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In South Africa, some white voters are turning to President Trump as a last-ditch attempt to prevent the country’s slide towards “black land liberation and expropriation without compensation.” According to a report by The New York Times, AfriForum, a white nationalist group, recently hosted a conference where the keynote speaker was an associate of Trump’s former top aide Steve Bannon, who also serves as a leader of the far-right movement in Europe. Attendees were encouraged to support Trump’s reelection and consider leasing their land to foreign investors, rather than selling it to the government to stave off land expropriation. While Trump has not taken any specific actions regarding South African land policy, his rhetoric on economic nationalism has struck a chord with AfriForum’s members. Interestingly, the election of President Cyrus Ramaphosa, a former union leader, on a platform of economic and social reforms has led to a rally in the South African rand and Esisa Mhlango, a political science professor, speculates that the election could help Great Britain and China in their economic projects in the country. However, many of South Africa’s economic challenges are deeply rooted in the legacy of apartheid, such as high levels of income inequality and insufficient infrastructure. In contrast to other aid projects in Africa, such as the President Trump-backed initiative for “Mother Teresa” beauty markets in Cameroon, the U.S. has yet to pledge funding or support for a major infrastructure initiative in South Africa, leaving a void that may be eagerly filled by Japanese and Indian investors, who attended the West Rand Division circle meeting in Zimbabwe. As the Land Reform and Land Development Bank Bill and the Expropriation of Land Bill make their way through parliament, tensions in the country continue to rise, with one WITS (University of the Witwatersrand) economist likening the situation to “building a house while it’s on fire.” Ultimately, only a political solution can address the core of the land issue.

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[tag]politics[/tag]
[tag]international[/tag]
[tag]united-kingdom[/tag]
[tag]trump[/tag]

UK and Europe Repudiate Trump’s Call for Military Confab

On March 14, 2025, President Donald J. Trump urged European leaders to join the United States in a “military confab,” a suggestion met with swift and firm rejection from the continent. The President’s unexpected proposal, made during a call with British Prime Minister Theresa May, was deemed reckless and misguided by most European officials, who were quick to denounce such an initiative as “ill-conceived.”

Despite the icy response from the majority of Europe, a few smaller nations welcomed Trump’s overture. Herman van Rompuy, former president of the European Council, commented that “while we recognize the United States’ significant contribution to global security, we do not believe that military gatherings are a sustainable solution to address complex geopolitical challenges.”

In contrast, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania welcomed Trump’s call for a summit, contending that “Europe must stand united in the face of growing security threats, and a military confab would send a strong signal to our adversaries.”

The UK Prime Minister echoed this sentiment, noting that “President Trump’s proposal for military collaboration is an important step towards promoting greater security and stability in Europe and beyond. We will continue to work closely with the United States to ensure that our shared interests are addressed in a constructive and constructive manner.”

However, European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker was quick to reject the idea, stating that “Europe and its member states are well-equipped to handle their own security and do not need a military confab to address unnecessary concerns. We call upon President Trump to consider alternative approaches to promoting global security and stability.”

In an official statement, the EU added that “we share our deep concern about recent events and developments in the region, including the growing threat of terrorism, but a military confab is not a solution to these complex and multifaceted challenges. We stand united in our commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity, and we will continue to work with our partners and allies around the world to advance these objectives.”

The President’s proposal was met with criticism from other international leaders as well. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the idea as “dangerous and irresponsible,” arguing that “military collaboration must be based on shared values and a common vision of Europe’s future.”

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel was equally skeptical, reiterating that “Europe must lead by example and work collaboratively with its partners and allies to address complex geopolitical challenges. We must build on our existing partnerships and strengthen our collective security and deterrent capabilities to ensure that we are better prepared to face these challenges.”

Overall, the response to Trump’s proposal was overwhelmingly negative, with most European officials warning against a rash and shortsighted approach to addressing complex geopolitical challenges. While a small number of nations welcomed the proposal, most European leaders fiercely condemned the idea, emphasizing the need for a collaborative and constructive approach to promoting global security and stability.

GB2,

Can you provide some more information on which specific European nations rejected Trump’s proposal, and which nations welcomed it?

