LyrArc Article Gist
Orhan Pamuk, internationally known Turkish writer, gives a photographic story about walking around in Istanbul seeing the natural yellow light along the streets and shops in different neighborhoods. This is before the shift to bright white light from new light bulbs changes the look of the streets. Orhan Pamuk has a humility in his writing, touching so many readers. So much like America's Walt Whitman, to whom we owe the name Lyrarc, formed from the first three letters of two constellations Whitman saw in the night sky over the St Lawrence river in northern Quebec in 1880. Pamuk describes the changes in these neighborhoods, in places that he walked through in the 1980's, 1990's and today. For the first time walking through difficult poorer neighborhoods made possible by a body guard assigned by the government. He sees the social transformation of the European parts of Istanbul in winter walks that started in 2016. Gives us this photograph of a Syrian immigrant woman looking for help on a street in Istanbul. Istanbul remolded by Syrian and other Arab immigrants, by nationalist sentiment. He writes so much like Whitman about Brooklyn and New York,  that beguiling feeling that he got from the nightscape in Istanbul during his brisk walks in the city, that curious energy to which he felt closer during these walks. Much like Whitman writes in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (1891) about the hundreds and hundreds of people crossing by ferry boat being more curious to him and being more in his meditations than they would ever suppose. Orhan Pamuk is a real human ambassador for Turkey in today's chaotic, confusing Middle East. He was the 2006 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
We show here discussion of the the opinion of Samuel Alito Jr who made it an issue of state sovereignty so that Congress could but the federal government could not ban states from approving sports gambling. Yet in today's cost of living crisis with 4 out of 10 Americans lacking enough savings for a medical emergency, it shows that how even the Supreme Court lacks an understanding of the economic issues facing the Nation. Add to this that it made no difference whether they were liberal or conservative as Justice Breyer supported Justice Samuel Alito. The NCAA and NBA, most sports organizations, say the 1972 ban was needed for the integrity of sports. Alito in his opinion mentioned but did not give weight to the problems the SC was creating of "hook the young on sports gambling, encourage people of modest means to squander their savings, and corrupt professional and college sports." In calling the ban in his opinion "a more direct affront to state sovereignty is not easy to imagine," Justice Alito showed, and the 7-2 majority showed how little it cared about the effects on workers and their families of sports gambling. At a time of cost of living crisis and soon after the pandemic and people still struggling the Justices as in their decision on student debt relief have shown how little they understand the American people and the basic of freedoms. What Franklin Roosevelt called in 1935 State of the Union " the right to obtain for him and his a proper security, a reasonable leisure, and a decent living throughout life" that today is threatened from so many quarters. ...

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Germany's new president Steinmeier vigorously defends democracy and the European Union, in his first major speech after accepting the post of president. He calls for "push back together" against the foes of democracy. Passion and commitment marked the style of president Gauck, says Furstenau of DW.com, and this is true also for Steinmeier. Both also share personal conviction matched with personal experience, Gauck as a pastor in the former GDR looking for alternatives as the GDR crumbled, and Steinmeier is respected for his exceptional work in diplomacy for Germany. Both bring a striaghtforward manner but tremendous sincerity, so that the message is heard with respect from all parts of Germany. Furstenau calls him a German and European patriot. In Gauck's last speech he called for affirming Germany in the EU- "although voices may praise the fool's gold of long outdated nationalism, we will remain Germans- as Europeans, although the uncertainty of our times may be alarming, we will not flee from our responsibility." Steinmeier echoes the same message, backed up with personal conviction and long experience in serving Germany. Gauck called for a "vigilant democracy" that maintains the basic conditions for peace and dialogue, and also shows the willingness to defend the republic and the Basic Law, because " we do not want our country or other European member states to become the playthings of actors who are pursuing entirely different interests." In his acceptance speech Steinmeier called for courage, after Gauck had laid down the theme of Germans "not overlooking the potential within us.... trusting in our own strength and staying calm and composed."   ...

