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Max Fisher of the NYT points out the unique approach taken by Canada in the U.S.-Canada relationship - to cultivate a grassroots network of Americans in legislatures, business, and at different levels of government. This has enabled the Trudeau government to build a relationship with president Trump, and at the same time have relationships at different levels of government and with business in the U.S. to tackle issues where the Trump administration has acted in ways unfavorable for Canada. Provincial governments in Ontario and Quebec lobbied against a New York state government provision for Buying American on state contracts worth over $100,000. By emphasizing the $10 billion in exports from New York to Ontario this lobbying persuaded the New York legislature to cancel the provision. Premier Trudeau's popularity helps and the proximity to the U.S. means Canadians can visit quickly and understand the U.S. as a close neighbor. Still Premier Kathleen Wynne of Ontario says Canadian businesses are nervous about the uncertainty from the Trump administration.   ...

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Politico magazine says wealth inequality is a worse situation than a country's income inequality. By this measure the situation has deteriorated badly in the U.S. It cites a study by Thomas Piketty of France with Saez and Zucman, showing that a shocking 75% of household wealth, and 97% of capital income-income generated from dividends, interest and capital gains- is concentrated in the top 10% of households in America. More shocking it says is another study showing that nearly 50% of American households could not come up with $400 in an emergency to meet and unexpected expense, while a tiny fraction controls trillions of dollars in assets. Why is this important? Beyond the obvious short term immediate needs there is the need to build a plan for the future, to be resilient in the face of a job loss or major illness, to seek higher education for job retraining,  to save for a home to retire.  In America the history shows that for most of its history since the founding fathers, in the 1750's the situation was that of a rising tide for all sections of society interrupted by the breakdown during post tech boom failures in the 1890's and 1930's. This is embodied in the Declaration of Independence itself the perception of this as something to be taken for granted- "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights ..." One proposal is for a universal income. Others are for employees to have ownership in the business that they work for and contribute their skills. Setting up Permanent Funds that pay dividends to all citizens of a state. Some of these proposals are being considered in Britain by the Labour Party, and Democrats in the U.S. as they forge ways to tackle the rising inequality in Britain after a decade of austerity cuts, and in the U.S. after the tech boom and regional inequality.  ...

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The WSJ is still calling the president's stop fentanyl flows tariffs on CMC Canada Mexico and China economic tariffs in this editorial board opinion. It is incomprehensible that little or no mention is made in most of the media of the magnitude of injury to the US, the 490,000 deaths in America over 12 years as the result of Canada, Mexico and China not taking the needed action to stop fentanyl flows into the US. There is also the added factor of lack of a level playing field in trade which has resulted in the same communities in many cases having suffered from in the case of China loss of 25 million jobs over the last 10 years and loss of $250 billion in infrastructure and public services for schools, libraries, childcare, and health care clinics that were lost from losses in taxes for local communities in the US. This has decimated life in these communities and in small towns across America.  In the case of Mexico the illegal migrant flows that were not stopped at the border have put an added burden on already underfunded and strained public services in local communities in the US. This is the reason for much of the frustration and anger that has built up over time in these communities with the response from the DJT administration to find solutions. CMC countries could have taken action on their own, yet the US had waited too long for this action. Reciprocal in reciprocal tariffs is about fairness, a level playing field, something that China had agreed to in the spirit of the WTO entry in 1994 and American desire to aid China industrialize build a modern economy. Instead US business was coopted by China during the industrialization process 1995-2010, 2010-2020, including in the first term of the DJT administration even when tariffs were imposed. This happened with transfer of technologies happening late into the first term of the DJT administration 2016-2020, which has led to a much of the pent up frustration and action in the first 100 days of DJT in 2025.  ...

