Monday, August 27
John McCain — An American Hero
In an oped published Saturday, Mike Bloomberg wrote:
“John McCain was a war hero; that’s undeniable. Still, he never liked the label. No true hero ever does. But the truth is, it didn’t begin do him justice. To me, John wasn’t only a hero in war. He was also a hero in politics.”
“When I visited John in Arizona in May, I gave him a copy of the commencement address I would be giving the next day at Rice University. The speech was about how hyper-partisanship is driving an epidemic of dishonesty in politics, and how we need more John McCains to stop it: people who have the courage to defend facts and truth, even when — especially when — it requires standing up to members of their own party. John did that throughout his career, and I urged the graduates to follow his example.”
“Like a latter-day Paul Revere, John McCain sounded the patriot’s alarm. It’s now up to us to heed it.”
“America has lost more than a great patriot and a war hero. We have lost a model for the kind of honest and independent leadership our country needs now more than ever.”
Read the full oped here.
One Moment from John McCain’s 2008 Run Made Clear His Character and Foretold Trump’s Rise (Washington Post)
As a Nation Mourns McCain, Trump Is Conspicuously Absent (New York Times)
Russia Reacts to U.S. Senator John McCain’s Passing: ‘The Enemy is Dead’ (Moscow Times)
Big Tobacco’s Expanding Global Reach on Social Media (New York Times)
International public health organizations are pushing back against tobacco companies around the world. Earlier this month, Bloomberg Philanthropies chose three international research centers to lead a new $20 million global tobacco watchdog group called Stop (Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products), with partners in the United Kingdom, Thailand and France, that will partly focus on social marketing.
Nafta Breakthrough Seems Imminent After Year of Fractious Talks (Bloomberg)
Angela Merkel Calls for an Assertive Europe (Bloomberg)
Macron Urges EU to Boost Military, Financial Autonomy From U.S. (Bloomberg)
The Week Ahead.
Monday, Aug. 27
-U.K. summer bank holiday. London Stock Exchange closed.
-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visits President Donald Trump at the White House.
-French President Emmanuel Macron gives his annual foreign policy speech in Paris.
-U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May begins an African visit with stops in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Through Aug. 31.
-Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean delivers the keynote address at a two-day Future China Global Forum. Chongqing Mayor Tang Liangzhi and U.K. International Trade Minister Liam Fox also speak.
-The U.S. Open, the final 2018 Grand Slam tennis event, begins. Simona Halep is the women’s top seed while longtime rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer top the men’s draw. In New York, through Sept. 9.
Tuesday, Aug. 28
-U.S. releases advance trade data, one of the first updates since the Trump administration ignited a trade war with China. Economists predict the July goods-trade deficit widened.
Wednesday, Aug. 29
-European Union defense ministers meet in Vienna, through Aug. 30.
-Prosecutors for President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort must decide whether to retry him on 10 unresolved counts. He already faces up to 10 years in prison after convictions for bank fraud and tax crimes.
-The U.S. economy probably grew in the second quarter at a slightly slower pace. GDP likely expanded at a 4 percent annualized rate, compared with 4.1 percent in the advance report, economists predict.
Thursday, Aug. 30
-EU foreign affairs ministers discuss the Middle East, trans-Atlantic relations, the Iran nuclear deal, and North Korea. In Vienna, with a press conference on Aug. 31.
Friday, Aug. 31
-The consumer technology industry’s annual gathering, IFA 2018-The Global Innovations Show (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin), takes place in Berlin. Through Sept. 5.
Saturday, Sept. 1
-The new Mexican congress is sworn in. President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s coalition won majorities in both houses as Mexicans voted to move left for the first time in decades.
Monday, Sept. 3
-U.S. Labor Day holiday. Markets closed.
Best of late night.
On Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, Maher opened his show talking about Tuesday’s news that President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort had been convicted of fraud and Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to counts of tax evasion and campaign-finance violations:
“Heard of Black Friday? This week we had Orange Tuesday.”
“So many Republicans going to jail. Who is going to be left to lock up Hillary?”
“One sign you might be a crook? Your lawyer is going to jail.”