LyrArc Article Gist
A heart warming story of aging well of a world class Masters swimmer who stays fit at 89, Gail Roper can be an inspiration for people wanting to live healthy into an advanced age. She was a national champion by the time of the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki, FInland. At 44 she started swimming in Masters competitions. She thinks one should not need a walker when one is growing old, provided one has plenty of exercize. She says she could be competing even now except for her driving. She lives in a senior community and swims 2000 yards everyday in an outdoor pool. Her daily routine includes, 20 sit-ups while watching the news, 20 push-ups against her kitchen sink between washing dishes, 200 revolutions on her stationary bike, 100 steps on her stair stepper, resistance bands to stretch. Want to stay straight up and down, and not crouched or humped over, then you must work at it says Gail Roper. Its that simple. It means working lives don't end when you retire, just take different shapes and adopt new routines. She speaks to 5 people everyday as a rule to keep up social skills. And she reads as well to keep her brain active. Gail starts the day with a cup of Nespresso coffee, granola and fruit, and adds yogurt. Snacks on walnuts, almonds and dried fruit throughout the day. Her main meal is lunch which includes a salad and beverage where she spends time with other people at the seniors center. Dinners are small portions. On Sundays its pizza and wine. Thats it! Secret to healthy living for the retired and older people.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Labour party in Britain is removing a never used anti-labour minimum services law that tended to worsen industrial relations and make it difficult to negotiate and resolve disputes over wages and conditions. The minimum services restricted the ability of 5.5 million workers to negotiate wage increases- it affected ambulance services, fire and rescue, teachers and rail services, border security to take industrial action, by requiring that a minimum level of service had to be provided. It was adversarial in nature and Angela Rayner call its effect as "poisoning industrial relations." We’re consigning it to history,” she said. “Scrapping this toxic legislation is our first step in ending the scorched-earth approach that has blocked negotiation and compromise to resolve disputes and prevent disruption." “This government’s new deal will create a new partnership between business, trade unions and working people and is fundamental to our growth mission.” A White Hall (British Civil Service) source says it was never used, Business did not want it, the legislation never worked, and Britain still lost more days to strike action than France or Spain. He says "it is the first major step in terms of resetting our relationship with the trade unions of this government." Jonathan Reynolds the Secretary for Business and Trade says- "The strikes act has not worked; it was a gimmick which inflamed tensions and only made serious negotiations harder, ultimately harming our public services and economy. It is telling that no single business ever used this pointless legislation. Putting an end to costly strikes that impact people’s day-to-day lives is key to getting our economy moving again and ending the chaos for our public finances.” ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Italy is converting most of its power plants from natrual gas to coal. Germany which also has banned nuclear power plants is also moving to coal plants. The will be clean coal plants except that when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions the technology still is not available for these plants. So experts say the global warming issues are going to get worse before they get better.

LyrArc Article Gist
The antiquated nature of the electoral college system that decides elections for president in the U.S. Under this system there can be a close election in the popular vote by a margin of 1-2 % and still have the winner take a huge majority in the electoral college. It also makes states where elections are not close irrelevant for campaigning purposes and framing the message candidates make- in the last three elections this means the South and Plains states which are Republican and the West and East coasts which are Democrat largely irrelevant for campaigning, creating a situation where large parts of the country are simply ignored.

LyrArc Article Gist
After carbon dioxide at 40%, black carbon at 18% is the No 2 cause of global warming on the planet earth. This black carbon is generated from thousands of villages in the develooping world and from countries like India, where village women cook food over stoves that burn twigs and dung, not having stoves to cook on. If they are provided with stoves that use fuel these black carbon emissions can easily and quickly be cut. This is also cuasing dense smoke to fill their homes and black grime to stick to the thatched huts and thatched roofs, and it puts ablack cloud over stretches of landscape in these villages.

