Camille Claudel: A Film Review

The woman and her career is a contemporary theme in politics. That topic is more clearly seen with the distance of time. Here is a gifted woman whose mother was deeply hostile to her talent, and took the one available escape route to do justice to her talent. And the dude who was outshined did not take kindly to her talent either. You see the loneliness of a genius. You also see that the one man two woman thing does not work. It causes deep and lasting pain.

It is not easy to be a gifted artist. It is much harder as a woman. She was more gifted than the guy, as well her poet brother.

It is a great work of art, duly recognized. But it is also deeply contemporary.

2020 is that year of reckoning.

But then you also see pragmatic stuff like, this artist could have used a good agent.

Camille Claudel Camille Claudel, in full Camille-Rosalie Claudel, (born December 8, 1864, Villeneuve-sur-Fère, France—died October 19, 1943, Montdevergues asylum, Montfavet, near Avignon), French sculptor of whose work little remains and who for many years was best known as the mistress and muse of Auguste Rodin. She was also the sister of Paul Claudel, whose journals and memoirs provide much of the scant information available on his sister’s life...... She became obsessed with Rodin’s injustice to her and began to feel persecuted by him and his “gang.” .... On March 10, 1913, she was committed involuntarily to an asylum at Ville-Évrard. In September 1914 she was transferred to the asylum of Montdevergues, where she remained until her death.

Donald Trump, Uninterrupted

Unfiltered video is a good thing. Everyone deserves to be heard. Everyone has a right to make their case. I don't think I have ever watched Donald Trump speak at this length. The credit goes to Imran.

I am actually for someone like Trump mediating between Modi and Imran. Like, why not? You will not even talk to each other at conferences where you meet.

Trump should mediate between Imran and Modi. Then Modi and Imran together should mediate between Iran and the United States. The idea of squeezing a people economically so they will maybe come out into the streets to throw a regime, I like the other alternative better. The alternative of maximal engagement. Maximal trade. 5G.

Iran and the United States should sit down for unconditional talks, possibly with Modi as mediator. Let the Ayatollah and Trump meet. Maybe Trump will work his charm on the Ayatollah also. North Korean Kim seems to enjoy the photoshoots.

I believe Donald Trump when he says US and Pakistan could be doing 10 times more in trade than what they are doing right now. That is the way to go. Peace is a good thing.

भारत पाकिस्तान वार्ता तीन तह पर करिए
भारतको चाहिए कि इमरान से वार्ता करें
Imran Khan Could Bring Peace
Narendra Modi And Imran Khan Should Solve Kashmir And Bag A Joint Nobel

https://t.co/fSquZnlRcE Donald Trump, Uninterrupted @realDonaldTrump @ImranKhanPTI @narendramodi

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 23, 2019

Donald The Bullshitter

According to Trump, India's Prime Minister Modi "actually said, 'Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?' I said 'Where?' He said, 'Kashmir.'"

India's official spokesman just issued statement saying: "No such request has been made by Prime Minister to the US President." pic.twitter.com/ivjhGwDHT2

— Manu RTrump isn’t lying, he’s bullshitting – and it’s far more dangerousaju (@mkraju) July 22, 2019

Trump isn’t lying, he’s bullshitting – and it’s far more dangerous Bullshitters, as philosopher Harry Frankfurt wrote in his 1986 essay “On Bullshit,” don’t care whether what they are saying is factually correct or not. Instead, bullshit is characterized by a “lack of connection to a concern with truth [and] indifference to how things really are.” Frankfurt explains that a bullshitter “does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.” ...... bullshitters don’t really care whether their audience believes what they are saying ..... bullshitters say what they do in an effort to change how the audience sees them, “to convey a certain impression” of themselves..... In Trump’s case, much of his rhetoric and speech seems designed to inflate his own grand persona. ...... misinformation is notoriously hard to correct once it’s out there, and social media, in particular, has a reputation for spreading factually inaccurate statements and conspiracy theories....... examined five years of Facebook posts about conspiracy theories. The authors found that people tend to latch onto stories that fit their preexisting narratives about the world and share those stories with their social circle. The result is a “proliferation of biased narratives fomented by unsubstantiated rumors, mistrust, and paranoia.”..... because Trump’s communication style relies heavily on anger, people who are predisposed to his message may become even less critical of potential bunk.......... Journalists, scientists, experts and even government officials who disagree with him are subject to charges of ineptitude, partisanship or conspiracy. They’re then threatened with restrictions on funding, access and speech....... people can convince themselves of things that aren’t true. ...... There’s some evidence, for instance, that he avoided information that Muslims in New Jersey didn’t actually celebrate the terrorist attacks on September 11th, as he claimed.

