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Krugman points out that the Obama administration has not been forthright in addressing critics of the Trans Pacific Trade Pact (TPP). He says the administration has simply talked about the benefits of free trade which finds general support, but not addressed specific issues about the pact, worker protections, the issue of access to drugs in developing countries of Latin America and Asia if intellectual property rights are strictly enforced, keeping U.S. financial industry regulations in place, and other issues raised by previous pacts.

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Kirin Holdings, Japan's largest beer maker is about to merge with Suntory Holdings.

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 U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, views China's response in trade negotiations as one of conducting extended negotiations that lead to little change. This has continued says Lighthizer for over a decade putting the U.S. at a serious disadvantage in trade. At a White House meeting in August 2017 Lighthizer convinced president Trump that China was in his words "tap, tap, tapping us along."  This confirmed president Trump's own instincts about the U.S. trading relationship with China. Lighthizer is a veteran of trade negotiations, having experience in the Reagan administration as the Deputy Trade Representative in 1983 in negotiations with Japan, when Japan was in a similar situation that China is today. At the time trade negotiations with Japan were getting nowhere. Lighthizer is said to have turned one Japanese response in negotiations into a paper plane and sent it flying right back. Lighthizer does not seek the limelight but is serious about his role having published op-eds in the NYT and WSJ since 2000 about how U.S. trading relationships were putting the U.S. and U.S. workers at an unfair advantage. Many of these op-eds are in the Lyrarc archive and a Search with the term "Lighthizer" would bring up these articles. This report in NYT shows how the role of Lighthizer was not anticipated by China when it sent Liu He to Washington in November 2017 to negotiate with the U.S. President Trump made certain Liu He and other Chinese leaders would have to talk to Lighthizer first. In a session with president Jinping laid out U.S. views that the past negotiations had accomplished little and new negotiations had to be undertaken very differently from negotiations in the past. Earlier in July trade negotiations conducted by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were "shut down" by president Trump because China continued to repackage earleir offers which meant little to the U.S. As a lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher LLP Lighhizer represented steel industry clients hurt by subsidized Chinese steel industry imports. Mr. Trump and Lighhizer have bonded well because their instincts have been the same- that the U.S. had not been well represented in earlier negotiations by lawyers who saw themselves as speaking for American exporters.  Lighthizer is also a seasoned trade negotiator and has waited for the right time and situation to tackle the unbalanced trading relationship with China. For 30 years Lighhizer represented American manufacturers as he practiced trade law at the Skadden law firm. His strategy has been to get the administration to unite behind a clear trade strategy. He says "I try to be friendly in trade negotiations. I am not the theatrical type. The art of persuasion is about knowing where the leverage is." At this time the leverage lies in the huge trade surplus of about $300 billion China has with the U.S. The U.S. goal is to bring this down by $100 billion through this new negotiating strategy as earlier negotiations have failed. ...

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This BBC video shows the actual moments as the glacier melted in Swiss mountains and crashed into a small village that had been carefully evacuated earlier.

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Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court nominee, says at a Congressional confirmation hearing, that he is independent, has made no promises to anyone, and can vote against any party. On Roe vs. Wade Gorsuch made this comment- "I would tell you that Roe v. Wade, decided in 1973, is the precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court, and all of the other factors that go into analyzing precedent have to be considered." Earlier articles in NYT have said that Gorsuch appears to be independent. On precedent Gorsuch also said "its our shared family history as judges, as a good judge you don't approach that question anew as if it has never been decided."

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Gage points out that crime in America is about half what it was in 1991. She traces the calls for law and order in American politics back to Coolidge and Nixon. Trump's reference to restoring law and order is about checking the calls for correcting social injustice, movements for gun control, and public protest such as "Black Lives Matter," not just criminals, says Gage. In fact strict deportation has been the policy in 2 terms of the Obama administration, with immigration from Mexico at an all time low, another of the paradoxes in relation to the Trump calls for a wall with Mexico that would cost $23 billion. 

