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Doctors face a 21% cut in the amount of Medicare payments for treating seniors having Medicare, though this cut will be delayed till 2011 under legislation in Congress. This issue goes back to 1997, when a budget law set spending targets, and stated that if they were exceeded formulas to reduce doctors payments would go into effect. The formulas seriously cut into doctor payments by Medicare in 2002, so the formula was put off. The result of this is that the cuts based on the formula now amount to 21%. The cuts are not expected to go through, but at the same time Congress has an headache on its hands with the growing deficit. In the Senate there is opposition to a $120 billion bill to extend long term unemployment benefits which lapsed in June 2010, for tax breaks, and other expenses. Senators want to pare down the bill's price tag, as $80 billon of this is unfunded and will be added to the budget deficit. For a primary care doctor in Washington state, Medicare pays about $95 compared to private insurers payment of $129, and a plan for state workers that pays $140....

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Cracks are appearing in Japan's manufacturing model in recent years. Kobe Steel, Mitsubishi Materials and Subaru Corp have admitted to manipulating quality inspections. Takata Corp, maker of airbags is a case study in what can go wrong, as the company declared bankruptcy after failing to tackle safety problems and supplying defective airbags. The case is all the more astounding as airbags are designed for ensuring the safety of automobile passengers, a key feature of every automobile.  The situation is one of failure of management to take the right actions. This also happened with Toyota as management missteps worsened the issues related to faulty acceleration of vehicles, leading to media focus on Toyota in the U.S. Japan is not unique in this area of management failures as VW's actions in the diesel emissions case have clearly shown. Pressures to cut costs are part of the problem as this report shows. In Japanese companies quality checking staff employees are the targets of cost cutting layoffs resulting in the faulty step of outsourcing quality checks, which is contrary to what the country's pioneers sought to do when they adopted American Total Quality methods in the 1960's. This creates opportunities for China today, and for India in the future if it is able to capitalize on the opportunities in manufacturing desperately needed for job creation.    ...

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In a policy unchanged since 1950's women in China retire at age 50 and men at age 60 years. China is aging faster than the US and it's population that is over 60 years is 20% of the population. Over the 5 years to 2025 about 40 million people will retire, about the size of the population of Canada. There will be 36 million fewer people in the working age population ages 16-59 to support them. Chinese migrant workers and families work longer hours than white collar workers making it difficult to raise the retirement age to European levels in a short time. The government's approach is to get public support by creating awareness about the problem and change the retirement age gradually over a longer period. The first step will be bringing the retirement age of women to the level of men. The 10 year gap in retirement age of men and women is not found in any advanced economy.

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California has lots of water after record breaking rains in 2024 but this is not the situation in the Central Valley leading agricultural region of California and the nation. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley in California say they are getting a reduced allottment of water because of concern about endangered fish species. Farmers in the Central Valley the fruit and vegetable basket of California will get just 40% of their usual alottment of water this year and will plant less crops. Some ranches planting only 60% instead of 80% of their land. In 2014, 2015 and 2022 droughts the farmers lost about $7 billion and it cost 40,000 jobs, say University of California researchers. This area is a top producer of almonds, pistachios, and tomatoes. Westland Water District, which covers this area and is largest irrigator in the US, has a study that shows correlation between water and poverty in this part of California. Just when it is recovering the water supply is being cut. ...

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On October 2, birthday of Mohandas Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, looking back and looking forward- the connection Gandhi placed to cleanliness at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.  Gandhi made the clear connection of cleanliness to Independence. Cleanliness as indispensable and first condition for the path to Independence. In the same way Cleanliness has an indispensable connection to New India, the first step to New India.  For years the Sabarmati remained dry for 8 months in the year. Through improvements the entire river is regenerated and connection to the Narmada river ensures a flowing river all year long just as it once was in the 1950's, a river that we have seen, one that brought serenity to the mind walking on the old span Ellis Bridge.  Clean rIvers, and an environment that is clean so that we can maintain health and wellbeing. A river in Thiruvannamalai and Vellore districts in Tamilnadu, the Naagnadi river, is revived through the action of women villagers digging up canals, restoring not just the river but mental health that comes with seeing rivers flow. Every generation doing its work for cleanliness, for Clean India, for Clean India in all ways. This idea is taken forward with Economic Cleanliness as an indispensable condition for economic freedom, for development and modernization. Hundreds of millions of bank accounts for rural farmers and villagers and urban residents is part of this effort. So is the digital transformation of India with 3.5 billion transactions made over digital system UPI in August 2021. ...

