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Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell has differences with Mr. Trump. He made this clear in recent years on many issues and has remained silent on the Trump indictment. He is the senior senator from Kentucky.

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MBZ Mohamed Bin Zayed's leadership in UAE, the exit from OPEC and recognition of Israel, that is changing the Middle East. India has close relations with UAE and there are 9 million Indians working in the Gulf region. MBZ and Saudi leader Salman were close until both leaders differed on oil prices. Saudis wanted to keep oil prices high to finance its ambitious projects which contrasted with the UAE interest in increasing production. Saudis have a less diversified economy whereas the UAE has tourism and finance as other business sectors. UAE has capacity to produce 5 million barrels a day, but is only allowed by OPEC to produce 3.5 million barrels a day. US president DJT says UAE's exit from OPEC should lead to lower oil prices. About 250,000 British nationals live in UAE and millions of Indians. Even though the Abu Dhabi and Dubai region of UAE is small it has a large population of 12 million with about 10 million expatriates from India. It is also amore advanced economy with the help of the British and India, and now Israel. Saudi population is about 35 million and Saudis were poised to recognize Israel in 2024-2025. Egypt, the largest Arab nation, has shifted policy to be part of a Middle East that seeks modernization and economic development after decades of war and has close relations with UAE, so does Morocco, another Arab country with close ties to Europe and India.    ...

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Even though Denmark is trying to portray this as about 60,000 people on an island almost the size of Canada, Denmark was a colonial power when it acquired the terrritory through merging with Norway and later in Treaty of Kiel in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars it retained Greenland. In these European Wars lands were exchanged based on success of armies fighting the French. It is "completely useless" for Denmark and it has not invested in Greenland which is backward with poor standard of living, no infrastructure. The US alone can change that. For the US it needs to own the island to make the Eastern Seaboard of the US secure from foreign powers, a point Seward made when he sought to acquire it in 1867 along with the purchase of Alaska from Russia, Every American government since and including Truman has sought to do this. Denmark is in Greenland only because of its colonial power rivalry with Sweden and the British Empire, when it was exchanged or retained for other territories as was the practice of the Europeans in the 19th century wars. It is not there to develop the island, its infrastructure and improve its quality of life, and has never done this. ...

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California gets 75% of its oil from imports and one third of imports from refineries dependent on Hormuz Straits. 20% of jet fuel comes from South Korean refineries, and 25% of gasoline from South Korean, Indian and Taiwanese refineries. This means things can get very tight if the war continues in the Middle East. This could happen as South Korean, Indian and Taiwanese refineries become low in their own stocks and export much less. California has not benefitted from the shale revolution in the Permian basin as pipelines do not exist for transporting that oil. Shipping oil on tanker ships from Texas to California costs more than shipping oil to California from Asian refineries. Over 20 years California lost 50% of its oil refining capacity by creating conditions averse to the oil industry, instead of adopting a two pronged approach of shifting to renewable energy with some flexibility for fossil fuels hat was adopted by the federal Biden administration, also run by Democrats. As a result Chevron which was California based for 144 years shifted its headquarters to Houston,Texas. There are no signs Governor Newsom, a Democrat is reversing his position to show more flexibility on fossil fuels during a transition phase to renewable energy.  ...