Andrew Yang At 5%

I must not have been paying close attention. So is this the snapshot as of today? Hmm.

Right now it is looking like:

Kamala Harris: President
Andrew Yang: Vice President
Bernie Sanders: John McCain of the Left, Senate Lion
Elizabeth Warren: Senate Majority Leader
Pete Buttigieg: Secretary Of Urban Affairs
Tulsi Gabbard: UN Ambassador
Joe Biden: Chancellor at the Barack Obama Library

The most impressive number here is for Andrew Yang. The guy is at 5%? Wow. I am impressed. It is not like he said much at the debates. (Full disclosure: I did not watch the debates.)

Biden is sinking faster than I had anticipated. Looks like one more debate and his number one status might be gone. 

There is No Policy Proposal by Any 2020 Presidential Candidate More Progressive than Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend When it comes to reducing inequality, America’s Gini index score would fall by 15%. We would be 15% more equal than we are now. No other policy being offered by any other candidate achieves that level of inequality reversal.

Shithole Country, Donald?

This Orange-Utang Of A President

This orange-utang of a president ("Orange is the new black!") who wants to send Ilhan "back," and Alex and Tlaib and Pressley "back," well, I have bad news for him. The mayor of the town in Germany from which his grandfather came to America has put out notice saying, "We don't want him back!" Looks like there is no place for Donald in Germany.

This Orange-Utang Of A President https://t.co/CrAhn5diV3 @AOC @IlhanMN @RashidaTlaib @RepPressley @justicedems @sunrisemvmt @KamalaHarris @SenKamalaHarris @AndrewYang @TulsiGabbard

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 20, 2019

Video: Mayor says Trump will have to 'go back to hell'

But above all, it's time to end unnecessary detention. Read my full plan for a more humane and fair immigration reform here: https://t.co/LPDEESENgY

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 20, 2019

#FutureWeWant+#SocialGood: #2030Now is out! https://t.co/7OoFzdFfBZ Stories via @Kipkoech_the4th @SampleATL @dwatchnews #technology #apollo50th

— (((Yangbo Du))) (@mitgc_cm) July 20, 2019

Sanders: Good For The Economy

if Sanders became president -- and was able to push his plan through Congress -- median household income would be $82,200 by 2026, far higher than the $59,300 projected by the Congressional Budget Office ...... poverty would plummet to a record low 6%, as opposed to the CBO's forecast of 13.9%. The U.S. economy would grow by 5.3% per year, instead of 2.1%, and the nation's $1.3 trillion deficit would turn into a large surplus by Sanders' second term. .... the share of the population with jobs could be restored to its 1999 level of more than 64%, up from its current 59.6% rate.

These Are Concentration Camps On The Border

The US President is on record telling the top immigration law enforcement officer, if you break the law, I will pardon you. As in, break the law as much as you want. When you create such an environment, you will see the sociopaths and the sadists in such organizations gravitating towards the scenes of action. Obviously, the policy is break the families, traumatize the too young, torture as necessary. So as to send the message. Don't be coming over to the US border.

Then you bar journalists from getting anywhere near. Unless you are doing the illegal and the inhumane, why will you feel the need to deprive US journalists of their lawful rights? And how is it being possible to deny those rights? Of the journalists.

What are concentration camps?

These people are fleeing gang violence. They are fleeing other forms of violence. They are fleeing acute destitution due to things like hyperinflation brought about by US policies like economic sanctions.

This is cruelty. America is losing its character, slowly but surely.

The definition of a concentration camp is, are they being dehumanized before they are being eliminated? You don't need copycat gas chambers. Elimination by gang violence can also be counted. Dehumanization through the mouth of the President Of The United States counts. Filthy, racist talk, whether or not it be supported by polls counts. Racism is not okay, poll-tested or not.

The world is watching. God is watching.

Concentration camps are places where you keep people against their will (and, in this case, against the law) to dehumanize them so that when you later eliminate them there is little outcry. So the question is, are these people being dehumanized. They are. By the dude holding the biggest microphone in the country.

If the likes of them stay away from the border, might they be eliminated? Yes. Most of them are fleeing violence.

The Statue Of Liberty has become unnecessary in the New York harbor. It is an anachronism. Take it to the southern border. That land is the new ocean.