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Former president Trump is indicted by a federal grand jury for his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election. Charges in this criminal case include attempt to defraud the US, obstructing an official proceeding, and conspiring against the rights of voters. The 45 page indictment by special counsel Jack Smith says Trump leaned on election officials in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan to support his efforts to overturn election results, and later on vice president Mike Pence. WSJ shows a graph of the series of indictments Mr. Trump now faces including payments to a porn star, Georgia election interference, handling of classified documents, Jan. 6 violence, and in other cases.

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Global sales growth will be from developing countries as US sales slow down to the rate of a 4-5% growth, losing 1 percentage point and be at the level growth is in Europe. This growth will mean U.S. sales of 305 billion dollars in 2009 for pharmaceuticals. Next year two thirds of prescriptions will be generics, increasing from 50% in 2003. Forecasts from IMS. Also FDA is taking a tougher line in regulation. Top seven emerging markets will grow at 12 to 13% a year in contrast- from improving economies and greater demands for spending on health care.

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This WSJ story provides a fascinating look at how Italy planned for too long, but failed to finally execute the final step of using the submersible steel floodgates that were already built to tackle just the kind of flooding that happened recently.  Problems include the use of submersible steel floodgates that would go back under water  after use in a flood, causing an additional complication to building the floodgates. The city itself was not entirely behind the plan so that execution was delayed. The politics and corruption added additional delays that astonishingly delayed the plan for over 10 years. About 80% of Venice was flooded with waters rising 6 feet above normal levels on November 12, 2019. It is hard to believe that 78 yellow steel barriers stayed on the seabed instead of blocking the three points at which water could enter from the sea into Venice. Most of the area has normal land barriers and the steel gates were designed to block water from entering at the smaller points that separate land barriers. It is also unbelievable that the plan started after a bad flood in 1966, construction beginning in 2003 after approval by over 12 public bodies, expert panels and courts on the complicated design. Costs went up as years passed from $1.7 billion to $5.5 billion. Ordinary Italians say Rotterdam has similar problems and has dams and no flooding, that the underwater design of the gates did not make sense just for aesthetics. Some experts say the underwater design doomed the project by making it costly and difficult, bureaucratic delays did the rest. The longer the delays and higher the cost the faster it eroded support in Venice and Italy, leading to this improbable result of building the flood gates with the underwater design, testing them but not making it operational in the final step, and not authorizing the use on November 11, 2019. The gates were in disuse astonishingly for so long that rust was discovered at one point.  Venice is now losing much of the population near its canals with only 50,000 remaining from a one time population of 171,000. The latest flood damage is over $1 billion and inexplicable after so much effort building the 74 yellow floodgates under water. ...

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China's campaign against corruption and the popular programs that the Chinese government of Jinping encourages on television. This includes the 52 part series on television called "In the Name of the People." The programs show how the Communist party's upright officials stand up against the corrupt ones. The idea is to build up the reputation of the Communist Party, as it sagged under the previous administrations during the period of rapid growth when such behaviour was tolerated to in some ways.

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Shiller's ten year earnings P/E ratios for U.S. stocks are at about 24.5 in October 2013. By comparison Shiller adjusted 10 year P/E ratio for Greece is at 4, Italy and Spain at close to 10 and Germany at 15.6. The one year earnings P/E ratios in Oct 2013 are at 15.8 for U.S. stocks. Within the U.S. Shiller says, the sectors where P/E ratios are much lower than 24 are in healthcare and energy and industrials. Emerging markets are also much lower than 24 for the U.S., says Shiller.