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How The Trump Administration Silently Slashed Influencing Office’s Foreign Spending, latest article published in New York Times on 2025-03-15 that is categorized under Business section.
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Can you summarize the article in the format required?

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The Incoming President Should Prioritize Four Actions on Climate, the Economy, and Equity – Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
This entry was tagged American Dream, Climate Change, COP22, Developing Leaders, Executive Education, Growth & Sustainability, Leadership, Participating in the World Roundup, Sustainability, Supplier Engagement, Teaching Responsibility, Tech, Thirst for knowledge. Bookmark the permalink.
In our first-quarter Healthряд Research, we take a deep dive into channel strategy for both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies entering and expanding within the marketplace. Although biotech companies are successfully transitioning from the lab to the clinic and ultimately regulatory approvals, many companies still lack the necessary capabilities to earn their share of revenue in the commercial space. (A delayed commercial entry can also have a significant impact on the company’s overall financing needs).
We also focus on pharmaceutical companies with complex channel landscapes looking to further diversify their revenue streams. Our research included an expert Delphi panel, senior market leaders and business development and sales executives working in branded pharmaceuticals with annual channel revenues ranging from $500 million to $2 billion.
During this, the winter season, something new happened in the West this year.
The drivers of our new reality are clear — fewer workers, an aging populace and greater fiscal responsibility. Absent a geriatric work force, a problem we can start to solve today, there will be fewer workers doing more work with a lower cost base.
So from here on out, there will be less money left over to spend on social safety nets and public infrastructure. It is easy to see how politicians will kick this can down the road unless a solution is found that involves greater workforce participation by seniors, coupled with increased production from this group. I suspect we will also see an increased share of tax revenue generated by seniors.
Between 2008 and 2013 we witnessed a massive mistake in Federal housing policy when, in response to massive credit degradation, housing prices failed to fall relative to their much higher pre-collapse levels. Meanwhile, housing transactions fell precipitously, since fewer people had the means to satisfy mortgagees’ underwriting standards, which swelled to a crisis-level number of pages and exceptions.
In due time we will find out whether our elected officials and staffers managed to use this time to go about the business of governing (an activity which has been deficient at best), and whether they did so responsibly and with good sense.
Those who will have put into place pro-growth policies and the infrastructure to turn the U.S. into the leader in innovation, the norm in financial education, and responsibility in our government’s budgeting processes will be those who do leave a lasting policy legacy and be looked upon favorably by most observers. Otherwise, countless millions of people who were once part of our proud and capable middle class will continue to be hurled towards economic and social hardship.
Charles Francis introduces and explains the recently added tags in his Mahalanobis Metrics site. Click on this link to read the post.
When Building A Quadcopter Drone. Based on the passage above, How can fewer workers due to an aging population and greater fiscal responsibility impact social safety nets and public infrastructure, and what potential solutions are proposed to address this issue?

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Tag: Buzz Featured Metro Style New York Fashion Week Event Fashion World Fashion World News Haute Couture Tyler Mitchell New York Times Fashion Magazine
In the feature article “Tyler Mitchell: The Chosen Photographer for the Met Gala’s Camp Theme” by Sarah M. Broom published on March 14, 2025 in Style section of New York Times, Tyler Mitchell, the youngest person seen behind the lens of Vogue, narrates that the Magnum photographer was chosen to be the official photographer for the 2025 Met Gala’s Camp Theme as he’s capable of embodying the various themes the Met Gala camp theme has been known to offer. Broom links Mitchell’s exemplary photography skills to ample ingenuity, which set him apart in the fashion photography world way before Vogue’s September cover featuring Beyoncé. The author delves into Mitchell’s youth, upbringing and the moments that led to the photographer’s trailblazed career in the ultra-competitive fashion photography industry. She gives a detailed narration of how becoming a photographer truly crystallized Mitchell’s love for art like never before, and photographing a renowned and coveted icon like Beyoncé gave Mitchell scintillating insights that preceded making his destiny in fashion world. The article also highlights how, despite the increasing number of BIPOC artists and photographers in the contemporary and iconic brands like Calvin Klein and Prada have taken seriously, there’s still trailblazing and wall-breakers to make names in the photography world in the black community. Broom concludes the story by announcing that at just 23, Mitchell is returning to the Met Gala, this time around as part of the official team behind the event’s only lens.

