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New leverage limits the G20 will ask for will take out about 30% of banking profits according to aWSJ study, but will make the system safer. Banks have returned to some of the bad practices that caused the crisis.

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Ms. Annegret Kramp-Krarrenbauer, elected leader of the CDU party in 2018 with the support of Angela Merkel, will not run for chancellor in next years election and will resign from her position by the end of the year. She will continue as Germany's defense minister. After losses for the CDU in recent elections and the embarrassment of local CDU leaders in Thuringia supporting the far right AfD, AKK as she is known decided to step down. Angela Merkel has decided not to run for chancellor again. Germany is set to chair the EU in the second half of 2020, and Merkel is no longer seen as a leader of influence. The Nationalist Alternative for Germany AfD has gained votes in recent elections following the 2015-2016 migrant crisis, with large numbers of refugees from North Africa and Arab world landing in Greece and Turkey and walking to Hungary, Austria and Germany. Merkel's handling of the crisis with acceptance of a million refugees in 2015-2016 unsettled European and German politics. Why? One way of looking at it is that in the same way that the U.S. took in Chinese imported goods ending in the Trump tariffs war, at some point it just becomes too big to handle. That ended up at $1 billion a day in imports from China when president Trump called it off and accused Obama Democrats, Bush Republicans, of betraying the country. Putting it into perspective Germany with one fourth of the population of the U.S. took in about twice the number of refugees in just one year 2015-2016 that the U.S. took in 10 years 2005-2015. The U.S. took in 675,000 immigrants between 2005-2015. This is as if the U.S. took in something like 20 million immigrants in a short period of 1 year on an equivalent basis- though the cultural impact is even greater in a nation like Germany that is like Japan an historically immigrant averse nation. All this happened too quickly for Germany to handle for its fragile cultural fabric. Much of the initial outpouring of support and positive sentiment came from the sense of having gone through World War II and the refugees in that and the early post war period, the need to return in the same spirit support Germany had received. Over time it eroded support for the Christian Democratic Union and Merkel. That Merkel could have done this is itself a small miracle. Now the rebuilding has to begin. Adenauer's CDU and the socialist SPD party of Willy Brandt now have less than 50% support, only with the Greens Party do they make up 50%. The question now is can the CDU, and the SPD which has fallen to 14% in elections, make it back and what kind of future makeup political parties will have in Germany, how the social fabric can be restored. AKK's achievement is to mend relations between the liberal Merkel wing of the CDU and conservatives from Bavaria (CSU) over immigration.  Candidates for CDU leadership are Armin Laschet, Jens Spahn, and Friedrich Merz. Laschet premier of North Rhine-Westphalia has Merkel's support. Looking back too much attention was taken up by the euro crisis, and too little was done in the areas of infrastructure, inequality gaps, education, child care, under Merkel's leadership and of the preceding SPD years, much like what happened under Bush and Obama administrations in the U.S. where wars, economic crises led to neglect on issues that affect lives of ordinary working families. ...

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About a third of coronavirus cases in France of three or more cases are in schools and universities as France tackles a second wave in October 2020. France has decided to keep schools open as a priority over closing schools as soon as there a couple of cases and there are no uniform rules across schools for masks to be worn. In France mask requirement begins in junior high with exceptions for lunch and gym class. In Italy the mask requirement is present for all grades until they take seats in class. Some schools ask children to keep masks on in the classroom. UK has no mask requirement in schools. Spain requires masks for all school children over age 6 years. Parents in lower income households lack the flexibility to keep children home while they go out to work. Many parents look forward to keeping their children in school after the long lockdown.

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US aid to Ukraine shifts to the long term. Republicans ask the president and Democrats to leave Ukraine aid on a stand alone basis and not mixed with other health or budget requests where there are differences. Republicans want to move quickly on aid to Ukraine as the invasion on the east of Ukraine builds up. In comments earlier this week Mr. Biden told a national audience in a televised speech that he wants to make Ukraine aid to be ongoing as this could be a long effort to resist the Russian invasion. Ramstein now has a new symbolism - US Joint Chiefs head Gen. Mark Milley was clear about it- "The outcome of this battle, right here today, depends on the people in this room." The battle is one in eastern Ukraine. Defense Secretary Austin was clear about also clear- "the war had galvanized the world." About 40 countries were represented at Ramstein base, some virtually. There was a sense that the previous symbolism with Anglela Merkel and Mr. Steinmeier and Mr. Schroeder may have emboldened Russia into invasion of Ukraine. ...