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An exceptional plea by the Foreign Minister of Russia, and his version of what happened and when and why Russia acted, and how it relates to norms of international behaviour that have been followed by the nations of Western Europe and by the United States. See the related article on the views of Foreign Minister Milliband of Britian and how he is supporting Germany and France to seek dialogue and engagement with Russia rather than the position of the USA that seeks to disengage with Russia on this issue. Sergey Lavrov says his country wants cooperation with Europe and the USA, and the world's interests are bigger than those of Georgia and South Ossetia.

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Initially Microsoft will be making a large outlay for TikTok which will affect its margins as TikTok has still to be profitable. The longer the deal is put off the less value for TikTok closer to the September 15 date when the U.S.bans it completely. Tiktok is losing money on about $1 billion in revenues, so is SnapChat with double the revenue base. So that Microsoft under Nadella which is careful to in making investments of this kind needs to consider the impact on Microsoft's profitable business. Only Linked In has been a profitable acquisition for Microsoft, others Nokia, Skype and the possible acquisition of Yahoo have failed badly.

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Trend following hedge funds that take pride in fast moving have dwindling returns 2025. 2025 with DJT decisions to create new world trade rules- that one can call LPF for Level Playing Field- are upsetting hedge funds and other financial funds returns. Trend setting group inside overall hedge funds lost 10% in first half of 2025. All hedge funds as group made 4% to S&P's 6% in first half showing that they guessed wrong with all their quant which cold not understand the idea of anew LPF system in world trade and the other maverick changes taking place in the tax system and in government approach to governing and ways ministries should be run. The problem solving approach is different - it's not taking no for an answer and says we can fix it so that America and the American people do not come out at the short end where old politicians and old political parties seem to have been headed.

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Israel remains a laboratory for the rest of the world in tackling coronavirus. During the beginning of 2021 Israel was the first country to push ahead with Pfizer vaccines for the over 18 population in a country of 10 million people. As winter approaches Israel has given a third booster shot to 50% of the population and is able to conduct normal life with a green pass system and the use of masks indoors. Each time a major surge has been prevented. The green pass in Israel is now for people who have had a third shot or booster shot. By thinking one step ahead, making decisions rapidly, and coordinating action early between the government and other organizations to vaccinate everyone, Israel provides lessons for the rest of the world. Not that there are no unvaccinated -about 700,000 people do not believe in vaccination and are unvaccinated. They are a vocal group but only about 8% of the population, and the vast majority of Israelis are in favor of vaccination and the green pass system. ...

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Iraqi production now up to 2.5 million barrels a day according to International Energy Agency, helping to ease some concerns about supplies worldwide for winter. About 2 million barrels a day in the southern province by South Oil Company is fairly stable. Its in the north where a lot of the supply has been erratic because a pipeline that carries the oil through Turkey to the Mediteranean has faced repeated sabotage. As security has been beefed up along the pipeline production in the north has reached 500,000 barrels a day. Poor oil field maintenance and lack of security and underinvestment are the main problems. For example even though about $2.4 billion is set aside for capital investment for 2007 only 30% of it has been spent so far. And the $2 billion allocated for 2008 is way short of whats needed.

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The WSJ shows options to travel to Europe from the US for under $200 one way on new budget airlines set up by Iceland (Play airline), Norway (Norse Atlantic Airways), Britain (Condor Airlines), France (French Bee), Italy (Neos). Add in bags and meals and it could run to about $400 one way as you pay for everything else extra. One would travel to that country to locations such as Reykjavik, Oslo, London, Paris, Milan, and connect to other parts of Europe. Flights are from New York, Los Angles, San Francisco, Miami. With fares for Delta, United, and other carriers up significantly this offers another option.

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Mexican president Sheinbaum in a conversation with Trump says all caravans have already been stopped inside Mexico. The two presidents discussed the flow of drugs, migration and closing the border. DJT called the conversation "wonderful" and "very productive."

