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Efforts to bring better wages and conditions to fast food business  through a law passed by Governor Newsom in California, to bring upward mobility and integration into the mainstream of society for millions of American families and children being opposed by McDonald's and Starbucks. Current wages are $15 a week which would bring a typical fast food worker $30,000 a year for a 40 hour week for 50 weeks. The poverty level for a family of five is $32,470 on the Healthcare.gov site for the USA. Are fast food business corporations saying that children of these families should be kept forever at below the poverty level set by the American government? Why? Are they saying that labor is subordinate to capital? Are they then going to go further to say that upward mobility shall forever be denied to millions of children in these families? On what grounds? Republicans say they are the party of Lincoln. Something more- What did Lincoln fight the Civil war for? The plantation economy of the South also denied labour and children of labour the rights of upward mobility. How did Lincoln win the civil war? By speaking up for the rights of free men everywhere in a land of abundant land and new future. "This is essentially a People's contest. On the side of the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form and substance and government, whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men- to lift artificial weights from all shoulders- to clear the path of laudable pursuit for all- to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to partial, and temporary departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the government for whose existence we contend." July 4, 1861, Special Message to a special session of the US Congress. "Our adversaries have adopted some Declarations of Independence; in which unlike the old one, penned by Jefferson, they omit the words " all men are created equal."  Why? They have adopted a temporary national constitution, in the preamble of which unlike our  good old one signed by Washington, they omit "We, the People" and substitute "We, the deputies of the sovereign and independent States." Why? Why this deliberate pressing out of view, the rights of men and the authority of the people?"   ...

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"Ram Rajya" is a concept of a just society that serves the needs of the people based on the ancient history and ancient paths of Bharat or India. It is easily understood among the farmers and ordinary people of India. During the long period of colonialism it meant to Gandhi and hundreds of millions in the villages of India a sense of society free of colonialism and colonial rule that did not invest in the country or its people, no matter their religion or caste or language group. In this sense Ram Rajya is all about a just society of governance that meets the needs of all the people, that makes investment in the resources of the country to the benefit of the people. In the modern period in the transformation of rural societies such as China or India or other parts of Asia, Ram Rajya or Buddha Rajya as an extension of the same concept, and about what Abraham Lincoln called society for the people, of the people, by the people, in his call to America for a Just Society. In this sense it has connotations for the world as it struggles to build a style of governance in society that builds the infrastructure, invests in the education and minds of the people, in their health and wellbeing along all dimensions. In this way it is a social concept that is embodied in the best of human society throughout history. It embodies the aspirations of the people of Asia to modernity inspired by ancient tradition, aspirations to science and technology and building modern societies. Of India with Ram and the Buddha, China in its connections to the Buddha, to the people of Indonesia with the connection to Hanuman, and the people in South East Asia and Japan through their connections to the Buddha which were embedded in the ancient society of Ram and the Upanishads in the land south of the Himalayas. No one is too small, no effort is ordinary or small- "I am very small, I am very ordinary, if someone thinks so one must remember the contribution of the squirrel. Remmbering the ocntribution of the squirrel will dispel our hesitation, and teach us that every effort big or small, has its strength and contribution. The foundation of Sabka Prayas (everyone's efforts) will be the foundation of a divine, and capable, just and good Bharat or India for all its 1400 million people."   ...

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Keir Starmer of Labour  in Britain says "From 20 points behind to 20 points ahead in the polls." As Lincoln said you can fool some of the people all the time or all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time." This has relevance also for America in 2024 as president Biden in his transformative work for America faces the same kind of rumor and doubt Keir Starmer faced for the last two years, much of it pushed by the Tories. Lincoln said this in Clinton, Illinois, in the Lincoln- Douglas debates, September 2, 1858.

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Lufthansa and Etihad Airways have asked for permission to begin Airbus A380 flights into India. India is a major market for the A380 which can carry as many as 800 passengers in all economy seating. The Indian government is taking a new look at the A380 after earlier concerns of protecting domestic airlines. Etihad is planning on taking a 24% stake in domestic airline Jet Airways and the sector is being opened up to foreign competition.

