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As Trump tries to gain the support of black voters with his visit to Detroit, the questions remain say people in Detroit.  His alienation of minorities from the primaries is not forgotten, and the lack of underlying empathy is why some experts say this is not resonating in the last 50 days before the election. Another problem is that presenting blacks in a bleak state is not seen as showing respect because Trump was absent during the struggles Detroit went through since 2008 down to street lighting and schools, foreclosures, and is only here now that the Michigan and Detroit economy has recovered to a considerable degree. Here Vanessa Williams of WP says there is a near universal condemnation of this kind of talk such as "what do you have to lose," as seeing blacks lacking the ability to think about where they were and where they are now, and the path ahead in clear terms as whites or Asian Americans are able to do. A sure sign of condescension. Democrats point to the gains for blacks in declining unemployment, some of the issues of inner cities not responding to either party's policies, improvement in health insurance, and access to voting rolls, and in the Michigan economy the rising tide lifting all boats with a booming auto industry. Largely an achievement of Democrats and the Big Three's good relationship with the UAW union. ...

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This Der Spiegel report says there is a loss of American prestige after one year of the Trump administration. It accepts that rising inequality and impunity for the powerful may have led to the reaction in the election. Yet it says American leadership is missing after four decades of American leadership and ideals that led to the rebuilding of Europe and Japan.

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For a decade America's leaders remained silent on taking action on all fronts including trade on countries that were sources of fentanyl. The largest and most advanced economy in the world did not take action to protect its people when countries acted with impunity on fentanyl flows. That action is being taken now. A 25% tariff will be imposed on imports from Mexico and Canada, an extra 10% tariff on China, till the illegal flow of fentanyl and smuggled migrants from these countries stops. The new president DJT said on Truth Social media- He will impose by executive order on the first day in office tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, “on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous open borders”, which would not be lifted “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country."   ...

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Peggy Noonan calls the Bernie movement and Hillary Clinton adopting his efforts to improve incomes and condition of working class people, a major development. The most electrifying line in her view is the one made by the father of a U.S. Army Captain who died in Iraq, Khizr Khan, himself an immigrant, who said about Trump at the convention- "You have sacrificed nothing." She cites Bloomberg, a successful businessman in media and former Mayor of New York, who said about Trump: "I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one."  Bloomberg traced the history of the Trump business through repeated bankruptcies, lawsuits and missteps, and added "Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's run his business. God help us." And Noonan cites Hillary's speech as getting better as it progressed, not her best, but doing the work, especially with the line- "Don't believe anyone who says "I alone can fix it."  Biden and Kaine hit on this point repeatedly, and that "he doesn't have a clue," with the crowd chanting "Not a Clue."  ...

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German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht says Germany will send anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. She said "we are working together with our American friends in training Ukrainian troops on artillery systems on German soil." 

The decision by Russia to launch a new offensive in the south and east of Ukraine after the stalling of the Russian forces near Kiev, has led to a shift in American policy to decisively counteract the Russian moves into Ukraine with weapons and training assistance. WIth both Republicans and Democrats determined to support president Biden in this decision, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Foreign Minister Blinken visited Kviv and then landed at Ramstein Air Force Base to coordinate the efforts from Germany.

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The White House statement says on this new Economic Corridor agreed on at the G20 Summit in New Delhi yesterday September 10, 2023, says-

"We aim to ensure a new area of connectivity with a railway, linked through ports connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The United States and our partners aim to link both continents to commercial hubs, and facilitate the development and export of clean energy; lay undersea cables and link energy grids and telecommunication lines to expand reliable access to electricity; enable innovation of advanced energy technology; and connect communities to secure and stable internet. Across the corridor we envision driving existing trade and manufacturing, and strengthening food security and supply chains."

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UBS buys Credit Suisse for $3 billion in a takeover arranged by the Swiss National Bank, central bank of Switzerland. The Swiss government also stepped in to provide 9 billion Swiss francs in support which would come into effect if UBS losses exceed 5 billion francs on this takeover. UBS CEO Colm Kelleher makes it clear that a very different Credit Suisse operation will emerge from this that will be "aligned to our conservative risk culture." Risk reduction for Credit Suisse will take place and its investment banking operations reduced, so that the combined operations in investment banking for both banks when integrated will be less than 20% of all its assets. The Swiss government waived shareholder approval because of the emergency nature of the takeover to calm financial markets when stock exchanges open on Monday.

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Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, says the electric battery in the newly designed Ford Focus EV electric car costs about $12,000 to $15,000. The car price is $39,200. The similiar gasoline powered car price is about $22,000. This car has a 23 hour kilowatt hour battery pack. Based on this information the cost is $522- $650 per kilwatt hour. The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal reaching $300 per kilowatt hour by 2013, as it funds new electric car development in the U.S. The Ford Focus EV is directly competing against the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf starts at $35,200, with a range of 73 miles on a full charge compared to 76 for the Focus EV. The Focus can be recharged in three and half hours using a 240 volt charger, compared to 7 hours for the Leaf. What the battery cost tells us is that the electric car development has to bring costs down rapidly for electric cars to become price competitive.

