LyrArc Article Gist
With 7 caps for Germany and winning the Bundesliga title for Bayern in 2005, Tobias Rau retired in 2009 after injuries. His next career- teaching sports and biology at the peter August Gasemschule in northwest Germany.

Gheerbrant of The Times of London talks to soccer players who decide to take the road not taken and branch out into different things. 

Rau says as a child he was lucky to have good teachers, and school was a part of life he really loved. With a wife and two small children he likes living in a small town. Werther the home town he came back to to teach at a Gasemschule.( a comprehensive with real mix of abilities and qualifications). He likes that he gets to spend quality time with his children, and does not have to deal with the high of adrenaline of competitive sports which can tax the body and system. He was 27 when he retired, quite young so that helps, as he could get back to university easily at that age. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Three tankers held off the coast of Mumbai by India's Cost Guard have been sanctioned for carrying Iranian oil. India stopped buying Iranian oil in DJT's first term 2016-2020. In his second term DJT wanted India to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil as a way to reduce funding for Russia's invasion of Ukraine now in its fourth year. India has stopped buying Russian oil as part of the goodwill effort to reach trade agreements with the US, EU, and Germany. The seizing of the oil tankers is part of a new effort by India to support bringing Russia to the negotiating table to end the Ukraine war. Russia has demanded Ukraine turn over Donetsk region to end the war, which is a major stumbling block as Ukraine says there are Ukrainians living in Donetsk region. Germany's increase in its defense budget and investment in its armed forces has led to Germany+ (Germany plus UK and France) acting as the chief supporter of Ukraine, after the US has taken more of a neutral stand. The US basically wanting to end the war in 2026 so that the US can address the situation in the western hemisphere with drug and migrant trafficking gangs in Mexico, Venezuela and Columbia, and rebuild its economy to bring back manufacturing from China. For India the guiding principle of its foreign policy is Gandhiji's thinking and advice for fairness and peaceful coexistence - it does not believe in a British inspired NATO expanding on the borders of Russia, and at the same time does not see how a war on a neighboring Russian speaking region is in Russia's continued interest for a fourth year with bombing of energy infrastructure to leave Kviv in darkness. Non -alignment was Nehru's not Gandhiji's idea- the ideas of respect and fairness are basic to Gandhiji's thinking and India will remain true to his ideas in world relations. One aspect of this change in world affairs is missed by all and the media, that is that with the EU and US+ Japan, and India+ Indonesia there is a population of 1 billion of western peoples, and about 2 billion of Asian peoples, for a total of 3 billion people. This is a region three times the size of China, which with its access to capital and technology, labour and good governance is in a position to industrialize and reindustrialize, and bring manufacturing/science and technology to the core of this economic region by 2035. An industrialized India with 2X-3X the size of its current GDP will still be governed on Gandhiji's ideas for world relations in 2047. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
DW.com report by Mu Ciu shows a CATL(Contemporary Amperex Technology) plant in Arnstadt, Thuringia, in eastern Germany. It will not bridge Germany's technology gap. German and US consultants at the microeconomic level of the company and German and US economists at the macroeconomic level of the economy entirely fail to grasp the effectiveness of China's investment driven model. Of its joint partnering with European and American companies and China's single minded focus on technology access. This is why the DJT US administration has warned Europe that it is failing economically. China's macroeconomic and microeconomic model are run by the same authority by the state, and according to goals and plans (which in a socialist economy is weak at the microeconomic company level lacking the initiative and freedom of action). By combining its macreconomic framework run by the state with a micreconomic company level run by the state but on free market lines the Chinese investment driven model has dual advantages and operates at a speed that far surpasses the German and American model. It's society suffers as a consequence, but in few short decades 1990-2009/2020 this is all it could accomplish with a single focus on modernization for what was once a peasant agricultural economy. Where it lacks is in future technology access and as long as weak companies in the US and Germany partner with Chinese companies the technology access for Chinese companies give it the essential ingredient for its investment model to work, as American and European companies can waver in investment Chinese companies backed by the government will not waver in investment and have the clear advantage. DJT's approach is to give a big shock to the entire system of world trade now run by China, so that this is no longer going to work at the macroeconomic level and legislate huge investment incentives for one time depreciation and other moves to get American companies to invest. It wants Europe to do the same, including getting rid of the bureaucratic structures and regulations. German Chancellor Merz is getting the message and is acting quickly first with the trillion dollar investment plan, the meetings with Draghi and Meloni to get Italy and like minded nations on board, and internal efforts to get rid of regulations and bureaucratic structures, and building a new partnership with India to remove an error of Merkel/ Clinton+ Obama in excessive concentration and dependence on China. This requires a steady hand and steady governments, steady policy, and companies in America, Europe and India to work together for the long haul without wavering or delay, to rebuild the world economy along new lines and on a new path. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Reeves says Reagan ever the imaginative politician seized on the idea of "supply side " economics of a not so well known economist Arthur Laffer. Ideas that were simple and appealing- you reduce marginal tax rates and generate higher revenues. This worked for some time with higher economic growth for a number of years, but the arithmetic of higher spending and borrowing and lower taxes would eventually lead to large deficits at the end of Reagan's term, just as price controls worked for awhile and then led to a surge in prices at the end of Nixon's term. When Reagan became President the deficit was 2.5%, when he left office eight years later the deficit was 5% of the economy. Interest payments on debt jumped to $169 billion in 1988, from $69 billion in 1981. Reeves says American politicians know so little about economics, to which it could be added, winning presidential and congressional elections is always a big part of the picture when it comes to economic policy. Which is why Nixon even with Milton Friedman as an advisor shifted to Keynesian policies of higher fiscal spending in 1971, and why Reagan turns to intuitively appealing and effective in the short term policies of having it all- higher spending, growth, and lower taxes. During the years of the two Bush presidencies and the Clinton administration the success of Reagan policies leads to a general sense as Vice President Cheney put it referring to Reagan and Treasury Secretary Baker's belief, that "deficits don't matter." Which leads us to the current situation where 2012 presidential election politics again frame the terms of the debate on deficits and budgets, only now the deficit is much higher and on a unsustainable path. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
