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Census data show that 41% of all Mexican Americans in New York city schools have dropped out of school. Of Mexican American immigrants ages 19-23 only 6% are enrolled in college. This becomes significant considering that Mexican Americans are the fastest growing large immigrant group in the city, numbering 183,200, up from 33,600 in 1990, according to Census figures. These figures are worse than that of the Mexican American population as a whole, because of higher rates of illegal immigration, lack of stability in households, parents holding multiple jobs and lacking knowledge of English or contact with the school. Many are not aware that illegal immigrants who graduate from high school in New York State or earn a G.E.D. are allowed to attend the state public university system and pay in-state tution.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has called for conversations to replace the confrontations protesters have with police. Strangely Lam has not taken the initiative to meet with protesters or legislators on the other side to calm down the protests and create confidence in her administration. The withdrawal of the extradition bill by Carrie Lam came a bit late after 13 weeks of protests to restore confidence. There are two views on the action taken by Carrie Lam in Hong Kong. One is that Beijing is taking this step so that it can show it has taken an effort to achieve a compromise, if this does not work and a crackdown happens. The other view is that Beijing is seeking a compromise so that Hong Kong does not overshadow the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on October 1. China is also keen on making a serious effort to restart trade talks with the U.S. and not let relations with the U.S. deteriorate any further. A compromise in Hong Kong, or appearing to seek a compromise, prevents the Hong Kong situation from affecting the U.S. trade talks in any way.  ...

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Fears in France about multiculturalism presumably of the Anglo-Saxon type with ethnic communities living separately side by side. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, says in his recent book that the French are not like Anglo-Saxons with communities of ethnic people living next to each other but not mixing. This is not true of London and New York, or Melbourne, say people on the other side. Comments by prime minister Valls similiar to Sarkozy's are interpreted by experts in French history as reflecting France's predominant political language of Republicanism and fear of fragmentation. These issues have come up as immigrants issues have led to movements such as for Brexit, and the Trump campaign in the U.S. with anti-immigrant sentiment. The French like to see themselves in a different light though the banlieus are as much a fact of life in France as segregated communities in the U.S. and Britain, say observers.

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"Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory. And I assured him that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That's what the American people deserve." "Yesterday, I also spoke with Vice President Harris. She's been a partner and a public servant. She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character. She has a backbone like a ramrod. She has great character, true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran." "You know, the struggle for the soul of America since our very founding has always been an ongoing debate and still vital today. I know, for some people, it's a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it's a time of loss." "Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I've said many times you can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbor only when you agree." ...

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Rising home prices are leading to higher property taxes in Colorado. A surge of new people coming to Colorado has meant higher property taxes of much as 40% for those already living in the state. David Chen talked to residents in the state and found a retiree, a former X-Ray technician retired for 20 years, facing a 20% rise in property taxes in Littleton, Colorado, and having to sell some of her stuff to meet the higher cost. For retirees in Colorado and across the Rocky mountain states- where people have moved to from California and the Northeast  paying higher prices for homes- living on Social Security checks is particularly hard these days. In Montana property taxes went up by 40-50% in some counties in 2023. Democrat Governor Polis says just because your home price goes up by 40% does't mean you have 40% more cash to pay taxes, your income may be up 10-12%. For retirees on Social Security checks alone it is only the inflation coverage in those checks. The situation is also true for Arizona and Utah with many newcomers and the trend for hybrid work adding to it. ...

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Emma Tucker describes the elation in the News Desk and for reporters of the WSJ on August 1, 2024  following the release of a young reporter Evan Gershkovich held by Russia for coverage in sensitive Russian regions. Emma Tucker said-    "We are grateful to President Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn’t commit. We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evan’s nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role." Who is Emma Tucker and why does it matter?-   It matters because of monopolistic/oligopolistic hold over communication of news in the public space that belongs to public service since Lincoln, TR, FDR, Kennedy in the US, and it's shaping of public perceptions such as no action needed on climate change fires/floods, or on infrastructure investment in a dilapidated US. Emma Tucker studied in Sussex and in New Mexico before studying philosophy, economics and politics at Oxford. She becomes a graduate trainee at the Financial Times  in 1990 continuing for 30 years right into Covid years (FT now owned by employee owned Nikkei since 2015 acquired from Pearson for $1.32 billion). In 2022 she was selected to run Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal acquired by him for $5 billion- including $2.25 billion premium- from the Bancroft family that owned it and Dow Jones since 1928.   ...

