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The European Union response to Britain's decision to begin negotiations to leave the EU is a tough one that presents serious problems for Britain. EU Council president, Donald Tusk said that no talks on Britain's future trading relationship with the EU could take place till all the issues relating to Britain leaving have been resolved. Included is a bill of 60 billion euros, according to European authorites, for settling British committments in the EU. Tusk also said the EU wanted to see the rights of the 3 million EU citizens living in the EU, and the 1 million British citizens in the EU protected as a priority in negotiations. Without negotiations on a future trading relationship Britain faces tariffs and duties putting it at a disadvantage after the exit. Talks also cannot extend beyond March 2019 or new approval is needed from 27 EU states. The European parliament also has veto rights if the agreement is not seen as strong enough for the EU. Tusk says that Brexit has made the EU more united. Chancellor Merkel of Gemany has also separated exit from future trading relationship negotiations, the second only being discussed after the first is complete. The issue of Scottish independence also hangs in the balance, as the Scottish parliamentary leader Jack Salmond refused to accept prime minister May's point that her own constituency Islington had voted against Brexit yet she was negotiating for the whole of UK- Salmond responded in parliament that not taking Scotland's interests into account after it had voted against Brexit made "Scottish independence inevitable." The EU leaders are taking a calmer approach, in contrast to the more nationalist appeal in parliament to Tory back benches of prime minister May with promises she may have difficulty keeping.   ...

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Biden efforts to reduce the level of escalation in relations with China include a visit by Secretary of State Blinken to Beijing in June 2023. The US says it seeks "to responsibly manage relations with China." The visit of Blinken to China was planned for February 2023 but postponed after the shooting down of a Chinese balloon craft in US airspace. China's support of Russia in the war with Ukraine has further strained relations. A similar effort is under way to reduce tensions with Iran by approving 2.5 billion euros payment by Iraq for Iranian oil deliveries. China sees Biden's efforts for stronger competition with China as affecting its economic interests. It seeks economic ties in the face of a slowing economy preserving its advantages in manufacturing developed over 2 decades. The Biden administration seeks with the EU a new supply chain that corrects the errors of overconcentration of manufacturing in China. This is what China means when it refers to the Biden administration stoking "competition" with China, as affecting China's sovereignty and national interests.  ...

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Cecilia Wang is herself a birthright citizen from parents on student visas from Taiwan hence her views reflect her position before the the Court on DJT Executive Order.  She says the admission of Wang Kim in an 1898 case to US citizenship is a 128 American tradition when history shows very little sentiment in the American public and in the US Congress favoring legal immigration of any form from Asia (Japan, China and India). In fact a deal made by Teddy Roosevelt with Japan included an understanding with the Japanese government in the 1900's that Japan would restrict immigration from Japan to the US. Throughout the period 1850-1960 for 110 years one finds very little immigration of Asians to the US- mostly European selectively in phases after 1900 by steamboat as can be seen at the Smithsonian museum exhibits in Washington DC. Thus the Court is taking up a narrative that was never true. It was only JFK and LBJ who changed this by the 1960's- if one reads JFK and his grasp of the events in Indonesia, India, of Asia in WWII from his experiences as a soldier in the Asia Pacific region- not as the narrative suggests as an extension of civil rights for Black people, but for a deep respect and understanding of Asian people's aspirations that he opened up immigration to the US in the 1960's for Asians. This is why it is a stretch of the imagination for Cecilia Wang to say- Cecilia Wang -"your ancestors could be on the Mayflower or be undocumented immigrants but you and I are exactly the same as US citizens." Even after 60 years of reading the speeches and writing of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, TR and FDR, JFK, of Carl Sandburg's volumes of Lincoln, the poetry of America of Walt Whitman, committing Robert Frost poems to memory, there is more a sense of humility and even greater earnest  desire to learn about this Nation, and of the scientific endeavors of Europe since 1600 that eluded Asia, than making statements about the first voyages and the people who ventured out on the Mayflower. One has to look with awe at the sculptures in Geneva, Switzerland, of these brave people in the 1600's who for religious and other reasons made their way in difficult voyages over the Atlantic to America, much less say were the same as them. It is more about honoring JFK's words in appreciation of his opening for Asia, on thinking more about what you can do for your country than what your country can do for you. ...

