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The dangers of our new normal...


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yes but only part - they need information about everything - how much information do you need to simulate a world? and once a world is simulated what interventions will nudge it in the direction you want.

i feel you can stop after "yes". no "but". spying on the citizenry should be a line in the sand.

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'Nonetheless, one of two things is true: 1) the U.S. actually threatened Germany that it would refrain from notifying them of terrorist plots against German citizens and thus deliberately leave them vulnerable to violent attacks, or 2) some combination of high officials from the U.S. and/or German governments are invoking such fictitious threats in order to manipulate and scare the German public into believing that asylum for Snowden will endanger their lives. Both are obviously noteworthy, though it’s hard to say which is worse.'

 

 

Is it just me, or does it seem lately that we play hardball with our allies, and softball with our enemies?

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'Nonetheless, one of two things is true: 1) the U.S. actually threatened Germany that it would refrain from notifying them of terrorist plots against German citizens and thus deliberately leave them vulnerable to violent attacks, or 2) some combination of high officials from the U.S. and/or German governments are invoking such fictitious threats in order to manipulate and scare the German public into believing that asylum for Snowden will endanger their lives. Both are obviously noteworthy, though it’s hard to say which is worse.'

 

 

Is it just me, or does it seem lately that we play hardball with our allies, and softball with our enemies?

 

But at least this administration isn't alienating the world doing things out of a presumption of "American Greatness," like the Bush Administration. No, we've now replaced that with alienating the world by sulking in a corner with a presumption of American petulance.

 

Funny thing is, the administration's not even wrong. Had Snowden ended up in Germany, he should have been subject to arrest and extradition, since he incontrovertibly broke the law. So Germany (or any other country the US has extradition arrangements with) providing Snowden asylumn would be a pretty serious breach with the US. But there's a better way to point that out than bare threats.

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But at least this administration isn't alienating the world doing things out of a presumption of "American Greatness," like the Bush Administration. No, we've now replaced that with alienating the world by sulking in a corner with a presumption of American petulance.

 

When Obama began his apology tour, there was at least a part of me who thought, "Okay, maybe a bit of humble diplomacy on the world stage might not be a bad thing."

 

But it's not even that at this point. He's like a catty little school girl, especially with the way he has handled Israel. Which makes me wonder, if Bill Clinton really was the first black president, perhaps Barry is the first female president.

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