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NYT Graphs showing Effect of 17.2% overall US Tariffs positive on US Trade Deficit (significant shrinking) Prices (less than 3% increase in index). Overall effect is surprisingly quite positive, yet media has given misleading reports and misrepresented tariffs. Tariffs were used when everything else failed and had to be applied in the real world with skill, and backtracking where necessary, repositioning tariff, and continuing to use it when the opposite side including European, Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese, were only interested in their own gains, indifferent or negative to fairness for US gains. Even where the tariff was placed on a partner the results were surprising the carving out of exemptions such as electronics semiconductors and iphones, made it possible for India to increase exports, so that it was done thoughtfully. This shows that tariff application was done by DJT/Bessent/Jamieson in a way that gave countries options to manage their trade to come out doing well. Germany and EU without US tariffs may not have signed the deal with India this quickly, and India may have used its agricultural protection to prolong and not look for areas in common and work out a deal. Germany might still be thinking India depends too much on Russia for defense, instead it looked for areas for defense cooperation. Result the huge India- German, India-European Union deal that connects to form a 2 billion strong market. Nobody really noticed its importance except for 2 billion people- it comes when it is a highly motivated 2 billion people with strengths in technologies, industry, people skills, and between 2 civilizations the Buddhist/Vedanta Hindu and the Christian civilization, each discovering the other and the richness of its partner's civilization. ...

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Congress has an obligation to fund the Transportation Security Administration that screens passengers at airports. TSA falls under Department of Homeland Security DHS. Democrats and Republicans are at loggerheads on immigration issues and are holding up funding for DHS and TSA agency. For 1 month now TSA officers at airports have not received their paychecks. About 25%- 40% have called in sick at some major airports slowing down security lines in rush hours of the morning. Congress goes into recess March 27th and if no funding has been passed by then the situation could get a lot worse, with many passengers missing flights, flights taking off without passengers.

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China's exports to US declined by 30% in 2025 from $438 billion in 2024 to $308 billion in 2025. The US trade deficit with China declined by 31% from $295 billion in 2024 to $202 billion in 2025. US had a $178 billion trade deficit with Vietnam and some of this could be China's exports to the US through Vietnam and this should be taken into account. For the world as a whole China had a trade surplus of $1.2 trillion in 2025 as it continues to push its exports on the rest of the world.

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Naval blockade of Iran cutting off oil exports and securing the Hormuz for navigation April 12 2026. Speaking on Hannity TV show General Keane and South Carolina Senator Graham say the goal is to get the enriched uranium out of Iran. Senator Graham says the Pope is a good man but he has no idea about the danger posed by enriched uranium in Iran and the development of a "dirty bomb" and ballistic missiles. The US Navy is able to control the seas around the Gulf and the Red Sea to check all sea traffic in the area and has all the capabilities to do this.

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For a long time CNN struggled with how it could avoid the peaks and valleys of viewer attention for its news programs- with a jump in viewers when a big news event happens and then a fall in viewers when not much is happening. Programs like Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," have helped CNN tackle this problem. At first in 2012 and early 2013 when Bourdain's name came up in discussions at CNN for such a show, there was much disagreement about it, as some did not see the merits of bringing in someone who is not a journalist. By 2012 Bourdain had achieved prominence with his program on food "no Reservations," on Travel Channel. CNN's approach was to have a non-journalist take people around the world and tell stories about life and culture of the country and its people, in unique restaurant settings. By having a doumentary travel series CNN hoped to use the flexibility to delay a show if a news event broke out. Many viewers take tips on travel from the show. It has an enthusiastic following, thanks partly to Bourdain's style which is informal, relaxed, and jovial. Especially how he doesn't take himself seriously, and not thinking too much about Obama's guest appearance on the show at a small restaurant in Vietnam, where Bourdain picks up the tab of $6. That has won him over 800,000 viewers consistently from the 1st to the seventh season of the show. ...

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During total day CNN had 473,000 viewers in quarter 2 of 2024. In the 25-54 years CNN had 85,000 viewers. Median age ov viewers on CNN, FOX, and MSNBC is 67-70 years showing that most of the American people get their information about the US and the world from digital, internet and in other ways.This shows the declining audience for televisions news and a shift over to digital news such as Apple News and Lyrarc.com type smaller sites that are providing alternatives on how the news is covered including a knowledge base approach to provide education type content and build understanding of content that Lyrarc has taken with an open model.

