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Morgan McSweeney acquired power as an organizer removing Corbynite left politicians from the Labour party. He is from County Cork, Ireland, his father an IRA courier, who left Ireland to get a politics and marketing degree from Middlesex University. He helped Labour politicians in London during the Corbyn years and settled on Keir Starmer as the candidate for a shift to the center in politics. There was something strange about Labour's win in 2024 as it got only 34% of the vote and still a large majority. It now appears that this was a highly flawed win, as Starmer was never able to take positions on major issues without depending on McSweeney for advice and backtracking. Worse 50% of Labour's vote disappeared in 2026 polls by February hardly 2 years after the win in 2024, as the support McSweeney helped organize had no depth of conviction- most of it to Liberals and Greens under Polanski. The result is that even the Guardian is disappointed and says McSweeney installed Starmer as PM, and then made him "the most unpopular PM in history." Net favorability in Feb 2026 is -57 similar to Sunak of Conservatives in June 2024. A 75% unfavorable rating in Jan 2026. And 14 points below the Labour party in "like" ratings. Only 18% are favorable for Starmer. ...

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Maria Machado met US president DJT at the White House for lunch as the two leaders discussed the situation in Venezuela. The US is moving step by step towards long term goals for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. It is acting quickly where necessary and at the same time with confidence in the final goal of making life better for all Venezuelans, aware of how decades of mismanagement and ideologic rhetoric, the failure of the party systems that existed before the entry of Chavez in 1992 and 1998 three decades back, created the wrecked national economy of today with exorbitant inflation and a fourth of the population to leave the country. Looking back (on Britannica.com) one sees in its history a century of conflicts and chaos between conservatives, liberals, and the military, from 1850 to the 1950's. Only a 50 year period of relative quiet and democracy ending with mismanagement and corruption separates that period from today, showing how difficult a situation the US and DJT face in turning Venezuela around after centuries of Spanish colonial rule till the French revolution. For this reason alone the US takes one step at a time towards the long term benefit of the Venezuelan people knowing the nature of the task and the Monroe Doctrine's overall goal for the western hemisphere. ...

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In India's southern coastline state of Kerala, PM Modi has pursued a strategy of working with the CPI led government on development projects, and at the same time contested elections to set up a BJP government in the state. The capital city of Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) local election has led to a BJP municipal government in 2026. In an address to supporters in Trivandrum PM Modi said he was gratified by the results in elections for the capital city of Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), and wanted to make it India's model city., It reminded him he said of the situation in Gujarat when the BJP party won elections in Ahmedabad for the first time in 1987 for city government. By showing good governance in Ahmedabad, BJP was able to win elections in the state and provide good government and industrialization for Gujarat for the decades since 2001 when Modi formed the state government. This bodes well for Kerala said the Indian PM. Many schemes for improving the welfare of farmers, for people in health, housing and small business loans are coordinated by the federal, state and city governments to get the best results and this speeds up industrialization and modernization in the Indian model to create the kind of results China and Japan achieved in their heyday. ...

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When you remove the 7 Californians and 4 Independents  only about 9% of 264 Congressional Democrats, or 26 Democrats have reservations about the president running, 91% covering every part of the country, the vast majority of American states and congressional state delegations, have confidence in the president to make the best decision. The chances of California going Republican or Trump Republican are  very, very small. Wash. Post shows 37 members of Congress on July 19, 3 weeks after June 27 debate issues, saying don't run. This is of 264 Congressional Democrats. Aug 1 is only 11 days away for planned Aug1 roll call of delegates committed to Biden. Of this 37 only 1 each from Michigan and Wisconsin, and 2  from Arizona from swing states, none so far from Georgia or Nevada or Pennsylvania. What does this tell us? It says that 264 minus 37 or 227 Congressional Democrats think Biden should run only about 15% of Congressional Democrats vs 85% of Congressional Democrats. And of the swing states only 4 Democrats. Polls- 4 months before elections polls are not really useful and not meaningful, a lot can change. Congressmen in swing districts are likely to have questions, and it is not uncommon for this to happen before the election say people who follow Congressional history. The fact that 7 are from Republican states like Texas or Ohio and could be impacted may give some idea for their reasoning. Of the others 7 are from California and 3 from New York. Which suggests the largest group is from California, remove the 7 and take out the 4 Independents and 34 goes down to 23 or about 9% vs 91% of the rest of the country having faith in president Biden. In any case California is unlikely to go Republican or Trump Republican by a long shot. ...

