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Italy Groups
The US Cost of Living Crisis 2023-2025
02/24/2025
Cost of Living Crisis and huge gaps in income and wealth between the top 20 percent and the bottom 80 percent aggravate standards of living in America in a way not seen since the Second World War. About 45% increase in prices on cars, used cars, car repairs, housing rentals and groceries, in many household expenses, since 2019. Incomes of workers not having kept up with this kind of spiralling inflation. This is upending the social compact and leading to loss of faith in governments in the US and Europe. Change in governments in UK, France, Germany, and the US and a sense of unease among people.
Grouped Articles
Even Disney Is Worried About the High Cost of a Disney Vacation
WSJ 02/09/2025
Mitch MConnell, Mike Johnson, Pat Schumer and the effort to get Ukraine Aid passed through the US Congress in April 2024
04/26/2024
At a critical juncture which Lyrarc compared to the 1948 effort by Harry Truman to get Congress to support aid to Greece and Turkey. Devastated by the war Greece and Turkey's democracies faced an imminent threat from a Communist takeover supported by the Soviet bloc. Ukraine was at a critical juncture in the war with Russia when Biden met Republican Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House with Mitch McConnell and Pat Schumer in Feb 2024. Schumer said a lot of the credit goes to McConnell to convince 31 Republican Senators a majority of his caucus to support Ukraine Aid at a critical moment.
Grouped Articles
Aid to Ukraine seemed dead. Then secretive talks revived it.
Washington Post 04/25/2024
Bucking G.O.P. Isolationists, McConnell Was Linchpin in Winning Ukraine Aid
NYTimes.com 04/24/2024
‘Kharkiv Is Unbreakable’: A Battered City Carries On
NYTimes.com 04/24/2024
Opinion | Ukraine Aid in the Light of History
NYTimes.com 04/24/2024
Senate Approves Aid for Ukraine and Israel, Sending It to Biden’s Desk
NYTimes.com 04/24/2024
Speaker Johnson’s Ukraine Package Clears Key Hurdle With Democratic Help
WSJ 04/19/2024
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
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
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 04/10/2022
Opinion | Barack Obama Rewrites His Russia History
WSJ 04/08/2022
Opinion | How Germany Became Putin’s Enabler
NYTimes.com 04/08/2022
Merkel 'stands by' past Ukraine NATO decision after Zelenskyy criticism | DW | 04.04.2022
DW.COM 04/04/2022
Vladimir Putin’s 20-Year March to War in Ukraine—and How the West Mishandled It
WSJ 04/01/2022
Opinion: Ukraine will survive — but the West should be ashamed | DW | 25.02.2022
DW.COM 02/25/2022
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
How women can navigate the waters to find a family friendly workplace and get men to share in household chores. This is important for women's Mental Health.
09/24/2021
During the pandemic women increasingly stayed at home while men continued to work. Figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics show women ended up with doing even more household chores than men in 2020 compared to 2019. As a result women during the coronavirus feel worn out or burned out in addition to losing income. WSJ offers ways women can tackle this problem both by getting men to share in household chores, and finding employers who are family friendly as the coronavirus pandemic declines in 2022.
Grouped Articles
How to Find a Family-Friendly Workplace
WSJ 09/24/2021
Women Still Do More of the Housework. Here’s How to Share the Load.
WSJ 09/23/2021
Europe competing for scarce vaccine supplies in February 2021
02/01/2021
Grouped Articles
Covid vaccine roll-out grinds to halt as shortages hit EU
The Times 01/30/2021
Michel Barnier tells EU to step back from Covid vaccine war
The Times 01/30/2021
E.U. and U.K. Fighting Over Scarce Vaccines
NYTimes.com 01/27/2021
World War II- the Forgotten Men and Women of India, America and Mexico
09/09/2020
Indian pilots and army numbering 2.5 million who fought aginst Japanese in Imphal, and Germans in Italy. The black women who performed postal duties in Europe for 17 million pieces of mail in the war in England to be delivered to soldiers in Europe, and later at Rouen, France. The Mexican pilots of the 201st squadron attached to the Fifth U.S. Air Force.
