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France sees a surge in bookings for vaccination after president Macron announces that vaccination pass will be required to go out to eat or drink, go to a shopping center, or to take a long distance train. Macron said "The health pass is not obligatory right away, but we are going to extend the health pass to the maximum to encourage as many of you as possible to get yourselves vaccinated."

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Efforts to secure greater autonomy under a decentralized framework for the central government in Libya. The eastern region which contains most of Libya's oil was left out in the sharing of resources when the Gaddafi regime centralized power in Tripoli. Because of this the sentiment is strong in the area around Benghazi for a decentralized government. Benghazi also led the fight against Gaddafi's forces. Under the Ottoman Empire the country known of Libya today was governed as three provinces. It was only after Italy invaded Libya in 1934 and put the three provinces under its control that Libya wa created. The federal monarcy created in 1951 by the UN also provided for relatively independent provinces under a national government. The transitional leaders in Tripoli are gradually accepting the older framework of decentralized government as the right approach for the future Libyan government.

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China's population drops and fertility rates drop for a decade now- the median age is 40 years for China compared to 30 for India. Those who think India can never catch up to China lose sight of these factors- a 10 year gap is huge provided India can take it and run. India is moving from a corruption prone, governance deficit, investment deficit, engineers deficit, technology access deficit country to a country that is able to score well in governance, capital, labor and technology eliminating deficits in each sector the way China did.. The younger age China enjoyed in 1990 of 25 years median age when it started industrialization is now being transferred to India in 2026. Why is this important? A younger population with abundant capital, abundant labor, abundant technology access is the ticket to industrialization on a massive scale. India today is on the cusp of massive changes. What happens now is that the computerization and software is also getting more advanced that will accelerate India's Vikshit Bharat effort. This is why Chancellor Merz joining Modi at the Kite festival and committing Germany to a partnership with India, with it the European Union, is so significant today, as it will deliver for both India and Germany, Europe. China births drop from about 10 million to about 8 million and birth rate drops from 6.77 to 5.63 births per thousand people. China population now drops to 1,405 from 1,408 million people. Deaths rose from 10.93 million to 11.31 million.   ...

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Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra has the right attitude in sports. He is 38, has decided to play cricket only in certain formats, about 8 matches a year. He is a fast pace bowler for Himachal Pradesh cricket team. Here he shares thoughts with PTI reporter that he does not follow what people say about him, about his age, and does not follow Twitter or Facebook. He says what matters is how he practices for the sport. After 12 surgeries and a injury this year Ashish says he knows what it is to be under the knife. People will say many things if he plays well and even more things if he does badly. Ashish says what matters in the end is how he prepares for the sport, like any sport it is the preparation and long hours of practice that make a difference. What he does and how he plays the selection board and the captain of the team know very well, which is why he was invited to play again for India. Ashish can bowl fast comparable to younger bowlers, and has played for India as long as other veteran players M.S. Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. He conserves his energy by not playing 5 day Test matches. He can then give 100 percent to the 24 or more balls he may bowl in a game. He bowls at about 140 km per hour. In many ways Ashish has the right attitude for sports. Leaving aside the praise or criticism and concentrating on what is ahead. Not even thinking too far ahead. Sometimes it is just the next game, this year, which needs all the attention and can make all the difference. Playing the right way, working diligently at it, helping coach younger players, is all that really counts, in this sport, or any sport.       ...

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India is a founding member and lead chair of Global Partnership on AI. At the GPAI Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, December 11, 2023, prime minister Narendra Modi talks about India's potential  for cutting edge research and also about the risks and dangers of AI. "AI is transformative. Yet its transparency is essential, data and algorithms have to be transparent, and free from bias, for its right beginning, to be useful to humanity." Modi describes the useful aspects of AI for India's health sector and for other sectors, and India's UN Sustainability Goals. The safe and ethical use of AI and its democratization with AI for All a focus in India.

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Sanger, Erlanger and Rudoren describe in detail the differing interests of Congress, the Obama administration, the Iranian hardliners around Khamanei, the Israelis, the Europeans, and the Russians each quietly pushing its own interests. Beyond the physics of a deal, a Republican Congress, Democrat Obama and Iranian hardliner Khamanei, each are trying to get their own narrative to look right with public opinion they face, that they have not backed down. The Israelis find any deal unacceptable and reject even a small lifting of sanctions, because of the "existential" threat. Add to this Sunni Saudi Arabia which says it will match Shiite Iranian capabilities with their own uranium enrichment facilities if Iran is allowed to retain capabilities. And economic interests also figure into this- Russian interest is in keeping Iranian oil off the market as long as possible so that oil prices do not fall further in 2015, which means delay an agreement as long as possible. The French see the Obama administration as likely to give too much away for an agreement and want tougher terms....

