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America's Ivy League Universities and policy that creates a meritocracy which runs contrary to the vision of Washington,  Lincoln, TR and FDR of access to quality education for all. This is how America thrived and how it retains its vigor and resilience over the last 250 years. The emphasis needs to go back to educating a new generation rather than the mere proliferation of research some of it superfluous to the true goal of educating.

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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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Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent LA Unified School District ,following work as Superintendent at Miami-Dade County School District, and tech contracts that did not work out for schools leading to an FBI investigation.

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The German state elections will be conducted under new election laws- a voter over 16 years old votes for one of 70 constituencies in the first state election in Baden-Wurttemberg and also votes for a party that helps determine the distribution of seats by party in the state parliament. The CDU candidate Manuel Hagel is leading by small margin over the Greens candidate Cem Ozdemir. This is the first state in 7 state elections in 2026 with cities of Stuttgart and Tubingen, Munich.

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India European Union Trade Deal - huge potential for EU and India for 2 billion people size markets, new manufacturing hubs, and advanced scientific + technological cooperation. Timing is critical. From the first term of DJT 2016-2020 it became clear that the supply chain concentration in China was a serious error for America and Europe. Modi came into manage the federal government in India in 2014- that first phase was to tackle the basic problems in health care sanitation and road infrastructure, agriculture. By the second term of DJT Europe had realized something had to be done to reduce concentration of trade  supply chains in China. Two things had to happen to bring India and EU together. The Ukraine War and China's indirect participation on the side of Russia, the change in administration from Merkel to SPD's Schulz,  and in 2026 to Merz and the CDU created a new awareness of the need for EU and India to come together. Yet Scholz SPD hung onto the special trade relationship even in the face of the Ukraine war and China's shift when it allowed the port of Hamburg stake taken by China to be retained. Something had to happen to jerk Germany and with it the EU out of its inability to shift towards India. Merz took this step in 2026 as the relationship with China soured over Ukraine war and the grasp of the dangers of overconcentration of the China relationship with Germany that Merkel had created. On the other side Modi had to get India's logistics, road and rail networks, ports ready for such a trade relationship where goods could be quickly shipped into and out of India. Modi worked on these investments on a rapid basis in his second and third terms. India had to offer stability in the relationship. This meant winning elections to set up state governments in key states such as Maharashtra for Bombay (Mumbai) region, Delhi capital region, and Bihar/ Orissa (Patna region northeast), Rajasthan (Jaipur northwest region), local city governments in Bombay (Mumbai) region and in the south in Andhra (Vizag region) + Trivandrum (Kerala). The combination of federal and state and city governments working in unison plus logistics and transportation, put India in contention for the role of a size and magnitude that would make a difference for Europe in its relations with China and Russia. That necessity was now fulfilled and in place. Merz and Modi, seized the chance at the kite festival in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, with a vist to the Sabarmati Ashram of modern India's founder Mohandas Gandhiji. Von Der Leyen also from CDU now joins the former premier of Portugal Antonio de Costa as heads of EU to attend the Republic Day parade celebrations in New Delhi on January 26. Nothing happened by chance. It took the hard work that in Robert Frost's words in Mowing ( "the fact is the sweetest dream that labor knows my long scythe whispered, for the earnest love that laid the swale in rows"). Japan plunged headlong into imperial ambitions after its modernization, China has ambitions under its Communist/ Markets system, India as the homeland of the Buddha and the Buddhist civilization of China, Japan and Indochina, and with its special place for Mohandas Gandhiji brings the European civilization in connection with a civilization that is just as old and advanced as the European in its philosophical and religious foundations with practice in real life, and not likely to flounder on the rocks as the Japanese and Chinese expansionist ambition based ideas. And once again with Robert Frost in- Putting in the Seed in Springtime, for Merz, Leyen, Da Costa, and for Gandhi and Modi - "On through the watching for that early birth when just as the soil tarnishes with weed, The sturdy seedling with arched body comes shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs."     ...

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This essay in WSJ says Asian Americans and Hispanics are showing greater interest than whites in classical charter schools of Texas. The desire to advance in America leads immigrants to learn about the Nation and its founding, its unique nature among all nations, and the desire to join in the task of nationhood that has happened since the 1850's.

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UK joins Erasmus for 570 million pounds in 2027 one hundred thousand students benefit in first year. UK government says it will “create educational and training opportunities for British apprentices, further education students and adult learners, as well as those in higher education”. It is a new reset with the European Union and part of Labour's manifesto. This is one program that deserved support and has added great value to the community of Europe. It also opens up UK universities for EU students widening the impact to millions of students over a decade that understand the importance of the community of Europe. Shown here are students from UK at Humboldt University campus in Berlin.

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Phillipe Pons in Le Monde on social media and disinformation popular with young people who have fewer employment prospects in the middle of sluggish economic growth.  Japan's Ministry of Education erasing Japan's wartime atrocities in school books in the years LDP in power since 1950's. Sanae Takaichi's comment about Japan willing to intervene if China attacks Taiwan was popular in Japan. Among young people 18 to 39 surveyed by Yomiuri 64% support Takaichi. Broadly speaking straight talk and nationalism iis becoming popular in Japan. The LDP has lost its majority in the lower and upper house in parliament and the Sanseito party with 15 seats and other smaller nationalist parties are increasing in popularity. The Ministry of Education has for many decades kept the Japanese wartime atrocities such as at Nanjing in China of the 1930's, the harsh Japanese occupation in China and Korea, out of the textbooks. The result is that Japanese young people do not have the same level of grasp of what happened in the twentieth century. ...

