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The US president calls Brazilian president Lula Inacio Da Silva, "a good person actually," after meetings at the UN in September 2025. Tariffs imposed on Brazil for cocoa, coffee, meat and fruits have been lifted. Lula asserted Brazil's independent institutions and Brazil as a sovereign country. The tariffs were never popular in Brazil and Lula's popularity in Brazil is now up to to 33% after an earlier decline. He is more energized and at 80 is expected to run again for office. COP30 just completed in Belem, Brazil, and Lula has received favorable response in trying to salvage the climate agenda following the shift away from costly climate change decisions to the cost of living crisis.

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Obesity in the US is as high as about 40% in West Virginia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. It is lowest about 25% in Colorado, Vermont and Hawaii. About 22 states have obesity rate over 35%. Compare this with China which is seeing obesity increase from about 15% in 2023 to 20% in 2034. Real competition between the two countries starts with areas like health care coming out of the pandemic when looking at the true interest of both peoples instead of geopolitics creating a huge distraction from problems of health, climate change and education. Meat intake has tripled in China and a return to more vegetable and fruits and ancient grains is something that is needed badly, also helping tackle climate change. The states in the South and midwestern US have higher rates of obesity followed by northeast and western states. This includes in the South Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas. In Midwest it includes Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas. It is useful to note that this is in Voice of America news which is aimed at an overseas audience and this kind of information is not seen widely in US media. Robust food programs ae needed especially for people living in poverty. Health consciousness needs to be emphasized in all aspects of life and worklife, workspaces, living locations and transportation options all need to be devised around this. Bussel of the Robert Woods Foundation says even ten years back no state had over 35% of the population being obese. Clearly headed in the wrong direction with all the discussion in media run by billionaires on everything but what most affects the quality and ease of living of ordinary people. ...

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Apple and Foxconn will add production sites in Karnataka state and Hyderabad in addition to expanding manufacturing in the site at Chennai. Apple plans production of 20 million iphones in India at the Chennai plant by 2024 and having 100,000 workers. The head of Foxconn met pm Modi this week in New Delhi. The supply chain for Apple is being shifted from China to India and other countries.

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A logistical feat with 200,000 tents 67,000 streetlights, half a million parking spaces, Indian spiritual festival Kumbh Mela 2025. A tent city was built over 15 square miles to accomodate people 4 million to 80 million on festival days. It took months to build and will take 2 months to dismantle  before monsoon rains. Where is this festival? In Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India, in prayers to Lord Shiva on the Ganges river.

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President Macron of France tests positive for coronavirus on the morning of Dec. 17. He will now self isolate for 7 days. Leaders who he has met recently are the prime ministers of Spain Pedro Sanchez and Portugal Antonio Costa. He was seen embracing Antonio Costa. Mr. Macron was part of the tough negotiations for the European trillion dollar stimulus, for a recent all night EU negotiation, and involved in Brexit talks. He met with Charles Michel of the European Council and Ursula Leyen, head of the European Union. All or most of these leaders will now have to self isolate. Mr. Macron wore a mask during the entire period and was careful not to shake hands. 

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G-7 nations reach agreement for a global minimum tax of 15% a floor for taxes that the Biden administration finds acceptable. This agreement was reached at a meeting of the Treasury chiefs of the 7 G-7 countries in London on June 5, 2021. The G-7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and US. Next agreement from Russia, China, India and Brazil in the G-20 nations would establish new ground rules for the major economies. The G-20 meeting is in Venice July 9-10. The OECD is steering the international efforts to achieve that goal. For the agreement to be effective a number of small nations that use tax rates of below 15% to attract business have to be part of the new rules. One of these countries is Ireland with a tax rate of 12.5%. For the Biden administration in the US the goal is a significant one as president Biden seeks business to pay its fair share so that long neglected priorities for education, healthcare, infrastructure, post pandemic improvements can be met. France and other nations in the EU face similar needs in the post pandemic environment. By setting a floor the Biden administration is both creating a new cultural concept of fairness in taxation and making it possible to finance the $2 trillion spending programs for these priorities of president Biden. Behind this are important facts that have left the large tech businesses paying little or no tax depriving governments of the very revenues that are needed for infrastructure and services for a modern well run state. The Biden administration seeks to include the tech businesses as well as all businesses in the new tax rules so that a uniform idea of fair taxation applies across the whole economy for the first time in two decades. In this way it makes up for the missed opportunities in the OBC administrations of Obama, Bush, Clinton that have led to loss of faith in the state and institutions in the US. A similar situation prevails in the UK,  France and Germany where previous administrations failed to address this important issue of fair taxation and financing infrastructure and priorities in health, education, and critical needs of the people.   ...

