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Protection from hospitalization for Omicron variants can drop to 57% from 81% after 6 months from second dose, and can be pushed back up to 90% using booster shots for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, according to a large CDC study in the US. For Delta variant period last year the vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 90% from about two weeks after dose two till 6 months, dropping to 81% after 6 months, and up to 94% after a booster shot. For Omicron variant the currently vaccine effectiveness for same periods is 81%, 57%, and 90%.

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Focusing on what brings you joy, what you have a passion for (Ikigai in Japanese), and where you can find social support, mindfulness practices, yoga, meditation, healthy habits including eating habits, are all ways of keeping a good immune system as we age.

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Only by drawing the real connection between climate and human health can real progress be made in tackling climate change. The planet is greater than we are, say experts, and it will survive us. It is people who have to save themselves.

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Rather than getting bogged down with perfectionist instincts, it helps to take a shot at difficult work and then fine tune with corrective steps once the results are seen. In this way shortcomings can be fixed in a progressive step path as opposed to trying to do it all at once which can be too much to do in one step.

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Guiding the debt ceiling talks in a safe way that does not distract in any way from the stronger economy that is taking shape with large investments in every sector, and which people can see and feel in their own lives, is the goal of president Biden. It would be a win for Biden if overall spending can be kept at the level of 2023 for the next two years. How he does this is by maneouvres that concede somewhat in some areas- one example is by reducing spending on the Internal Revenue Service by $10 billion from $80 billion to $70 billion, and shift the $10 billion saved to education and other similar spending. The idea is to mitigate the effects of small cuts by shifting money from other places in the budget spending plan. These maneouvres are designed to keep the overall investment largely intact and deliver results in 2023 and 2024 in a rebuilding of America that the people can see. 

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Ignorance about the risks and benefits of good healthcare was once seen as a problem in less developed countries such as in South Asian region. The coronavirus is changing this so quickly that it leaves one incredulous. This report in WSJ shows how people in the U.S. are questioning the risks of coronavirus, skeptical about prevention measures, and questioning the value of a vaccine. From El Paso, Texas to Boise, Idaho in smaller towns and cities across the U.S. there are higher daily cases because of this attitude. The U.S. had daily cases of new infections of 195,000 on december 2 during the second wave. Compare this with 31,000 in India on December 1 for 4 times the population and one can see that nothing can be treated as given or a state of affairs that will exist in the future- the capacity for change is upto oneself. Even this reversal for the U.S. can be changed starting with a clean slate and a clean heart after lessons are learned.

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Biden makes a rousing speech to workers and worker families at the AFL CIO campaign rally in Philadelphia. He tells them when he thinks about global warming or renewable energy he is thinking of jobs for union workers, when he is thinking of chips and science he is thinking of jobs for workers and union workers, all in the USA. What trillions of dollars in investments mean is jobs for decent workers, working families in the US, jobs with respect for hard work and dignity. And trillions of dollars that come with deficit reduction because of the super wealthy paying their fair share just like everybody else, not 8%, less than schoolteachers pay, firefighters pay. "What this all means for you is a simple proposition. And I remember having this discussion with you, old buddy. When I think global warming I think jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. Good paying union jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on. Jobs you can't outsource (applause) that can't be outsourced." ...

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DW.com shows amazing pictures of European leaders in a really informal setting Starmer, Meloni  and Macron standing keenly listening around them as Merz and Zelensky are in conversation on a sofa bench, EU's Leyen on a sofa nearby, with many other European leaders, all trying to catch the conversation. One can see this by clicking on original article. It shows the closeness that has developed over the long and weary war years of the EU leaders who have stuck together for the first time speaking with one voice on the issues facing Europe with DJT and the US.

The challenge for Europe- to come up with peacekeeping force as a security guarantee to Ukraine so that it can reach a peace agreement with Russia, bringing a final end to this war and overcoming fears that it would erupt again in another way or form. The Swiss and Austria, Hungary offer to host peace talks.

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"Our public and democracy needs constructive questioning,” speaking in Irish and English says Catherine Connolly of Ireland after winning by 63% presidential election in Ireland. “Together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity.”

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Edison's learning mindset and his persistence has lessons in work today.

These lessons apply to individuals as well as countries and groups, to create a thinking mindset. Will this plan work, what are the assumptions and what is it based on, test it out. If it fails try changing it. Test again. Does it work. What were the assumptions and what is it based on, what if we change this part. Try again. In this way Edison found answers to difficult problems in his inventions. 

The search for a vaccine, other problem solving at the individual, small group, and national level, can be done in this way. For the vaccine there is the added factor of time- how quickly can we do this? The Oxford vaccine works with an approach that has worked for other types of coronavirus in the past research efforts, what component can be changed or inserted so that a tested approach can be used instead of starting from scratch in this case.

