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Current Focus Groups
The Future of Work - worklife balance, Feirabend, (breaking off from work at 5.01), 30 hour weeks and longer careers
09/13/2023
What does the future of work look like. Ideas from Laura Carstensen of the Stanford Center for Longevity who says rather than follow an outdated norm of education in the early part of life, work in the middle part of life and leisure in the latter part of life, it makes sense to mix education, work and leisure throughout life. Feierabend is the German practice of breaking off from work at 5.01 pm so that one can go outdoors for exercise and fresh air. All this with nutrition and exercise, healthy living, contributes to a more productive satisfying life that includes time for family, parents and children.
Grouped Articles
Food inflation of 15-20% in Europe in 2023 worsening cost of living crisis.
05/26/2023
As energy prices recede somewhat food prices remain very high in Europe increasing the impact on middle and lower income households. Food retailers are seen as increasing profit margins at a bad time for households. It has become that bad that households are cutting purchases by 10%.
Grouped Articles
The Guardian 05/26/2023
German economy enters recession, shrinks 0.3% in 1st quarter – DW – 05/25/2023
dw.com 05/25/2023
It Just Had an Energy Crisis, Now Europe Faces a Food Shock
WSJ 05/24/2023
Japan Core Inflation Hits 4% for First Time in Four Decades
WSJ 01/20/2023
UK inflation falls to 8.7% but food price rises remain close to 45-year high
The Guardian 05/24/2023
Spain announces €10bn help to fight rising prices
BBC News 02/02/2023
How 50-60% proficiency in reading and math in PISA or NAEP scores can increase GDP by additional 2% in US and the EU
05/19/2023
PISA scores in Europe, NAEP in US, and similar test in Japan, S. Korea, can with proficiency in reading of over 50-60%, same in math, give the country an additional 2% in GDP. This is shown in the experience of Asian countries in the 2005-2015 period, and acted as a drag in the progress of the US for 2005 -2023. It is still acting as a drag in US progress not just in GDP, but also in culture as it increase social divisions, increases risks to democracy with widening gaps in performance between higher and lower income groups, between rural and urban/suburban groups, between people in professions and less educated in construction or low wage hospitality food industries. This also adds to the burden on democracies when demagogic politicians and parties use it in ways that are indifferent to social divisions or social mobility for their own purposes. This has happened in the US and Europe exacerbating the situation, and why Biden is calling this the Struggle for the Soul of the Nation. It is truly a Struggle for the Soul of America and can be seen as a parallel to the situation Abraham Lincoln faced in 1858 as he debated against Stephen Douglas.
Grouped Articles
Peterson and Hanushek: The Vital Link of Education and Prosperity
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
National math and reading scores remain constant, but disparities emerge
Washington Post 04/11/2018
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Paul Krugman Reviews ‘The Rise and Fall of American Growth’ by Robert J. Gordon
New York Times 01/25/2016
Starmer's Plan for Britain- "A bold and reforming Labor government that will bring about real change."
05/03/2023
Starmer describes his bold plans for education, housing, healthcare, climate change and renewable energy, that he hopes will be felt for generations.
Grouped Articles
Keir Starmer: ‘I want Labour to be the party of home ownership’
The Guardian 05/03/2023
The Guardian 05/02/2023
Keir Starmer prepares for his moment of truth in battle for the blue wall
04/30/2023
‘Stand by every word’: Keir Starmer defends attack ad on Rishi Sunak
The Guardian 04/09/2023
Labour could win big with shift to right on social issues, says thinktank
The Guardian 01/20/2023
"Hard to see how bad actors would not misuse AI for bad things"
05/03/2023
Geoffrey Hinton resigns from Google saying: "It is hard to see how bad actors would not misuse AI for bad things." A call for a pause in development of Ai is ignored as profit seeking behaviour and competition leads to an acceleration of AI development without the ground rules being set and the regulatory agencies powered by law, and without the necessary government action. The tendency of business profit seeking behaviour to lobby legislatures that set the rules has led to lack of regulation for pharma, banks and tech, leading to social breakdown in society with higher health costs, lost decades through unemployment and loss of savings for families. AI takes the problem to another dimension with an effort to replace human thinking behind behaviour. With AI laissez faire ceases to exist as a viable option for free people, only with strict regulation can banks, tech and AI operate to perform useful functions in society. For this to happen schools, media have a role to perform well their role to educate people.