To call these camps concentration camps is not disrespect for the Holocaust victims. The only true way to honor them is to act so such acts are not repeated. Standing against border racism is honoring the Holocaust victims.

This country needs to protect itself first and foremost. Right now it is busy eating itself from the inside. It is fast losing its character, at least the official version of it.

Before Germany became officially a fascist country, it was a vibrant democracy of very well educated people. Before Hitler became a dictator, he was thought of a clown.

The time to speak up is now.

A lot of Americans opposed Jewish immigration in the 1930s. How is that for a comparison? There were organized efforts.

These Are Concentration Camps On The Border https://t.co/20tpEf9qL1 @AOC @Ilhan @RashidaTlaib @AyannaPressley @BernieSanders @SenWarren @KamalaHarris @TulsiGabbard @SpeakerPelosi @AndrewYang @justicedems @sunrisemvmt

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 19, 2019

The Trump administration’s move to restrict asylum is deliberately cruel. They are exacerbating human suffering and punishing desperate people for fleeing violence and poverty. This won’t address the root causes of this crisis or keep our country safe. We are better than this.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) July 19, 2019

Anne Frank: USA Edition

(Source: Allan Hoving)

NATALIE PORTMAN INVOKES ANNE FRANK TO CONDEMN US MIGRANT POLICY

View this post on Instagram

When I was 16 I visited Anne Frank’s house with Miep Gies, the woman who bravely hid Anne and her family when the Nazis were rounding up Jews in Amsterdam and much of Europe. Today, I shudder at the thought of a young girl hiding somewhere in my own country, afraid to turn on her light or make a noise or play outside lest she get rounded up by our government. #notinmyname and #notinmycountry Follow @theirc @fams2gether @together.rising @aclu_nationwide @raicestexas to learn how you can help.

A post shared by Natalie Portman (@natalieportman) on Jul 16, 2019 at 8:22am PDT

Trent Lott, Donald Trump And The United States: 2002 To 2020

Trent Lott resigned as Senate Majority Leader for making a comment that was perceived as racist. It was not even explicitly racist. He simply praised a guy who was out and out racist. That is all. But such was the political culture that he resigned.

Today! The guy in the Oval Office can tell four Congresswomen to go back to their countries while having conducted impeachable actions, all in a dossier provided by a former FBI Director ..... This country is coming off its wheels.

Lott resigns as US senate majority leader | US news | The Guardian The US senate majority leader, Trent Lott, bowed to the politically inevitable today and resigned his post as US senate majority leader, two weeks after praising the segregationist 1948 presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond. Republicans, Democrats and many media outlets have been calling for Mr Lott's head since his comments at a 100th birthday party for Mr Thurmond. Yesterday the country's most prominent black Republican, Colin Powell, went on record as "deploring the sentiments" expressed by Mr Lott at the now infamous party. The president's brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, also signalled that he though Mr Lott should step down.

There was a time not long ago when Repulicans actually took a stand against racist comments.

'RACIST AND DISGUSTING': EX GOP CONGRESSMAN JUSTIN AMASH BLASTS TRUMP AFTER HE SAYS CONGRESSWOMEN SHOULD 'GO BACK' TO THEIR COUNTRIES
Trumpism is built on racism President Trump is a racist. This is the most important issue in the 2020 presidential campaign. Everything else is secondary....... This is not just a cosmetic political issue. Many of Trump's worst policies are arguably race-related: His administration's bids to undo the Affordable Care Act and scuttle the joint agreement halting Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon do not stem from any real ideological motivation on his part — instead, he seems motivated primarily to undo the most notable policy achievements of his predecessor. Former President Barack Obama, of course, was another black politician whose citizenship was called into question by Trump. Again: That is probably not a coincidence. ............ Prejudice spans the breadth of presidential policymaking under Trump. His policies on immigration are designed to appeal to conservatives who believe the "ceaseless importation of Third World foreigners" is a national emergency. His administration's positions on the Census citizenship question, voting rights, and police powers, likewise, appear to be aimed mostly at preserving white political power in this country. Even his well-documented misogyny finds its fullest flower when aimed at women of color....... Racism is the foundation upon which Trumpist governance and politics are built. ....... when the president tells a handful of non-white liberal women to go back to where they came from? Crickets. ....... Pelosi can aid the cause of unity by finally giving her blessing to an impeachment inquiry against the president. ... Attempting to impeach the president is the right thing to do — and that's the only sufficient reason to do it — but the effort might also help unite her fractious caucus. ...... Trump has harnessed overt racism to a degree unmatched by any national politician since George Wallace; there is little historical reason to believe the prejudice he has unleashed will subside unless it is directly confronted and roundly defeated.