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Damian Paletta of the Washington Post says that credit goes to Gary Cohn a former Goldman Sachs president, and head of the president's National Economic Council for the way he has quietly built up a group of leading experts on major initiatives of the Trump administration such as tax reform, infrastructure plans. Compared to the infighting and other problems in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, Cohn is credited with building a core of ideas and experts that bring Trump more to the centre and with the prospect of winning Democratic party support. He has helped shift the president to set up a more balanced approach, less confrontational with China and not calling China a currency manipulator, getting support for the Export Import Bank, and more receptive to the Federal Reserve led by Janet Yellen. This report says an alliance of moderates is centering around Adviser Jared Kushner, Cohn, and in other reports Tillerson in foreign affairs is seen as being part of this group. On NAFTA the president has moved to a less confrontational approach with Mexico, which has helped the Mexican peso recover and improved prospects for the Mexican economy.  On infrastructure new ideas to find financing are needed and a plan to tax carbon emissions is intended to draw Democratic support as well as provide some of the funding. About $200 billion in taxpayer money and $800 billion from private investors is being discussed at the National Economic Council. This report says Cohn suffered from dyslexia in childhood, graduated from American University, and joined Goldman Sachs in an unconventional way. He shares a passion for deal making with president Trump, yet at the same time values the views of experts he has brought to formulate concrete plans for the way ahead. About 25 experts with extensive experience in government helped put together new tax changes, infrastructure plans, and international trade deal plans. His predecessor at the NEC, Gene Sperling, gives him credit for quietly pulling together the experts and doing the planning that the Trump administration now depends on. ...

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Scott Bessent on restoring the mission of the IMF "brutally calling out imbalances" including China's surplus economy and unfair trading practices instead of "whistling by the graveyard"- in his address to the IMF, Feb 15, 2025. Bessent says the IMF and World Bank had mission creep and lost track of financial stability and were not asking the hard questions about China's focus on exports at the expense of the manufacturing capacity and jobs of America and Europe.  Hee are his remarks meant to show that Bessent is taking an all of the above approach on energy, knows climate change is real but cals for flexible approach, an approach he wants the World Bank to take. And for the IMF to focus on key issues that have led to deindustrialization of US and Europe essential for financial stability before getting into social and cultural issues that are not its mandate for which it is ill equipped to address. Bessent told the IMF and World Bank - "Instead, the IMF has suffered from mission creep. The IMF was once unwavering in its mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and financial stability. Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues.   These issues are not the IMF’s mission. And the IMF’s focus in these areas is crowding out its work on critical macroeconomic issues. The IMF must be a brutal truth-teller, and not just to some members. Instead, today’s IMF has been whistling past the graveyard. Its 2024 External Sector Report was entitled “Imbalances Receding.”  This pollyannish outlook is symptomatic of an institution more dedicated to preserving the status quo than asking the hard questions."  Some of these hard questions are about surplus countries- about China and their focus on exporting their way till they destroy the manufacturing sector of the rest of the world. ...

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DJT asks Putin to not attack Kviv during bitter cold week of Jan 29 2026 with -30 C. Putin has agreed to this says DJT. Much of Kviv is without heat and electricity after Russian drone and missile attacks on Kviv in the worst winter of the 4 year war.

