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Few questions asked on the real issue -what went wrong in Ann Selzer's poll showing Harris ahead of DJT in Iowa by 3 percentage points, with error of plus or minus 3.4%. 3 days before the US presidential election. The actual result was DJT winning by 13 percentage points- how did Selzer get it so wrong? Selzer hints at the answer when she says "the reality is that more people supporting DJT turned out." That is what happened. One should know also that the polling methodology Ann Selzer uses does not look at the previous election turnout because it is not science says Selzer to think that the electorate has not changed in 4 years. She defends this by saying Obama won in 2012 yet DJT won in 2016 because the electorate had changed. Polling has to take into account the zeal or lack of zeal for vote turnout- and ways to measure it. It appears that the Republicans were more zealous than Democrats for their candidate on issues such as transgender and anxiety it causes parents, and about the millions of illegal migrants crossing the Border and the illegal flow of fentanyl across the Border, and working class Americans did not see infrastructure spending in their grocery store just prices soaring and lack of affordability of everything. ...

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U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta describes plans to support forces of the Free Syrian Army during the summer of 2012. The efforts had the backing of key members of the National Security team and Secretary of State Clinton. The plans were rebuffed by president Obama and the election campaign team because of the approaching November 2012 election and the president's hesitation to get involved in the Syrian war. Plans were developed by CIA director Petraeus, supported by General Demsey of the Joint Chiefs, and Leon Panetta. Plans were to vet forces in the Syrian resistance, to provide training and arms. After Petraeus resigned because of an extramarital affair and Clinton had a concussion, these plans were not taken up again. This shows that by summer 2011 the consensus was for supporting Syrian democracy forces in the Obama administration, only to be held back by president Obama. This is likely to be a question for future generations of Americans as they assess the record of the U.S. in the Middle East and the missed opportunity. ...

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A man with a handgun and magazine of ammunition is shot by federal law enforcement officer on Jan. 24, 2026 as protestors confront federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. Earlier federal law enforcement in California, and in other states, Washington DC, Nashville Tennessee, have led to protests but not of the kind in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis is a state with liberal views yet it also has a strange mix as it was in Minneapolis that local police shot an unarmed black man during the Covid epidemic. This time it is not local police in that role but local police under the orders of the state and local authorites, the mayor and state governor Frey and Walz, not cooperating with the federal law enforcement of immigration law in the US that seeks to remove migrants with crime records from the US neighborhoods and streets. Walz was selected by Kamala Harris to run on the Democratic ticket for president in the US against DJT and Vance in 2025. Republicans allege serious fraud in Minnesota and misuse of state funds that have added to the dangerous mix of politics in the state, that is found nowhere else in America. From the Republican point of view unwanted migrants from certain unstable countries with criminal records were allowed to settle in the state. Democrats and Democrat media are not cooperating as the national elections in the US were lost on just this issue of migrants illegal entry numbering about 7 million over the last administration of Biden with costs to the US of over $110 billion in federal and local funds. No one knows where this will end up yet the view world wide over migration is moving to safe neighborhoods and safe streets as essential human rights, essential women's rights, essential rights of all Americans and all Europeans, that the problems of failed states cannot be solved on American or European soil. The Monroe Doctrine was put in place for just this reason as respecting Russia as a power in its area of influence in Northern Europe means no intervention by Russia or  China in the western hemisphere, so that the US never faces the situation of Guatemala and central American states, or of Venezuelan failed states in sending millions in a stream through Mexico for illegal entry on US southern border. Overall US policy, domestic and foreign has changed to ensure safety wellbeing in the US as the first and only priority for all its citizens and the sum of good citizenship the main objective for the Nation. ...

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U.S. president Trump stands by president Putin as he denies Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election of 2018. This contradicts the conclusions reached by U.S. intelligence agencies. Resulting in criticism from Republicans in his own party.