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The US under president DJT puts out a new National Security Strategy in a document which states it clearly. The days of the Middle East given importance are thankfully over it says. The focus is on the First Islands, from Taiwan, Philippines to Japan for strengthening defense in relation to China. The Monroe Doctrine is now part of US foreign policy with a DJT addition- "that the American people- not foreign nations or globalist institutions- will always control our own destiny in our hemisphere."  It also means the US has a new policy towards Russia and for NATO.  The DJT administration priority, it states, is “ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance.” The new strategy is that Europe needs to “take primary responsibility for its own defense.” The Monroe Doctrine and the disassociation with NATO expansion are linked. How so? Russia's foreign policy is for winning recognition as a Northern European Power with its own version of the Monroe Doctrine, being able to control its destiny in its sphere of influence. The way the Monroe Doctrine was implemented in 1823 was by a tacit recognition gained from Britain that it would support the US in its idea of no European colonial powers (France, Spain other ) being allowed to interfere in Latin America, in the western hemisphere. In 2025 the way the Monroe Doctrine is implemented with the DJT Corollary is that the US is tacitly gaining support from Russia/China for implementing the Monroe Doctrine so that no foreign powers will interfere in US sphere influence in the western hemisphere.  Where does this leave Europe and Ukraine? European Union and NATO expansion has now gone too far and NATO which was primarily for Cold War struggle between Communism and US/UK style democracies is over, but NATO has not been disbanded, or a new alliance setup with new goals. Instead as it lingers on it has created new problems such as NATO expansion to the borders of Russia, creating security risks for Russia. This has led to the war in Ukraine and the Republican administration under DJT seeks to defuse tensions and the Ukraine war by excluding NATO expansion, removing the US from European security by delegating that back to Europe (Germany and France, Italy, UK) and by acting as a moderating influence between Russia and Germany, France, that see Russia as a threat after it's attack on Ukraine. US also upholds the policy and principle of no nation invading another country, as Russia did with Ukraine, and in anticipation of the China threat to Taiwan. This part gets nuanced but the overall policy is coherent and Russia accepts this, China is gradually coming to the idea that it has to accept this situation with Taiwan to preserve its economic advances and its exports to the US and EU.  In practice once the interference of China or Russia is removed and European powers in addition, the US has freedom of action in the Western hemisphere and Latin America to prevent crises such as with drug trafficking gangs in Mexico and Venezuela, and unstable regimes sending people north to the US across the Mexican border as from Central America and Venezuela.   ...

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Being blind was not a disability in this situation described by the BBC's Chief North America Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, who has overcome difficult odds to cover North America. Here he describes what happened on the day of the shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.

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This WSJ analysis shows China giving Huawei a total of $75 billion in subsidies through grants, credit facilities, tax breaks, and other forms of financial assistance. It is this state support that enabled a little known vendor of telecom equipment to become the largest telecom company in the world. This also made it possible for Huawei to offer generous financing terms and undercut pricing of competitors by as much as 30%, according to analysts and customers. The WSJ analysis shows loans and credit lines from state lenders of $46 billion, tax breaks of $25 billion from 2008 to 2018 with state incentives to the tech sector, $1.6 billion in grants, and $2 billion in land discounts.  In the developing countries lacking financing the Chinese state lenders and government financed a project and Huawei built it. In competitive bidding Huawei's bids came with financing from state lenders that made Huawei a much stronger bidder than competitors such as Ericsson of Sweden and Nokia of Finland. With this kind of steady support and its own determined founders Huawei changed from a small vendor when 4G was first introduced into a pioneer and leader in 5G networks in 2019. Lacking this kind of support and without clear focus of the American and European governments American and European companies now lag behind in 5G technology.  This has caused tensions in the U.S. and Germany over loss of technological leadership in key areas. The Trump administration in its trade tariffs and other actions against Huawei is responding to the issues of state subsidies in China, intellectual property of American firms, shift of factories to China, and loss of tech leadership, leading to a loss of American jobs, risks to national security. ...

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Currently Asian-Americans make up 62% of students at top high schools in New York. Mayor Blasio aims to give 20% of the seats to students who almost reach the qualifying scores on an entrance exam for Stuyvesant and seven other specialized high schools. Under Blasio's plan Discovery program for economically disadvantaged students would get 800 of the 4000 specialized high school seats for ninth graders in fall 2020 up from 250. 

