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China adopts a two child policy nationwide in October 2015, abandoning a one child policy adopted in 1980. Experts had warned for years of a policy that would lead to fewer young people, and a rapidly aging society. UN forecasts show China will have about 400 million people over the age of 60 in 2030, 25% of the population in 2030, compared to 14% today if current trends continued. Growth of elderly people would burden the pension and health care systems. The birth rate of 1.4 children per woman is lower than in the U.S. today.

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In an historic event, the young Senator who introduced bills on improving fuel efficiency in the Senate only a few years ago, announces his proposal for a single national fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 miles per gallon in 2016. Mr Obama had the chief executives of 10 global auto companies all gathered together, as he made the announcement. It reverses decades of conflict on this issue, and puts the US at the forefront of developing new technologies for fuel efficiency and emissions control.

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Fadjroel Rachman, a student at the Bandung Institute of Technology was kidnapped in August 1989 and spend three years in jails for protesting corruption and human rights violations of the Suharto military regime in Indonesia. He is a political economist at the Research Institute of Democracy and Welfare State in Jakarta, Indonesia. He first heard of Mandela's 1990 release from a tiny cell in a military prison in Bandung, West Java, as the news came over a radio sitting on a shelf in the canteen for prison guards in front of his cell.

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With America's 11th aid package to Ukraine what are America's goals in Ukraine? "I want be clear about the aims of the United States in these efforts" says president Biden in this extremely important article on June 1 in the New York Times. "It is not the ouster of president Putin."  "It is not to inflict pain on Russia." "We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign Ukraine with the means to deter aggression and defend itself."

"We are sending a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so that it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table." As Mr. Zelensky has said "this war will only definitively end with diplomacy."

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The art of storytelling is important to startup companies and to job candidates in any field. What makes you interesting or different and worth the commitment as a startup or job candidate is the silent question that is posed in encounters with the public or the interviewer. Alina Tugend touches on the personal narrative we all need to get right for advancement. The Freytag pyramid provides a structure for the storytelling- with the first part the scene, second the rising action, third the turning point, fourth the denouement or closing which gives the listener some sort of release. For it to be effective our narrative has to be about our unique experiences with detail, it has to be genuine, it does not have to be perfect, just make that connection and gain empathy, trust of the listener, hopefully a new fan. For it to be real it becomes important to not self-censor. Other people may have the same experience but it is not talked about much, that itself may add to its newness and claim to being something fresh, and it may take some courage overcoming fear of ridicule to tell the story. Telling stories also can work to bring an organization or different departments work better around shared perceptions, values and goals. In this sense stories and narrative are about everyday life and anywhere we are trying to achieve something worthwhile. ...

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Very interesting choice made with a clear idea of what is needed and willingness to take a slight risk given that ii moderated quite a bit by the fact that this a private equity firm thats running Chrysler, the owner of Cerberus and its advisers will oversee Nardelli's management, La Sorda is handling the unions and union talks and is still President having been CEO, and a plan for Job cuts of 13000 has already been made. So the risk on the downside is limited given that GE insiders at Cerberus feel that Nardelli wants a second chance to prove himself in the manner more like what he accomplished at GE Power Systems Division.

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Landon Thomas looks at the European Financial Stability Facility, the organization that was formed in May 2010 to be the mechanism for raising and channeling funds to troubled eurozone economies Ireland, Greece and Portugal. He describes its evolution, its new responsibilities under the July 2011 eurozone agreement, and the difficulties it might face. The credibility of the EFSF is critical to the solution being worked out by eurozone leaders. The EFSF is based in Luxembourg and is headed by Klaus Regling, a German economist and a top official in the European Commisson's financial division. The EFSF raises funds in the financial markets. With Germany as the largest backer the EFSF is able to raise funds at low interest rates such as 3.3% for 10 years at one recent offering. The fund has a triple-A rating. In June and July the stability fund raised 8 billion euros in two auctions. It plans to come to the market four times during the rest of 2011 for funds to support Ireland and Portugal. The EFSF will need new powers and structure to meet its new role as the principal mechanism for solving the crisis. It is now given the role of the buyer of last resort for the bonds of troubled eurozone economies. This means national parliaments in the eurozone will have to approve these new powers and resources. One concern in financial markets is how the EFSF would deal with the needs of Italy or Spain if one of the two economies runs into trouble. Italy and Spain consitute 30% of the EFSF's backing, if they were to run into problems, would the burden fall disproportionately on France and Germany? And because France may have public finance problems of its own with declining competitiveness, does this mean Germany would be the real backer in that situation....