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The German government has taken notice of hate speech on social media and social bots. The Justice Ministry convened a task force on hate speech on internet. Justice Minister Heiko Maas promised legal action against social media like facebook and twitter if it violated laws of libel and inciting to violence. Chancellor Merkel is bringing in a data science expert Professor Simon Hegelich of the Technical University of Berlin for consultations in Dec. 2016. Only AfD of the main parties, with its anti-immigration stance, has not come out in favor of not using social bots or paid trolls in the 2017 elections. Hegelich in talk with DW.com says it is hard to legislate on this because the whole phenomenon has not been fully understood. Article 5 of the Constitution provides for free speech. Hegelich also says the state of technology moves faster than legislation, and being international sites like facebook, twitter and others pose additional issues. He does not say laws cannot be helpful but that its not clear how best to do this. Thomas Jarzombek is a CDU member of parliament and digital media expert. He says social bots are more likely controlled by foreign countries, and fake news sites are more of a domestic problem. Making this worse is the incentive for unemployed journalists to do blogging of the crude and aggressive type to make more money. Jarzombek sees the need for the press to do more in its role for the democratic process to function properly, by functioning in the role of "enlightenment" and "awareness."  Jenna Behrends, a law student and CDU local politician for Berlin-Mitte, says it is necessary for good bots to be used to fight bad bots, in an article in Der Spiegel. Major mainstream media would then have to launch social bots themselves to fulfill their role of providing the public with correct and fair information free of excessive bias and distortion of the bad bots. One example of this is shown explicitly here of German chancellor Merkel's picture with the words " Guilty of betraying the people," with links to "Drain the swamp," and "Brexit." A more complex question is one of how to let people vent out frustration about the mainstream media itself being biased in favor of the established views and not doing enough or giving enough space to reflect alternative views, so that these can be debated without inflammatory language and deliberate distortion. A whole range of tools and modifications of behaviour may be necessary ahead of next years elections in France and Germany, now that the phenomenon is better understood following a vote in the Anglo-Saxon countries.   ...

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Much of the reward for Labour goes to Health, Nutrition (food choices), and Education (schooling choices for children). This is the backbone for any Nation that is going to be strong and have a good future. Yet economic structures in 2026 and for decades has swung too far in one direction away from Labour and more and more for Capital, creating grave risks for the Nation, and setting the US as the wrong role model. Labour and Capital in 1980 vs 2026- increasing reward for Capital from 7% to 12% of GDI decreasing for Labour 58% to 52% in same period. In some areas this is not so because other regions have set their own priorities and this is a good thing Europe has a strong and fair access healthcare system, India has a strong and fair access pharmaceuticals healthcare system, which act as role models for the US. In 2026 RFK Jr, Dr. Oz at HHS and DJT are focused on getting US pharmaceuticals prices down to levels in the European Union. The real dangers of the skewing in the direction of Capital of rewards is creating a class that is not sensitive to the lives of ordinary people resulting in fracturing of society. Something like that happened in 1600-1800 in India and China leading to the disintegration of society and becoming overcome by foreign European powers which had more dynamic societies from the bottom up that led to discoveries in science leading to the industrial revolution. One detects something like this happening by accident by poor governance and bad decisions for wars (Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama), and the same administrations pushed by bad advice from economists to ship the productive manufacturing resources of the Nation to China. If not reversed it would lead to the kind of decline Asia witnessed after 1600- hitting all classes of society and destroying the economic structures as foreign powers get the upper hand. The surrendering of research labs and higher education in advanced science fields to foreigners at US and European universities poses similar risks as fractured society with Capital dominant and unaware of the risks. Such societies have less perception of such risk than a bottom up built social, economic and political framework with large numbers of aspiring local citizens seeking these positions in science and technology in the Nation. ...

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"Not ideal" says Ben Stokes, "yeah disappointing" says Steve Smith, about the 10mm of grass on the pitch that led to 20 wickets on the first day 36 wickets by the second day. Cricket Australia is disappointing a lot of fans when the Test match at MCG cricket grounds is over in 2 days- not since 1904 has something like this happened at MCCG- and there is an investigation, too much left to the cricket grounds preparation experts without supervision by Cricket Australia. Stokes says to be brutally honest it was bad for 90,000 fans. About England critics after losing 3 Tests, Stokes says that now goes to zero the idea of England not having won at all. Stokes and Root hug in the locker room, a sign of relief.

