OP said > The people we drop bombs on are citizens of somewhere too.
Nowhere in that sentence did I see an insinuation that we were talking about civilians (and I was specifically talking about Russian soldiers). But when we discuss collateral damage, yes that happens sometimes and its awful. However, take how much collateral damage Ukraine causes in Russia when fighting back and how much Russia causes in terms of civilian lives, infrastructure, etc. and it feels pretty clear to me that democratic nations are probably net better at minimizing collateral damage (and generally following international norms and treaties for human rights) than authoritarian regimes.
I think there's a distinction between being involved in conflicts and being belligerent. Post fall of the Soviet Union the U.S. took on the role of world police, and that included getting involved in lots of conflicts that probably normally would have been fought by regional powers (ex. Desert Storm/Kuwait, Bosnia). The standout here of course is Iraq/Afghanistan, but in terms of globally belligerent behavior China seems to be the clear winner here, no (or maybe N. Korea but seems more regional)? Trying to redraw boundaries, creating artificial islands, aggressive maneuvers endangering Philippine and Japanese sailors, everything regarding Taiwan, aggressive trade tactics... the list goes on.
I don't think anyone is arguing that many nations, including democracies like the U.S., are infallible and haven't done awful things in the past (and probably are doing some awful things now and probably will in the future), but I can tell you that I would much rather live in a world where the U.S. and countries with similar democratic values and at least some measure of accountability have the tools needed to stand up to dictatorships and authoritarianism. We can see how bad those societies are not just for the people that live under them (ex. however flawed the American political system, I appreciate being able to have a real choice when I vote instead of a phony election), but for how they try to force their will on the rest of the world (Russia in Ukraine being the most obvious example). I hate that we need weapons and force to protect our values, I really do, but I just don't see any real alternative to being able and willing to fight when necessary.
Like the Russians who are invading Ukraine? I mean yes, everyone is a citizen of somewhere, that's how we've structured global society but I'm not sure what your point is.
Totally agree, not to mention the need for democracies to have all the best tools at their disposal to deter (and if necessary defeat) totalitarian nations. I think the war in Ukraine has shown us that the days of dictatorships and invasions are not yet over and that weaponry is still needed to defend democracy.
I will say that having worked in Congress (albeit briefly and mostly on tech issues) I have seen the victim family card played and it definitely does have a good amount of weight. Hasn't worked for gun control (yet, although you can see it sometimes partially working after mass shootings like Uvalde which led to Texas Senator Cornyn working on gun control), but there may be less of a constituency on the other side of the debate here (or maybe not, car makes do reap tremendous profits from trucks and SUVs so the pushback on anything that could harm those sales might be tremendous)
Ah sorry, in OPs comment he says "heavy-duty" which I took to mean as part of the descriptor for what would trigger a fine (as in weight) but on second reading I think he means that the fine itself should be large and is not discussing anything related to the weight of the vehicle.
That makes sense, and I do often wonder at the wisdom of the EV Hummer for road safety (and at who exactly is the person who both wants a hummer and an electric vehicle)
One thing I'm a little surprised not to see in the article is any discussion of distracted driving. While I think in the EU cars are slightly smaller on average, there are still plenty of larger vehicles on the road but relatively fewer deaths. The only thesis I have as to the potential disconnect is that in the EU there are far more stick shift operated vehicles which demand more attention and limbs to operate as compared to American vehicles which skew heavily automatic, making it much easier to doomscroll twitter or try to respond to a text.
To be fair to some of my former colleagues in government, there are some folks who do know about tech in Congress and smattered across federal agencies and the White House. While politicians themselves may not know how the internet works, if they listen to their staffers (which many do on the actual technical part of a topic if not the political or other implications of an issue), they are probably at least somewhat informed.
Why wouldn't nation state autocrats be interested in AI? Seems like a great tool for facial recognition at scale and eventually maybe even automated policing via drones and the like, thus sparing them the costs (and danger) of having to maintain a major police/military force to protect their regimes
This is one company (Luxottica, not Meta) that I cannot for the life of me figure out why the FTC/DOJ haven't been constantly trying to break up. It very clearly is a hugely dominant monopoly with significant pricing power over consumers
Referring to Ukraine as "the Ukraine" is a symbol for many people of when it was a colony of part of the Soviet Union, rather than an independent nation. Similar to how many people use to refer to Kyiv as Kiev but changed as that was the more Russian spelling
Yeah, I've seen that (and some of it unfortunately is not directly from missile attacks but falling debris after missiles were intercepted) but apart from some horrendous cases, the likelihood still seemed relatively low that they'd target the bar/hostel/restaurant I happened to be in, and without enough time for me to get to a shelter. The only time I was really nervous was when an air raid siren went off when I was in the train station at Lviv and I wasn't sure whether to go to a shelter or the train (I chose the latter which was good because the train left on time)
The funny thing is, coming from Washington DC, I felt about or more safe in Ukraine as I do here day to day. I wasn't worried about being carjacked, I wasn't worried about someone with mental health or drug problems robbing me, and I wasn't worried about being shot (as I write this it feels hyperbolic to say but I live about 10 mins walking from the capitol and in the two years I've been here there have been multiple carjackings and shootings in my neighborhood -- even a Congressman was held up at gunpoint next door to me). The idea that missiles could come raining down was scary, but there are shelters everywhere and it felt like the likelihood of getting hit was pretty low being in random bars/restaurants and not any government/military/infrastructure facility. Maybe I was calculating the odds all wrong in my head, but I didn't feel particularly unsafe while I was there (that said, wouldn't go further east or to Odessa right now).
This is a very nice take on the country. I visited a few years ago (took an overnight train from Romania which was a blast, albeit not the most restful experience) and I would just say that there isn't all that much to see or things going on. Not to say it isn't a nice enough place, it's just not one I'd ever recommend as a tourist destination for people. If you want more Eastern Europe vibes I think Romania is just fine for that with much more going on -- if you're more adventurous Lviv and Kyiv are fantastic (I was just there in April, still gorgeous cities with great restaurants, bars, and art). And if you want old Europe with a post-Soviet flavor, nothing beats Estonia and the well preserved old town in the capital
Particularly interesting is that she was elected again with a higher number of votes than her initial election, despite concerns over serious headwinds from the far-right. Not sure what this portends, but interesting.
Full disclosure, I worked at Tribe some years ago but I think Tribe is a great example of the new generation of startups that are growing revenue sustainably as they build products rather than living off OPM.
I would also mention Reno, Nevada which what managed to hugely transform the downtown/midtown area from what was an incredibly seedy place with hourly motels and homeless to something closer to average that you can take your family to. Lots more hip bars and restaurants, walkable areas, upgraded bus transport in the downtown/midtown area, and the UNR campus which abuts the downtown is significantly upgraded from what it was 10 years ago with beautiful new buildings and lots of new student housing.
Key actions:
- Far more housing built, especially mid-upper end apartments
- Actively partnered with real estate developers to get rid of unutilized land in downtown/midtown and purchase and upgrade what were once sketchy motels
- New transportation options in the area to make it more walkable/accessible with a scooter partnership (geofenced to the area) and bus service
Edit to add: Almost all of this has been under the leadership of the current three term mayor who is an independent (or nonpartisan, forget exactly how she bills herself) showing how impactful local office can be. However, she does get some flak for not solving the local homeless problem, but personally having lived in SF, I understand how that's a much more difficult/intractable issue.