Grouped Articles
'Godfather of AI' quits Google to warn of the tech's dangers
France 24 05/02/2023
Opinion | AI can’t teach children to learn. What’s missing?
Washington Post 04/23/2023
Opinion | This Is Too Important to Leave to Microsoft, Google and Facebook
NYTimes.com 04/16/2023
Microsoft Puts Caps on New Bing Usage After AI Chatbot Offered Unhinged Responses
WSJ 02/18/2023
ChatGPT isn’t a great leap forward, it’s an expensive deal with the devil | John Naughton
The Guardian 02/04/2023
Essay | Without Consciousness, AIs Will Be Sociopaths
WSJ 01/13/2023
The fight over pension age in France- unfairness to women and people starting work early
04/08/2023
Pension protests in France with 75% of women opposed to the pension changes. A sense that the timing was wrong because of the cost of living crisis following a pandemic. And the nature of pensions requiring efforts to change culture of age discrimination at work in France that has a serious impact on pensions, pension age and fairness of the system. About two thirds of French people oppose the pension changes put through by presidential executive action without parliament approving it.
Grouped Articles
What Is the Ideal Retirement Age for Your Health?
NYTimes.com 04/08/2023
France’s Macron Seeks Bigger Military, Leaner Pension System
WSJ 01/20/2023
‘Not just about pensions’: French protesters see threat to social justice in Macron’s reform
France 24 02/05/2023
Hundreds of thousands protest across France against pension reform, unions vow to ramp up strikes
France 24 02/12/2023
Fight Over Retirement in France Is a Question of Identity
NYTimes.com 03/08/2023
‘We can defeat Macron’: Why women’s anger is fuelling French pension protests
France 24 03/08/2023
The indictment of Donald Trump for hush payments to a porn actress
04/02/2023
A series of investigations and probes of Donald Trump in 2023. The situation very different in 2023 from 2017. A sense of fatigue and the feeling that Mr. Trump's time has passed among Republicans. After the pandemic America looks to make a new beginning under president Biden- closing chapters on two wars, and rebuilding America's infrastructure, supporting workers and families, leading the Free World.
Grouped Articles
Amid Trump indictment, a look back at France’s history of prosecuting ex-leaders
France 24 04/02/2023
Opinion | What the Trump Indictment Means for Ron DeSantis and the G.O.P.
NYTimes.com 04/02/2023
McConnell is among few high-profile Republicans to stay silent on Trump’s indictment.
NYTimes.com 04/01/2023
For the G.O.P., a Looming Trump Indictment Takes Center Stage
NYTimes.com 03/21/2023
How Alvin Bragg Resurrected the Case Against Donald Trump
NYTimes.com 04/01/2023
Donald Trump Indictment Sets Historical Marker
WSJ 03/31/2023
Expanding Indian ties to the European Union in manufacturing, trade and advanced technologies
03/07/2023
Italy signs a strategic partnership agreement with India. President Scholz of Germany visits India with a business delegation. Siemens plans railway modernization manufacturing plants in India. New aviation sector is being built with French and US assistance and a huge order from Air India. Denmark's Maersk and other Danish companies help build the port logistics in India after a business and trade agreement with Denmark. The European Union joins the US in building a new supply chain based in India to replace one that caused inflation and bottlenecks, and was seen as a security risk with concentration of the supply chain in one country.
