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President Trump’s dream of winning a Nobel Peace Prize will come true this year. He will be honored for his role in ending hostilities between China and India.
His madcap decision to slap a 50 percent tariff on India did the trick. It was an inspired game-changer.
The tariff resulted in India prime minister Narendra Modi with hat in hand making his first visit to China in seven years.
Modi met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who couldn’t believe his good fortune—triggered by the rupture of US/India ties.
They were all smiles for the world’s media. There was a lot of hand holding, and good feeling all around.
The world’s two most populous nations, which as late as 2020 were engaged in a bloody conflict, pledged to stabilize their border and reopen their economies to each other.
Their mutual goal is to be partners, rather than rivals. Xi said it was “vital to be friends, a good neighbor, and the dragon and the elephant to come together.” In that scenario, there’s no room for the bald eagle.
Trump’s personal lobbying for the Peace Prize had focused on his alleged role in fending off a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan.
In May, he posted this gibberish on Truth Social. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Modi has said over and over that the US president had nothing to do with easing tensions between his country and Pakistan.
His decision to focus on cultivating economic and political ties with China puts the future of the so-called quad between the US, India, Japan and Australia in jeopardy.
The idea of that alliance was to counter China’s influence in the Pacific region. Does Trump boot India out of the quad, or does Modi withdraw?
Enjoy your Peace Prize, Donald.
Green activists on the run. There were 110 environmental resolutions sponsored by shareholders during this year’s proxy season.
Not a single one passed.That hasn’t happened since 2019, according to a report by the Conference Board.
The average support for green resolutions fell to 10 percent, compared to 18 percent in 2024.
The GOP’s war on science and denial of the existence of man-made climate change is largely responsible for the environmental resolution shutout.
Activists are holding their fire to see how Trump 2.0 plays out. They need to figure out the best ways to work with companies in lieu of a high-profile and contentious shareholder resolution that can result in retribution from the White House and the MAGA cultists.
Kill the jargon. The press releases of US and British law firms are loaded with tired and overused words, according to a survey by Infinite, PR firm that serves the professional services market.
The firm analyzed 479 releases (How did its researchers stay awake?) from 238 firms.
Almost nine in ten (87 percent) have at least one of the ten most commonly overused words.
Those words are “leading, best, most, pleased, excited, delighted, proud, excellence, thrilled and largest/innovative.”
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Use of cliched language diminishes the impact of a release and hurts the credibility of a firm.
The rise of AI also is bad news for fluff. Press release content using precise language stands a better chance of appearing in searches.
“Quality content that is grounded in facts and figures, and which is optimized for discovery, is essential for any business that wants to boost visibility, trust and authority online,” said Tal Donahue, director at Infinite.
Press release writers should follow the sage advice of Dragnet’s Sgt. Joe Friday, who used to say, "Just the facts, ma’am."
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