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Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel put an eight wicket partnership that gets India to 321 for 7 with Axar taking shots all around the wicket. Both players in this partnership are from Gujarat, and exchanged words on strategy in Gujarati. Axar from Anand, and Jadeja from Jamnagar.

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Neil Irwin of NYT provides some counter intuitive ideas on U.S. Fed interest rate policy. He says it can't be take as a given that the Fed will raise rates in 2017-2018. This depends on how much punch there is in the Trump economic policies for stimulus, and for infrastructure spending, tax cuts. He cites Senate Majority Leader McConnell who said he would like to keep "tax reform revenue neutral." Getting large spending and pushing up the deficit is likely to run up against Republicans in Congress who have for 8 years opposed large spending increases and large deficits. Trump has given few details about his stimulus or infrastructure spending plans. He says the scale of the spending might not match the talk. Irwin cites JP Morgan Chase economists who have kept their forecasts for GDP growth just under 2% for 2017 and 2018. And he points out that even Trump appointees at the Fed might act independently. The Fed might look at being cautious considering that increased trade tensions with China, and the unpredictability of a Trump administration could hurt growth. Irwin does not mention the uncertainty in other areas such as policy towards Russia on which the Republican party and Congress have very different views than Trump, tensions over Taiwan, that can also affect growth. ...

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Amazon Prime has a trailer on King Charles's vision of a revolution for climate change action. The idea is to get a broader audience through streaming. The film title is -Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision.   Kate Winslett tells the story of King Charles and his vision.  It includes new footage of Charles with David Beckham, Meryl Streep. The film has been narrated by Kate Winslet, which was for Winslet “both a pleasure and a privilege” as she is part of the King's Foundation. The King’s Foundation said: “This documentary aims to showcase the importance of harmony to a new audience, and highlight the urgent action needed to help protect our planet, as His Majesty reflects on his life’s work across nature, sustainability and the environment.” The film is based on the King’s 2010 book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. “This is a call to revolution. Revolution is a strong word, and I use it deliberately. The many environmental and social problems that now loom large on our horizon cannot be solved by carrying on with the very approach that has caused them. This will involve taking all sorts of dramatic steps to change the way we consider the world and act in it.” “The book is not just trying to raise the points about getting an electric car and some organic carrots. “This is about thinking fundamentally about the relationship we have with the life-support systems that sustain us and everything else and, indeed, the relationships between all of us, and how we organise our society, including our economy, and making points about circularity in our economic system, and how we might be inspired by nature in terms of how we think about resource use and how we look at ideas like economic growth.” ...

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Some straight talk from Bethany McLean on why Congress which repealed Glass-Steagall and refused to regulate derivatives. She says the Fed and the SEC which did nothing while all the excesses and risky behaviour were playing out on Wall Street should also join Goldman on the hot seat. The Office of Thrift Supervision and the Comptroller of the Currency, she points out actually used their power not to protect but to prevent predatory lending laws. And the ratings agencies signed off with AA ratings for a lot of junk. McLean tells readers Goldman's idea that what is good for Goldman is good for America is downright scary. She is a former Goldman employee who reminds readers that Goldman's 14 principles had integrity right up on the list, something Tourre and other higherups at Goldman simply lost sight of.

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The English Bible in the Texas K-12th grade schools curriculum for children in 2025. Critical for young children is an understanding of how the Christian faith was critical in the struggle against the evil of slavery, and how it was Abraham Lincoln's faith in Christianity that sustained him through the long and difficult struggle to end slavery in the Union, and to preserve the Union. How millions gave up their lives to end the evil of slavery in the Civil War. One passage from the new curriculum for Texas children says- "Even as the use of slave labor grew, opposition to slavery also grew, driven by colonists morally opposed to the practice, often based on their beliefs as Christians." Lyrarc.com has Lincoln's devotional- with parts of the New Testament from a British publisher in the 1840's that show how Lincoln's faith preserved the Union, and created the society in which all men are created equal envisioned by Washington and Jefferson in the 1770's and 1780's, right upto the French Revolution's rallying cry of Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite that was heard in America in 1800. It is strange that it is forgotten that for most of the period from 1600 to the 1950's there was never any doubt for 350 years that the US derived it's unique identity and ideals from it's Christian faith, just as China and India have derived their unique identity and ideals from the Buddhist scriptures and the Bhagavad Gita. The novel idea that the Bhagavad Gita and the Buddha should have the same level of understanding for America's children as Christian faith of countless generations since the settlement of North America from 1600 is hard to grasp. ...

