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Macron says about the ban of under 15's by social  media platforms-  the emotions of children and teenagers should not be "for sale or manipulated by American platforms and Chinese algorithms." The bad effects  on all adolescents of social media, especially on girls is seen in mental health issues for teenagers and the lack of focus for education in schools. It is a big price to pay for all countries to ruin the prospects in life of a new generation of children who are growing up in ways that no previous generation of children in the history of humanity was exposed to. This is no time for dangerous experiments with our children. It is an interesting comment on today that it is lobbyists (and donations) for platforms that are the problem. And that these lobbyists are from what is called Far Right, Right,  Left, Far Left, it makes no difference they all get paid for work, which shows that such labels have little meaning today- looking for common sense and what is right for (children's) health and education is the best approach not falling in line with Far Right, Right,  Far Left, Left, or Moderate or some such label or a Culture War label that is essentially meaningless when it comes to common sense. Good common sense, that much is sufficient. Many other important issues we face require the same approach. ...

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Saudi Arabia and Iran are moving in the direction of taking away repressive rules and giving women more freedom in daily lives. Under Prince Salman Saudi Arabia is changing. Women can now drive in Saudi Arabia. As the role of religion is being reduced in Saudi public life women are now free to live more normal lives. Under new rules women will be able to drive motorcycles and trucks. The Tehran police chief has issued instructions that women be no longer detained if they do not wear proper hijab head covering in public. The two countries are competing with each other to show it is more modern to the international community, say some commentators. Others see the changes in Iran for hijab head covering not strictly enforced as part of the difficulty of enforcing these rules in court, as more younger women do not follow the rules strictly as in the past. Iran now substitutes educational classes in its enforcement, showing the gradual changes in Islamic societies. ...

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Yann Le Cun of the university Sorbonne, France  thinks currrent Language AI models won't work, will be replaced by World models that learn like a baby visually using intuition rather than large databases of content. He was a pioneer in AI when machine learning was still in its very early stages.

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VantageScore supported by Experion and Equifax is now an alternative to FICO score for creditworthiness to get a mortgage or auto loan or other loans at banks.

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The increased availability of car loans and eased standards for auto loans has played a large part in rising auto sales in the U.S. Annual sales of cars and light trucks maintained a pace of 14.1 million vehicles in July 2012, and could reach 15 million for 2012. Lenders see the car loan market as more profitable and less risky than mortgage lending because of the shorter periods of the loans- 3 to 5 years and the low default rate. Currently only about 2.52% of auto loans are 30 days past due for second quarter 2012, according to Experian. Auto loans outstanding at the end of the 2nd quarter 2012, are $725 billion, according to the automotive division of Experian, up 5.7% from a year ago. The market for securities backed by auto loans has rebounded since the 2008 financial crisis. About $50 billion in bonds backed by auto loans were issued in the Jan-July 2012 period, according to Dealogic, compared to $53 billion in 2011. To get a picture of how this compares with mortgage securities- auto loan backed securities are up 33% above pre 2006 levels, and mortgage backed securities are about 70% below 2006 levels. A recent Fed survey of bank lending officials shows easing lending standards reported by 20% of respondents for the last 3 months for auto loans, compared to 3% for prime residential mortgages and 11% for credit cards....

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The Freedom Party with anti-immigration position gets 28% of the vote with centrist People's Party which is said to have handled the recent floods well at 26%, and the Social Democrats at 21%. This leaves the only prospect of a government of the Centrist parties with the Social Democrats. It also shows that Socialist party leader Mette Frederiksen, prime minister of Denmark since 2019, is right that immigration simply distracts from important economic issues of cost of living and wages for workers and families, that immigration should be stopped so that other important issues for working class families can be addressed.This is also the view of Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in Britain and of Biden-Harris in the US who want to see the Republican Lankford legislation closing the Border passed and which Harris promises to have it brought to her desk to sign.

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Giorgia Meloni of Italy as seen from Germany in this report in DW.com

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This report in DW.com says contrary to the stereotypes about rightwing AfD voters being less educated, low income, new studies show the AfD voters come from all levels of society. There is only one thing in common and that is they all think having so many refugees is bad for Germany. They don't want refugees to migrate to Germany. Recently the AfD has made gains in German elections with chancellor Merkel's policy leading to a large number of refugees entering Germany. Germany has seen a realignment in many ways. The Social Democrats have lost support as voters shifted to the Greens party which now has about 20% support among German voters, and the Free Democrats have come back to about 10% under Mr. Lindner. The AfD swing as the mood shifts away from Merkel's policies, is one of many trends in Germany. The Christian Democrats also have a new leader as the traditional parties go back to their roots following a period when Merkel's policies erased many of the differences between the traditional SPD and CDU during the period of coalition governments dominated by Merkel's Christian Democrats. The SPD suffered serious election losses as Merkel pursued centrist positions. ...