Grouped Articles
The World Health Organization in the crucial early weeks in January and February 2020- failure of the early warning system for coronavirus
06/03/2020
Grouped Articles
China withheld data on coronavirus from WHO, recordings reveal
The Guardian 06/02/2020
Why Trump Is Taking On the World Health Organization - The Journal. - WSJ Podcasts
WSJ 05/23/2020
Harsh Vardhan takes over as WHO executive board chief
Hindustan Times 05/24/2020
A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 05/20/2020
"Total" contact tracing's key role in controlling the coronavirus pandemic
05/26/2020
The case of Germany, South Korea, Kerala state in India, Taiwan, show it works to limit spread and helps reopening. Britain after some errors is back to contact tracing as the No. 1 mission, India depends on contact tracing to limit clusters and close them off. France and the U.S. are fumbling with the use of apps and discussions on privacy, where Germany moved ahead with only the phone and no app, low tech as in Kerala, but good health systems which the state has invested in. Britain and France, and the U.S. suffered from neglect of their health systems during the years when tech was "cool" and money got misallocated away from essential public services.
Grouped Articles
The first wave: How Germany’s coronavirus contact tracers helped to ease its lockdown
The Times 05/26/2020
Human contact tracing provides valuable clues to COVID-19 infections | DW | 27.05.2020
DW.COM 05/27/2020
Dr. Redfield, head of the U.S. Centre for Disease Control
05/20/2020
Grouped Articles
C.D.C.’s Dr. Robert Redfield Confronts Coronavirus, and Anger
NYTimes.com 03/13/2020
A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 05/20/2020
Why cost of living is destroying the social compact in the US and Europe and upending governments in 2024-2025
02/24/2025
Used car prices are up 45% since 2019 putting used cars at average price $28000. It is not a discretionary cost, one needs a car to get to work in the US. There are cases of young people not able to pay soaring repair costs quitting work without transport. This is why there was so much discontent in 2024 after supply shocks and price gouging pushed up prices in 2024. Another factor evident in airline ticket pricing was demand and the excess income of the top 20 percent. In housing and apartment rentals supply shortages pushed up prices, demand and excess income of the top 20-30 percent pushed up prices beyond the reach of the rest, higher interest rates made it unaffordable to buy a home for most Americans.
Grouped Articles
Why There Is No Relief Ahead for High Used-Car Prices
WSJ 02/15/25
The U.S. Economy Depends More Than Ever on Rich People
WSJ 02/24/25
China and the World Face a Double Blow from decades of housing construction enabled hyper growth- creating problems of climate change for the World and a slump in growth in 2023
10/16/2023
Decades of growth at 12-14% have left China and the World worse off. As Greg Ip pointed out in WSJ America could not cope with this hyper growth in a country many times the size of Japan after absorbing the growth of Japan in the sixties. The result was the closing down of factories and ever increasing imports from China until America had transferred its manufacturing prowess to China. This led to the societal breakdown in the US with communities dependent on factories across the US feeling the brunt. The other effects were an unprecedented in scale use of coal and fossil fuels to fuel hyper growth rates in China that created the problems of World Climate Change by 2023 and contamination of water, land and air inside China. By 2030 China will be aging rapidly similar to Japan today and the slowing economy in 2024 onwards could mean China will be stuck in the Middle Income category. All this poses lessons for America, for Europe, India and the World on what kind of growth is healthy and what kind is not, what is sustainable growth and what is not,what works well for the planet and what does not.
Grouped Articles
China Bet It All on Real Estate. Now Its Economy Is Paying the Price.
