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Gen. Mattis and the policy for Afghanistan in 2017 - learning from the experience of the 2011 Iraq withdrawal, and giving meaning to earlier sacrifices
08/22/2017
Linked Articles
Trump announces new strategy for Afghanistan that calls for a troop increase
Washington Post 08/22/2017
The Meaning of Their ServiceWall Street Journal 04/18/2015
The problems threatening the white working class in America and the rise of cultural illiberalism
11/12/2015
Experts point to the economic anxieties of the white working class in America, a broad group that has increasingly fallen behind as technology advances in the 21st century with globalization and mobile capital, causing serious social fissures in society. One of the dangers is to the ideas of liberal society itself with the rise of cultural illiberalism, such as that presented by the Trump candidacy for president in 2016, and Marie Le Pen's National Front in France, as liberal elites in centre right and centre left lose their hold on working class voters.
Linked Articles
The Bleak Reality Driving Trump’s Rise
Wall Street Journal 12/16/2015
The missing working class - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/12/2015
Partisan opinion and the Pew Research polls on how U.S. public opinion views the July 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran
09/09/2015
Increasing skepticism about the deal's provisions shown in Pew Research Center polls taken in July and Sept 2015.
Linked Articles
Senate Democrats vs. voters on Iran [Updated] - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/09/2015
Dick Cheney tries to fool the public again - The Washington PostWashington Post 09/09/2015
German experts and public opinion who see Greece's exit from the eurozone as the best thing for the euro in July 2015 (1)
07/07/2015
Chancellor Merkel's statement that the the Euro is the EU, now place more emphasis on building a strong future for the euro. Experts in Germany believe the euro is better off without Greece by July 2015. As the WSJ editorial points out political contagion is now a bigger threat to the euro, with euro skeptic parties joining populist parties with no committment to the common currency and its basic rules.
Linked Articles
German Finance Chief’s Hard Line on Greece Limits Angela Merkel’s Room to Maneuver
Wall Street Journal 07/09/2015
It’s Time for Greece to Leave the EuroNew York Times 07/07/2015
The women's vote in 2016 U.S. presidential election and the antiincumbency mood of 2016- risks for Clinton running a cautious campaign and big risks for Trump
06/11/2015
Hillary Clinton needs a vigorous campaign away from the cautious instincts of the early days of her campaign, as Trump seeks to deflect criticism by attacking Hillary Clinton, say experts. The risks are high for Trump if the effort backfires alienating the vast majority of women, including Sanders supporters, independents and traditional Republican moderates. This is one of the wild twists of the campoaign of 2016- a candidate apparently making sexist comments to attract the support of white women voter- and men.
Linked Articles
Hillary Needs More Than the Obama Coalition
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2015
Donald Trump’s Gender-Based Attacks on Hillary Clinton Have Calculated RiskNew York Times 04/28/2016
Ban on election advertising on commercial television and radio in Britain and strict limits of $29.5 million for each party in general elections- contrast with the U.S.
05/02/2015
Britain disproves the popular belief that an ever upward trajectory for election spending is inevitable. The 2010 general election in Britain cost half that of the 1880 general election in 2002 prices, say researchers. In the U.S. spending has increased to the point where candidates may be spending more time fund raising than talking about the issues. The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. is estimated to lead to $10 billion in spending. India, Brazil, and other developing countries face a similar situation.
Linked Articles
Britain’s Campaign Finance Laws Leave Parties With Idle Money
New York Times 05/04/2015
F.E.C. Can’t Curb 2016 Election Abuse, Commission Chief SaysNew York Times 05/02/2015
Japan's fighter pilot Harada's message of "never to forget," the new generation of leaders, and a public unaware of the horrors of war
04/03/2015
Harada and Noonan describe the problem today of a generation of leaders and public that were born following the Second World War, who have no knowledge of the horrors and the pain of that war. He has tried to keep the memory of that conflict and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, by teaching Japanese children in a kindergarden so that a new generation does not forget.
Linked Articles
Retired Japanese Fighter Pilot Sees an Old Danger on the Horizon
New York Times 04/03/2015
Misplaying America’s Hand With IranWall Street Journal 04/04/2015
The miscalculations and missteps of Russian president Putin in 2014 leading to a major crisis for the Russian economy in 2015
12/18/2014
A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.
Linked Articles
Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin Seeks to Reassure on EconomyWall Street Journal 12/18/2014
The Iraq-Syria conflict and the experience in Vietnam - readers reflect in the NYT in Oct. 2014
10/07/2014
Linked Articles
Is the Syria Conflict Like Vietnam?