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Greg Ip of the WSJ points to the economic changes in China's economy and the threat of deflation in 2016 with the large debt and slowing economy. For the last decade China was seen as a currency manipulator as it kept the value of its currency lower to increase imports. With the large changes in China's economic situation in 2015-2016 China may face a situation similiar to Japan with deflationary trends. China faces political pressures in 2016 with the U.S. presidential election in 2016 to not intervene with the currency. The goal of making the yuan a global currency adds to these pressures. Other factors are the need to service debt in dollars of Chinese property companies.

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Issues of inequality and lack of upward mobility came up in the last presidential election. A Federal Reserve Survey for 2018 shows the financial fragility facing many Americans. One quarter of working individuals say they do not have any retirement savings. About 17% of households say they cannot pay all their monthly bills. About 40% of Americans say they do not have enough cash to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and would have to rely on credit cards balances or loans from family to make the payment. This survey by the Federal Reserve is done each year since 2013, after the financial crisis hit in 2009 it became more important. Still Americans are showing unusual resilience and upbeat spirit. About 75% say they were doing Ok or living comfortably up from 63% in 2013. And two out of three described lovcal economic conditions as "good" or "excellent."  This shows that the financial vulnerability resulting in the loss of jobs in the U.S. both from jobs lost in manufacturing going overseas,  jobs lost through automation or industrial decline in some sectors, and the hit from job loss during the financial crisis and its aftermath years of 2009-2014 is still leaving a lot of families financially vulnerable. Low interest rates and stagnant wages also meant savings growth for ordinary Americans was less than it should be in a healthy economy without booms and busts. This is also the environment in which the U.S. is tackling challenges to its technological leadership in 5G following a decline in sectors such as autos and electronics, with job losses to Japan and South Korea. New trade agreements are focussed on correcting the imbalance, first with Mexico, South Korea, and now with China. Focus is also on fair wages and labour overseas to raise American wages in key sectors. The damage done by a low interest rate to savings of ordinary Americans outside the stock markets is also being seen as a downside in the boom bust cycle, that includes loss of jobs for vulnerable American families. The rise of the tech sectors has diluted the traditional protections of working class Americans with the shifts and realignment of the major parties. ...

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A CNN story on Senate investigators looking into a meeting between Anthony Scaramucci, a member of Trump's transition team, and an executive of a Russian investment fund, is retracted. Three CNN employees resigned, including Harris its investigations editor, as the story could not be reliably verified. The errors in reporting are a result of intense pressure to come up with new breaking news stories, as CNN competes with other news providers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. Paul Farhi cites other errors at CNN. CNN.com shows the work of the CNN investigative team of about 30 thirty journalists. It has come up with other stories on Russia and the U.S. election of 2016 which have been verified. Farhi points out that the stories have led to record ratings and profits for CNN. On of the journalists who resigned was Eric Lichtblau, a veteran reporter who worked earlier for the New York Times.

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Bruni on the view that Obama has squandered his advantages of oratorical transcendence, poetry, serious thoughtfulness, in the U.S. presidential election of 2012. He does not mention the lack of a serious plan to turn the economy around, high rate of joblessness and declining incomes that are a basic issue in the 2012 election, and how oratorical transcendence has little correlation with getting the right policies implemented. The Des Moines Register's support in 2008 put Obama on the road to the presidency in 2008 with a victory in the Iowa primary. In 2012 it gave its endorsement to Romney to give him a chance to correct the problems with the economy and to do this with a new effort to forge the bipartisan consensus missing in the Obama first term.

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Krauthammer says President Obama has failed to come out openly in support of the Bowles-Simpson commission's recommendations on deficit reduction. The recommendations were made in December 2011. The President's February 2011 budget did not take up these recommendations. He gets a sense that there is too much electioneering in the Obama posture on deficit reduction- being in the best position for the 2012 presidential election rather than a sincere effort. He suggests the Republicans pursue a short term debt ceiling hike of $500 billion containing $500 billion in budget cuts by passing this in the House. And couple this with a call to follow the Simpson-Bowles recommendations which, in one option, cut $1.1 trillion of deductions, credits and loopholes while lowering tax rates across the board to a top rate of 23%. This would give enough time to come up with a thoughtful and open effort with public scrutiny, and is preferable to the current closed door negotiations without the deliberations necessary for decisions of such far reaching consequences. Failing this there is the McConnell Plan B. Boles- Simpson focussed on tax expenditures as a key part of their plan. Martin Feldstein and other experts also point to limiting or eliminating "tax expenditures" (the deductions and loopholes that reduce revenues) as a key part of the solution to the U.S. deficit problem....

