LyrArc Article Gist
Marcel Furstenau in DW.com says the Federal Police (BKA) have done well to foil several terrorist plots, and the failure to arrest Anis Amri is a result of the rule of law that prevents detention without evidence. The investigation of Amri went on for 6 months and the length of the investigation shows that police were alert to the risks, says Furstenau. He points out that it would be irresponsible to say security services are not doing their job, and the focus should be on mistakes or errors on which improvements can be made for tightening security.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kristof compares Pakistan to Bangladesh. Bangladesh he says has more girls in high school than boys, and compares this with only 3% of women in the Pakistan tribal areas who are literate. He points out that this may well be why Al Quaeda is in Pakistan and not Bangladesh. He asks if its so hard to build schools, then how is it that Greg Mortenson has built 39 schools in Afghanistan and 92 in Pakistan- and not one has been burned or closed down. The Afghan Institute for Learning he adds has 32 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with noen closed by the Taliban. Afghnistan needs nutritional support, irrigation, schools, education, healtcare just as badly as the rest of South Asia where one report says about 48% of the children under age of 48 are malnourished, just more desperately so.

LyrArc Article Gist
Saudis are now prepared to increase oil production after weeks of US diplomacy in exchange for security guarantees against attacks by Yemeni rebels and Iran. Russian oil output has declined by about 1 million barrels a day since the start of the war says WSJ. Drops in production lead to a rise in oil prices more than making up for the decline in revenues for Russia. This makes oil sanctions a weak deterrent for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine unless Saudis and UAE step in with increased oil production to make the EU embargo on Russian oil work effectively to cut Russian oil revenues financing the Ukraine invasion. Europe has stepped up with its embargo on about 90% of Russian oil- all except pipeline supplies to Hungary and Czech Republic, Slovakia as an exception. This will reduce oil production in Russia as EU is the biggest importer of Russian oil, bigger after previous German chancellor Merkel's failure to see the risks in such dependence and increased imports. For the oil embargo to lead to sharp reduction in Russian oil revenues that reduces financing of the Ukraine invasion, and for the EU oil embargo to bring results the missing piece is Saudi action to increase production. This may now be in place as Mr. Biden visits Riyadh next month. Crown Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia has pushed Saudi Arabia to make changes to modernize the country's culture providing the US with a partner that is now different than the Saudi Arabia steeped in tradition and inward looking under previous rulers. Under president Obama Democrats favored Iran and reduced security guarantees that were set up since president Franklin Delano Roosevelt met the Saudi King in 1944 aboard an American ship during the war. The turn of events with Russian invasion of Ukraine with Chinese support have created risks of a China invasion of Taiwan with aggressive action of China. President Biden has made this clear and stated straightforwardly the American position on Ukraine- Russia winning by invading a neighboring country sets the precedent for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. This is why the US remains resolute with its European partners in seeing to it that Ukraine remains as Biden said in the NYT  "independent, sovereign and able to deter invasion and defend itself." For Europe it is about defending its neighborhood from the Baltic Sea to Bulgaria in the Balkans with American support. For the US it is about keeping its leadership presence in Asia in an alliance with Japan, India, Australia and most of South East Asia including Indonesia, Bangladesh with a population of close to 3 billion people. China which was supported by the US throughout the period of colonial dominance since the 18th century preventing its breakup and foreign rule as happened in India, and a major recipient of American aid and investment in the 20th century is now where Japan stood in the two decade period 1925 -1945 with its aggressive expansion under Japanese imperialist rule. In this sense the world is moving back to the days of the Free World's struggle in the days after the Iron Curtain fell over Europe with Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe. Saudis, UAE, and Turkey as part of NATO, are also moving back to the positions they had over a long period for centuries from 1800. Saudi Arabia and UAE came into prominence after discovery of oil and were backwaters to Egypt and Turkey which were supported by Britain to keep Russia from advancing in Asia and Europe during that period. India under the British Empire is now in the Indo-Pacific Framework with Japan which was inward looking and under European influence for most of the last 200 years.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Biden administration policy is similar to the Trump administration. The response is to send migrants back to their home countries. One of the lessons for the European Union and for the US of the last few years is that the US and EU cannot have migrants issue create discord within public opinion, when so much needs to be done for infrastructure, competition with Asian countries such as China, and the needs for recovery from the pandemic. With wars, natural disasters, smuggling of migrants, new waves of migrants required a different approach. Promoting development and providing help to the economies of these countries is seen as a more effective approach, and the best way to do this is to help strengthen America and the European Union by building a consensus on development and infrastructure investment.