Grouped Articles
India, Italy elevate ties to strategic partnership, sign MoU on defence cooperation
The Hindu 03/02/2023
Germany's Scholz in India: What's at stake? – DW – 02/25/2023
dw.com 02/28/2023
On India visit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz drinks tea at a street corner in Delhi
The Hindu 02/27/2023
Siemens partners with India on railway modernization – DW – 02/27/2023
dw.com 02/27/2023
The Hindu 12/04/2022
A Nordic-India connect to power a green transition
The Hindu 02/08/2023
Unintended consequences of China's years of hyper growth- climate change and sharply slowing growth
07/31/2022
China's overdependence on the property sector and foreign investment in offshoring factories from home countries to China had unintended effects. The property sector led growth has led to sudden collapse with local governments finances strained by $900 billion according to WSJ and loss of buyer confidence. The effects on communities in the US and EU of shifting local factories to China is well known having alienated the US and EU public, and permanently damaging friendly relations leading to its reversal and shift back to home countries. Years of unbridled hyper growth has not done well for China with the consequences seen today. At the start of this experiment China embarked on in 1990 China had little experience with market economy. The self interested advice of American investment banks and business and the zeal of local government officials led to hyper growth. The US and EU countries could not cope with the scale of China's hyper growth and shift of factories overseas as they had done with Japan in the sixties and seventies because of the sheer scale and compression in a short period for China. The result is sharply slowing growth in China and loss of faith on both sides. It did not have to happen this way and shows the unintended consequences of letting capitalism go its own way with interested parties acting excessively and governments not acting where prudence is needed. The burning of coal in unlimited quantities created the problems of climate change the world faces today- a double blow for the world and for China with lessons for today and how we think about his in future.
Grouped Articles
China’s Manufacturing Sector Unexpectedly Contracts Amid Weak Demand, Covid Lockdowns
WSJ 07/31/2022
China’s Economy Tested by Strained City Finances
WSJ 07/31/2022
China Home Sales Plunge in July, as Mortgage Revolt Deters Buyers
WSJ 07/31/2022
China property sales could plunge by one-third, analysts say, as crisis deepens
The Guardian 07/26/2022
China Bet It All on Real Estate. Now Its Economy Is Paying the Price.
NYTimes.com 10/16/2023
How the Ukraine War Happened- Miscalculations on All Sides
04/03/2022
The WSJ report on the miscalculations going back 20 years by all sides looks at key events since 2002. An interview by Timakova and Kolesnikov of the Russian president provides more insights into his mindset and thinking.
Grouped Articles
An Astonishing Self-Portrait by Russia's President
NYTimes.com 04/02/2022
Opinion | What’s on Vladimir Putin’s Reading List?
WSJ 04/01/2022
Russian Strategy in Ukraine Shifts After Setbacks, and a Lengthy War Looms
WSJ 04/01/2022
Russia Set for Steep Slump and Long Stagnation in Wake of Ukraine War
WSJ 03/31/2022
Putin advisers ‘afraid to tell him truth’ about Ukraine error, says GCHQ head
The Guardian 03/30/2022
Biden says Putin ‘badly miscalculated’ in invading Ukraine.
NYTimes.com 03/02/2022
What kind of leadership can deliver for Britain,-for health, education and infrastructure, for women, climate change, families and children?
01/22/2022
The Guardian looks at Tory leaders Rishi Sunak- the smooth veneer, the tech-bro polished image after the Stanford days, and Jacob Rees-Mogg - the bewildering mix of social classes in the neighborhood of St Pancras where he grew up, to see if this is what will deliver for Britain's future after the pandemic.
Grouped Articles
Rishi Sunak: the polished ‘tech bro’ with low-tax dreams
The Guardian 01/21/2022
Rees-Mogg’s roots tell a true Conservative tale – just not the one he wants us to hear | Ian Jack
The Guardian 01/22/2022
Escaping the algorithm based social media platforms TikTok, Facebook and others
12/29/2021
If and how it is possible to escape the algorithm based social media platforms TikTok, Facebook and others, harmful for girls and the young, and to mental health, diversity, and education that leads to upward mobility, is the subject of a WSJ series in 2021.