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This editorial in the WSJ commends Congress for the $2 trillion U.S. aid package for households, small business and large corporations to keep workers on payroll, and aid to hospitals. It also commends the Federal Reserve for swift action to maintain liquidity in all corners of money markets. It was important to prevent a run on money market funds and municipal bond funds. The U.S. Senate bill adds $454 billion for Treasury that can support further Fed action if needed. This has also resulted in a recovery in the stock markets. The editors of WSJ caution Treasury from intervening too far up the risk curve to help companies that had overleveraged themselves with risk before coronavirus hit. It makes clear that the U.S. central bank the Fed should only offer liquidity against good collateral to companies that were healthy before the shock. As president  Trump never tires of telling listeners to his daily briefings from the Brady room in the White House- Boeing and the airlines were healthy before coronavirus hit. It was not their fault that coronavirus hit so suddenly. These companies deserve government help, says the president. By making the distinction between otherwise healthy companies and companies that overleveraged themselves on their own, the Fed, Treasury, and the U.S. government can get more bang for the buck. The WSJ editorial also says there is a bit of good news in the behaviour of politicians, media and the public in the way they are ignoring the trivial politics and self-centred behaviours, including indiscriminately being critical of the president, and focusing on the important matters that affect all our lives.  ...

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Daniel Finkelstein of The Times of London says in this essay that DJT's world view is essentially the worldview that the US has held for much of the 20th century. He cautions Starmer and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy- the better to understand where this worldview comes from than to look ridiculous simply praising this worldview in 2025.  On McKinley as president DJT is more well read than others. Two Roosevelts backed the buildup of the US Navy, TR Teddy Roosevelt and his nephew Franklin Roosevelt as Secretary of the Navy. The US Navy emerges for America's role in the Pacific from this time at the turn of the century. Francis Perkins in her book  "The Roosevelt I Knew" describes Roosevelt's advice to Perkins in 1934 about the League of Nations and how Woodrow Wilson's failure to get Congress to understand it on Senators own terms led to the US not becoming part of the League of Nations. The US was not automatically inclined to accept the world role or its role in Europe. Roosevelt tells Frances Perkins  who was closest to him in his presidency- on International Labor Organization membership FDR told Perkins he must get the Senate Foreign Relations Committee members on board. "Remember how Wilson lost the League of Nations, lost the opportunity for the United States to take part in the most important international undertaking ever conceived. He lost it by not getting Congress to participate. They have a sense of responsibility and can't have sincere convictions unless they are given a chance."   ...

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As an outside with no political experience Park won 3 terms as mayor of Seoul. He was a prominent civil rights lawyer, helping win South Korea's first sexual harassment case in early 1990's. Now he is dead after taking his life in a situation where a former secretary filed a sexual misconduct case at a Seoul police precinct 2 days earlier, making all of Seoul pause in disbelief at what has happened. As a human rights lawyer who struggled during the dictatorships in the 1980's he will be mourned as someone with so much potential for South Korea, say people who watched him over 30 years. 

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This leader in The Economist reviews an essay in the magazine's October 8-14th, 2016 edition by U.S. president Obama. In it Obama points to the unfinished tasks of his presidency and what comes next as tasks to be done for the U.S. economy. The Economist points out the problems in the 2016 election campaign where there is a lack of discussion of economic issues as a serious problem. Obama lists as priorities efforts to improve conditions of people left out in the recovery, reducing inequality, offering more job opportunities, and increasing productivity.

