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James Galbraith points out how Trump appeals to aging Reagan voters on Social Security, and older white Americans. He says much of the talk about the wall is bluster to appeal to this group of voters. On the Democratic side he points out the failure of Hillary Clinton to appeal to younger voters. Galbraith says the young are voting in large numbers for Sanders, and this is likely to shape U.S. elections in 2020, even though Trump and Clinton are nominees of the Republicans and Democrats in 2016.

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Iran's Ahmadinejad's speaks to reporters and editors in New York before his address to the UN General Assembly. He says: "During a historical phase, the Israelis come into the picture and are then eliminated." This WSJ editorial finds President Obama's response and his address at the General Assembly of the United Nations inadequate to convince Iran's government and ruling mullahs that the program has to be ended. Sanctions have not produced the needed results and have only gradually been tightened showing a lack of resolve. President Obama failed to speak up for young people and university students in Iran who held demonstrations against the Ahmadinejad regime when it changed the election results- just as he did not speak up for the young people fighting a dictatorship in Libya and Egypt, or just as has failed to do for the young people fighting today in Syria. In this respect Obama has abandoned America's role as a beacon of hope for countries around the world. It is left to American media and public opinion to vigorously express these ideas in unison, as it has already done every step of the way. Clearly Ahmadinejad does not speak for the Iranian people, especially the young generation, and Egypt's president Morsi like every other Arab leader may have problems with Israeli policy but sees the need for peaceful coexistence. It would be more accurate to say that the Iranian people, like the people of Syria, are trapped as Morsi put it to the General Assembly, in "the tragedy of our era," moving from dictatorship to dictatorship....

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A career diplomat who as served in Kenya and at the UN , and at the Beritish Embassy in Washington DC replaces Lord Mandelson as British Ambassador to the US. He is chosen over Varun Chandra Business Adviser to Sir Keir Starmer on the advice of Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the Commonwealth and Foreign Office that a career diplomat is the right choice. Lord Mandelson was asked to resign after involvement in the Epstein files.

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Companies increasing prices may have caused a 1 percentage point increase in inflation in the US.

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Real Madrid in Champions League 2026 with loss to Bayern in semi-finals. Real Madrid had coach  Alonso last for 7 months, next Arbeola 5 months in 2026 season.

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The prices soar in the Lincoln Square neighborhood north of Chicago just a Metra stop away from the city downtown.

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Biden's visit to Israel brings Israel and Mr. Netanyahu closer to a two state solution of the Israeli Palestinian problem. Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken attend a meeting of the cabinet of the Unity government in Israel that includes the Opposition leader Yair Lapid. Once the shooting stops this opens the way for a comprehensive solution to the Israeli Palestinian problem with all sides, including all sides inside Israel. Mr. Netanyahu is seen as having lost authority, and the confidence of Israelis. this could bring Israel to the centre, says Steve Erlanger, chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe of NYT.

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European Union growth in 2022 at 3.5% outpaced growth in China at 3.0% and growth in the US at 2.1%. India's growth at 6.8% made it the fastest growing economy in 2022.

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In the end only concerted pressure from the U.S. including the personal intervention of president Trump, calls from Republican senators to Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi energy minister, salvaged a deal for OPEC+ oil cuts. The Saudis insisted Mexico cut production by 300,000 barrels a day, Mexico stood firm at 100,000 barrels a day. As the Mexican energy negotiator Ms Nahle withdrew to call Mexican president Lopez Obrador, the Saudi energy minister called this "disrespectful." Then president Trump intervened with calls and offered to make up with additional 300,000 barrels a day of cuts from the U.S. North Dakota senator called Prince Abdulaziz and stated that it could affect the U.S.-Saudi relationship if the Saudis did not come to an agreement. The agreement is for 23 countries to in total withdraw 9.7 billion barrels a day from the market, or 13% of world production. Oil production is expected to fall by as much as 30 million barrels a day in April 2020 as a result of the pandemic so it is not clear how much this will raise oil prices, yet it averts a complete collapse of oil prices from the $22 today when markets open on Monday April 13, 2020.  The U.S. Canada, Brazil and G20 countries outside OPEC will make a combined 3.7 million barrels a day in cuts. Saudis, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates combined will cut 2 million barrels a day above their quota.  In addition to warning both sides Saudis and Russia to come to an agreement, president Trump threatened to retaliate to protect U.S. producers from very low oil prices sending many into bankruptcy. Prince Abdulaziz took a tough stand with Mexico and other OPEC countries to present a unified stand. He is the son of the Saudi king and took the energy ministry in fall 2019. He has had difficulty in managing OPEC plus Russia called OPEC+ as its new chief with divergent views from small producers such as Angola and large producers such as Russia. At a conference in February he continued the standoff with Russia saying Russia would regret not making the production cuts he was calling for. The split with Russia after a 3 year collaboration for cuts ended in an all out price war right in the middle of a pandemic.  The Russians underestimated the size and impact of the pandemic. The Saudis took a firm position. Only president Trump's swift and active intervention and offering to make up Mexico's share of cuts saved the day for all oil producing countries, who would all be severely hurt by sinking oil prices below $20 a barrel.     ...