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Laurent Bonadei says of this German team as they fended off repeated French attempts at goal over the first 90 minutes- “Germany deserves their qualification because they defended very well. Usually we manage to create more chances. We were against a team that was very smart. There was no panic from them – we wanted to get them to panic but it didn’t happen.” It was a game of sheer chaos starting with a bizarre hair pull by Katherine Hendrichs of the German team leading to a red card, and two goals for France not given because of offside decisions by umpires, and two penalty kicks for fouls. Not to mention a saved own goal by Anne-Katrin Berger that was something sensational to watch.Berger faced constant French attempts on goal for 90 minutes as France controlled the ball 70% of the time. Somehow the German team with 10 players held its defense together. Berger's soft spoken style stands out- “All the credit should go to the team, not me. Everybody here should talk about the performance of the team.” ...

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Gordon Brown in The Guardian on the Mandelson affair about using government influence to get lucrative jobs in private business during the 2009 financial crisis when Brown says he worked night and day to see that people's pensions and savings were safe.

"Already, two thirds of the British public believe that politicians are out primarily for themselves. The grim truth is that unless something fundamental changes, this week’s revelations will be acid in our democracy, corroding trust still further."

 "I have to take personal responsibility for appointing Mandelson to his ministerial role in 2008. I greatly regret this appointment. I made it at the end of his four years as the UK’s European commissioner on trade. "

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Russian forces in Port Arthur (Dalian, Lushun) like the other European colonial powers in Tientsin took part in the joint operations of Japan, Britain, France, US, and Germany in the invasion of Peking in mid July 1901. Under the Soviet era China was an ally of the Soviet Union yet there was a strong sense of independent action that led to the breakdown of the relationship between Krushchev and Mao in the 1960's. This may be true also today as the European conflict in Ukraine may not be in China's interest of developing its economy and continuing on the path of modernity it adopted throughout the events of the 1930's to the 1990's to today. This report from that period shows the Russian army under Colonel Anisimov and General Stessel rescuing British admiral Seymour's force near Tientsin. The Russian forces under Russian Admiral Hildebrand played a leading role in the battle of the Taku forts that followed in late June 1901. The forces at Tientsin under Admiral Alekseev of about 8000 are mostly Russian. On 19 July 1901, Russia's General Linevich assumes control of the joint Japanese, Russian, British and French forces that conducted the campaign towards Peking.  The American version of the events in China in 1901 is given by Cornell University Prof. David Silbey in his 2010 book- The Boxer Rebellion, The Great Game in China. It shows the depressed condition of China at the time and the struggle to free China of the opium of British traders and conversions by Christian missionaries that undermined Chinese culture and society. The rebellion of 1901 is similar in China's history to the events of 1857 in India with the rebellion against British rule.    ...

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Goldman Sachs back in controversy after 1MDB scandal- now with Kathryn Roemmler legal counsel at Goldman about her connections with Jeffrey Epstein. WSJ looks at these connections including documents relating to Epstein's will, where she is shown as successor Executor of the Will.

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82% in the New York Times and 97% in the Wall Street Journal of the academic's opinion pieces on opinion and editorial pages are by men and 90-95% of the articles agreed with editorial page positions of these 2 papers. Shows the high degree of homogenity of opinion on the pages of these papers created a one sided picture on the editorial and opinion pages. Is this corrected by good informed and unbaised reporting on the other pages?

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US president DJT is allowing sales into the markets in the US that process heavy Venezuelan oil so that the money can be deposited into an account that will be used for the rebuilding of Venezuela's economy and for the people of Venezuela. "This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."

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MacKenzie Scott who cofounded the early startup on books of Amazon with Jeff Bezos, and her foundation gift giving to the underprivileged, native Americans, Black Americans, and other causes by 2026. Scott's stake is $18 billion in Amazon in 2025. Data driven approach she adopted gets through 6490 organizations and narrows that down to 822, and comes up with 384 grant recipients, says the WSJ. No applications just a call and $20 million or $50 million is the approach she has taken and the money is given on trust no monitoring.

