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The Seagreen wind farm in the windy North Sea waters off Scotland begins production this week. It is a 3 billion pound project of SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies of France located 17 miles off the Angus Coast of eastern Scotland. Production is 1.1 gigawatts of electricity in the first phase enough to power 1 million homes. It is the world's deepest fixed bottom windfarm- the deepest foundation to be installed in December will be 59 metres below sea level. 

Its location near the old oil and gas capital of Aberdeen, Scotland, shows how the renewable energies acceleration is giving a new life to the region. Seagreen uses new renewables technology because of the rocky difficult conditions in the North Sea. SSE Renewables is a London based company that has $12.5 billion in investments in renewable energy.

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In pictures showing the impact of heat waves and drought on China, one sees the dry bed of Poyang Lake, as shown here in the Indian Express. The climate crisis is affecting China with the effects on the Yangtze and other rivers. Parts of China dependent on hydropower are seeing power cuts. Never before have so many effects of climate change happened worldwide in one year as in 2022.

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Apple's plans to make the new iPhone 14 in India. Its efforts to bring NPI or New Product Introduction processes to India so that new iPhones can be built in a short time. This would mean not replicating production processes existing in China but setting up new ones from scratch. About 95% of iPhones are made in China. Only about 7% in India by year end which Apple plans to increase to much higher levels by 2025, as some of the supply chain for Apple shifts to India from China. The Modi government is setting up new infrastructure and logistics centers in India to prepare for India becoming a key part of the supply chain for the US and the European Union.

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Makers of glass bottles in Europe face cuts in supply of natural gas used in furnaces to heat ingredients used to make glass. These furnaces cannot be turned off because this would damage the equipment.

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Natural gas prices hit a 14 year high in the US with futures reaching $10 per million British thermal units BTU's. Natural gas is liquefied and sent to Europe from the US leading to higher domestic prices. Europe is facing a winter of gas shortages with rationing of energy supplies to industry to meet winter home demand. Germany has built up its reserves to 80% and has agreements for additional supplies from Qatar.

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Leakage of state funds is serious. Just think how many hospitals and schools, how many solar panel farms or wind farms can be built with $4.5 billion that is reported as the money laundered in the 1MDB leakage of state infrastructure funds? Here it is reported that Goldman Sachs settles for its involvement in the 1MDB with $2.5 billion in cash and guarantee recovery of $1.4 billion in proceeds from assets lost by the Malaysia state infrastructure fund. This is what the WSJ says on July 24, 2020, Ben Otto and Chester Tay- "Goldman Sachs was the main banker for the Malaysian fund 1 Malaysia Development Bhd. or 1MDB. The bank raised billions of dolars for the fund which was allegedly stolen by people working for the fund, government officials and two senior Goldman bankers." It also says Goldman raised $6.5 billion for the 1MDB through bond sales in 2012 and 2013, much of which was stolen by a Malaysian government advisor. And that Goldman received $600 million in fees which would be about 10%. Many of the countries in Asia and Africa have a colonial past in which little or no investment was made for centuries in heath, education and infrastructure. This makes it all the more appalling and heartbreaking. Goldman bankers were also involved in advising China during the hyper growth years which are leading today to little or no growth and concentration in property sector, with appalling devastation of the climate in China over a compressed period of 10-15 years 1995-2010,  leading to fires, floods, drought in China and worldwide, including in Africa and Asia. Was this good advice or self-serving for investment banks as this was accompanied by shift of manufacturing to China leading to decay of communities throughout America and and now a reversal after the pandemic all compressed so as to wreak havoc first one way and then the other way leading to a world more prone to conflict and war. Was this good advice or a cautionary tale for both America, for African and Asian countries and for China most of all a country that has a colonial past and treated with respect by Americans. Two Americans come to mind  Theodore Roosevelt who helped establish the now famous Tsinghua University in Beijing in 1911, and Joe Stilwell who led the Allied operations in China against the Japanese. Were Roosevelt, Stilwell sincere friends of China and Asian countries or the Goldman bankers is a question that just comes up. ...

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The Guardian reports that raw sewage discharge has doubled in Britain since 2016 after cuts by Liz Truss to Environment Agency budgets and for tackling water pollution. 

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Safety concerns at Europe's largest onshore gas field at Groningen, Netherlands. There are tremors and earthquakes in the area linked to effects of gas production. This report in The Guardian says 150,000 Groningen residents have suffered earthquake damage over the last decade. This limits production with increasing need for natural gas in the EU after the cutoff of Russian supplies.

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The paradox during the opioid crisis of American companies conducting business and trade in and with China on a magnitude never seen before in history disassociated from their own neighborhoods in the US is nowhere more evident than in this crisis. A similar paradox between the government in China disassociated from American communities and local stores that import its products and keep workers employed in China in the case of China. And the paradox of the American government allowing any action whatsoever of this type that affects communities in the US and continuing business and trade as normal exists today. It has the impact of eroding public confidence in the relationship between two countries even as it damages the fragile situation of communities in the US hit by lack of investment in infrastructure, in manufacturing, health, and following the pandemic in incomes. It shows the danger of business and trade operating in a vacuum or compartmentalized not aware of everything that is happening in societies and communities that surround it. In any case it is the communities and the land that always exist even as businesses trade patterns change, or take different forms, and some disappear. ...

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Marcus Rashford's second goal takes Manchester United to a 2-1 win over Klopp's Liverpool team.

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The lack of a semiconductor strategy for Britain following the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act in the US is the subject of this report in The Times. Rene Haas of ARM Holdings, Cambridge based UK semiconductor company says the Biden CHIPS Act "makes a tonne of sense" and diversified supply chains are vital after the pandemic exposed the weakness of existing supply chains. He says he would like to see more R&D tax credits and incentives to bring skilled workers to the UK.

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France becomes the first country in Europe to ban advertisements for fossil fuels.

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There is a lack of enthusiasm for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the so-called blue wall Tory constituencies in the south of England sasy this report in The Times.

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Reduce risk of dementia later in life by taking up exercise seriously says this report in The Times. Habits of exercise are learned early and help later in life is proven. As people grow older the following forms of exercise and activities can reduce risk of dementia is proven in medical journals. Exercise such as walking, cycling, running. Strength training with weights and exercise balls.Yoga and Tai-Chi, standing on one leg for balance, and meditation. Household chores such as ironing, washing, and cleaning. Gardening and outdoor activities. Running barefoot on grass also help the mental process and brain.

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The attempted shooting of De Gaulle's car was part of the OAS effort to prevent the granting of independence to Algeria, a course of action that De Gaulle like Lincoln for emancipation relentlessly pursued, in this case for North African Arabs colonized by the French. De Gaulle also modernized French agriculture and changed the living conditions of French farmers that had not changed for centuries with poor conditions. It was during this period under De Gaulle that France emerged as a truly modern nation with the infrastructure built under De Gaulle and continued by his assistants who succeeded to the presidency. This report says 30 attempts were made on his life and it shows the resilience and character of the leadership in the early post war period.

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The dumping of sewage water into watercourses and the Channel is shown here in The Guardian. It is described as the totally unacceptable face of capitalism in the UK today with water companies allowing this to happen.