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How Instex works and how oil importers India, China and Japan see the need to maintain oil imports. The European side to Instex to pay for imports in Iran.

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Family offices of wealthy private investors have $6.9 trillion in 2026 and match Blackstone and Apollo investment groups. This could reach $9 trillion by 2030 and it sthe next big thing in the investments field. These are the investors who have more than $75 million and are a growing number. There are 8000 single family offices in 2026.

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With foreign exchange reserves of $677 billion India is well placed to deal with the effects of the Ukraine conflict. The economy is better placed than European economies, says Governor Shantikanta Das of the Indian central bank, the RBI. The RBI and the Monetary Policy Committee see no risk of stagflation in India, Mr. Das says.

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Dropping wheat and corn prices will reduce the effect on increase in inflation for food prices. A recently signed agreement for UN and Turkey to supervise exports of Ukrainian grain to world markets is showing up in declining futures prices for corn and wheat that will show up in lower food prices. A large harvest for wheat and other foodgrains in Russia and Ukraine is also having an impact. Slower economic growth in China from frequent lockdowns and the ailing property sector, could bring oil prices down from the highs. The shift to renewable energy taking on a huge impetus from recently passed legislation in the US Congress for $369 billion investment and similar moves in Europe with a 15% required reduction under new EU rules could have the same effect of pushing down fossil fuel prices from their highs. This suggests Fed chairman Powell's sense that the economy would improve in the second half is consistent with international developments. The war in Ukraine could also have a possibility of coming to a close in coming months with Russian gains in the east and Ukraine recovering lost land around the Black Sea in the south. Decades of fighting in Ukraine may have obscured the fact that the eastern parts of Ukraine voted in pro Russian governments in the past and the western parts of Ukraine have voted in pro EU governments. The war could end with a settlement around these new boundaries. This would also enhance president Biden's foreign and domestic policy achievements and help the US focus on climate change actions, building new supply chains, rebuilding its manufacturing, its leadership in science and technology, its alliances with EU, and with Japan and India in the Indo-Pacific. ...

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European companies rushed to make new business investment in Iran after the lifting of Iran sanctions with the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015. This report in the NYT shows companies in Europe were wary that the nuclear detente with Iran would not last. As a result the European exports to Iran up to $12.8 billion in 2017 were up 30% but still ranked Iran as the 33rd largest trading partner, behind Serbia. Other problems were bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of coordination in Iran for moving ahead with projects. After the deal was signed companies such as Peugeot, Airbus, Total, Daimler moved ahead to invest in Iran. Yet the investments were made carefully considering the opposition of the Trump administration. In one deal Airbus agreed to provide 100 new aircraft for Iran Air's aging fleet, yet only 3 were delivered by May 2018. Daimler had a deal with Iran's Khodro vehicle maker for Fuso brand trucks, yet Daimler officials say demand was weak. A deal made by Total to explore for offshore natural gas may require a waiver under a "grandfather clause" say Total officials, or the option to turn over the investment to its minority partner CNPC, a Chinese state owned company. The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Mr. Grennell, says European companies should stop operations in Iran immediately showing the U.S. plans to take stronger action.  ...