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Efforts to impeach two previous presidents including Democrat Clinton failed in the Senate where the vote requires a two thirds majority. The first impeachment vote against Mr. Trump failed in the Senate. In the House of Representatives only a simple majority is required. Majority Leader McConnell says he will not reconvene the Senate before president Biden takes office. Vice President Pence has refused to invoke the 25th Amendment. House Democrats have moved ahead to vote for impeachment of president Trump for the storming of the Capitol offices in Washington D.C. Their impeachment statement says president Trump's remarks that his supporters had to fight like hell or they would not have a country, constituted incitement of supporters. President Trump won 74 million votes in the last election more than in the 2016 election and lost with Mr. Biden winning 81 million votes after polarization of the country. With such a large portion of the country voting for Mr. Trump Mr. Biden risks his agenda of fighting the pandemic, and other parts of his program, becoming immersed in partisan infighting. This would also result in continuing the division of the country, and continue polarization.  About 5 House Republicans are expected to support impeachment. In the Senate some Republicans say there are impeachable offenses yet only Mr. McConnell and the senator from Utah, Mr. Mitt Romney, favor impeachment.  Mr. Trump's style of governing was controversial from the beginning of his campaign in 2016, strident and taking on critics. He governed through relative moderation compared to his aggressive posture towards critics. For instance on Mexico his remarks offended critics, yet he negotiated a new trade agreement with Mexico replacing NAFTA to ensure worker protections in Mexico, and worker jobs and wages in the U.S. Negotiations with China on trade were conducted by a seasoned veteran, Mr Lighthizer,  who was deputy Trade Representative under Reagan, and negotiated the trade agreement with Japan that worked to reduce Japanese trade surplus in the eighties. On the economy before the pandemic hit in March president Trump made significant progress reducing unemployment.      ...

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Viktor Orban's defeat in the Hungarian election in April 2026 comes after decades of his blocking policies that emerged from the European Union in Brussels and is a relief for the European Union and Germany as it takes on the responsibility of leading continental Europe in its stance of opposition to Russia in the war in Ukraine with help of France and Britain. Peter Magyar who is staunchly pro European Union wins Hungary's 2026 election in a landslide with 137 seats to 57 with 77% of electorate voting as Viktor Orban concedes. Magyar's Tisza party gets 57% of the votes to 40% for Orban. Peter Magyar 45 years was part of the Orban Fidesz party before he formed his own party with dissatisfaction about the extent of corruption under Fidesz. Orban as head of the Fidesz was prime minister 1998-2002 then again in 2010 to 2026 for a period of 20 years spanning the first quarter of the 21st century. Magyar is not a progressive or so called liberal and shares many of the same views on social issues of Orban but he is pro-European Union and reflects the views of the Hungarian nation as independent in Eastern Europe and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in an uprising against Soviet rule. In the period before the two world wars from 1600 Hungary was the place where in addition to Austria and Vienna, the Hapsburgs and other European armies pushed back the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Europe. Hungary was a key part of the Hapsburg Empire which ruled from Vienna, Austria, over most of Eastern Europe for 1600-1918. The Hapsburg Empire collapsed in World War I on the side of the Germans and a new nation Hungary emerged by 1921 but was much smaller than Hungary of the Hapsburg era. Today Hungary is a nation of 10 million with its capital on the Budapest on the Danube river in the heart of Central Europe. ...

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Charlie Rose talks to Paul Ryan, the Republican Congressman from Wisconsin on his "Roadmap for the Future" and a major overhaul of taxes, spending, Medicare and Social Security. He tells Rose, who hosts a news show on Bloomberg TV, that in 2010 he is all by himself looking at the big picture for shaping ideas on economic reform, and still hopes others will join him in this effort.

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Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer who brought up issues of racial oppression and bad administration under the Apartheid system, colonial Africa, and under the ANC. She is known for books like the "Conservationist" which depicted the life of a South African industrialist who tried to distance himself from the black tenants on his farm but found himself unable to control the events around him- with his wife and son leaving him and a flood damaging his farm. Through the stories she told of the ultimate hopelessness and futility of the system of colonial rule and of the Apartheid system segregating and isolating blacks in poverty.