Trump’s racist outburst was unbelievably vile — but why is anyone surprised?
Trump opens new attack on AOC's 'squad' as he blasts Tlaib for vowing AGAIN to 'impeach the motherf***er' – and claims far-left lawmakers made Israel 'feel abandoned'
Ocasio-Cortez Rips Trump’s Racist Attack: Our Power ‘Makes You Seethe’
Stephen King Has A Chilling Theory On What Comes Next For Trump Supporters King asked: “How long before Trump supporters realize that you don’t surround yourself with dirty guys unless you’re dirty yourself?” ...... “I might’ve said he had his head somewhere where a certain yoga position would be necessary to get it there,” King explained last year. “And that was it, man.”
Ocasio-Cortez versus Pelosi: It’s a long-term power struggle — not a ‘catfight’ Conditions in our so-called republic are terrible, but never so bad that the political and social crucible of the Trump era can’t make them worse........ “Concentration camps” is an entirely accurate description, by the way, but call them whatever you like: Freedom dispensaries, indoor picnic areas, beach volleyball camps without beaches (or volleyballs). They are just one more ingredient in our national shame, confusion and collective trauma, and perhaps that’s the really shocking part. The gradual revelation that our government is holding unknown numbers of human beings in shocking and inhumane conditions — living in stench and filth, sleeping on concrete floors, denied basic standards of health or hygiene — becomes just another outrage on a seemingly endless list, and has left most Americans numb. ...... In the manner of bigots, xenophobes and nativists throughout our history, the grandson of immigrants suggested these four women of color should “go back” to their home countries........ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s parents are from Puerto Rico, which is … OK, never mind........

the American-born ancestry of Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is black, precedes Donald Trump’s (or mine, or that of most white Americans) by many generations.

..... the racism and sadism of his administration’s immigration policy — if to call it “policy” at all is not an insult to language ..... Chakrabarti is perceived by some observers as the Rasputin behind the Squad’s agenda, which sounds like a grossly sexist assumption in general, and outright ludicrous when applied to these four women. But that’s where we are. ......... Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens, whose district adjoins Ocasio-Cortez’s. Meeks was recently “elected” to replace Crowley as Queens Democratic leader, in a rubber-stamp election held at a private meeting with roughly the same degree of transparency and democracy that attended local party elections in the Soviet Union. There were no other candidates....... If New York’s districts start to fall to left-wing insurgents, one by one, the nation will notice and the pattern will spread. If the pattern spreads, what is endangered is not just the power of certain individuals, but the entire theory of power that has driven the Democratic Party for generations. Those are literally the stakes.

AOC’s Chief of Change Chakrabarti is a new type on Capitol Hill: the movement chief of staff....... In my mind, an ideal situation is we have a president surrounded by a bunch of people who are constantly thinking how could we go bigger, bolder, faster, better on everything. … I don’t know if Inslee’s going to be president, but if he runs a really good campaign, maybe he ends up running a big agency. What’s the mind-set he’s going to bring to that agency?” ....... “The whole theory of change for the current Democratic Party is that to win this country we need to tack to the hypothetical middle. What I think that means is, you don’t take unnecessary risks, which translates to: You don’t really do anything. Whereas we’ve got a completely different theory of change, which is: You do the biggest, most badass thing you possibly can — and that’s going to excite people, and then they’re going to go vote. Because the reality is, our problem isn’t that more people are voting Republican than Democrat — our problem is most people who would vote Democrat aren’t voting.” ...... The son of immigrants from India, Chakrabarti grew up in Fort Worth. He graduated from Harvard with a computer science degree and went to work on the tech side of a hedge fund in Connecticut. After saving enough money to start his own company, he moved to San Francisco in 2009 and co-founded Mockingbird, a Web design tool. In 2011 he became one of the earliest employees of Stripe, the online payments platform. Chakrabarti and Ross Boucher, one of his colleagues on the Stripe product team, would work 70-hour weeks, eat dinner every night in the office, then go work out. ..... San Francisco was a shock ... it’s just huge amounts of wealth and some very rich people, and then just poverty and homelessness very visually and very viscerally ...... a learned cynicism, he thinks, of his generation having grown up watching wars, recession and bank bailouts. “We’ve only ever seen the establishment win,” he says. ...... Exley told me. “He was just a super-humble, super-level-headed guy. I always used to joke that he was the only emotionally healthy person in politics.” ....... formed a group called Brand New Congress with the mission to recruit hundreds of community leaders and working-class candidates to run on a vision of getting corporate money out of politics, tackling climate change, transforming the economy, providing health care for all, standing for racial justice and stemming mass incarceration. ....... “It was clear from the very beginning that the ship was moving with his guidance. … He was so focused that it naturally created a gravitational pull. … He was sort of relentless in that, and simultaneously just so pleasant, it was shocking. Almost not human. I used to say, ‘How do you stay so Zen?’ ” ...... many good people doing strong community work didn’t see the point of running for Congress. ...... “To boldly and decisively spur a people-led movement for social, racial, environmental and economic justice.” ....... voters really will turn out for bold ideas scaled big enough to tackle today’s crises of climate and inequality.