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How the efforts of former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, as head of the National Democratic Institute, and Senator John McCain, chairman of the International Republican Institute, to push for democratic processes in Egypt, failed to get the support of the Obama administration. Both wrote to Mr Mubarak in July 2010, asking that international monitors be allowed to observe the election in November 2010. The National Democratic Institute, is a US organization training Egyptians to be election monitors. After the renewal of martial law for another 2 years by Mubarak in May 2010, The Egypt Working Group, a bipartisan body of human rights activists, neoconservative policy makers and Mideast experts, was growing alarmed about the crackdown by Mubarak on anyone seeking transparency in the elections. It sent letters to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in April and May 2010, saying the Mubarak move to rig the elections was dangerous as the young people in Egypt were increasingly agitated. The administration acted as if it was taken by surprise by the situation in Egypt, when respected leaders like Albright were cautioning the administration about the situation in Egypt from early 2010. Before and after the protests, the Obama administration was slow to support democratic processes in Egypt, and failed to take a clear consistent stand supporting the freedom of expression of the Egyptian people....

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Pew Research Center analysis of Biden's 2020 victory shows which groups played the big part in Biden's win. First time voters in 2018, 6% of total voters, mostly younger voters gave Biden a 26% margin over Trump. Other parts of the electorate that shifted in 2020 are Independents and Moderates who shifted to Biden. Catholics also shifted to Biden. Substantial leads in these voting blocs made the difference for Biden. In Arizona with Latinos, and Pennsylvania with the black population Biden did better than in the overall US electorate. In 2024 these same blocs are likely to play a key part. President Biden's visit to Ireland was well planned, his appeal to Irish roots genuinely felt and the connection made. His appeal to manufacturing workers is now based on accomplished results in fighting for worker's rights from teachers to railroad workers. Biden launched his campaign in front of a union audience, saying he saw things from the perspective of Scranton, and the working people he grew up with. In 2016 third party candidates got 6% of the vote, in 2020 only 2%. Of these voters Biden gained a 25% margin over Trump. Biden split the men's vote with Trump in 2020, compared to Trump's 11 point lead in 2016. Biden also maintained the share of women's votes of 54%  in the 2020 election. In 2024 the abortion issue is a significant factor for women. ...

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US president DJT meets with Rutte of the Netherlands Jan 21, 2026. He says he has come up with a framework for US acquisition of Greenland, rights title, and ownership of the island for US security and world security. He called for immediate negotiations with the goal of US acquisition of the island of Greenland.  The political situation is evolving in this way. Germany is key in the developments for the US to acquire Greenland. Britain is standing it out with the Nordic countries as Starmer has shifted to the side of Sweden and Denmark with little to gain for the Labor government which is facing local elections and popularity of Reform UK Party. In this situation Italy and Germany have taken a posture of not making any statements. Germany facing Russian intervention in Ukrain on the east needs the US for joint security at a critical juncture when Russia and the US have agreed to respect each others area of influence. Italy is run by a northern Italy party leaning to the anti-immigration stance taken by DJT in the US. It makes little difference to Netherlands, Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Italy who controls Greenland and in the context of Russian advances and nuclear weapons technology would prefer US move to acquire Greenland and rapidly build up defenses in Greenland with large investments. To not disturb the alliance's northern countries (Britain and Nordics) Germany has taken a back seat to the rhetoric yet will be in the deciding role because of its stable government, support from all parts of the political spectrum for US control of Greenland except for the coalition junior partner the SPD. The SPD Defense Minister Pistorius may form parts of the SPD that see US owning the island as positive in the bolstering of its defense capabilities with th $1 trillion outlay in the budgeted investments. Starmer may have misread DJT and US support as the US president can make a very good case for US owning Greenland and getting Denmark to accept the offer of Harry Truman of $100 million made in 1947, updated for what that sum is today which is $1.5 billion. As DJT pointed out Macron has no longevity for his government in France, and cannot speak for that country. As Treasury Secretary Bessent who along with Rubio is part of the team that will work with the president says, Denmark is irrelevant to the issues US faces for US and world security. It is a small country, Denmark, with a population of 6 million most of it in the area near Copenhagen. Houston or Dallas has a much larger population. For Denmark to decide on momentous issues of US security for the entire eastern seaboard or world security, with ownership essential for the US,  when climate has made the Arctic important, is something the US does not accept.   ...