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Mr. Macron is beginning to listen to young voters says this report in The Guardian, yet after this election is over it says he has to do some profound rethinking. The abstention rate of 40% for young voters under 35 should be deeply disturbing. Too much power is concentrated in the presidency and little in parliament, it is true, with Macron's aloof style making things worse. Yet for young voter to say they are indifferent to a vote for Macron or Le Pen shows that Macron has much to do to win the trust of younger voters. The Guardian cites a Cambridge University study that shows the current disillusionment outstrips ones of previous generations, and has more substance than the one that shook De Gaulle in 1968 as opportunity was growing in France for all parts of society in 1968 compared to 2022.  The frustrations at work are common to US, Britain, Germany, France and all of western Europe- precarious and unfulfilling work, low pay, and asset based inequality, that is creating a slow burn generational crisis, says The Guardian. ...

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Decriminalizing hard drugs led to all sorts of problems in Portland Oregon and citizens feeling unsafe with and increase in homelessness and increase in drug activity. Mike Baker talks to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler about how a Proposition Measure 110 in 2020 decriminalized drugs with three fourths of Portland supporting it. Not anymore as most people still feel unsafe. Governor Gina Kotek has reimposed criminal penalties for possession of drugs. And Wheeler now supports expanding the police force. It is a three year experiment that went wrong also creating a sense that there a personal safety problem for ordinary residents of the city. The lack of behavioural facilities to help people affected added to the problem. This has lessons for all parts of the country, Wheeler also says the politics also went awry. Safe streets, safe neighborhoods is part of the infrastructure that America is building across the country under the Biden administration, safety and ease of living are what infrastructure and rebuilding America is about. And the perception of the need for good law enforcement and safe neighborhoods, safe transportation is now embraced across America. ...

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It started out as a crazy idea but Paris Olympic organizers began to see the beauty of it. The Olympics on the River Seine itself. Organizers saw the 2018 Youth Olympics done on the streets of Buenos Aires showing that it could be done. And they were upto the challenge with a 1.4 billion e French government project to clean up the river and its rancid dirty water in time for the event in 2024, and to make it swimmable for the first time. Swimmers would dive into the Seine. Click on Original Article to see Les Carpenter's report in The Washington Post and see how the river Seine looks at different times of the day. It would be risky but after the pandemic it was worth trying to bring back the idea that Paris is back. Paris 2024 CEO Thobois, a badminton athlete himself, was upto it. After listening to all the experts, all the plans, the organizers looked at each other at the meeting and said that this is crazy -let's do it anyway.

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As China shifts away from construction to support the economy no government support is given to real estate company Evergrande to reorganize it operations. Evergrande has $300 billion in debt and its sprawling operations all over China will now be dismantled. The decision is made in an Hong Kong courtroom on the 12th floor of the Hong Kong Court Building as reported by Alexandra Stevenson of the NYT. China is now moving away from the economic support of internet companies such as Tencent and Alibaba and construction firms such as Evergrande. More investment is going into renewable energy and companies that are leading in technologies such as BYD in electric cars worldwide. Investment is also being made in funding improvement in standards of living in the rural interior of the country that was neglected during the boom years and in tackling climate change. This is a very different China as president Jinping looks for other ways for economic development that fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and the goals of building a better China for all its people in less developed rural areas and in urban areas.  ...

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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says president Biden's $2 trillion plan for workers and families is aform of modern supply side economics. Where the old supply side economics failed with deregulation causing environmental damage and tax cuts on capital did not achieve promised gains, she says the new "modern supply side economics seeks to increase economic growth by boosting labor supply and raising productivity, while reducing economic inequality and environmental damage." Biden plan seeks to use common sense ideas that are more likely to work by investing in education, healthcare, child care, helping more women be productive in the workplace and tapping into their skills, investing in social cohesion essential for democracy by giving all sections of the people better opportunity for a better life, and creating a ground for fairness in taxes to finance the public infrastructure that will make the US a leading economy in the world that serves all its people. In that sense it is even wider and deeper in both intent and purpose than any term such as supply side economics that economists and politicians use. ...

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The US Fed under Jerome Powell is going to raise interest rates one more time in 2023 following rate increases in 2022- by a quarter percentage point this week. This is not only a fight against inflation but a way to reverse a situation that has affected the wealth and standard of living of ordinary Americans by reducing interest on savings to a paltry less than one percent. Only stock market investors benefitted under the previous regime widening income and wealth disparities in America. Just as today's story in the WSJ showing Bath and Body Works returning to basics such as producing soap in America, something that would not even have been given a second of thought in the 1900's, the Fed is doing its job under Jay Powell of going back to the basics. Where interest on savings provided retirees a comfortable stress free retirement and the inducement to save help build a savings pool in America to invest in what really improves the standard of living for all Americans across this country, from rural to urban, from all parts of the land. ...