Grouped Articles
The TikTok Spiral, Part 1: Descent - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts
WSJ 12/27/2021
The TikTok Spiral, Part 3: Escape the Algorithm - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts
WSJ 12/29/2021
‘The Corpse Bride Diet’: How TikTok Inundates Teens With Eating-Disorder Videos
WSJ 12/17/2021
Teens Are Developing Tics. Doctors Say TikTok May Be A Factor. - The Journal. - WSJ Podcasts
WSJ 11/08/2021
Facebook Faces Official Questions in India Over Policing of Hate Speech
WSJ 10/28/2021
Facebook Whistleblower’s Testimony Builds Momentum for Tougher Tech Laws
WSJ 10/05/2021
Children and mental health during the coronavirus pandemic- search for solutions
10/09/2021
Grouped Articles
One in six children aged 5-16 in England 'likely to have a mental disorder'
The Guardian 10/22/2020
Revealed: anti-vaccine TikTok videos being viewed by children as young as nine
The Guardian 10/08/2021
How Other Nations Pay for Child Care. The U.S. Is an Outlier.
NYTimes.com 10/26/2021
Foundational learning took a hit amid Covid, only 19% schools have access to internet: UNESCO report
The Indian Express 10/05/2021
Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show
WSJ 09/14/2021
Web giants ‘fuel child mental health crisis’
06/14/2018
Pedro Sanchez and the Workers Socialist Party in Spain 31.5% votes in Spanish elections 2023
08/25/2023
Pedro Sanchez Spanish prime minister, calls for snap general elections in 2023 soon after losing local elections in Spain. After a last minute surge the Socialist get 31.5% of the vote showing the influence of the moderate voters in Spain. The election also produces an unexpected result restoring the two main parties Partido Popular and the Socialists to their dominant positions and reducing the influence of smaller parties such as Podemos and VOX. The elections give both PP and the Socialists more seats in parliament and could give Sanchez a continuation in government. By all accounts Spain has come through the pandemic better under the Sanchez government with relief in the cost of living and government support.
Grouped Articles
Whither Spain? The July 2023 General Election Results and Beyond
08/25/23
Spain PM calls snap election after local poll drubbing
France 24 05/29/23
How 65% of students failing reading comprehension and 75% failing civics and history is holding back America.
05/19/2023
The scores on National Assessment of Education Progress NAEP show two thirds of students failing reading proficiency, similar math scores, and over 75% failing civics and history. This has a serious effect on everything in society- the ability to get good jobs, to increase incomes, to teach their own children to create a better future, for the overwhelming majority of Americans. This has not changed for about two decades and is only getting worse. Nothing that Silicon Valley or capital markets have done, or successive governments have done so far for 2 decades is changing this situation. What Biden calls the struggle for the Soul of the Nation has this as the probable cause because lack of reading comprehension affects everything and leads to serious deterioration and breakdown in society. What is sometimes called technology is not really technology, computers yes, but not social media which damages the capacity for clear thinking and in the young of mental health also or what passes for technology that takes everything to the lowest common denominator including Google Search as shown in Lyrarc's Movement for Global Literacy.
Grouped Articles
History and civics scores drop for U.S. eighth-graders on national test
NPR 05/03/23
National math and reading scores remain constant, but disparities emerge
Washington Post 04/11/18
U.S. student performance slips on national test - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/28/15
Eighth-Graders’ History, Civics Test Scores Hit Record Low
WSJ 05/03/23
Test Scores Show Students Made Little Progress in National Exam
WSJ 04/10/18
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/13
How Biden is tackling the Debt Ceiling to keep much needed spending on workers and families in America
05/19/2023
The debt ceiling standoff with a small faction in the Republican party calling for cuts in spending where it is needed for workers and families in America. In the US system even though spending is approved a debt ceiling can be passed that limits overall spending requiring another approval if the ceiling is exceeded for approved spending. In the past this was negotiated. Today this faction in the Republican party is calling for large cuts in the very areas that were neglected in the past and which urgently need funding leading to Biden's response. Infrastructure, renewable energy, education, healthcare, public services, workers and families were neglected and now need strong backing.