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This report in the NYT says a little known donation raising method used by the Republican National Senatorial Committee may affect Republican chances of taking control of the Senate in the US. The method is considered part of hyper aggressive methods that ask people provocative questions such as "Should Biden resign?" in millions of text messages sent out and asked to reply click YES to Donate, the amount is then processed immediately, says NYT. It was so controversial that WinRed the main Republican donation processing platform banned the practice. It appeared to be working earlier but with the cost of living crisis in 2022 donors are holding back. NYT says the digital ads to get these donations cost more than the donations in some situations. It cost $23.3 million for digital ads and expenses and raised only $6.1 million leading to a $17 million deficit, according to NYT. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now thinks it could affect chances for the Senate. The NSRC Republican group has $23 million about half what the Democrats have. ...

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Five of eight unions in the German Confederation of Trade Unions DGB have increased membership. There is a shift to younger members as older workers retire. Membership is more engaged than ever before. More unions are taking up the issue of wage increases after workers were accomodative during the pandemic and Ukraine war. DW.com shows graphs of German workers having lost 18 days due to strikes coming ninth in the developed economies compared to 92 days in France, Canada 78, and the US 9 days. Cost of living action is seen as needed by workers for fair wages. There are 1.8 million open jobs and workers are now getting more confident to ask for better working conditions and higher pay, say experts. This is also happening in the US with president Biden's support. The problem is that only 50% of jobs in Germany are covered by collective bargaining agreements designed to ensure that companies pay decent wages. The EU directive in 2022 set a target of 80% for collective bargaining agreements. This makes it harder for unions yet the unions and workers are taking up the work with enthusiasm.   ...

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Can Christian evangelical therapists exercise free speech rights to counsel religious teens dealing with their sexual orientation and identity true to the Biblical teachings. The US Supreme Court Justices support Christian therapists in this situation.  The issue of prayer in America's schools which was a tradition that lasted for the first 300 years of the settlement of the Nation since 1600, only to gradually disappear after 1962-1963 when Justices of the US Supreme Court simply took upon themselves the power to alter the fundamental character of the Nation with 2 decisions. This has not yet come before the Court to restore the basic driving energy for over three centuries of settlement of this continent of North America. Already the Court has found it is against the law to prevent athletic coaches from praying on a school field. It found in 2024 that Washington State infringed on freedom of expression when it allowed a coach to be disciplined for making such a prayer. There is a sense in America that prayer is part of the fundamental fabric of the Nation. In the deepest hour of crisis in the 20th century Chuchill and FDR met on a battleship near Newfoundland, August 10, 1941, when a prayer service was conducted to restore freedom and democracy to the world at war, it sustained America and Britain and Europe through these years, why should it not be in everyday life today is a question the Supreme Court has to ask itself when confronted with the new challenges of the 21st Century. As Justice Potter Stewart says to use metaphors such as "the wall of separation" that is nowhere in our Constitution, and to reject prayer in schools is to reject the deeply entrenched and widely cherished spiritual traditions of our Nation." Traditions that have come down from the time of George Washington whose miraculous survival that winter of 1754 through the hand of a Divine Providence ensured the survival of the Nation. ...

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Turkey's economic success since 2002 with the economic policies of the AKP party with 6.5 % growth, compared to 2.5% in the 6 years prior to that, and booming tourism in Antalya on the Mediteranean coast, and booming exports, and $20 billion in foreign investment.

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A lead researcher at Stanford and UC Berkeley says he hasn't seen anything like it, the opposition intensify so quickly. 70% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans oppose overinvestment in AI  and increasing in sentiment- not about stopping progress but  about stopping hyperlevel investment of trillions of dollars and diverting from reindustrialization/infrastructure for US that creates jobs and a better qualityof life. In today's world neither China or the US can afford hyper investment, most Asian countries would prefer to let the US do it and later get that technology for free one way or the other. Therefore this means the American people are being hoodwinked- they pay the price when their bridges and roads, airports are in disrepair, when even a national network of data charging stations could not get funded under Biden which would have addressed the biggest problem for transition from fossil through EV's to fight climate change.  The investment community is being hoodwinked. Investors are being hoodwinked as the returns are uncertain and cannot be justified on financial grounds- only by hype.  Polls only ask about AI not the hyperinvestment in AI. If the truth is known that these trillions of dollars diverted by using flaws in capital markets in the US, avoiding financial scrutiny and hyping up AI when returns are by a long shot uncertain compared to rebuilding America's infrastructure and industries to compete with China and the EU- that is desperately needed- then these numbers would show the vast majority of Americans oppose this diversion of funds from the infrastructure and reindustrialization that create jobs that support working families. Take for example Texas, a Republican state, where the Agriculture Commissioner is calling for a moratorium on new hyperscale data center development in the state, citing higher costs for farmers, and strains on the power grid. It is not about stopping progress. Fon transition to renewable energy or example the adjustments made by Biden and Democrats allowed some fossil fuels use to make the transition, the same policy being pursued under different political slogans and labels under DJT. It is not about stopping progress as progress continues even under DJT Republican administration - natural gas prices and coal use prices are making natural gas a choice for power plants, the cost of oil at $100 making EV's hybrids cost less than gasoline cars. AI technologies will advance, and the wherewithal, the framework in which AI should operate can be built alongside without throwing everything out of balance. Throwing the whole economy out of balance, destroying the chance to create jobs and bring about the 1st priority of America and EU- reindustrialization and infrastructure renewal alongside India's modernization. That requires these trillions of dollars being pushed into AI by a few self-interested individuals without returns, and trillions of dollars more. If that is accomplished any challenges from China will fade in comparison with the scale of the effort in the EU, the US, and India with the largest industrial bloc in the world far bigger than China. This is not mere words. It is a plan of action that is being put into place right now at Oslo, Norway at the Nordic+EU Summit with India on the next phase of this effort, put into place piece by piece through hard work and a clear vision for the future. ...

