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States with zero tolerance laws for marijuana use are Arizona, Utah, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Washington, Montana, Nevada,  Illinois and Ohio also restrict driving using marijuana. About 15 million people reported using marijuana in 2019 in the US, according to AAA.  And 15% of the US population uses marijuana up from 7% 10 years earlier, according to Gallup. Highway Safety officials at the state level say as lot of attention was paid into revenue coming to the state and not enough to highway safety for the legalization of marijuana use. 24 states legalized recreational use of marijuana, 39 states allowed medical use. States that legalized recreational use in the western US - Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii. In the Midwestern US- Illinois, Michigan. In the Southern US  Missouri and Florida, Maryland. In the northeast, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Maryland Washington DC,     ...

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Three years of non stop mask wearing in Japan makes people's smile fade. Facial muscles no longer work the way they do. Exercizing facial muscles or doing yoga for the facial muscles can relieve the disuse. This is a problem not just for Japan. Key is to strengthen the muscles under the eyes and around the corners of the mouth by mild stretching using yoga or Japanese shiatsu exercizes.

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Ford. will still make $8 billion to $11 billion this year even after losses of $3 billion in electric cars. By 2026 Ford says it will earn 8 to 9 percentage points in profit from EV's. Ford is basically investing in the EV industry now for the long run. It is also part of the effort to move away from fossil fuels. Government incentives and subsidies will help companies and buyers of vehicles make the transition to EV's to fight climate change.  Companies that have not invested in EV's such as Toyota risk falling behind in EV's at a time when climate change is a major priority for buyers and governments around the world. Toyota is moving to a new CEO who can better take up the challenge of EV's. Under the previous CEO Mr. Toyoda Toyota clung to a mistaken belief that hybrid cars were all that is needed to reduce use of fossil fuels. German, Chinese and US manufacturers are taking the lead in EV's and Japan has fallen behind.  WSJ has never favored government subsidies and is critical for this reason. Yet it is clear that in some situations such as fighting climate change, building infrastructure, and redesigning the supply chain, government has to take the lead. Eisenhower in the 1950's with a government led effort helped build the national highway system, the first in the world. Biden is making a similar effort on multiple fronts. The redesign of the supply chain comes after private industry without proper direction from the government over concentrated manufacturing in China with Japan as a supplier into China. Presidents Bush and Obama wasted time and resources better devoted to national priorities at home on wars in remote places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. President Biden wrapped up the war in Afghanistan and completely disengaged from an area that is of no constructive interest to America. Resources are now concentrated in the right way on real national priorities from manufacturing at home to fighting climate change, fighting the cost of living crisis and building better infrastructure for workers and families. ...

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Kashmir region has a long history that has been lost in the coverage since 1947 as the colonial rule ended in the region with intermittent peace and conflict. For 7 centuries since 100BC there was Hinduism from the Vedic period, then Buddhism, followed by 7 centuries of Shiva religion, till the 15th century. In the 15th century  Islam entered the region for 3 centuries till the Sikhs and Sikhism a religion around deity Ram around 1819, and the British after 1850. The British set up a protectorate in Kashmir under the British Empire ruled by a Sikh king from 1850 to 1948. What this says is that after a unsettled period till 1948 to 2020, the region is likely to return to its history of tolerance for different people from South Asia, with one huge difference, the rapid modernization of the region in the 21st century replacing the feudal poverty and backwardness of a overtaxed and underdeveloped farmers communities. This is a trend back to Kashmir's true history over 15 centuries since 100BC which is irreversible. ...

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The Burning Glass Institute Tech Cities rankings are based on Cutting Edge Skill workers in the area and on Momentum rankings. Both are shown here in this WSJ report. Seattle Tacoma ranks at the top in the cutting edge skill workers in the US. Cutting edge skills are related to cloud and serverless computing, machine learning, AI architecture and cybersecurity operations. In midsize cities Pro-Urem Utah and Salt Lake City, Ann Arbor Michigan, Rochester New York, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. Seattle has the largest concentration of tech workers about 13% of the US total.

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Finland joins other Nordic countries such as Denmark in reducing immigration with a new coalition government in June 2023. It brings the Finns party together with Christian Democrats, National Coalition and the Swedish People's Party.

