Wallet Hub, which regularly shows that Hawaii is too expensive, reported that it is the  happiest state in the USA . 30 metrics determined happiness. Finland was for the sixth year in a row the happiest country in the world.  Nordic countries took the top three positions, Denmark #2 and Iceland #3.  All this comes from the United Nations  World Happiness Report .  Blue is best, although dark green is okay, and the U.S. is ranked #15.  Black is bad, and that is Ukraine. If you lived in Hawaii as long as I have, there is a lot of reminiscing to do.  Someone sent me a link to the past:   here , and more  here .  Thanks for the Memories.   While I'm into this mode:  from the  Man of La Mancha ,  The Impossible Dream from  Casablanca ,  As Time Goes By Old Movie Stars Dance to  Uptown Funk to  I'm So Excited Mary Hopkin with  Those Were the Days  from The Ed Sullivan Show you've seen...

Here is something you almost certainly did not know.    Pascale Christine Baeriswy l of Switzerland is now President of the United Nations Security Council.  Do you know who she replaced?    Vasily Nebenzia , Russia's ambassador to the UN.  Somehow, the World survived his month in office.  Another thing you did not know.  This position changes monthly.   Surely you must know that the ninth Secretary-General of the UN, who took office in 2017, is Antonio Guterres of Portugal.  But if this position is for 5 years, why is he still in office?  Because you can get a second term.  So he's good until the end of 2026. Next, a graphic from the morning  New York Times .  The previous  Great Recession  was from December 2007 to June 2009. The U.S. GDP did not recover until the third quarter of 2011.  Unemployment rose to 10% in October of 2009 and took until May of 2016 to drop back to 4.7%.  The...

         From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):     DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571       ...

      From  Worldometer :          DAY    USA    WORLD     Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093    4732        1185       246          82 July    22     1205    7128        1293      1120         572 Aug    12     1504     6556       1242       835         130 Sept     3      1094    5886        830     1083         174             9      1208    6222        1136      1168  ...