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Adam Nossiter of the NYT describes the clearly presidential nature of Macron's appearences during the first month in office. First at the Louvre during the night election results showed him winning easily, and later in appearances at the G 7 summit meeting and at Versailles with the Russian president. This is in sharp contrast to the chatty, "little jokes" and other efforts of president Hollande that left people with the impression that he was not decisive and strong. The French presidency from the time of Charles De Gaulle by its very nature compared to the prime minister's position of England, requires a strong presence and decisive personality. Macron shows every intention of fulfilling that role. Observers have traced this to Macron being a research assistant to French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. Macron acquired a training at the end of the 1990's from Ricoeur, which emphasized the need for and virtue of a middle ground- that sees even the events of the French revolution in a different light, with the death of the king Louis XVI in 1793 as unnecessary. ...

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China is slowing infrastructure projects after loaning $30 billion to Venezuela. As Venezuela's economy declined under Maduro Venezuela is paying this off with oil exports in what is called a creditor trap. Both Russia and China are intent on trade with the US, Russia to open up business and trade and China to preserve it's trading and business relationship for its exports at a difficult time for it's economy. This tacitly preserves the idea of US direction in a beneficial way for the western hemisphere that was part of the message in 1823 by president Monroe to Congress. In the Mexican War, through Manifest Destiny during the administration of James Polk in 1843 this was still the accepted idea when Ulysses Grant a future president and civil war general on the side of Lincoln fought in that war. This brought slavery free, Spanish feudalism free, democratic processes and modernized economies to California, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, much of the West and the Pacific shoreline. Russia hopes to get the US to accept it's aspirations to be a modern Northern power in Europe. The US DJT Republican administration has shown it's respect for Russia in its zone of influence, with it's main objection to Russia in Ukraine being the massive invasion of a neighboring country. When compared to Mexico it was the US replacing the Spanish who had invaded the Aztec tribes in Mexico setting up feudal regimes, not the US invading a neighboring country. The European Union and Germany now bear the burden of defending Western Europe as a European power. The situation is similar in Asia where China has it's area of influence and India, Japan, Australia as Asian powers sharing zones of influence in Asia with China, so that the US can maintain good relations with China including fair trade that brings back it's manufacturing. The US would continue to support Taiwan as an independent country. This balance can ensure peace in the Americas, Europe and Asia as nations modernize and choose better governance under governments that relate to their history and geography, as opposed to Communist and anti-communist or democratic or anti-democratic, when they meet the aspirations of their people.   ...

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Daniel Howes makes a scathing indictment of the way in which the keepers of the city of Detroit's institutions have battled to preserve the status quo and prevent much needed changes in conduct at the mayoral offfice, the public schools, and in the auto industry, its unions and communities. He says the staus quo is broken and the city is coming apart.

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Is inflation psychology taking hold. The ECB thinks it is, and unions in Europe are stronger than in the USA and are asking for higher wages to meet the rising costs of food and gasoline, which would then be passed onto consumers. The central banks in Europe and the USA are considering raising interest rates even as the economy slows.

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Germany's $ 3 billion aid to Ukraine can only go through if it is clear where the money comes from. Scholz and Habeck oppose taking it from pensions, local government spending, or needed transportaton infrastructure spending. Greens see this kind of funding with cuts from domestic needs as a cop out. Scholz opposes cuts in pensions. CDU suggests cuts in unemployment benefits. Scholz opposes this. Germany as a debt clause in its Constitution put in by former CDU chancellor Merkel. It doesn't make sense now with the needs in infrastructure and the extra revenue that could be generated in the economy from an expanding economy that has rebuilt and updated its infrastructure. Yet it is still in place and leaves Germany less able to cope with demands for security, defense, and for infrastructure, modernizing its economy. By contrast the US under Biden and Trump is committed to domestic spending on infrastructure and modernization, leading to faster economic growth than in the European Union in 2025-26. ...

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Iraq is Iran's most promising market for gas exports. Iraq needs the gas for its power stations now that Islamic State has been decisively cleared from Iraq. Yet Iraq is having difficulty making payments to Iran for gas supplies because banks are not ready to handle the payments with the reimposed tighter U.S. sanctions and restrictions. The deputy head of media at the Electricity ministry in Iraq, Sadoun Shehan, told WSJ that transfer of money by Iraqi banks is prevented because of U.S. sanctions. U.S. sanctions were reimposed by the Trump administration after they were lifted in January 2016. The new sanctions prohibit gas exports from Iran. Iran had hoped to make the sales and also export to the European Union when sanctions were lifted. Iranian exports of gas that started in 2017 were itself delayed for 4 years by the war from Islamic State.  Iran has the second largest reserves of natural gas in the world. The Trump administration's sanctions have led to a drop of Iranian crude shipments by 29% in 3 months and added to upward pressure on oil prices to take prices to $80 a barrel. This issue has implications for India and China, particularly India as it faces both higher prices for oil and the tight restrictions in purchase of Iranian oil. ...

