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A 5 member US Congressional group led by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts visits Taiwan in August 2022. It follows the trip by Speaker Pelosi. The group includes John Garamendi of California, chair of the Committee on Readiness of the Armed Services Committee of the US Congress. The high level Congressional delegations visiting Taiwan show the US is firmly on the side of Taiwan as part of its policy in the Indo-Pacific with partners Japan, Australia and India and committed to ensure free navigation on the seas and the rule of international law.

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National security concerns over Tik Tok remain unresolved in the US.

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Mr. Trump's chaotic exit from the White House is at the center of the search for classified documents by the Justice Department, says this report in WSJ.

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The US has 124,000 charging stations for electric vehicles. The Biden administration wants to see that go up to 500,000 by 2030. For this to happen $7.5 billion is already going to states under the $1 trillion infrastructure bill of 2021. The Biden $369 Climate bill that passed the Senate last week will give companies that build each charging station 30% tax credit for maximum of $100,000, up from $30,000 earlier, to build one charging station. It costs about $100,000 to tear up pavement and build a conduit for a charging station.

Supply chain issues will linger for 2022 and 2023 with shortage of chips after which it will move much faster says this report in WSJ. For EV's to go mainstream charging stations are a priority.

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A recent survey by Der Spiegel shows three quarters of Germans want to continue operating the 3 remaining nuclear plants. 78% support keeping them running to 2023, and 67% support keeping them for 5 more years. The idea is that they can be used in this emergency. Even a majority of Green party support keeping them running to 2023. This is a profound change in German opinion.

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The WSJ looks at the Justice Department's search for classified documents at the Trump Mar Lago home. Mr. Trump says " it was all declassified." WSJ says this aspect of the search about the president's powers to declassify have never been litigated and could be prosecutorial overreach.

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This BBC report shows how much has changed with Germany's erstwhile leaders. From 1998 to 2005 Mr. Gerhard Schroeder was head of the German government. His ties with Russian leaders and Gazprom have led to severe criticism in Germany. He survived an effort this week to remove him from the local chapter of the Social Democrat Party. He now faces a loss of his office and staff and other privileges in the German parliament. The Budget committee of parliament says "he no longer upholds the continuing obligations of his office," says this report. Mr. Schroeder has filed a suit against the German parliament in the Berlin Administrative Court. This BBC report shows how things are changed in 2022- Merkel, Schroeder, Steinmeier and other politicians of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats face intense public skepticism of their role in a situation where Germany faces a cold winter with gas rationing. It is the Greens with Robert Habeck who are faced with the hard work of finding the energy to meet the shortfall and to build back on renewable energy to fight climate change. Very little was done under the previous administrations it now appears, as the public looks back with regret. ...

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The BBC presents a different view of the pardon of Samsung's Jay Y Lee. It questions the idea that it will help the Korean economy, and whether it can help ordinary Koreans because trickle down economics won't work. Korea's major companies the chaebol have grown unpopular in the country over the last decade, with major protests over bribery scandals.