LyrArc Article Gist
China's industrialization, urbanization, and modernization was not achieved without the same struggles since 1990. Because years of colonization and wars, conflicts, China and India had fallen so far behind that even when industrialization, urbanization and modernization took place there was always the fear that it could be derailed by protests over the very same thing that the industrialization and modernization was doing to get- good jobs. Populations are so large that tens of millions, or hundreds of millions are involved. China carefully monitored the protests and sought to defuse this in the interests of the 1.4 billion people of China. Yet China was industrializing in the second effort- the first effort being suppressed by the Imperial Japanese Army in the 1930's. China was industrializing with much support from the US by the 1990's, upto the point that the Clinton and Obama administration let America's supply chain be shipped to China to let China advance after centuries of suffering and backwardness. Coming back to India- India is facing the same situation with some special characteristics. What are these special characteristics? The social media and mobile phones were not an ubiquitous presence in the  hundreds of millions including you tube (Google) video, and Instagram (Meta) photos during China's industrialization period 1990-2020. Even then China faced some risky periods when it monitored the situation so that industrialization would not be derailed. It is thought that somehow an elected government in China would then after protests push forward the industrialization. But this is a risky proposition most likely it would have failed first by a break up of the unity of China, second by the lack of a concerted disciplined strong effort to industrialize, modernize. Third corruption could diminish the funds and investment without a strong centralized government. If China's industrialization had collapsed as a result after protests,  media in US and Europe, the political and educated class of the US and Europe would simply shrug it off as China's fault and the Asian societies as a riddle wrapped in an enigma unable to progress. This is true of India also and one can see it happening, including participation by the same media in making that happen. Without the vigilance of China's government in 1990-2020 and today for Vikshit Bharat 2047 by India's government industrialization and modernization would never happen. This is because no democratic government could establish as strong a government needed to push through industrialization and modernization of thousand years old countries stuck in feudalism and colonization poverty, and incapable of achieving a continuous undistracted determined effort over 25-30 years. Only Britain with its Empire's resources was able to do this, and the US with its vast natural resources because of a long tradition of the Anglo-Saxon peoples in democratic forms of government. Under democratic forms of government if that route was adopted China's industrialization and modernization would have failed and ended up with a divided China and a weak China with slow, erratic economic progress. What about India? India has some chance because unlike China India had a 25 year period to prepare for democratic forms of government through elected state assemblies from 1920's to 1950. China had none, worse regional warlords and Japanese invasion in 1920-1950. What this means is that for India to succeed to create Vikshit Bharat, a modernized economy, a miracle is needed for a strong centralized party government to appeal to the people and win state elections, national elections on a nationalist call. And at the same time after winning such state elections to know that hundreds of years of self neglect, internal conflict and colonization was hard to reverse even through determined effort- gaps between jobs needed and jobs existing would exist for population of 1.4 billion in the tens of millions. The central government had to have its ears close to the ground and explain what it was doing, where it had fallen short and with humility and reflection correct course where needed. This is what the Modi government has done by having the Minnister of education resign, and taking corrective actions on the genuine concerns of protestors. And yet Explain to the Indian people that only rapid industrialization could create the jobs needed, the protestors genuine concerns could be met but nothing would be achieved if the industrialization process at the heart of things was allowed to be derailed. That would mean a disaster for India- and the Indian people could not risk the possibility of this happening after centuries of colonization and thousand years of neglect, feudal patterns, and divisions in society. Would US and Europe even understand this, would they even care? This is reflected in the coverage of the protests over education and jobs in DW.com, the Times of London, the WSJ, the NYT, and generally in the media. Would the jobs increase somehow after the protests- this entirely depends on rapid industrialization, large investments, strategic investments, and smart access to capital and technologies from US and Europe. The Modi government has given its all- clean governance,  determined effort, massive investments, ten year plan and master plan, rapid implementation. There will still be a lack of jobs but this is the best hope for India, as it was for China. Like China, India if it perseveres can only repeat the process that has happened in Japan and China since the 1950's - rapid progress to modernization and industrialization for Vikshit Bharat 2047. The Modi government has one by one tackled, the challenge of Clean Governance, Pandemic, DJT Tariffs, the Hormuz crisis, in the last decade in an unflinching effort to stay focused on creating an industrialized modern Indian economy with higher standards of living, jobs, the best infrastructure, best health care, and jobs for the millions turned out by schools and colleges. Hundreds of millions of people are being pulled out of poverty and the middle class is growing. Just when the pace of industrialization is accelerating to achieve the aspirations of the Indian people, in some places it may fall short, the growing pains of a massive effort, efforts are being made to fix shortcomings, yet the focus is unrelenting on Vikshit Bharat 2047 in stages to 2030, 2040, 2047.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The National Front party of Jean-Marie Le Pen received over 20% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election in France. Socialist candidate Hollande received 27% and Sarkozy 25%, with about 80% of the votes counted. Jean-Marie Le Pen campaigned on the economy and fears of economic decline, as well as in favor of French national identity. She called for France to leave the EU.

LyrArc Article Gist
Macron's decision for snap elections in July is a surprise for his own party Renaissance and for the party he wanted to help Les Republicains of Former president Sarkozy. Prime minister Gabriel Attal was also unaware and had opposed quick elections. Macron's idea that the left parties would not put up one candidate also did not happen as the left parties have united and Laurent Berger is emerging as their candidate. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Michel Barnier is approved by 52% of French people in an Ifop poll, yet 74% think he will not last long. The NFP will call a no confidence motion when its candidate 37 year old Lucie Castets of the Finance Ministry was turned down by Macron. The RN of Marie Le Pen will support Barnier for now and Marie Le Pen says she expects new elections within 1 year. Barnier supports halting migration to France for 4 years, a position RN of Le Pen supports. Denmark with a socialist government has taken similar position. By taking strong action on migration as northern and southern Europe both shift to this policy including Socialist parties, the EU as is happening in the US can address fundamental issues of cost of living action, infrastructure investment and investment in education, healthcare, science and technology competitiveness, renewable energy. Removing the migration issue can put a clear focus on the action needed to address these problems.