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An unattended vegetable stand in the Ebusi neighborhood of Tokyo. A few minutes from the rail station is this vegetable stand run by Tomo from Hiroshima and her son 14 year old Satoru, a former real estate office worker who quit to open a vegetable store. One day she was shocked to hear a customer say she had money enough to only come once a month for vegetables. Tomo closes this store and opens a vegetable stand which prices vegetables at prices young workers on low wages can afford. One young worker from Okinawa who works for a large company made so little that she had only $70 for food in her monthly budget. She becomes a regular customer and asks her grandmother how to cook zucchini, eggplants so she can save money by cooking at home. This is a really heart warming video about Tomo's farm in a prefecture near Tokyo a 2 hour drive away. Tomo prices everything at 70 cents or 100 yen a plastic bag of vegetables. Her son learns to farm and to run the stand. Mostly the stand is unattended with long caring messages on a message board to customers. It tells young workes not to worry too much about the future. ...

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Lee, Nicholas and Harris of the WSJ describe the responses being considered by president Obama to Russia's hacking of DNC, and other cyberattacks during the U.S. presidential election. Obama said the goal will be "to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you." He said some of this would be done publicly and other things would be done where the Russians know but not everybody else. Mr. McFaul, a former ambassador to Russia, is cited here saying that declassification of intelligence by president Obama in the remaining weeks in office is needed so that all ambiguity about Russian involvement is removed. Elections are coming up in Germany and France in 2017 and both president Obama and the Republican Congress leadership see the need to prevent any further cyberattacks on the U.S. or Western Europe.

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Six former clerks, many of them now professors at well known law schools, Georgetown, Cornell, Yale, share their memories of Chief Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in 2010 as the longest serving Supreme Court justice on the bench. One of the clerks remembers Stevens for his courteousness, which started with "May I ask you a question?," and did not attach importance to formal titles. Stevens showed remarkable empathy in talking to the clerks about legal cases. Another clerk remembers the time when Stevens pulled up the plaque on his wall "Small Town Lawyer of the Year: Associate Justice John Paul Stevens," as he talked about small hometowns with the clerk. It was given by the bar association of Poulsbo, Washington, and Stevens took pride in his modest beginnings. Some are amazed by his energy, he played a good game of tennis at 85, hired only 2 clerks instead of four to do a lot of the work, and would join the clerks for discussion on different aspects of the law.

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Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, in meetings with bankers and business leaders says Britain should remain in the single market 2 years after exit from the European Union, according to the Sunday Times. Theresa May plans for Britain to exit the EU in 2019. The reason is that this would protect business as it adjusts to leaving the single market, a kind of transition or Brexit buffer period. This period "really informs what businesses need to do because you transition and restructure during that window," Carney told a House of Commons Treasury Committee. About the changes in the politics in the U.S. and Europe Carney has said about basic fairness in bankers language- "market fundamentalism can devour the social capital needed for capitalism" to work, referring to the moral failures in operations of the banks by 2009 and how it hit the middle and working class incomes and wealth.

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U.S. senior Republican Senators Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, are getting ready to launch a wide ranging probe of Russian interference in the U.S. 2016 presidential election through cyber attacks. The probe is not limited to DNC hacking and the concern is not just that any one candidate was targeted but for the integrity of the American election process. Even though it is not mentioned in this report in the Washington Post by Demirjian, Senators and Congressmen from the Republican Party in charge of key committees of oversight on foreign policy and defense now see it as their responsibility to prevent an enlargement of cyberattacks as Germany and France face elections. Mr. Trump has said in an interview with Time magazine that Russia was not responsible for cyber attacks, that it "could have been China, it could have been some guy in New Jersey." Senator McCain is readying a probe into cyber attacks into U.S. weapons systems, and U.S. military, as the issue widens in its scope and significance for the West and for the U.S. and its allies in Europe and Asia. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (N.C.) will be working closely with McCain, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, on this particular issue and Senator Mitch McConnell has been apprised of the discussions, according to this report in WP. Senator Graham said- "They'll keep doing more here until they pay a price." Graham will hold a series of investigative hearings in 2017 about Russian meddling and "misadventures throughout the world."  This will include new legislation.  Graham told CNN on Dec. 7, 2016 in strong language- "I am going after Russia in every way you can go after Russia. I think they are one of the most destabilizing influences on the world stage. I think they did interfere with our election, and I want Putin personally to pay the price." During the debates Governor Pence of Indiana, the Vice President elect took a strong position on Russia, and the Vice President's positions on foreign policy and defense are similar to that of the Republican leaders in Congress.  It is hard to remember a time in the post war period when there was such a distinct difference in foreign policy and defense as it relates to Russia between a Republican president and both a Republican Congress and almost all Republican governors. Senator Corker from Tennessee, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is on the short list to be Secretary of State. A related story in the WSJ shows the selection of military leaders for key intelligence, defense and homeland security, and Gen. Petraeus considered for foreign policy, as diverging from historical practice of keeping civilian oversight preeminent in the U.S.. Rep. Peter King, an early supporter of Trump, who is on committees for intelligence and counterterrorism told MSNBC, that he is confident that Trump will not be "taken in by Putin." The U.S. Republican dominated Congress has taken a strong position on Russian interference in Syria and Ukraine. In the House of Representatives Republican Rep. Devin Nunes from California and Rep. Mac Thornberry from Texas are leading efforts on cyber and intelligence as heads of their committees. ...