LyrArc Article Gist
Martin Caparros describes the deadlock in Spain with no two parties on the right Ciudadanos and Partido Popular, and on the left, Podemos and the Socialist party, able to have enough seats i parliament to form a government. An agreement between Ciudadanos and Partido Popular of prime minister Mariano Rajoy, has brought the 2 parties close to 170, 6 short of a majority in the 350 member parliament. New elections will have to be held for the third time in December 2016 as a result of this impasse. The two main parties in Spain the Partido Popular and the Socialist party, alternated in forming a government during the period since the restoration of democrati government after Franco's dictatorship. Following the deep recession in Spain since 2012 two new parties have been formed Podemos on the left, and Ciudadanos a centre right party. Both parties are critical of corruption, and the cuts in spending for education and healthcare following the financial crisis in Spain and bailouts by the European Union. Caparros describes the cynicism that voters express about not just the two main parties, but also for Podemos and Ciudadanos, as voters voice their rejection of politicians and parties on the left and the right. A similiar process is taking place in other countries, in Britain most recently with Brexit and the departure of prime minister Cameron. In the U.S. with the Sanders and Trump movements, and the Beppe Grillo movement in Italy.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Try this climate change game from Harry Stevens in the Washington Post with your own answers. Data sets from Japan Meteorological Agency and National Snow and Data Ice Center helped build this game. Why is the Greenland ice melting that can cause sea levels to rise 24 feet along shorelines as the Greenland ice sheet melts. It is explained by the idea of Arctic amplification. Arctic sea water is whiter than the ocean. It reflects much of the sun's light and heat back into the earth's atmposphere increasing global warming. Increasing temperatures on oceans creating the kind of effect that created the Acapulco Storm and the Libyan coastal storm very rapidly before storm preparation can happen. And making more of the Greenland Ice Sheet to melt in this process of Arctic Amplification. Note that the Greenland Ice Sheet is based on land so that it contributes to sea level rise.

LyrArc Article Gist
Boeing brings back engineering experts from its past to help bring the Dreamliner project back to shape. The head of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Business, has brought back 8 retired executives back into the fold by forming a Senior Advisory Group. Joe Sutter, 89 years old, is one of the engineeers from Boeing's past that criticized the outsourcing of key parts for the Dreamliner- one of the problems that put Boeing behind schedule by 2 years. Sutter led the design team for the 747 jumbo jet, so he has a legendary reputation. His point- there better be a lot of Boeing people looking at the suppliers to make sure things are done right.

LyrArc Article Gist
The election debate brodcast live on Iranian television between Moussavi and Ahmadinejad. Moussavi described Ahmadinejad's foreign policy as engaging in " adventurism, illusionism, exhibitionism, extremism, and superficiality. He also described Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust as harming Iran's standing with the rest of the world, and undermining its dignity. The debate was intense with Moussavi at one point saying the Iranian president was moving towards a "dictatorship." Ahmadinejad said that Moussavi was being supported by Khatami and Hashemi to bring him down. A video showing this simple home was circulated before the debate to contrast Ahmadinejad's simple style with that of some of his opponents like Nateq Nouri, a conservative Speaker of Parliament.

LyrArc Article Gist
Lisa Jackson, who worked for EPA for 15 years and headed New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, told the senate committe at a confirmation hearing, that contrary to what happened at EPA under the Bush administration she will listen to scientists. And political appointees and will not compromise the integrity of EPA's technical experts to advance certain outcomes. She said that she will adminster with science as her guide. This was a point of particular frustration for Senator Barbara Boxer, who now heads the Environment and Public Works Committee, during the Bush years. Jackson said the administration's priorities were to curb global warming, reduce air pollution, cleanup hazardous waste sites, regulate toxic chemicals, and protect water quality.

LyrArc Article Gist
The government sets a goal of reducing the number of automakers in China from 70 currently to a much smaller number by 2015. With slower growth in the Chinese market, 55 of these companies sell only 11% of the total cars sold, and no sales for 10 manufacturers. Foreign car companies are investing heavily and control 58% of the 18 million cars sold in China. Domestic car companies are faring poorly. Cherry sales dropped by 30% in November 2011 acccording to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Changan, Guangzhou Automobile Group and BYD have seen sales declines of 10% in 2011 for domestic sales.

