picket line at the UAW auto workers strike in Detroit. He was able to do this because he has spent more years in Congress than any other senator, and like Lyndon Johnson for the Great Society programs and desegregation in the 1960's was able to win support from moderate Republicans. Being older, having the wisdom and experience was and is indispensable in the American project started by Washington and sustained by Lincoln, who nurtured wisdom, experience, fully comprehending the people's problems, and mindfulness in the way Mr. Biden does. ...

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Why is this important? Because America needs a future and investing in the future meets investing in new technologies and investing in infrastructure, and in mitigating cost of living for families that are struggling. Mr. Trump's claims on cost of living, oil and gas production, and job losses from electric cars at a rally in Texas and fact check: Oil and gas production is 12.9 million barrels a day compared to 12.3 million barrels a day during the Trump administration- source: Energy Information Administration. Energy costs are up a lot by $2250. (Mr. Trump said). Energy costs per household up $1520 not $2250 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. $1520 compares 2022 with 2019 as baseline, $2250 uses Jan 2021 as a baseline when energy use dropped because of the pandemic. The Ukraine war and taking Russian supplies off the market pushed oil prices higher which were mitigated by policies of the Biden administration on how shipping of oil takes place in international markets setting a lower price for oil than what the Russians and Saudis were expecting. Autoworkers won't have jobs in 3 years because everything is going electric. (Mr. Trump said).It takes fewer workers to produce electric cars than fossil fuel cars. Yet the world is moving to electric cars and even companies like Toyota that lagged are falling behind. The 146,000 workers at GM and Ford secured a 25% wage increase over several years to meet rising cost of living with the support of president Biden on the picket line. No jobs are expected to be lost in 3 years and America is gaining leadership in electric car technologies to build a healthy automobile industry and well paying jobs for the future.     ...

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This article by Rosenthal of the NYT followed the interview by NYT's Baker and Haberman with president Trump in July 2017. 

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Exercise at a relatively low effort for a long time is now called Zone 2. In it someone can carry a slightly strained conversation while exercising. This is becoming popular as the right way to exercise and is the best way to build a sustained and stable way to health. It stimulates our cell's powerhouses say experts and converts into better health and athletic fitness. It is the secret of great elites that helps them faster for longer, says an expert at UT Medical Center in Dallas. As we age we lose mitochondrial function so it is even more important to so this kind of exercise. Mitochrondrial refers to the mitochondria, the battery packs in our cells that convert fat and cars into energy. Zone 2 exercise stimulates mitochondria effectively. About 80% of training can be Zone 2, and 20% at higher intensity to achieve the right balance.