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Lucy Powell, deputy leader of Labour party, on Andy Burnham as the right choice for Denton seat in parliament, as the Greens would not have gone after that seat the way they did knowing Burnham was in it. Lucy Powell says of Andy Burham of the Greater Manchester region-  people “see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and those Labour policies”. Starmer's error was to keep Burnham out, and he well realizes this.

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Axel Springer buys London's The Telegraph newspaper( allied with the Conservatives) for $793 million. Axel Springer also owns The Politico website in the US. “To be the owner of this institution of quality British journalism is a privilege and a duty,” says Mathias Dopfner, CEO of Axel Springer, the German publisher. He says Axel tried to buy The Telegraph 20 years back. It will preserve the editorial independence of the newspaper and invest in its digital development and AI related work.

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Washington Post Editorial Board on how to bring down oil prices  during Iran War, including repealing Jones Act. The Jones Act says that only US ships can transport oil between US ports. France is sending warships to help escort tankers in the Persian Gulf. US has plans to do this to escort tankers. US can provide 24/7 drone coverage in the Persian Gulf to eliminate waterborne threats says the Post. The Post says it is in the French interest for oil trade to resume, and in America's interest.

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The best exercise routine is a consistent routine, says this health expert in The Guardian. Beware she says of sugary drink highs or coffee in excess to serve as pick ups during the day when energy is low. Instead do some short stretching or exercise routine even if it is only 10 minutes. It does not have to be a long or strenuous exercise, don't let the ads of young people doing strenuous routines fool you, says this expert. What is important is to keep doing it, to stretch and move around even if this is for a short time. Consistent routine is critical.

Carbohydrates, whole grain breads are not to be frowned on, she says, as this provides extra energy, and is healthy when balanced with protein and fat in the diet.

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This report in the Guardian says president Macron's party along with its small ally MoDem could win as many as three fourths of the 577 seats in parliament in the June 2017 election, or about 400-445 seats. The election showed a low turnout of 49%, with abstention highest among supporters of Marie Le Pen of the National Front on the extreme right and Le Melenchon on the extreme left.  A big loser is the Socialist Party which this report estimates losing about 200 seats. Les Republicains the other main party on the right is also a loser, as this report estimates it going from 199 seats to 70-130 seats. The National Front of Marie Le Pen could end up with one seat at worst or just below the threshold of 15 seats from 118 constituencies contested. This is because it faces competition from the right and the left parties for votes in every constitutency, and is kept out by the centre right and centre left coming together. Le Melenchon's France Unbowed is expected to win about 11-23 seats.  In this election young and working class voters stayed away, voters who supported the more extreme left and right wing parties. Chancellor Merkel called it "a vote for reforms." The big majority makes it possible for Macron to get laws to change the labor market to create more jobs, and to make changes to pension and unemployment benefits, so that France's economy can get moving again.  ...

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Common sense comes to the German Border with Merz and the national emergency rule at the border, just as has happened under DJT at the US Border. May 8-25 turned back at Germany's borders with 9 European countries about 100 persons- success of national emergency rule at the German Border. This relieves not only pressure on public services in German towns and cities, it also removes a source of anxiety in the people who experienced political divisions and random attacks in public spaces from migrants. It also removes the threats of extreme factions in politics that have used the migrant crisis for exacerbating political divisions. Merkel's policy was not workable from the beginning and based on assumptions that were not correct as Germany and the EU could do more to improve the modernization and improving health and education, industry and agriculture inside Asia, North Africa to help the people in these regions than by taking in migrants. Who has ever suggested migration to Europe or the US  as a solution to the problems of China and India in the 1930's and 1940's, from wars and even famines. The right solutions of decolonization turning back invasions into the 1940's, and providing technology and capital for modernization after 1950 and accelerating this after 2000 have created two modernized nations of 2 billion people. ...