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Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah sign a powersharing agreement brokered by the U.S Secretary of State Kerry and president Karzai after Afghanistan elections in 2014. The question is whether the two can set aside their differences and make it work, and can they negotiate some form of peace agreement with the Taliban to give Afghanistan and the region years of peace after so much conflict. Pakistan and India's elites and military need to step up to the plate to set aside differences by looking to the long term future of the region and the aspirations of the people for better infrastructure, services, education and healthcare, so long denied to the region. The Kashmir floods, and the floods in Pakistan before that, recent elections in India and Pakistan showing the clear aspirations for development of the people, are a reminder of so much that remains to be done and so much that was never done.

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Years of failure of politicians in Congress in Brazil, and poor decisions in running the government by the Worker's Party by overspending leaving little money for services, sanitation, health and other priorities, leads to Brazil turning to a former army officer in the 2018 elections. Corruption charges with collusion of politicians and the state owned oil company on contracts known as the Car Wash scandal further damaged the reputation of politicians in the Worker's Party. Jair Bolsonaro was elected to Brazil's Congress in 1990 after a short period in the military at a time when democratic institutions were being restored in Brazil following decades of military dictatorship. By 2014 after two terms in office the Worker's Party led by a former automobile plant worker Da Silva had lost popular support with overspending, failure to upgrade public services and neglect of basic infrastructure such as sanitation, leading to widespread protests. In the 2014 congressional elections Bolsonaro won by nearly 500,000 votes, leading to his bid to run for president from a small party which had the support of Brazil's military. The military played a role in supporting the Getulio Vargas administration from 1930-1945, which pushed industrialization in Brazil and set minimum wage, workers rights. Democracy was restored by 1945 after Brazil sided with the U.S. in the war. In 1964 the administration of Joao Goulart was overthrown in a military coup after popular discontent and protests. Democracy was restored in 1985 with centrist parties playing apart till the election of the Worker's Party under Ignacio Lula in 2008. Six years into his administration by 2014 issues of overspending and poor management of public services led to loss of popular support for the Workers Party as the public looked for alternatives to combat crime, improve public services and address problems of lack of spending on sanitation, public services, health care. The collapse of the commodities pricing boom led to higher unemployment and a shrinking economy leading to unrest and public protests.  ...

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Following the defeat of chancellor Merkel's CDU party in the 2016 Berlin state election, getting just 17.6% of the vote, chancellor Merkel looked reflective and a bit emotional about the result. She urged Germans to understand that this decision on refugees will benefit Germany in the long run. She said she would work to regain the people's trust. Looking back she said-"If I could, I would turn back time by many, many years to better prepare myself and the whole German government for the situation that reached us unprepared in late summer 2015." She says the decision was "absolutely right" to admit the refugees from war torn Syria, but accepted that "it led to a time when we did not have enough control over the situation." Both the CDU and the SPD, the main parties, lost about 6-7 percentage points each in votes cast. Gainers were the Free Democratic Party with 6.7% of the vote, who gained votes from the CDU. For the SPD votes were lost to the Greens and the left party Die Linke each party winning over 15% of votes.  Both the CDU and the SPD had candidates who did not attract voter interest. A popular former Mayor of Berlin from the SPD did not run in this election. The anti-immigrant AfD party gained  about 14% of votes.  ...