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The Obama administration has not given strong support to long delayed democratic processes in Egypt. The Washington Post cites several of the actions that have quashed Egypt's hopes of a return to normal democratic processes. The President and the Secretary of State have shied away from public support for democratic processes, free elections and freedom of expression. There is a failure to link Egyptian President Mubarak's suppression of free expression and of freely contested elections with the $1 billion annual aid to Egypt, much of it going to the military. And the Obama administration has failed to support legislation or resolutions calling for democratic processes and free elections. One of the opposition leaders is a respected diplomat El-Baradei, who headed the UN arms control agency. The US is missing an opportunity to do the right thing and make its voice heard. Not doing this only creates a credibility gap for the US in the Middle East. This comes after Obama's speech to students at the university in Cairo. In that speech he said that the tension between Muslims and Western nations "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations." Not only is Obama squandering the hopes and aspirations of Egyptians looking for change, but this puts the US as going along with Mubarak, an 82 year old President who will not be around for long. ...

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Lack of ammunition on the Ukrainian side. Russia losing huge numbers of casualties as a large part of its army is committed to the war. The sense of a war no side can win. Dysfunctional aspects of foreign policies in Europe that will cost $138 billion to $750 billion to fix by rebuilding damage in Ukraine, money that could have been used in the absence of the conflict to support the action against climate change and in development needs after the pandemic devastated economies of many countries. No country has surplus money after the pandemic- NYT reports today that China is struggling to meet the high health costs of the elderly during the pandemic. India has huge needs in transport, logistics, housing, healthcare. Both India and China lack a system of social security like that of the US and EU countries. 

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Daniel Henninger says in the WSJ that the debt ceiling will be raised, and Republicans should not be pitting program against program. He says the narrative though should be framed around the trillions being spent by the Biden administration on climate change action, US manufacturing and technology in chips, with interest on debt at over $400 billion a year. Yet this does not take into account that for two decades there has been an overcrowding of US government initiated capital investment for essential needs by massive Tech industry misallocation of funds even as productivity of this capital invested by tech was dropping, with much wasted capital. Today because these essential needs in infrastructure and for manufacturing and technology were starved for so long of capital the productivity of capital in these areas is high and will have ripple effects to help rebuild America.

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For the country with the largest population in the world of over 1.2 billion people who had just gone through a once in a century pandemic would it have been right to import oil at prices that made it harder to invest what was needed in infrastructure and rapid growth? This is why president Biden and NSA adviser Jake Sullivan believe India has taken the right step to import at the lowest price possible to not divert funds that are so desperately needed for infrastructure to build the metros, fast railways, roads, bridges and airports the people of the country need. India's stand on invasions with millions of women and children turned into refugees is for an end to this war - Gandhi's position on a war such as this or Vivekananda's is not hard to read.

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British prime minister Boris Johnson says he is cutting down on carbohydrates, chocolate and late night cheese, and urges Britain to take up healthy diets. In a video posted on Twitter he says he is "doing everything I can to lose weight, and to feel fitter and healthier. I've been eating less carbs, avoiding chocolate, no more late night cheese."

As a result of the new lifestyle and eating habits which includes taking early morning runs, he says he feels a lot more energetic and healthier, "I feel full of beans" as he calls it using the British expression, and he "thoroughly, thoroughly recommends it."

Allegra Stratton, the prime minister's press secretary says she has lost more than a stone by filling half of her plate with vegetables.

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The Economist magazine points out that even without the one-child policy birth rates would have declined in China because of rising participation of women in the work force, education, delayed marraige, and the high cost of education and housing for more children. As China pursues a two child policy starting in 2015, many of the same factors are at work and many women are seen as unlikely to have two children. The Economist says the right policy would have been to scrap this policy altogether. This may actually happen as China sees the social and economic factors behind the falling birthrate continuing to operate limiting the size of families, and creating problems of rapidly aging society as in Japan. Latin America provides strong evidence to support the Economist magazine's point because of the falling birthrates in Brazil and Mexico for social and economic reasons.

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PM Modi opens the new campus of an ancient university named Nalanda University which is dated from the 5th century AD to 12th century AD in Buddhist India. Nalanda means the gift of knowledge, that is also a theme for Lyrarc.com as an open site for all as a gift of knowledge. Near this campus is the Maha Vihara ancient Buddhist temple which has been restored after excavation from ruins. Modi is shown on the site of the ancient Buddhist temple in its current renovated state. Around Nalanda University are the other places of the Buddha- Kushinagar where the Buddha spent his last years, and Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree in the 5th century BC. From here by the 5th century AD Buddhism spread to China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan, through Bodhidharma Indian prince who brought Buddhism to China.