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Mistakes under Merkel continue under the Greens and Social Democrats. Germany fails to invest in its solar industry even as the fight against climate change ramps up and the need for solar energy is growing rapidly. Manufacturers of solar cells in east Germany that remained under Merkel- surviving Chinese investment ramped up to overcome a German lead in solar- by pursuing niche markets, are still failing to get the federal government's attention and support. This NYT report shows the situation in Germany as Chinese imports of solar take up 97% of the market. China sends solar panels to Germany and the EU at below production costs this NYT report says, with the US having erected barriers to Chinese imports to build its own manufacturing capabilities with Biden's support. Product intended for America is now put in the European market pushing prices down even further. 

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China's food imports have grown from $15 billion to a staggering amount of $200 billion a year in 2023. China bought 90 million tons of soyabeans in 2022 or 60% of world trade, to make tofu and feed pigs, much of it from Russia. Fruit imports have grown after the pandemic with bananas from the Philippines and Cambodia, Durian and tropical fruit from Vietnam, And soy imports from Russia, shrimp from India, avocados from Kenya. Huge warehouses the size of plane hangars are used to store Durian fruit in Vietnam and have made farmers there rich. The problem in central highlands of Vietnam is "singularification," where farmers rip up land used for coffee crops and rice to plant durian whose price has doubled for exports to China. Durian is only in demand in China, coffee prices are stable and can be exported all over the world for Vietnam's Robusta coffee.

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The NYT, Wash Post, WSJ, and television shows such as CBS, fail to clearly give a summary of Harris and Trump policies, showing  dangers or opportunities. Key issues are Immigration and here Kamala Harris simply will sign into law in the first months of her presidency the Republican Lankford McConnell legislation that president Biden has negotiated and agreed to for closing the Border with Mexico and fixing asylum policy.  

Social Security Medicare- The Trump plan for ending tax on Social Security in effect defunds Social Security and Medicare. For what purpose? Ending the tax only gets people earning less than $60,000  90 dollars. That's correct $90, according to Tax Policy center. And on average $550. It will bring up the insolvency of Medicare up by 6 years to 2031, and lead to cut in Social Security Benefits of 25% in 2032, according to Center for a Responsible Budget.

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Overall the European parliament elections shows the EPP with CDU in Germany winning over 30 percent of the vote, the SPD 14 percent and the Afd 15 percent, Greens 12 percent. In terms of next EU government the EPP, Socialists and Renew have 59.1% of the vote, and with the Greens included 62.6% of the vote of 360 million EU voters. The European parliament elections show the Renaissance Party that includes Macron En Marche and FDP in Germany losing 23 seats, with some seats going to Conservatives and the ID. Conservatives and Reformists right alliance led by Meloni of Italy including National Rally in France added 4 seats, ID of Denmark adding 9 seats. The Socialists including SPD lost 4 seats and the European People's Party including CDU/CSU led by Leyen won the most seats adding 10 seats. Greens/EFA lost 18 seats as the other parties adopted green energy planks. Leyen says the centrist parties held off challenges from the right and left parties. EPP of CDU's  Leyen has 186 seats, Socialists of SPD's Scholz 135, RE of Macron En Marche and FDP in Germany 79 seats, ECR of Meloni in Italy and National Rally in France 73 seats, ID of Denmark 58 seats, Greens of Germany's Baerbock 53 seats.  ...

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British prime minister Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement was defeated in the House of Commons by a vote of 344 to 286, a margin of 58 votes. 5 Labour MP's voted in favor, and 34 Brexiteer MP's in the European Research Group voted against. The Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland voted against. The vote did not include a declaration on the future relations with the European Union. The vote happened on March 29, the deadline for Britain to leave the EU. A new deadline of April 10 has been set to seek a longer extension.

Options going forward are to use a longer delay of a year to come up with consensus, have a second referendum, or hold a general election. Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Mrs. May to resign and hold a general election. Britain will hold European parliament elections in May.

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French parliamentary elections will be held June 12 and June 19. This report in FR24 looks at the work of Jean Luc Melenchon's parliamentary group in the National Assembly in the last 5 years. He leads a coalition of Socialist, Greens, Communist and other parties that is expected to either form a government or be the second largest group in parliament with over 200 seats. The program of the Melenchon led parties is for an increase in the minimum wage, protecting incomes of workers and families, and reversing years of neglect of the social fabric of society.