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Landers and Gale of the WSJ show how undersupplied conscript soldiers, high inflation and industrial breakdowns during wartime have led to major upheavals in Russia. Three conflicts led to such changes in Russia's domestic situation. The Russo-Japanese war in 1905 led to Russia seeing one fourth of 340,000 Russian troops killed in a battle near the Chinese city of Shenyang, and loss of most of its Baltic fleet in a Japanese attack on Port Arthur. The war ended with a peace treaty arranged by president Theodore Roosevelt of the United States. The Russian czar gave up most of his absolute powers in 1905.  In 1914 Ukraine was involved in regime change as the Germans fought to take Ukraine. The czar wanted to keep Russia's expansive sphere of influence. Without Ukraine's agriculture and industry and its population Russia would not be a great power, says an expert on Czarist Russia. At the time the Russian military was ill prepared in motorized vehicles and communications equipment, and industry lacked the ability to resupply the military. Inflation jumped leading to unrest and protests. Fighting in the First World War led to millions of refugees. In 2022 experts see the same old problem of seeking spheres of influence leading to wars, and the lack of sufficient ability to cope with prolonged wars when short wars were expected by the regimes in power in Russia. Dissent inside Russia and protests led to the abdication of Czar Nicholas in March 2017, and Bolsheviks led by Lenin seizing power in November of 2017. By 1979 Ukrainian leader Leonid Brezhnev was leader of the Soviet Union as Russia's economy could not keep up with modernization. Seeking spheres of influence Brezhnev pushed into a long war in Afghanistan in the mistaken idea that a quick strike on Kabul with a change in government would achieve Soviet goals in central Asia. By 1989 the Russian army withdrew from Afghanistan and in 1990 the protests led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union and emergence of Russia as a separate country. Landers and Gale of the WSJ see these events in Russian history showing how wars have led to domestic changes and upheavals in Russia when leaders projected power beyond Russia's capacity to handle the results of conflict. Russia's economy is about the size of Italy or Britain say experts and its industry much smaller than the European Union economies and the US, Japan combined.  ...

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The Biden administration had asked the Saudis to hold off till the next meeting of OPEC+ before making production cuts, or at least wait for 1 month. The Saudis went ahead with the production cuts even though the UAE,Kuwait and Iraq agreed with the US, and only supported the Saudi decision for unanimity within OPEC+. It comes only months after president Biden visited Riyadh.

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The difficult task facing Wang Yi, former foreign minister of China, of maintaining relations with the European Union in the middle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on which China has not supported the EU. Some changes have taken place in the EU in 2022 that affect EU relations with China. Italy and Czech Republic have new governments that are critical of China. The Ukraine war after one year is taking its toll on EU relations with China, as trade between Russia and China is expected to grow to $200 billion in 2023 from $140 billion in 2021.

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New evidence from Britain that vaccination is reducing cases, deaths and transmission. Israeli experts also confirm that vaccination works to reduce deaths and cases of coronavirus based on Israel's vaccination drive, a pioneering effort in vaccination.

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This article in The Guardian on Pakistan's economy was written over 3 years ago and many of the problems in the economy shown here have increased with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine's effect on food supplies and inflation. New governments in 2022 will face economic difficulties that are worsening in many developing economies. Foreign currency reserves were at $21 billion in March 2022, with total imports of $56 billion in the 2021 fiscal year according to the World Bank. Surging inflation and drop in the value of the currency in 2022 are creating new difficulties in an already difficult situation making good governance for the economy a major priority.

