At first I was puzzled the Australian government had leaked it — does not help their case at all — but now I see it was released under an FOI
Basically what the letter says is that the exit from the review has been completed and work will proceed according to Reference A (redacted, but I imagine an earlier letter specifying the procedure to continue work)
Paragraph 3 even reminds Naval Group of its obligation to complete work on the SERP!
The letter probably written by people who had not idea the contract had already been killed. Others did know but thought it was a good idea to keep the pretence going. Not a good look
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Another criticism my New Statesman cover piece got was: how can I take tech billionaires so seriously? Well, first, the piece does not take them that seriously, there are many passages mocking them, gently or even less gently…
Second, what I take seriously is the billionaire as a type, while arguing that most examples fall short of the type? Most examples or all examples? Well, to answer that you need to read the piece rather carefully, even between the lines
Third, even with all these caveats, where exactly do you get bold ideas today? Yes, you may laugh at Neuralink, Blue Origin, the Metaverse, etc — but are statesmen, artists, writers coming up with something even remotely at same scale of ambition?
US is committing a serious strategic error by thinking rest of the world shares its fixation on China and is willing to sacrifice everything to contain China
I could give hundreds of examples but just one for now: EU officials disappointed US wants to talk only China in new transatlantic tech council; there are many tech issues between US and EU
The whole thing becomes comical when Washington tells Paris: forget the submarines, focus on China
Do you want me to tell you what wokeness is in a way that will suddenly illuminate the whole phenomenon like a lightening in the darkest night?
Think of the metaverse. The oasis, for example, in Ready Player One. Wokeness is a far left metaverse. First you have the intricate programming that builds a social justice utopia in the metaverse, but it’s all a virtual world of course.
Within the metaverse social justice is the only game. Rewards and punishments are met accordingly. You can be cancelled (life lost), as you can accumulate points and a high score (top scorer!)
Turns out that Indian officials are quite unhappy about Aukus. Can’t say I’m surprised thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/…
“If Australia and the U.S. could deceive France, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partner, they ask, what is to prevent them from doing the same with lesser allies?”
“Washington’s willingness to help Canberra build SSNs raises the possibility that Australia could deploy nuclear submarines in the Eastern Indian Ocean well before India positions its own.”
Is the danger : 1. Trump will win fair and square? 2. Result will be overturned in legislatures? 3. Trump defeat will be met with widespread violence?
Whole thing is difficult to understand because 1. is fully compatible with democracy and the Biden administration is fully responsible for preventing 2. and 3.
Biden said: “I think what they're going to do is bring in the press. The Indian press is much better behaved than the American press. And I think, with your permission, we should not answer questions because they won't ask any questions on point”. ndtv.com/india-news/ind…
Indian media reported on these remarks while US media did not, so maybe the US media is better behaved after all?