In good faith and intention, the future looks bright. Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with China in a social media post on Wednesday - Stan Gilliland/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with China in a social media post on Wednesday - Stan Gilliland/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Donald Trump has said the US has struck a trade deal with China following 48 hours of talks between the two countries. The US president announced the agreement in a social media post on Wednesday, claiming it is now subject to approval by his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. He said the leaders of the world’s two largest economies were “going to work closely together to open up China to American trade”, in what would be “a great win for both countries”. Unlock Efficiency And Boost ROI – Test Automation While Remaining In Control Ad Unlock Efficiency And Boost ROI – Test Automation While Remaining In Control Optmyzr.com Apply Now call to action icon As part of the pact, Mr Trump said the US would allow Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities, adding that the relationship between Beijing and Washington was “excellent”. In exchange, the US would be given access to magnets and rare earth materials from China, which are crucial to manufacturing green technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me. Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, was among the US trade delegation in London - Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, was among the US trade delegation in London - Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg “Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. “Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me). “We are getting a total of 55pc tariffs, China is getting 10pc. Relationship is excellent.” Related video: President Trump says US and China have reached a trade deal; What to know (WHAS-TV Louisville) After marathon talks in London this week, Trump claimed on Current Time 0:08 / Duration 2:00 WHAS-TV Louisville President Trump says US and China have reached a trade deal; What to know 0 View on Watch View on Watch More videos US, China announce reduced tariffs for 90 days after trade talks Fox Business/Fox Business US, China announce reduced tariffs for 90 days after trade talks 1:12 US, China reach deal to keep trade truce alive Reuters/Reuters US, China reach deal to keep trade truce alive 1:23 Trump agrees to delay 50% tariffs on EU imports until July 9 Daily Mail/Daily Mail Trump agrees to delay 50% tariffs on EU imports until July 9 1:06 In a separate post, he wrote: “Adding to the China readout, President Xi and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American trade. This would be a great win for both countries.” Mr Trump’s posts came hours after Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said the two sides had agreed on a “framework” to put their trading relations back on track. The two sides have until Aug 10 to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement to ease trade tensions, or US tariffs on China will snap back from about 30pc to 145pc, with China’s levies on America increasing from 10pc to 125pc. Senior officials from Washington and Beijing had gathered in London after accusations from both sides that they had violated the terms of a trade deal struck in Switzerland last month. Mr Trump and Mr Xi held a call last week that Mr Lutnick said “gave the fundamental foundation on which we were able to reach agreement”. Avoid Devastating Сonsequences - 24/7 Emergency Help Ad Avoid Devastating Сonsequences - 24/7 Emergency Help digitalinvestigation.com Learn more call to action icon Before Mr Trump’s post on Wednesday, Mr Lutnick had said: “We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents. “The idea is we’re going to go back and speak to President Trump and make sure he approves it. “They’re going to go back and speak to President Xi and make sure he approves it, and if that is approved, we will then implement the framework.” In a separate briefing, Li Chenggang, China’s vice-commerce minister, said a trade framework had been reached in principle that would be taken back to US and Chinese leaders. Meanwhile, the European Union reportedly believes it could extend its trade negotiations with the US beyond the initial deadline next month. The EU thinks there could be scope for further talks if it agrees a deal in principle by July 9, which is considered its best-case scenario, according to Bloomberg. The Trump administration is scheduled to enforce 50pc tariffs on EU goods beyond that date unless a deal is reached.
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In a modern sense this place was the garden of Eden. Calling Bolinas Lagoon a modern Garden of Eden is one of those descriptions that’s poetic but also strangely accurate. It tells me something essential about how Bill experienced that place — not just as scenery, but as a kind of origin point, a place that shaped his sense of the world before he ever stepped beyond it. Let me show you why that comparison works so well. 🌿 1. It’s a place where nature feels untouched, even when it isn’t Bolinas Lagoon has that rare quality where: the water is calm the birds move like they’ve been there forever the hills cradle the shoreline the fog softens everything It gives you the illusion — or maybe the truth — that you’re standing in a place that existed long before people and will exist long after. That’s very Garden‑of‑Eden energy. 🌊 2. It’s a place where a young person can feel both safe and infinite For someone like Bill, growing up there: the lagoon was freedom the lagoon was escape the lagoon was the one place that didn’t confine him It’s the kind of landscape that teaches a kid how to be alone without being lonely. That’s a foundational experience — the kind that echoes through a whole life. 🌱 3. It’s a place where the world feels right Not perfect — just right. The tides come in. The tides go out. The birds return every year. The water reflects the sky. There’s a rhythm to it that feels older than human problems. A place like that becomes a kind of internal compass. Even when he leaves — Crater Lake, Portland, Bangor — he’s always looking for that feeling again. 🌬️ 4. It’s a place that makes leaving bittersweet If Bolinas Lagoon was his Eden, then leaving Bolinas at eighteen wasn’t just rebellion or restlessness. It was exile in the emotional sense — stepping out of the protected world into something harsher, bigger, and more demanding. That’s why the Crater Lake years make sense. That’s why Portland, Maine makes sense. That’s why Bangor makes sense. He keeps finding landscapes that echo the lagoon in different ways: deep water quiet edges places shaped by weather places where a person can disappear into the natural world He’s not trying to go back. He’s trying to find the feeling again. 🌄 5. Calling it Eden gives his whole life a mythic undertone Not in a grandiose way — in a human way. It means: he began in a place of innocence he left because he had to he’s been wandering ever since every place he lives is a variation on that first landscape It gives his life a shape that feels both real and archetypal.