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Brad Guzan, 40 years, reflects on age and playing soccer, as his crucial saves helps Atlanta beat Lionel Messi's team Miami in the first round of the MLS playoffs in 2024. Next he will face Orlando on Nov 24. He says "40 is the new 21." Guzan says age brings experience- “It’s not about feeling younger. It’s about using my experience. It’s about using moments that I’ve been in before in terms of games and situations I’ve faced, and within a millisecond trying to analyze the situation that I’m currently in, and how to use my experience to help me make a save in that moment.” Guzan's two seasons in 2021 and 2022 were not promising. He could not stop Messi in the 2016 Copa America which US lost to Argentina 4-0. He worked hard throughout till the results in stopping Inter Miami's Messi in three games this season. His son idolizes not Messi but Aston Villa (Birmingham club) goalie Argentina's Emiliano Martinez. Guzan gained his early experience playing in the Premier League for Aston Villa. ...

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The Willow oil project in Alaska by Conoco-Phillips which has leasing rights was allowed to go ahead by president Biden with some environmental protections. The leasing rights would have given Coonco-Phillips the right to challenge the government in court with potential damages awarded of about $5 billion, says this report in NYT. It also comes as Biden is faced with the issue of oil prices and supplies, and the impact on inflation with the cost of living crisis, as well as the impact of climate change.

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Facebook's advertising revenue on mobile devices increased by 76% in the second quarter of 2013, from the prior quarter, to $656 million. Facebook's ad prices increased by 40% from the prior year in the U.S. and Canada, compared to overall ad price increases of 13%. Facebook operating profit margin is 31% in the second quarter compared to Google's 22%. Facebook's share price increased by 20% after the announcement of improvement in ad revenues.

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India plans to convert 500 railway carraiges into places to keep coronavirus patients in Delhi.  Daily new cases now are over 12,000, with total confirmed cases of 320,000, deaths at 9195. Delhi bed capacity in private and government hospitals  for coronavirus is 9698 wit 4248 beds vacant. Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal says he expects a surge and is preparing for this as the economy reopens. Delhi, Tamilnadu, and Maharashtra are the worst hit states. The lockdown of March 25 has been lifted and markets are crowded. Many businesses and workplaces are now open. And local flights have resumed.

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After a weeks long standoff both sides disengage expeditiously in the India's border dispute with China over construction of a road in the Doklam plateau region of Bhutan. In this NYT report experts in Hong Kong point out that it is not in China's economic interest with an aging population and debt crisis, tense economic relations with the U.S., and for India struggling with modernization issues, to turn a remote border issue into an open conflict. It would also complicate relations in the Asian region with Japan and economic relations with the U.S, countries with whom China's economy is intertwined through supply chains and other ways. Disputes with China and South Korea have in the past affected the Chinese economy, and China has developed trade with India as its companies look for growing markets. India's Modi administration is focussed on the economy. In this context of broader relations the road construction in Doklam appears to be an aberration that is hard to explain except as a miscalculation and poor understanding of the best interests of the region and of the world.   ...

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US president Biden's historic speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was debated and written- "We believe that all men are created equal..." Since 1776 these lines have inspired people for 200 years and Biden says they will continue to do this for the next 200 years, as America stands as a beacon for the people of the world aspiring for a better life. Click on Original Article to see the You Tube video of this speech, and see below Lincoln's speech at Independence Hall in 1861.These are also the aspirations for millions of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America and in the US and Europe as the door opens this much wider for people all over the world because of America. Through the War of Independence and the events of the Civil war, and other events in America's life as a nation and a beacon for the world, Independence Hall has been a special place. President Lincoln also stopped by here in 1861 on his way to the White House as the Civil War began. Here is what president Lincoln said at Independence Hall on Feb . 22, 1861. "Mr Cuyler- I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself standing here in the place where were collected together the wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to principle, from which sprang the institutions under which we live. You have kindly suggested to me that in my hands is the task of restoring peace to our distracted country. I can say in return sir, that all the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, from the sentiments which originated and were given to the world from this hall in which we stand. I have never had a feeling politically, that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence. (Great cheering). I have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men who assembled here and adopted the Declaration of Independence- I have pondered over the toils of the officers and soldiers of the army, who achieved independence. (Applause). I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea that kept this confederacy so long together. It was not the mere separation of the colonies from the mother land; but something in that Declaration giving liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time. (Great applause). It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. (Cheers.) This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence." "Now, my friends can this country be saved on that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest persons in the world if I can help to save it. If it can't be saved on that principle, it will be truly awful. But, if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle- I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than to surrender it. (Applause). ...

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With the introduction of the iPhone 4S, Apple announced the iPhone 3GS will be offered free, and the iPhone 4 for $99. This puts Apple iPhones priced to compete with smartphones in the middle and lower price ranges in the market. The free iPhone is a model first introduced in 2009. As the expansion of the smartphone market is now ocurring at the low and mid price ranges, companies making smartphones using Google's Android software and Blackberry's RIM are targeting this market. In the U.S., as of the end of July 2011, 82 million Americans owned smartphones, increasing 10% from the prior quarter, according to comScore. 42% of U.S. smartphone users use Android phones, only 27% use Apple phones, as of the end of July 2011, because of the price difference. In India Apple iPhones have barely made a dent because of large price differences. Rapid growth expected in emerging markets will also make this low end of the smartphone market attractive for Apple.