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This report in the NYT shows how venture capital does not work for women, immigrants, latinos and blacks because there is less room for errors and failure for women and minorities. Venture capital, the $100 billion going into it in 2019 for even the fringe benefits of tech nowadays, pushes aggressively for results and returns which may not be right for companies seeking gradual growth and moderate returns without the stress and increased chance of failure in an hypercompetitive VC environment. Apart from the big names and some others there are many companies that fail in this kind of hypercompetitive environment, says this report. A bigger problem is the neglect of societal values and ethical considerations in this environment such as the disinformation in social media as one example. Ethical concerns, and greater gender and racial diversity is also a goal as most of the VC industry operates under rigid rules allowing little flexibility and seeing any variation condescendingly, says this report. ...

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The U.S. 2010 Project study's lead author, Barrett Lee, sociology professor at Pennsylvania State University, says diversity is becoming a part of daily life in America throughout the country not just in large gateway cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles. Hispanic immigrants are moving eastward changing the faces of towns and cities in the South and Midwest. Hispanic population increased 42% from 2000 to 2010 to 50.5 million, Blacks increased 11% to 37.7 million in that period. Asians quadrupled between 1980 and 2000 to about 18 million.

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France is moving quickly with spending on the $37 billion stimulus. Public buildings, museums, cathedrals and historical sites are being renovated in 2009. About 50 chateaus, and 75 cathedrals are part of 100 million euros for cultural centres. About 75% of France's stimulus money will be spent in 2009, in contrast to the slow work in the USA.

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Interview with former Mexican president Vicente Fox on the Arizona immigration bill. He says xenophobes have taken over. Fox emphasizes that the 11 million undocumented workers are the most loyal in their work habits, contribute to the US economy, and should be documented.

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Uber built up about $30 billion in operating losses and burnt up huge amounts of capital with its access to capital from from financial markets in the US, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. 2023 is the first year for profits of $1.43 billon of which the larger part of it $1 billion is from equity investments. It went public in 2019. Lyft a competitor of Uber has not yet turned a profit. Contrary to the general impression these kinds of startups have burnt enormous amounts of capital, and diverted capital from essential needs such as education, healthcare services, and public transportation. Consider the case of lack of investment in the New York subway system that lags so far behind that in other cities such as Tokyo to make it incomprehensible. The New York Port Bus Terminal  needed to be replaced- the planning took 10 years and the new terminal building will not be completed till 2032. Essential investments that improve the lives of millions of people in our cities are neglected or delayed. The real crowding out of capital from essential public needs is a feature of the Reagan era economics that have created many of the problems we face today of underfunding where it really counts. The capital allocation system is distorted so that capital does not generate proper returns or benefit the largest part of the population. ...

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In tackling the new Omicron variant president Biden is choosing to avoid the toughest restrictions and broad mandates that American would find it tough to accept and which affect upward mobility and the economy, and widen gaps between red and blue states. The fatigue is high as well as mental health impact says one of Biden's advisors. Biden announced stricter travel restrictions and a mandate for masks for public transit but avoided mention of lockdowns and shutdowns.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says the situation is different now that 70% of the population is fully vaccinated and children over 5 are being vaccinated. She said "its a different situation right now and we don't need to have a knee-jerk reaction."