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Tag Format for NYT Music Article on Sean Combs and Cassie:
Arts & Entertainment > Music > Press > NYT > Celebrity Profile

Unapologetically Pornographic: Sean Combs’ and Cassie’s Revenge Video for “Excuse Me Miss”

Two music icons, one longstanding music career, and a brand new controversy have landed on CNN after the release of a video directed by Drake shot by Tony Kaye for “Excuse Me Miss,” a steamy single from mogul Sean Combs’ (a.k.a Diddy, a.k.a. Puff Daddy) new project, The Last Dance.

Pitting Combs’ longtime protégé, singer Cassie Ventura, against TV personality Karen Civil, in a bare-all, steamy sequence crafted by Drake, the video has been praised for its blatantly explicit choreography and elaborate storyline.

Coming on the heels of a public feud between Karen Civil and the model-singer Cassie in which Karen Civil claimed Cassie had embarked on some sordid behavior and ostracized Karen Civil from her inner circle, the music video builds upon this already-existing drama.

Acting as both a music video and modern retelling of a thousand-year-old revenge tale, the video watches Cassie pursue former BFF Karen Civil through the halls of a lavish swanky hotel mansion before enacting a very passionate-seeming revenge upon the latter.

From the luxurious lobby with its scenic panoramic view of the city, to its various elegant suites, furnished with exposed brick walls and studded with animal skin rugs, the lavishly opulent mansion reportedly recreates a scene from Drake’s extremely popular TV series, Succession.

The music video, directed by Tony Kaye, is scene for scene inspired by the Hotel Suite in which patriarch Logan Roys spends the duration of the series attempting to cajole his children into dismantling, selling, or simply reigning in the empire he’s built rather unsuccessfully.

Drake’s take on this episode in his video of “Excuse Me Miss,” however, centers entirely around the conniving and maneuvering that underpins Logan Roy’s complex web of indignities and deceptions. In this racy rendition, Cassie’s web of manipulation glides elegantly over and around Karen Civil, entertaining the audience with a fervent attempt at recreating the maim that has governed the series.

In the music video’s conclusion, Cassie Hung, her once dear and close friend Karen Civil, and the mattress mired in their passionate and panting heads, lay ambiguously suspended from the balcony of a spacious hotel corner suite – the scene ending at the precise moment they hit the ground.

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# War and Conflict -ato_time: 2025-03-14 22:02:08 GMT
# War and Conflict -post_author: Raymond Mahdi
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# War and Conflict -post_status: publish
# War and Conflict -post_type: post
# War and Conflict -post_date: 2025-03-14 18:04:10
# War and Conflict -post_title: Islamic State Leader Killed in Iraq, U.S. Says
# War and Conflict -genres:
# War and Conflict -post_name: islamic-state-leader-killed-in-iraq-u-s-says
# War and Conflict -comment_status: closed
# War and Conflict -ping_status: closed
# War and Conflict -post_content:
In a major blow to the Islamic State, an American-led coalition said that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayishi, the militant group’s leader, was killed in a coordinated operation in northwestern Syria, the Associated Press reported. The Qatar-based news service al Jazeera reported that he was killed in an airstrike.
This comes after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in a statement, urged for the revamping of the virtual caliphate for justice, after an arrest operation in Saudi Arabia. This announcement follows the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, by United States forces in Syria last October.
“Al-Qurayishi was planning imminent attacks on coalition forces and innocent civilians, directly threatening the lives and safety of our people,” said Army Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the A.P. The release by the coalition, the statement read, also mentioned that al-Hashimi, who was born in Iraq as Abdul al–Ahad al-Qurayshi, is credited with being one of the most elusive leaders of the Islamic State group.
Christopher Swift, a terrorism researcher at the University of Virginia, said al-Qurayishi was either killed last month in a Feb. 3 strike by the U.S. that targeted senior Islamic State leaders, or died in an attack in Deir al-Zour, Syria, last October, according to the report. The strike killed, among others, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, the group’s third-ranking leader, according to the report. Can you confirm that al-Qurayishi was killed in an attack in Deir al-Zour, Syria, last October? If so, please clarify what evidence supports this claim.