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Higher exports and lower imports boosted GDP growth by 1.59%, higher investment in equipment and AI related intellectual property investments, and consumer spending on healthcare services, pushed US GDP up to 4.5% for third quarter 2025. The annual rate of growth was pushed up to 2.5% matching the 2.4% growth in GDP for 2024 under the Biden administration. As the benefits of the rebuilding of American manufacturing, the benefits of the rapid depreciation of equipment and plant investments under the BIg Beautiful Bill are still in the future the GDP number is expected to be higher for 2025 and 2026. The formula for GDP estimates is to take total domestic spending and minus imports which are part of domestic spending in the US on imports, and to add the exports number, as these are goods produced in the US. An administration such as DJT administration today that promotes US exports, takes strong action such as tariffs against unfair trade goods pushed into the US, promotes US jobs and growth, ensures fair trade prevails, and invests in the US, is far more likely to get better GDP growth and jobs growth results. ...

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Levelling up is proving to be a false promise of the Conservatives. Where the money is coming from and how much and where it is going answers the question in America for Biden. Fair taxation is key, a strong economy is key for Biden. Fair taxation supports trillions in public investment that in turn generate private investment. In the second quarter of 2023 business investment was up 56% in Biden America, about $1 trillion with more in the pipeline.  The Conservatives fail on both and have no plan for step by step action that fits needs and opportunities in the economy as Biden has. Getting equal share of the fruits of labour to all Britons is never going to happen under trickle down economics of the Trump or Tory kind. That much is clear as daylight.

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Moody's Investors Service lowered the UK's credit rating from triple A to Aa1 and changed the outlook to stable. The managing director of Moody's sovereign ratings, Bart Oosterveld, says Britain' debt will continue to grow in 2013-2015 and only stabilize after 2016, in Moody's central scenario. Analysts say this is unlikely to increase Britain's borrowing costs. Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Osborne, says the debt problems built up over many years, and declining growth in the eurozone hurts Britain's exports. Moody's says Britain's debt will peak at about 96% of GDP in 2016 after continued sluggish growth in coming years. This move follows a downgrade of France by Moody's from triple A rating in November 2012, and downgrade of the U.S. from triple A rating by S&P in August 2011.

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Germany will reach 85% of gas storage with Russian gas reduced to 10% of consumption by September 1, 2022. The next target is to get it up to 95% for German gas storage facilities by November 1, 2022. "The reservoirs are filling quicker than planned," German Economy Minister Habeck told Der Spiegel. The big part of gas supplies are now from Norway and Netherlands. And LNG supplies will come from France. 

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Australia increases its defense budgetfrom 1.8% to 2.2% of GDP, and shows willingness to go up to 3%, as it strengthens its naval capabilities. French submarine contract was cancelled as US shows willingness to provide nuclear submarine technologies to Australia. French diesel submarines were too slow and could not remain underwater for long periods. Nuclear submarines would let Australia monitor Indo-Pacific seas, with US help. This is now an issue as Taiwan is being threatened and Australia faces economic coercion in trade relations from China. US, UK and Australia form a new partnership with president Biden leading the way.

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Tories White Paper on "leveling up" by Michael Gove is out and gets a scathing review from Karl Holbrook of the Northern Echo. 

Holbrook says you can't spend 15 million pounds in one of the wealthiest areas of the country, Javid's constituency Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, and nothing in Knowsley, one of the poorest in the North of England , and call it "leveling up." He says he has little hope that the Tories will get much done without the funding to back it up. And he says one cannot plaster this up with 12 new slogans masquerading as missions in a White Paper as Michael Gove has done and expect people in England to buy it. Labor under Tony Blair and his "Middle Way" - let the huge inequalities between the north of England and the south develop under its watch- more muddled than middle in any way one looks at it today. He says this northerner has had enough of waiting.  

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US vice president Kamala Harris's grandfather was in the Indian Civil Service and was sent to Zambia as an adviser to president Kenneth Kaunda to help with settlement of refugees fleeing Southern Rhodesia during apartheid. She revisits Lusaka and the place where she lived.

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Boris Johnson has set up a unit in !0 Downing Street to coordinate a response  in the event of a "nightmare scenario" of spike in Coronavirus and a no deal Brexit added together with extreme flooding during the winter. Michael Gove, Cabinet Office minister is overseeing this effort.

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India prepares for Republic Day during the third year of the pandemic in 2022. The Times of India has this photo essay as Republic Day approaches.

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Netherlands is becoming a much more crowded country with housing scarcity and high rents with increasing immigration. At this pace the population which was only 10 million in 1950 and 14 million in 1980 is now 17.2 million and expected to hit 22 million. By 1950 Queen Juliana in her parliament speech was calling for migration to ease congestion, says The Times. 620,000 people migrated to Canada, Australia. and 450,000 returned from Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Most parties now oppose the high level of immigration into the urban sprawl of Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam home to about 9 million people.