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Gen. Dan Caine chairman Joint Chiefs video on Operation Midnight Hammer bombing of Iranian nuclear site at Fordow. Dan Caine traced the project for Fordow to 2009 when a small team was formed in the US Threat Reduction Agency inside the US War Department as the Fordow mountain site was being prepared- right from the outset of the beginnings of the Iranian efforts to bury weapons development deep inside a mountain. 15 years of work by the team leaders led to the US monitoring every aspect of work at Fordow for the day a US president decided it was time to remove that threat. DAn Caine showed in a video how the bombs actually work, not exploding like a conventional bomb but penetrating 2 shafts at the Fordow site and going down these shafts for 1000 feet before reaching the location where the nuclear centrifuges are located and the pressure inside doing most of the real damage during explosion at that point over thousand feet inside the mountain. The first 2 bombs removed the concrete caps put on the 2 shafts, subsequent 6 bombs each going through the shafts. This is the reason why the Guided Bomb Unit 57 which was made for this specific task mission at Fordow was effective. The CIA Director has stated he had a body of credible intelligence that the mission was effective and Iran nuclear program is severely damaged. ...

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Experts at the East-West Center in Honolulu, say China will add about 55 million barrels to its strategic reserves in 2012, which is another factor that will keep oil prices high in 2012. A number of new storage locations are coming on stream to store the additional reserves. China imported 5.57 millon barrels a day in March 2012, an increase of 8.7% from the prior year month. Oil imports for the 1st quarter of 2012 increased by 11% over the prior year quarter, according to China's General Administration of Customs. This is a much faster pace than imports in 2011, which increased by 6%. China is building its strategic reserves to reach a goal of 90 days supply similiar to the U.S. strategic reserves. Lu Tienan, director of China's National Energy Administration, said at a conference in the first week of April that current total oil stocks, including strategic and commercial are enough for 40 days. It is doing this in the face of higher oil prices, because of the threat of sanctions against Iran's nuclear program could lead to a cutoff of Iranian supplies. China's oil imports from Iran were 11% of total imports in 2011, making this an urgent priority for China. Estimates of the East-West Center are for crude oil imports at an average of 5.77 million barrels a day in 2012, an increase of 13% over 2011. International Energy Agency estimates are for China's total oil demand for 2012 to be 9.9 million barrels a day in 2012, an increase of 6% over 2011....

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During the Civil War and the two World Wars it was called the War Department till changes were made in 1947-1949. The US Navy was independent of the Army and operated independently. Harry Truman changed this in 1947.Since then the US has been on the back foot even in its on backyard, where once the Monroe Doctrine made clear that colonial powers had no place in this hemisphere, today even in places like Venezuela and central America regimes operate against the interests of their people and create a massive refugee problem for the United States of America and other countries in the neighborhood. The USA was also on the back foot in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and after prematurely declaring victory in the Cold War finds that nothing of the sort of a win in the Cold War happened, as the adversaries in the Cold War reassert their interests. And the US faces crises of refugees and on its borders, Europe faces crises of refugees and on its borders.    ...

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This report in the WSJ says the increase in Saudi production announced on June 2 will do more for Saudi Arabia diplomatically as it improves relations with the Bdien administration, and much less for oil markets. The increase of 648,000 barrels a day for both July and August is seen as a drop in the bucket. Only Saudis and UAE have spare capacity- estimated to be at 3 million barrels a day of spare capacity. The Russian oil production has already dropped by 1 million barrels a day since the start of the war in Ukraine and will drop further after the European Union oil embargo on 90% of oil supplied by Russia to the EU. Russia may even withhold supplies from the market to keep oil prices high as it is selling oil at a large discount. Russia evades western oil sanctions by selling oil using transfers out at sea and in other ways that do not reveal the source of the oil. Saudis and UAE are seeking better relations with the US to gain security guarantees after drone and other attacks by Yemeni rebels and Iran. Earlier president Biden had distanced himself from Saudi Arabia following human rights situations that led to deteriorating relations. The EU oil embargo, high oil prices that are hurting poorer countries all over the world, and the commitments by the US and other European partners to reduce fossil oil fuels production and increase renewable energy production are now added factors that the US is including in its relations with the Middle East as it seeks to balance different factors. Saudis see an opening for improved relations.   ...

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The German state elections will be conducted under new election laws- a voter over 16 years old votes for one of 70 constituencies in the first state election in Baden-Wurttemberg and also votes for a party that helps determine the distribution of seats by party in the state parliament. The CDU candidate Manuel Hagel is leading by small margin over the Greens candidate Cem Ozdemir. This is the first state in 7 state elections in 2026 with cities of Stuttgart and Tubingen, Munich.