Spending the 1990s in Poland showed me how effective soft power was. America was The Best, Americans were treated like royalty, every USAID package was treated like a gift from the heavens. You still see it among Poles who were adults when communism fell and are now in their 50s and older.
The trump administration is the unintentional master of natural experiments. Who knew that so many dumb ideas could be tested to determine their deleterious effects on society, economies, and science?
…using non-military approaches. USAID’s humanitarian assistance for sure, but also it’s programs to strengthen democracy Abdul help build professional, ethical media. So too, the National Endowment for Democracy, the US Institute of Peace, the academic Wilson Center in Washington, and US international broadcasting that reaches hundreds of millions of people in less-than-free countries (including Russia and China) — Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcast Networks .
Trump has either shuttered or is working to eviscerate all of them.
Back in Iraq and Afghanistan the motto was "winning hearts and minds"; soon the tone became "if you got them by the balls, the hearts and minds will follow". It sounds like US is adapting this to foreign 'diplomacy'.
Trump hasn't done a very good job of making the trains run on time? So, in other words, he gets no credit whatsoever when the planes to El Salvador take off on time. "DisAirPear Airlines" (Motto: "Think Spirit, but with shackles") has a better record than any airline, I imagine. Sometimes, if they're in a rush to avoid a delay or court order, the planes leave early. You don't see that very often - it's possible we've never seen it before.
And try, just try, to find a dissatisfied customer. You can search high and low and never find one! People have tried, but no luck. A lot of people loved their flight so much they're clamoring to get on a plane back to America, or just about anywhere else. The demand from satisfied customers is so great, it's virtually impossible to book a return flight.
Okay, what about the trains, you ask. Easy. It's still early days. Trump has plans to drastically reduce the amount of cargo carried on trains, and also the container ships that fill many of them. Fewer trains, fewer ships; when the number gets low enough they'll run on time for sure. We can turn old boxcars into housing. When America was really great all kinds of people slept in boxcars, and loved it.
Not only will the trains run on time, the new austerity will make us better people. Spoiled brats will complain at first, as will those unpatriotic cultural Marxists who've been eating a little too much brioche, if you take my meaning. What kind of decent American cares about the price of eggs? "Go easy on the eggs, Commie, you're not Cool Hand Luke!" Trump may even start a soup kitchen at Mar-A-Lago. Only the best soup. It costs only $100k to join, $50k/year membership dues, and all the soup you can eat unless you're greedy and want another bowl.
You’re rather belatedly recognizing Trump’s efforts to destroy American soft power — which is to say, the many ways the US tries to help people in other countries
The writer is damn right that this looks like a good test of the importance of 'soft power' because Trump is busy destroying it. I enourage him to make a note to check at the end of this term and perhaps the middle of next one to see if American Foreign policy is the weaker because ot if.
What I would say is that the US may have had a chance of forming an anti-China trade block that would be useful for a country starting a trade war. It's definitely a non-starter now. Here in Australia (who suffered quite a bit from a Chinese trade war 5 or so years ago) there is no appetite to choose sides but certainly no desire to do so to ingraciate ourselves with the US. Not many of us want to please the US at all with Trump as president.
This truely is an experiment in full blown conservative governance. The results will continue to speak for themselves. I can only hope that this will be final chapter in 200 years of conservatives being wrong about everything.
Re: ‘When I’ve spoken with people in the U.S. government, many seem consistently baffled by the Houthi calculus.’”
Back in the day when Pat Lang was alive and posting, he talked about his time, boots on the ground, with them. Has Israel's destruction of Gaza brought the Hamas to heel?
It is funny how there is a lot of Irish Soft Power.
Stolen from a blog I follow:
Spent the evening in an Irish pub in Warsaw with our Irish guitar playing friend and a bunch of Polish musicians playing Irish folk music. It’s what they do every Monday night
Of course … which brought back lot’s of memories of drinking Guinness pint cans in Taipei pubs with John and the other Irish people we knew there.
As you close today, DD, "We are about to find out." Unfortunately, we all know well the predicate activity for finding out. And the Trump administration is undertaking the predicate for finding out at FTL speed.
Wednesday May 7 This outline of the components of soft power is of the greatest value. It's an outline for what Democrats and other liberals need to do. And Ive just learned that Joe Nye has died.
Spending the 1990s in Poland showed me how effective soft power was. America was The Best, Americans were treated like royalty, every USAID package was treated like a gift from the heavens. You still see it among Poles who were adults when communism fell and are now in their 50s and older.
But thanks for increasing your brain exports! With the renewed attack on Harvard, the free world is looking forward to recruiting top scientists.