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The Seattle area, Bay area, Denver show slowing in rent and housing prices with improvement in affordability, increasing vacancies for rental housing. The housing and rental part makes an outsize part of the CPI index -35%. As prices of housing decline this has an effect on inflation. Fed chairman Powell says activity in the housing area has flattened out and remains well below levels in 2022. One reason Powell says he may cut interest rates next year.

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The beneficiary forms on bank accounts on retirement accounts, and 401 K accounts matter as in most cases they trump the will says the WSJ. In the case cited here for P&G this matters even if filled out decades earlier and not changed or updated. This shows how important this is to update every year or couple of years.

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Mike Spence is Trump's selection for vice presidential running mate. He is expected to appeal to centrist Republicans and independents compared to other choices Christie and Gingrich. He also appeals to conservatives with strong positions on abortion, gay marraige and Obama health care law. Compared to Christie and Gingrich, Spence brings a calmer presence that Republicans see as moderating the ticket considering the aggressive style of Trump. Spence has said he is "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order."

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CEO John Chen's srategy in 2014 is to get more revenues from the higher margin mobile security business and with software service sales. As software service sales are uncertain, and with the threat from Apple in mobile security features, Chen is also introducing the Passport phone with features such as better reading of text for business users. Chen proved his turnaround expertise at Sybase with small targeted acquisitions and he is seen as using these skills at Blackberry. His plan is to breakeven on cashflow by 2015. Samsung and Apple have taken away most of the consumer market from Blackberry and what little remains is in emerging markets. Chen showed a small quarterly profit to send Blackberry shares up. Shares are now at $10.89 increasing 68% after Chen assumed the CEO position in November 2013.

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Vast majority of DJT supporters 88% (down from 95%), approve of the president DJT's overall performance. On tariffs and Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats vastly disapproving, the messaging on cuts to Medicaid even though it's funding had grown close to $1 trillion ($909 billion in 2024), the uncertainty on tariffs even though the $1 trillion China trade surplus needed serious corrective action, federal government job cuts, leads to much larger proportions of Democrats opposing than Republicans supporting leading to about 60% unfavorable overall on tariffs and Big Beautiful Bill. Such unpopular action is sometimes the role of government like the action to rebuild the trading system and bring restraint to runaway spending on benefits, and can be overcome with a strong economy and capital investment for growth in future years. Another problem for the DJT administration is in the messaging to get the message across when some of the president's actions can be inconsistent or appear inconsistent. Add to this the distractions such as international diplomacy on Ukraine that take the president's time. Yet changes were needed in the international trading system and tough action is sometimes necessary when most countries and groupings, China EU, Canada, Mexico, can game the system their benefit to the detriment of the American people and jobs/communities at home. On the Big Beautiful Bill at the rate of growth in funding for Medicaid to $909 billion in 2024 from $2 billion at its inception under LBJ in the 1960's some restraint on spending would ultimately keep such help flowing where it is needed over the long haul. ...

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There is a marked shift away from downtowns to suburban retail spaces in the US as a result of remote work. In major American cities the average use of office space in downtowns is still only half of what it was before the pandemic, as remote work shrinks activity and people in downtowns.

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Tokyo subway serves 16 million people, New York's 5 million. Tokyo's subway has seen continuous investment over six decades, whereas the NY subway does not get federal spending investment and lacks continuous investment every year. The result is a creaky old system in the US compared to a modern highly efficient system in Japan. WSJ looks at the two subway systems in this video explaining why they are the way they are.

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Judo4Balance exercise for falling down safely are popular in Sweden and Netherlands where volunteer instructors help seniors practice falling safely. This is important for older adults so that they can live lives to the fullest without the fears that restrict activities and lead to mental heath issues from isolation or restricted activity. There are no judo based fall prevention programs in the US and this report shows the need to help seniors in the US with similar programs.