Lindsey Graham backs up Trump after his racist attacks on Dem women: ‘They hate our own country!’ “We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists,” he said. “They hate Israel, they hate our own country, they’re calling the guards along our border concentration camp guards… they’re anti-Semitic, they’re anti-America.”
Trump Doubles Down: ‘Sad’ That Dems Stick Up for People ‘Who Speak So Badly of Our Country’
Trump calls on minority congresswomen to apologize after he said they should 'go back' to their countries
Donald Trump's racist tweets show he doesn't understand America

The Pelosi AOC Fight, And Strom Thurmond

Donald Trump entered the fight saying something like "Go back to Africa!" That is Strom Thurmond rhetoric.

Indian Civilization

Star Power: AOC And Pelosi Compared

When it comes to wattage, AOC is like a sun. Nancy Pelosi is like one of Jupiter's moons. Nancy Pelosi has never been a future president. Enough said. Some people are bigger than the chamber they are in. That does not apply to Nancy Pelosi.

A newly elected first black President Of The United States had to tell Nancy Pelosi: "I am not a stupid man!" Pelosi must have exhibited racist attitudes. Liberals can be plenty racist. Trump is from New York, after all. From Queens too, the most diverse large county in America.

There never were immigration laws when the Europeans came over. Latin America is the new Europe. Build a statue, not a wall.

Nancy Pelosi Versus the Future https://t.co/Uh3KHTLR9h via @jezebel

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 10, 2019

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes after Nancy Pelosi: 'We won’t let everyday people be dismissed' https://t.co/vLPcXjxyhf via @thisisinsider

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 10, 2019

Pelosi says her remark about Dem freshmen was 'statement of fact' https://t.co/qHT3s41U2F

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 10, 2019

Donald Trump Admits He Is Secretly ‘Enamored’ And ‘Starstruck’ By Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez https://t.co/VSzkAUtEa9

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 10, 2019

It’s time for liberals and leftists who lambast Mitch McConnell to acknowledge that the hippie-punching Nancy Pelosi has become a Trump enabler too. https://t.co/EaC2zW2HvO by @mehdirhasan

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 10, 2019

Star Power: AOC And Pelosi Compared https://t.co/dMUWHBclY0 @SpeakerPelosi @RepAOC @IlhanMN @KamalaHarris @SenKamalaHarris @PeteButtigieg @AOC @RepAOC @IlhanMN @AyannaPressley @RashidaTlaib @justicedems @sunrisemvmt

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2019

AOC 2028 https://t.co/7OLyXYgd6k @AOC @SpeakerPelosi @RepAOC @IlhanMN @KamalaHarris @SenKamalaHarris @PeteButtigieg @AyannaPressley @RashidaTlaib @justicedems @sunrisemvmt @saikatc @_waleedshahid @VarshPrakash @SenWarren @BernieSanders @TulsiGabbard @AndrewYang

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 12, 2019

Bernie Is The John McCain Of The Left

Bernie Sanders is a maverick. More so than John McCain. Today anybody can be a Socialist. But Bernie was a Socialist during the Cold War! Imagine that. That's a maverick.

John McCain ran for president. Twice. He did not win. But he did build stature. He was in the Senate, but he was not just another Senator. I see the same thing happening to Bernie. He will not become Majority Leader. But his megaphone will be big. He will have a loud voice.

I don't see him winning the nomination. He lacks nuance. He stays blind to orchestrated targets. The moneyed interests send the media guys after him. He stays uninformed. He does not respond.