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GM shares hit a new low of $1.52 on February 20, 2009. On February 20, 2008, one year ago, GM shares were at $25.54 a share. This is the lowest level in 70 years. President Obama's task force onthe auto industry met on February 20 for the first time.

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The task of getting 20 million tons of foodgrains in Ukrainian silos out of Ukraine is being taken up by the European Union. Ms. Leyen of the EU has emphasized the importance of this mission for poor countries. About 50 countries depend on Ukraine and Russia for over 30% of imports of foodgrains says the WSJ. One way supported in this WSJ Editorial Board opinion is to use naval ships to escort ships carrying grain out of Black Sea ports. This requires Turkey's support and has to be done as a humanitarian move with ships from many countries. Rail would be an option yet Ukraine and the rest of Europe use different railway infrastructure. Steps need to be taken to do this quickly to overcome the rail issues and also use motor transport. The port of Odessa has been mined by Ukraine to prevent a Russian naval assault showing that there are obstacles along the way to be met by land or by sea. Starting now would be the best way to approach this. Both the Eu and the US should work together on this. The baby food crisis in the US was tackled by special flights from Germany. This shows that many options can be combined and problems tackled to get food grains out. What seems insurmountable can be tackled with action taken early, learning along the way. The Berlin Airlift did this in 1947 with another Soviet blockade. This would also lift spirits throughout the world. ...

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Use of oil for transportation has increased from 30% ten years ago to nearly 50% in 2013, according to Sanford Bernstein, as more cars are added to China's roads. This makes it less likely that a slowdown in China's growth will affect demand for oil. Sales of passenger cars increased by 11% in January and February 2014. A study at France's central bank by Gauvin and Rebillard shows only a much smaller effect on oil prices from a hard landing of the Chinese economy, compared to the effect on metal prices. Passenger cars now make up two out of three vehicles on Chinese roads, according to LMC Automotive. The growth in cars is likely to continue, not just in China, but in other emerging markets such as India, Brazil, Mexico and Russia. Metal consumption is different, as it comes mostly from housing, infrastructure and factories which are the most affected parts of the economy in China.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul halts a congestion pricing plan for New York City saying it would have unintended consequences and hinder New York's economic recovery. It would make it harder for cost of living for families after the effects of the pandemic. The plan was to charge $15 fee to enter New York Manhattan south of 60th Street. It was seen as a way to support a financially strapped MTA subway authority. Hochul said- "Let's be real. $15 may not sound a lot to someon who has the means but it can break the budget of a hardworking middle class household." 

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A steady decline in the price of Brent crude from $115 to $92 in the period from June to October 2014. Slow or no economic growth in Europe, and declining growth in China was the main reason. A cut in oil price by Saudi Arabia in September with lack of coordination in OPEC to control supplies when prices are declining, and increasing supplies from the U.S., provided additional basis for price declines. This price decline comes as large energy companies invested heavily in mega-projects to bring more oil supplies when prices were up to $128 by mid-2012. Consulting company EY estimate is that there are 163 such mega projects worth $1.1 trillion underway, most behind schedule and over budget. The projects were based on oil prices being over $100. Oil field development costs are increasing rapidly. Douglas Westwood, a consulting firm, estimate is that productivity of upstream capital spending has fallen by a factor of 5 since 2000, declining by 5% a year, as oilfield equipment and services demand exceeds supply. Greater technological sophistication also adds to cost such as Shell's Nobel Bully platform for deep sea drilling. See link- Noble Bully. Oil majors are now cutting spending, and some planned big projects are on hold. About $300 billion in assets may be up for sale. Shell plans to cut spending by 20% in 2014, Exxon and Chevron 5-6%. Shale oil projects in America need about $57 to be profitable with an internal rate of return of 10%, by one estimate. Yet this is an average and does not reflect differing producer costs. This estimate does not reflect the high cost producers, some of whom need closer to $110....

