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> I don't believe Trump has much of any idea of the larger stakes. But, he's surrounded by people who do, Interesting, and what are the larger stakes? What goo

> I don't believe Trump has much of any idea of the larger stakes. But, he's surrounded by people who do, Interesting, and what are the larger stakes? What good do you see in the 4th dimension? Can we be a tad more specific, just as much as necessary to avoid sounding like stargazers detached from reality. >>> However, turning away from the US (~85% of Canadian trade) to China (~8%) weakens Canada and gives political cover for the US to take further hostile action. Maybe it's news to you, but Canada didn't "turn away from the US", the current US admin turned away from Canada, despite prior agreements like USMCA. Further, is forcing Canada to implement unfavorable trade with the US and unfavorable restrictions to China worth the risk of the US becoming a self-isolated island of no freedoms and low standard of living? Whatever Canada does, they aren't going to make the US rich or solve our problems - they aren't the source of those problems. However, China can replace the US as Canada's top trade partner fairly quickly and without straining their economy. Ditto, for the rest of the world replacing the dollar with other instruments, the process has already started thanks to the erratic and shortsighted policies of Trump's admin. >>> There's a game being played that, once you see it, I see it fairly clearly and there's nothing good for the US in it, nether now nor in 2035. >>> it becomes clear that some world leaders are thinking about 2035, and other world leaders are still in 2015. So, we're supposed to wait for the bright future (tm) and accept whatever lunatic actions are undertaken before that? Suspend reason, common sense... and the Constitution because the bright future demands it? > Trump has a pattern of being a voicebox for whatever was said by the last person who talked to him. Well, following the note-written plan of person R one day, of person V the next and of person M the day after, isn't going to generate anything other than an incoherent mess of a policies, the empirical evidence is in full agreement here. Then, what if the last person who talked to him is being a voicebox for the last person who talked to the last person who talked to him? Where would that get us?

827a 10mo ago
You shouldn't wait for the bright future, because its unlikely one is coming for anyone, unless we (the west) thread the needle through one of very few green paths. The endgame we're in now is the sunset of the anthropocene. We're less-than one generation away from wholesale human labor automation. Good will and trade relationships with other countries are inconsequential. All that matters, literally from the perspective of "the good of your people", is having the foundations in place to participate in the automation explosion that is already happening; or being a forever-serf to the countries that do (at best). Sadly, there is no "opt-out" button in this game.
- pegasus 10mo ago
  If that's what the US administration is aiming for, you'd expect them to bulk up higher education and scientific research, instead of dismantling them. And why won't relationships to other countries matter if we're to enter a terminal crisis period? Look at high-end chip production, it takes a lot of countries to make it all work: German lenses, in Dutch lithography machines employed by Taiwanese fabs, etc.
  - 827a 10mo ago
    I never once said that this is what the US administration is aiming for; stop making assumptions. There are individuals in the administration who understand this, and there are individuals who only care about deporting immigrants or disrupting vaccine schedules. There is no unified administration in the United States.
    - pegasus 10mo ago
      So the US is basically running around like a headless chicken, causing chaos on the world stage, and you maintain that the left leg actually was aiming the correct way, if only the right leg would cooperate all would be well. Ok, got it.
      - _DeadFred_ 10mo ago
        Sounds very 'Good tsar, bad boyars' to me.
- bigbadfeline 10mo ago
  > You shouldn't wait for the bright future, because its unlikely one is coming for anyone, unless we (the west) thread the needle through one of very few green paths. This statement both denies and confirms my previous comment. So, which one is it? Should we give up all hope for the bright future or wait for the nebulous "green paths" with a baited breath while surrendering everything we value? If MAGA stands for "Don't wait for the Bright Future" it should be re-lettered as an acronym, ditto if it stands for "Surrender Your Values and Wait for the Tiny Green Paths". I'm afraid to ask about the nature of the TGPs lest I get directed to watch for secret signs to appear in the Orion Nebulae. Just how far can demagogy go? And I'm not blaming you, you are simply channeling the conflicted messaging of MAGA GOP. > We're less-than one generation away from wholesale human labor automation. In a normal world that would be The Bright Future, it would take planned and evil actions to destroy it and turn it into something bad for everyone. > All that matters, literally from the perspective of "the good of your people", is having the foundations in place to participate in the automation explosion that is already happening; or being a forever-serf to the countries that do (at best). Now we get to fear becoming "serfs" in the times of "wholesale human labor automation" which, of course, doesn't need any serfs. And how do you "participate in the automation explosion" by non-participating in the existing international division of labor? Without a shadow of doubt, if we (the US) used China for the importation of cheap commodities, we'd achieve the automation thing much faster and with much less risk. It's simple economics. Conversely, not participating and rallying the world around China, carries the risk of them getting ahead and we being left behind... and isolated. My major problem with MAGA GOP is their brazen disregard for reason, logic and decency, something that could indeed turn the wonders of AI into a tragedy for the US and humanity as a whole. Their strategy is maximum damage to China at any cost for the US and that doesn't make sense at all.