LyrArc Article Gist
Hubbard and Erdbrink report on U.S. president Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia to begin a new chapter in relations with the Gulf nations and the Saudis. Under president Obama the U.S. distanced itself from the Saudis and the Gulf nations, preferring to pursue a policy of closer relations with Iran and signing the Iran nuclear deal. This included a policy of staying out of Syria to the point of turning down a decision to deploy U.S. airpower to maintain no-fly zones to protect refugees. Syrian government forces fighting rebels were supported by Iran. The new policy is dictated by the new conditions in the Middle East. The U.S. has sought since the presidency of Reagan to balance the power relations in the region. With the nuclear deal signed and Iran respecting the deal according to independent reports, the U.S. allied with Iran in the battle against Islamic State in Iraq,  a shift was needed to balance the support provided to Iran by Russia which worsened the refugee crisis in Syria. The Republican party and Mr. Trump were critical of the Obama Iran policy during the nuclear deal negotiations. The safety of Israel is also a factor as non-state actors were supported by Iran threatening Israeli security. For these reasons the shift is an effort to rebalance the relations in the region. The arms deal in its size and president Trump's statement that Iran had "fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror," can be seen as this rebalancing. A business aspect of the large arms deal is that it will promote job growth in the defense industry in the U.S.. Other countries including Germany have seen growth in their defense industry. This is not the best way forward for the Middle East, yet it is a way the U.S. and nations in the region are adjusting to realities- the collapse of the Arab Spring from within and without the help from outside, the sectarian conflict arising from the Shiite pushback from Iran following the Baathist and Sunni control of Iraq which collapsed with the U.S.invasion, where the majority of people are Shiite yet with a strong Sunni presence. Elections brought Shiites in power, leading to a Sunni response in the form of Islami State caliphate move into Mosul, Iraq's second largest city after Baghdad. A decade of conflict and the efforts by the Bush administration ended in failure and sectarian conflict, resulting in the U.S. policy of rebalancing in favor of Iran to negotiate the nuclear deal. In this sense the arms deal does not solve anything. A similar rebalancing under Reagan by arming one side, followed by arming the other, led to involvement with ground forces under president Bush. It only leaves the region poor after years of sanctions against Iran to the point where a NYT reporter was not sure whether it was safe to fly from Tehran to Mashad with Iran Air because of the lack of spare parts for the airline. War torn, with millions of refugees in Syria and Iraq, the region remains broken in many ways, waiting for a sensible non sectarian view to prevail in the interest of the people in the region. The election of Rouhani in Iran by 57% of the vote is only a sign that young people in the region given a chance would opt for a different course in future. The rest of Asia has moved forward and shows a path that can be followed. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This writer appeals to old Cold War views and even before that the views of Russia from the 19th century when it was seen as a threat to the British Empire and Turkey, when he says the conflict in Georgia threatens American interests in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. The mountains of Afghanistan make it appear remote even from India much more from Georgia but in the grand strategy view all this is of no importance. And the conflict in Afghanistan has religious overtones with Islamic militants and involves Pakistan and other tribal and communal interests and now has become intertwined with the opium farming in the south. Besides America has no other interests in Afghanistan except it being used by elements like the Taliban and Islamic terrorist groups and has after the Soviet withdrawal left Afghanistan to itself, and the situation in Afghanistan is more a result of a conflict between India and Pakistan and of communal conflicts and creation of Taliban by support from Pakistan at that time....

LyrArc Article Gist
Walkway Over the Hudson is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. It is 1.28 miles long, 212 feet above New York's Hudson River, 80 miles north of Manhattan. It opened in October 2009 after years of reclamation efforts and with new LED lighting that makes it usable at night. About a million visitors have taken a walk over the bridge. A local handyman, Bill Sepe, pushed the pedestrian walkway idea by forming Walkway Over the Hudson in 1992. The organization took ownership of the old bridge, built when Pougkeepsie was an industrial town, and in 2007 raised money. Work began thereafter, taking 16 months and $38.8 million to build the Walkway, and is now run by the state as a State Historic Park.

LyrArc Article Gist
Ahmed Karzai the brother of President Karzai is suspected of being involved in the heroin trade in Afghanistan but Karzai has resisted doing anything about it and also resisted doing anything about the invovement of ministers and officials in his government in the heroin trade. his is leading to a loss of confidence in his government. The British ambassador alluded to this when he talked about loss of trust in the government and the corruption and deteriorating conditions there.

LyrArc Article Gist
Not much will change in Italy's place in the European Union, says Maria Ferraresi, editor of Italy's Domani newspaper. Italy expects 200 billion euros of solidarity aid from the European Union that is dependent on following EU rules. And coalition partner Berlusconi says he will drop his support if Meloni adopts any anti EU rules positions. Meloni's Brothers of Italy party with 26% of the vote has roots going back to the Social Movement in Italy in the 1930's. To attract support she has remained in opposition even when Matteo Salvini of the League and Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia parties joined Mario Draghi's unity government during the pandemic. She has turned to a pro EU stand from a EU skeptical stand. Meloni is also forming one of seventy Italian governments since 1945 such is the pace of government change in Italy making every government dependent on fickle political sentiments that shift quickly. The Italian economy has fallen into a stagnant situation with growth less than 1% in 2022, and the main concern of voters and the elected governments is the economy and standards of living, so that EU aid acts as a critical part of rejuvenating the economy. The Eu solidarity aid of $200 billion in coming years is critical for Italy's economic revival. It also shows the European Union in action after the years following World War II when it was realized that some sort of sound European economic framework was needed for the common good. Ferraresi also points out that Italy has also gone through an EU led effort to make the judiciary fully independent and able to function similar to the judiciary in France and other EU nations. Italy also has a very de.centralized government with state and local governments playing a major role in administration. This reduces the impact of changes in the capital Rome.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Saeed Jan Qureshi, with only a high school education and a passion for books, started an extraordinary bookstore in Islamabad, Pakistan. Th store is now one of the largest in the world, with 42,000 square feet over 3 stories, displaying 200,000 titles, and an inventory of 4 million books in 5 warehouses, books mostly in English. Rod Norland of the NYT provides an exceptional and heartwarming story of the man, his son, and a passion for books that gives a different picture of Pakistan, the country and its people. Saeed's son Qureshi provides advice to readers, referring them to a book "Fallen Leaves," by American historian Will Durant. The story shows the passion for reading and books in South Asia.

