(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Big Change in How I do the Good News: Saturday's GNR [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-18 Since my early days of writing the GNR I have used Twitter posts as a means of conveying information quickly and easily. Twitter can be embedded into DK posts making it an easy means of transmitting information. However, the latest antisemitic comments by Musk are just too much for me. I can’t use Twitter anymore and closed my account. I have heard people argue for staying on there to “fight the good fight” in enemy waters. Everyone needs to make their own decision. But for me, doing anything to bring attention (and thus funds) to Twitter is bad. I want nothing to do with it. This will change my GNR a little. I switched to Threads for information. That works well, but the posts there are not easily embedded into these posts. That leaves me with two options — find a different source for useful info or take a screenshot and share it. This week, I did a little of both. Neither is perfect, so I’ll be working on a better way. I really hope that forsaking Twitter will not negatively affect my posts too much. I waited as long as I could before making this move, but honestly, I just don’t see how there is any path forward with Musk at the helm. I can’t justify it. So please bear with me as I get used to this new normal. Thanks! Now onto the good news. Biden Did an Amazing Job with China this week it blows my mind that someone as sharp and smart as Biden could be the victim of a smear campaign about dementia, but here we are. Biden OWNED the negotiations with China this week. Biden Skillfully Handled Xi Jinping’s U.S. Visit in Ways Trump Simply Never Could Trump, for example, might well have begun by confusing Chinese president Xi Jinping with the object of his longtime bromance, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as he did just over a week ago. Further, he certainly would have been unable to conduct the kind of detailed, multi-faceted diplomatic exchanges that Biden did—given that even Trump’s former top advisors were astonished by his ignorance of policy matters. Biden, on the other hand, in both his press conference following the Xi meeting and in his remarks throughout the summit, showed a complete, confident mastery of an enormous range of issues—an unsurprising contrast given that Biden is the U.S. president with by far the most foreign policy experience, and Trump, among all our presidents, entered office with the least such experience and seemed to learn little during his time in the Oval Office. During the post-Xi press conference, Biden handled questions about two major world crises—in Ukraine and Gaza—as well as a range of issues concerning China including Taiwan, his relationship with Xi, human rights, the rivalry between the two superpowers, tensions in the South China sea, and more. The four-hour meeting with Xi was highly substantive (unlike Trump’s superficial and embarrassing encounters with the Chinese leader in which his principle takeaway was “we love each other”) and covered a range of very sensitive issues. For Biden, a Subtle Shift in the Power Balance With China’s Xi Jinping When President Biden met President Xi Jinping on Wednesday on the edges of Silicon Valley, there was a subtle but noticeable shift in the power dynamic between two countries that have spent most of the past few years denouncing, undercutting and imposing sanctions on each other. For the first time in years, a Chinese leader desperately needed a few things from the United States. Mr. Xi’s list at the summit started with a revival of American financial investments in China and a break in the series of technology export controls that have, at least temporarily, crimped Beijing’s ability to make the most advanced semiconductors and the artificial intelligence breakthroughs they enable. All this may explain why Mr. Biden’s aides were able to negotiate, fairly quickly by Chinese diplomatic standards, a potentially major agreement on stopping the flow of the chemical precursors for fentanyl to the United States and a resumption of military-to-military communications, critical for two superpowers whose forces bump up against each other every day. Biden and Xi agree to restore military ties, helping ease tensions President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Wednesday to restore communications between their countries’ militaries after they met face-to-face for the first time in a year, lowering tensions between the two superpowers at a time when the White House is struggling to manage wars in Europe and the Middle East. U.S. and China Agree to Displace Fossil Fuels by Ramping Up Renewables The United States and China, the world’s two largest climate polluters, have agreed to jointly tackle global warming by ramping up wind, solar and other renewable energy with the goal of displacing fossil fuels. US commerce secretary says closed three 'pillars' of Indo-Pacific talks U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said a ministers meeting on Tuesday had completed three of four "pillars" in the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim leaders summit. She did not specify any details of the agreements, but the Commerce Department has led the negotiations on pillars covering supply chains, cooperation on clean energy on fighting corruption and tax evasion. Whiplash in China as state media does U-turn on U.S. After months of criticizing the United States for trying to contain China’s growth, state-controlled Chinese websites were filled Thursday with reports on the “positive, comprehensive and constructive” talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies. This left more than a few Chinese social media users confused. “I haven’t been online for two days … a look at the trending topics shows the atmosphere between China and the U.S. is as if a couple in an arranged marriage fell in love,” read one post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. It was later removed, apparently by censors. Biden and the Democrats do great things Biden-⁠Harris Administration Releases Fifth National Climate Assessment and Announces More Than $6 Billion to Strengthen Climate Resilience Across the Country As a result of the President’s leadership and economic plan, Bidenomics, clean energy jobs are on rise across the country, companies have announced hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy investments, and the U.S. is on a path towards cutting carbon pollution in half by 2030. In coordination with the release of NCA5, President Biden is today announcing more than $6 billion in investments to make communities across the country more resilient to the impacts of climate change, including by strengthening America’s aging electric grid infrastructure, reducing flood risk to communities, supporting conservation efforts, and advancing environmental justice. The Administration is also releasing new resources to boost climate resilience efforts. Pockets of price deflation might be just around the corner Over the last year, inflation has come way down — but prices are still rising, just less quickly than they once were. There is a new hint that some prices are now on track to fall outright. Why it matters: To economists, lower-but-still-positive inflation rates — disinflation — counts as a policy win. But many ordinary Americans would rather see more outright relief — falling prices, or deflation. They may be about to get it, at least for certain items. Sustained, widespread deflation would be troubling. Historically, it tends to be associated with falling wages, debt problems and recession. and recession. There's little reason to think that is happening here. And a bit of a drop in prices for some widely purchased goods might work wonders for Americans' economic sentiment. White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research There is established, within the Office of the First Lady, a White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research (Initiative). To address pervasive gaps in our knowledge of women’s health, we must accelerate research on the unique health needs of women across their lifespans. Research gaps are especially acute for diseases and conditions that are more prevalent among women and for health conditions associated with women’s midlife and later years, including perimenopause and menopause. Gaps are often even more significant for those who have been historically underrepresented in, or excluded from, research. Inflation eased further in October Inflation eased further in October, offering a dose of encouragement as the Federal Reserve looks for enough progress to let up on its fight to tame consumer prices and slow the economy. “It’s not signaling ‘out of the woods,’” said Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former adviser to President Barack Obama. “But there was no new cause to panic here. In fact, there was some reason to calm down.” Prices rose 3.2 percent over the year ending in October. That’s down from the 3.7 percent annual figure notched in September and August, but still above the 2 percent considered to be the normal rate. Compared with the prior month, prices in October were flat. The last time that happened was July 2022. 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