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Former Texas Senator Kay Hutchinson, America's new ambassador to NATO, offers this spirited defense of NATO in an NYT op-ed. She points out that when it comes to European defense and need to revitalize NATO there is no difference between president Trump, Rex Tillerson, Gen. Jim Mattis at the Defense Department, and senators of the Republican and Democratic parties. Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State, made a similar statement by visiting a war memorial in Italy recently. Chancellor Merkel has made similar statements in her visit to the Baltic Republics. Behind the revitalization of NATO remains another goal to spread the burden of defense evenly so that the U.S. is not bearing a disproportionate responsibility.  Here Hutchinson reminds readers that if all 29 NATO members met the 2014 defense spending pledge - to spend 2% of GDP on defense and 20% of each defense budget on modernizing capabilities- $100 billion in defense funding would have been created for 2016. Hutchinson says the European Defense Initiative will be funded with $4.8 billion for strengthening defenses in Eastern Europe. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is taking the lead in ensuring NATO funding goals are met. ...

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Beverly Cleary grew up in Portland, Oregon in the 1930's and 40's . At the time she met children at libraries who kept asking her what about books about "kids like us." Most of the books in the Pacific Northwest were simply books about British children at that time. Clearly took up the task of writing books about real life children in America.

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Walmart has 438 stores in China with over $10 billion in sales. Oracle has smaller operations in China. Walmart is negotiating to take a 12.5% stake in TikTok and Oracle 7.5%. Bytedance owns TikTok. 40% of investors are from the U.S. with investments by Softbank,KKR, Sequoia, General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital and other funds seeking high returns in internet companies making these investments. The educational value of the content on TikTok is considered to be minimal with mostly entertainment and customers in some countries such as India were reported to be mostly in rural areas. India has since banned TikTok. The huge investments in the internet companies in tens of billions by funds comes as infrastructure needs are not met in Europe, U.S. and India, including education and health, roads and bridges. The entire allocation of capital mechanisms have become out of focus to the needs of the present particularly after the pandemic. Funds sudden interest in using artificial intelligence to promote education would raise much skepticism and the use of TikTok for that purpose even more so. Apart from the concerns for national security that were expressed by the Trump administration, there is the broader issue of the value of children and young adults spending large amounts of time on such media at a time of deteriorating educational levels in all countries of Europe, North America, and in India and China. ...

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McDonald's is seeing declining sales in the U.S. The percentage of people in the U.S. going to McDonald's declined by 12.9% in the 19-21 age group and was flat for the 22-37 years age group, according to Technomic. Younger Americans especially are seeking out healthier alternatives with emphasis on fresh food. Another competing trend is fast casual restuarants such as Panera Bread. Fast casual restaurants increased from 9000 to 21000 in the last 10 years, while McDonalds has remained at 14,000. Chipotle started in 1993 and now has 1600 locations. Five Guys has 1000 locations. Consumer Reports surveyed 32,000 subscribers and rated McDonalds as the last in taste of 20 burger chains. Consumer Reports gave as a reason millenials and younger consumers who will try hard to get the right food. Problems in Russia about sanitary conditions and declining sales in China after the government accusations about a key supplier using expired meat also add to problems. Increasing concern about healthcare and obesity also add to the search for alternatives and careful selection of meals, especially among younger educated buyers....

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This editorial in the HIndu newspaper says more than the Rs. 2000 crore allocated for Ayushman- for covering 10.74 crore families with Rs 5 lakh health  coverage- is needed. This should have been setup earlier and it is now time to upgrade the public health infrastructure so that it can handle the much needed care of 40% of the population given free coverage upto Rs 5 lakh under PMJAY.

Not all states have joined. The challenge of tight cost control has to be met through defined treatment packages for which rates are prescribed so that the challenge of standardization of facilities and reasonable rates for procedures is met.

Prevention is also of great importance and here the 150,000 health and wellness centres across India of the National Health Protection Mission have a special role to play.

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The port of Long Beach which takes in 20% of the container shipping of the USA,, and is next only to Los Angeles port in container shipping, is becoming a story of two economies, the American and the Chinese. Thousands of cars from Toyota, Nissan and Mercedes are piling on port property turning it into one huge parking lot, as dealers across the country say they have no need for them, and piles of paper and metal baled together to be shipped back on these ships to China to be recycled into cardboard for export boxes are also piling up as China no longer needs them. The drivers who drive the trucks are also being laid offf and looking for new jobs, which are signs that a deeper economic downturn is underway and the the Detroit automakers GM and Ford CEO's who told the Banking committee that they are making their estimates for 2009 on the basis of a 13- 14 million vehicle sales year may be in for another rude shock. The figure for the last quarter may be running at 10 million, and if this continues into 2009 as its expected to do, even the producton of cars after accelerated plant closures may have nowhere to go in 2009. Which is why there are so many questions about what is going on in the auto industry and so much need for candour and frank discussion that was missing in the evasiveness apparent in the Senate hearings on November 18, 2008, as CEO and union president skirted around the issues and senators failed to ask many other questions like these on what is happening on demand as well as many others....