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Rachel Sylvester in The Times points out that the Labour Party leadership has no incentive to support prime minister Theresa May in negotiations against the wishes of the majority of its voters, MP's and its own members. Mr. Corbyn is not likely to support May's proposals for a temporary customs union, as that concession means little, coming without support from May's own Conservative party. She says the only way out now is a confirmatory second referendum.

In the local elections the parties that did well are the Liberals and the Greens, who are on the Remain side. The strident pro Brexit side drew votes from the Conservatives. 

 

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His full statement, which he posted on X, is below: "My Fellow Americans, over the past three-and-a-half years, we have made great progress as a nation. "Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. "We've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today. "I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected and preserved our democracy. And we've revitalised and strengthened our alliances around the world. "It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term. "I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision. ...

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Bernie Sanders who won in 23 states running for president says the American system is broken and this is why DJT won in 2026. He says Biden genuinely wanted to bring the changes to help workers. Other Democrats simply wanted to patch the system, a little here a little there. This he tells Reid Epstein of the NYT is not working and Bernie Sanders says DJT is right that the system is broken. Sanders excoriated billionaires in his speeches. Yet the tech billionaires at Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have over the last two decades supported Democrats and yet paid a lower tax rate than firemen, police, teachers. Apple paid less than 15%, Google less than 16%, Microsoft less than 18% and Amazon less than 9%. This also constitutes an oligarchy similar to the oil companies and pharmaceutical companies. This makes it difficult to have a fair system of taxes that can fund the Nation's crumbling infrastructure, its manufacturing, its chips and advanced technologies, health and education of children. Sanders is focusing his efforts or 2025 to 15 Congressional districts where Republicans won by very thin margins. And he is on his way to Iowa City and Omaha, Nebraska, where the margins were so thin to get his message to workers.  This interview also provides a hint of how DJT has approached the issues with a willingness to try unconventional approaches and people who did not fit the mold. RFK Jr. at Health, Tulsi Gabbard at Intelligence, Lori Chavez at Labor. Something that Democrats have failed to do to look at different ideas and find solutions to intractable problems in unconventional ways. Epstein asks why Tulsi Gabbard who supported Sanders bid for president is now in the DJT cabinet.    ...

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Scandinavians use colors and fashion as a way to fight off listlessness and depression from long cold days and nights in winter.

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This report in The Times shows 2 charts. One with how much of the population has been vaccinated with Israel and the UAE at about 33%, UK at 12% US at 7%, and EU countries far behind. The second chart shows how much of the western world's vaccine supplies have been purchased by US, UK, and EU. 

European Union appears to be lagging behind in arranging purchases of vaccine supplies, with UK and US ahead. The shortages in Europe of vaccine, and limited supplies of the Astra Zeneca vaccine to the EU, is resulting in a nasty argument with the UK. At one point the EU planned to limit vaccine exports from the Pfizer Belgian plant to the UK, including closing off the Northern Ireland border.  That move came under criticism from EU's Michael Barnier.

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Boris Johnson wins the race to lead the Conservative Party and become the next prime minister of Britain. Several ministers resigned underlining the problem he faces lacking support from the Conservative party members who do not support exit from the European Union without some deal or arrangement with the EU. He will lead a minority government that could fall with the loss of support from within the Conservative Party itself. Boris Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656. He now has a margin of only three votes with the help of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland and faltering support from members of the Conservative Party who see Boris Johnson's idea of simply leaving the EU on October 31st deal or no deal as problematic. 

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Delayed elective procedures and surgeries are a serious problem during the pandemic. To get some idea of the magnitude of the problem- Britain had 6 million on the waiting list for elective procedures at the end of October 2021. This is up 41% over March 2020 when the coronavirus was first detected, according to data collected from Britain's National Health Service. The same data show 300,000 were waiting for over 1 year compared to 3000 in March 2020.

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Julian Payne shares with us a day in the life of Prince Charles, now Charles III, in The Times. Charles is shown to be a person of boundless energy, who is keen to help on many efforts to improve life on the planet. He gets involved in the detail of conversations which run longer than usual. He is careful not waste resources and his shoes go through remending. He starts the day with a breakfast of seasonal fruit salad and tea, skips lunch and takes tea with fruit cake at 5 pm. The fruit cake is kept for use the next day and the next, so that nothing is wasted, such is his passion for no waste and using all resources carefully. Payne says he has a hatred for waste and gives much though to efficient use of resources. Dinner is at 8.30 pm and he works right into the midnight hour. His work day is relentless. And he loves the outdoors, his windows remain open. If you found yourself outdoors with the prince in winter, you may not be able to keep up says Payne.  Many say he has been highly underestimated. And his habits and his ways, his hard work, dedication, sincerity, and his sense of purpose may still surprise his country. ...