We passed Idiocracy some time back. We're now in a region where satirists and humourists are simply no longer able to function without sounding saner.

True, but to be fair, the scientists, engineers, and scholars are largely fleeing the country, the tech industry is in a massive slump (agriculture is the only sector growing jobs according to the last reliable official figures), and there's a political need to create the impression that the country isn't in a bad way.

The ones I hate are the smug Google IT! answers. I did Google it, but all of the results pointed to people smugly replying that I should google it!.

In their more enlightened future, we are told, they only pursue the more benign science of longevity.

Bah, we swap blood with juice boys too!

Your prose indeed is usually beautiful. In this case, I think you'll have to agree that:

This impacts nearly(*) everyone, indirectly.

The reason being that the statement applies to Europeans, which is almost(*) everyone who pays for Microsoft products.

(*)virtually

Vietnam required a draft. If the US tries to actually conquer and occuply Venezuela it would too. Canada or Mexico as well.

The US has gotten by with decapitation strikes, the same thing Russia tried to do to Ukraine, and only a couple of actual occupations supported by international allies and a lot of contractors. An actual war against an actual determined opponent, especially without allied support, would absolutely require conscription and even then would probably grind down into another Vietnam or Ukraine.

Of course they're going to do things of consequence. Most of the US's allies are trying to de-Americanize their military and other supply chains as quickly as they can. This will encourage that even more. The US's non-allies can now point to renewed American aggression and sphere of influence foreign relations to justify their own actions. Unaligned countries will likely start cozying up to China for protection. Several countries are likely to be pushed in the direction of developing nuclear weapons of their own.

Nobody is going to invade Texas over Venezuela. That doesn't mean there won't be consequences.

Precisely zero of those other buildings host the security council or has the facilities for that.

Seems like feature.

The Chinese EVs may be technically superior and better value, but they are not available in Musk's adopted home market for.... reasons.

Is it? Or is it wishful thinking? Some of us have stricter standards than you.

I have commented on this, in excruciating detail, many times in the last 4 years on slashdot. You're welcome to look up my comments. They have all borne out experimentally, in hindsight.

I don't think you know what the word "virtually" means.

Because incels on Twitter have never seen real ones?

More drag means their orbits will decay faster if they become inert junk.

I have two teenagers, and we had to teach them how to read an analog clock. Some of their friends can't, and it's absolutely pathetic. My favourite clock was the ThinkGeek one that told time in Hex, Octal, Base 3, Binary and Klingon :). Granted, it wasn't analog, but you quickly realize people can't read in different bases.

This is definitely an area that parents should be teaching kids, you have failed at being a parent if your kids can't an analog clock, at least in 2025. Just so I'm clear, a base 10 clock, I don't care if your kid can tell time in Octal, Binary or Hex, although cool, but base 10 is a minimum.