Sven Asai comments

Money and consumption are the main god and goddess here. So if you ever dare and move into public space you shall buy a lot or at least something and take it all to your home for consuming. Walking in generously big green or parks and then relaxing on a bench especially when exhausted or being one of the increasingly older people, or then even consuming in public and thinking of throwing away the packaging or remainders, and then all this hopefully for free or on everyone's tax, that is here not your role and purpose in society and when leaving your home and moving around in public space. Commute, work hard, shop as much you can carry, those are your duties. Benches and garbage bins have nothing to do with that.

So much noise, calling police and filling news columns, they could have bathed and have some fun together instead. lol

The potential enemies don't at first come per ship, because ships are easy and quasi static targets. But if later the potential enemies' invading masses come per ship, of course already any start ramps and missile launching installations have been destroyed. So what's the meaning of that announcement? Maybe it's more for own security feelings and relief or keeping in touch with some business buddies by a generous order and a fat payment.

What shortage? I am supplied and recommended or ordered to swallow more than I like to or more than even necessary. I am surrounded and bombed by medications and drug prescriptions.

And again clever or underestimated respectively, bringing their guy into attack position as captain on an extremely poisonous ship, as all eyes were on the Baltic Sea and the pipelines and communication cables there. So it seems to be the price for UK when being the loudest in contradicting and Starmer hugging Selenskiy. That the other ship was from US and had kerosene loaded was only an additionally welcomed collateral damage for having a good visible and distracting theatralic media effect, but surely not the main point or intention, my guess.

US GDP per Capita approx. $87K in 2024, Japan, $24K

And then? All those produced things finally have to be sold, to become useful and having an impact or value in the own balance sheets. The new monster tariffs give the clue here. The products in high GDP countries cannot be sold to lower GDP countries, instead their cheaper imports stream in. Sooner or later it balances out one way or another.

And then you have your optimized AI wine output but can't sell it anymore due to global tariffs, alcohol taxes, religious rules, health trends or whatever else.

Science deniers shouldn't be in control of science budgets

You're right, but maybe not as expected. The whole thing belongs canceled or at least minimized. We humans have nothing to do on other places that contradict our biology. We can't live in the air like birds, we are no fish that can live in water and we can't leave here and live on Moon, Mars or whatever else they have in mind. We better rethink a minute and from now on use all money, remaining resources and energy here on Earth.

That is a very bad idea. The few 'real' kiddy monsters won't be impressed and can't change anyway their bad behavior by nature, but for the big rest of the normal kids it is very scary, a psychological abuse and it mostly deforms the still developing mind and psyche irreversibly for their whole life. Not much can be done about the similar traditional, cultural and folklore procedures like exposing kids to masked devils or being haunted with black paint or given into arms of over-dimensioned sumo wrestlers and all such. But intentionally adding now the digitally remastered versions of such fear indoctrination will be not a good idea and brings later very messy results in society.

Better quickly manage to have meetings between some men and women, so that hopefully come up some little future drivers and passengers nine months later. But fun aside, the real experts say, that this technology is either impossible or at best takes another 30 to 50 years before it is ripe for practice and could be called autonomous driving. And again back to close the circle, if there are born no more future drivers and no more passengers, then soon this is all obsolete and unnecessary too, even if it would have existed and worked.

Calm down in your extreme luxury. Don't you feel ashamed a little bit? Those are still very big and considerable wages that you complain about. Many people and whole population groups don't get any wages, neither decreasing, stable nor increasing, just only none.

No, it's not complex. Just make babies, it's really easy, believe it.