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In the centenary year of the Lincoln Memorial, America's and the Free World's most iconic monument, the Washington Post gives this story on how it went from conception in 1867 to the cornerstone being laid in 1915 to its opening in 1922. In 1939 it acquired new meaning as Marian Anderson sang "My Country I sing of thee," a video of this being shown here. By the 1940's it symbolized the struggle to bring all races and peoples of north and southern US together as it had done up to that time, but also the struggle of the Free World in the newly decolonized countries of Asia and Africa. This is an aspect of the Lincoln Memorial and its inscription that has not been told. The words of Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence combined with the words of Lincoln to strike a chord in the countries of Asia and Africa struggling for freedom.  The words of Jefferson- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, and among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The inscription on the Lincoln Memorial- In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.        ...

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The European Union plans to rebuild its solar panel industry by manufacturing in the home country. This means shifting away from supply channels where China controls 80% of production. Chancellor Merkel failed to see the risks of letting German companies be decimated by China's subsidy program supporting solar panel makers in China. A system of customs duties failed when China threatened to retaliate with duties on German car exports. In the end Germany like the US under president Obama and Trump after 2010 failed to support domestic solar panel makers.  Now subsidies are accepted way of competing with China for both the US and the EU. The US under the Biden administration is fully committed to compete with China by developing its own solar panel manufacturing industry with the kind of help China is giving to its own solar panel makers. The EU is following the same path. From 200 gigawatts in 2023 the EU's target is 600 gigawatts from solar by 2030. The 400 gigawatts will come from through a policy of make at home in the EU, including raw materials, polysilicon, wafers, and assembly. Subsidies are now the way the US and the EU plan to get back what they lost to China, their critical manufacturing advantage through errors in policy. The European Commission is also changing the rules to accomodate the move. A story of one more critical advantage surrendered through the orthodoxy of free markets without policymakers understanding what they were doing. ...

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This report in The Times take a look at the work Liz Truss has done as International Trade Secretary and now Foreign Secretary. Truss does not want Britain to become economically dependent on China. More than Johnson Truss is a UK Atlanticist who wants the UK to work with the US and the EU to build a western world that is entirely independent of China. Looking at her work and experience it would appear that Truss is the most underestimated of the candidates for prime minister, much more so than Sunak. She can be strident and aggressive but she has gone through a process of thinking and studying before that with a willingness to try new ideas. She come from an intellectual  family and one that was active in left wing activism. She studied at a comprehensive school in Leeds before going to Merton College Oxford  to study philosophy, economics and politics, and was willing to change her thinking when persuaded about a different course of action to get better results. She also gained the knowledge she needs to do her own thinking with experience first hand as Chief Secretary at Treasury, Secretary of International Trade, and as Foreign Secretary, getting trade deals with Australia and negotiating with other countries. Cameron, May, Johnson lacked this kind of knowledge and experience. And Sunak also falls way short of this kind of knowledge acquired and experience handling international assignments key to Britain's advancement after Brexit. ...

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Ukraine was one of the poorest countries in the European Union in the last decade and was not growing as fast as other countries in Eastern Europe. One of the reasons it was looking to the west, the EU and the US, was to increase growth and boost incomes. A policy opposed by Russia.  This report in WSJ looks at the effort of a 41 year old economist Mr. Marchenko who heads the central bank. Ukraine's revenues only support 40% of government spending. Ukraine needs $3 billion in aid every month. The currency is down 20% in value and the GDP is expected to be 30% lower in 2022. He says every day and night it is a constant headache. The US and Britain were quick to help and provide steady aid. The EU and Germany with internal wrangling have not come up with $8 billion of the $9 billion in aid promised to Ukraine to rebuild the infrastructure that is being destroyed by Russia, and support the war effort to defend Ukraine. Even with $3 billion a month in aid Ukraine depends on printing money and risking further decline in the currency to pay soldiers, war needs, and meet basic spending needs. The plans are not just for 2022 but extend into 2023. Grain a key export is only now making its way out of Odessa with the UN and Turkey arranging the way out for grain ships. ...

