How El Salvador became a model for the global far right | Finacial Times
- El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has a seemingly impossible approval rating of 90%, which very well might be considering his authoritarian approach. What isn’t impossible is his incredible success at reforming El Salvador in such a short period of time. Using brutal and authoritarian methods and mass arrests President Bukele has brought the El Salvador murder rate down to incredible levels. Citizens state areas that you could not visit before due to incredible crime now save havens that tourists come to visit. Even foreign countries are having more and more reluctance to call out his brutal methods due to the resounding success of his programs. In the end, it comes down to the fundamental argument around what is more important to protect, individual freedom and rights, or safety and security. As his team continues to point out… you can’t have freedom if you’re not safe, or worse, dead.
Maybe It Was Never About the Factory Jobs | Atlantic
- Biden made great strides in the American economy. From increased jobs to new subsidies for green energy or technology production, there was a real and tangible effect on the ground. Sadly, inflation overshadowed all of that. Even in counties where Biden & Democrats policies brought in thousands of new jobs the county still shifted towards the right, just as the nation did. It’s a hard conundrum. Democrats largely have the right economic tools to prop the U.S. economy up, especially in the long term. Those same tools though have shown to devestate their electability in the short term.
Progress made in talks over Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release, officials say| Associated Press
- A revitalization towards ceasefire talks has been seen as we inch closer and closer to Trump’s inauguration. Israeli officials seem more willing than before to bring high-level personnel to ceasefire talks which in turn will shorten negotiation times and could lead to a deal. This push could be in line with demands Trump has made to end the war before his inauguration. Sadly, we have been at this point many times before with a deal just out of reach. Will Trump’s push & Israel’s recent success in multiple regions be the final push?
In an Upended Mideast, Trump Faces a New Divergence With Old Allies | New York Times
- Trump’s previous administration was filled with positive relationships towards rich Gulf states like the UAE, Qatar, and Saudia Arabia while also providing a harder stance towards Iran, something we can be grateful for looking back on now considering its role in the Palestine-Israel conflict. Moving into Trump’s second administration these relations with rich Gulf states may face more strains but an overall goal towards economic diversification in the region will hopefully keep ties close.
OpenAI Courts Trump With Vision for ‘A.I. in America’ | New York Times
- AI is certainly the future. Not like how Bitcoin was the future, or NFTs were the future, AI is genuinely a practical technology that has the possibility to advance an uncountable amount of fields. The question that remains is will the U.S. stay ahead in the AI race against China, or will we regulate ourselves to death before we’ve even crossed the finish line? OpenAI plans to plead the case against regulation and for allowing foreign funding. With Elon Musk on Trump’s right shoulder, it seems increasingly possible that regulation will be pushed aside, something I support regarding the development of these systems.