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The incredible story of Beate Gordon of Mills College, California. As a 22 year old she joined the staff of General MacArthur in Tokyo. She was assigned the task of writing the section on women's rights in one week in 1946. She searched libraries in Tokyo for constitutions of other countries. Mills had lived in Japan for 10 years with her parents, and knew the situation for women in Japan, with the lack of basic rights. She took up the task as the only woman on the constitutional committee.

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Efforts to increase wages by the Abe administration in Japan. Combined 10 of 12 major auto worker unions in Japan said companies had met their full demands in 2013. Toyota offered workers a bonus equal to 6 months of base pay- a 15% increase over 2012 bonus. This reverses a negative trend of declining wages in Japan- average annual compensation declined for part and full time employees, including bonuses, for 8 of 10 years 2002-2011, reaching 4.09 million yen or $42,800 per worker in 2011, according to the National Tax Agency.

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If the minimum wage in 1968 had kept up with inflation in the U.S. it would be $10.67 in 2013, says Ralph Nader. The federal rate for the minimum wage is $7.25 in 2013. Nader points out that president Obama's call for a federal rate of $9.00 per hour by 2016 falls well short of what it would be just to make up for inflation. This does not include productivity improvements since 1968 in which those making the minimum wage do not share, and which would make it much higher than $10.67.

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A congressional oversight panel reported in October 2009 that fewer than 2000 of 500,000 loan modification applications in progressunder the Making Homes Affordable program of the Obama adminsitration had become permanent. When Treasury reports on the program in December 2009 its expected to report that the number of permanentloan modifications are in the tens of thousands out of 650,000 borrowers in the program. Mortgage companies are collecting lucrative fees on long term delinquencies so there is not enough incentive to make permanent loan modifications according to lawers defending homeowners.

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Mexico's President appointed Carstens as Central Bank chief replacing Ortiz, who had held a strict line against inflation bring in down to 4% even as Mexico's economic growth declined in 2009 with a 7% drop in GDP. Ortiz differed with President Calderon and saw his mandate as acting strctly to keep inflation under control. Now Calderon is emphasizing job creation and growth. He appointed Social Developmet Minister Cordero to the post of Finance Minister. Until now Mexican Presidents including predecessor Vicente Fox relied on technolcrats to run financial positions.

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Poland says its President Lech Kaczynski, is not hit as hard as other countries in Eastern Europe, by which he may be referring to Hungary, and may achieve 2% growth in 2009, if things do not worsen considerably. The prime minister of Hungary had warned of a new Iron Curtain coming down over Europe, as a result of the economic downturn. Unemployment is rising, but nowhere near the high double digits of the 1990's, and exports are still holding up, and Polish banking sector is relatively healthy not having made the risky investments.

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Habitat for Humanty is shifting to fixing homes in Saginaw, Michigan, which has so many vacant homes. With $500,000 from state and local governments and an agreeement with the city, volunteers and pid workers plan to demolish two vacant dilapidated houses here aweek, every week for the next 2 years. About 800 homes in this city sit empty and abandoned. Saginaw is down to 56,000 residents, half of what it had in the years the auto industry was at its strongest. Now what jobs exist are mostlyy in health care.

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In the March 29, 2009, local elections in Turkey the AK party led by Mr Erdogan got only 39% of the vote down from the 47% it obtained in the 2007 general elections. Unemployment is 13.6% and the Turkish currency's value dropped, and GDP is declining. Mr Erdogan's claims that the global meltdown had not touched Turkey irked voters, and other local issues and parties also resulted in a loss of support. Erdogan is seen as aloof and losing touch with the people compared to the years when AK was on the rise.

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On October 6, 2008 the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso plunged. Mexico had to spend 10% of its foreign reserves in a few hours to prop upthe peso. It started with some foreign investors selling latin american assets to cover losses at home. The peso's slide increased with theunwinding of derivative contracts of Mexican companies. For Brazil the fall in commodity prices led to weakening of the real and derivative contracts unwinding worsened things. Forecasters expected to see growth of 4.5% in Brazil and 3% in Mexico, now this will be lowered by 1.5%.