Grouped Articles
Democrats Launch Discharge Petition, Aiming to Force Debt-Ceiling Vote
WSJ 05/17/23
Opinion | How Biden Blew It on the Debt Ceiling
NYTimes.com 05/17/23
Opinion | A Few Ways Out of the Debt Ceiling Mess
NYTimes.com 05/09/23
Biden Woos Republican Moderates in Debt Ceiling Standoff
NYTimes.com 05/11/23
Opinion | Are Republicans Willing to Raise the Debt Ceiling?
NYTimes.com 05/09/23
Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? Biden Aides Are Debating It.
NYTimes.com 05/03/23
Pause and Regulation for AI
05/03/2023
Calls for a pause in AI and the regulatory push for AI in Europe. The Biden administration's views on regulation of AI.
Grouped Articles
Opinion | This Is Too Important to Leave to Microsoft, Google and Facebook
NYTimes.com 04/16/23
Elon Musk, Other AI Experts Call for Pause in Technology’s Development
WSJ 03/29/23
Opinion | A Six-Month AI Pause? No, Longer Is Needed
WSJ 03/30/23
Germany warns: AI arms race already underway | DW | 07.06.2021
DW.COM 06/07/21
White House Announces $1 Billion Plan to Create AI, Quantum Institutes
WSJ 08/26/20
Tech Giants Hunt for AI Startups—and the Brains Behind Them
WSJ 12/26/19
Modi and Mission LIFE in India
04/15/2023
Prime minister Modi of India and the Secretary General of the United Nations started Mission LIFE in October 2022.
Grouped Articles
PM Modi calls for mass movement in global fight against climate change
The Hindu 04/15/23
PM Modi launches Mission LiFE ‘Lifestyle for Environment’
mint 04/15/23
PM launches Mission LiFE at Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat
04/15/23
How Europe won the energy war after shutdown of Russian gas supplies
04/07/2023
By April 2023 with winter over it is clear that Europe has come out of the winter season with its economy intact after shutdown of pipeline gas from the pipelines in Russia. A lot of action was taken in a short time- Germany's Habeck went to Qatar and other countries to secure LNG supplies, a new LNG terminal was built at Wilhelmshaven in record time, Norway and the US pitched in with more supplies, conservation went into high gear, and renewable energy investments were accelerated. There is no recession in the European Union as a result of this effort. And in this sense and with the Ukrainian economy functioning, generators taking Ukraine through a tough winter, EU taking in 80% of Ukraine agricultural exports, and supermarket shelves kept well stocked, refugees settled in Poland and Germany, the war has already been decided. The principle of no impunity for attacks on neighboring countries has been preserved by the EU acting together to protect itself.
Grouped Articles
Opinion | Putin’s Energy Offensive Has Failed
NYTimes.com 04/07/23
Thwarting Vladimir Putin: The Ukrainian Economy Just Keeps On Going - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 04/07/23
An LNG pipeline built in record time – DW – 11/01/2022
dw.com 11/04/22
Indian effort to power renewable energy with the help of Denmark and Nordic countries
03/07/2023
Denmark is a key player for renewable energy expansion and for port logistics modernization in India. Denmark produces 50% of its energy from wind power, Germany 25%. A Danish business delegation accompanies the prime minister on a visit to New Delhi and India participates in a Nordic Conference in 2022.