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Happiness in Finland may be more about expectations for contentment being more reasonable, says this report on Finland. Colston and Michaels talk to Finns in different parts of the country to get a sense of how Finns look at life and why the country is rated so highly on a happiness index put out by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For one thing Finland has a small homogenous population of 5 million people spread out over a vast densely forested region with a strong sense of identity and mutual help. It is also a technologically advanced country. This has enable Finland to maintain a state that provides an extraordinary amount of public services in education, health care, culture, that promote a sense of well being. Its participation in winter and other sports and sports facilities open to all also factor into this. This is true also of Denmark with 5 million people another country in the same region. Consider that the greater Mumbai region alone has over 20 million people, Shanghai 29 million and Tokyo 37 million. Just the pressure on space in homes is different. The long dark winters have an impact for Finns yet the people have adapted with a persevering quality that helps them deal with it. And having a peculiar Nordic version of mindfulness, a Buddhist quality, that brings contentment by understanding the nature of happiness which is mixed with tinge of sadness. Qualities that are shared throughout the Nordic region including Sweden.   ...

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There is a connection between crumbling infrastructure in Europe,US and India and tax evasion. Because it is massive with many large corporations not paying taxes in fair sharing of tax responsibilities, and some tech companies paying no taxes, it is how we got to this situation of crumbling infrastructure and not enough funds to rebuild our economies. In India digital solutions and a unified GST tax system,  introduced by the prime minister, are some solutions. A wider solution is a minimum corporate tax that is supported by US, Europe, and India. The Pandora Papers is just one more set of revelations of this problem of tax evasion. The more open and within the law insidious form of tax evasion is that of large corporations not taking on their fair share of responsibilities. Only a culture change where it is considered a case of honor and respect to take on a fair share of the tax responsibilities as citizens would work. For this to make sense money cannot be wasted in distant lands and foreign wars, in corrupt practices, or wasted expenditures, every dollar has to go into infrastructure so that citizens can see their dollars at work as soon as they step outside- new bridges, new roads, new childcare facilities, social services that work, climate change investments, competitive technology investments such as the one in semiconductors built at home. This requires measurement of infrastructure dollars spent, results, and grading of the work done, deficiencies spotlighted. ...

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The Kristian Anderson memo to Dr. Fauci is the No. 1 story in the WSJ on June 5. This memo written on Jan 31, 2020 shows the initial reaction of the leader of five virologists to the coronavirus genome. Nicholas Wade writing in WSJ cites this memo as having missed the censors marker as the emails to Fauci were released under the Freedom of Information Act. The initial reaction is cited in the Anderson memo to Dr Fauci as seeing "unusual features" in the virus. These were in a small percentage of the genome, "so that one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered." Mr. Anderson goes on to note that he and his team of virologists 'all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory." What does Anderson mean by this important phrase? Anything inconsistent with evolutionary origin has to be man-made is the conclusion drawn by many virologists including David Baltimore, cited here in the WSJ. Virologist later modified their stand saying it was evolutionary because of professional interest in not starting a what WSJ calls "storm of condemnation" over gain of function research, a exotic name for genetically enhancing the pathogenic power of viruses or increasing its transmissibility effect. Nicholas Wade is a Science writer who has worked for Nature, Science and The New York Times. ...

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The EU moves to support Egypt's precarious economy with 7.4 billion in euros of aid and help for its economy. This comes at a crucial time for a country with 106 million people facing economic difficulties. 5 billion euros of concessional loans, 1.8 billion euros of investment, 600 million euros of grants including 200 million euros to manage migration. This is a positive proactive step taken by Leyen and EU. Leyen visited Cairo. Lessons have been learned. Joining Leyen in Cairo were leaders of Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy in a new strategic partnership of European Union nations with Egypt. Pandemic and war in Ukraine affecting food supplies, higher energy costs, have hit Egypt hardest . No matter which government was running Egypt the problems simply were too big for a fragile economy in a difficult region. For the first time the EU has learned from the migration crisis and its own eurozone crisis, to work and cooperate with regions outside to ensure a better future for all. And not to be deflected with wars and other crises in making the right decisions ahead of time not reacting to crises but staying ahead of them. How many years have been lost- because the ideas for better lives of all was what president Kennedy's New Frontier was all about when he talked about it in the years 1956-1963. EU needs a new vision for Africa and Arab North Africa. ...