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The day following Theresa May's visit to Berlin and Brussels angela Merkel told a special parliamentary session in the Bundestag: "We have no attention of changing the Brexit deal."  Merkel also replied to questions from parliamentarians saying: "I can only tell the citizens of Germany that we are working hard for an orderly Brexit and at the same time we are preparing for the eventuality that things are not orderly." The EU position is to let the UK crash out of the European Union on March 29, 2019. Reports in The Times of London say this break in trade with the EU would badly hurt Britain's economy. No deal Brexit is seen by most Britons as bad for the country, and this prospect increases by the day as Theresa May now faces a no confidence motion from her own Conservative party. The EU says Merkel will work out contentious isues related to Ireland after Britain's exit. Merkel seemed to very spirited in the parliament telling AfD members she could not respond to their mixture of value judgements and facts, that "such polemics don't help,"and calling the left parties in Germany's support of the yellow vests protest in Paris as "scandalous."  If anything Merkel seemed energized now that she has resigned from her party leadership position. ...

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The companies that run US ports are based in Europe and Asia. US dockworkers are fighting for a 77% pay raise over 6 years. Harold Daggett is leading the fight for the dockworkers. The port operation companies offered 40%. Negotiations are going on with the Biden administration seeking a settlement that is fair to workers left behind in previous wage negotiations, and following other strikes of the United Auto workers and other unions. The UAW was able to gain a fair settlement with president Biden joining the picket lines, a first for any American president.

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Alissa Rubin of NYT covers a visit by Emmanuel Macron, French presidnetial candidate, to a village in the mountains on the Spanish border where his grand parents lived and where he visited often as a child, and where he learned to cycle, ski and appreciate the outdoors. Macron was born and raised in Amiens, near Paris. His parents are both doctors. He attended a parochial school run by Jesuits, and at age 15 met a teacher of French and drama, Brigitte Trogneux, with whom he fell in love and later married in 2007.

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A new Cold War takes shape as US and Russian talks proceed on borders in Eastern Europe. Russia insists the border today is a result of it being thrust on a weakened Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The European Union and Britain insist on the right of self determination of the countries of Eastern Europe such as Poland and Ukraine, Baltics. The US seeks some common ground as Russia places its army near the Ukraine border in January 2022.

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This article in Zeit Online emphasizes that the deep sense of unease and anxiety about the future among working class white people is behind the shift in American politics. This shift has a lot to do with the basic identity of the U.S., the borders, and  the ability to generate decent jobs at decent wages. The populous states of the midwest in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin helped tilt the outcome to Trump. It is pointed out that this shift is not simply a result of tax breaks for wealthy people and corporations. It goes a lot deeper than that- a growing anxiety about identity, borders and decent wages with decent jobs is what worries non college educated people who make up a larger proportion of voters in some midwestern and eastern states. Democrats also put themselves in an unsustainable position by pushing trade agreements such as TPP as an Obama legacy- even in the face of strong evidence that core working class Democratic voters, unions, and other working class groups had fervently opposed it. It is not that there are fewer liberals today- about 21% in 2012 and the same in 2016. Simply that the anxiety was too high about issues such as borders, identity, and manufacturing jobs that Democrats lost sight of. ...

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Farming companies that are attracting interest from investors range from NZ Wellington based NZ Farming Systems Uruguay which has 100,000 acres in Uruguay for dairy farming using its own methods such as fertilizing grazing grass and making water available to cows at all times, to Brazil listed SLC Agricola which grows corn, cotton and soyabeans on 400,000 acres in Brazil, Stockhom listed Black Earth Farming and London listed Landkom International which grow wheat and rapeseed in the former Soviet Union and in the Ukraine.

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The European Union Commission says Ireland must recover 13 billion euros in back taxes for giving tax preferences to Apple that are against EU rules. The EU Commission says Ireland allowed Apple to pay a corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003, and .005% in 2014. The EU Commissioner says the use of Ireland as the place where Apple pays taxes on operations in Europe has no base in reality, as most profits are earned in other countries outside Ireland. Taxable profits of Apple "did not correspond to economic reality," according to Ms. Vestager, the EU Commissioner.  In the current environment where political upheaval is unsettling the democratic process in the U.S., Britain, Spain, France and Italy, as well as in Brazil and other countries in the developing world- because of deep recessions, and efforts to cut the deficits with deep cuts in state spending including in education and healthcare, basic services- the moves by companies to reduce taxes to these absurdly low levels such as .005% when other companies in the EU are paying 12.5%, is becoming increasingly unpopular. As pointed out in this BBC News article this sounds like the way Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt operated during the late 19th century, and were seen as operating in a manner that was above the law. Janet Yellen pointed out at a Boston Fed Conference on inequality in Oct 2014 that the bottom half of the distribution or 62 million households in the U.S. in 2013, had a net worth of about $10,000, One quarter of these households had a net worth of zero dollars. The working class and blue collar workers in the U.S. provide much of the support at Trump rallies. Younger college educated people support Sanders, because of the situation of the working and middle class in the U.S., and a similar situation exists in Europe. It is for the sake of the democratic process and delivering services in education, healthcare, and other basic areas to all, that companies small and large need to pay their fair share of taxes, regardless of size, influence, or technological advantages. Today this is is seen by most leaders who draw public support as the right way forward for the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asian countries, including proper allocation of resources to best serve the needs of working people. For example the 13 billion euros is equal to all of Ireland's healthcare budget, and 66% of its social welfare budget.    ...