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Here is the situation for India for Fertilizer and LPG gas supplies in Iran War March 14 2026- Vaishhnav says 62 lakh tons available 10 more than last year of urea fertilizer. This means India has adequate coverage for the May planting season of fertilizer. On LPG for household cooking India has shifted industry supplies to cover the home cooking gas needs. It is also working on passage of its LPG ships through the Hormuz Straits. Of the Indian ships carrying LPG -22 vessels trying to cross Hormuz Straits, 3 made it though in the last few days. India is in touch with Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council and through its position in Bric's to get safe passage for LPG carrying ships. Six of the ships carry LPG and one carries LNG of the 22 ships waiting to cross the Hormuz passage.

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Making some territorial concessions appears to be the only way for peace talks to succeed. For a long time there was insistence on territorial sovereignty of Ukraine by EU and NATO leaders. This appears to have prolonged the war- with needless loss of life on both sides, and costly damage to Ukraine infrastructure, a population that had to face additional winters and hardship in war ravaged areas. NATO's Stoltenberg from Norway, leaders of northern Nordic and Baltic countries, the UK, could take that position without having to face the hardship of the war. NATO had to be re-formed under a new name and new structure  following the collapse of the Soviet Union, with wariness about the possibility of centuries old since 1700 UK and Nordic historical adversarial relationship with Russia casting a shadow over that organization, and embroiling the US in conflicts not of its own choice or of wise leadership. This is the root cause of the Ukraine war. It would have been best to completely restructure NATO and give it a new name without Northern European nations leading it. Principles matter once soviet communism was no longer there NATO formed for its expansionism in 1950's had served it's purpose. Rasmussen from Denmark and Stoltenberg from Norway led the organization for the last decade and half from 2009-2014 and 2014 to 2025, with backing from Obama/Merkel for most of the period of the war in Ukraine. Also most of the period NATO expanded to Russian borders happened under Northern European leaders from Spain, Britain and Nordics (Solana, Robertson, Scheffer, Rasmussen and Stoltenberg) and the organization NATO getting the northern European slant based on historical adversarial relationship of Britain and Russia since 1700- for no other reason than the British wanting to protect its large Empire and commerce in India which in the 18th and 19th century included most of Asia. Under Robertson the UK Defense Secretary much of this transformation into turning NATO into something anti-Russian happened which was primarily because of British and Nordic perceptions of Russia as an adversary. Robertson added the following countries at the Prague Summit in 2002 to NATO- the Baltics, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Russia faced internal upheaval in those years and Yeltsin in resigned in 1999, Putin was elected in 2000. It is clear that Russia had suffered severe economic hardship in that period and Putin's first goal in 2002 was to stabilize the economy.  It could be said that this turning NATO over to UK and Nordics was a huge mistake considering that Russia was still the largest nuclear power after the US, and British policy was now determining US policy. And Britain's Robertson/NATO should not have involved itself in the Afghanistan war using Article 5, as the US could have handled this alone and limited that engagement. It got US involved in another conflict, conflict with Russia that was to come in Ukraine on the side of the Baltics and Ukraine, without US clearly understanding what the roots of that war was about and implied confrontation with Russia 20 years after the Prague Summit in 2002 under George Bush junior. The incompetence of Bush and Obama/Merkel laid the seeds of the Ukraine war in 2022 following Robertson, Rasmussen, Stoltenberg, small Nordic nations and Britain creating a conflict that did not need to happen, with loss of hundreds of thousands of lives of Russian speaking fraternal peoples of both Russia and Ukraine. The Republican sentiment under DJT of the tragedy of such huge losses of young people, and desire to end this loss of life, can nowhere be seen in bellicose talk in northern European nations, that take the US for granted to fight their wars.  The wisdom of Washington, Lincoln and TR/FDR clearly caution in getting involved in European centuries old animosities. For the US it meant in practical terms that it could no longer carry out the Monroe Doctrine essential for peace and good governance in the western hemisphere as only a Russia desperate to make its views known about NATO would interfere in the western hemisphere against US assertion of the Monroe Doctrine with the US Navy. Instead drug trafficking gangs took over Latin American countries and created a flow of fentanyl and millions of people through migrant traffickers across the US southern border. As America has expressed its concern for loss of Russian and Ukrainian men in the war for the first time under DJT Russia has distanced itself from Venezuela, Mexico and Latin America. The loss of hundreds of thousands of young Americans to fentanyl is a shared tragedy with the loss of hundreds of thousands of young Russians and Ukrainians in the last decade. How reliable are Northern European countries when it comes to protecting the eastern seaboard of the US with the acquisition of Greenland? It is a policy pursued by presidents since the Alaska Acquisition from Russia. By Seward, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman and DJT. Denmark the land where NATO secretary general Rasmussen was from followed by Stoltenberg from Norway  (for 15 of the years of the war in Ukraine 2010-2025) the US efforts to protect its eastern seaboard are rebuffed by both Denmark and Norway, and the US presented in a negative light as an imperialist power in the face of Danish East India Company's  colonial attitude since 1700 clearly imitating the colonial British East India company.  It shows Northern European nations looking out for themselves not for the US, and embroiling the US in their wars at the cost of the entire western hemisphere being destabilized. The population of UK, Denmark and Norway, Baltics is far less than the Mumbai, Shanghai, Sao Paulo , Berlin and Tokyo regions. Should the views of a small population in northern Europe of 2% of the total determine the future of US, Europe, China, India, Brazil, and other parts of the world with 5 billion people the 98%, when issues of war and nuclear conflict, nuclear buildup, the western hemisphere destabilized with drug trafficking gangs running rampant in countries, divide the world in opposing blocs, when the wellbeing of most of the world's people in Asia and Latin America, Africa is at stake by establishing a essential degree of cooperation by all sides. The US under DJT has chosen a wise policy of cooperation over conflict -with China, with Russia, with all the major powers, and with smaller powers. Reading the wisdom contained in the writings of Washington, Lincoln, TR/FDR confirms it is clearly the wise choice. ...