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A win-win for Toyota with more room for hybrid sales and the Biden administration showing it is listening to Americans worrying about the cost of living, by making change to EV's more realistic. New Biden EPA rules that allow for slower acceptance of EV's in the early years till 2030 and accelerate in 2031 and 2032 to reach climate goals  create more room for hybrids . This vindicates Toyota Motor's strategy to put emphasis on hybrids in the transition to all EV's. Toyota has a significant presence in the hybrid market which has picked up in 2024 as the lack of charging station infrastrucure and cost of EV's limit growth till cost comes down and EV charging infrastructure is put in place. Ironically Akio Toyoda planned the transition to a new CEO in the belief that he had not changed Toyota's strategy fast enough to match competitors in development of new EV's when sales of EV's boomed in prior years before this years slowdown. The Biden administration coming around to the view that climate goals could be reached by accelerating in the latter part of the years to 2032 when new technologies cut cost and investments in charging infrastructure made it realistic. Its a win-win for all as it also meets Biden base support labor and auto union concerns about jobs with a too quick transition, and shows the Nation that Democrats are listening to voter concerns about cost of living. ...

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This opinion of the Editorial Board of WSJ says it is not clear why Taiwan has been excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that includes most of South East Asia including Indonesia, and India, South Korea, Japan, Australia. The Biden administration plans to deepen economic ties with Taiwan. WSJ says this is a mistake and Taiwan should be included in the new Asian alliance led by the US. IPEF is a Asian alliance built around 4 pillars of digital economy, transparency and good governance, Asian security and rule of law, and rapid economic technological progress. Biden administration Commerce minister Raimondo says it will increase investment in the alliance countries for supply chain renewal and shift of investments away from China and into India, Vietnam. President Biden and Jake Sullivan see it as pulling in investment into the US for infrastructure and technology and into allies such as India who have the pool of manufacturing workers to compete with China in a new supply chain. Mr. Modi also sees it as he is focused on digital economy, good governance, and infrastructure with speed and scale at high levels to match rising aspirations for the economy in India. It is designed in a way that lets US, Japan South Korea and India to fill in the needs and strategies over the period to 2030 and 2040 so that US and Europe and the Free World in Asia and Latin America, Africa can preserve democratic values with matching technological and economic strength. ...

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A warning from Britain about tax cuts and not investing in the US economy that could put the US in the same bad shape as Britain under the Tories with Trump/Vance tax cuts and high tariffs stifling the economy. Krugman, with his long experience in studying economic policy of governments,  says the unforced error for Britain was not even Brexit as much as it was the austerity policies put forward by Cameron and his finance minister Osborne in 2010. What it did was to push austerity policies when the right move would have been to invest in the economy and in public services. In 2010 he says the Greece crisis and eurozone debt crisis led to Britain adopting austerity when it was in a different situation. Britain's debt was in its own currency and at home. The British economy was just recovering from the 2009 banking crisis which meant that economic capacity was underutilized and more people needed to be employed. In this situation Britain instead of Cameron/Osborne austerity that starved public services and investment in infrastructure, jobs, needed to invest in public services. A decade and half later this has put Britain in a bad place with a weak economy and dilapidated public services. Britain lacks the courage and right policy of the Biden administration in investing in the economy with support from Congress, so that even Labour is not in a position to soon reverse the effects of this austerity policy. ...

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Throughout their work as high school teachers in Mankato, Minnesota, during Tim Walz's 8 years in the US Congress, 8 years as Minnesota Governor, Tim and Gwen Walz were a pair that depended on each other and were each others closest advisers. Gwen Walz had an office in the Minnesota Governor's offices. She has taken a strong interest in education, in Minnesota's schools and colleges and shares the same passion that Tim Walz has for the school lunch programs and other ways to build educational opportunity in the state. Jospeh Bernstein looks at the life and work of Gwen Walz, spouse of the new running mate of Kamala Harris, Tim Walz of Minnesota. In 2002 when Tim Walz was running for Governor Walter Mondale came out of retirement to fill the seat of Senator Wellstone. At a meeting she is shown with Walter Mondale whom she thanked for inspiring her with his VP choice of Geraldine Ferraro. This is memorable because Hubert Humphrey was a mentor of Walter Mondale. Humphrey's role in US politics goes back to the days when he was a candidate for the presidential nomination against John F. Kennedy in 1956 and 1960. Humphrey was Vice President under LBJ. Mondale served as Vice President under president Jimmy Carter from Georgia 1977-1981. Minnesotans have served in the VP role twice before - with Tim it would be three- all highly competent Americans with a measure of respect worldwide. ...