William Burns, a former Deputy Secretary of State, and a former ambassador to Russia 2005-2008, looks at the U.S. and European Union relationship with Russia following the expulsion of Russian spies in 2018. He says the U.S. and the European Union should take strong action, yet hopes this is a passing phase so that a healthier relationship can be built with Russia in the long run through diplomatic channels. Expressing views expressed by former president Obama and other experts, Burns says Russia lacks the alliances and broader support that the U.S. and European Union have, and is much smaller than the larger economies of the Western alliance. Under Putin a strong interventionist position has made Russia look better at home but may not be the best for Russia in the long run, says Burns.   Burns calls for stronger sanctions on the economic elite and business leaders under president Putin. Yet the sanctions have not deterred president Putin and a long run solution needs to be found, including issues such as Ukraine and issues that affect the Russian economy so that the change in relations since 2014 can be reversed. After the Berlin Wall collapsed hopes for integration of the Russian economy into the West were raised yet were not realized for Russia in the years following the Yeltsin government and the Russian economy suffered, first during that period and then during emerging market crises. Russian disillusionment with the West was followed by a more inward looking economy under Putin to help stabilize the Russian economy, accepting devaluation of the ruble to make the Russian economy more competitive in a period of low oil prices. Foreign investment collapsed following the Ukraine crisis but the Russian economy adapted to the shock from oil prices. This was followed by efforts to preserve these gains with an interventionist policy that made the Putin administration look better at home and win popular support with strong action in Crimea and Ukraine. This interventionist policy has played out too far with the meddling in U.S. and European elections creating a backlash that is now taking place. With the European Union, having a traditional policy of restraint and good relations with Russia, openly questioning Russian policy under Putin. Much of that period when Russia responded first to the collapse of the Berlin Wall with the collapse of the Russian economy, and in the following decade facing emerging market crises and collapse of foreign investment -which created a more inward looking Russia under Putin in his third term- is shown in Lyrarc.com. In some ways the Russian response in Ukraine, the effort to bolster popular support at home in elections, and the interventionist approach are linked to the efforts to find a Russian response to the economic crises Russia faced since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Seen in this way a shift to better relations is still possible as a broader perspective is gained.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Oxford vaccine is shown to be effective for older adults over 70 years in age. One of the key features of the Oxford vaccine is that it is designed to be accessible in cost for not just high income countries but across all parts of the world including the countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where some of the poorest people live. The cost will be a fraction of the cost of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine. Results for regulatory approval are expected by Christmas. This vaccine is expected to cost about $4 a dose compared to $25 for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Oxford also uses a technology for the vaccine that has already been proved effective with least side effects fr other virus such as Ebola virus. Oxford researchers took the existing vaccine technology and modified it to tackle coronavirus in a way that proves effective for this virus also. Countries such as South Korea say they will not rush into the first vaccine that is available and have not responded to requests for sale from Moderna or Pfizer. India's Serum Institute is the leading manufacturer of vaccines in the world. It is preparing for production of the Oxford vaccine. India's vaccine effort includes other vaccines developed by its research institutes. The focus of India is for a vaccine that is effective as well as meet cost so that it can be used to vaccinate over 1.3 billion people. Because India has strong already established manufacturing capabilities for vaccines and is collaborating with Oxford and Astra Zeneca for a low cost vaccine it is in a position to drive the campaign for an effective plus low cost 100% accessible vaccine for people around the world. Another aspect of the Astra Zeneca partnership with Oxford is that it has committed not to make a profit from the vaccine. This is important for Oxford researchers and its organizational goals. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
China faces the problem of an ageing population as births decline and their are fewer young people to support senior citizens. The shift to a two child limit after the policy limiting children to one per couple has not accomplished the goal of restoring the birth rate. The Central Committee of the Communist Party and the president Xi Jinping have taken the decision to allow three children per family.  This comes at a time when the old policy meant a fine of 10 times the disposable income for having a third child. The law was not enforced in all regions but acted to deter larger families. Yet there is a cultural effect of decades of having smaller families that will not be easily overcome with a change in the law. In Latin America smaller families are the result of decades of cultural change towards smaller families. Young people are increasingly aware of the cost of raising and educating an additional child, and the effect on the standard of living. Experts say it is too costly to raise another child  and housing is not cheap in China.  This discussion with 3 billion comments over Weibo in the discussion of this policy in China last week, misses a more obvious point from the graph shown in this report in The Guardian. That graph shows the curve for the birth rate in 2019 dropping faster in South Korea and Japan than in China, so that in 2019 the birth rate in Japan and South Korea was lower than in China. This shows that even without a one child policy the birth rate in Chia would be closer to that of South Korea after industrialization progressed and society experienced profound cultural and economic change. Japan today has the lowest birth rate in Asia. The Latin American experience also confirms this shift to small families. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
