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The tragedy of John Mearsheimer

 https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2023/09/tragedy-john-mearsheimer How the American realist became the world’s most hated thinker. By Gavin Jacobson Late at night on 23 February 2022, John Mearsheimer was at home in the suburbs of Chicago finishing an article for Foreign Affairs magazine on the escalating crisis in Ukraine . In the preceding weeks, Russian forces had amassed on Ukraine’s border even as military officials in Moscow denied any plans to attack. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, was tasked with explaining to readers the prospect of war in Europe . He had just completed the final draft of the essay when he received an urgent ­message from his friend and fellow academic Stephen Walt: “Check the news before you hit send on your piece. Something is happening in Ukraine.” More than 5,000 miles away, Russian troops and armour pour

Putin instructed to use the labor of children to cope with the "staff shortage" in the economy

https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/08/26/putin-poruchil-ispolzovat-trud-detei-chtobi-spravitsya-skadrovim-golodom-vekonomike-a53100 Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the removal of restrictions on the work of minors in order to cope with a shortage of workers in an economy estimated by authorities to be in the hundreds of thousands. The government and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives should consider "promoting employment and stimulating employment" of citizens aged 14 and over, according to a list of Putin's instructions   published   on the Kremlin's website. Teenagers, according to the idea of ​​the president, can be attracted to perform "temporary work", and organizations that do this can be given benefits.   In addition, the hiring of citizens under the age of 18 should be simplified, according to Putin's instructions. According to the Gaidar Institute, the shortage of personnel in Russian factories and factories has reached a record sinc

Indonesia militants adopt political tactics ahead of 2024 polls

 https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Indonesia-militants-adopt-political-tactics-ahead-of-2024-polls KUALA LUMPUR -- Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al-Qaida-linked militant group in Indonesia, is working to infiltrate political parties to gain support for its effort to establish an Islamic state in the Muslim-majority country, analysts and one former militant say. The approach is part of a change of tactics for the group, which has in the past carried out violent attacks. Indonesia is set to hold legislative, presidential and regional elections on Feb. 14 next year. The polls will set the country's future political direction, as President Joko Widodo is nearing the end of his second and final term in office. He has presided over strong economic and infrastructure development, including starting construction on a new, $32 billion capital city, Nusantara, on Borneo island, which is scheduled for completion by 2045. Whoever is elected in 2024 will determine whether Widodo's dream for the

Why China’s economy won’t be fixed

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/08/24/why-chinas-economy-wont-be-fixed WHATEVER HAS gone wrong? After China rejoined the world economy in 1978, it became the most spectacular growth story in history. Farm reform, industrialisation and rising incomes lifted nearly 800m people out of extreme poverty. Having produced just a tenth as much as America in 1980, China’s economy is now about three-quarters the size. Yet instead of roaring back after the government abandoned its “zero-covid” policy at the end of 2022, it is lurching from one ditch to the next. \n The economy grew at an annualised rate of just 3.2% in the second quarter, a disappointment that looks even worse given that, by one prominent estimate, America’s may be growing at almost 6%. House prices have fallen and property developers, who tend to sell houses before they are built, have hit the wall, scaring off buyers. Consumer spending, business investment and exports have all fallen short. And whereas much of the world b

Design Phases in Mechanical Engineering

https://www.mcgill.ca/engineeringdesign/step-step-design-process/design-phases-mechanical-engineering/problem-definition   Problem Definition Problem definition is an essential initiating phase of any product development. In this phase you must understand existing problem, associating available data, images, and fundamental principles with it; generate strategies and methodology; critically evaluate state-of-the-art technologies, other machines and components available on the market.   Main steps of the problem definition Understanding the problem An essential requirement for an engineering design project is to formulate a problem precisely and to present a solution accurately. To formulate a problem, you must consider both real-time physical conditions (product shape, functional

Russia’s biggest problem isn’t the war. It’s losing the 21st century

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/30/putin-russia-war-modernization/ In his important book “The Third Wave,” Samuel Huntington pointed out that division among the ruling elite is a key sign of weakness in authoritarian regimes. When prominent members of the establishment break with the system, it often triggers a larger set of changes. Conversely, when you do not see such defection, it means the autocrat will probably be able to survive. (Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad offers one example of this principle at work.) How would we apply that to Russia today? Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s failed attack has revealed some dissent within Russia’s ruling elite. But Vladimir Putin was apparently able to snuff it out within a day or two. It appears that Prigozhin got no public support from any key figure in the Kremlin, which could be why he ended his quixotic march on Moscow. Putin has spent much of his tenure crushing dissent from liberals; now he is subduing his challengers from the nat