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This excellent article by Peta Bee looks at how we can do anti-ageing efforts to keep our immune systems strong as we become older. She looks at work by an expert in immune cell biology, Janet Lord, who is head of the Institute for Inflammation and Ageing at Birmingham University. It is now proven that the link between ageing and immune systems can be guided in constructive ways. At sixty and seventy years age one can have the immune system of a 30 year old by doing a couple of simple things which are covered here from taking 10,000 steps a day, high intensity interval training on some days each month, occasional fasting on some days, high fibre diet and vitamin D. Walking, running or other forms of exercize affect a particular form of immune function called neutrophil movement in positive ways. Neutrophil movement because these cells are the main defense against the forms of bacteria that cause pneumonia. Neutrophils in older adults behaved in ways similar to that found in 30 year olds when doing 10,000 steps a day of exercize. Dr. Lord and other researchers have found. Dr. Jenna Macciochi, a lecturer in immunology at the University of Sussex, says about 70% of our immune system resides in our gut, making gut health very important for our immunity. Macciochi is the author of Immunity: The Science of Staying Well. Important for gut or gastrointestinal health is the eating of food that has prebiotic and probiotic effect. This helps reverse the decline of immunity coming with ageing.When we chew down on fibre in vegetables, fruit, beans or lentils we have beneficial byproducts called postbiotics that act as an interface between diet and immunity, that change the personalities of cells and circulate in our blood for regulation of immune system, says Dr. Macciochi. Postbiotics from eating dietary fibre tune up specific virus fighting cells that help us fight infections from flu and viruses, studies show says this report in The Times. Women in the UK get only 17g per day, men 20 mg per day of fibre. We need 30 mg per day of fibre and to do this we need to increase our intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and pulses. Also important is avoiding the inflammation that comes with ageing called inflammageing, says Dr. Macciochi. To do this do resistance training, weights, or using body weight such as lunges, push ups, squats. When our muscles move we produce hormones called myokines that help our immune cells function and keep inflammation down. She believes strength work is an absolute essential to rejuvenate our immune age. ...

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Can Christian evangelical therapists exercise free speech rights to counsel religious teens dealing with their sexual orientation and identity true to the Biblical teachings. The US Supreme Court Justices support Christian therapists in this situation.  The issue of prayer in America's schools which was a tradition that lasted for the first 300 years of the settlement of the Nation since 1600, only to gradually disappear after 1962-1963 when Justices of the US Supreme Court simply took upon themselves the power to alter the fundamental character of the Nation with 2 decisions. This has not yet come before the Court to restore the basic driving energy for over three centuries of settlement of this continent of North America. Already the Court has found it is against the law to prevent athletic coaches from praying on a school field. It found in 2024 that Washington State infringed on freedom of expression when it allowed a coach to be disciplined for making such a prayer. There is a sense in America that prayer is part of the fundamental fabric of the Nation. In the deepest hour of crisis in the 20th century Chuchill and FDR met on a battleship near Newfoundland, August 10, 1941, when a prayer service was conducted to restore freedom and democracy to the world at war, it sustained America and Britain and Europe through these years, why should it not be in everyday life today is a question the Supreme Court has to ask itself when confronted with the new challenges of the 21st Century. As Justice Potter Stewart says to use metaphors such as "the wall of separation" that is nowhere in our Constitution, and to reject prayer in schools is to reject the deeply entrenched and widely cherished spiritual traditions of our Nation." Traditions that have come down from the time of George Washington whose miraculous survival that winter of 1754 through the hand of a Divine Providence ensured the survival of the Nation. ...

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Compare AI models for versions v2 v3 by DeepSeek that cost $5.6 million with Anthropic AI model that cost $100 million+, and one gets the order of magnitude in cost for the new DeepSeek China model vs its US counterparts.  The hundreds of billions of dollars that OpenAI and big spenders such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft would have to drain capital markets would be a disaster for workers and families in the US and the standard of living, the infrastructure improvements that don't get done, and the investments in transportation and other vital needs such as schools, education and healthcare that directly impact the cost of living and the standard of quality of life in America and other countries. This is where competing models from China, from India, and from European countries can get us back to where we want to be to continue improving the cost of living and standard of living, quality of life in America for workers and families. This is the choice workers and families made in 2020 and in 2025, rejecting the wasted resources in wars that serve no purpose, and rebuilding the Nation's infrastructure, its water, schools, transportation, healthcare, childcare.  ...