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This WSJ editorial says this will be a long war. As in the early stages NATO training made a difference for Ukraine's defense this should continue with America's complete and rapid support so that the immense destruction that is taking place can be prevented. It says moral denunciations are not going to make a difference, that timely support on the ground is needed.

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NPR showed this report on December 2, 2022, which pertains to the debt ceiling vote. About a third of Republican pickups in the Congressional elections came from an unexpected place New York state. These moderates 4 from Long Island alone, come from districts where Democrats are a majority and they risk being defeated if they are not careful to let extreme Republicans get their way in a way that offends New York's voters. This has relevance today because 213 Democrats in the House have signed a petition to force a vote in the House. Five moderate Republicans are all it would take to get the 218 votes to pass lifting the debt ceiling.

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French premier Barnier meets Marie Le Pen of National Rally. National Rally says it will veto any policies that reduce the purchasing power of the French people. Barnier lays out austerity policies and cuts in spending. National Rally had 8 seats, after this year's election it has 125 seats in the National Assembly. The Socialist bloc is the largest party but lacks amajority to form a government. Les Republicains party, Macron's party with National Rally's support are running the administration till another election is called to clear up the situation of no party having a majority. Macron remains president till May 2027 to oversee the situation.

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This Guardian report alongside the Carter Center report plus independent tallies by The Washington post and the Associated Press, shows the 2024 election in Venezuela was won by Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez. Notably it happened in the light of 8 million people, about a third of Venezuela's population leaving the country as refugees. And inflation at  300 percent in the worst mismanagement of the economy in that region in a century. As the US asserts the Monroe Doctrine in the western hemisphere the US acts to see that the needs and rights of the people of Latin America are preserved free from interference by European colonial powers.  By colonial European powers as was intended by president Monroe in 1823, and by any foreign powers under its version in 2026. The rapprochement with Russia was also achieved so that the Venezuelan people can finally see the light of a free country that respects the aspirations of all the people. The US involvement comes from the drug trafficking by gangs and other groups in Venezuela and Mexico that has destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives in the US over two decades- more than the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Making US action imperative, essential for preserving the way of life of the American people and the rights of people all over the Western hemisphere. ...

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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. ...

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Young people form different parts of UK give their views in The Guardian. Contrarian youth form 9% of the Reform UK base in recent analysis shown here. It is not the key to Reform winning as most of the voters are disillusioned with Conservatives and Labour parties, some may not vote others may split vote between many parties. 

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The opposition of parties from the far-right in the Netherlands and France, and other parts of Europe, to austerity measures imposed by the EU under the leadership of Germany's Angela Merkel. Geert Wilders, leads this far right opposition in the Netherlands and Marie Le Pen in France. The far right parties are gaining influence with high unemployment and economic recession in Europe, making spending cuts painful for pensioners, and the middle class.

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Inflation is receding as an issue in the 2024 elections as the CPI index dropped below 3% in July as reported by the Labor Department. It was 2.9% lowest since 2021. Greg Ip says when Trump is saying bacon costs 5 times more now he needs to find another supermarket. That is the joke as Trump is really getting ripped off. Ip says bacon prices are up 18% since 2020 when Biden took office. Trump says at rallies grocery prices are up 70%, Ip says fact correction -up 21% since January 2021 not 70%. Trump says gas prices are $5.00 a gallon. Fact correction- gas prices are $3.75 a gallon and falling, says Ip. Trump wildly exaggerates. Trump says he will cut energy and electricity prices by 50% in 12-18 months. His answer "Drill Baby Drill." Experts cited by Greg Ip say even if new offshore and onshore leases are given, increase in supply is marginal and years away. Gas prices are determined by the world price determined by OPEC and Russia, says Ip.  Trump will increase inflation says this report because of tariffs he plans of 60% on imports from China and 10% from other places. That would increase inflation by 1.4 to 1.7% say analysts. Greg Ip of WSJ offers more clues. Inflation linked bonds see inflation dropping to 2.2% in 2025 instead of 2.6% predicted earlier. Jerome Powell at the US central bank the Fed and president Biden hav done their job well and are not letting up, continue to work on it diligently every day. ...