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President Trump accepts the Republican nomination at a White House event resembling a rally.  His focus remained on the economy and putting America first.

Many of the 1500 people at the White House gardens did not wear masks. The WSJ report says not every attendee was tested for coronavirus.  The WSJ also says this was an unprecedented use of the White House as the lectern for the president was set right on the South lawn facing the White House. The speech was followed by a performance from an opera singer and a fireworks display over the Washington Monument. 

 

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U.S. president Obama reinforces German chancellor Merkel's call for "a persistent presence in the Baltics," with a visit to Tallinin, Estonia, in September 2014. Obama told people in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia that he would work with the U.S. Congress to place more U.S. equipment in the Baltics and increase U.S. troop presence there. He stated the Baltics are "not post-Soviet" territory. Obama said at a concert hall in Tallinin about Russian support to separatists in eastern Ukraine- "It challenges the most basic principles of our international system- that borders cannot be redrawn at the barrel of a gun, that nations have the right to determine their own future. It undermines an international order where the rights of peoples and nations are upheld and cannot simply be taken away by brute force."

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Op-ed contributor Reno writes about the cultural decline of the middle class and its lost sense of participation in the nation's politics. He describes the effects of social decline with use of drugs, children born outside of marraige, and children raised by grandparents. Political elites on the right and left see the white middle class as not being part of a multicultural and globalized future, which they hope to run, leading to its alienation and support for candidates such as Trump and Sanders, says Reno.

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This opinion in the DW.com after the selection of ExxonMobil's Rex Tillerson as U.S. Secretary of State, asks whether the exploitation of natural resources and gaining advantages in trade agreements replaces concern for human rights. Still it says after all these concerns Rex Tillerson deserves a fair chance.

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Efforts by the government of prime minister Erdogan to keep Turkey's interest rates at the same rate as inflation, with an effective real interest rate of zero. Erdogan strikes out at what he calls the "higher interest rate lobby." Erdogan's party fears a downturn in the Turkish economy could affect the government's referendum on a new constitution. The IMF sees a high credit growth to GDP ratio as a warning light for countries and Turkey is identified as one of the main countries facing this problem.

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Solo travel for married men or women is a growing trend. Most solo travelers who are married are women who enjoy the freedom of independent travel. In 2023 such solo travel increased by 46%. Women are keen on seeing the world when their partners are not interested in this kind of travel destination. Solo travel means not having to schedule something with another person, being able to go where one feels is right, and meeting people, making new friends. One partner having more flexible schedule has added to the trend to venture out independently to see new places, new cultures and new people.

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Both sides cannot lose sight of the fact that about 1 million people have either lost lives or been injured in the 36 month Ukraine War. Population decline faced Ukraine and Russia before the war, the effects are now increased, depleting the available resources on all sides in this conflict during a pandemic. 

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Five biking and hiking Trails that take you to- Vermont across Lake Champlain on the 3 mile Colchester Causeway that runs across the lake.

Colorado between Aspen and Glenwood Springs for 18 miles that takes you around Dillon Reservoir.

Austin, Texas right near the city on the Butler Hike and Bike Trail to Northshore Overlook. The long narrow reservoir is a dammed up section of the Colorado River.

Sacramento, California, go across the Sacramento River on the Sundial Bridge, all the way to Redding. Views of Trinity Alps to the west.

Around Seattle, take the Olympic Discovery Trail that stretches along the coast, and coastal wetland, fir tree forests, for 135 miles from Port Angeles. Near a US coast Guard Base past Edith Hook for a view of the Olympic Mountains.

 

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The public and the NHS pay a lot for childhood obesity. Starmer is doing something about it. He plans to put junk food television ads past 9 pm, ban high sugar and salt, high fat food online ads. Ban on high cafeeine energy drinks. And giving councils power to prevent fast food outlets opening near schools.

The plan includes checkups at workplaces for adults.