LyrArc Article Gist
After decades of neglect by different administrations and apathy at US semiconductor companies, semiconductor production investment in the US is beginning to take place. But the US Chamber of Commerce warns this is only a small trickle compared to investment in Asia. In a report on Nov. 22, 2021, the US Chamber of Commerce warns that only 6% of new semiconductor global capacity added over the next 10 years is expected to be located in the US, and urging that $52 billion in direct subsidies in the US for new chip factories be approved quickly by the US Congress. That the cost of owning a new chip factory in the US compared to South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore is higher by 30%, and in China by 50% is largely attributable to  the availability of subsidies in these countries from the government, and the absence of these incentives and subsidies in the US, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association report published last year. South Korea, China and Japan are now accelerating the pace of these subsidies and incentives. So that the US has a lot to do to make up for the years of neglect of its technology and competitive leadership. This WSJ Investigation report says South Korea aims to double its annual chip exports from today to $200 billion by 2030, and is offering billions of dollars in tax breaks, lower interest rates, other investments, including asking local governments to ensure adequate water supply for chip making. To keep up the US needs to change its entire approach to investments in critical industries from the approach and lethargy of the previous administrations since the 1980's.  US semiconductor companies, the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Biden Administration need to put together a concerted effort for US chip leadership beyond the slight increase from 16% to 24% the US hopes to gain in production of advanced chips by 2027 under the present plans cited in the WSJ. The Biden Administration issued a joint statement Nov. 23 that it is working around the clock with the US Congress, and more work remains to be done to "ensure that America remains the most innovative and productive nation on Earth." ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Use of computers and information technology for remote work is increasing because companies are curtailing face-to-face meetings as a result of the coronavirus. This has also increased efficiency as location is not a barrier to getting work done. The potential for more and better remote work could be a result of the health crisis.

LyrArc Article Gist
Black Rock's collection of $10 trillion in passive assets or shares in firms that it manages for investors, including pension funds, brings with it voting rights for these shares. About 45% of investors have now expressed interest in doing the voting themselves. The voting provides Black Rock and other passive index tracking funds enormous leverage over thousands of American companies.

This voting rights power it can use to support Black Rock's stance on social issues. Recently Republican senators introduced a bill calling for individual investors in passive funds to have the option of voting their own shares instead of Black Rock or some passive index tracking fund doing it for them. 

Black Rock has responded with a voting choice platform that now has $520 billion of the $10 trillion it manages for investors.

LyrArc Article Gist
US Senator Elizabeth Warren says the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank happened after president Trump signed a law with the help of Congress and the US central bank the Fed to roll back some of the strict oversight and regulations that were setup after the 2008 financial crisis from the failure of bank practices. The Guardian reports that the CEO of SVB lobbied to reduce the regulatory oversight needed leading to its collapse.

LyrArc Article Gist
Rachel Feitzeig shows how one can incorporate a new fitness routine that energizes and is good for mental health into that tedious daily routine of work and kids. Doing it so it makes you feel good, moderate is ok, asking and getting the flexibility that you need is a good idea.