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People with doubts about Obama and McCain being agents of change or just bearers of the latest popular slogan for electioneering, would benefit from looking at the details gathered by the New York Times about the two candidates ties to lobbyists. Obama is second only to Senator Dodd in the amount of donations received from employees and PAC's of the 2 companies Fannie and Freddie. Mr McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, is a longtme lobbyist, and previously was head of Homeownership Alliance. Homeownership Alliance is a coalition of banks and housing industry interests led by Fannie and Freddie to counter another organization FM Watch, which was an alliance of financial institutions and lobbying associations that wanted to even the playing field against Freddie and Fannie by challenging the implicit government guarantee that allowed them to borrow funds at lower rates. And both candidate's vetters for vice Presidential picks have links to Fannie. Its former chairman, James Johnson, initially led Obama's search committee and Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., McCain's vetter was a Fannie Mae lobbyist. For McCain, confidant and adviser, Charlie Black, and deputy Finance Chairman, Wayne L. Berman, lobbied for the 2 companies. For Obama, Robert Tsien, Freddie Mac VP, and directors. William Lewis , Brenda Gaines, a Chicago businesswoman, come up as names of contributors. There are so many such names right at the top of these two candidates advisors, that it makes one wonder seriously who are these people fooling when they make statements about Fannie and Freddie- like the one made recently by McCain about Fannie and Freddie enriching their executives by millions of dollars while things were going downhill, and the picturesque phrase "going to hell in a handbasket". And did he talk to Rick Davis about this. And Obama did he talk to James Johnson about this, and Brenda Gaines? One, McCain is a maverick yes, meaning he is independent, and the other can talk intellectually and excite young people about the future, but its a thin veneer, when all is said and done both promote their careers above anything else, and the difference is in degrees with one perhaps more than the other. And people have short memories. The Times reminds us that McCain was one of the "Keating Five" senators investigated by the Senate, accused of interceding with federal regulators for the operator of a failing thrift and received a rebuke. This is what Paul Gigot, who as editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal has directed the investigative reporting on Fannie and Freddie for years, says in his recent column about all the dishonesty and failure and efforts to corrupt the whole political system across the political spectrum with lobbying and donations and tactics. In a note of pessimism he says "not that either presidential candidate is interested." Quite a comment on the political system. Which is also why Vincent Reinhart, who headed the Monetary affairs section at the Federal Reserve, when asked about the bailouts of Bear Stearns and of Fannie and Freddie, and the help Detroit auto companies are seeking, on Bloomberg News on September 8, 2008, said that "free markets is a thin veneer" when things really get rough. ...

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The NYT's look at the televised debate between Macron and Le Pen for the presidential election. Macron has this to say in closing about Le Pen's shelving her plans for exit from the European Union compared to her position in the last election. "It's a project that doesn't say its name but entails leaving the European Union. I'm not lying about the goods, you are lying about the goods." Macron says Le Pen is being disingenuous about this, arguing that by reducing French contributions to the Eu budget and by ignoring fundamental rules of the EU such as freedom of movement and the single market, that would lead to a de facto exit from the European Union for France. Lyrarc has shown today on this page how the debate was covered in FR24, DW.com, The Guardian, BBC News, WSJ, and NYT. One of the key questions is what would she or some other candidate such as Mr. Melenchon done differently than Mr. Macron- For the once in a century pandemic? Macron is not faulted by any one for the work done by two prime ministers he appointed for the task. What would she or some other candidate done differently for today's surging inflation, considering that it is happening worldwide? Are their aspects of France's welfare state, and her economy and the currency that are better protected under the European Union than in a situation of de facto exit. The absolute power in the French presidency is something that happened after a weak system of prime ministers and coalition governments in the period between the two wars, and that power used wisely enabled De Gaulle to take decisive steps  over a decade for France in the post war modernization of France. This was a problem for Melenchon with his calls for a new Republic and a new constitution. Yet many of todays problems of decaying communities and once prosperous industrial towns in decay in the north, northeast and the south require a next generation industrial revolution to bring manufacturing back to France and back to the European Union, and large scale investment in France, as is happening today in the US which is confronting the same problem.    ...