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Chief of TechMet a company in mineral resource development says that it will take years to dislodge China's dominance in rare metals mining and development for metals critical to technologies in car batteries, wind turbines, cellphones. This includes nickel and cobalt for car batteries.Last week president Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and authorizing use of the Defense Production Act to speed development of mines. The U.S. imports 80% of its rare earth elements from China, with further supply coming indirectly from the country. For 14 of 35 critical types of minerals the U.S. has no domestic production. Gallium for light emitting diodes in cell phones is one of these metals. Half of Barite a metal used in hydraulic fracturing for shale oil is imported from China. To get some idea of the neglect in U.S.policy in these area under three administrations, the U.S. in the 1980's was the largest producer of rare earth metals and the technology to process them. Today there is only one mine the Mountain Pass mine in California, and no processing plants. It takes about 10 years to develop a mine. Just as in health care products essential to tackle the virus the U.S has found its manufacturing and technology base left in woeful shape after manufacturing and mining were neglected in a failed policy. Under the guise of globalization corporations transferred essential manufacturing from the U.S. and Europe to China, without understanding the importance these products played in the life of countries, and governments neglected to help local manufacturers and mining companies. Governments play a critical role as China has done by providing loans and grants to develop the national industrial base. Tariffs and quotas are also used to promote local development of the manufacturing base and mining base. Another factor is that investors are more able to invest in these companies when the government take some of the risk with its help and active support. With the Trump executive order comes a new awareness in Canada, Australia, and European Union which are now taking active steps to nurture and develop the local resources. ...

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India's economy has overcome the challenges posed by demonetization and the implementation of the GST tax that slowed growth to 5.7% for much of 2017. The growth rate increased to 7.2% in the last quarter of 2017. The GST tax change that created a single market is likely to increase growth. Growth of 8-10% matching China's growth rate in the last two decades is possible. Faster economic growth is needed to meet the need for more jobs, as 1 million new job entrants enter the job market each month. Indian Railways received 20 million applications for 100,000 new jobs showing the need for new jobs cannot be met at current growth rates. A major problem is the condition of the banking sector with bad loans affecting ability of banks to lend. A planned bailout of the banking sector and a new bankruptcy code are efforts to address this problem. Governance in the banking sector is also a problem that needs to be addressed. The price of oil is now up to $65 a barrel, increasing the cost to India which now faces a larger oil import cost.   ...

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Britain is too dependent on China for 71 goods that are critical for infrastructure and the economy, says the Jackson Society. This includes industrial chemicals, metal products, and consumer electronics such as mobile phones and laptops.

A group of 20 conservative MP's are seeking an amendment for a trade bill going through parliament, and calling for an audit of imported goods from China, and efforts to make trade deals that reduce this dependency. The group of MP's has written to Liz Truss, the Trade Secretary, and includes former ministers Ian Duncan Smith, David Davis, Owen Paterson. The group of MP's says that the coronavirus pandemic has made all nations reassess their approach to trade and supply chains for security.

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Automakers will have to ensure that 40 to 45% of a car's content is made by workers in the U.S. earning at least $16 per hour. If this is not met automakers pay a 2.5% tariff for cars brought in from Mexico. Mexico makes 2.3 million cars and Canada 1.8 million. Automakers invested tens of billions of dollars in Mexico turning it into a lower cost export hub. This has led to job loss in the U.S. Mr. Trump's efforts in the new trade deal with Mexico are designed to increase investment in the U.S. auto industry.

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Us efforts led by Piedmont Lithium in North Carolina to build supplies for the lithium needed in electric vehicle batteries. The effort to get the first US big new lithium mine into operation is part of a broader effort to  build a US supply chain for the ultra light lithium metal that is highly conductive. In fact the modern lithium mining industry started in the rolling hills of the Piedmont region in North Carolina. At that time in the 1950's it was needed for nuclear bombs. Today China mines 10% of world's supplies. Abermarle Corp of the US based in Charlotte extracts lithium from mines in Australia and Chile which have large deposits of lithium. President Biden has signed an executive order calling for a review of supply chains for critical materials, including lithium as the US looks to build its own supply chains and become independent of supplies of metals from China. The lack of such supplies has become a strategic vulnerability for the US.  The growth of the electric vehicle industry and the efforts to reduce climate change emissions means higher demand for lithium. ...