One of my old Ukranian friends joked that was the motto of Eastern European history.

Honestly the crux of the issue seems to be what I’ve learned from my experiences working and studying as an engineer:

The devil(s) sign the best paychecks, no one else.

As an engineering undergraduate, the best economic incentive (which is what humans tend to follow) once I graduate is not to work in areas that could possibly make the world a better place (like infrastructure, public services, etc…), but to work at places that make the world a worse place (AI R&D, Military-Industrial Complex, Data/Survailence Capitalism firms, so on).

I am fully aware that any place I work for in those fields will guaranteed make the world a worse place, but I don’t have many alternatives in my area.

In Silicon Valley (the place where I live, grew up, and am studying), you are granted these 3 choices once you graduate:

• Work for the devil (aforementioned fields), and reap the paycheck, benefits, living in a home instead of an apartment…
• Work to make the world a better place for everyone, but be unable to afford anything but apartments, and face difficulties in hiring, alongside being locked in to your position on the social ladder…
• Move out, finding somewhere that will hopefully will take you for your skills as a fresh graduate, that you can live in and hopefully make the world a better place.

For almost everyone around me in my studies, the choice is obvious. When I ask my family members, the choice is also obvious. There is no need to worry about the world around you, because you need to secure your own future, so nobody I’ve asked cares in the end.

In a way, both sides are right: Theoretically, nobody could work to make the world a worse place, and everyone could make the world a better place, and the opposite can be true.

But right now, with the cards we’re dealt in our society, things will always be unbalanced, and it’s hard to blame most individuals for their choices.

What in tarnation?

“Alabama: Boldly refusing to accept diversity and the inevitable since 1819.”

• John Oliver

(I wonder how bad the brain drain is at this point)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the League of Nations largely the brainchild of Woodrow Wilson, US president during WW1?

It was structurally different to the UN we know today, but it was still pushed forward by a US president.

I’ve seen website-based examples (similar to CandyBox2, back when that existed), but not a standalone game.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though. It’s not like it’s required, and gamification may help the average user’s knowledge.

I’m currently hosed by the fact that I am in the middle of completing my Electrical Engineeing degree (approx. 2 years left), and I don’t believe my credits would be transferable to an institution across the Atlantic (never mind the cost, shudder), so I can’t even think about escaping until at least 2027.

If there’s a better way forward so I can safely leave the nation and still achieve my degree, I’m all ears, but at least to me it seems my hands are a bit tied.

Hey, just put the word out for my work visa, please! XD

I’m currently using Win10 IOT LTSC on my main gaming rig, and Mint on my laptop to get used to the environment (started 2 years ago). It’s a great way to both get used to the new ecosystem, and have a fallback cushion if some software or scenario doesn’t work properly.

Honestly, as an American living in Silicon Valley, I would be overjoyed if Europe became the primary kickstarter for open source alternatives to the existing US corporate infrastructure, that bends to the knees of the Federal government. Even here at home, myself and some of my co-workers aren’t too keen on the existing status quo tools because there are too many caveats - from rent seeking subscriptions to the inability to verify if something is tampered with.

In the same way Valve saw how having all their eggs in the Windows basket led them to dive head first into linux development, I hope the EU’s realization of the risks in the US tech sector lead it to developing unified, well funded OSS alternatives. I would certainly install them.