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Anton Troianovski presents how things are seen by Russians and in Russia of  the Biden Putin meeting. Mr. Putin says in an NBC interview that he sees president Biden "as a professional who has spent all his life in politics." Putin compared this with Mr. Trump who he thought was relatively unprepared, new to politics by comparison who was unable to deliver on the friendlier policy he had promised, and instead delivered too many impulsive moments in the relationship. This has helped set the relationship of the US with Russia on a "stable and predictable basis." Russian experts say the Russian president was seen badly by the American political class, and not just badly, "insultingly badly" creating a rift at another level. Biden is seen as a member of  the old school in a good sense, one expert says, who as senator visited the US for talks on limiting nuclear weapons in 1979 and in the 1980's, who knows Russia and who has genuine respect for Russia as a country, and sees it possible for adversaries to work together for some overriding interests. Some Russians are are nostalgic for that time when Russia was treated with respect and as an equal. For Biden and America the priorities are for America to achieve the economic rebuilding that is needed, to bring back hope at the time of the losses from the pandemic, the positive message is genuine. One Russian expert says this summit has huge meaning for Russians. It tell them the US has a desire to set a kind of positive agenda. At the time of the worldwide pandemic, and with so much rebuilding to be done, it comes as a fresh breeze for both nations and for Europe, and the rest of the world. Biden has done the right thing for America and for the world. ...

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The final tally is Republicans 220 and Democrats 215 as all results are in for the 435 member House of Representatives in the US. This is the second smallest majority in US history- in 1917-19 Congress Democrats had  217-215 majority of 2 seats. Because DJT has appointed 3 US Congress members the GOP majority for months will be 217-215. Gaetz's and Waltz's districts are likely Republican but Elise Stefanik's in New York is uncertain. 

At 220-215 Republicans can lose votes of only 2 members of Congress. Washington Post says there moderates, vulnerable Republicans and retiring Congressmen who can express their concerns about legislation. About 12-20 Congressmen have scored less than 60% in Heritage Action's scorecard says Washingon Post. This means hasty,  or controversial legislation will face constructive opposition, be modified or rewritten to satisfy concerns of moderates.

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From the country of "Feierabend" the much appreciated German term for cutting off the workday to do something else like biking or running which is very healthy way of living during the pandemic and everyday, come more German expressions which tell us  more about how to live.  "Na Wie Lauft's" is the German expression most people learn because it means "how are you running", and shows people you care about them. Here DW.com, looks at other German expressions with wonderful pictures of people and scenery in Germany to accompany each expression that has a soothing, calming effect on all. The meanings are given by DW.com, the German national broadcaster which also helps people learn German. "Die Dinge Laufen Lassen," is another German expression that has a Zen nature and is one that one take comfort in for its calming effect. It means "let things run their course, and everything will be alright in the end." "Noch in den Kinderschuhen stecken It means things are only in the early stages, beginning to develop, unfold, the ball is only beginning to roll. With it goes "Laufen Learnen" which means you have to walk before you can run. "Lugen Haben Kurze Beine" means "Lies have short legs." It suggests walking or running. It says you won't get far with lying, you won't get ahead with it, somebody will see through you. "Auf dem Ruder laufen" means to lose control of an oar while rowing a boat to stay on course. It also means hang tight and things will right themselves eventually. And to go with this is the German expression about learning the procedure or techniques for getting the work whatever it is done correctly. Wie est der Ablauf" how will things run, what is the procedure for doing it? Positive expressions from the images of running or walking at the time of the pandemic when this can have a soothing and calming effect.   ...

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Things slow down quickly. The next steps after the arraignment of Donald Trump in New York are the information exchange of the prosecution with the defense team with a first tranche of documents and then a second tranche of documents. This happens by mid June and gives the defense team time to size up the situation. Next are motions for specific relief. The defense may ask to transfer the case to Staten Island or ask the case to be pushed back to the Spring of 2024. At this time the next date for the appearance of Mr. Trump is December 4. Defense may ask that he not be asked to appear in person, and this is left for the Judge to decide.