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On the eve of 2024 elections on a scale never seen in the world from Rajasthan desert to Himalayan mountains to the sea, PM's site looks at the themes for development that have evolved into slogans and captured the imagination of India. Development For All, Development With All, is the "Sabka Vikas, Sabka Sath" slogan that has captured the imagination and vision of the young generation of Indians. For development at speed and scale to reach 2047 with the transformation of India into a modern nation with infrastructure and per capita incomes similar to the US, EU, China or Japan. 2047 is the centenary year marking 100 years of India as an independent nation. In the interview with ANI shown alongside PM Modi discusses the problems of modernization of a region of immense diversity, history, and cultures. 2047 providing a point of focus for achieving the transformation, a transformation that is being taken up with the cooperation and support of the US and the European Union that are building a new supply chain which integrates India as a major manufacturing nation . ...

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Rural towns with populations of about 1000 or 1000 to 5000 are in a acute crisis when it comes to labor supply to run school buses, clean offices, run the town offices, run sports programs for kids, mowing the cemetery lawn, taking seniors out for meals, driving Little Leaguers to Away games. Jon Kamp of the WSJ provides this report from Ashland, Maine, pop. 1200. Leland Tarr is 65 years old and doing all these things. Town manager Martin says Tarr can't retire as there is no one to do this, he can't find people or the money to to hire people. And Tarr says "fishing is calling." All across Texas in towns across the vast hinterland, and in the prairie states including Kansas this situation exists. People in the public workforce in these small towns in rural America tend to be older and replacing them is a persistent challenge. These towns have to offer competitive salaries as not many people want to move to Texas towns like Muleshoe population  5000  on the New Mexico border. ...

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The problem of lack of vaccine supplies in African, Latin American and South East Asian countries needs immediate attention. With vaccine supplies going unused in America and Europe because of vaccine hesitancy, all of Africa and much of Latin America, parts of Asia lack vaccine supplies.

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This report in The Times shows that small polling errors can swing the election either way into large wins for Republicans or Democrats. A polling error of just 3 points is all it takes for a big win on either side in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

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For senior executives of financial firms investing in August 2011- following weeks of extreme volatility in the U.S. stock market- is all about capital preservation. Executives interviewed here have moved all their money to high grade bonds and cash. This is happening even as the advisors of financial firms are telling the public to stay in the stock market for the long term, and even as many middle class investors have seen their savings shrink from the crash of 2008. It is the crash of 2008 that has made the executives interviewed here turn highly cautious.

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A native of Cincinnati, Ted Turner, built one of the largest landholdings in the US. He bought 2 million acres which makes him 4th largest landholder in the US when he died this year in 2026 at the age of 87 years. One ranch alone cost him $100 million in New Mexico made up of 586,000 acres, which is now worth $500 million. Turner bought early when land prices were low in New Mexico and Montana. Much of this wilderness was turned into conservation areas. In this sense he will be remembered more for this public land and conservation than for a 24 hour news channel. Much of the audio and video media can be accessed over 24 hours anytime of one's choosing on the internet by 2026, which makes CNN redundant today. CNN and Fox News are more of a distraction today at best and a flawed presentation of the News because of their tendency to take advantage of the audiences and reinforce their bias for profit, CNN and Fox New on opposite sides. CNN has been acquired by Paramount CBS and is about to undergo major changes under the Ellison family. And the Murdoch family is split on how to run Fox News. Both television channels will likely dissipate in influence and viewers as Americans grow out of their biased and often incorrect interpretations of current news events. There is little they do that cannot be done by diligent effort to present the news in alternatives such as Lyrarc.com on the internet that present a range of views from major world newspapers and sites. And yet see America as a beacon of hope in the world and Europe as the place where the scientific and industrial revolutions that changed all our lives for the better started, giving the younger generation of Americans reason for hope in the future. ...

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After all the talk about spending Saudis fall to sixth place in soccer league spending as oil prices decline and there is just not enough for all the mega projects.

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The glass ceiling facing women as they face hurdles to reaching top management positions in China, India, Japan, S. Korea and other Asian countries. The need for proactive efforts and programs to develop women for top and middle management positions. The figures show women represented at levels as low as 1-3% at board level and senior management positions in China and Japan. Cultural attitudes, women's tendency not to push themselves forward when they feel they lack all the skills needed, and a lack of programs to develop women, lead to this lopsided situation where skills of talented women are not utilized.