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Like Jill Biden Gwen Walz is a teacher. Jill teaching community college and Gwen high school students. Minnesota governor Tim Walz is also a high school teacher. They met in Nebraska where Gwen taught English, and Tim taught social studies. Gwen told Minnesota Public Radio that they shared a classroom  with a divider right down the middle.In Minnesota they taught at the same school in Mankato. 

As part of prison reform she advocated educational opportunities to permanently alter lives. She has also been strong advocate for background checks and a red flag law to limit gun use. To get senators in Minnesota legislature to act she told them at a 2019 rally- “If they do not put it up for a vote, there are seven senators sitting in seats where Tim Walz won — and we are coming,”

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How does the National Rural Employment guarantee Scheme compare with what Brazil has done under President Lula with the Bolsas Familias program to help rural people with income below the poverty rate? India its reported is looking at the Brazilian program. There the focus is on cash payments with cards like debit cards issued on each individual's name that only that person can use so that the funds cannot be stolen by corrupt intermediaries with the person receiving it having to make sure that his children are in school and vaccinated. The focus there is on nutrition, education and health care especially of the family unit and in this way it has been a success according to the World bank and other experts.

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Union Railways minister in India, Mr. Goyal, raises questions about the estimated cost of a new elevated rail train in Bombay that would cost more per kilometre than the planned bullet train between Ahmedabad and Bombay. He says this reflects corruption and lack of transparency. India has for many decades since independence been held back by corruption that has reduced much needed infrastructure development, and the goal of the new Modi government is to bring transparency and vigilance into government spending to get infrastructure development needs met in the next decade.

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Dilma Rousseff's experiences as a student under the military dictatorship in Brazil in 1970. The years of the military dictatorship span 1964 to 1985. Other leaders who suffered detention and torture include Bachelet of Chile and Mujica of Uruguay. These leaders rarely talk about their experiences as they have changed from their years as students and Latin America has been transformed in the last two decades by democratic governments. The economic goals have now been achieved in a peaceful way.

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The UN badge and logo for sustainable development goals is becoming highly popular in Japan. It has 17 colors for the 17 Sustainable Development goals set by the UN- ending poverty, reducing inequality, improving education, other aspirations of the people of the world. It is something India, the US, Canada, Britain ,Germany, France and other nations should adopt in the way Japan has done. India has taken up specific goals, clean India, clean water, electrification, and made it available to all 1.2 billion people, in its own version of SDG. Introduced into Japan by 2016, this badge is now so popular that there it is everywhere says this report in NYT. In children's playgrounds, in comic books, on NHK broadcaster's video with about 1 million views, on Buddhist temple websites, and used by businesses. In 2016 it was made official national policy by Mr Abe's government and a task force established on them by the government. In 2017 it was adopted to its charter by Keidanren, the business federation.  In the US very few know about S.D.G.'s but in community oriented Japan it has been taken up with zeal. It is part of the conversation and one survey shows 40% of Japanese business were working towards the goals in 2021. It has been adopted by Education Canada Network and it is a good way to bring this idea in education to schools and colleges in North America, Britain, EU, India and China, as well as Africa and Latin America, other parts of Asia. In India some of the SDG's are already the focus of campaigns by the Modi government Goal 0  Clean Nation one that has not been coined yet one that is called Clean India or Swacch Bharat Goal 1 Zero Hunger was taken up during the vaccination for covid campaign to get free foodgrains and vegetables to all 1.2 billion people. Goal 2  Clean Water and Sanitation or Har Ghar Jal getting clean tap water to all rural homes by 2024. Goal 3 Infrastructure, Industry, Exports Goal 4 Renewable Energy The sequence is different from the UN SDG's. The difference is it is a goal set for universal meaning everyone and delivery meaning by a specific date, and the priorities are set in the numbering. The Indian SDG campaigns under the Modi government and at federal and state levels are unprecedented in history for a population of this size, and now present a model for all nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America on how to go about doing the SDG's in practice. ...