New York Times 10/09/2014
Will Syria Be Obama’s Vietnam?New York Times 10/07/2014
The 150 million single children of parents, and the 61 million children of migrant workers- today's young generation in China growing up in unusual conditions
01/17/2014
The children of migrant workers were mostly brought up away from parents in rural areas by grandparents. The children born under a single child policy in urban areas had the opposite happen, with too much attention from doting parents. Both groups were raised in a manner not seen anywhere else in the world and face growing pains and lives with different burdens and needs than the rest of us. China's social and economic experiment may have come too fast, as policy planners may only now begin to realize. A lot may need to be done to address their needs and burdens, not so easily seen as the burdens of pollution and contamination whicha are easily observed.
Linked Articles
End of China’s One-Child Policy Stings Its ‘Loneliest Generation’
New York Times 11/13/2015
Left-Behind Children of China's Migrant Workers Bear Grown-Up BurdensWall Street Journal 01/17/2014
A deeply divided Thailand with political divisions between the northeast around Chiang Mai and the Bangkok region
12/03/2013
Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra are from the northeast of Thailand and get most of their support from this region. The Bangkok region, military, courts and business remain opposed to a transfer of power to the provinces and the policies of Shinawatra. SHinawatra's policies favor the rural areas and the newly emerging middle class in the north. The struggle is as much a social phenomenon from the economic progress of the last 2 decades in Thailand as it is a struggle for a sharing of power, say experts.
Linked Articles
Economic Realignment Fuels Regional Political Divisions in Thailand
New York Times 12/03/2013
Economic Realignment Fuels Regional Political Divisions in ThailandNew York Times 12/03/2013
Insights into the thinking of Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke for a strong labor market before increasing interest rates
07/18/2013
Yellen is expected to look beyond the unemployment rate target of 6.5% set by Bernanke in Dec. 2012, and give emphasis to the long term unemployed. Bernanke also mention the under employment rate as an additional factor to consider.
Linked Articles
Don’t Expect Job Data Alone to Persuade Fed on Rates
New York Times 01/23/2014
Bernanke Plays Down Link Between Jobless Rate, Fed MovesWall Street Journal 07/18/2013
China's new Jinping-Keqiang administration in 2013 emphasizes continuity and experience in economic and foreign affairs
03/16/2013
Linked Articles
China's Li Lays Out the Pledges
Wall Street Journal 03/17/2013
China Names Its New Foreign Policy TeamNew York Times 03/16/2013
Sharp contrast between the Trump and Clinton economic plans- Trump's negative in the long run, Clinton's positive in the long run
10/18/2016
Economic experts look at the Trump and Clinton economic plans, Trump's based on extreme borrowing and Clinton's careful about deficits. Trump's plan aggravates the wide disparities in income in America after the tech booms and Clinton's reduces these disparities. Clinton's preserves global trading system while addressing the problems, Trump's moves in the direction of protectionism and high tariffs with potential unintended consequences for the global economy.
Linked Articles
Donald Trump’s Economic Plan, Up Close, Doesn’t Add Up
WSJ 10/18/2016
Donald Trump’s Tax Plan Would Boost Economy in Short Run but Not Long Term, Analysis FindsWSJ 10/17/2016
Jeremy Corbyn and the proposal in 2015 for a National Investment Bank in Britain to make investments in education, health services and infrastructure
09/11/2015
A new leader of the Labor Party in Britain proposes a National Investment Bank. Some of the funding would come from an estimated 20 billion pounds of tax debt, 20 billion pounds in tax evasion, and 80 billion pounds in tax avoidance, according to experts in the Labor Party. Corbyn says he would reverse the introduction of fees for university education by previous Labor governments and has publicly apologized for the fees. The fees plan would cost about 7.1 billion pounds and be paid for by a 2.5% increase in the corporate tax, slower deficit reduction or increase in the insurance tax, says Corbyn. Germany continues to provide free university education.
Linked Articles
Leftist Jeremy Corbyn elected leader of Britain’s Labour Party - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/12/2015
Jeremy Corbyn, Unlikely Front-Runner for Labour Leader, Poised to Win Party VoteNew York Times 09/11/2015
2016 U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush's Tax Plan that spells out details, and takes a shot at 4% growth for restoring lost social and economic mobility in the U.S.
