Incorrect, not talking about politics does not signal any political affiliation.
I think the "everything is political" statement is technically correct but practically useless. In the workplace the discussion is mostly about allowing or disallowing politics that are irrelevant to the business.
Global hegemony of the US is based not on 5% of people, rather the US sphere of influence. US, Canada, EU, Japan, Australia, South Korea, etc. The combination is immensely rich, powerful and advanced. Even more so when you keep India on board as well.
It at least stands a fighting chance if it wasn't the case that this alliance is being destroyed before our eyes.
I will admit that even an integrated alliance cannot push around China in the way it could decades ago.
> America needs to increase manufacturing capacity if it wants to maintain hegemony and possibly world peace.
That does not make sense.
Low value manufacturing has been disappearing from the US for decades and arguably the US -- up until the recent turmoil -- has continued to maintain its hegemony.
Great, but as I said, it does not make sense for the US to chase low value manufacturing.
Apparel, shoes, things you might find in a big box store -- zero sense. Low value manufacturing - leave it to China, Vietnam, India.
Jet engines? Advanced polymer materials? Batteries? All make sense! CHIPS act was intended to accelerate US IC R&D and manufacturing...which was cancelled.
I am concerned that the United States does not have the industrial capacity or institutional knowledge to make relatively simple but essential things for war.
In a protracted conflict with China will the US have the industrial capacity to produce enough ammunition? Does the US have a sufficient stockpile of ammunition to buy enough time to scale up the industrial capacity to manufacture more ammunition? Are there enough skilled people in the US who can teach more people to become skilled in this endeavour in time?
Does the US even have enough industrial capacity to produce enough iron, aluminum, nickel, copper and other such things to do this?
It is specifically "US hegemony" and not "western democracy hegemony" because the US is so extraordinarily powerful in economy and military.
Interests/culture with other democracies aligns well enough (and the power differential is large enough!) that US leadership is tolerated/supported.
But Canada, EU, Australia, Japan are NOT vasall states: If interests would clash and/or the US lose a lot of its relative power, those would cease being majority supporters and push for domestic interests instead.
Calling them "fairweather friends" might be too cynical but I think it's much more accurate than considering them integral parts of the US hegemony.
I donated my old gaming PC to my nephew (20 y/o). I told him that owning it also means maintaining it. I don't have time for that. Figure it out, "digital native".
Within 2 days he had it ruined. Kept running hot and crashing. I told him over the phone how to analyze the problem. Nothing what I said made any sense to him.
So I came over and saw that he had installed 50 or so new programs, some very dubious. Zero security awareness, just click on anything like a grandma. One program was rogue and took 100% CPU in a forever loop. He had never heard of task manager to inspect such a problem. Completely clueless on how to use a PC or operating system.
He also has a sister. I asked her to share a document. She opens the document on the laptop and proceeds to make photos of the doc with her phone and sends them to me.
These are middle-class young adults with decent education (in theory). It's shocking.
I’m not sure if you are trolling, but I’m pretty sure just attaching a file to an email is often more efficient. Not to speak of legibility or maybe the intended use for said documents. Sadly I don’t think you are trolling.
Also: a computer (where the documents were) has the required hardware and software to send the documents as is. Your phone is the special and external hardware in this case, not the computer (also probably more expensive than the computer). Your phone requires signups and logins as much or even more than computers. I don’t know what paid subscription you would need to share these documents. Plenty of free methods. I don’t know why you are talking about malware? Do you think the documents might mutate into malware while traveling the internet? I think the risk exists with pictures too, be careful out there!
Using email, passing the data through 2 third party services known for scanning attachments for advertising purposes is not more efficient and is a security concern. It’s just that we have forgotten that, and it didn’t used to be.
All major phone OS now have the ability to select and copy text out of images.
If you think about it she really did choose the best method to transfer a text document safely, securely, efficiently.
I'm from the Netherlands, middle-aged and have never met a person in my circles with a genuine hate of America or Americans.
There's plenty of critique on the state of US society, but that doesn't translate to general hate for any random American, unless you're intentionally provocative.
Likewise, we do not hate US products. It's just that in the case of food and cars, we have plenty ourselves of an equal or better quality.
Should you be conservative and drop a few of those views in casual conversation, I can assure you that this doesn't shock the average European. In fact, counter intuitively you may find out that progressive Americans are far more progressive than progressive Europeans. Culturally that is, not economically.
Do avoid obnoxious patriotism or bragging about the US.
I've always considered that it would make sense for there to be a "green right".
When conservative and rural and rejecting (some) modernity, I would expect one to appreciate and want to conserve nature as well as a lifestyle close to nature. Also, from an economic point of view, the conversion to sustainability is massive employment opportunity.
I think there's ways for teachers to embrace AI in teaching.
Let AI generate a short novel. The student is tasked to read it and criticize what's wrong with it. This requires focus and advanced reading comprehension.
Show 4 AI-generated code solutions. Let the student explain which one is best and why.
Show 10 AI-generated images and let art students analyze flaws.
You are neglecting to explain why your assignments themselves cannot be done with AI.
Also, this kind of fatuous response leaves out the skill building required - how do students acquire the skill of criticism or analysis? They're doing all of the easier work with ChatGPT until suddenly it doesn't work and they're standing on ... nothing ... unable to do anything.
That's the insidious effect of LLMs in education: as I read here recently "simultaneously raising the bar for the skill required at the entry level and lowering the amount of learning that occurs in the preparation phase (e.g., college)".
To me (European), there is no strategy behind these tariffs other than Trump's thirst for a dominant display. Just to show that he can, that he has the cards.
He introduces a shocking measure and then wants to humiliate the affected by letting them beg for relief. Submission. In a speech yesterday he literally said that "countries are coming to kiss his ass" and he clearly took great joy in this validation of power.
What he forgets, and so does this article, is that due to the above tactics this isn't a USA vs China situation. It has become a USA vs everybody else situation.
And surely "everybody else" is working on alternatives.
If I were a lazy incompetent politician I'd do the short sighted thing (kiss the Trump ass to placate my voters) and leave the long term thinking to whoever unfortunate enough to succeed my position.
I think the "everything is political" statement is technically correct but practically useless. In the workplace the discussion is mostly about allowing or disallowing politics that are irrelevant to the business.