Woke is the new Jewish I guess , somewhere in Europe they need to open an institute for advanced studies for our soon to be exiled Einsteins 😆
The trump administration is the unintentional master of natural experiments. Who knew that so many dumb ideas could be tested to determine their deleterious effects on society, economies, and science?
…using non-military approaches. USAID’s humanitarian assistance for sure, but also it’s programs to strengthen democracy Abdul help build professional, ethical media. So too, the National Endowment for Democracy, the US Institute of Peace, the academic Wilson Center in Washington, and US international broadcasting that reaches hundreds of millions of people in less-than-free countries (including Russia and China) — Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcast Networks .
Trump has either shuttered or is working to eviscerate all of them.
Back in Iraq and Afghanistan the motto was "winning hearts and minds"; soon the tone became "if you got them by the balls, the hearts and minds will follow". It sounds like US is adapting this to foreign 'diplomacy'.
You say "administration" and leave out his enablers in Congress.
Trump hasn't done a very good job of making the trains run on time? So, in other words, he gets no credit whatsoever when the planes to El Salvador take off on time. "DisAirPear Airlines" (Motto: "Think Spirit, but with shackles") has a better record than any airline, I imagine. Sometimes, if they're in a rush to avoid a delay or court order, the planes leave early. You don't see that very often - it's possible we've never seen it before.
And try, just try, to find a dissatisfied customer. You can search high and low and never find one! People have tried, but no luck. A lot of people loved their flight so much they're clamoring to get on a plane back to America, or just about anywhere else. The demand from satisfied customers is so great, it's virtually impossible to book a return flight.
Okay, what about the trains, you ask. Easy. It's still early days. Trump has plans to drastically reduce the amount of cargo carried on trains, and also the container ships that fill many of them. Fewer trains, fewer ships; when the number gets low enough they'll run on time for sure. We can turn old boxcars into housing. When America was really great all kinds of people slept in boxcars, and loved it.
Not only will the trains run on time, the new austerity will make us better people. Spoiled brats will complain at first, as will those unpatriotic cultural Marxists who've been eating a little too much brioche, if you take my meaning. What kind of decent American cares about the price of eggs? "Go easy on the eggs, Commie, you're not Cool Hand Luke!" Trump may even start a soup kitchen at Mar-A-Lago. Only the best soup. It costs only $100k to join, $50k/year membership dues, and all the soup you can eat unless you're greedy and want another bowl.
Droll very
Droll, well played Sir well
Played
Spirit with shackles….priceless 😆
You’re rather belatedly recognizing Trump’s efforts to destroy American soft power — which is to say, the many ways the US tries to help people in other countries
The writer is damn right that this looks like a good test of the importance of 'soft power' because Trump is busy destroying it. I enourage him to make a note to check at the end of this term and perhaps the middle of next one to see if American Foreign policy is the weaker because ot if.
What I would say is that the US may have had a chance of forming an anti-China trade block that would be useful for a country starting a trade war. It's definitely a non-starter now. Here in Australia (who suffered quite a bit from a Chinese trade war 5 or so years ago) there is no appetite to choose sides but certainly no desire to do so to ingraciate ourselves with the US. Not many of us want to please the US at all with Trump as president.
This truely is an experiment in full blown conservative governance. The results will continue to speak for themselves. I can only hope that this will be final chapter in 200 years of conservatives being wrong about everything.
I kind of love the "axel grease" typo: only when properly greased can those figure skaters spin so much while jumping.
Re: ‘When I’ve spoken with people in the U.S. government, many seem consistently baffled by the Houthi calculus.’”
Back in the day when Pat Lang was alive and posting, he talked about his time, boots on the ground, with them. Has Israel's destruction of Gaza brought the Hamas to heel?
It is funny how there is a lot of Irish Soft Power.
Stolen from a blog I follow:
Spent the evening in an Irish pub in Warsaw with our Irish guitar playing friend and a bunch of Polish musicians playing Irish folk music. It’s what they do every Monday night
Of course … which brought back lot’s of memories of drinking Guinness pint cans in Taipei pubs with John and the other Irish people we knew there.
https://www.guinness.com/en/our-craft/guinness-innovation
Even the Slashbots have noticed:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/05/2151240/europe-pledges-half-a-billion-euros-to-attract-scientists-and-researchers
Stay out of the comments though.
As you close today, DD, "We are about to find out." Unfortunately, we all know well the predicate activity for finding out. And the Trump administration is undertaking the predicate for finding out at FTL speed.
Wednesday May 7 This outline of the components of soft power is of the greatest value. It's an outline for what Democrats and other liberals need to do. And Ive just learned that Joe Nye has died.