Another view is presented by Parenting While Black organization of low income parents and children, who say that more important is to improve the quality of education for the city's 1.1 million students and start at the early grades. They see the high school debate for these 7 specialized schools as taking attention from the real problem to focus on s small sliver of students. The mass of students, the vast majority, they say are left to dangle in the wind.

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Dexter Filkins points out how the Pakistan army and ISI officers are running affairs in Pakistan. And the army and ISI officers are playing a double game both supporting the Taliban and using American dollars to finance it, and at the same time obtaining American financial aid to fight the Taliban. Never quite finishing off the Taliban in its shows of force, keeping it alive to obtain American financial aid. Filkins confirms this by talking to a malik or tribal elder from the old feudal structure, and to independent Taliban commanders who operate outside the control of Baitullah Mehsud. He calls it Playing the Game.

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The paradox during the opioid crisis of American companies conducting business and trade in and with China on a magnitude never seen before in history disassociated from their own neighborhoods in the US is nowhere more evident than in this crisis. A similar paradox between the government in China disassociated from American communities and local stores that import its products and keep workers employed in China in the case of China. And the paradox of the American government allowing any action whatsoever of this type that affects communities in the US and continuing business and trade as normal exists today. It has the impact of eroding public confidence in the relationship between two countries even as it damages the fragile situation of communities in the US hit by lack of investment in infrastructure, in manufacturing, health, and following the pandemic in incomes. It shows the danger of business and trade operating in a vacuum or compartmentalized not aware of everything that is happening in societies and communities that surround it. In any case it is the communities and the land that always exist even as businesses trade patterns change, or take different forms, and some disappear. ...

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$700 million loss on a clean beauty brand during the pandemic by Carlyle taking money from investors. During the pandemic Carlyle private equity invested $700 million of investor's money in Beauty Counter, a direct seller of a clean beauty brand started by Mrs Renfrew. The product and concept failed. This is $700 million that could have been invested in much needed nation's infrastructure projects, in climate change action, in renewable energy, in healthcare, in education, with reasonable returns. Capital market misallocation is a huge problem for the last 2 decades, with hundreds of billions of dollars lost or wasted in dubious products such as $100 million for a new golf ball with hundreds of such projects and products that are not vital needs for the American people. Tax benefits for such dubious projects and ideas lead to more revenue that is diverted away from the essential needs of the Nation and the American people. Over two decades this adds up to huge losses which would mean a lot of the Nation's infrastructure could have been replaced by now using this money. The capital allocation system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to meet the vital needs of the Nation and the American people. ...

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The effects of loss of caregivers, grandparents, on the mental health of American children, is shown in this report in The Guardian. A similar situation exists in other countries, and will have long term effects.

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American aircraft carrier Nimitz leading a carrier group crosses into the Indian ocean from the Malacca straits to meet up with Indian destroyers and submarines for naval exercizes near the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

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America takes the first step to improve relations with Belarus as part of improving relations with Russia. For the British, French and some northern European interests arguing for continuing policy of war in Ukraine, one can only see a long history of opposing Russia from the beginnings of the British and French Empires after defeating the Spanish and the Dutch by 1700 and for the last 325 years. American interests have diverged from the British in the policy of freedom for Asian and African people under FDR that led to decolonization after the war.  America has the greater responsibility to reduce the buildup of nuclear weapons, to ensure that fertilizer and food supplies flow to all countries, build peaceful relations with 3 billion people in China and India, and to reduce international tensions. DJT shows a concern for all loss of life in Ukraine, particularly for the young of all sides who are losing their lives in a senseless war that needs to be respected. ...

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Angelo Mozilo's Countrywide acquired by Bank of America for $2.5 billion may have cost Bank of America about $40 billion say people close to the bank. The losses are from real estate losses, legal expenses and settlements with state and federal agencies.