When you remove the 7 Californians and 4 Independents  only about 9% of 264 Congressional Democrats, or 26 Democrats have reservations about the president running, 91% covering every part of the country, the vast majority of American states and congressional state delegations, have confidence in the president to make the best decision. The chances of California going Republican or Trump Republican are  very, very small. Wash. Post shows 37 members of Congress on July 19, 3 weeks after June 27 debate issues, saying don't run. This is of 264 Congressional Democrats. Aug 1 is only 11 days away for planned Aug1 roll call of delegates committed to Biden. Of this 37 only 1 each from Michigan and Wisconsin, and 2  from Arizona from swing states, none so far from Georgia or Nevada or Pennsylvania. What does this tell us? It says that 264 minus 37 or 227 Congressional Democrats think Biden should run only about 15% of Congressional Democrats vs 85% of Congressional Democrats. And of the swing states only 4 Democrats. Polls- 4 months before elections polls are not really useful and not meaningful, a lot can change. Congressmen in swing districts are likely to have questions, and it is not uncommon for this to happen before the election say people who follow Congressional history. The fact that 7 are from Republican states like Texas or Ohio and could be impacted may give some idea for their reasoning. Of the others 7 are from California and 3 from New York. Which suggests the largest group is from California, remove the 7 and take out the 4 Independents and 34 goes down to 23 or about 9% vs 91% of the rest of the country having faith in president Biden. In any case California is unlikely to go Republican or Trump Republican by a long shot. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
As exports and manufacturing decline, China is continuing to maintain high rates of fixed asset investment with the focus now away from factory construction to infastructure like roads, bridges and rails. The National BUreau of Statistics reported that urban fixed asset investment expanded 26.5% in Jan-Feb 2009, compared to 26.1% growth rate for 2008. Fixed asset investment was 42% of GDP in 2008, according to JP Morgan strategist Jing Ulrich. Now it could go up higher to 45%. China's growth has been off-balance say experts, now it is becoming even more so. As long as factory construction as fixed asset investment a lot of new jobs were being created in the manufacturing sector, now these jobs are not being created. China's small and mid sized companies that generated about half of the 4.42 trillion GDP, like GenTech of Mr Yu profiled in the other linked article in WSJ, and which created 90% of the new jobs, are now contracting. With smaller private consumption, and the efforts to improve the safety net and provide universal medical care inadequate and coming late, domestic demand will not help balance the economy and boost manufacturing. Private consumption is only 35% of GDP in China, a much lower percentage than India. The comparable figures for the US are 71%, UK 64%, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Japan 57%. The balance is now heavily skewed towards government spending. Investment spending from HongKong and Taiwan, the home bases of industrialists with made for export industries inceased investment by 1% in Jan-Feb of 2009 from the year earlier, compared to 17% growth in all of 2008. And foriegn funded companies have comparable figures of 2% for Jan-Feb 2009 compared to 15% growth in all of 2008. Real estate investment growth also fell to 1% for Jan-Feb 2009 compared to 21% for all of 2008. In short the other pillars of growth in housing, and investments from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the West are declining. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Brett Lee recalls the one time when he was bowling very fast at 165 kmph and Sachin hit the ball for three fours in an over leaving Lee spellbound. Here he recalls his amazing friendship with Sachin and how it meant so much to him. Invited for dinner by Sachin they got to know each other off the field. Brett says of the encounters on the field "we respected each other."  As the Aussies meet India in Adelaide for the first Test this brings back memories of Aussie cricket over the years going back to Richie Benaud and Neil Harvey, Norman O'Neill. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Statements made by Boris Johnson, the new Foreign Secretary of Britain, and former Mayor of London, have gained wide attention in the media.  He has made controversial statements about Obama, Putin, Hillary Clinton, the European Union and written a poem on Turkey's president Erdogan for The Spectator. Theresa May, Britain's new prime minister, is described as making an astute move by making Boris Johnson the Foreign Secretary, as this keeps him  away from the Brexit negotiations, while at the same time including a leader of the Leave campaign in the cabinet.  Foreign ministers of Sweden and France expressed dismay after learning of his appointment. Johnson said of Obama that he was motivated by an anti-imperialist agenda because of "an ancestral dislike of the British Empire," following Obama's recent visit to Britain. Obama's grandfather was a Kenyan porter in British run Kenya. On Trump he says " he is clearly out of his mind," about some of Trump's comments on Muslims. He has apologized for comments on Hillary Clinton. He is in person quite different say people who know him. As Mayor of London he remained popular and helped host the Olympic games in 2012, and setup the city's bike sharing program. He is a prolific author, journalist, and a contributor to the The Telegraph newspaper, with fees of 275,000 pounds a year. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
RFK Jr. nomination heads to the full Senate for confirmation as Health Secretary to bring new ideas and solutions to tackle obesity and disease in the US. He called the US health condition dismal as it is, not just for what is spent. RFK Jr called the US a sinking ship when it comes to the health of its people as he answered questions from Senators at Senate hearings. Ron Johnson, Senator from Wisconsin, said RFK Jr. was an answer to his prayers for someone who could help tackle this crisis. RFK Jr. said he was pro-vaccine and his opposition was only to some aspects of vaccines in certain situations. He also said that his father Robert Kennedy who died in 1968 when RFK Jr. was only 14 years old had told him when he was just 13 that it was important to have a fierce skepticism.  The magnitude of the crisis is so large and the budget is so large that only someone with the experience and one who has fought hard won battles against coal and for the environment for decades, and with the tenacity of RFK, is capable of taking the action needed today. Many senators applauded Make America Healthy Again, even as others asked RFK Jr. to support all vaccines at a time of public skepticism of the government. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
See the link about an aging USA airline fleet and fewer orders to Boeing and Airbus from US airlines. Well here are some of the remarks and comments from employees who interact with customers every day and know their unhappiness and their trouble on planes in direct telling it like it is manner. At US Airways Doug Parker the CEO wants to hear what employees have to say and here is some of it.