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Bush's last news conference, or exit interview as he called it. He thinks about Katrina hurricane relief failure but says 30,000 people were lifted off rooftops. Iraq, the security council resolution 1441 did make it clear- disclose, disarm or face serious consequences. He thinks the "Mission Accomplished" banner on an aircraft carrier after liberating Iraq was a bad idea, and "Abu Ghraib", a big disappointment". But regarding Guantanamo Bay and Iraq he thinks it may be that the elite and some some countries in Europe find it unpopular. Some say that the moral standing of the US is damaged in the world. But he says go to Africa, go to India, and ask about their view of America. Go to China and ask. "But people still understand that America stands for freedom, that America is a country that provides such great hope."

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This WSJ editorial says the corruption scandal in the AKP and Mr. Erdogan's government is likely to end one party rule and shorten Mr Erdogan's time in power. It emphasizes the importance of checks and balances in a democracy, the political independence of the judiciary and prosecutors.

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Mexico's newly elected president Lopez Obrador says spending for a new airport was not in the interest of a country with Mexico's social needs. He voted to cancel the project in favor of using a military airbase north of Mexico City and building new runways to complement the existing airport. The aiport project was a key effort by the outgoing administration of Pena Nieto. About $5 billion spent on the airport would be written off, and bondholders holding $6 billion in bonds could ask for payment.

The airport cost originally estimated at $10 billion is now expected to cost $13.3 billion. Mexico City airport handled 44 million passengers last year and the new airport was intended to handle future congestion.

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The UNESCO report on Water scarcity and contaminated water. It creates awareness on World Water Day but comes across as a largely academic exercise, ask any rural woman in India and she knows the significance, question is what should have been done and the resources are there. For action it has to come from nations,, large nations such as India from it's Jal Jeevan Mission, China and Japan transferring the knowhow and technologies to Africa and Latin America and other parts of Asia. The period after a pandemic is also a time to focus efforts on  doing this. How it undermines girls and women and their participation in society is part of the understanding in India, and uppermost in the minds of Indian leaders and technologists, and in the mind of PM Modi. Unfortunately the UNESCO reports fails to even cover right up front in its summary how Jal Jeevan is being done for 1.4 billion people in India to have clean tap water so that people in Africa and Latin America can see that this is possible, if in the Himalayan regions possible in their region it is possible. Just see for yourself in India. ...

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Readers critique the Wash. Post on its coverage of 2024, 2024-2028 policies and vision, and president Biden. They ask is the Post itself turning into social media with crass titles and misleading coverage? The Post itself says it is in the subtitle sometimes patting sometimes stabbing. One reader says on the different reporters coverage of Biden after the NATO Summit that it was nothing more than a dogpile, that it is not what he reads the Post for. One obvious question for the Post is with all the passion you show on climate change action, is the absence of climate action for 4 years, and exactly the opposite its exacerbation not likely to impose a huge cost in 2028 for the American people of upwards of a trillion dollars to correct? Is the Post listening or just another billionaire run organization running against the instincts of Carl Sandburg- the author of the Lincoln biographies found even in the libraries of Asia forgotten in the US-  who wrote the famous poem of the nineteen sixties "The People, Yes." Lincoln, TR, Wilson, FDR, Truman, Kennedy are completely erased or forgotten for their policies, their wisdom and their zeal for America. ...

