Words are magic. That’s why they call it spelling. /Web Manager/Ex Editorial Director etc/ Worked in Policy Assn, News Org, Investment Co etc/policy wonk/geek
Time to stop interacting on X.
It has been fun, fruitful and increasingly frustrating.
Elon Musk has destroyed this platform. He is a person I am looking forward to see being made irrelevant by the actions of the many good people. Don’t let him destroy your communities.
Bye.
In 2012, when I was the US ambassador to Russia, Putin shut down USAID inside Russia. Why? Because their work supported free markets, democracy, human rights —ie causes that threatened Putins dictatorship. Shutting down USAID is exactly what autocrats all over the world want.
@elonmusk@marcorubio Mr Musk talks about making humankind multi-planetary. His gangster methods and joy at causing damage and inflicting despair in ordinary people gives us a glimpse of how he envisions such a future. The prison planet Mars, where you are in the hands of ruthless power.
@MarcNixon24 The orange clown is a sad little man, beyond redemption. But the really interesting stuff is his followers. Future sociologists will have lots of online material to do research on. What drove those people to behave like this? How did they cope with the guilt later?
@MarioNawfal What kind of society creates stars out of mediocre people like Mr Carlson? What kind of people feel enlightened by the sloppy and ignorant comments of uninformed people?
X is more and more a cesspit for MAGA followers and other unsavory people.
Many serious academics, politicians and other people still have their audiences here, but for how long? The reputation risk of having a presence at this platform is increasing rapidly.
Ronald Reagan: “Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies.
We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends—weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world—all while cynically waving the American flag.”
Canadian wine. Hit me with your best suggestions. I have felt an unpleasant aftertaste in wines from the US lately and want to try something different and better.
@krassenstein The biggest cost will be political. The USA is now regarded as an irrational actor and a untrustworthy ally by American’s friends. Worse: a bully. Trump is a crude person who has limited ability to understand such things.
The first priority of the next president of the United States will be to restore the standing of the country in the world after the MAGA missteps. It will be a diminished USA.
Det är skrattretande att det finns personer som, trots otaliga bevis på motsatsen, menar att Trump är en klok politiker som blir missförstådd. Anar man en projicering från personer som är bittra och missanpassade individer?
@POLITICOEurope All of Europe should join. As long as the US government is run by Mr Trump and the MAGA cult, Washington cannot be trusted. Trump threatens allies and burn bridges to friends. A tragedy for what was until recently the leader of the free world.