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$6 billion transferred from South Korea to Qatar in a deal to free prisoners is now being used for humanitarian help to people of Iran overseen for purchases made by Iran's central bank by the US and Qatar. This is part of a necessary deescalation in the conflict over nuclear seen as needed at this time by all G-8 leaders including India, and also China which is also monitoring Iran following the spirit of ending the war outlined in the Memorandum. 

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$150,000 or $250,000 income a year does not go far in 2026 when college costs $100,000 per child a year, housing is costly, hotels cost $300 a night and car rentals $100 a day, restaurants $50 a meal. A lot changed over the last 5 years with cost of living taking a sharp turn.

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RFK Jr popular for health agenda MAHA, to make America Healthy Again, supports Republican candidates facing tough elections because of cost of living pressures. Republicans launch an all out effort to keep majorities in the House and the Senate to preserve the DJT agenda on immigration, on world trade, on infrastructure building, and on foreign policy/defense. This includes working to keep Hormuz open, find alternative oil supplies, and reducing the cost of living pressures ordinary Americans feel.

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The 14 paragraphs of the complete Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran agreement reached June 17 2026- with Beijing Xi agreement and G-8 (+India) agreement. It is this totality of the agreement bringing in all major countries in the world that makes it unique and in many ways potential for lasting or enduring direction for West Asia. The guarantors are all these major countries.

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Blueberries, blackberries, plums, broad beans,recommended and cherries for plenty of flavanols.

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More opportunities for fighting inflation after good jobs numbers in May 2026.

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Alberta referendum of October 19 2026 for separation from Canada. Alberta with oil and gas, Saskatchewan and Manitoba with agricultural production provide Eastern Canadian provinces such as Ontario and Quebec with food and energy,  Sepratist sentiment in Alberta comes from a sense that Alberta is being exploited by Eastern Canada for the last 100 years. An independent Alberta would be aligned with the US, more likely, though it could be part of the US states. Canada says Sir Ivor Jennings in his book Commonwealth of Nations, if it had joined the US in 1776 would have trade patterns north to south with trade between Vermont and New Hampshire to Ontario, Birtish Columbia with Washington state, instead of the east to west trade of the last 250 years with western Canadian product shipped to the more populated east. Alberta has 12 % of the population of Canada of 40 million or about 5 million people and contributes 15% of the Canadian economy.

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In a glut market for potatoes in Europe this is what happens. From $600 euros a ton in 2023 to zero for the price of potatoes in the spot market  in Belgium in 2026. Europe has asurplus f 5 million metric tons of potatoes of the kind used to make french fries. In the past it could be shipped as exports to the US. Not anymore US has tariffs to protect US farmers in Idaho and other states. An Idaho potato maker financed Micron in the 1960's which now is a major chip maker nearing valuation of 1 trillion dollars in the stock markets. You have this situation where a thousand tons of potatoes stacked 15 feet high in a Belgian warehouse is dumped back into the ground. The Belgian farmer D'haeyere took a loss of $160,000 euros on soil, seedlings, fertilizer and labor. He is planting only 17 acres for 2027 down from 170 acres he planted  this year. Belgium is the largest exporter of french fries in the world.

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Cordoba and Perez in WSJ on the desperation of the people of Cuba looking for a better life. It covers not just Havana, but also the interior Santiago de Cuba and Camarguey different regions of Cuba all desolate and in complete disarray with lack of running water, electricity and inadequate food supplies. Cuba is clearly a failed experiment and a warning to all Latin American nations that capitalist system as the US itself knows quite well has serious drawbacks that need the likes of Jefferson, Lincoln, TR and FDR, JFK and LBJ to correct but the rhetoric of Castro is not the answer, itself quite dangerous. And the answer has to come by developing new alternatives, studying what works and what doesnt, the need for inputs of capital, labor and technologies, the need for hard work, the need for scientific and technological cooperation and goodwill of the successul nations, as China has proven and India is proving today for upwards of 3 billion people in Asia.

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Cost of living (groceries and healthcare costs) in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. WSJ talks to the member of Congress Mackenzie and voters in this region of Pennsylvania, in a competitive House District in 2026. Voters are not dining out, using food banks, and are 50-50 in their support for DJT vs Democrats, yet plan to vote Republican. They attribute the worst inflation to Biden when it went up 20% one year, with DJT trying to cut the cost of living but failing to make the kind of headway that is needed.