The only problem is the payment of wages. If then also only four days are paid, the masses become poor and of course the consumption goes down, leading to closing companies and unemployment. Now let's have a look at the scenario of four days, but with the same salary as of former five working days per week. That immediately and extremely raises the operational costs for companies on one side, and the employees also won't be happy so much, because now the same available amount has to be distributed on three days of leisure time. Think a minute when you mostly spend your money. That's surely not on working days, which only cost a cheap lunch and some gasoline or commuter train tickets. Working a day less sounds nice, but what can you still do during the three free days with only the money for two days? No, those are all hurting own goals and no one will be happy with it. Finally we have the option of only four working days plus wage raises that let you fully enjoy the now three days of leisure time. I guess everyone knows, that this is no applicable or realistic option.

It's just only an inconvenient and often non-fitting market, because they don't actively search for available employees. Many people of course have the knowledge, available time etc, but also can't actively search a lot for jobs, because it's of course very expensive and in general too exhausting to estimate and search for fitting nearby companies, writing tons of application letters or expensively going there for multiple job interviews and all that. They expect everyone to do it such and to beg on knees for the open job offerings at lowest salaries. That's understandable, but it obviously doesn't work well anymore in that old fashioned direction. Does anyone have interesting job offers from such companies daily in the letterbox? I guess, not, and neither do I. They can and also should change their attitude to attract potential and immediately available staff. There is no lack of staff, there's only a lack of bringing potential companies and fitting employees together.

Maybe the new guy in Syria really wants to try the impossible and calm it all down and let everyone who's willing to tolerate other groups and minority living peacefully together. It's indeed very unusual for that region, but not completely impossible. Anyway, he too cannot otherwise than fail, because not only the Sunna vs Shia conflict prevails but also many players from outside want to have their say and to meddle in. Russia probably wants to finish that guy and get the Latakia port back for access and influence in the Mediterranean sea, for example. Other main obstacles can be expected from US and Turkey who also want their stakes there or have certain interest in other developments.

Russia's special forces there can't be all that "special" if they need to rely on thousands of North Korean soldiers

Really? I think it's very special and clever not to die oneself and letting do the dirty or impossible parts of the work by anyone else who is indoctrinated enough to die for nothing. Also infiltration through the pipeline looks very clever, especially as it seems to work. OK, normally one would think that such is too obvious and fully anticipated beforehand, a deadly mission so to say. So it looks stupid not to expect and not to take care of the pipeline exits.

It's much fun to watch, very dynamic and unique, and maybe to find only here in Japan. Betting also looks very easy and usually everyone could make a fortune, but with a closer look it's not. The problem I have with it, is that the racers often change their starting positions. So one could very easily win , martingaling tracks 1, 2, 4 for example, but then you lose anyway, because suddenly racer 5 starts on track 2 for example. Or let's say, racer 6 has his birthday and they all let him start on track 1, or he has no birthday but is a famous older senpai. Things like these are the betting handicaps here. Anyway, it's also fun without much betting, and I recommend to everyone interested to take the opportunity on some days every year, when there's an open door event where they show you almost everything inside the premises and you can even put your safety equipment like helmet and vest on and turn some impressive rounds yourself, of course a little bit slower and in special tandem boats where you sit behind a professional racer. That is promised very, very unforgettable in many aspects.

The new situation on the planet, for example de-industrialization and new cold war block differences will bring all that space related money wasting nonsense to an end.

Can't make babies or put enough and affordable rice into store shelves but play their nonsense on the Moon. Unbelievable.

There is lately everywhere on the globe the same pattern, even regardless of country, political or ideological system and such. Starting very promising, proceeding miserably without any expertise, and of course then ending in a catastrophic outcome. Obviously also Trump follows this pattern, intentionally or not, forced by the circumstances or not, that's not on me to know or judge. My observation only, maybe you have another or completely contradicting experiences, but I bet you cannot name any. Feel free to post them, if there are somewhere any significant positive developments. If you can name one, chapeau, very great, with naming three you win the bet.

“As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right

What has this to do with early-stage? All that ultra big hyped 'AI' nonsense also intrinsically doesn't get it right at later or last stage.