Grouped Articles
A Nordic-India connect to power a green transition
The Hindu 02/08/23
www.narendramodi.in 08/27/22
Danish port city to play key role in Europe's wind energy plans | DW | 24.07.2022
DW.COM 07/24/22
Denmark eyes Germany among top wind farm clients | DW | 09.10.2021
DW.COM 10/09/21
Biden and his "Biggest bill on Climate Ever, Ever, Ever"
09/03/2022
The $369 billion Biden Bill on Climate is the biggest bill ever. It was put through with Biden's fellow senators and his long experience in the Senate of the US through the efforts of Senator Coon and Hickenlooper who took a new approach to negotiating with Senator Manchin appealing to his place in history and in the party. Biden said while signing the bill "Joe I never doubted for a moment." Senator Schumer of New York did the negotiations and persevered till the end when Manchin was on board. Adjustments were made to allow increase in drilling to bring down oil prices to create a win-win for all so that it could be called The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as pharmaceutical prices would also come down with the government retaking the right to negotiate pharmaceutical prices lost under Republicans. It is also a Win for Europe, India, and the World.
Grouped Articles
Biden Signs Expansive Health, Climate and Tax Law
NYTimes.com 08/16/22
Biden Signs Climate, Health Bill Into Law as Other Economic Goals Remain
NYTimes.com 08/18/22
What’s in Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer’s Reconciliation Deal on Climate, Health and Tax Policy?
WSJ 08/12/22
Climate Bill Aims to Boost America’s Charging Network to Meet Rising EV Demand
WSJ 08/12/22
Opinion | Bill Gates: We’re on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country
NYTimes.com 08/07/22
Democrats’ Climate and Tax Deal Closes In on Passage
WSJ 08/05/22
Policies under Germany's Merkel and France's Macron that emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine
04/11/2022
Grouped Articles
‘Wrong about Putin’: Did Germany and France turn a blind eye to the threat from Russia?
France 24 04/10/22
Opinion | Barack Obama Rewrites His Russia History
WSJ 04/08/22
Opinion | How Germany Became Putin’s Enabler
NYTimes.com 04/08/22
Merkel 'stands by' past Ukraine NATO decision after Zelenskyy criticism | DW | 04.04.2022
DW.COM 04/04/22
Vladimir Putin’s 20-Year March to War in Ukraine—and How the West Mishandled It
WSJ 04/01/22
Opinion: Ukraine will survive — but the West should be ashamed | DW | 25.02.2022
DW.COM 02/25/22
European and Indian oil imports from Russia- myth and reality
04/01/2022
Grouped Articles
Truss-Jaishankar faceoff over sanctions: ‘most Russian oil buyers in Europe’
The Indian Express 04/01/22
India’s stand on Russia tied to the ‘extra issue’ of China’s challenge: Australian envoy
The Hindu 03/29/22
Opinion: Targeting India for buying Russian oil smacks of hypocrisy | DW | 22.03.2022
DW.COM 03/28/22
Profiles of courage in the third year of the pandemic- women in the frontlines fighting coronavirus variants
01/22/2022
Grouped Articles
As Vaccines Trickle into Africa, Zambia’s Challenges Highlight Other Obstacles
NYTimes.com 12/11/21
The Variant Hunters: Inside South Africa’s Effort to Stanch Dangerous Mutations
NYTimes.com 12/04/21
Olaf Scholz and the task of Renewal of Germany+European Union
12/09/2021
Grouped Articles
Chancellor Olaf Scholz? Change Without Disruption
Institut Montaigne 12/08/21
Who is Olaf Scholz, the new German chancellor?
The Times 12/08/21
Germany's Olaf Scholz pushes for stronger EU, issues warning to Russia | DW | 07.12.2021
DW.COM 12/07/21
Germany’s Scholz Takes Power After Merkel’s 16-Year Rule
WSJ 12/08/21
We took a different way to help millions around the world build educated informed mindsets that affects and shapes their lives. For a future that is open, global and digital, with everyone having access to high quality information. We believe in the renewal of America, renewal of Europe, the renewal of India, the rest of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The renewal of our supply chains, health, education, infrastructure, as we rebuild our countries after the pandemic. Literacy and knowledge we believe cannot thrive and grow in a world of web bots, web crawlers, or AI. This requires human curiosity, human learning, and human imagination. We take as inspiration the saying- “One has to be free, and as broad as sky. One has to have a mind that is crystal clear, only then can truth shine in it.” Every contribution whether big or small is precious- in this crisis and ahead.
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