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What a kitchen looks like, what a kitchen renovation looks like with a budget of $1 million - or similar in simple style, no bells and whistles, could be done for less than $100,000. A kitchen one could use with small children or grandchildren out in the garden, as this one is for a Danish owner of a house on Lake Zug in Switzerland.

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Modi BJP Win in West Bengal 2026- full speech on the future of Bengal, India, Indian democracy, India's modernization - May 4, 2026. For the first time most of India is now being led by state and federal governments that are aligned for rapid modernization, rapid development of infrastructure, industry and the economy. Madras, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Vizag, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Noida, Bhopal, Dehra Dun, Srinagar,most of India's cities and urban areas, and the rural heartland of India all aligned for accelerated development under a Master Plan for the economy for the next two decades. This will close the gap with China to make India the third largest economy in the world, and a key support for the United States and the European Union. Seen through this lens many of todays reports and concerns fade into significance. The US and the European Union are not alone- they have the support of 2 billion people of India, and Indonesia and adjoining regions.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on the changes in the economy for modernization and clean governance in India's largest state.

"Our government neither fears the mafia nor bows to vested interests. Every policy, reform, and decision is guided by one principle: The welfare and empowerment of our citizens."

"Our vision is clear: Bring jobs to people, not people to jobs. Migration must be a choice, not a compulsion. Every citizen of UP deserves the opportunity to build a future in their own homeland. With the largest population in the country, UP’s greatest strength lies in its youth. In a world witnessing economic shifts, technological change, and global uncertainties, this demographic strength becomes a powerful asset."

 

 

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BJP win in West Bengal Assam and Pondicherry TVK in Tamilnadu May 4 2026. A nonstop patience and perseverance over decades of BJP workers.

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Washington Post Editorial Board says DJT policy of "trade not aid," hand up not handout, is right for Africa- good example the $3 billion US puts in railroad from Congo/Zambia to Lobito port Angola on Atlantic coastline to get critical minerals in exchange for infrastructure building. A loan of $533 million from US IDFC (International Development Finance Corporation) is the right thing says the Washington Post for US to build infrastructure in the Lobito Corridor in Angola that will extend from Congo and Zambia with large critical mineral deposits to the port of Lobito on the Angola coast. Overall investment is $3 billion. This will loosen China's critical minerals control through its investments in Africa on the eastern coastline. The new railroad will take critical minerals of cobalt and copper, other critical minerals needed for electric car batteries and energy infrastructure, from the center of Africa to its western coastline in Angola at Lobito port. Angola will not need to take on ruinous -debt in this kind of deal as other African and Asian nations have in deals with China. Its win-win Africa gets infrastructure and supplies key commodities metals to the US. The interesting thing about this is that for a long time US policy was stuck with USAID and other agencies and needed to change. US government under DJT took much criticism for reducing that funding of bureaucracy and old ways. The Washington Post now says it is the right approach- it is not as presented a US withdrawal from Africa, but in the Posts' words an "overdue upgrade" to a mutually profitable relationship with Africa. For Africa to move to next level as Asia has done as Hong Kong did from the 1950's and 1960's  to trade and investment.  For a long time Republicans were not associated with infrastructure development in Africa or in the US. Under DJT the situation has changed and Democrats like Biden have taken up DJT's approach so that the US now regardless of administration is rebuilding infrastructure. Doing this in Africa makes sense. Investment in infrastructure at home makes sense. The Post is right to say this. ...

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Humble cabbage as one of most nutritious vegetables- with prebiotics, Vitamin C, antioxidants, and fiber.

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Pistachio orchards in San Joaquin Valley, California, produce 1.6 billion pounds of pistachios in 2025 increasing to 2 billion by 2031, largest in the world. Pistachios are increasing in price and valued as a health food and in chocolate with climate in the San Joaquin Valley dry and cold ideal for this crop.

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Nutrition critical for health is only now in 2026 being made part of Medical School curriculum with efforts of RFK Jr.  It took so long and in the meantime several generations of Americans have suffered from obesity and poor nutrition, higher incidence of diseases stemming from poor nutrition, and the overuse of pharmaceuticals. This also made medical care more costly, increasing the medical cost burden for families.

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Unilever of London/Amsterdam merges its food business with McCormick of Baltimore, Maryland.

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Jacket potatoes as part of food scene in England.  Jacket potatoes form part of the menu at pubs all over Britain, and are shown with their long history for street vendors in the nineteenth century.