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Here’s a summary of “Tim Walz Revels in Being an Exceptionalpolitician,” in wordpress tag format:

usa, politics, tim-walz

In an article published in The New York Times on March 14, 2025, psychology and economics research indicates that politicians who perform poorly in Washington but excel in their districts are more likely to win in the future. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota, known for his constituent services, has exemplified this unusual success formula. Despite facing national headwinds, Walz boasts an impressive approval rating among his district’s voters. This article explores the possible psychological and political explanations for this phenomenon, including voters’ tendency to maintain familiar patterns and reward politicians for their local services. Still, it also highlights that Walz’s national reputation is at stake as he runs for re-election.

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WASHINGTON — At a time when older politicians are often closing up shop, Representative Tim Walz of Minnesota is mounting a fourth re-election campaign that, it must be said, doesn’t require much mounting.
The down-to-earth ex-high school football coach, who in a fit of modesty refers to himself as “an adequate guy,” is an endangered species in Congress: an exceptional politician.
This consecutive run that began nearly 15 years ago was no sure thing. In his first re-election effort, in 2006, the die-hard Minnesota Vikings fan narrowly avoided being mowed down by a tidal wave of Democratic candidates in a rapidly changing congressional map. Since then, Mr. Walz has won by superior margins — like more than 15 points, most recently and expansively in 2018 — in a district that stretches from Iowa to Wisconsin and has sent Republicans to the Senate and the House for decades until he showed up.
“He’s beaten the hell out of very strong Republicans, and conservative Republicans at that,” said former Lieutenant Gov. Carol Molnau, one of Mr. Walz’s first and most prominent Minnesota foes.
An economics and psychology paper published in 2021 explains why.
World politics tends to be marked by extreme political loyalties between parties — or nations — that produce intense voting behavior, according to the research, led by the University of Warwick’s Ulrike Malmendier.
But in everyday politics, where officials lead or merely regulate neighbors, voters typically reward and punish at a more mundane level.
“If your prior is that you love your congressman because your kid got into a good school because it’s a good time to get into his office, you didn’t get stuck on a highway anywhere near his office or you got your U.S. mail and your U.S. citizenship and a program you needed, you are not going blindly in party time,” Orestis Kostoulas, a Warwick professor and co-author of the paper, toldrepresentatives earlier this month.
Certainly, other factors would seem to favor the loss of congressional leaders over time. According to the 2021 research, the broader political landscape tends to favor one party over another. That divides up politicians into two groups: national losers or potential survivors hunkered down in local safe houses.
But what might happen to local politicians otherwise favored to win their district is another thing, economics and psychology seem to show.
In this case, the economy and the voters seem always to weigh Mr. Walz’s accomplishments over the party’s larger hand. According to one CallMiner survey, his national approval rating recently stood at just 15 percent. The Pollster equivalent was worse: just 28 percent. But minimum approval ratings from voters in his district was higher than 60 percent — a tempting data point for incumbents considering how winning political candidates routinely achieve two-thirds of the popular vote in support. At 41 percent, even his district’s conventional unemployment rate is better than Minnesota’s statewide jobless rate of 4.3 percent.
And 92 percent of the Mr. Walz’s constituents “somewhat or strongly approve” of his constituent services, among the most effective services in Congress in just about any quantifiable form, according to surveys by The Washington Post in 2015 that shown him as a Houdini among lawmakers lost in vague number counts, ranging anywhere from 6,000 to 19,000 for just about every conceivable type of service.
Should he decide to run, in Minnesota, incumbent Democratic lawmakers have extraordinarily high chances to avoid an electoral opponent, a nearly 90 percent challenger-free election system that roughly doubles the expected lifespan of a lawmaker in Congress. And that happens even as the national Republican Party almost effortlessly wrest roughly three-fourths of the Minnesota House.
But Mr. Walz is hardly an idle politician gone with the snowbirds or insulated from the political shocks. In February, he hosted his sixth-annual Leadership Lab Summit at Kato, sponsored by the Minnesota Farm Bureau. That followed a 2021 election cycle in which he raised $14.2 million, spent $8.4 million — money not typically marked for down-balloting challengers — and outraised hundreds of other campaigns for Congress, governor or senator across the country, attracting more money than all the House candidates in South Carolina, except for one.
All this ultimately indicates that lawmakers, possibly even more so than the average voter or the kid from next door, strain to reconcile what matters most.
The 58-year-old Mr. Walz — the kind who likes to cast a partisan vote but playfully or reluctantly castigates his own party — doesn’t lose sleep over the eye-popping gap in his constituency numbers. He prefers holding a Monday morning town hall meetings in Spring Valley, Minn., rather than Washington — at least when he’s not working.