NYTimes.com 10/16/23
An Even Bigger Housing Crisis Threatens China’s Economy
WSJ 09/18/23
Is China’s Economic Predicament as Bad as Japan’s? It Could Be Worse
WSJ 09/19/23
China’s Economy Remains Shaky After Challenging Summer
WSJ 10/13/23
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
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
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
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
Nature walks, nature settings, as an essential way to boost mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic
10/09/2021
It is proven that just two hours a week of walks in nature setting in parks, natural settings, green areas, or forested areas, can be hugely beneficial for health and wellbeing during the pandemic. Long and recurrent lockdowns or partial lockdowns, closure of schools, loss of work and income, have had devastating effects on mental health in many countries. Much needs to be done to promote nature walks and bringing nature as a healing mechanism to take some of the burden off the overburdened health services of many countries. Awareness of this in the UK and funds + projects to do this can be a model for other countries.
Grouped Articles
Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study
The Guardian 06/13/19
Oyster Shoreline at ‘Greater New York’ Has a Pearl of a Message
NYTimes.com 10/04/21
‘It took a year to get help’: generation Z on mental health decline
The Guardian 09/30/21
Natural health service: wildlife volunteers get mental health boost
The Guardian 10/02/17
Nature on prescription: wetlands project aims to boost mental health
The Guardian 05/13/21
‘These salt marshes saved my life’: how nature is helping mental health
The Guardian 10/09/21
Covid Travel Pass
05/21/2021
Grouped Articles
EU reaches deal on approving COVID 'travel pass' | DW | 20.05.2021
DW.COM 05/20/21
Covid-19: EU to reopen borders to travellers who are fully vaccinated
France 24 05/20/21
Covid passports: a freedom certificate that may get the world travelling again
The Times 01/17/21
Covid-19 Vaccination Cards Are the Only Proof of Shots, Soon an Essential
WSJ 03/30/21
Pope Francis and the call "not to return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the pandemic."
11/27/2020
Two crises back to back in 2010 and 2020 which set back the working class, the middle class and the poor, and the neglect of capital allocation to healthcare, education, infrastructure. Pope Francis calls for a culture that feels others pain, that "gives access to all to the fruits of creation, to the basic needs of life: to land, lodging, and labor." See "Misallocation of Capital" in Top Stories for more coverage.
Grouped Articles
The vision of the European Union alive and well - Macron and Merkel in June 2020 responding to the pandemic
06/06/2020
Grouped Articles
Europe’s big two kiss and make up for pandemic rescue deal
The Guardian 06/06/20
Germany- low tech coronavirus contact tracing that works for reopening the country
05/27/2020
Grouped Articles
Human contact tracing provides valuable clues to COVID-19 infections | DW | 27.05.2020
DW.COM 05/27/20
The first wave: How Germany’s coronavirus contact tracers helped to ease its lockdown
The Times 05/26/20
Who is Dr. Harlem Brundtland? Compared to her does the WHO today flunk, and even Dr Fauci, Dr Redfield fall short
05/20/2020
Dr. Harlem Brundtland was head of the WHo during the SARS crisis which originated in China in 2003. Her swift action included questioning China's suppression of the openness of its scientific and medical community at the time, alerting the world to take action to control the epidemic. The U.S. clearly brings up Dr. Brundtland as the model that was not followed in its letter to the WHO of May 18, 2020. Dr. Redfield, head U.S. CDC was alerted by Dr. Gao Fu head of China's CDC and its medical scientific community on Dec. 31, 2019, and through Dr. Redfield the American medical scientific community including Dr. Fauci, in an early warning of what was to happen. Dr Brundtland is a three time prime minister of Norway starting with the first term in 1981 and ending with the third term in 1996. She was head of the Labor Party and had a distinguished record including her work in climate change, sustainable development and other issues. The WHO earned much respect under her leadership of the organization.
Grouped Articles
‘The only way forward for WHO is...’: Full text of Trump’s letter to WHO chief
Hindustan Times 05/19/20
A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL
SPIEGEL ONLINE 05/20/20
Trump gives WHO ultimatum over virus handling
BBC News 05/19/20
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