LyrArc Article Gist
Online 1 year certificates of deposit have annual percentage yield of 4.75% in 2023 compared to less than 1% in 2022. This is a significant improvement for what the average American gets on his savings accounts. For two decades low interest rates on savings accounts hurt average Americans whose savings did not grow through interest accumulation.

LyrArc Article Gist
Of ten countries from which India gets oil Russia is at No.9 just before Brazil at No.10, a is shown in this Reality Check on BBC News. India gets only less than 2% of its oil from Russia. Most of it comes from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Middle East countries. In January and February India did not import oil from Russia and in March oil was imported at about 30% discount. By comparison Europe still gets 15% of its oil from Russia and this is not likely to change in the next couple of months says S. Jaishankar, India's Foreign Minister.

LyrArc Article Gist
This report in BBC on climate change issues in Australia with bushfires and floods and the hottest decade in history, was written four days before the election. It says even with the extreme weather disasters phasing out fossil fuels was a politically toxic issue in Australia and no party wanted to talk about it except the Greens. The election has changed this decisively with the Greens and other smaller parties getting one third of the vote. No party has proposed cutting carbon emissions by over 50%- Labour at 43% and Morrison coalition at 26%. Labour won by taking up climate change as an issue.

LyrArc Article Gist
With two 9 year old twin boy and two 14 year old twin girls Federer spends a lot of time taking the children to and from school. He owns a minority stake in a Swiss sportswear company ON where he designed a new sneaker. He has tried Soul Cycle classes in East Hampton, New York, and he sees a physio 4 times a week for knee issues, which means he does less cardio at the gym.

LyrArc Article Gist
Baby Boomers from the FDR Truman era 1950-1965 were offset by the Generation X of the Reagan period 1965-1980. Each generation was making its political affiliation as Democrat or Republican based on its most impressionable years of life. Then come the Millenials till 1996 and Generation Z, who tired of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were wary of war, and had seen banking deregulation and laissez fairre lead to the financial crisis of 2008. The younger generations now enter as voters in 2024 and 2028 as Democrats. So big is the gap for Generation Z that it is the highest for all generations 20% Republican to 36% Democrats. This is from the General Social Survey by the University of Chicago every year since 1972.

LyrArc Article Gist
Election of Democratic governors in two southern states could mark a shift as white voters shift back to Biden and Democrats. One year before presidential elections 2 Governors races in Kentucky and Mississippi, mayoral elections in Philadelphia, assembly elections in Virginia, and  an effort to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution in Ohio, offer insights into voter sentiment. In Kentucky  a popular Democratic governor faces a challenge from a candidate endorsed by Mr. Trump, and in Mississippi a scandal affects the reelection of a Republican governor who faces a challenge from a cousin of singer Elvis Presley. In Philadelphia a Democrat is nearly assured of a win as mayor. Republicans are looking to gain the assembly in Virginia.

LyrArc Article Gist
The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration 2017-2019 and the deputy medical director of its medical device center, give their thoughts on how to setup a sentinel surveillance system that would help tackle coronavirus and future epidemics. The idea is to track an outbreak in real time, with results sent to central labs so that outbreaks can be contained early and the surveillance operates to isolate affected areas for treatment and quarantine. High quality data from specific locations in real time and testing to isolate small pockets of infection, with rapid and reliable diagnostic tools are critical parts of this system.

LyrArc Article Gist
Biden will visit France for D-day and Italy for G-7 meetings in June, followed by a television debate in Atlanta. The concern about families struggling to make a living with high housing costs and grocery bills continues at the White House and president Biden says he is concerned telling one Congressman- "I care. I know people are hurting."  The Biden policies have worked for unemployment and for economic growth as the US is the only advanced economy in the world to return to pre-pandemic growth. Economic growth is now forecast at 1.7% for 2024 says WSJ, higher than the 1% forecast in January. Younger people in particular and newer voters who did not vote in 2020 are not informed about the economy and only see the difficulty making ends meet in living costs. These are the young people president Biden is making an effort to reach.