LyrArc Article Gist
Some thoughts on taking away from the private sector its resources and ability to create or preserve jobs as a matter of concern, as the public sector or government can only create temporary work jobs which are needed but not to the extent where the private sector resources are diverted and it gets compromised. The other matter of concern is spending that does not take into account the impact of higher and higher taxes on the economy. These concerns and the importance to strike the right balance so that new jobs can be created in useful infrastructure and energy spending and at the same time preserving the vitality of the private sector. And not overburden the system with higher taxes by government spending that is not carefully targeted to get best results and wisely done.

LyrArc Article Gist
The WSJ's Monica Langley provides insights into Donald Trump's campaign strategies, some of them right out of his book "The Art of the Deal." His target voter is from a think big strategy to get voters across a broad spectrum using the slogan "Make America Great Again," with a knack of tapping into a deep well of voter frustration with the political establishment. How to get attention in the media is the next step Trump tackled by using social media to the fullest - using Twitter often, making statements that attract attention such as the ones on China, Mexico, Senator McCain and Muslims that tap into failure of political correctness to address voter frustration on trade and jobs, immigration and terrorism. The Trump campaign has 14 million followers on Twitter, and 50 million "engagement" accounts on Facebook- that cost very little. Social media is to Trump in 2016 what community networking on the PC dashboard was to Obama in 2008. As the WSJ pointed out in an editorial, the splitting of the Republican vote among many candidates, and the failure of candidates to grasp the nature of the unconventional campaign waged by Trump- descending into attacks based on target groups of voters on every candidate except Trump- created the opportunity Trump has grasped with his knack for improvising along the way. Commonsense campaigning without sophisticated strategies, improvising often along the way, using the available medium of social media at little cost to get the message and slogan across, helped Trump make the deal with voters to upset the political establishment. The Sanders campaign is also based on careful repetition of the same slogan and facts about inequality and lobbyists, over and over again, offering strong action on health care and college tution just as Trump offers strong action on China trade, immigration with the idea of the wall, and barring entry of Muslims for terrorism till "we figure out what's happening." The difference being that Trump thinks big and targets the entire electorate of his party's voters in the primaries from the beginning, and a broad based campaign on many issues. Underestimating your opponent carries many risks in politics, never more so than when you are out of touch or not listening to voter frustration, and fail to speak up to it....