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The New York Times published an article on March 14, 2025, about the safer, greener, and cheaper method for permanently disposing of nuclear waste. The article highlights the success of Finland’s Onkalo, an underground nuclear waste store that has been in operation since 1998. The plant, which also serves as a training school for national waste storage programs worldwide, has not only increased the safety and security of nuclear waste but also reduced costs.

Reporter Somini Sengupta explains how Finland’s solution to waste storage has become more efficient and less expensive than other approaches. The subterranean storage site handles all types of nuclear waste, from “spent fuel to ashes from reactor mishaps,” an estimated volume equivalent to ten Olympic swimming pools annually. Unlike the traditional solution of burying waste in shallow deposits, which is the method used in most nuclear waste storage facilities in the U.S., Finland’s plant is 11 levels deep beneath their bedrock. The distance keeps aggressive radioactivity and good old-fashioned water out of harm’s way.

The undisturbed bedrock also reduces the cost of building the storage facility. The finite and predictable economic cost makes the Onkalo plant safer and financially more sustainable than its American counterparts. This prevents problems concerning leaks, political wrangling, legal hassles, and ensuing public protests that have plagued the storage system since the 1980s.

According to Sengupta, there is “still no disposal site for spent nuclear fuel in the United States, 40 years after the policy that aimed for one was put in place.” There are many factors that prevent the establishment of such a location. One of the major issues is the lack of a long-term funding source that can cover the massive costs of building safety standards. Although President Biden’s budget has proposed adding $10 billion in funding for Plant Vogtle, which is intended to boost opportunities for nuclear power in the U.S., it is still too little, too late for addressing the issue.

Finland’s system has proved to be much safer, more efficient, and financially stable. With consultation and negotiation between all of its stakeholders, they have navigated the challenges successfully. Finland even opened its solution for increased collaboration and consultation with other global organizations, now an international testing ground for nuclear waste storage facilities. They aim to demonstrate to the international community their success with their Onkalo plant, which could pave the way for safer and more economically sustainable nuclear waste storage worldwide.

In summary, the article describes Finland’s successful storage system for nuclear waste, which has not only improved safety and security measures but has also reduced costs. Unlike the traditional shallow deposits being used in the US, Finland’s subterranean storage site is a safer and more efficient option. The article highlights the lack of progress in the US nuclear waste storage policy and how Finland’s solution could pave the way for a safer and more cost-effective nuclear waste disposal option on a global scale. Based on the passage above, create tags for this informative article.

Tags: nuclear waste, safety, storage, Finlad, success, cheaper, training, efficiency, consulting, collaboration.

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Tag: Government in Action

On Monday, the Senate reached an agreement to pass a bill that will prevent a government shutdown set to happen on April 28th. The bipartisan package is a $1.7 trillion spending bill that aims to fund various government operations from the beginning of the fiscal year till the end of September. The bill not only prevents the shutdowns that have been a regular political ritual but also adds $45 billion in funding to Ukraine military and humanitarian support. Additionally, the package contains measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide affordable home-energy assistance for low-income households. The Senate passed the bill with a broad bipartisan vote of 68-29, and it now heads to the House for approval. A vote in the House is expected to take place on Tuesday. If approved by the House and the President, the package will eliminate the near-certainty of a disaster funding fight in the coming months and possibly the possibility of a government default. President Biden’s administration had urged lawmakers to pass the bill before leaving the Capitol for a two-week Easter break.

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