If the entire gamut of Democratic candidates is today talking about Medicare For All, it is because Bernie hammered the point in 2016. That's to his credit. That Bernie did so well in 2016 gave a lot of people confidence that perhaps Obamacare was just a stepping stone to Medicare For All. And there is broad public support. The idea is popular among Republicans.

Nate Silver's Midsummer Night's Dream

OK, folks, I have a pretty straightforward overview of where I think the Democratic race stands. https://t.co/yCtmSWyHXd

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 11, 2019

I am in broad agreement with Nate Silver here. He is that data guy. Only I venture forth to predict Joe Biden is going to sink like a stone as soon as people start tuning in. I don't see him winning either Iowa or New Hampshire. And then it is downhill from there. Harris will swamp Biden in South Carolina, should he not have already dropped out.

Between Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, I just don't know at this point. If Warren is the nominee, Kamala Harris will be the natural pick for VP. If Harris is the nominee, on the other hand, the reverse is not true. Warren perhaps will go on to become Majority Leader in the Senate. Harris might pick Pete. It will be a good Midwestern Rust Belt balance to the coastal highflies.

Harris is more muscular on gender than Obama ever was on race. I like her stand on pay equity. I like how she asks, which male body part is the government regulating? That little finger on your right?

Nate Silver's Midsummer Night's Dream https://t.co/XnB7pm6BlN @KamalaHarris @SenKamalaHarris @PeteButtigieg @AOC @RepAOC @IlhanMN @AyannaPressley @RashidaTlaib @justicedems @sunrisemvmt

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2019

Happy 4th

Megan Rapinoe

Hey @instagram 👋🏼. Can you please help meeeee? My IG account is buggin out...and therefore I’m buggin out! Merci from France! -👩🏻‍🎤 pic.twitter.com/nNibHiZzZa

— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) June 11, 2019

Megan Rapinoe https://t.co/cRPcieEU8q @mPinoe @aoc @USWNT

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 8, 2019

Rowdy World Cup fans drowned out a Fox News correspondent with chants of "f**k Trump" during a live broadcast. https://t.co/fituwwUfdt via @HuffPost

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 8, 2019

Trump On Women's Soccer Team And Equal Pay: ‘Look At Numbers’ https://t.co/DzOglt8aQ3 via @YahooSports

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 8, 2019

Rapinoe, Morgan and USWNT unleash ultimate equal pay battle cry https://t.co/ezQU1GA9Fg via @YahooSports

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 8, 2019

Every Deserted Mall Is A Future Smart Town

Co-working and Co-living spaces.

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 7, 2019

Economic change happens. There were no malls where there are malls. And malls going out of business is not all bad news. It is just change happening. Every abandoned mall can be turned into co-living and co-working spaces. Each abandoned mall can become a stand-alone town. Each abandoned parking lot is a potential RV town.

I hear there are people lined up at the border. Bring them in. Shift the Statue Of Liberty to the Mexico border. Latin America is the new Europe. Make America officially bilingual.

An abandoned mall already has the basic physical structure. You just need to redo some interior design. This can be big business.

Dormitory living is not such a bad idea for singles. Sometimes cheap is good.

https://t.co/Fr3PMzmphy

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 7, 2019

Bring in 5G. Bring in 3D manufacturing. Take orders from wherever. Put people to work. Factory manufactured homes can be put on top of parking lots. We are going camping.

Every Deserted Mall Is A Future Smart Town https://t.co/7PhiTpBTVZ @AOC

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 7, 2019

Planting Trees

Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the biggest and cheapest way to tackle the climate crisis