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Zenedin Zidane returns to coach Real Madrid team but fails to make an impact, winning only half of the games played. His predecessor had a better record of 68% winning games. Team owner Perez and Zidane have differences on how the team should be rebuilt. Sergio Ramos has 2 years left on his contract but the club may not renew it. Zidane wanted Paul Pogba to join Real Madrid but Paris St. Germain is not cooperating.  Other players on the way out may be James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale. WIth so much uncertainty the close rapport between Zidane and the players is a thing of the past. That rapport helped Zidane lead Real Madrid to winning 3 Champions League titles. He took this job because Perez called and Zidane lives in Madrid. Jose Mourinho is reported to be the alternative to Zidane. His predecessor was in the job for 4 months before Zidane was brought in by Perez. More changes including Zidane, as his relationship with Perez is fraying, would leave Real Madrid in an even more unpredictable situation. ...

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Empowering people and civil society was the main goal of En Marche movement founded by Emmanuel Macron. As president Macron has governed in the presidential style of De Gaulle, creating dissatisfaction. Macron is criticized for centralizing power and decision making process so that the style of governing is in sharp contrast to the way En Marche draws on grass roots support. En Marche itself was critical of how the older politicians had governed France. The Interior Minister and Environment Minister resigned with the Environment Minister saying he felt "all alone" in government. This is happening as the European Union election is approaching with the poll numbers of Macron dropping to about 26%. Marie Le Pen's RN is ahead of Macron's En Marche for the first time in polls taken in November 2018 for the May 2019 European Union elections. The think tank Friends of Europe shows 41 percent of French respondents in a survey saying life would be the same without the EU, while only 21 percent thought it would be worse.    ...

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As Katya Adler of BBC explains here Catalonia's crisis is less about independence than about populism. Catalonia is already one of the most autonomous regions in Spain. Catalans want to be able to choose their future with dignity, yet on independence opinion is divided in Catalonia. Prime Minister Rajoy has not handled the crisis well says Adler, when he had many things in his favor including EU support and support under the Constitution. Police action and the negative coverage have hurt Spain. Adler also points out that Rajoy and Puigdemont may be doing this for political purposes to increase their support. Rajoy's government failed to win support for the 2018 budget as it is a minority government with thin support in parliament. Puigdemont may also have overreacted and called the referendum  without considering this carefully. and having a realistic plan. Both politicians are criticized for corruption in their parties. Catalonia wants to see more investment and revenues sent back to its region from taxes sent to the federal government making financial issues prominent more than grievances about use of Catalan language. ...

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This inside account of the events leading to the cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea shows how quickly the idea of a meeting between the two leaders unraveled following Trump's statements about the Libyan example being followed by North Korea. Soon after the suggestion for a Trump meeting was made by Kim Jong Un to South Korean officials Mr Trump picked up and endorsed the idea. North Korea made a public announcement critical of Mr. Trump  and National Security Adviser John Bolton took this up with Mr. Trump at 10 pm on May 23, 2018.  This report says Mr. Trump fearing that Kim Jong Un was looking for a way to back out of the talks acted first- possibly sensing that Mr. Trump could be made to look weak and small if the situation continued to develop and the U.S. is seen as a desperate suitor. The meeting had been set for June 12 in Singapore.  In the end the South Koreans and the Japanese were the last to learn about the cancellation and were taken by surprise by Trump's decision. ...

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Mass demonstrations by young people including school children on March 24, 2018, in many U.S. cities called for raising the minimum age for buying a gun from 18 to 21 years of age, and prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing comprehensive background checks. Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says this is not enough. He calls for a repeal of the Second Amendment. Stevens points out that the the framers of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had the concern that a national standing army could pose a threat to the security of the separate states and therefore made the Second Amendment so that " a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." This is now a relic of that period. He says for 200 years this was not interpreted to mean that gun control legislation could not be enacted, till a 2008 decision by the Supreme Court.  Stevens says the decision was wrong and repeal of the Second Amendment is needed.  ...