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A meeting of European leaders from Germany, France, Spain, and Italy with African leaders from Libya, Chad and Niger, comes up with priority steps to take for reducing migration from African countries to Europe. Steps include aid to countries with high flow of migrants. The EU gave $10 million to Niger to fight illegal immigration. The French president Macron suggested setting up hotspots from where migrants could apply for legal migration. Chancellor Merkel cautioned that this applied only to humanitarian refugees and not to economic refugees. The presidents of Chad and Niger point out that the cause is poverty, and smugglers need to be diverted to other occupations such as commerce or farming. During 2017 to August 125,000 migrants have come across the Mediterranean on boats. Smugglers put people on small boats leading to many deaths and rescue efforts. 

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Krugman says the Euro was basically flawed when a single currency was established without political or fiscal union. Because of this the problem can only be solved he says, by action in Brussels and Berlin. Greeks he points out work longer hours than Germans and are not lazy, the welfare state is larger in Sweden and Germany, and Greeks were able to finance imports through trade, shipping and tourism before Greece joined the eurozone. After joining the euro foreign money poured into Greece causing inflation and making Greece wages rise with labor productivity 25% below the European average, making Greece uncompetitive. A lot of the foreign money was wasted and should not have been loaned to Greece in the first place, except that foreign banks perceived the eurozone membership as an implicit guarantee.

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The smaller containment design of the Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor used at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan makes it more prone to explosion and rupture from a buildup of hydrogen, according to some experts in the U.S. Nuclear Safety Program at the Union for Concerned Scientists. This design is smaller and cheaper to build but is less robust than other designs. In the U.S. there are 23 Mark 1 reactors at 16 locations, including the Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey, Dresden plant near Chicago, and Monticello plant near Minneapolis. Worldwide there are 32 such reactors in operation. The design was first developed in the 1960's by General Electric. Since then various modifications have been developed including venting systems to help reduce pressure in overheating situations.

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Internet penetration in India is increasing rapidly. India had 71 million internet users in 2009 by one estimate. Current estimates are of 80-100 million internet users. India's internet penetration as percentage of population of 5% is low compared to China which is at 28.9%, Brazil at 39.2%, and Mexico at 28.3%, according to figures from the International Telecommunication Union. Analysts expect the launch of third generation broadband networks will help increase internet use in India. One study done by investment bank Caris & Co. shows internet use growing to 180-200 million users by 2015. Most of the major internet sites are in news, job-search or match-making. Internet retail is just beginning to grow with online purchases of $1.4 billion in 2010 going up to $5 billion in 2012.

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Support for the centre right Moderate Party of Mr. Reinfeldt declined to 23.2% in Sweden's 2014 parliamentary elections. A trade union leader, Mr. Lofven, led the coalition of centre Left parties including the Green Party to a narrow win over the centre right parties, with 43.7% of the vote. Votes to an antiracism and womens issues party Feminist Initiative was expected to go above the 4% needed to enter parliament and provide support to the centre left parties, yet reached 3.1%. The strain on funding for schools and other public spending, as a result of immigration support spending on Middle East refugees by the Reinfeldt government, led to a siphoning off of significant voter support to a far right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats Party which doubled its vote to 13%.

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The school as an extension of the caring nurturing family, starts with the good motivated teacher, one student at a time. The example of teachers at a Union city public school in New Jersey. At one time a failing school it is now an example of what can be done with good motivated teachers. David Kirp, professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, is the author of the book: "Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of the Great American School System and a Strategy for America's Schools." Kirp reminds us that the answers are closer to us than we think, the nurturing influence of the schools extends the work of the family, more intuitive, and resembling more of the ways we think and feel children respond to good teachers.

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Efforts by two term President of Niger to continue in office for a third term, by changing the constitution with a referendum. Democracy is just taking hold in Niger. In two successful Presidential elections defeated candidates went home without causing any trouble. Niger has an outspoken opposition and an alert press. Trade unions, the judiciary, the press and news outlets, and ordinary people have protested the action.