LyrArc Article Gist
In Suzy Hansen's interview with Greece finance minister Varoufakis in the NYT, May 20, 2015, Varoufakis says his worst fear is that the EU will insist on the 4.5% surplus. He says he cannot budge on pensions because of the way the elderly have suffered, and on collective bargaining rights for workers. The EU proposal made by Hollande and Merkel after stalled negotiations shows the EU conceding on the surplus and collective bargaining, but asking for some cuts in pensions. Dendrinou and Stamouli provide some details of the proposal of Hollande and Merkel for Greece that is emerging after stalled negotiations. The proposal sets targets for primary surpluses- revenues minus expenditures before interest payments- of 1% in 2015, 2% in 2016, 3% in 2017, and 3.5% in 2018. Under the existing program for Greece the targets for surpluses were 3% in 2015 and 4.5% after 2016. The reduction is 2 percentage points for 2015 and 2.5 percentage points in 2016 for the primary surplus from the prior program. Greece's pensions system will have to come up with savings of 0.25%-0.5% of GDP in 2015, and 1% of GDP in 2016. Another major concession by the EU is no reduction in the number of public sector workers in exchange for the Greek government's commitment not to reverse previous measures taken to open up labor markets by prior governments. In place of immediate measures to make firing workers easier, further consultation with the EU will take place. Greece will be asked to simplify its VAT system to 2 rates of 11% and 23% which would generate higher revenues. Greece had asked for 3 rates, which EU officals say did not come up with the extra 1.8 billion euros, or about 1% of GDP....

LyrArc Article Gist
The WSJ Editorial Board speaking for the business community traditional Republican groups finally takes up the election on issues of policy difference between Trump run Republican party and Harris run Democratic Party which it should have from Day One. The former president says something that has never happened in the last hundred years- policy will be decided after the election depending on what he decides to do. Cost of Living action is No 1 on voter priorities. "Drill, Baby Drill," is the whole Republican party platform for cost of living action. What is the Harris Democrats policy plan for cost of living action? WSJ says it is spending blowouts that caused inflation, the Green New Deal, entitlement expansions and student loan forgiveness.The real reason for the increase in cost of living comes from the overconcentration of supply chain by American business in China, on which every president Bush, Obama, Trump, did little or nothing. The lack of an effective vaccination program and ineffective vaccines in China by 2021 and 2022 led to the loss of the supplies from China leading to shortages for automobiles parts and other supplies and surge in prices in 2021-2023. Powell and the US central bank correctly raised rates but cautiously and waited for this to correct, president Biden brought manufacturing home through huge investments called the "spending blowout" that brought down the inflation from 9% to 3%. Some of that "spending blowout" went to chips and science to correct the errors of American Business and Reagan-Friedman theory of the Republican party that created this problem with a culture of utter  indifference to the ultimate costs of who makes what and where. The Inflation Reduction Act also tackled higher health and other costs paid by American workers and families, and invested in public services and in repairing the dilapidated crumbling American infrastructure. Are Republicans saying let the roads, bridges, airports, built in the 1940-1960's heyday of American industrialization as China and India's is now, let them crumble? What do the educated minds of the WSJ Board say about coal in China and India and their effects on their massive use multiple times that of US and EU in history, is it not damaging to the environment and why the Chinese realized the health in North China with coal winter use was worse than in South China cut their coal use. Are they saying lets burn fossil fuels and ignore, and if investment has to be made in solar who is going to do it? Is it Ok for Republicans thet we just import from China all our solar panels indefinitely into the future. "Green New Deal" is just a perjorative term, policy has to be made thoughtfully and without prejudice or bias of any sort for the best that we can do for the American people, ignoring so called "right" or "left." Doing what is right, what makes sense, is a lot harder.     ...