827a 10mo ago

You shouldn't wait for the bright future, because its unlikely one is coming for anyone, unless we (the west) thread the needle through one of very few green paths. The endgame we're in now is the sunset of the anthropocene. We're less-than one generation away from wholesale human labor automation. Good will and trade relationships with other countries are inconsequential. All that matters, literally from the perspective of "the good of your people", is having the foundations in place to participate in the automation explosion that is already happening; or being a forever-serf to the countries that do (at best). Sadly, there is no "opt-out" button in this game.

pegasus 10mo ago
If that's what the US administration is aiming for, you'd expect them to bulk up higher education and scientific research, instead of dismantling them. And why won't relationships to other countries matter if we're to enter a terminal crisis period? Look at high-end chip production, it takes a lot of countries to make it all work: German lenses, in Dutch lithography machines employed by Taiwanese fabs, etc.
- 827a 10mo ago
  I never once said that this is what the US administration is aiming for; stop making assumptions. There are individuals in the administration who understand this, and there are individuals who only care about deporting immigrants or disrupting vaccine schedules. There is no unified administration in the United States.
  - pegasus 10mo ago
    So the US is basically running around like a headless chicken, causing chaos on the world stage, and you maintain that the left leg actually was aiming the correct way, if only the right leg would cooperate all would be well. Ok, got it.
    - _DeadFred_ 10mo ago
      Sounds very 'Good tsar, bad boyars' to me.
bigbadfeline 10mo ago
> You shouldn't wait for the bright future, because its unlikely one is coming for anyone, unless we (the west) thread the needle through one of very few green paths. This statement both denies and confirms my previous comment. So, which one is it? Should we give up all hope for the bright future or wait for the nebulous "green paths" with a baited breath while surrendering everything we value? If MAGA stands for "Don't wait for the Bright Future" it should be re-lettered as an acronym, ditto if it stands for "Surrender Your Values and Wait for the Tiny Green Paths". I'm afraid to ask about the nature of the TGPs lest I get directed to watch for secret signs to appear in the Orion Nebulae. Just how far can demagogy go? And I'm not blaming you, you are simply channeling the conflicted messaging of MAGA GOP. > We're less-than one generation away from wholesale human labor automation. In a normal world that would be The Bright Future, it would take planned and evil actions to destroy it and turn it into something bad for everyone. > All that matters, literally from the perspective of "the good of your people", is having the foundations in place to participate in the automation explosion that is already happening; or being a forever-serf to the countries that do (at best). Now we get to fear becoming "serfs" in the times of "wholesale human labor automation" which, of course, doesn't need any serfs. And how do you "participate in the automation explosion" by non-participating in the existing international division of labor? Without a shadow of doubt, if we (the US) used China for the importation of cheap commodities, we'd achieve the automation thing much faster and with much less risk. It's simple economics. Conversely, not participating and rallying the world around China, carries the risk of them getting ahead and we being left behind... and isolated. My major problem with MAGA GOP is their brazen disregard for reason, logic and decency, something that could indeed turn the wonders of AI into a tragedy for the US and humanity as a whole. Their strategy is maximum damage to China at any cost for the US and that doesn't make sense at all.