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The Ford Motor Company's effort to get president Trump to work on a compromise with California on fuel economy standards has failed. Leaving the industry split with Ford on one side and GM, Toyota on the other siding with president Trump on lower fuel economy standards than set by California and lower than the standards set by Mr. Obama. When Ford made a deal with California it got an antitrust inquiry, and led to the Trump administration speeding up its effort to strip California of its authority to set its own fuel economy standards. This WSJ report says the legal fight between Mr. Trump and California is likely to be long and drawn out with Ford and the auto companies caught in the middle. It also shows how the disagreement with the Trump White House can lead to unforeseen consequences and more uncertainty. Ford had originally expected that a deal with California which relaxed standards set by Mr. Obama but not similar to Mr. Trump's would show California would compromise. This is not how it has worked out. ...

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President Macron moved to invoke an article in the French constitution that allows the government to pass a law bypassing the legislature. He used this to pass his pension overhaul. The law allows the president to bypass the National Assembly. A motion can then be introduced in the National Assembly to censure the president. This cannot pass because Macron's party has a majority in the National Assembly. Opposition lawmakers had hoped to introduce thousands of amendments to stall legislation on pensions.  Under the overhaul the entire salary history of employees are taken into account in calculating a pension amount. Previously the highest earning 25 years were used. For civil servants the last 6 months of service were used. The pension system was also fragmented providing different terms to different groups with some more favored than others. To maintain the old system a 40 day transport strike was organized in December 2019, but failed to change public opinion on the issue which favors a single pension system instead of the many different and disparate pension schemes with different rules. ...

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Issues about getting the American narrative right in America's museums. The American continent was settled in the 1500's by the Spanish, and in the 1600's and 1700's by the French and the British with the founding fathers coming from the generation of British settlers families in the 1700's. Much of this early period is covered by the classic history of this period by Francis Parkman. This history much of it unknown to most Americans in 2025 starts with Count Frontenac in 1620 and ends with the contest between Montcalm and Wolfe of the French and English Empires, long before the founding fathers of the United States, which contest Parkman says could have gone either way but for some flaw in the French. From this emerged two nations Canada keeping it's French heritage in Quebec and the United States. South Carolina and Georgia formed only a small fragment of this vast continent and its history, starting with the Indian tribes that had first settled this continent going back to 1000. ...

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The NYT's Adam Nossiter sends this report from Kano, a northern city of 5 million in Nigeria, before the elections for president in Nigeria in March 2015. Nigeria is still divided between the Muslim north and the Christian south. The northeast is facing an insurgency by Boko Haram Muslim militants. The two candidates are the current president, Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian seeking another term, and a former military ruler and northern Muslim, Buhari Muhammad, who is now working within the country's democratic framework. The mood in the country reflects the the lack of essential needs- security lacking in the north with the Boko Haram bombings in Kano and control of areas in the northeast. The Nigerian military has failed to control the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. Presidential elections were postponed for six weeks as the Nigerian military grappled with the deteriorating security situation. During this short period South African mercenaries hired by the Nigerian military and the forces of the governments in Chad and Niger which border the area controlled by Boko Haram have pushed the insurgents back, restoring some degree of Nigerian control. The improved security situation benefits the current government. In this report the residents of Kano describe their frustration with the lack of security, electricity, water, and education. Oil revenues have failed to benefit the vast majority of the people of Nigeria, as needs for water, electricity, roads and other infrastructure remain unaddressed six decades after independence....

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Queen Elizabeth II gives her address to the British nation and Commonwealth on April 5, 2020, recalling the day in 1940 when she and Princess Margaret addressed the nation from Windsor. Elizabeth was only 14 years age then.

She said "we as children spoke from here at Windsor, to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety."

"Today once again, many feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know deep down, that it is the right thing to do."

The address to Britain comes as deaths pass 5000, and there is a 25% increase in hospitals in the northwest of the country.