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Claire Gatinois and Soleyn de Royer's interesting essay on the life and times of Emmanuel Macron who started as one who would bring new life to the Fifth Republic but over 7 years sees that he has made poor choices and comes across as brash and inexperienced. His Movement was formed very quickly during the waning days of the Hollande administration of the Socialist Party. By bringing in Macron Hollande did what Blair and Clinton had done for Labour and Democrats thinking they were somehow moving to the centre in tackling the budget, deficit and the economy. Clinton hired as Treasury Secretary Goldman Sach's Robert Rubin and Harvard's Lawrence Summers, Obama hired Timothy Geithner, who like Macron in the Hollande cabinet lacked all conviction for improving the life of workers and the middle class in the US. Clinton setup China's entry into the World Trading Organization without grasping or understanding the economic framework of American manufacturing and thinking of industry leaders who were in that time in the  mood for outshoring everything made in the US with the inflexibility of American labor. Geithner like Cameron's Osborne had little affinity with the working or middle class, and did little to correct the abuses of banking professionals behind the 2009 financial crisis, which in some ways is still with us today, the pandemic being the second hit to workers and the middle class, the migrant surge an addition of mental unease. ...

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Bridget Phillipson and Keir Starmer are politicians who would like to get things done and take ideas from all sides in the effort to improve life for British parents and children. See the article alongside on the changes proposed by Phillipson and Starmer to bring better education to all schools, and keeping the best of the Academy system- just spreading the best to all parts of the country.  Zoe Wiliiams had this interview with Bridget Philipson in The Guardian, March 21, 2023, when she was UK Shadow Education Secretary with big plans to revive childcare and children's education in UK schools. Phillipson is now Education Secretary and is getting a bill passed in Parliament to improve some aspects of the British education system keeping the infrastructure and foundations that are delivering well. Phillipson grew up in a dilapidated northeast England neighborhood in Tyne and Wear. She describes this as a place with an air of decline with a railroad track and idled chemical plant in the area, high youth unemployment. He mother and her grandparents provided a caring home and signed her up for drama lessons on Saturdays. She attended Catholic school and went on to study at Oxford University in Modern Languages and Modern History, returning to work for Sunderland City Council for 2 years instead of going to London. She is seen as self-effacing but vigorous in putting forward ideas on better childcare and children's education for British children.   ...

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Deep in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo one finds Bayan Resources coal complex. In 2025 Indonesia is the world's largest coal producer. Bayan Resources was founded by Low Tuck Kwong a Indonesian businessman who started out with his father's construction business in Singapore and switched to start his own business in mining in Indonesia in 1972. Bayan is now one of the largest coal producers in Indonesia and ships the coal to India, Vietnam and Philippines which depend on coal for electricity and modernization.  Coal demand will actually increase instead of decrease from 8 billion metric tons in 2013 to 9 billion metric tons in 2027. India and Vietnam are taking on the role of manufacturing that once belonged to China in the supply chain. The combined population of India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines is about 2 billion people with a huge need for 100% electrification of rail and transport, and for homes and industry. India is accelerating it's renewable energy production, yet coal will be needed in the interim transition to renewable energy. Coal production is about 1 billion metric tons in 2024. About 20% of coal is imported from Indonesia and Australia. India depends on coal for 75% of electricity needs says Anil Kumar Jha former head of Coal India Limited. He predicts coal to increase to 1.3 million metric tons produced in India by 2031.   ...

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Zelensky admits something that was evident for the last year that Ukraine could not take back Crimea and Donbas. Zelensky's own popularity is down to 20% in December 2024 and he is not seen as providing a solution to Ukraine's problems for securing a peaceful settlement. The Russian border regions in the east of Ukraine had voted for pro-Russian parties before the invasion by Russia. They share Russian language and culture. This makes this a situation that requires close understanding without generalizations that prolong the war. Crimea also has a different history till it was made part of Ukraine. Russia faced a military bloc such as NATO only during the Cold War with Eastern Europe under the influence of the Soviet Union 1950-1990. The shift of Eastern Europe to be part of the European Union and some parts in NATO put NATO forces close to the Russian borders. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia created a situation objected to by the EU and US, where a large power invades a neighbor. Yet the other facts above remain which presents the Russian view that NATO and the EU were too close to its borders given Russia's history of invasion from France in 1812, and from Germany in 1914 and 1940. A settlement can come only by both sides recognizing the overall facts in Europe so that all sides feel secure for peaceful coexistence under different forms of culture, government and economic structures. ...

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President Obama's new rtegulatory reforms in final form as they go to Congress for passage. Exrtensive preparatory meetings with financial firms and industry participants, legislators, and consumer agencies and otehrs between Summers, Geithner and their aides and these firm's executives and leaders before the reforms were worked out.