LyrArc Article Gist
British Journal of Sports Medicine confirms what other studies have shown. 150 minutes of walking - any kind of walking including up the stairs at home and in the home and outdoors, can reduce health risks including aging by 73% compared to only 49 minutes daily.

Other studies have shown the need in a desk bound work culture to move around and not be statinary or sedentary. That alone lowers health risks and bad backs, bad necks. All types of exercize are important, one does not need a marathon or hard exercise, even the incidental movement throughout the day say medical experts is vastly underestimated. Walking to the bus or subway, tram stop, moving about the house frequently, just stop the sedentary situation plays a big part in remaining healthy.

Veerman, a health expert says find something you enjoy and do it, something you like that is your thing. That includes going up and down the stairs at home.

LyrArc Article Gist
The moves by the Obama administration and the national feeling and mood, its views as taken in poll of 998 adults by CBS News/New York Times. On taxing those above $250,000 income levels at higher rates- 74% of respondents support it. On populist sentiment - 71% say Obama cares more about ordinary Americans than for large corporations. On the vast expansion of spending and programs 48% prefer smaller government and fewer services and 41% favor bigger government and more services. On spending to stimulate the economy at the risk of higher deficits- 45% support this. On the budget proposal- 56% support it, but 79% of Democrats like the priorities, only 27% of Republicans like them On helping banks recover- 29% supported this in Feb, 47% support this now. In the freedom to use his own judgement at a time when Republicans have rejected almost everything he does- by three to one people say they trust Obama to make better decisions about the economy than Congressional Republicans. This includes one quarter of Republicans, which is significant in giving President Obama the room to use his judgement of what is best and take aggressive action where necessary. This aggressive action may be necessary if taking over some failed or insolvent banks is considered to be the best option, and President Obama's advisors like Mr Axelrod must be taking notes from this poll by CBS News/New York Times. On security, on safety- by tqo to one people say they trust Obama to keep the nation safe. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
In response to the claim that pay caps will mean losing talent, some experts from the banking industry and some veterans say that in addition to there not being many alternative jobs, and the need to lower their sights like everyone else for bankers, it will result in losing those who are in banking for the money and keeping those who love the work. The other thing veterans in the banking industry pont out is that if the industry loses some of the older people there will be younger people who will be eager to take on the responsibilities.

LyrArc Article Gist
The authors, Becker, Davis and Murphy, are from the University of Chicago. They point out that the uncertainty created by the Obama administration's programs including healthcare and social investments in education, energy conservation, and the desire to reduce carbon emissions, all tend to slow business expansion and investments to create jobs by putting additional costs on business. The expanding federal deficit and national debt also create additional uncertainty. Their point is that it was a mistake to start making major changes to transform the U.S. economy at this time, and that it would have been wiser to do these changes after the economy had recovered completely from the crisis. All efforts they say should have been concentrated on establishing conditions for a strong recovery. When combined with the lack of regulatory reforms to fix problems left behind from the crisis, and other failures, serious questions arise about how things will turn out in coming years. See Krugman- The Feeling of 1937, where Krugman takes this up from another angle, again with concerns about the future....

LyrArc Article Gist
Experts say lengthy antitrust investigations in which companies are required to follow the rules set by regulators leads to legal experts being consulted at each step in the product development process. The effect is stifling on the corporate culture and creates an effect on employees over time. Microsoft product development slowed down in the period following the EU investigation. This could happen at Google as it faces EU charges in 2015, say experts.