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Robert Morgenthau, District Attorney for Manhattan, 1975-2009, says there is more money on deposit in the Cayman Islands, than in all the banks of New York put together, with 19,000 companies listed there. Cayman is one of several tax havens. Apple use Luxembourg for iTunes. Other tax havens are the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Antigua, Bermuda, the Bahamas. He cites the Senate's Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations in 2008, which gives the estimate of $5 trillion to $7 trillion sheltered in offshore places on this list, by Americans, Chinese, Europeans and others. Morgenthau says these tax havens help American and European companies not only to avoid taxes, but also structure complex international transactions. He estimates these transactions cost the U.S. Treasury about $40 billion from outright tax fraud each year.

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Carlin and Lewis call for a reconsideration of US policy towards North Korea. They have visited North Korea several times, and say that Americans are as isolated from the North Koreans as the North Koreans are from the rest of the world. America once saw China and Vietnam as countries with which America found it impossible to engage, today it is N. Korea, say Carlin and Lewis. They also point out that with China's support on a long term basis, US hopes that North Korea will simply collapse is a weak reed to base US policy on.

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This WSJ report looks at the work of Sandberg in building up the advertising revenue part of Facebook. Ms Sandberg took many risks which were highlighted in WSJ investigations of Facebook. This showed the toxic effects on young girls mental health, on democratic processes, on an angrier discourse with algorithm changes to reverse falling user engagement. 

This period of social media growth, and tech growth at other companies such as Google and Apple, which turned into monopolistic behaviour has damaged America's social fabric. This period is now coming now coming to an end as America looks to the future to rebuild after decades in which its manufacturing was ceded to other countries with the loss of  manufacturing communities in America through actions of tech companies. And the growth of social media has disrupted the normal discourse and discussion in America.

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Judith Warner coins the phrase "dysregulation," for the cultural phenomena that may be behind the lack of restraint exercized in everthing that relates to personal lives like obesity, to the lack of regulation in the gulf and financial crisis. Citing Whybrow's book, "American Mania: When More Is Not Enough," she points to a disturbance in the national psyche, something that disturbs some inner clock or mechanism, that disturbs some inner balance that is built into us from the beginnings of man in the universe.

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 U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, views China's response in trade negotiations as one of conducting extended negotiations that lead to little change. This has continued says Lighthizer for over a decade putting the U.S. at a serious disadvantage in trade. At a White House meeting in August 2017 Lighthizer convinced president Trump that China was in his words "tap, tap, tapping us along."  This confirmed president Trump's own instincts about the U.S. trading relationship with China. Lighthizer is a veteran of trade negotiations, having experience in the Reagan administration as the Deputy Trade Representative in 1983 in negotiations with Japan, when Japan was in a similar situation that China is today. At the time trade negotiations with Japan were getting nowhere. Lighthizer is said to have turned one Japanese response in negotiations into a paper plane and sent it flying right back. Lighthizer does not seek the limelight but is serious about his role having published op-eds in the NYT and WSJ since 2000 about how U.S. trading relationships were putting the U.S. and U.S. workers at an unfair advantage. Many of these op-eds are in the Lyrarc archive and a Search with the term "Lighthizer" would bring up these articles. This report in NYT shows how the role of Lighthizer was not anticipated by China when it sent Liu He to Washington in November 2017 to negotiate with the U.S. President Trump made certain Liu He and other Chinese leaders would have to talk to Lighthizer first. In a session with president Jinping laid out U.S. views that the past negotiations had accomplished little and new negotiations had to be undertaken very differently from negotiations in the past. Earlier in July trade negotiations conducted by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were "shut down" by president Trump because China continued to repackage earleir offers which meant little to the U.S. As a lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher LLP Lighhizer represented steel industry clients hurt by subsidized Chinese steel industry imports. Mr. Trump and Lighhizer have bonded well because their instincts have been the same- that the U.S. had not been well represented in earlier negotiations by lawyers who saw themselves as speaking for American exporters.  Lighthizer is also a seasoned trade negotiator and has waited for the right time and situation to tackle the unbalanced trading relationship with China. For 30 years Lighhizer represented American manufacturers as he practiced trade law at the Skadden law firm. His strategy has been to get the administration to unite behind a clear trade strategy. He says "I try to be friendly in trade negotiations. I am not the theatrical type. The art of persuasion is about knowing where the leverage is." At this time the leverage lies in the huge trade surplus of about $300 billion China has with the U.S. The U.S. goal is to bring this down by $100 billion through this new negotiating strategy as earlier negotiations have failed. ...