09/09/2015
The efforts to wrestle with the deficit in 2011-2012 led to a vigorous debate on changing the tax code, yet political leaders failed to take up new ideas or spell out the details. Jeb Bush, with advisors Martin Feldstein and Kevin Warsh, takes the unconventional approach of putting in the details, and taking up ideas such as the idea of limiting itemized deductions to 2% of adjusted gross income proposed by Feldstein in that debate. On the $2.1 trillion in income held overseas by U.S. companies Bush proposes 8.75% tax paid over 10 years. On business investment he proposes capital investment be allowed to be deducted in full immediately. It is based on the idea that business investment can drive a vigorous recovery, that workers bear 50% of the burden of higer taxes through sluggish wage growth. It levels the playing field for debt and equity capital, removing "carried interest" provision, as a lesson from the excessive leverage taken by financial institutions in the past.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015
Jeb Bush Tax Plan Makes Forays Into PopulismNew York Times 09/09/2015
German experts and public opinion who see Greece's exit from the eurozone as the best thing for the Euro in July 2015 (2)
07/07/2015
Linked Articles
German Finance Chief’s Hard Line on Greece Limits Angela Merkel’s Room to Maneuver
Wall Street Journal 07/09/2015
Greek Political ContagionWall Street Journal 07/07/2015
Looking for better ways to integrate women in the armed forces- the U.S. experience and search for improvement
05/16/2015
Linked Articles
Economist 05/16/2015
While at War, Female Soldiers Fight to BelongNew York Times 05/24/2015
Tech Startup Box Inc. in cloud computing- travails of co-founders Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith with the IPO process and changing market sentiment
04/19/2015
Changing market sentiment about Box Inc. consistent losses as it goes after rapid growth, with one anayst calling it "a house of horrors," a long IPO process and investor demands, have an unnerving and distracting effect on the founders. Langley and Hardy describe the experience of startup founders as competition and market perceptions change.
Linked Articles
Rich, but Not Silicon Valley Rich for Founders of Box
Wall Street Journal 04/24/2015
Box, Provider of Cloud-Computing Services, Faces Make-or-Break MomentNew York Times 04/19/2015
The nuclear agreement negotiated with Iran in April 2015 and the views of U.S. president Obama on the deal
03/29/2015
Linked Articles
New York Times 04/05/2015
Iran Backs Away From Key Detail in Nuclear DealNew York Times 03/29/2015
Two party systems and Malaysia's UMNO Party- (2) the future economic prospects of Malaysia under Razak, India under Modi, Indonesia under Widodo
12/08/2014
Najib Razak follows his father Tun Abdul Razak, Mahathir before him, all the way back to Tunku Abdul Rahman, all of the UMNO party, in an uninterrupted control of the United Malay Naional Organization Party which has ruled Malaysia for almost 6 decades. Malaysia has followed the example of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore by keeping the opposition parties weak to maintain control. Both the UMNO and the party of Lee in Singapore face questions about the merits of suppressing the development of two party systems, at a time when government is changing hands to opposition parties in most of the region and improving economic prospects in each country with a change of government- Abe in Japan, Widodo in Indonesia, Modi and Sharif in India and Pakistan, Aquino in the Philippines, Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka. A economic drift with no clear direction under Singh and Bhutto in India and Pakistan was reversed with the election of Modi and Sharif, the economic drift and deflation under the Kan and Noda governments was reversed in Japan with the election of Abe, and the economic drift in Indonesia is being reversed by the Widodo government. This shows how critical two party systems are to functioning democracies as middle classes develop and voters look for competing views of the future to choose from.
Linked Articles
Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015
Indonesian President Joko Widodo Pledges to Cut Investment BarriersWall Street Journal 12/08/2014
Changes in American breakfast eating habits affect cereal and orange juice sales in 2012-2015
07/22/2014
Linked Articles
As Cereal Slips, a New Battle Over Breakfast Dollars
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014
U.S. Orange-Juice Sales Fall to Record LowWall Street Journal 07/22/2014
China's steadily growing automobile market in 2014-2015 (2)- the 49% increase in SUV sales in 2013 over 2012
12/16/2013
Ford Motor's early push into SUV's in China is helping it catchup with GM and Toyota.
Linked Articles
Renault to Focus on Building SUVs in China
Wall Street Journal 12/16/2013
Ford's SUVs Propel Its China GainsWall Street Journal 04/08/2014
Why China and India see a "win-win spirit" in the Iran nuclear deal of July 2015- access to lower cost oil supplies for an extended period
08/21/2013
With the need to boost growth in India, and slowing growth in China, the prospect of lower cost Iranian oil imports is a bright spot for both countries.
Linked Articles
Oil-Thirsty China a Winner in Iran Deal
Wall Street Journal 07/15/2015
Rupee Throws Oil on India's Subsidy ProblemWall Street Journal 08/21/2013
Microsoft and the risks in having directors serve on Boards for long periods of time
07/16/2013
The problems of the lack of new energy and new ideas, and the lack of younger members with fresh perspectives.
Linked Articles
Microsoft Board Shows Little Taste for Bold Choice in CEO
Wall Street Journal 09/02/2013
The 40-Year Club: America's Longest-Serving DirectorsWall Street Journal 07/16/2013
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