In a dangerous & complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be #smart. As Secy of #State during the Obama admin, I argued for smart #power, integrating the hard power of our military w/the #SoftPower of our #diplomacy, development assistance, economic might & cultural #influence. None of those tools can do the job alone. Together, they make America a #superpower. The #Trump approach is #dumb power.
@nixCraft @sl007 Is it once again "Decline of the West", … er "Decline of the East"? Why can't people learn to come to terms with the ever ongoing #influence of #technology on #culture?
#Influence
One should always remember those who came before them…
Wouldn’t it be great, #Musk offered, if he had #access to the #computers of the #FederalGovernment?
Just give him the passwords, he said jocularly, & he would make the govt fit & trim.
What started as musings at a dinner party evolved into a #radical takeover of the #FederalBureaucracy. It was driven with a frenetic focus by Musk, who channeled his #libertarian impulses & resentment of #regulatory #oversight of his vast #business holdings into a singular position of #influence.
The council’s president, Chris Jahn, told a #Senate hearing shortly after the #Trump inauguration that his group intended to tackle the “unnecessary #regulation” of #chemicals in the #US. “A healthy nation, a secure nation, an economically vibrant nation relies on chemistry,” he said.
It is not unusual or unlawful for industry groups to seek to #influence public #policy in the interest of their member companies.
It's a big #Shitshow by #Trump, to show how much "#Influence" he has on #Putin, not knowing, that HE ist the #Puppet on a String, being played by Putin.
Words shape reality! How do you use language to inspire and influence? Share your thoughts! 
#WordsMatter #Communication #Ideas #Leadership #Inspiration #Influence #Growth
https://link.medium.com/GwfELKgDRQb
The #EPA plans to demote career employees who oversee scientific #research, the #enforcement of #pollution laws, #HazardousWaste cleanup & the agency’s HR dept & replace them w/ #political appointees.
The move would give #Trump #loyalists more #influence over aspects of the agency that were traditionally led by #nonpartisan #experts who have served across Republican & Democratic admins.
#science #climate #ClimateCrisis #law #USpol #TrumpCoup
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/climate/epa-demotes-career-employees-overseeing-science-enforcement-and-more.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
We comment on hats…, & who has aged well or terribly in the past 4 yrs, & whose spouse looks bored. We read body language, interpret eye rolls, scan the lists of invitees to the various balls & parties for clues into who might hold #influence on the incoming #POTUS. Compared w/ #Trump’s first Inauguration, which was covered gravely & w/zero humor, his 2nd, on Monday, seemed like business as usual.
The #BigTech Takeover of American #Politics
#SocialMedia is no longer just a tool for politicians to get out their message; politicians now have to shape themselves into optimized vessels for social media.
By Jay Caspian Kang
In normal times, Inaugurations are gossipy affairs where the worst, & perhaps most fun, impulses of the political #media get put on full display.
#broligarchy #technocracy #plutocracy #influence #compromised #WhiteHouse4Sale #USpol
https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/the-big-tech-takeover-of-american-politics
“Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,” #ElonMusk posted in July 2024.
#Tesla also has the most sprawling & advanced charging network for #ElectricVehicles, one competitors have scrambled—in part w/the help of federal funding—to catch.
Now he sits in a prime position to #influence not only federal #policy on #EVs but also federal #investigations into Tesla, #SafetyRecalls & #regulatory hurdles to deploying the company’s biggest bet: Full #SelfDriving.
Those profiteers from a #Trump presidency include the industries behind #disinformation and #propaganda - be prepared and order my new book with Vian Bakir 'The Routledge Handbook of the #Influence Industry' today https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-the-Influence-Industry/Briant-Bakir/p/book/9781032188997 #socialmedia #data #ai #books #bigtech #Election2024 #project2025 #media #elonmusk #russia #gaza
In the period of 48hrs, the #Trump family’s net worth surged by billions, based on holdings of its just-launched #DigitalAssets, underscoring the #unregulated nature of #cryptocurrencies & Trump’s ability to use his fame, power & partnership w/the industry to enrich himself, his family & his allies at the flip of a switch.
…#Crypto industry leaders & investors emerged as some of Trump’s biggest supporters in the campaign in an effort to #influence future #policies & to ease #regulations….
#influence : hence, in general, the bringing about of an effect, phusical or moral, by a gradual process
- French: influence
- Italian: influenza
- Portuguese: influência
- Spanish: influencia
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Thank you so much for being a member of our community!
#Capitalism Explained...
#Quotes from @freemo conversations in digestible bullet points...
Capitalism (free markets), in it's correct meaning, is not a rule so much as an ideological guideline, and in reality should be in a #mix of many things, where #capitalism is only an #influence of *some* things (not all).
We don't live in a country that is a pure capitalism, or even much of a capitalism at all...
Right now we don't have free markets, and that's the point.
Not only is it not a free market, but it is quite far away from being one.
All-in- version...
We also shouldn't strive for capitalism (free markets) as the default, it's not a rule so much as an ideological guideline, and the reality should be a mix of many things, where capitalism is only an influence.
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3 Capitalism (free markets) Tips:
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is a way of doing things as a guideline - and not for everything to be done in this way.
Capitalism isn't a binary word to say government is or isn't Capitalism since it's mixed.
#Plutocracy probably as better word.
#Plutocracy as a best word to replace Capitalism maybe.
Capitalism perhaps does not mention the rich explicitly -
specifically the rich is perhaps more what people mean sometimes! 
(Plutocracy = #political #system governed by the #wealthy people)
Perhaps "Capital" in the word also helps people not see or assume centralization rather than the many versions, including Free Market version which is important next to the word as a kind of sub-type of it"
Capitalism (free markets)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market
DoubleThink Lab just released their 2024 edition of the China Index, looking @ exposure to, pressure from & alignment w/
for various c'tries. There are new states in this edition, affecting the ranking. Data remains lumpy across states, since info is not equally available across observations. Nonetheless, it is a useful reference & allows w/in state variation across time.
#China #Influence
https://china-index.io
In this week's ICS Hotchpotch we discuss #China's offensive division of labor including #influence op hints from Russia, a remote Wi-Fi hack, encryption-breaking #quantum breakthroughs and #HalfLife2. #cybersecurity
https://tinyurl.com/Hotchpotch1125
The #billionaire entrepreneur, who is spending heavily to back #Trump, had been ordered to attend the hearing but did not appear.
Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner is seeking to halt the giveaway less than a week before the tightly contested presidential #election between Trump & Democrat #KamalaHarris.
Krasner accuses Tesla #ElonMusk & his PAC hatching an "illegal lottery scheme to #influence voters."
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