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How huge wildfires are affecting the stratosphere 6 to 31 miles above the earth and creating a swirling vortex of smoke reaching 21 miles high that is spreading across the planet. Circling twice around the world according to some studies. This resulted in fire induced thunderstorms in Portugal, South Africa and Argentina.

Wildfires in California have sent plumes of smoke 10 miles high altering air quality in places as far as Europe. Fire seasons are getting longer in many parts of the world as a result of this.

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The 1.5 million people in the six boroughs of New York city where they do not always know when their next meal comes from. This was before th pandemic hit. Today after the coronavirus this has grown to 2 million says the president of Food Banks for New York city. This FR24 report looks at the deep problems in the social fabric of America that have developed over decades of misallocation of capital away from health, education, infrastructure, and manufacturing.

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Lacking a vaccine mandate or serious protocols for coronavirus such as mandatory mask use and social distancing, schools reopen in Britain without the safety action taken in other European countries. Italy has clear vaccine mandate for teachers, France and Germany have mandated use of masks and social distancing action, Britain none of the above.

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What happens when a town grows so fast that it cannot cope- with overcrowded schools, 20 mile commutes that take 90 minutes, and a water system that fails frequently.  It started with South Carolina, a Sunbelt state cutting property taxes to about half to attract more people from neighboring states. Lake Wylie, South Carolina in America's sunbelt attracted so many newcomers, about 80% of its population, that it cannot handle the too rapid growth.

The school system placed a $15,000 impact fee to build new schools that is set on each new house constructed. The city council of the town placed a 16 month moratorium on commercial and residential rezoning requests, new apartment complexes and subdivisions. Similar bans on growth are increasing in South Carolina and booming towns in America's sunbelt as the consequences of unplanned haphazard growth with tax incentives are becoming burdensome.

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By influential business leaders from Brazil, India, Sweden, the US, France and Japan. A strong case for completing the Doha Round even if this takes difficult and decisive choices. The concern is about preserving and building on all the gains in free trade made in earlier Rounds. Not one of the earlier Rounds failed so this would be a first. Differences in areas like agriculture which are politically sensitive in countries like France and Brazil stand in the way. See the article by Scott Miller, French Resistance to Trade Accord has Cultural Roots, in the Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2006.

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Al Lewis describes all the missteps and bad decisions by H-P's board in his view-from the hiring and exit of CEO Carly Fiorina, Patricia Dunn illegal spying scandal, firing of Mr Hurd, to the hiring of Mr Apotheker from software maker SAP, the $1.2 billion Palm acquisition, the dumping of the TouchPad at the first sign of struggling sales, to the $10 billion overpayment for British software maker Autonomy which has grown mainly through acquisitions and not by major advances in its software.