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WSJ says Congress will not support lower drug prices by about 50% in Canada to permit drug imports from Canada. Yet in today's America will Congress stand in the way when both Democrats and Republicans support drug imports or anyway to get lower prices and reduce the most costly part of the cost of living in the US. WSJ editorial opinion says this policy of higher drug prices by a factor of 2 or more makes American people healthier. This is clearly wrong. President Biden has said over and over that "I don't get it." It makes American people less healthier by large enough margins and America less strong, and the time is passed when there was any doubt about the great damage this is doing to the health of the American people. The time is passed when the will of the American people was not resolute enough to find a healthier life for the American people.

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Much of the economic debate by economists in the US takes place separated by walls from the reality of huge inequalities in the country such as half of retirees having zero savings, the cost of living surge, job insecurity, and two third of children in 4th grade no able to pass the ACT test for reading comprehension. Here economists at the US Fed are cited in a discussion about ultra low interest rates that hurt savers and in particular retirees who number 57 million. Ultra low interest rates lead to wasteful use of capital and misallocation of capital in the US, and were largely a result of the effort to correct for the mistakes of the financial industry causing the crisis of 2009. The US was the leading economy in th world and the standards of living in the US were higher during the post war period 1950-1990 that covered the Kennedy-LBJ, Reagan administrations when inflation was accepted at 4% and interest rates were for the most part around 5-8% on average. As Krugman points in a recent NYT column in August 2023 Fed research has been wrong in estimating the right inflation rate for the economy. The best rate for the economy requires knowledge of and careful judgement about the situation of different parts of the American population, of workers and families that are struggling with the cost of living, and half of retirees with no savings. ...

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A new covid variant from South African province of Gauteng with an unusual collection of mutations is leading to UK and Israel shutting down flights from South Africa.

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Response to question whether this $100 a barrel oil is possible is yes, if something big happens in the oil flows from middle east or if there is a Katrina style hurricane. Reason being that oil demand has not slackened up either from Asia or from the U.S. automobiles. How would this impact the USA, Europe, Asia? The impact on Japan and Europe would be less because of the high efficiency in use energy use. This could slowdown the U.S. economy considerably as gasoline approaches $5 a barrel. India would be hurt with a drop in GDP growth from 8% to 6% according to an estimate by Crisil, Mumbai. It would affect Chinese growth also but the main impact would be indirect through a decline in the U.S. market for Chinese made products. Russia would gain and economic growth there could accelerate further from 6% to 9% according to estimate by MDM Bank, Moscow.

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U.S. exports reached $2.34 trillion in 2014, increasing by $760 billion over the figure in 2009, according to the Commerce Department. Exports accounted for one third of the U.S. economic growth since 2009, say Pritzker and McNerney. Goods and services for exports supported 11.7 million U.S. jobs in 2014, and a Commerce Department 2010 paper shows these jobs pay 18% higher than jobs unrelated to exports. Commerce Department Secretary Pritzker, and McNerney, chairman of the President's Export Council, say free trade agreements and investment by private business is critical to supporting export promotion, but make no mention of the effect of the stronger dollar on future exports. In a period of a few months in 2015 the euro is approaching parity with the dollar and the yen is now 120 to the dollar, giving European and Japanese business a significant advantage, and raising questions about the strength of the U.S. recovery going forward.

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The growing popularity of rail trips in Europe as companies such as SNCF in France and rail companies in Austria and Germany increase investments in rail infrastructure. The idea is to cut the carbon footprint on short haul flights.Sleeper trains are also increasing in popularity with a new Austrian rail sleeper train between Paris and Vienna. Unlike earlier increases in rail travel this one is getting more support as rail as the potential of being less stressful, more interesting and as more investment is being made on rail infrastructure in Eastern and Central Europe. 

Much remains to be done in integrating the different rail systems in Europe both in infrastructure terms and in ticketing to customers. If this is done rail has serious prospect of becoming genuinely popular.

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How Vermont compares with the rest of America with higher proportion of women with bachelors degrees and lower fertility rates leading to a declining population. It compares more with declining population in European countries. A shift back to rural areas could bring more Americans into rural Vermont after the pandemic and reverse the population trends because of the quality of life in Vermont. The School Dartmouth is just across the river from Vermont and Burlington the state capital is close to Canada.