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The humble roots of Jorge Bergoglio, born of Italian immigrants to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied theology in Germany before becoming a Jesuit priest in 1969. Bergoglio was made bishop in 1992, archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and cardinal by Pope John Paul in 2001. Bergoglio has spent much of his time working with the poor and improving education and has avoided the titles and trappings of the position. He lived in an apartment near the cathedral in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, and cooked his own meals as archbishop. He loves Argentine tango music and is a soccer fan of the San Lorenzo Club, which was founded by Father Lorenzo, a priest who assisted at-risk kids. The sense of observers is of a person of overwhelming authenticity. Many in the Catholic Church worldwide feel this was a good choice for Pope by the cardinals because this is likely to bring the church closer to the people in Latin America, Europe and other parts of the world, and infuse the Church with new energy for renewal. Evangelical churches have spread in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, and church pews are seeing smaller numbers of people in Europe. Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, is seen as the right choice to reverse this trend and bring a regeneration of Catholicism at a difficult time. ...

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German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht says Germany will send anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. She said "we are working together with our American friends in training Ukrainian troops on artillery systems on German soil." 

The decision by Russia to launch a new offensive in the south and east of Ukraine after the stalling of the Russian forces near Kiev, has led to a shift in American policy to decisively counteract the Russian moves into Ukraine with weapons and training assistance. WIth both Republicans and Democrats determined to support president Biden in this decision, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Foreign Minister Blinken visited Kviv and then landed at Ramstein Air Force Base to coordinate the efforts from Germany.

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NYT's Keith Bradsher points out that weak sales in interior of China, and construction industry no longer supporting the economy, is leading to the new policy of pushing solar/EV's exports and sales overseas. These industries are state promoted with hidden subsidies of land, energy, and labor pool that the US lacks in similar subsidies- subsidies treated with theory arrogance in the US by economists who lack a grasp of the realities of manufacturing and trade. President Biden is freeing US industry from this stranglehold of weak economic theory that has too long beset US industry, by supporting American industry in every way possible, protecting and enlarging American manufacturing, and CHIPS technology scientific endeavors.

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How the Delta Pan Am merger is still a mess at JFK Terminal. Not a good sign for future mergers. Describes the results of prior mergers and shows a rather mixed record at best. Cites difficulties such as meshing computer reservation systems and facilities. Of major importance is the pride in their work and energy of the people involved, and how it be best tapped into, considering the experience of Continental and Gordon Bethune. America West's Doug Parker is trying to do this at US Airways, and Brazilian airline TAM is working with Varig assets.

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Daniel Henninger says in the WSJ that the debt ceiling will be raised, and Republicans should not be pitting program against program. He says the narrative though should be framed around the trillions being spent by the Biden administration on climate change action, US manufacturing and technology in chips, with interest on debt at over $400 billion a year. Yet this does not take into account that for two decades there has been an overcrowding of US government initiated capital investment for essential needs by massive Tech industry misallocation of funds even as productivity of this capital invested by tech was dropping, with much wasted capital. Today because these essential needs in infrastructure and for manufacturing and technology were starved for so long of capital the productivity of capital in these areas is high and will have ripple effects to help rebuild America.

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President Biden sets out the new role of America in the Asia Pacific region at the APEC CEO Summit. Key points from hours of discussion Biden had with Xi Jinping during his visit to the US- 

"Let me be clear. America does not seek conflict with China." And that "America is not decoupling with China. It is de-risking and diversifying from China." For his part Jinping has said- "There are a thousand reasons for us to want good relations with the US." This may be the biggest achievement of both leaders.