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How unequal Britain is compared to say Finland or France and its effects on gender relationships is shown in this report by Elle Hunt in The Guardian. Wealth and assets grow faster in value than income growth in the UK and a small section of the population has inherited wealth that accumulates faster than income. Vast gaps in income and wealth are shown for several marriages, how each person felt in the marriage, how they had to deal with public perceptions, and where their own sense of wellbeing helped them navigate this territory. In France or Finland with lower wealth and income disparities and a different culture much less of this is expected than in the UK or the US which has Anglo-Saxon cultural tendencies.

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Madison Keys of the US makes it to the Australian Open finals with a show of resilience after years of competing in world tennis. Keys burst through mental barriers to beat Iga Swiatek this time after struggling since a loss in 2017 US Open at age 22 years. She is now 30 years and playing at her best overcoming mental barriers. Her record goes back to being a child prodigy at age 14, then struggling and now back in the game. She brings back memories of Althea Gibson in 1956, now on a US postage stamp. Not given the spectacular coverage  given to other athletes she brings a modest yet endearing manner, overcoming struggles in the way Althea Gibson had done in the 1950's.

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DJT Macomb, Michigan Rally April 29 2025- DJT The First 100 Days. DJT won in Macomb County by significant margins helping him carry Michigan in 2024.

DJT says- "We’re taking back our country from a sick political class. Instead of putting China first, I’m putting Michigan first and I’m putting America first.” He told the crowd he was supporting Main Street not Wall Street, protecting America from the political class in both parties. Most of the political class and Wall Street had no answer when asked about what they would do with the millions of jobs lost and the industrial base of the US shipped out to China, or keep deflecting or ignoring that question.

 

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Her love and caring for the players from the youngest to the oldest, her attention to detail of players and of the playing style of opponents, her calmness even when down against Sweden 2-0 in the closing minutes, all have endeared her to the England women's team and to fans in England and around the world. The Guardian looks at Sarina Wiegman after two come from behind wins against Sweden and in the finals against Spain. It was down to the details as she and Hannah Hampton had carefully studied the penalty striking style of Bonmati of Spain which came in handy in the final moments of the game. England beat Spain in penalties 3-1 in a 1-1 game against Spain to become the winner of Euro 2025.

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The House bill on health care cleared the House Committee on Energy and Commerce with a vote of 31 to 28. Five Democrats joined all 23 Republicans. Compromises were reached with Blue Dog Democrats, centrist Democrats who had concerns about the cost of the health care overhaul. The bill will be taken up again in September after the August recess, when Congress will be faced with the task of recociling the House and Senate versions and reaching common ground on a number of proposals. Some common ground has already been achieved between centris and Blue Dog Democrats and Democratic members who support Obama's proposals. Among the changes on which consensus was reached in the House version: 1. Access Insurers will have to accept all applicants and will not be able to charge higher premiums because of medical history or current illness. All insurers will have to offer a minimum package of benefits, to be defined by the federal government, and nearly all Americans will be required to have insurance. Insurers will have to get prior approval from the government before increasing premiums over a certain amount. About 95% of Americans will be covered this time. The cost will still be approaching $ 1trillion over 10 years. Federal subsidies will be given to those who cannot afford health insurance and Medicaid coverage will be expanded. And the insurance will be made more affordable for the uninsured. Democrats also reached a consensus on creating some sort of government insurance plan or nonprofit cooperative to compete with private insurers. 2. Mobility And under this new plan it will be easier to change jobs as one would retains one's health insurance. This should actually help the job market, and help promote the mobility that is needed, now that jobs are shifting out of sectors like autos to sectors like energy. 3. Cost The Energy and Commerce Committee voted 47 to 11 to set aprocedure for the government to give federal approval of generic versions of expensive biotechnology drugs. By one estimate this saves $9 billion over 10 years. The Democratic proposals from the Energy and Commerce Committee would authorize the Health and Human Services Secretary to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare benificiaries. The agreement and consensus among the conservative, liberal and centrist Democrats, and Democrats with ties and connections to the health care industry was reached after intensive negotiations, and adoption of a package of amendments that helped bridge the differences they had. ...