LyrArc Article Gist
The experience of Pintung county in Taiwan with a coronvirus outbreak is shown in The Guardian. Home quarantining of a couple from Peru leads to an outbreak. Community cooperation, a speedy response from local health authorities, testing and quarantining help to limit and control the outbreak. When it started this county on the coast, one of the poorest in the country, had limited health resources and no one was vaccinated. Most of the control response was through testing and quarantine, with vaccination assistance from the Taiwan government. Local people say strict quarantine is essential as the source of infections was from a couple who visited Peru and were allowed to home isolate. Taiwan government is now enforcing quarantine at hotels for all persons returning from overseas. WHO Emergencies program head, Dr Michael Ryan, says it is important to act quickly. He says "Be fast, have no regrets. You must be the first mover. The virus will always get you if you don't move quickly."  This happened in this Taiwan county as the local health authorites setup a soft lockdown of the two affected villages within 3 days of detecting the first case of Delta variant. This was announced over loudspeaker and food plus daily necessities were delivered to each household. A command centre was setup to take and coordinate the action daily. Taiwan authorites have enforced repeat testing and extended testing. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Summer tourism is helping support a second wave of the pandemic. This report says Croatia is a case study on how the opening of tourism can trigger a second wave. Because Croatia depends on tourism and Croatia had controlled coronavirus cases in May, the government decided to open its coastline areas to tourists from Europe. These tourists returned home with the infection and spread the virus. Clubs and bars were allowed to reopen for the summer season after the lockdown in April along the Adriatic coast attracting visitors. With 500 miles of coastline and Mediterranean climate, ancient towns and affordable stay, Croatia is crowded with tourists. In 2019 21 million visitors came here according to the Croatia Tourist Board. On Italian visitor from Parma cited here says she found crowded parties and bustling bars and restaurants where hardly anybody kept social distancing and wore masks. People in shops and bars she says told people they did not need to wear masks. The governments in Europe were keen on making up for the economic costs of the pandemic and opened the internal borders of the European Union in June. The opening of resorts in the sunbelt of Europe in Spain and Portugal has led to the spike in cases in Madrid and other cities in Spain. The same is happening in France. But vigilance dropped especially in Croatia where little or no restrictions were visible. Not only were bars allowed to open but the social distancing rules and mask rules were never practiced. Some Croatians call it incomprehensible. It has led to the spike in Germany, Czech Republic and Austria. The Koch Institute says 12% of all new German cases are traceable to Croatia. It is now a fact that international travel is a way the coronavirus accelerates. Governments in France, Germany, and the UK which are not especially dependent on tourism have the option to encourage people to stay in their home countries and remove this cause of acceleration while keeping shops and offices open so that business and jobs are preserved. For people hurt by lack of employment in the hospitality industry and others with lost wages from being in an occupation that acts to accelerate the virus it is a better option to offer financial assistance than to end up closing offices and shops in another partial lockdown. Opening bars helped accelerate the pandemic in California after the lockdown with steeply rising numbers of new cases. Educating the public to the extent that it should be about the dangers is also missing.    ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The title is misplaced- it is Vivekananda as Modi's mentor and hero that is central to the ideas he has put forth for Swacch Bharat, Jal Jeevan, to bring education, water and electricity to the common man. Vivekananda was also the inspiration for AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Mohandas Gandhi said that he had read Vivekananda thoroughly and through that reading he had come to be in touch with the common man in India a thousand fold. Modi has also read Vivekananda thoroughly and felt the same way. Vivekananda has said- "Loko ke shiksit karo ke ve atmannirbhar hona sikhe."  If the common man could not get to education, education had to be delivered to the common man. Vivekananda's vision was for an exchange with America and Europe in which he would bring Vedanta and Yoga to these countries in exchange for technology and capital. This is not Modi's project, it is Vivekananda's project, simply brought forward by Modi as service to the nation and the world. It also comes at a time 125 years after Vivekananda expressed these ideas when US and European Union are looking for fresh ideas to restructure their supply chain, and taking a new look at the potential of India and Indians. It is a different America that India faces, not that of the past, after this pandemic and the social plus economic ills that have affected the country. Biden is different, America is different. So is the European Union as it takes on new leadership after the German and French elections, just as America has done. Both look to the future for a partnership with India and Indians to realize India's potential.   ...