LyrArc Article Gist
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. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
French president Macron on a dawn to dusk two week effort to prove that he takes voter concerns for the cost of living for pensioners, elderly, young people, poorer communities in rural areas and smaller urban areas very seriously now that inflation is surging. The French presidency is seen in the Gaullist tradition as invested with huge concentration of powers, forgetting that De Gaulle helped bring about the major social changes in France by bringing farmers across France from scattered small plots to the modern agriculture and technology that was unknown in rural areas, and investing heavily in infrastructure building to build a modern France. The strong presidency itself was designed to give the president the power to make these changes.

LyrArc Article Gist
Nice mayor Eric Ciotti formerly of the Republicains in France, teaming up with Marine Le Pen.

LyrArc Article Gist
Russian view at SCO Summit-"A fair balance in the security sphere" meaning a fair settlement on the expansion of NATO and EU that may threaten Russia, something Northern Europeans have not settled.  Le Monde covers this side of the Summit at Tianjin, a coastal city near Beijing in northeastern China. Over long periods of European history since 1600 Northern Europe including UK, Sweden, Denmark, France, Poland and Germany have contended with Russia and seen purely from this perspective Russia sees itself as a Northern European power and seeks to protect it's interests. Britain, Sweden and France have for the most part been on the opposite side since 1600. US under a Republican administration, and this is not just DJT, sees the larger interests beyond Europe of Asia and the American continent in addition to Europe, and seeks a diplomatic way out of the war in Europe.

LyrArc Article Gist
Jean-Luc Melenchon, for two decades at the fringes of French politics, has a carefully prepared program to address the concerns of working class voters in France. He has not appealed directly to yellow vest voters so as not to affect relations with other moderate voters. He is now accepted by French business because of his detailed action plan for the French economy and French workers. Other voters see him as the only one with a serious action plan with his plan for the Sixth Republic removing the powerful executive presidency setup by De Gaulle and drafting a new constitution.

He has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine yet says it does not help to humiliate Russia and setup more NATO countries close to its borders. During any negotiations both Russia and Ukraine have now accepted the idea of Ukraine enjoying neutral country status in the same way as Sweden. 

LyrArc Article Gist
One of the opportunities of this pandemic is that it offers a chance to think anew and act anew. Where in Lincoln's words "the dogmas of the past are inadequate for the stormy present, as our case is new we must think anew and act anew." Here Vladimir Putin offers his assessment of how the pandemic calls for a fresh approach to reviving De Gaulle and other postwar European leaders vision of Europe that spanned the entire continent culturally including Russia. He accepts mistakes have been made by all sides and the title of the article by Putin is "Be Open, Despite the Past." The Russian Embassy in Germany contacted De Zeit for publication of an article by Putin, and it can be seen as part of the Russian response to president Biden's effort to build a new cooperative relationship with Russia that is in the best interests of the US, Russia, Germany, the European Union and also of India which has a cooperative relationship with Russia. There is the danger that it could be seen as reported in The Times of London and comments posted seeing it against distrust built around Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The 670 Comments in Germany on De Zeit site on the article reflect a more German perspective of being a close neighbor that suffered so much from the war that left millions dead on both sides. One German commenter says his father and grandfather were forcibly recruited to fight in France and Russia and suffered much in wartime. The occasion is the 80th anniversary of the German invasion of Russia in World War II. Some of what Putin has to say- "We hoped that the end of the Cold War would mean victory for all of Europe. It would not be long before Charles De Gaulle's vision of a unified continent would become a reality, more culturally and civilizationally from Lisbon to Vladivostock." Russia has changed, Russians see themselves as European, as part of the larger European Union, culturally and civilizationally. This is not the old Russia of the Cold War or of the Soviet period. "NATO itself a relic of the Cold War, created out of a confrontation from that time." Not objecting to NATO but to the expansion of NATO to Russia's borders. But saying this has not got us anywhere where our heart not our brain says we ought to go. Lets try again to draw different conclusions from what we have seen. Its important to think anew because "we are all confronted with the common challenges of the pandemic and its extremely serious social and economic consequences." "The entire prosperity and security of our common continent are only possible through the combined efforts of all our countries, including Russia because Russia is one of the largest European states. Wed feel our inseparable cultural and economic ties to Europe." "We simply cannot afford to carry around the burden of previous misunderstandings, hurts, conflicts and mistakes. A burden that prevents us from solving current problems. We are convinced that we all have to admit and correct these mistakes. Our common and undisputed goal is to ensure the security of the continent without dividing lines. And to create a unified space for equal cooperation and collective development in the interests of the prosperity of Europe and of the whole world." President Biden was right to think anew and act anew in Geneva, and to "disenthrall ourselves" from old ways of thinking, and for rising to the occasion. Jill Biden said of president Biden's preparation for the meeting in Geneva- "Hell, he was overprepared," and it showed Biden's genuine feeling and effort that he owed it "in the interests of Europe and the world."       ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Pep Guardiola talks about the toll on his players from playing so many games. He says most were exhausted after the game with Bayern Munich. Ofcourse he says they all want to play, they all want to play, but he has to assess their physical condition. He says it is not about that game but about the many games every 3 days, that "the mental fatigue is big." Talk about winning 3 titles, FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League, is just that, far, far, away. He faces Real Madrid in the next match in the Champion's League semi-final, a team that has its own record.

LyrArc Article Gist
Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp wins in straight sets against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the early rounds of the US Open Tennis championship.