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Supply chains are unraveling in many industries with the tariffs imposed by president Trump on imports from China, and renegotiated trade deals with South Korea and other countries. The growth in the value of foreign value added was possible with cuts in tariffs in the period after 1990 and the emergence of China as a low cost manufacturer with cheap labor. Foreign value added increased from 20% in 1990 to 30% in 2011. The impact on factory towns and communities in the U.S. of trade in which the U.S. manufacturing declined as it shifted to China resulted in the surge in support for president Trump. The tariffs war with China is an effort to correct this imbalance. The result is a shift in supply chains away from China in some industries and gradual shift in others. Rising wages in China had already resulted in early shifts and the the environmental costs adding to this trend. President Trump temporarily suspended a threatened imposition of duties of 25% on $325 billion of Chinese imports. A renegotiated Nafta agreement with Mexico for automobile production and determination of U.S. based content and wages was designed to reset the relationship with Mexico and the auto supply chain for production in Mexico. A threat of tariffs on European auto imports to the U.S. is set for a decision in November. The trade dispute between Japan and South Korea and threat of tariffs also shows the effect this is having in other countries. With the U.S. looking at its own interest in the global supply chain and its advantage or disadvantage, industries and companies are not free to make decisions based on which country offers the best arrangement and deal for manufacturing. Notions of competitive advantage in the tech race with China are affecting the way the U.S. and European nations are acting. ...

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Greenland was originally explored by both the US and European explorers. It is sparsely populated only on the shores in one part of the island and Denmark has laid claim on it and now handles foreign affairs for the country and security. With its location near the Arctic and Chinese ships increasingly found near the Arctic, the US feels it is important for security in the Arctic. The US and Denmark now both lay claim to the island of Greenland.

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Several military bases used in World War II in Greenland and now in disuse are being activated by Northern Command's Gen. Guillot April 6 2026. The US is only required to "consult with and inform" the Danes under a 1951 Agreement updated in 2004. On April 6 DJT stated that NATO was a paper tiger and that the Europeans had not offered to help the US in the Iran War because of their position on Greenland.