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Something profound is taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Colonial attitudes of the British for centuries are making way for a new generationof Protestants and Catholics who are taking interest in the Irish language and the feeling of being both Irish and British, seeing all that was Irish from the early period of Christianity many centuries ago. Irish cosigns with English and classes/schools in Irish in Belfast ,Northern Ireland, as Unionist areas take up Irish along with the British identity. The Washington Post provides this wonderful look at this ancient language. In Irish Belfast is "Beal Fierste" meaning mouth of the Sandy Ford. Maidin mhaith is "good morning" and one can hear short audio practice of Irish in this report. The government is actively promoting Irish and buses show Irish as they make their way from East Belfast to West Belfast. A sense of equality is in the air and Irish is now spoken on the streets of Belfast. Protestant parents are signing up their children jn Irish language preschools and 35 primary schools are in Irish in Belfast. Such is the change happening to Ireland these days. ...

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WSJ Review and Outlook on Thanksgiving Day 2025 - "This Fair Land" and the people of America who undaunted by other troubles left Delftshaven for these shores a long time ago. Delftshaven is todays Delfshaven that is a part of the port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands from where the Pilgrims left for America. Pilgrims left Delftshaven in July 1620 on ship Speedwell to Southampton, England, then in September on the ship Mayflower to America.

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Jillian Michaels, health and nutrition expert shown in NYT as an example of changing political perspectives in 2025 on health, and dangers of not speaking up for nutrition and wellness in America.

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Black women had 12% of the jobs in the federal government and did well above the average of 6% for jobs in the federal  government. In the Department of Education black women held 25% of the jobs says NYT.

A change is taking place with more Hispanic and white women, and white men gaining jobs in the private and government sectors. For black women 319,000 lost jobs in both the private and public sectors in Feb-July 2025, much of these losses in the federal government.  While 176,000 Hispanic women gained jobs in private and public sectors, for white women 142,000 gained jobs, and white men at 365,000 making the largest gain, labor statistics show.

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Chancellor Merz says after the signing of the UK- Germany Friendship Treaty on July 16, 2025 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London-

"This is a historic day for German-British relations. . . We want to work more closely — especially after the UK's departure from the European Union."  

UK and Germany will work closely in all areas and increase education exchanges, setup a direct rail link for close cooperation after Brexit. French president Macron visited London the week earlier and DJT is expected to visit King Charles soon.  The E3 countries UK, France and Germany are working closely in 2025.

Compare this with the Merkel period and one can see a significant improvement in Europe, a more dynamic forward looking Europe replaces the idea that only the European Union arrangement speaks for Europe. 

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Investor Andreesen who grew up in Iowa and rural Wisconsin writes about native born kids cut out of the pipeline in education. When they are cut out of the pipeline over decades whats left he says but for universities to get PhD candidates from Asia and other foreign countries.

Andreesen writes about the injustice of decades of universities isolating their campuses from the mainstream of American life so that they live in a different world unable to relate to the way working class communities across America built around manufacturing have seen a complete collapse.

"They systematically cut most of the children of the working class voters out of any realistic prospect of access to higher education and corporate America."

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How Mamdani won NYC - 20-40% increase in turnout on a 100 degree F day. And by increasing the liberal coalition of the 2021 Democrat primary of Kathryn Garcia in lower Manhattan, and of Maya Wiley in other parts of NYC. This is what a Washington Post Analysis of the 43% of the vote won by Zohran Mamdani a 33 year old NYC resident shows, as his opponent Andrew Cuomo got 36%.

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Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court Justice from Notre Dame University has children in grade school. She is the only Supreme Court Justice not having graduated from Harvard or Yale which says a lot about the lack of different backgrounds in the Court. It is therefore refreshing to learn there is someone who understands what it is like to shop for groceries and pick up children at school, who understands the everyday problems of cost of living and childcare, and housing.

"The day that I think I am better than the next person in the grocery store checkout line is a bad day,” Amy Barrett said in a 2022 talk.

 

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This WSJ report by Collins, Belkin, Parti and Whyte takes an indepth look at the issues surrounding anti-semitism on US campuses, in particular UC Berkeley, U Penn, Harvard, Columbia universities. It looks at what happened in the first term and how with the Gaza war the issues of antisemitism on US campuses increased and the DJT administration, Education Secretary McMahon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, and domestic advisers in the Trump administration, decided it was time to rein in the antisemitism seen at top ranked universities.  On the campus of UC Berkeley in Feb 2019, Hayden Williams was a young conservative activist who set up a table to recruit students to Turning Point USA. He was punched in the face in an argument which attracted media attention. DJT said at the time that "we got to do something about this." In meetings with Hayden Trump discussed actions such as cutting off federal funding to universities with free speech violations. This is the genesis of the current action says WSJ where Harvard faces cut offs of funding for lack of action to control antisemitism on campus and the president asking Harvard to stop enrollment of international students. Some international students have been involved in the activism tending towards antisemitism.  There is also the sense that some universities are admitting far too many, as many as 40% of the enrolment, from overseas students- a form of neglect of local American students, who now have less access to the resources that the federal government is giving to these universities which they should be entitled to as Americans. U Chicago, Harvard and Penn are in the 30%+ range for overseas students and Columbia around 40%. ...