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Professor Patterson of Harvard University has some serious observations on what has happened and what could be the way forward in America as it faces the lack of opportunities for a better life for minority communities trapped in cities with a deteriorating quality of life.  Between 1985 and 2000 a higher percentage of black children, about two thirds of black children, grew up in high poverty segregated areas than in the period between 1955 and 1970, according to a Pew Trust study of 2009. This affects everything from social mobility, life chances, potential for downward mobility. Particularly so because by 2016 the gap between black and white incomes has worsened, says professor Patterson. With this segregation has become worse in America at the level of neighborhoods where people actually meet, he says, citing a 2015 paper by Daniel Lichter of Cornell University.  In some ways segregation says Dr. Patterson is worse than in the 1960's. This could be because of downward social and economic mobility. Events such as the mortgage financial crisis of 2009 with bad decisions by the banking industry disproportionately hurt the black and minority communities. The trade imbalance and shift of manufacturing overseas hurt manufacturing jobs for white and black communities. Weakness in education and health services also hurt poorer communities of all races and color. In some ways the work of presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson in the 50's and 60's may have created more hope and a sense that "a rising tide lifts all boats" in economic opportunities that may have been lost in the work of presidents after Clinton with loss of jobs in manufacturing for ordinary black and white Americans alike. The bad decisions by the banking industry and selling of bad mortgages, worsening health care options with overpricing in the medical field, all compounding the effect on  ordinary Americans. In a separate interview in the Harvard Gazette professor Patterson says de-ghettoization, moving to the suburbs is one way to better opportuntiies in the suburbs. For this to happen more moderate income housing is needed in the suburbs. A cultural change in attitudes comes with a shift to neighborhoods where communities can interact and meet. For this to happen strict zoning laws that prevent moderate income housing in suburbs such as in California and many other states needs to change. As professor Orlando Patterson says here in the Harvard Gazette and in the WSJ more Americans with liberal views need to put their money where their voices are. A stronger economy, education for changes in cultural attitudes in classrooms, cultural literacy, more manufacturing in America to create better middle class wages and jobs for Americans of all communities giving industry a role, and more of the affluent putting their money where their voices are for better integrated living in the suburbs not just for a few, are ways to bring better life for Americans.   ...

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This WSJ editorial says prime minister Abe deserves to continue his efforts to revive the economy after Abe calls a snap election for Dec. 2014. It says the Finance Ministry's ideas for increasing spending and taxes have not worked to win over deflation. It points to the need for prime minister Abe to take supply side actions and get the Third Arrow of structural reform to work.

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Problems with the rural development and agriculture projects conducted by USAID in Afghanistan include overspending in 2009, followed by sharp cutbacks in 2010 and 2011 as budget cuts were made. In 2009 USAID made a grant of $300 million to Arlington based International Relief and Development (IRD) to help farmers in Kandahar and Helmand improve productivity over just one year, at the insistence of Richard Holbrooke. The focus was on paying for day labor jobs to clean canals, offer subsidized seeds to encourage switching from opium poppies, distributing tractors, and building gravel roads. Because many districts of the two provinces were considered unsafe for work, much of the money was concentrated on a few districts and in one year. As a result farmers in Kandahar got more seed than they needed and they in turn sold tons of seed and tractors in Pakistan for cash. A senior program official at IRD says it wasn't realistic to pour so much money in one year. But USAID officials say overspending and poor oversight made the program seriously flawed. There was also a difference in the views of the military and USAID on the value of day jobs. The U.S. military sees this as away of protecting its efforts, of literally protecting its flanks, as this keeps unemployed youth from joining the Taliban. At the same time senior USAID officials wanted to see multiple companies bid for the next $350 millon on a follow-on project. When the USAID team of specialists again awarded it to IRD, senior offficials at USAID decided to cancel the program. The program was then redesigned in the expectation that other companies would bid for it. In the meantime USAID gave IRD 3 quarterly extensions, the last expiring June 30, 2011. The US military sees the day labor program as crucial for its military efforts, so there is kind of an impasse with USAID reluctantly giving in. IRD meantime is shutting down activites in Helmand and will do this also in Kandahar probably by the end of May, as its contract has not been renewed because of problems with the program. USAID has a high staff turnover rate of 85% a year in Kabul which complicates things with the shifting priorities of different officials. Some programs are being scaled back- a job retraining program seen as requiring $125 million over 18 months is being scaled back to $40 million. Others such as a USAID project for coordinating disparate rural rehabilitation projects for $140 million is held back because of lack of agreement with the Afghan government about how it should proceed. In parts of Kandahar USAID had found several contractors doing the same work. See the groups on Dexter Filkins, and on Commander Adams, which touch on serious development issues and the war....