LyrArc Article Gist
U.S. president Trump's executive order reversing parts of the Clean Power Plan of president Obama may extend the life of older coal powered plants, but overall it is unlikely to change the shift away from coal for the U.S. utility industry. It will do little to reverse the market forces that are leading to a shift to natural gas for the utility industry with the increasing availability of natural gas. In this WSJ report Cassandra Sweet cites Duke Energy Corp. CEO Lynn Good, who says natural gas for Duke will be the leading fuel followed by coal by 2026, and natural gas now makes up 28% of its mix with coal at 34%. He says a $11 billion ten year investment in natural gas and renewable energy will go through regardless of what the Trump administration does because of the economics- the declining price of renewables, the competitive price of natural gas. Companies are loath to base their long term plans on changes in administration as they see the economics dictated by advances in technology, and the general sense that cleaner energy is here to stay for the long run. Already in the U.S. 34% of total power supplies are from natural gas and 30% from coal for 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Department. This may change slightly as coal is used where it is economical and makes sense without the carbon rules, yet the long term trend is clearly towards natural gas. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Moore points out that there are twice as many people working for the government in the U.S. (22.5 million) than in manufacturing (11.5 million). In 1960, the situation was quite different, there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million working for the government. More workers in the U.S. work for the government than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilites put together. Every state in the U.S. has more people working for the government- except for Indiana and Wisconsin- than people in manufacturing industrial goods. And California has 2.4 million government workers, which is twice the number in manufacturing in that state. New York and Florida have a 3:1 ratio, and New Jersey a 2.5:1 ratio of government workers to workers making industrial goods. Part of the reason for this is the huge increase in productivity and the advances in technology that make it possible to have higher production with fewer workers. This kind of productivity is missing in the government sector. And efforts to improve productivity tend to be blocked by the unions who favor the status quo....