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Catherine Porter of the NYT gives this story of how the French are finally, finally cleaning up the Seine river in Paris. Under a Swimming plan workers are cleaning up the river so that long distance swimming for the 2024 Olympics happens inside the river itself. During rainstorms 40 portholes dotting the river's paved banks gush with sewage. Some homes along the river dump sewage right into the river, industrial waste also is dumped into the river. It was not always so, in the 1900 Olympics 7 swimming events happened in the river. Swimming was banned in the river in 1923 and today it is murky, and seen as hazardous for swimming. Studies from the 1990's onwards showed it has one of the highest heavy metals in the world in the stretch running through Paris.

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16.3 million acres wildfires in Canadian West burn in August 2025- the smoke reaches midwest and northeastern US. Wildfires in San Luis Obispo County in California 2025 bring smoke to Los Angeles.

The Air Quality Index in Detroit, Montreal and Toronto reaches levels of 147, 144, and 158, it reaches. On August 4, Cairo was 122, Dubai 107, Kolkata 112. It shows how these fires are affecting air quality in the US and Canadian cities. Northeast New York Boston will be affected by Aug 8 Fri as it eases up with winds in Detroit, Toronto by Aug  6 Wed.

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A law that is in the Must Have category for Parents, School teachers and Educated Children in the US, Canada, Britain and India, finally gets passed in Australia. Of huge benefit to Australian Parents and School Teachers- after December 10 2025 social media Meta Tik Tok and You Tube are required to remove all under 16 accounts. Chinese children and school teachers, parents have the benefit of such laws regulating the use of social media which in the current climate of license, of leaving childrens, parents and school teachers to fend for themselves, leaving young girls to fend for themselves, has not happened in other nations.

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Eighteen year old Bianca Andreescu of Canada wins the U.S. Open 6-3, 7-5 defeating 37 year old veteran Serena Williams as she attempted a comeback. The intelligent game with a whole range of shots and use of creative game mixing up the shots was a feature of Andrescu's style that made it fun to watch the game. Martina Navritolova says Andrescu's style is so creative that its great to have a new player like her in the game.

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England coach Gareth Southgate reflects here on his penalty kick in the 1996 semifinals against Germany in Euro Soccer at the Wembley stadium. He recall that at the time the penalty kicks were handled as more a situation of luck not skill and practice. He took the kick with little practice and he recalls some negativity in his mind, and missed. Twenty two years later at a knockout stage game in Moscow he faced the similar situation playing Columbia. This time he was manager. But this time the team had changed its attitude. Penalties were seen as being about skills, practice and effort. His focus was on the process, and let the results work themselves out. He encouraged his players to take a positive attitude and think positively during the kick. Combining skill and process worked and England won that game.  In 2021 Gareth Southgate is the coach for the English team that plays against Italy in July's final at Wembley stadium. He writes this to inspire English teenagers to take the right attitude into the game.  ...

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Putin response to BBC's Steve Rosenberg: plans for war on Europe idea is nonsense, in Q&A with Russian audience, December 20 2025.

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Half of the 17 percentage points of lower investment in Britain between 2016 and 2023 came from administrative barriers with EU and of Brexit. Britain had deindustrialized and hoped to get growth from so called "clever industries" such as finance, media, and higher education. The Tories party led by Johnson and then Sunak painted a rosy picture for Britain leaving the European Union and doing better without it by working with China and the US and connecting to global supply chains. They ignored the actual facts of the globalization cycle reversing itself leaving Britain exposed in the storm.The slump in investment from Brexit hit Britain hard, the Ukraine war meant higher prices for energy imports from Norway and the US. The result is that only about half percentage point of 2 percent cumulative GDP growth in Britain between 4th qtr 2019 and 4th qtr 2023 came from jobs growth compared to about 3.75% in the EU economies. Eurozone growth at 4% was twice that in UK, and the US with higher productivity and job growth was growing at four times that in UK and twice that in EU at 8% over this period. ...