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Seib points out why the current political landscape with the popularity of Trump and Sanders reflects demographic, economc and social changes in America compared to when Geroge H.W. Bush won the election in 1988 and Bill Clinton won in 1992. The Republican party is more populist, with older Americans, more Southern and conservative, making it harder for Jeb Bush or Wall Street backed candidates. The Democratic Party more liberal, more popular on both the east and west coast of the U.S., with younger Americans, diverse demographic groups, making it harder for Hillary Clinton as an establishment candidate. A Journal/NBC poll of Oct. 2015 shows 28% of Republicans describing their views as very conservative, and 26% of Democrats saying they are very liberal. Yet there is another aspect that will show up once the primaries are over. And this is the steady group of somewhat conservative and moderate combined in the Republican Party of 64%, and the steady group of somewhat liberal and moderate in the Democratic Party of 62% in the 2015 Journal/NBC poll. The moderates are up from 26% in the above 1990 poll to 31% in the 2015 poll for the Republican Party, and from 26% to 33% in the Democratic Party. So that one sees about a quarter of people polled in each party pushing for fringe views and a countervailing trend for moderate or close to moderate views with about two thirds support in the 2015 Journal/NBC poll for each party....

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Thomas Friedman of the NYT points out the three aces held by Donald Trump in the U.S. election campaign of 2016. He could move to the centre in a campaign against Hillary Clinton and voters could give him a pass saying he only meant to start a conversation on immigration with his comment on the wall, that his comments on Muslims read carefully only means he would tighten controls on some countries, that he was acting in the way he said in his book "The Art of the Deal." A terrorist attack could change the atmosphere in the election and benefit Trump. And he could set a barrage of ads against Hillary bringing anti-Hillary Republicans back to his side after the divisions in a Republican convention. On the opposite side of this is Trump's penchant for making wild statements that could lead to a break with his support base, especially women who are shifting away according to some recent polls in mid March. Another vulnerability says Friedman is the rough way in which minorities are treated at Trump rallies, which could backfire with a serious incident resulting in hugely negative media coverage....

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A former U.S. Treasury Secretary reflects on the backlash against free trade in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and calls for a shift towards putting more emphasis on how trade affects individual workers who are laid off or work part time. In the light of tax evasion following the Panama Papers Scandal he says the time has come for the emphasis to shift in trade policy and capital movements to tax havens, so that ordinary workers do not feel their interests are being ignored as elites frame policies for elites. He says the period when it was enough to defend global integration has been exhausted, and this is unlikely to succeed without a nation like the U.S. supporting it and global institutions. A new approach is needed, and this means shifting from international trade agreements to international harmonization agreements, where labor rights, environmental protection move to the top of the list, and enabling foreign producers becomes secondary. The whole overall emphasis must shift, says Summers, to creating hope and opportunity for middle class parents that their children can live better lives....