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Tom Verde of the NYT describes the problem of too much clutter in our lives. This problem is especially acute for seniors and older people, who have along the way piled up a huge number of things that their children do not need and which they have difficulty getting rid of. As seniors downsize there is only this much space. Moving from a house in the suburbs to a smaller apartment means that much less space for all the things no one needs. This problem has led to the growth of a senior move service that can cost upwards of $2500.

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This is the first 5 match Test series since 1991-92 Tour of Australia by India- 34 years. It starts with Pat Cummins leading his Aussie team against  the Indian team led by India's captain Rohit Sharma on November 22, 2024 in Perth. India is coming off a 3-0 loss to New Zealand. Wicket takers for Australia in the last 2020-21 test series Cummins and Hazelwood, for India Siraj and Ashwin. Run scorers Labuschagne and Smith, Pant and Pujara.

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Joshua Wong of the group Scholarism is 17 years old and just entering college. His arrest and detention of 40 hours for stepping into a government building area led to increased protests. In 2012 Wong was part of protests that led to the withdrawal of a "patriotic classes" plan for Hong Kong schools. Asked what Hong Kong would be like in 10 years, he says, "there will be universal suffrage." The age of the protesters is one remarkable aspect of these protests, as they are not just young, but very young. And this should give Beijing pause, as this is China's next generation. And what seemed right in your own day may not be right around the corner as time passes, as Mr. Jinping and his revolutionary veteran father experienced, struggled with, and overcame in their own lives because of the tolerance of others.

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France restricts domestic flights to destinations that can be reached by 2 hours by train after extensive debate in the National Assembly on ways to implement climate change rules. Air France argued that this would affect jobs at the airline during the pandemic. Macron's climate commission had recommended a time of 4 hours by train. Other opinion was that the earlier four hour restriction would restrict access for people in the distant Massif Central mountainous regions of France. The flights from Orly airport south of Paris will use the new rule so flights to Bordeaux or Nantes from Paris will no longer operate. Paris to Nice with 6 hours train ride, and Toulouse with 4 hours will not be affected. Connecting flights from Charles De Gaulle airport will not be affected. Austria has a 30 euro tax passed by a Conservative-Greens coalition that is placed on flights over 217 miles. No flights to destinations that can be reached in 3 hours by train. Netherlands is also working on similar rules, such as does it make sense for a flight Amsterdam to Brussels that is a distance of 93 miles. That Brussels flight is now banned. ...

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Lamar Alexander, Republican Senator from Tennessee, and one of the longest serving Senators, votes against calling for witnesses in the Senate trial of U.S. president Trump. The vote against is 51 to 49, with 2 Republican senators, Collins of Maine and Romney of Utah voting for calling witnesses. Within hours of Mr. Alexander expressing his intention to vote against Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska decided she would vote against.  This vote was crucial in concluding the impeachment trial because of Mr. Alexander's reputation for fairness and his service as governor, university president, secretary of education, during a time when traditions of bipartisanship were honored. Mr Alexander stated his reason for his vote even though he believed Mr. Trump acted inappropriately. Was an improper decision on Ukraine by Mr. Trump at the level of treason or high crimes and misdemeanors? Mr. Alexander said it was not. Mr. Alexander shared his view saying what was on the mind of most Republican Senators including Sasse and Graham but expressed clearly- "For the Senate to tear up the ballots in this election and say Mr. Trump could'nt be on it, the country probably wouldn't accept it. It would just pour gasoline on cultural fires burning out there."   ...