LyrArc Article Gist
A significant part of the haze and air pollution in New Delhi, India, comes from crop burning in the neighboring Punjab and Haryana region. Here the Hindu newspaper looks at the practice that has not changed even after a 2015 government and NGT order banning the practice. This report cites data from the state of Punjab showing 65% of the 1.85 million farming families in the Punjab are small and marginal farmers. The problem is that the rice paddy harvest leaves 19.7 million tons of paddy straw in the fields and the farmers see burning this as a quick way to avoid incurring the cost of machinery and labor. The Punjab government is required to provide machinery to farmers for preventing the burning. Farmers say it has not provided this. Punjab government seeks funding from the central government in Delhi for meeting the cost. Till then marginal farmers continue their old ways creating a thick haze over New Delhi. Solutions proposed are having more biomass plants to generate energy and use the paddy straw, a Happy Seeder variety that takes works with the straw, and shifting to Basmati rice instead of the common rice crop. The way Indian democracy works political parties have remained wary of collectively working out solutions, letting the problem continue.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
European leaders knowing Putin and Russia were not ready for a ceasefire opted for a strategy to get Ukraine to offer an unconditional ceasefire to see if there was any change. Trump who had earlier called for an unconditional ceasefire by both sides, initially felt Ukraine was not moving ahead to support a deal. During May 2025 the EU leaders following Merz forming a coalition government in Germany joined together (Starmer, Macron and Merz) to make one more effort. Trump offered to call Putin. Yet this has not worked, except that now Trump is coming around to the view of the EU leaders that Russia is not joining the peace initiative as it sees that Russia is winning the war. Meantime two new developments took place. Germany's coalition government under Merz passed legislation so that it could build the German defense forces. Merz openly talks about making the Budeswehr the best defense force in Europe in contrast to Scholz who had resisted German involvement. Trump says it is not his war and it would not have happened under his presidency. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Some Republicans are saying that it is time to give up the conceit that increasing the incomes of the upper classes will bring benefits to all Americans, and whether making individual tax cuts the priority is a policy that no longer works and can even bring disaster as it did for British prime minister Liz Truss recently. In this camp are Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and think tank American Compass. Others including Marc Rubio no longer favor globalization and see it important for the US to bring back American manufacturing at every opportunity with incentives and government action as the Biden administration is currently doing. This is creating new faultlines in the Republican party between the people who support the party of Reagan and its priorities and others who are questioning whether Reagan is relevant anymore. The fight that delayed the election of Speaker McCarthy also brought out some of these fissures as a subsection of the party felt strongly that it was important to go after entitlement programs and other social spending by the Biden administration. This is creating a new situation in American politics and in world trade and economics as the Biden Administration is not meekly accepting the detours of so called Third Way Democratic and Labour politicians of the US and Britain such as Tony Blair, Clinton and Obama who let the traditional backing of the Democratic Party in the working class wither with ties to Big Tech and acceptance of Reagan type free trade policies for manufacturing that ignored American working class communities. Biden's recent success in fighting for railway trade unions in restoring fairness in vacation and sick leave is only one of the battles that Biden has shown he can fight for American workers. Republicans now face the prospect of appearing divided and ambiguous in their support of working class, and overdependent on cultural issues for working class support. A recent British study on Labour's prospects showed that a slight shift on cultural issues can create a strong shift and have a large impact in Labour forming a new government with a secure majority in parliament.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
NBC Wellness, under diet and fitness provides these useful tips to protect the back and also to do your yoga stretches routine the right way. Most of the yoga classes with more people lack the one on one interaction in which a yoga instructor can provide these important tips.  The first bring navel to spine, shoulders to ears for right posture. Bringing navel to spine and shoulders to ears was a prescribed method for Zen Buddhism in Japan and China since the period 1200 AD. Dogen of the Eiheiji temple in Japan in the 13th century turned this admonition into a waka poem- My nose is in line with my navel My ears are on the same plane as my shoulders and in this Japanese verse written for the Kamakura court on the meditational mood-  In the heart of the night                   The moon framing                            A small boat drifting                        Not tossed by the waves                Or swayed by the breeze   This engages the abdominals and is also important as a posture for meditation. Relaxing the shoulders reduces neck and upper back tension and enables sitting in meditation for longer periods. Engaging the inner thighs is important for mountain pose and for pose of upward facing dog. This also protects the knees and is good for walking uphill and downhill. It is also done in the bridge pose for strong knees. Navel to spine, shoulders to ears, engage the inner thighs are critical three must do advice for healthy yoga and meditation. Other useful tips are to keep the hips a good distance apart in warrior pose, and in downward dog keep the hands turned slightly outwards rather than aligned all in a straight line pose.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Douglas Tompkins co-founded outdoor clothing company North Face and women's dresses company Espirit. He started North Face as a small shop selling high end European climbing and camping equipment in San Francisco. He sold the company in 1969 and later started Espirit. A 1968 trip to Patagonia led to the movie "Mountain of Storms," and a life long commitment to preserving the Patagonia wilderness. A book by Sessions and Devall "Deep Ecology: Living As If Nature Mattered," had a profound influence on Tompkins. For $600,000 Tompkins bought 40,000 acres of land in Patagonia as part of apreservation project Parque Pumalin, which would grow to 700,000 acres of pristine wilderness. Tompkins married Kristine McDivitt, a former CEO of outdoor clothing firm, Patagonia, and the couple dedicated their life to Patagonia through their foundation the Conservation Land Trust. Often misunderstood by skeptical Chileans, and opposed by salmon farming interests, Tompkins set forth his views citing a line from Abraham Lincoln- "Laws change, people die, the land remains." He died kayaking on a lake in Patagonia in 2015. A new generation of Chileans, Argentinians, and others can now appreciate his work in the national parks he helped establish like the work of Teddy Roosevelt in the U.S. a century ago....

LyrArc Article Gist
Peer Steinbruck is nominated as the SPD's candidate for chancellor and seen as the strongest candidate to lead Germany. He will contest the elections against Angela Merkel. Steinbruck is a candidate who is direct and speaks his mind, and is likely to challenge Merkel's policies for the eurozone more directly before the elections in 2013. He is keen on winning the election outright and forming a coalition with the Greens party. The Greens and the SPD are working together in a coalition in North Rhine Westphalia, after winning the election in Germany's largest state. During that election the CDU leader in the state had contested the election based on his austerity policies. Steinbruck has the support of former SPD chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder. Merkel is personally popular in Germany but her CDU party has lost elections in key states and its partner the Free Democrats have fared poorly.