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Taking a fresh look at the scenery outside on a walk outside can bring feelings of being hopeful and upbeat, especially today with the coronavirus.

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Cara Buckley provides this intimate look at Garrison Keillor, host of Minnesota Public radio show "Prairie Home Companion." This is a Keillor who is quite different from the person people know from the radio show. Keillor finds release during the show using his imagination about a town he has made up called Wobegon. Strangely, in his own life Keillor is a very private person keeping his thoughts to himself and not saying much. Keillor is 73, and now plans to retire after about four decades hosting this show with music and tales about Lake Wobegon. At its peak the show had 4.1 million listeners in 2006, dropping to 3.2 million today. It is thought of as a homespun quaint, country stories show, yet it can touch on current issues such as the NRA and the gun lobby in a recent show, and builds on its bond with its audience.

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Fully vaccinated people in Britain can now carry on life like normal within weeks and be free of quarantine, with no need to take daily tests.

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Yann Le Cun of the university Sorbonne, France  thinks currrent Language AI models won't work, will be replaced by World models that learn like a baby visually using intuition rather than large databases of content. He was a pioneer in AI when machine learning was still in its very early stages.

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Learning a foreign language is away to build resilience in ageing processes. The interest, the excitement, stimulating experiences in a new environment, learning new words and building  vocabulary and how to fit these words together, all can be exercises for the brains similar to a yoga routine or a sports routine biking, swimming or hiking.

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Regulatory hurdles that remain for a Fox-Time Warner merger even after divesting of CNN.

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China has a loss in its construction industry, yet has worked hard to achieve a win in its EV industry, to bring the prices of EV's down to where it can be a people's car instead of a high end automobile. It is a win also for climate change and for getting European and US makers including Tesla to get their act together and make the cars at a price workers and ordinary people can afford. For this to happen for a level playing field the US government assistance to EV makers is essential to build America's industrial manufacturing base.

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India's efforts to reopen parts of the economy- agriculture, some manufacturing and construction, industries where shifts can be run and workers can be isolated. 

Smaller factories had difficulty reopening because they could not meet stringent workplace requirements. About a third of rail employees were asked to return to work, but attendance was poor because of the difficulty of getting to work. 

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Vast majority of DJT supporters 88% (down from 95%), approve of the president DJT's overall performance. On tariffs and Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats vastly disapproving, the messaging on cuts to Medicaid even though it's funding had grown close to $1 trillion ($909 billion in 2024), the uncertainty on tariffs even though the $1 trillion China trade surplus needed serious corrective action, federal government job cuts, leads to much larger proportions of Democrats opposing than Republicans supporting leading to about 60% unfavorable overall on tariffs and Big Beautiful Bill. Such unpopular action is sometimes the role of government like the action to rebuild the trading system and bring restraint to runaway spending on benefits, and can be overcome with a strong economy and capital investment for growth in future years. Another problem for the DJT administration is in the messaging to get the message across when some of the president's actions can be inconsistent or appear inconsistent. Add to this the distractions such as international diplomacy on Ukraine that take the president's time. Yet changes were needed in the international trading system and tough action is sometimes necessary when most countries and groupings, China EU, Canada, Mexico, can game the system their benefit to the detriment of the American people and jobs/communities at home. On the Big Beautiful Bill at the rate of growth in funding for Medicaid to $909 billion in 2024 from $2 billion at its inception under LBJ in the 1960's some restraint on spending would ultimately keep such help flowing where it is needed over the long haul. ...

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The performance of Morocco, Senegal, Japan and South Korea, show a new popularity of soccer in Asia and Africa, and teams that can compete with the best in Europe.

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This report in DW.com presents a situation where supply of oil runs out as demand way exceeds supply as shale oils in US are depleted, and no new reserves are found. A story in WSJ last week reports that the salty water from shale oil extraction is injected back into reservoirs at a rate that creates serious problems in the Permian Basian of the US including East Texas. The IEA forecast in 2026 shows about 97 million b/d of production and demand slightly exceeding this in both 2030 and 2050 which would suggest defossilization has not taken place. Yet the US pullout from defossilization under DJT is sure to be reversed by future governments in as short as 3 years, and the current DJT policy is simply a response to the cost of living concerns of the majority of Americans. The scenario that fossil fuels will be required forever is promoted by the oil companies and by OPEC+ including Russia. But this situation will reverse as the cost of living crisis and the low wages and incomes, loss of factory jobs, low savings, health care inflation, is tackled under the DJT administration and the US economy becomes stronger with lower inflation.  This scenario of  steady oil demand can be reversed if China and India and Europe push ahead with renewable energy and technological change as is happening today, and will not be seriously impacted when the US joins the battle with its renewable energy push in 2028. This is not just an optimistic scenario, it is a balanced one as private industry in the US will sense this and move ahead with development of new technologies for renewable energy so as not to fall behind and to pioneer on their own. That is the history of innovation in the US for the last 100 years and will not change. ...