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Spiegel Online's interview with Emmanuel Macron, on the TGV 8434 train from Bordeaux to Paris. He is joined by Mrs. Macron. Macron says he is aware that he does not have a bloc of core support like Ms. Le Pen, yet he says this means he will try that much harder for voters on the right and the left. He says their is no political renewal in the political class in France and that it remains closed. He says particular attention must be paid to rural France outside big cities like Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Paris, where people have had a different encounter with globalization. On the European Union he sees the need to revitalize it by having a closer union focussed on countries that are interested in this. He sees the need for a joint finance minister and permanent head of Euro Group. This might be a smaller EU without countries such as Britain, and others who are not interested in a closer union. He does not agree with the idea that any member state of the EU can stop other member states from proceeding. Macron does not believe in moving to the right as in the Dutch election because he says people are "not idiots" and in France this has not worked for Nicholas Sarkozy, which has some truth to it as authenticity (and humility) matters to French voters. A personal approach worked for Fillon early on till the scandal over payments he received. Macron brings to this personal approach and relative youthfulness, his sense that he must appeal to all segments, rural and urban, educated and less educated, and at the same time be true to core values such as preserving the European Union, and authenticity in terms of views on Algeria. He also says he is aware he faces risks but that this is something he believes in deeply.   Macron has not hesitated to express his views on topics such as Algeria, calling it a crime against humanity, and later elaborating on what he meant. Macron says his movement En Marche is different in style and manner from the closed nature of French politics. He believes in transparency, term limits, and removing conflicts of interest in French politics, as a way to make a fresh start. The first round of voting is on April 23, 2017, followed by a second round of voting between two candidates.  ...

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Lecornu and Macron operate differently now with Lecornu making the decisions for negotiating with Socialists and putting aside pension reform. After his ouster Lecornu set conditions for his return - to have latitude to make decisions if he was to take the job of PM and to consult with Macron but make decisions to negotiate with socialists, to set aside pension reform, to use Article 49.3 when he thought it would be wise, on and on. Macron to be useful in his last year has agreed. Macron has dropped his Jupiterian presidency says Le Monde in favor of consultation and discussion and letting others make decisions to govern. One should not misread Macron's new style of opposing DJT- it is a way for him to bring all French parties, the movement of Melenchon, the Socialists, and the Le Pen National party, to agree on something, when even passing the Budget was difficult in a frayed political environment. Macron having lost trust and with low popularity, Le Pen and the Melenchon movement at odds every step of the way- an inability to govern. ...

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Kathryn Ruemmler is legal counsel at Goldman Sachs, and adviser to the CEO. The WSJ looks at Epstein file releases by the US Justice Department on Ruemmler's connections to Epstein in 2019 as a legal adviser. Some of it is after FBI arrested Epstein. Other files released show Ruemmler had consulted with Epstein on jobs she was interviewing for with Goldman, and potential jobs at Google, Facebook and Citadel, according to this report. This aspect is similar to what is reported in the media about Mandelson having consulted with Epstein for job offers at large financial companies. In the case of Mandelson he described his access to influence in Labour government decisions. The Mandelson connections are rocking the British government of PM Keir Starmer for his poor judgement in appointing Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US and lack of due diligence on his background.  WSJ report says Ruemmler had helped try Enron executives and this brought her attention that led to her going to the White House as Barrack Obama's counsel. She left in 2014 and was a white collar defense lawyer at Latham and Watkins.  ...

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How to avoid simple errors in Tax filings with the US IRS. A lot of the processing is done by computers even though the IRS has lost 25% of its people or 28,000 in 2025. Tax filings need to be consistent, with all 1099's for IRA's accounted for, Information needs to be consistent and complete as computers catch these errors and ask for information. Prompt replies can clarify, but its best to do this from the beginning and save time.