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Greece's New Democracy party and Mr. Mitsotakis wins about 41% of the vote in Greece's elections. Syriza come is second with 21% and Pasok left party at 12%. Mitsotakis has increased Greece's growth to twice the eurozone rate, and cut migrants by 90% in line with EU policy. New Democracy party gets 145 seats in a 300 member parliament. The first round was conducted under proportional representation, only 60% of voters cast their vote. Mitsotakis will go for another election by July because in a second round the winner gets additional seats and this could let it form its own government. It sees this as needed to maintain policies of economic growth that have led to GDP growth at twice the rate of the eurozone. A surveillance scandal appears not to have affected the election results as Greeks opted for stability and growth. Mitsokatis himself put it this way- "This is not the time for experiments that lead nowhere." Greece was almost out of the eurozone when Syriza conducted referendums on the debt repayment that led to a chaotic situation, and then moved in the opposite direction in callous implementation when the Eurozone held firm. Mitsotakis said Greece needs to achieve an investment grade rating to lower borrowing costs. Worldwide the policy of delivering on growth is key to success in elections in democracies and in countries that are catching up after the colonialist phase. This is true for delivery of infrastructure and public services such as water and electricity, modern rail in India. It is true also for winning enough public support in countries like China that run parliamentary representation under one party the CCP. Strict immigration controls since 2015 reflect a similar policy pursued recently by Italy. Migrants have dropped by 90%. This is popular among Greeks. Looking back Merkel made a serious error in letting in migrants coming in from Hungary and Austria at the beginning of the migration inflows into the EU in 2015. Merkel came from former East Germany, the communist led GDR, and had no understanding of how harmful this would be for the European Union. In just one year by 2016 the misguided open migration policies of Merkel had led to her CDU party getting less votes than an anti immigration AfD party in her home state of Meckenburg. It led to anti-immigration movements in Europe that were used by parties in a self-serving way including in Britain that led to exit of Britain from the EU. It also led to a decade of austerity and a lost decade for the European Union as it permanently sidelined parties to the left such as Social Democrats that unknowingly or unwittingly ended up with the blame for the public's discomfort with lack of borders and migrants upsetting borders. In balance the right way to tackle this was to build stronger economies that supported workers and families in the EU, that then invested significantly in developing countries of Africa and Asia to help them catch up with modernization. Another failure in policy was the Bush-Obama Merkel policies in failed states such as Iraq and Afghanistan. There it was fundamentally important not to get involved in any way that committed US or EU's precious resources.  ...

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The Indian 2024 election involved huge giveaways and caste based selection that takes India backwards, which explains some of the gains of opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, two large states. As the WSJ points out giveaways to buy votes for Rs 1 lakh for every woman in the state of Uttar Pradesh with population of 120 million women was part of the strategy used by a leading opposition party. Caste selection was carefully deployed by another large political party in Uttar Pradesh. Fears and misinformation about the BJP party changing the Indian Constitution to remove protection of lower castes enshrined in the Constitution by Ambedkar, was also a factor that swung votes to the opposition. The effects of the pandemic and the unemployment levels for a largely rural population in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra in north and west of India played a role as the BJP failed to get an outright majority following its majority wins in 2014 and 2019. The Opposition parties and the BJP main difference is that the Opposition parties have accepted the leakages of funds as part of the culture that has prevailed since 1960 which makes rapid development and modernization impossible as the pool of funds for investment in infrastructure is diminished. BJP party under Modi has fought this leakage every step of the way and by executing projects of infrastructure with on time delivery created the prospects of India modernizing and industrializing the way Japan and China have achieved. The other difference is the execution and the Master Plan Gati Shakti developed by BJP and Modi and a 20 year execution model developed in Gujarat state by Modi from 2001 to 2021. This has made India the fifth largest economy in the world with plans to make it the third largest by 2030 and do what Japan and China have achieved in Asia. It is not really about religion or so called Hindutva that is driving the hard work it is about making India a modern industrial nation with the standard of living of US, Europe, Japan and China.   ...

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In response to bellicose speeches by Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on March 6, 2012, President Obama stated at a press conference: "This is not a game..The one thing we have not done is we have not launched a war.. If some of these folks think we should launch a war, let them say so, and explain to the American people." The U.S. president, advisors and intelligence officials believe that Iran has yet to acquire a nuclear weapon, that there is time for sanctions to work and make the Iranian government give up any weapons programs it is working on. Their view as stated by the U.S. President is that this time cannot be measured in two days or two months. Recent elections in Iran show divisions in the government between the Ayatollah Khamanei and premier Ahmadinejad, with the elections favoring candidates supporting Khamanei. There is also the dynamic of changing relations in the Middle East- between Iran and other countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India- which have strong ties to the U.S., and Iran's relations with China and other countries which have close economic ties to the U.S. In addition in a country with a demographic skewed heavily towards younger people and a third of the people under 15, the democracy protests in 2011 about a flawed election in 2009 are supported largely by university and college students. That election may actually have been stolen by Ahmadinejad from Mr. Moussavi, who in an election eve television debate accused Ahmadinejad of "adventurism, illusionism, exhibitionism, extremism, and superficiality," (Nazila Fathi, NYT 6/4/2009). These factors are likely to be behind the Obama administration's sense of a "window of opportunity," to use Mr. Obama's words. Recent polls by the University of Maryland's Prof. Telhami show only 19% of Israelis favored a military strike without U.S. backing in Feb. 2012, and Israeli public opinion experts see Obama's position as reflecting a sound judgement. Research by Citigroup shows that at a price for Brent crude of $120 with an escalation in Iran, it would take 9% of the world's GDP to support the higher energy costs, hitting Europe especially hard (Liam Denning, WSJ 1/6/2012)....