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Socialist candidate for president in France's runoff elections, Francois Hollande, says he will ask that the fiscal compact treaty completed in Dec. 2012 be renegotiated to include measures that promote growth in the eurozone. He praised ECB chairman, Mario Draghi's comments that uppermost in his mind was the need for a growth compact in the eurozone.

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The view on the oped pages of WSJ ask why Bush supports the bailout being negotiated between Congress and the White House on December 10 and being put to a House vote on that day followed by a Senate vote. Almost all Republicans oppose the plan with a supposed government appointed czar to run things and other aspects of the bailout.

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How the pandemic changed how a new generation sees work success and health priorities in life. Young people in their thirties describe their experiences in life before and after the pandemic and the challenges at work in careers that made them think about the importance of health and mental health in the twenties and and thirties, so that by middle age 40-60 years the do not face health problems. A deterioration in health that they see in the population of older people makes young people ask questions how to incorporate healthy living as a top priority in their choices.

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Centuries of neglect of Asian education and students by European nations during colonization is now turned on its head. Which is also not a good thing, in fact something just as bad.  A British professor has to remain anonymous to ask for an honest conversation on why British universities are so dependent on foreign students. Seven of ten University students in Britain studying for Masters degrees are overseas students. This is a shocking statistic and only goes to show the lack of the same opportunity for higher education for students from England, Scotland and Wales. Students at home cannot afford the 30,000 pounds that students from China or other countries pay. Not too long ago British funding made it possible for British people to attend British universities. It points to the lack of funding of higher education in Britain to give the same opportunities as students from other countries to the British education system that has taken hundreds of years of gradual investment to establish. It points to the consensus in society that neglects the importance of higher education which is as important for the future as the system which channels young people based on aptitude to take the course of apprenticeship training after high school for better incomes in industry and manufacturing. ...

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This editorial in the WSJ says Brexit lets British voters not a political elite decide the best way forward. Endless integration set by the EU in Brussels was never the best course for Britain given its trading and commercial history. The anemic economic growth, migration crisis in the EU, and the lack of accountability of Brussels EU bureaucracy was an issue for the British public. Ask any unemployed youth in France, stagnating entrepreneurs in Germany, or people in Eastern and Southern Europe struggling with economic policy for the euro set in Frankfurt by the ECB, says the WSJ.

The British government handling Brexit and the economy will still be held accountable for delivering good results. British people choosing to "take back control" through political independence was the right way given that continental social democracy and the "European Project" does not have the answers for Britain's future vision and growth.

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For HP R&D productivity is critical, this is calculated as research spending as apercentage of gross margin. The key is to ask where do we get the biggest payoffs in sales and profits . For example touch screen technology for laptops got high priority this way. And one relates R&D to product lines to see where it will get the most mileage and make the biggest difference.

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Hillary Clinton makes a strong finish in the third Democratic presidential debate in Dec. 2015, leaving rivals Bernie Sanders and Martin Malloy way behind with her command of the issues. Some political experts ask why Clinton wanted to limit the number of debates when she does so well in them. Clinton questioned the huge cost of Sanders proposals. Malloy failed to make an impact. Sanders apologized for a breach of DNC Clinton data.

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About 29% of businesses support the iPhone, up from none in 2007 and 17% in 2009 according to Forrester Research. Even though 70% still support the Blackberry, the iPhone is getting the support of employees who ask for iPhones, even if that means they pay for all or part of it on their own. AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson, says about 40% of its iPhones are sold to companies or individuals with corporate discounts.

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Peter Baker quotes Obama as saying "I am like a Rorschach test," even if people find me disappointing ultimately, they might gain something.?" So what does this mean someone may ask. By setting up people's hopes in so many places, and especially among long disenfranchised black Americans, and in so many other groups and constituencies, and the possibilities of human beings limited in what they can do, how will all this turn out?

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The daily commute has has defined the start of the day and the end of the day clearly in a way that is not happening with working from home during the coronavirus. Microsoft Teams manager Ms. Janardhan is looking at ways of modifying its Teams package of workplace collaboration tools so that users can better demarcate these two parts of the day. The virtual commute feature is a way to focus on wellness as a priority. It puts more attention on how people feel and think in different parts of the day and even includes a 10 minute meditation session option for the end of the day. The program now asks people how they are feeling and if they are feeling overwhelmed the virtual commute assistant will ask if they want to block time off in their calendars to focus on destressing activities or stuff they enjoy doing, even just taking a break. Marking the start and the end of the day has become more difficult for many while working from home. Half of the chat volume on Teams happens between 5pm and midnight in the last 6 months up 48% from months before the pandemic. More and more companies are finding that organizational resilience depends on employee wellbeing when working from home during the coronavirus which brings up new stresses that people never faced before. ...