Don't know much about Seiyu and maybe I'm wrong, but I think they were the first bigger player who put a big bet on home delivery services including internet orders, when such remote supermarket shopping still was only a niche. Installing such a system and infrastructure like an own car fleet must have cost a significant amount, maybe in the long run it turns now out that the pioneer role cost a too big amount.

"What we think important is the substance of defense capabilities, not the volume or GDP ratio

That is correct. For example 20 - 50 nuclear arms now , and one can save quite some GDP percentage every year and forever, usable for example for tackling challenges like low birth rates and aging population imbalances. I know, this is not practicable aview the horrible and tragic experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a following a general more neutral and pacifist mindset. But sometimes times globally severely change and one has to correct decade long convictions, for readjusting the weights of possible risks and merits.

Is a united European voice possible

No, on average they even speak now about 30 different languages in an elementary school classroom of 30 pupils. This as a clue, that there's exactly nothing left of Europe or an united European voice.

First they should stop the rivalry mindset. Wearable vs Smartphone? That's ridiculous. I have a device, already for years, that is a combination of both. That wristwatch is a smartwatch, music and video player, has a camera and can be used as a smartphone. Even additional apps can be installed etc. The only point is, the phone operator company doesn't like it or me. I would have to buy an additional SIM card or a contract, leading to a second and different phone number. But what I want, is simply an identical SIM copy, so I only would've one same phone number and could decide by situation weather using the watch or the real smartphone for calls. No compromise with me the customer possible so far. Very sad. In other words, many technologies are already available and waiting, but often very small and unnecessary obstacles hinder a further development and general big market growth.

Who cares, that balances out, some say it recoils. If a person or company wants or needs a certain foreign product, now with massive tariffs on it, then this someone of course buys it anyway, but then has less available for other domestically produced goods.

Just as said before, the 3 big cats are back united and now all the mice are in panic and try hard to quickly come up with anything. EU meetings on Ukraine-Russia and here Arab League on Palestine-Israel, it's the same pattern. But the problem is, not only EU and Arab League are not at all or much less prepared than the big 3 global power poles, but also have no realistic chance against what US, Russia and China have already detailed in the desk for each of their influence zone. All the smaller and little mice everywhere have a very difficult future ahead, that's turning out an incoming tsunami, for sure.

I guess the big 3 try to split up the globe into their former influence zones, for something like former cold war stability. So the cats had been away since 1990 and all the mice played, but now they're back. It's not difficult to see on a world map who gets or regains which continents and parts. Who's not directly one of US, Russia and China will get into certain and very big trouble, if not already before then latest from now on. And the first practice test are Ukraine and the rest of Central and Western Europe. Sure, they could try to become a strong cat too, but for that project it is much too late, because they shot themselves into both their knees with giving all resources away in the name of morale, climate, historical European values, immigration, enormous state debts and oversized social benefits and of course bringing down own defense capabilities to a nearly non existing level, if we put the few UK and French nuclear arms away as they are only a theoretical potential. So it's in fact for the last decades always been cats vs mice, although they made it tricky and look like cat vs cat. That is also why Trump and Putin have a hidden alliance, as well as Putin with Xi and also Xi with Trump. Ask yourself why the tariffs against China are lower than the ones against neighbors Canada or Mexico. Yes, that's big cat's play too.

BTW, also the small people and soldiers on the ground could easily end the war. Instead of shooting and killing each other they could immediately send a messenger to. the other front side and then make a peace party and drinking vodka together. Or instead fighting themselves dead they could return and invade their capitals Moscow and Kiyiv and wipe out their own war mongers on the top. It's easy, the politician bashing of Trump, Selenskiy or Putin, but everyone involved is responsible if the bloodshed doesn't end immediately.

What a lovely kindergarten. But anyway, we can observe, that the bigger players, or call them world powers if you prefer, they turn crazy, still only diplomatically, but who knows how that manifests if it is a bigger mind sickness there in US, Russia and China.