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Relations between Germany and the U.S. improve in the last year of the Obama administration. The low point is the NSA spying scandal. By 2015 with the Ukraine crisis and the refugee crisis, the U.S. and Germany develop closer relations. In April 2016 U.S. president Obama visits the Hannover trade fair and meets German chancellor Merkel, following a trip to Britian where he expresses support for Britain's membership in the EUropean Union. The U.S. general election campaign with less engagement of the U.S. in the world preferred by candidates Trump and Sanders, the Brexit vote in Britain, also creates a new environment and makes clear the need to support closer ties in an interconnected world.

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What were the stories in the Economist magazine that were the most read stories of 2019? Not on president Trump. On Malaysia, China under Jinping, and exodus from San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The most read article was on the newly elected president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. The mismanagement of the economy particularly extravagant state spending on the Olympics and soccer stadiums for the World Cup at the expense of basic sanitation services, bus and transport services, health services, led to the result of a majority of Brazilians rejecting the Workers Party and its leader former president Lula. Unfortunately most of the media including the Economist did not draw attention to this gap. During a period in which income from mining with export of iron ore, and soyabeans to China, enabled Brazil to live beyond its means, there was no effort to draw attention to glaring gaps in development of public services such as sanitation, bus services and transport, lack of building infrastructure other than to support mining. Glaring gaps in education and health services made the situation worse. The second most read piece in the Economist  was on March 10th- Malaysia's PM is about to steal an election. Here the Economist magazine joined the Wall Street Journal which originally broke the story on the 1MDB fund and irregularities in Malaysia where a development fund was misused by the government. Najib actually lost that election and the WSJ covered the story of the developments that followed in which Malaysia's new governemnt led by a returning former prime minister in his nineties Mahathir Mohammed, ousted his own protege Mr. Najib.  The third most read piece in the Economist magazine was - How the West got China Wrong.  Unfortunately the Economist magazine and most of the media covered China in the two decade long boom years without covering the other emerging story as well in which Mr. Lighthizer (now president Trump's top trade adviser) and others questioned the huge unsustainable trade surpluses in U.S. trade with China. With the economy facing huge downside risks and rising trade tensions with the U.S. Chinese president Jinping's move to remove the limit on terms in office in the Constitution was considered a shift from the notion that China was likely to turn into a democracy. Mr. Jinping had already completed his first term in office and the anti-corruption campaign, managing the economic boom for a soft landing, was carried out with the central leadership of the party, after the destabilization evident in the early part of Xi Jinping's first term. Much of China's path was predictable and rational behaviour in its national interest, what was not clearly defined or defended was the way the U.S. could sustain the trade deficits that had reached a billion dollars a day. Leading to Mr. Trump seizing on this as an election issue to form a bloc of voters separate from the two main parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. The fifth most read piece was on Oct 11, 2018- the next recession. It pointed out that with low interest rates central banks in the U.S. and Europe and America could not cope effectively with a recession. The sixth most read piece was on June 29, 2018- Bullshit jobs and the yoke of managerial feudalism. It cited Prof. David Graeber of the London School of Economics, who wrote a short essay that went viral on the prevalence of work that had no social or economic reason to exist, work he called "bullshit jobs". Graeber said people want to feel they are transforming the world around them in a way that is leading to a positive difference. No. 7, 8, 9, were on Bitcoin, Netflix and programming language Python. No. 10 most read was on Aug. 30, 2018- Why startups are leaving Silicon Valley. It showed that in 2017 more people left the county of San Francisco than entered. The main reason the cost of living was burdensome and out of control. As Amazon shifts attention to India and Brazil, and Apple pulls back from India, social media companies coming under fire for disinformation, this period of Tech is making way for a shift in a new direction. A direction that focuses on people's lives, wages, spending on much needed infrastructure and services. ...