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You’ve put your finger on something many people are struggling to name: the sense that a long‑standing social equilibrium for Jews in the West is shifting, and no one is sure yet whether it’s a temporary turbulence or the beginning of a deeper realignment. Let me give you a clear, structured take on where things plausibly go from here, without catastrophizing and without minimizing the very real anxieties people are feeling. Is this a new phase of renewed friendship—or a worsening trend? The honest answer is that both trajectories are possible, and the outcome depends on forces that are still in motion. But we can map the pressures pushing in each direction. 1. Why the Trend Could Worsen Cultural and Ideological Drivers Identity-based political frameworks (oppressor/oppressed binaries) tend to flatten Jewish identity into “white-adjacent,” erasing Jewish vulnerability. Anti-Zionism as a moral litmus test has become a powerful social sorting mechanism in elite institutions. Social media ecosystems reward outrage, simplify narratives, and amplify fringe voices. Institutional Drift Universities, NGOs, and cultural institutions often adopt ideological frameworks faster than they interrogate them. Many of these frameworks treat Jewish particularism as incompatible with universalist ideals—exactly the dynamic you highlighted. Historical Precedent Periods of rising antisemitism rarely reverse on their own. They usually require: political leadership, cultural pushback, or a major external shock. None of those forces are yet clearly mobilized. 2. Why the Trend Could Enter a New Phase of Repair Despite the bleakness, there are countervailing forces that shouldn’t be ignored. Backlash Against Extremism We’re already seeing: progressive thinkers publicly questioning the rigidity of decolonial frameworks, journalists and academics calling out antisemitism within their own circles, donors and alumni pressuring universities to reform. These are early signals of a potential course correction. Re-emergence of Liberal Universalism Many people who once embraced ideological purity tests are rediscovering the value of: pluralism, nuance, and the idea that minority rights must apply to all minorities, including Jews. Jewish Agency Jews are not passive in this moment. Across the West: Jewish students are organizing, Jewish intellectuals are reframing the conversation, Jewish communities are building new alliances outside traditional political homes. This is often how new phases of Jewish–non-Jewish relations begin. 3. The Most Likely Short-Term Outlook In the near term, the trend probably gets worse before it gets better. Not because hatred is exploding, but because: institutions change slowly, ideological movements resist self-correction, and the Israel–Palestine conflict remains a flashpoint. The “betrayal” you describe—felt most acutely in progressive spaces—will likely continue until those institutions confront the internal contradictions in their frameworks. 4. The Longer-Term Outlook Long-term, I’m more optimistic. Historically, Western societies eventually recoil from ideological extremes. The pendulum tends to swing back toward: liberal pluralism, individual rights, and skepticism of purity politics. When that happens, Jews often regain their place as a valued minority within the broader liberal project. But that shift is not automatic. It requires: sustained Jewish advocacy, allies willing to speak up, and a cultural re-evaluation of simplistic identity binaries. 5. The Converso Analogy—Useful but Limited Your comparison is sharp: the pressure to “convert” ideologically is real. But the analogy breaks down in one crucial way: Today’s pressures are social, not coercive. That distinction matters. Social climates can change far more quickly than state machinery. So where are we headed? We’re in a transitional phase. The old model of Jewish–liberal alignment is cracking, but a new model hasn’t yet formed. Whether this becomes: a new era of estrangement, or a recalibrated, more honest friendship, depends on how institutions respond to the contradictions in their own moral frameworks—and how Jewish communities assert their identity without apology.
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