a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped into the atmosphere by human activities ....... there are 1.7bn hectares of treeless land on which 1.2tn native tree saplings would naturally grow. That area is about 11% of all land and equivalent to the size of the US and China combined...... specifically excluded all fields used to grow crops and urban areas from their analysis ....... “This new quantitative evaluation shows [forest] restoration isn’t just one of our climate change solutions, it is overwhelmingly the top one” ...... the forest restoration envisaged would take 50-100 years to have its full effect of removing 200bn tonnes of carbon...... tree planting is “a climate change solution that doesn’t require President Trump to immediately start believing in climate change ....... “It is available now, it is the cheapest one possible and every one of us can get involved.” ...... “Finally we have an authoritative assessment of how much land we can and should cover with trees without impinging on food production or living areas. This is hugely important blueprint for governments and private sector.” ........ “The most effective projects are doing restoration for 30 US cents a tree. That means we could restore the 1tn trees for $300bn ....... by far the cheapest solution that has ever been proposed ...... $300bn would be within reach of a coalition of billionaire philanthropists and the public....... you get by far your biggest bang for your buck in the tropics [where canopy cover is 100% ......... The world’s six biggest nations, Russia, Canada, China, the US, Brazil and Australia, contain half the potential restoration sites. ........ The research is based on the measurement of the tree cover by hundreds of people in 80,000 high-resolution satellite images from Google Earth. Artificial intelligence computing then combined this data with 10 key soil, topography and climate factors to create a global map of where trees could grow....... many studies suggest sheep and cattle do better if there are a few trees in the field........ there are currently about 3tn trees in the world, which is about half the number that existed before the rise of human civilisation. “We still have a net loss of about 10bn trees a year

Planting a Trillion Trees May Be the Best Way to Fight Climate Change, Study Says Even with existing cities and farmland, there’s enough space for new trees to cover 3.5 million square miles (9 million square kilometers) .... That area is roughly the size of the United States...... over the decades, those new trees could suck up nearly 830 billion tons (750 billion metric tons) of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. That’s about as much carbon pollution as humans have spewed in the past 25 years. Much of that benefit will come quickly because trees remove more carbon from the air when they are younger ....... “This is by far — by thousands of times — the cheapest climate change solution” and the most effective ........ Six nations with the most room for new trees are Russia, the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and China. ....... “None of this works without emissions cuts”

You should take a lead on this and do something, Marc. Perhaps create a non-profit, get billionaires to donate. A Charity Water for tree planting worldwide. https://t.co/g0k6QyIjk4

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 28, 2019

Big Winner Of China US Trade Truce: Huawei

By my tally, so far #China gets:
-no new tariffs
-access to US tech for Huawei
-better visa treatments for Chinese students
-truce on #tradewar (resumption of talks)
US gets:
-bigger purchases for farmers

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) June 29, 2019

My Tally: US Gets..
-25% Tariffs remain
-China at table
- no new China Tarffs
- Selling products to Huawei while on notice of US watching
- Ag purchases
- World knows US serious

In REALITY - China got nothing new - just US didn’t impose ADDITIONAL sanctions. All perspective!

— Reality Time (@615_Logic) June 29, 2019

Let's wait for Trump to board Air Force 1 and start tweeting, that's when we'll know his real plans.

— Sam Sraan (@SamSraan) June 29, 2019

#NorthKorea’s response: “We see it as a very interesting suggestion, but we have not received an official proposal," state KCNA cites 1st Vice Foreign Minister. “It would serve as another meaningful occasion in further deepening the personal relations between the two leaders.” https://t.co/jkhPrQml3V

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) June 29, 2019

“Deteriorating ties between the two countries are influencing everything.. where products at your local Walmart are made; where jobs will be created or lost.. That means we could be at a history-altering moment.” @TheAtlantic #G20 https://t.co/5E7dDe45sJ

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) June 28, 2019

https://t.co/KvB2wZrAZn

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

https://t.co/jlbKahmM2Y

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

https://t.co/b82ycms1b9

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

https://t.co/3Ph7rZNbVJ

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

https://t.co/FX9tE6jShS

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

https://t.co/sHxU1GIvdR

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

अमेरिका र चीन व्यापार वार्ता गर्न 'सहमत' https://t.co/Q3apIQBok9

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 29, 2019

US, China, Milky Way, Andromeda

This so-called US-China trade war I compare to the future projected collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies. This clash is political. At some level, it was inevitable. It had to happen. And there is no going back. We will end up at some new equilibrium. Both powers will change in the process. The world itself will change. I think the primary casualty will be the nation-state itself. There will be no Milky Way left. There will be no Andromeda left. Something new will form.

The WTO is only as strong as its two largest trading partners will let it be. And there the train has already left the station. This tussle necessarily asks for fundamental reform of the WTO. But the US will not be the sole power shaping that new form. This tussle creates an opportunity for many powers who are represented in the G20 grouping to flex their muscle and wake up to the fact that they do have a seat at the table.