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William Burns, a former Deputy Secretary of State, and a former ambassador to Russia 2005-2008, looks at the U.S. and European Union relationship with Russia following the expulsion of Russian spies in 2018. He says the U.S. and the European Union should take strong action, yet hopes this is a passing phase so that a healthier relationship can be built with Russia in the long run through diplomatic channels. Expressing views expressed by former president Obama and other experts, Burns says Russia lacks the alliances and broader support that the U.S. and European Union have, and is much smaller than the larger economies of the Western alliance. Under Putin a strong interventionist position has made Russia look better at home but may not be the best for Russia in the long run, says Burns.   Burns calls for stronger sanctions on the economic elite and business leaders under president Putin. Yet the sanctions have not deterred president Putin and a long run solution needs to be found, including issues such as Ukraine and issues that affect the Russian economy so that the change in relations since 2014 can be reversed. After the Berlin Wall collapsed hopes for integration of the Russian economy into the West were raised yet were not realized for Russia in the years following the Yeltsin government and the Russian economy suffered, first during that period and then during emerging market crises. Russian disillusionment with the West was followed by a more inward looking economy under Putin to help stabilize the Russian economy, accepting devaluation of the ruble to make the Russian economy more competitive in a period of low oil prices. Foreign investment collapsed following the Ukraine crisis but the Russian economy adapted to the shock from oil prices. This was followed by efforts to preserve these gains with an interventionist policy that made the Putin administration look better at home and win popular support with strong action in Crimea and Ukraine. This interventionist policy has played out too far with the meddling in U.S. and European elections creating a backlash that is now taking place. With the European Union, having a traditional policy of restraint and good relations with Russia, openly questioning Russian policy under Putin. Much of that period when Russia responded first to the collapse of the Berlin Wall with the collapse of the Russian economy, and in the following decade facing emerging market crises and collapse of foreign investment -which created a more inward looking Russia under Putin in his third term- is shown in Lyrarc.com. In some ways the Russian response in Ukraine, the effort to bolster popular support at home in elections, and the interventionist approach are linked to the efforts to find a Russian response to the economic crises Russia faced since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Seen in this way a shift to better relations is still possible as a broader perspective is gained.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Jon Stewart's farewell on "The Daily Show," on August 6, 2015- the first show appeared in 1999- ended on the day the first Republican presidential debate was put on by Fox News. A year after Jon Stewart started his show he made his mark on television by creating a new genre- comedy that informs people. "Indecision 2000" was a new show that covered the 2000 U.S. presidential election ending with the small number of paper ballots in Florida determining the election. A whole generation of young people grew up watching his show which provided some of the bold vigilance so essential for a effective democracy, including coverage of the 2009 financial crisis. It included a show in which the host of the CNBC show "Mad Money" was told boldly that it was disingenuous that the crisis caught everybody on Wall Street by surprise, when informed people knew about the bad mortgages that were being wildly securitized. This was handled with the subtle humor that continued the conversation in an intelligent way, so typical of Jon Stewart. He is also remarkable for helping so many of his colleagues make a mark, including Stephen Colbert, which amplified his influence on discourse in American society. It included questionning those who benefitted from the intelligent debate with humor that Jon Stewart engaged in- president Obama was asked why the homeowners got so little help compared to the banks involved in the faulty mortgages, as a question of fairness. Veterans from the Iraq war were welcomed to see how the show was developed and get training. Stewart defused anger and channelled it into constructive discourse in American society, during 2 wars, a global financial crisis, and 4 presidential elections- "with malice towards none, with charity for all"- he will be sorely missed....