Starmer said-

There’s diet, there’s healthy lifestyle, we are going to have to get into that space. I know some prevention measures will be controversial but I’m prepared to be bold, even in the face of loud opposition. Some of our changes won’t be universally popular, we know that, but I will do the right thing for our NHS, our economy and our children.”

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Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University economist, author of the well researched book on the 2008 financial crisis, "This Time Is Different," gives his thoughts on the economic prospects for the U.S under the new Trump administration. He says 4% GDP growth and 3% inflation is possible temporarily for a while with stimulus policies, less regulation, and increased private investment. After 8 years of not investing in much needed infrastructure because of concerns about the deficit, the timing is right for such investments, especially as the economic effects of the crisis of 2008 gradually fade.  This is about taking advantage of ultra low interest rates to invest in infrastructure. He says it helps that Trump policies are pro-business. He sees drawbacks as the stimulus program adds a 25% increase with extra debt, adding $5 trillion over 10 years, but adds that for many years Nobel prize winning economist Krugman and others have said that there is good reason to increase borrowing to invest, and this is now being tried. Inflation remains an uncertainty- if there are large quantities of underutilized and unemployed resources it would raise prices less than its effect to increase output. The reverse would apply if the U.S. economy is closer to full capacity. One factor that would help- increasing confidence for business and increasing investment. Against this what he calls optimistic view or spin, is the idea of mistakes under a Trump administration, errors made and a degree of incompetence which he says is a real possibility. Overall his view is that some risks are appropriate now, and from his deep study of financial crises sees the slow growth of the last 8 years a result of a financial crisis that now begins to fade, creating the possibility of higher growth under prudent policies.  ...

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Mr. Modi tells the Summit for Democracy convened by president Biden- "We must jointly shape global norms for emerging technologies like social media and crypto-currencies, so that they are used to empower democracies, not undermine it."Mr. Modi refereed to need for continuous improvement -"There is much we can learn from each other, We all need to constantly improve our democratic practices and systems. And we all need to continuously enhance inclusion, transparency, human dignity, responsive grievance redressal and decentralisation of power."  In India the need to provide benefits to the struggling working classes, farmers and rural households so that democracy works for them is one of Mr. Modi's themes, as is the idea of "dignity" and "respect" for working class people and families that new SPD chancellor Olaf Scholz put forward in his campaign for Germany. For this to happen he told the virtual summit-  "Democracy is not only of the people, by the people, for the people, but also with the people, within the people." Within the people he said is about democracy becoming a part of the culture of the country. This happens with the concerted effort of many generations. In India this effort started under the British with Dadabhai Naoroji elected to the British parliament as a Liberal and continued into the 1910 period with 1 million people given the vote in India, and into the 1930's with 5 million, leading to the elections in the 1950's under Nehru and Sardar Patel with woman having the right to vote, and to today's 900 million large voter base. A lot of the work was done under Mohandas Gandhi and the leaders around him such as Govind Vallabh Pant and Ambedkar, with respect for the rule of law, for rights of citizens, and parliamentary institutions, and learning from the British system of democracy even after feeling the effects of colonial rule, looking for the best in all nations. Gandhi's genius lies in his willingness to take British ideals as a starting point and start building from that, leading to Clement Atlee's decision to withdraw and help setup the basis for the first Constituent Assembly to write India's Constitution by 1950. ...

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Fears that the conflict in Syria might spill over and lead to a conflict with Iran pushed up oil prices. At the same time the new forecast by the International Energy Agency in early August 2012 showing a 20% decrease in demand growth in 2013, as a result of the economic slowdown in the U.S., Europe and China, acted to put a lid on oil price increases. Light sweet crude for September delivery was at $92.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on August 10, 2012, and Brent crude was at $112.95 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange.

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This opinion in DW.com says the refugee camp in Calais, France, called the "Jungle" was ignored by the British who transferred border control to France and did nothing. The French government of Hollande also ignored the problem and the deteriorating conditions at the camp. Media attention and the election led to effort to disband the camp and find spots around France for about 7000 people. Because of the radical right in France the French government has not considered humanitarian help and providing certainty of status for the refugees.

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This WSJ Editorial Board article appeared on Feb. 28, and says that the world owes a great debt to the heroic people of Ukraine. A too complacent Europe says WSJ, is now learning what it means to fight for freedom. It says Ukraine deserves more support with arms, the toughest sanctions, and global ostracism. It says Congress should approve the request this week for another $6.4 billion in humanitarian and military assistance. The stakes of the war are high, says WSJ, including for American interests.