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The firing of Tata CEO Cyrus Mistry by Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata Group, leads to a prolonged crisis at the companies of the Tata Group. A vote is needed at Tata Motors and Tata Steel for Mistry to be ousted from these companies following a vote to oust him at TCS. The parent company's board of directors have voted to oust Mistry. The expert view is that the crisis will not last much longer as all Tata companies need the Tata name and will eventually fall in line with the wishes of Ratan Tata. Ratan Tata followed J.R.D. Tata, and Jamsetji Tata, both legendary leaders of the company. Though Mr. Mistry's family owns 18% of the company, much of the reputation of the company lies in the Tata name and the work of JRD and Jamsetji, so that the 660,000 employees of India's largest company are likely to see this as a temporary setback in the long term.

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The remarkable story of how a CEO of a $4 billion food company is running the business from a children's bedroom. The founder of the plant based alternative meat maker is a biochemist who lives in Northern California Bay area. His employees are based in Redwood City, California. Mr. Brown, 65, communicates with his employees from here. He is also a marathon runner and a believer in fitness. He sets a 90 minute no meting time for employees when they can take a breather, get some fresh air, and walk around.

He has given employees, including hourly and temporary workers, paid leave so they can stay and work from home. The plant is closed with a third party in Chicago meeting commitments for its products manufacturing.He will reconsider restarting the plant April 7 if demand is higher than the supply. He views this as the right action and right thinking, as by stickling with his employees he believes they will stick with him in the long run.

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A sad situation at the library system in San Jose with exorbitant late fees turning young people from low income families, immigrant children- the very group that needs to be integrated better into society with improved English language skills and a path to higher literacy and reading scores that can lead to college- turning these children away from libraries to avoid the late fee penalties. Parents with low incomes can ill afford the high late fees in the San Jose library system, and some residents keep a distance after being pursued by collection agencies, according to this report by Carol Pogash in the NYT. The situation is different in San Francisco which charges less in late fees, and with the openness of libraries in New York which counts more reading time in libraries as a way to pay off any late fees. The numbers are significant as this report shows 187,000 accounts at the San Jose library system, or 39 percent of all cardholders owe the library late fees. Compared to 50 cents a day for unreturned books at San Jose, San Francisco charges 10 cents a day for adults and no late charges for users under 17 years. Here the principal of Washington Elementary School in San Jose, Maria Arias Evans, and librarian Ms. Bourne, draw attention to a problem when 95 percent of the children attending the school qualify for free and reduced lunch programs. When America is seriously reflecting on the issue of lack upward mobility through education in 2016, better integration of immigrants into society, turning away young students from libraries is the last thing we need as a society and a nation. The digital and other divide in San Jose has never been so evident even from the outside. In March the German new weekly ran a story on San Jose and Silicon Valley satirically titled "Beyond Awesome."...

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India has 2.3 million of the 9 million tuberculosis (TB) cases reported annually. About 100,000 of these are drug resistant strains. Existing treatment methods do not work for drug resistant cases, actually exacerbating the conditions as the strains thrive if the antibiotics fail. Cases of drug resistant TB are reported in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. Experts say the $236 million India spends on TB treatment and control is not enough to deal with the problem. India lacks the machines that can detect drug resistant TB in 2 hours and patients with drug resistant TB wait for months taking treatments that fail before it is detected. The WHO provides these machines at a cost of $70,000 per machine and each patient test is $16. The first cases were detected in 2006, and India began building labs for this strain in 2008. So far 37 labs have been built treating 5000 patients. The WHO has tried to persuade India to get the diagnostic machines since 2010, which can do the work of detection for drug resistant strains much faster. These machines are in pilot programs and India will buy more if they work says Dr Kumar, head of India's TB program. Doctors at Hinduja Hospital in Bombay, including Dr. Udwadia, are not convinced and see the efforts as slow and bureaucratic. Dr Kumar says the government has focussed on regular TB which only costs $9 or 500 rupees to treat and cure compared to the $1800 or 100,000 rupees it takes to treat drug resistant TB....