(no subject)

I tried to listen to Trump's press conference about the SCOTUS tariff decision but gave up after few minutes because his answers were a stream of BS claims completely untethered from reality. Only the most stupid members of his political base could take it seriously, with all the grievances of a delusional old man railing against the courts, other US presidents and countries that "disappointed" him. It's insane that we have this moron as the president.

(no subject)

In the heavily censored realm of the Chinese internet, where no group is allowed to be very organized, one set of intellectuals has made themselves heard. They are loosely affiliated writers who refer to themselves as the Industrial Party. Their views are simple to summarize: that nation-states ruthlessly compete with each other; that science and technology are the decisive forces in this Darwinian competition; and that therefore the state must be organized around the pursuit of science and technology. They patriotically view the Communist Party as the world’s most capable political organization for this pursuit.

The Industrial Party tends not to cite a broad range of thinkers, only forceful leaders like Mao or Stalin who repelled invaders and established an industrial base. It is a worship of strength through technology.

--- Daniel Wang. “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.”