Ich habe mir vor Kurzem zwei solide gebrauchte Objektive geholt, für den gleichen Preis, den gerade ein 32er Riegel DDR5 mit schlechten Timings kosten würde.

Wenn Fotografie das günstigere Hobby ist, dann weißt du, dass gerade keine gute Zeit für Technik ist.

Soweit ich weiß bedeutet das so in etwa “innerhalb von 200-300 Jahren nur noch so radioaktiv wie Uranerz, dann können wir es relativ sicher verbuddeln”.

Immer noch nicht gerade schnell, aber erheblich besser als “muss doppelt so lang sicher gelagert werden wie die ältesten Geschichtsaufzeichnungen alt sind”.

Definitely one of the best Windows 3.1 screensavers. Bethesda’s adaptation didn’t do it justice.

Being its own icon on the taskbar would be one I’d miss.

The loss of trust is not a new phenomenon. It started with GWB. It’s also not connected to the USA acting against their stated core values; that is basically the default MO of American foreign policy.

It’s about consistency. In world politics a decade is a short time and four years are a moment. Treaties are expected to last for generations and major shifts in a country’s foreign policy are expected to be rare and usually connected to internal upheaval.

That’s how the States have operated. Not always the nicest country around but a very reliable trade partner. After WWII they provided military defence to their allies as long as those allies let them be the leader of the alliance. All of this in a very reliable manner.

GWB already upset this when he started bullshit wars, expected everyone to participate, and (most Importantly) fucked with trade to coerce countries into joining him. Suddenly the USA weren’t such a solid trading partner anymore. Obama had to do a lot of work to convince people that this was just a fluke and that there was no reason to reorient trade flows.

Then Trump I happened and besides all of the obvious bullshit he did he also fucked with foreign policy big time. Trade agreements (even ones that favored the USA) were voided, treaties were left, and organizations the USA themselves had built were antagonized. NATO was downgraded from a formidable America-centric alliance to one that might need to be able to work without or even against America. Trump made clear that American foreign policy fluctuating wildly between presidents was not a fluke but to be expected.

Biden could barely do anything at that point. Maybe eight years of someone more charismatic than Obama and with full parliamentary backing could’ve helped but the Biden presidency did jack. And even the most bestest government ever couldn’t have fully undone the loss of trust in America’s consistency.

Then Trump II rolled around and things got even worse. Now American policy can shift wildly within days. Trade behavior that partners need to stay consistent for decades is in constant flux. Pivoting trade and other agreements away from America-centric to multilateral is the only sane play at this point and that process will take years and cost trillions. Of course nobody is going to pivot back at a moment’s notice.

Seeing American voters wake up and finally demand proper governance is amazing. Seriously, good job, guys. But what you lost internationally is not a reputation for not being Nazis, what you lost is a reputation for being consistent and reliable and the only way to rebuild that is by proving that you can play nice for decades at a time. Some things simply take a lot more time to build than to break.

Dir Forderung wäre rechzeitig gekommen, wenn er sie ausgesprochen hätte, bevor die CDU ihren eigenen Ruf ruiniert hätten.

Gut, da war er auch noch nicht Kanzler.

Your customer service could use some work, though.

You mean the party that has made numerous inquiries on matters of state security, including supply routes, for no apparent reason? The party that has essentially permanent representation in Moscow? The party that actively campaigns for voters with a Russian immigration background, to the point of making Russian-language ads? The party that has officially maintained the position that Russia should keep Crimea ever since the first invasion?

Yeah, no surprise they’re kissing daddy Putin’s feet yet again.