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Questions being addressed to get health care to the uninsured and to all Americans at an affordable level.

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Most questions about the vaccines from Oxford, Pfizer and Moderna are answered in this Q&A in The Times.  The Oxford vaccine is the only vaccine that is being provided at cost to the public at a cost of 4 pounds, Pfizer using German technology at 15 pounds and Moderna from Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 28 pounds. The Oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, the others use mRNA technology of messenger RNA which requires ultra low temperature storage. Astra Zeneca could have handled the trials and methodology for results in a better way. As the two trials one that produced results of 62% and the other results of 90% cannot be combined to give results of 70% but are two distinct and separate trials. However too much emphasis has been placed on the vaccine, as other prevention measures remain important for 2021. Other vaccines are being developed in Britain with new technology and in India by ICMR which are in trials stage and about which not enough is known. The Russian and Chinese vaccines have not released detailed data limiting their use around the world. ...

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Indian men report doing more housework during the pandemic, sharing housework and childcare with their wives.

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This report in WSJ shows tech companies hiring workers from competitors to hoard talent. During the pandemic tech companies went on a hiring spree in the expectation of future needs. As this did not turn out tech companies are now laying off workers.

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Weyerheuser is cutting down as many trees as ever, while appearing as a company that supports the environment, says this report in WSJ. Weyerheuser says its 10.6 million acres of US timberland act as huge sponge to reduce carbon emissions. From Douglas fir in the Pacific Northwest to pine plantations in the South, to North Maine Woods, Weyerheuser has forested land the size of New Jersey.

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Face masks work and cut down infection by 85% say studies, but it is important to make sure that it stays on and leaves no opening for air from outside to get in. This means not taking calls in areas where infection can occur and not touching the mouth, eyes or nose with the hands. 

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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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Bret Stephens of NYT shows a lack of knowledge of European history and remains oblivious of the disastrous consequences of Reagan's policies that he lauds. He cites Reagan as saying to his own audience - "My idea of policy towards the Soviet Union is simple, some would say simplistic. It is "We win, you lose."  The US did not win through Reagan policies, it began three decades of US involvement in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, with Iran, that have wasted trillions of dollars and many lives, a period in which it created space for the emergence of China as a world power with newer infrastructure built in a period in which China could quietly rebuild and modernize while the US frittered away its vital resources to the point that funding was missing for vital infrastructure rebuilding and education was not financed by the government as it had done in the early postwar years. The classic European History book by Cambridge historian Brendan Simms, "Europe- The Struggle for Supremacy 1453 to the Present" shows that every time any country became too powerful, the others regardless of religion, old ties or other affiliation joined together to counterbalance and restore the balance- Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary were never allowed to become too dominant. The idea that the Soviet Union collapsed because of Reagan's policies is incorrect- it would have collapsed a decade later without Reagan as by the 1980's the people running the government and the ordinary people had realized the system was not meeting the aspirations of Russians. By buying into this myth Americans were embroiled in useless wars and in so doing probably destroyed more wealth in a short time than any period in world history- the trillions of dollars of oil wealth transferred not to countries such as China or India that had to pull themselves by the bootstraps but to Arab desert regions that were itself not benefitted because they went to fight wars and destruction. ...

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With America's 11th aid package to Ukraine what are America's goals in Ukraine? "I want be clear about the aims of the United States in these efforts" says president Biden in this extremely important article on June 1 in the New York Times. "It is not the ouster of president Putin."  "It is not to inflict pain on Russia." "We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign Ukraine with the means to deter aggression and defend itself."

"We are sending a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so that it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table." As Mr. Zelensky has said "this war will only definitively end with diplomacy."

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Internet penetration in India is increasing rapidly. India had 71 million internet users in 2009 by one estimate. Current estimates are of 80-100 million internet users. India's internet penetration as percentage of population of 5% is low compared to China which is at 28.9%, Brazil at 39.2%, and Mexico at 28.3%, according to figures from the International Telecommunication Union. Analysts expect the launch of third generation broadband networks will help increase internet use in India. One study done by investment bank Caris & Co. shows internet use growing to 180-200 million users by 2015. Most of the major internet sites are in news, job-search or match-making. Internet retail is just beginning to grow with online purchases of $1.4 billion in 2010 going up to $5 billion in 2012.

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Peter Morici is interviewed by Maria Bartiromo. He says the dollar should be devalued against the yuan by 40-50%. China by keeping the yuan undervalued has provided its exports with the equivalent of an export subsidy. China will only allow imports of solar panels with 75% domestic content, the US does not. The other problem is the banks and compensation. Morici says banks compensation should be like that of a regulated public utility. Can one imagine the head of Con Ed making the kind of compensation at the banks?

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WSJ offers ideas on retirement investing when faced with very low interest rates as in U.S. and Europe.

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This report in The Times cites David Stockman, Reagan's budget director, saying afterwards that the Reagan tax cuts were a Trojan horse for getting tax cuts to the rich. The Reagan cuts says The Times did not work and led to huge deficits. Liz Truss's new budget with tax cuts is seen as a policy failure at a time of cost of living crisis for most people in the UK.