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A law that is in the Must Have category for Parents, School teachers and Educated Children in the US, Canada, Britain and India, finally gets passed in Australia. Of huge benefit to Australian Parents and School Teachers- after December 10 2025 social media Meta Tik Tok and You Tube are required to remove all under 16 accounts. Chinese children and school teachers, parents have the benefit of such laws regulating the use of social media which in the current climate of license, of leaving childrens, parents and school teachers to fend for themselves, leaving young girls to fend for themselves, has not happened in other nations.

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Michael Kinsley of Washington Post points out that the $469 million of bonuses to AIG FInancial Products employees was first seen in SEC filings in November 2009, then on Rep Cummings blob on the Huffington Post November 27 entry. It was reported in the Washington Post in an article headlined "AIG Spa Trip Fuels Fury on Hill", and in the New York TImes on October 17, titled " AIG lets New York Review the Propriety of its Pay Packages", so where was everybody then? Its as if noone knew about till last week when all hell broke loose. Kinsley refutes the argument that as AIG CEO Liddy suggested that the employees only take half of the bonuses, by asking the question: bonuses for what? For creating a black hole in which government rescue funds have to be poured of $170 billion, the largest rescue in history, and then these skills to create black holes needed so badly in the midst of a near Depression that they be kept from leaving with retention payments. Or as Republican Senator Snowe put it "Bonuses for what?", the same question the whole country is asking. ...

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Denmark's efforts backfire on Greenland. EU leaders have failed to separate Denmark's actions as a former colonial power in which it acquired Greenland in the Treaty of Kiel 1813 with Sweden and England during the Napoleonic Wars. And EU leaders have bought into Danish views designed to maintain control of Greenland that talk of the tribal population of about 50,000 over an island the size of Canada- smaller than would fit into a baseball stadium- that is largely unpopulated because of the sheet of ice all year round in the Arctic region. Much of the North of Greenland was first explored by the US Navy under Admiral Perry in the 1890's. Denmark has done little to develop the island or improve lives for the native Inuit. Secretary of State Seward wanted Greenland during the Alaska Purchase 1867 and it was sought by the US in 1900's, again in 1947 for $100 million by US president Harry Truman. It is "unwise" as Secretary Bessent has said for EU leaders to accept the canard that this is somehow just DJT's idea, and ignore it is essential for US security, it is part of the Western Hemisphere to which the Monroe Doctrine applies, and climate change melting ice has made it critical for US policy to address this gap in US security for the eastern seaboard of the US. For Denmark it is as the US commmanders in chief stated in 1947- "completely useless." ...

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The English translation of the PM's speech at the Ayodya Temple is shown here from the Press Information Bureau of India. It covers the ancient paths and ancient traditions that were given to the lands south of the Himalayas on which the basis of a Just Society that serves the needs of all the peoples of the region can be laid down. Through the concept of Ram Rajya which in the Treta Yuga formed the social concept of a good and Just Society akin to what Abraham Lincoln laid down for America in the words "for the people, of the people, by the people." A reminder of what the peoples of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe are striving for after the pandemic. The task of modernity was done through modernization and Empire by Japan and failed yet now revived without Empire, through Communist leadership against the Empire of Japan in China which is in its current formation with an embrace of modernity and science. And now in India and Indonesia, all of South East Asia of over 2 billion people marking out a path to modernity and embrace of science and technology with the united efforts of the whole people with everyone's efforts, of Sabka Prayas- into the future for new generations venturing out, to today's children setting out on this journey. ...

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The active role played by Harry Belafonte in the civil rights movement is the subject of this essay in the NYT by Wesley Morris. Belafonte was a close friend of Martin Luther King. Morris calls Harry Belafonte a folk hero who reached audiences of all colors in a subtle way that reminded them of their common humanity. NYT shows Robert Kennedy being interviewed by Belanfonte on television in 1968.

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The Rs 6 per litre incentive to dairy producers in Karnataka has increased milk production in the state. This has led to Nandini and another cooperative based in Anand, Gujarat, Amul Dairy, to makeup 60% of all procurement by dairy farm cooperatives in India. Price of milk is about Rs 50-60 per litre, About Rs 240 per gallon, equivalent to about $3 a gallon similar to the price in the US.

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Letters to the WSJ ask the question -why are these thousands of good old boys given carte blanche, given a sort of impunity,  for immoral even criminal behaviour involving women? Readers ask is this the right response or must society move forward and hold all leaders to a higher standard. Other readers compare this to the election with candidate Goldwater which pulled down the whole Republican party.