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Intel CEO Andy Grove in the 1990's wrote about his experience with the Japanese competitors in semiconductors, about the unlimited access to funds from the government, mysterious workings of Japanese capital markets that provided endless low cost capital to export oriented companies. These subsidies enabled Japanese companies to underprice Intel as he wrote in his 1996 book "Only the Paranoid Survive," and revealed an internal Japanese sales memo. It said: "Win with the 10% rule ... Find AMD and Intel sockets... Quote 10% below their price...if they requote, go 10% AGAIN... Don't quit till you WIN."  Peter Coy of NYT interviews Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel Corporation, on the effort with the help of the Biden administration to regain leadership in chip manufacturing technology. Biden, Gelsinger and American companies with such experience have no illusions about the competition. Intel plans to do this with $100 billion investment over 5 years in manufacturing and research and design of advanced chips, with projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Ohio. To level the playing field with Taiwan and China -where as in Japan in the past the government pushes subsidies to its companies to gain competitive advantage in key industries- president Biden is supporting Intel with $11 billion in low cost loans and $8.5 billion in grants, plus $25 billion in investment tax credits.  ...

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Italy is investing the $225 billion of EU funds to modernize its economy under Mario Draghi. Draghi has shown in his first year that he can spend the funds wisely and invest in areas of the economy that need investments most. In the past year he has tackled problems including the slowness of the judicial system, modernizing an inefficient bureaucracy, and liberalizing wide parts of of the services sector. Draghi plans to invest EU grants in digital and physical infrastructure, education, environmental protection, and other needs for the long term. Before being chosen to lead the government Draghi was head of the Italian Treasury and central bank. He then headed the European Central Bank helping southern European countries tackle the debt crisis at a difficult time when Germany under Merkel pursued strict austerity policies and insisted on these policies for all eurozone countries. This report in WSJ shows the prevailing opinion in Italy is strongly in favor of Draghi staying on as prime minister till 2023 because of the confidence people inside Italy and in the European Union have in his leadership and discipline for making the investments to modernize Italy. Draghi told school children in Rome that "the most important thing is what you are doing right now," showing he understands the importance of providing Italy with the leadership it needs today.  ...

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This article on the main protagonists in the Conservative Party during the EU referendum in Britain shows how the narrow interests of a few Oxford educated politicians and their infighting has shaped the vote on Brexit. Gove, the Justice Secretary and Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London, have no idea what to do if they won in the Brexit vote. Both pull out of the leadership race after prime minister Cameron announces his planned resignation following a leadership vote in the party. Cameron and Osborne, the other two Oxford educated politicians, are caught up in the infighting in the Conservative Party which leads to Britain voting to leave the European Union. The article looks at the lives of the four male politicians who form an old boys club at one time and now are deeply divided with Cameron's wife Samantha and Gove's wife Sarah Vine once close friends, now along with their husbands no longer talking to each other. Also evident here is that Sarah Vine writing in the Daily Mail discloses more grief about all this messing up her social life than the way the vote to leave the EU will eventually affect the country's standing, its credit rating, and the economy, and how it affects the lives of ordinary British people. ...

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Leslie Gelb says US should focus on its strengths, on the areas that it can build on to come up with something of enduring value and not focus all one's energies on situations and troublespots that siphon off a lot of American energies. This is a good idea and should be something that policymakers at State and the National Security Council and advisers to the President could keep in mind. There is alot to be said about the Truman example of the Marshall Plan in building western Europe after the war. At the same time its not as clear cutthat troublespots and the difficult work can be avoided. Was the Berlin airlift a troublespot? And Truman had little time to respond to the invasion of South Korea from the north, acrisis he would have chosen to avoid, if he had the choice. Instead he was drawn into along drawn out war on the Korean peninsula. Still the idea that you want to save your energies and not dissipate them in conflicts which can't clearly be won is a useful one. The Korean war was fought on conventional terms so the US could point to success years later in South Korea. But for conflicts fought in the jungles of Vietnam or in the remote mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, limited objectives and willingness to consider history, customs, and local tribal cultures is very constructive. ...

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Mike Pompeo is a four term Congressman from Kansas, who was educated at West Point and Harvard Law School, and served for 1 year as CIA Director under president Trump. He now becomes the new Secretary of State for the U.S. after winning Senate nomination 57 to 42. He comes to a State Department that lost top diplomats and suffered from a downsizing effort that has left it demoralized during the period former Exxon CEO Mr. Tillerson headed the department. Pompeo has to meet several challenges including restoring morale in the State Department, better relations with the UN Representative Nikki Haley, setting the best course on the Iran nuclear deal which he now supports, negotiations with North Korea where he was sent as an emissary recently. In doing this he has built trust with president Trump with his intelligence briefings as CIA Director, and his military background brings him closer to Gen. Mattis at the Defense Department. Also a challenge is setting a path for the strained relations with Russia. His first visit is to Brussels and NATO headquarters for discussions with European allies. ...

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"This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one. But the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do. The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office.  "I served as a U.S. senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers.What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.That’s why — in the face of increasing threats to America’s democratic institutions — I am calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy.First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is Above the Law Amendment." ...