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Jordan Bardella's grandparents came from Turin, Italy to Seine-Saint-Dennis, a department north of Paris in the 1960's that was one of the poorest and crime ridden. He saw the condition of immigrants and decided to join the RN at age 16. He had to fight his way through lacking a college degree and connections with a working class name. He speaks some Italian he says and some English, having made an effort to assimilate within France. Here he is interviewed by Adam Sage of The Times of London at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Bardella says he saw the condition of migrants, and the poverty and violence in neighborhoods of migrants. He says in the sixties there was an effort to assimilate as he had done. Today he say it is different with it not being required of generations who arrive now who have their hearts and souls elsewhere. Bardella says that the French model is "Become what we are" and he is sure that this is the right way. He says during his time in the sixties immigration was mostly southern European and assimilation happened which is not happening now.  ...

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Call from around the world for international agreements for proper supervision of financial markets and their products and vendors bercause much of the pain of the USA mortgage securities sold abroad has to be borne by countries from Australia, to Germany and Japan. A German call for nationalizing the ratings agencies which improperly certified these securities for profit.

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Harris supports some of the most far reaching efforts to help workers and families with cost of living action. Teachers would benefit with pay raises, workers earning less than $100,000 a year would benefit with special support of $500 a month to meet cost of living increases, $100 billion would be invested to support housing affordability using a estate tax on the wealthiest households. Harris proposed Rent Relief Act would provided refundable tax credits giving renters who earn less than $100,000 the ability to recoup housing costs in excess of 30 percent of their incomes. One of the more egregious situations today is shown in the WSJ where 25% of people renting apartments in the US- middle and lower income people- pay over 50% of their income on rent leaving less and less for food, transport, childcare. This would make a huge difference for these households. Affordable Housing is a big issue in many states including Nevad and Biden had proposed a 5% cap on rent increases after 20% increase in the last two years of the pandemic. Harris's proposal goes beyond this to help the hardest hit households. Harris supports emergency relief funding for homeless. And she supports spending $100 billion in communities hurt by discrimination in getting housing. ...

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The Guardian points out in this editorial that giving subsidies for 2 pound bus fares is money well spent as it both helps people during a cost of living crisis and helps reduce carbon emissions. Germany has done exactly that for its Deutsche Bahn rail transportation system across the country with its discounted plan for travel in the summer that was later extended.

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The U-2 plane of the US Air Force flies at 70,000 feet. It is in service for 70 years and was last made in 1989. The U-2 Dragon Lady was used to track the Chinese spy balloon at altitudes not reached by conventional airplanes. The USAF has a fleet of 31 U-2 planes. The U-2 made by Lockheed first flew in 1955 with flights over the Soviet Union. 2 U-2 planes flew around the Chinese spy balloon with sensors that enable it to examine the balloon and jam its electronic signals.

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Sinn Fein is very different today from what it was decades earlier as the political wing of the Irish Republican party. When Ireland became independent Britain retained a third of the country as part of the UK as Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein's goal was to reunify the country.  It is popular today along the border and in regions struggling with poverty, including rural areas. As a left of centre party it is unique in Europe as both the main parties are right of center. Housing is an issue for Sinn Fein because it is the first to call for government to play a role in building new housing to tackle a severe housing shortage. With social policies that include government involvement to support social programs, Sinn Fein is likely to be the largest party winning 25% of the votes, with Fiana Fail the current party getting 24%,  and Fine Gael 20%. Yet rival parties are not likely to form a coalition with Sinn Fein. It also shows how much has changed when Irish reunification is now on the agenda with a referendum in 5 years proposed by Sinn Fein, as an accepted feature of the political landscape with Britain leaving the European Union. Under Mary Lou Macdonald who is from Dublin, replacing Gerry Adams, the image of the party is very different today, compared to the violence tinged past of the links to the Irish Republican Army. Most supporters today have few memories of that period, growing up in the period after peace was established in Ireland between different factions.  The exit of Britain from the European Union has provided momentum to the idea of reunification of Ireland from all sides for the first time. The links to the EU are popular in all parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The links to the economic crisis of 2009 and free markets have tainted the record of Fiana Fail, long the dominant party.  In Northern Ireland Mr. McGuiness is succeeded by Michelle O'Neill, who was just 21 when the peace deal was signed. In Ireland Mary Lou McDonald entered politics after the peace deal and has a Dublin accent.  The new generation looks at the EU as a natural partner, distancing itself from England. It also thinks and acts differently than Sinn Fein of the past. In just the way Scottish independence has found its way as an accepted idea in Scotland, Irish unification is seen as a positive idea with its association with the European Union, ...

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What flying will be like in the summer of 2008. A lot of congestion on planes and higher fares. For example in New York even with caps on flights at peak hours departures are higher by 2% or average of 28 flights per day. Caps apply between 4pm and 8pm but flights are squeezed in before and after. Any storm delays woul cram the system. Security pass through times may be better as the TSA is sending all of its screeners for 12 hours of retraining this year and TSA is installing new equipment. Fares in first 2 months up 5.7% according to Air Transport Association. Farecost.com estimates higher transatlantic fares by 10% this year because of higher fuel surcharges.

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Gloomy spirits after Portman shifts to OMB Director and Susan Schwab takes over as Trade Representative. Doha Round stuck over negotiating points between Brazil, India and the EU and US over tariff reduction for agricultural exports from developing countries.