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This NYT report on Mohamed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, who comes from Abu Dhabi one of the 7 emirates in the Gulf Coastal region, is rare and unusual. It provides stories the prince loves to tell that make a point about how he sees the world. Here he tells them to Robert F. Worth, in the only interview Mohamed bin Zayad has ever given to a journalist from US or Europe. It took a year just to get the interview. The title about a Dark Vision is inappropriate as Mohamed Zayad simply reflects what is a British way of looking at things- valuing the Constitution, keeping religion private even its deeply held beliefs and cultural traditions such as Bedouin's practice, and a general tolerance that characterizes British society and similar societies throughout the history of Europe and Asia that were sitting on shipping lanes and practiced trade for a livelihood. It is also important because the other Mohamed, Mohamed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is seen as someone influenced by the ideas of Mohamed Bin Zayad of Abu Dhabi. President Biden plans a trip to the region in coming months to continue on building a narrative of development for the region. This provide an insight into the coastal regions that include Gujarat across the Gulf in India, that for centuries traded with the Gulf kingdoms. They have a trading mentality and with it comes a tolerance that is also seen in trading nations such as England. This is what brought Britain to India (and China) says Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi went so far as to say that if there was trade on the moon you would find a British shopkeeper was first to setup shop there. Zayed has as a minister in his cabinet, a woman who is minister of Tolerance, Sheikha Lubna al Quasimi.  Zayed is unique for three reasons. He has embedded in his views the spirit of tolerance. As Worth puts it in NYT, Zayed has grasped what is true to the spirit of the Gulf region. The country's location on an ancient shipping lane has bred a type of Islam in the Gulf region, that is open to the world and tolerant.  His father Zayed Nahyan's  tendencies to openness and frank demeanor combine with this tolerance to provide a different kind of leadership. His father had the pluralist instincts that combined traditional Bedouin attitudes with a rare liberal mindedness. He died at age 86 in 2004. Zayed bin Nahyan MBZ's father was selected for these very reasons by the British in 1966 to rule the small Gulf kingdom of Abu Dhabi. In 1966, says this NYT report, the country was mostly illiterate, half of all children died during childbirth and one third of the women during childbirth, there was a complete lack of western medicine. Zayed Nahyan's brother was averse to development making the British select Zayed Nahyan at the request of Abu Dhabhi families. These early years shaped Mohamed Bin Zayed's views of how to see the world. Zayed the son loves to tell stories, and this one in the NYT shows how Mohamed bin Zayed the son and Mohamed bin Nahyan the father share a sense of what it means to be human and support all people's aspirations for a better life. This is the narrative in India and the region of 1.8 billion people that extends from India to Indonesia and Vietnam. This was seen at the G7 when leaders of India and Indonesia were invited to meet with the G7 in Munich, Germany and taken as utterly serious participants in the discussions to shape the Free World. To see the difference- UAE has signed agreements to increase trade with India to $100 billion over 5 years and was thanked by prime minister Modi for treatment of 8 million Indian workers in the Gulf region during the pandemic. Saudis are now stabilizing the Turkish and Egyptian economies with aid and providing some of the funding assistance for Siemens to modernize the entire Egyptian rail system with the latest technology over the next 5 years. Projects of this size that have never been undertaken since 1945. Sometime in the 1980's when Zayed was a young military officer having completed training at the Royal British Military Academy at Sandhurst, England, and educated in Scotland, he went to the grasslands of Tanzania. During his visit to Tanzania he went to several villages to see the Masai tribes. When he returned he sat with his father crosslegged on the floor in traditional Bedouin and Asian style and told him about his travels. His father asked Zayed about all the details- the wildlife, the Masai people and their customs, the extent of poverty in the country. After hearing it all his father asked Zayed what he had done for the people he had encountered. In response Zayed shrugged and answered, the people he met were not Muslims. Zayed still recalls his father's reaction, sudden, forceful and indelible from memory. Zayad says his father took a sudden hold of his arm and spoke to him in a harsh tone and stern demeanor- " We are all God's children."     ...