The elephant in the room, though, is technology. The US demands Huawei deliver on issues where the US technology giants themselves have a poor record. Privacy and security issues plague the tech sector like plastic waste in the Pacific. Here I propose the creation of a T100, a grouping of the top 100 technology firms of the world measured by market cap that meet on the sidelines of G20 and take the lead on issues of privacy and security. Trump asking Huawei to offer ironclad guarantees on security is like that emperor who demanded a flooded river to stop, just stop. Huawei alone can't do it any more than Google and Facebook have been able to. The CIA has got to be the top stealth organization when it comes to cyber snooping. I would not be surprised if the Chinese are a close second. They both take advantage of the security flaws in hardware and software that are extremely hard to patch.

5G is way more monumental than any road, or bridge, or port, or rail China can build with its Belt And Road Initiative. 5G is that infrastructure that will finally level the playing field for the Global South. Trump cannot be allowed to stand in the way of 5G deployment. On the other hand, take stock of all the privacy and security issues the world has had to encounter over the past 25 years and multiply that by 100. Much faster internet, much more ubiquitous internet will mean greater challenges for privacy and security. Here the T100 needs to take the lead. There are technological solutions. There are common standards to agree on. There is also room for law enforcement. But no nation state is at the center of this debate.

There is no way out for China from this trade war than through some major structural reforms which, by the way, would be good for the Chinese economy. Some of the structural reforms that are being demanded will make sure state funds do not go to state-owned enterprises that are losing money on massive scales. Such moves will make China more efficient and more competitive.

The US will also see structural changes. The 2020 election will see the rise of the Social Democrat. The US will likely go for Medicare For All. The US will become more like China on education and health.

And there's the all-important Clean Energy. On that, the two powers must fully cooperate. The problem is too big for any one of them to go solo.

In the clash of the two powers, that at some level was inevitable, both will fundamentally change and will become more like each other. But when the dust settles both will have become unrecognizable from their current vantage points.

US, China, Milky Way, Andromeda https://t.co/nNaXXAey6u @SenWarren @KamalaHarris @aoc @BernieSanders @narendramodi @justicedems @sunrisemvmt

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 28, 2019

The Trump Base

The 2016 election saw a large swathe of working-class whites gravitate to Donald Trump. These people used to be reliable Democrats. And it is hard to argue the only source of support has been racism. There are serious economic anxieties.

The 2016 mandate was that the US was tired of playing the world's policeman. For one, it is too expensive. The US spends something like 700 billion dollars every year on defense. For a fraction of that amount, it could solve the housing crisis, the education crisis, and the health crisis. It could make a serious dent in its infrastructure woes.

Trump questioned NATO. And people were aghast. But he was only responding to his mandate. Perhaps NATO is indeed a Cold War relic. Whether that is the case or not, a lot of Americans seem to think it is too expensive.

Globalization worked. Trade has worked. A lower-middle-class American today can go to her local Walmart and purchase stuff that Queen Victoria of England could only have dreamed of at the height of British power. There have been immense rises in productivity.

I wholeheartedly supported the idea of Trump holding summit level talks with the North Korean leader. I support the same between Trump and the Supreme Leader of Iran. Why not? Trying to reason things out in person is the basic democratic impulse. It is the most human thing to do.

Or, hey, how about video conferencing?

It is important to take Trump out of the picture and see that something happened in 2016. The US as a country is trying to readjust. The US feels like its defense treaty with Germany and Japan are no longer sustainable. They cost too much money. And perhaps they do. New arrangements have to be sought.

Maybe we are looking at a scenario where Japan gets an army again.

Peace on the peninsula would help. North Korea wants a peace treaty. That peace treaty would guarantee that the US will not invade North Korea. That North Korea wants such an assurance speaks to the paranoia of the regime. But that peace treaty is a small price to pay for peace. Normalized relations between the two Koreas would have cascading influences. We will very likely see a Germany repeat. And Japan will have many fewer security concerns.

The 2016 mandate has to be seen as a call for a new world order where the US plays a less central, a less expensive role. Some of the things Trump wants on trade can only be achieved if the dollar is no longer the global currency. Perhaps it is time for something like Libra, a currency resting on the Bitcoin technology that is pegged to a basket of the five major currencies of the world.

Trump spotted the well of anger in 2016. I don't think he has the solutions. The solutions he offers are misguided at best.

Take intellectual property law as an example. It makes no sense for the US Congress to pass intellectual property law and then impose that on the rest of the world. The US Congress is not the Congress for the whole world. A global parliament needs to shape something like that.

There are a lot of people who are happy someone is finally standing up to China. There are a lot of people who are very happy someone is finally standing up to the US. Both powers should take note.