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Schools, shops, restaurants, cafes and offices are reopening and people are getting back to work and outdoors. What are the ways to reduce chances of getting the coronavirus and what is the latest advice from public health experts.  More attention is now being given by CDC and other experts to the aerosols, the smaller particles that are airborne that can spread the virus to people unawares in breathing, talking and singing activities. larger droplets come down to the ground, smaller droplets can be airborne for hours. This makes masks wearing very important, call it essential protection. Air filtration and proper ventilation is also important. What about social distancing? Experts now say 6 feet is good, 10 feet is better. This is from Joseph Allen director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard School of Public Health. No magic number but 6-10 feet or more is good for safety. Can one start expanding one's social circle? The fewer contacts the better says Dr. Allen. You can he says expand the circle but this depends a lot on how serious the other family is in taking precautions. Are elevators risky? If one can one should take stairs but do not board a crowded elevator unless the lobby is more crowded. Do not touch buttons, if you do use elbow or use sanitizer from your shirt pocket after pressing. This is where mask is essential. Here a tip is useful. Talking does not help as talking emits 10 times the particles than when you are quiet and this is true for small spaces such as elevators. Continual talk is not a good idea such as a long time spent talking, here watch that habit of getting into long conversations face to face.  Is it good to take a summer vacation. Here the answer is yes, as no one really knows how the winter will be. And remember outdoors is good for renewal of health, and one can look for places that are not crowded where the 10-12 feet or more can be easily done. One tip here is to take your own food and supplies from home so there is no need to go to crowded restaurants. Swimming in a lake or ocean is fine. Camping outdoors is fine and actually a good idea if you are with your own family. Try to use an empty restroom and one that is clean and wear the mask. While camping keep the 6-10 foot rule with people outside your immediate family, do not share food and drinks and try not to touch each other's supplies, and sanitize your hands or wash if you do. When hiking keep the mask in your pocket so you can wear it when you see others passing on trails. In hotels skip the cleaning service, in a rented property ask the owner to keep the windows open before you arrive, and put a day or two between your coming and the last person who rented the place. Renting a car is tricky allow a couple of hours to elapse between you and the last rental, open windows. Public restrooms. Always wear a mask many are poorly ventilated. Open the door without use of hands if possible,or use a paper towel to open and discard. Do not use air dryers. Is it safe for your house cleaning person to return. Keep the windows open to let in fresh air. Make sure your cleaner wears gloves. And all should wear masks. How to visit grandparents? Experts advise keeping visits outside and wearing masks when not 6-10 feet apart. Anyone not feeling healthy should avoid the visit. And bathrooms should be sanitized after people leave even wait a day if there is another bathroom. Experts advise against sharing food and buffet type meals. Ten feet distance is better than six feet. Can one use a gym? Here the advice is to exercize outdoors or at home if one can. It says be cautious unless your gym is limiting the number of people or spacing the equipment adequately. Ask about open windows, air filtration systems, ventilation.  This is excellent advice from experts with the latest information. Over the last few months from March to May most of the information was during lockdown, and a lot can be forgotten or seen as not necessary as things return to normal, as shops schools and cafes, office reopen, and cases remain steady and under control. Being vigilant is good for safely navigating this period through the summer and into winter till a vaccine is found. It is also about being a good civic minded person aware of one's own responsibilities, as when all take safety seriously and practice it everyday, it builds another layer of protection for everybody- because it creates a safer environment for all.     ...

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David Reilly says the Fed's response to the large volatility in the stock market after the credit downgrade of the U.S. to AA+ makes sense. The Fed's Open Market Committee voted 7-3 on August 9, 2011, to keep interest rates exceptionally low till mid-2013. With credit markets working and the financial system having sufficient liquidity the Fed did not need to take drastic action. Coming only a short period after the end of QE II, a QE III could be seen as an over-reaction. Another reason for the Fed's action- more pressure was needed for the U.S. government and Congress to shoulder responsibility for the economy. In an earlier statement the Fed had pointed out that the Fed by itself can only do so much and this is consistent with that thinking. There are important headwinds from housing, large consumer debt, deficits, and high unemployment that the Fed alluded to in that statement that will take time to reverse with policy action on several fronts over a longer period. In the speech made on June 6, 2011, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said "monetary policy cannot be a panacea."...