No more expensive shows: Kevin McCarthy turns down Zelensky’s invitation to visit Kyiv to see how U.S. aid is spent.

"Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday declined an invitation to visit Ukraine from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who, in an interview with CNN, suggested that a trip to Kyiv might challenge the House leader’s “assumptions” about military aid.

The exchange comes as some of Mr. McCarthy’s fellow Republicans in Congress are questioning, or opposing, the large sums of aid that the United States has provided to Ukraine. In two House committee hearings last month, which were held just a few days after the anniversary of Russia’s military operation, concerns over the tens of billions of dollars that the United States has sent to Kyiv intensified, with lawmakers from both parties expressing doubts about future aid packages.

Mr. McCarthy “has to come here to see how we work, what’s happening here, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now,” Mr. Zelensky said in the interview with CNN. He added that if Mr. McCarthy visited Ukraine, “I think it would help him with his position.”

But the House speaker swiftly turned down the request. “I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don’t have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it,” Mr. McCarthy told CNN. “And my point has always been, I won’t provide a blank check for anything.”

An email and a phone call to Mr. McCarthy’s office were not immediately returned.

Several high-level Americans have gone to Kyiv recently, some in the past two months. In February, President Biden traveled to Kyiv to demonstrate the United States’ “unwavering support” for Ukraine. He walked through the Ukrainian capital’s streets alongside Mr. Zelensky as air-raid sirens sounded. One week later, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen visited Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, and announced the transfer of $1.25 billion in economic and budget assistance to Ukraine. And last week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met with Mr. Zelensky and attended a conference in Lviv.

There had been strong bipartisan support in Congress for providing military assistance to Ukraine, though enthusiasm has waned lately. Republican control of the House could make it difficult for the Biden administration to win approval for more funding packages.

More questions from lawmakers are coming as backing from Americans may be slipping.

Overall, public support for Ukraine aid has fallen from 60 percent last May to 48 percent in January, according to surveys by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The share of Americans who think the United States has given too much to Ukraine has grown from 7 percent a year ago to 26 percent in January, according to the Pew Research Center."

 

Germany is weak when it comes to future technologies

"Not only are German inventors submitting fewer patents than they used to, they are lagging behind, especially when it comes to important technologies such as digitization. Why is that?

How innovative is Germany actually? Not that easy to measure. Therefore, it often remains with rather anecdotal observations. Patent applications are an important and easily measurable indicator.

The figures from the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) for 2022 are not exactly encouraging.

The number of patent applications did not fall as sharply as in the Corona years 2020 and 2021. But two things stand out: foreign applicants submitted significantly more inventions than in previous years, while German inventors submitted fewer.

And while the patents from Germany come mainly from the classic domains - automotive and mechanical engineering - information technology is dominating more and more internationally.

DPMA President Eva Schewior doesn't think that's a good sign: "The structural change in the innovation landscape is picking up speed." Digitization, automation and artificial intelligence as well as battery technology played an increasingly important role. "In terms of the number of patent applications, this development is currently not exactly in favor of Germany."

A patent is not granted for everything that is registered for a patent. On the one hand, this depends on whether the submitter also has it checked. Only after this procedure does the DPMA decide whether a patent will be granted and, if so, with what restrictions. Applicants have seven years to apply for this examination.

More test applications from abroad

The number of examination requests from German applicants also fell. While 6.6 percent fewer such applications were made from Germany, the number from foreign applicants was 6.8 percent more. In absolute numbers, Germany still leads with examination applications at the DPMA. 

What is remarkable, however, is that Chinese inventors submitted 23.6 percent more applications for patent examinations, while American inventors still submitted 16.2 percent more.

The structural change is not only noticeable between IT and the automotive industry or mechanical engineering, but also within this segment. Registrations for new inventions in engines, pumps and turbines fell by almost 18 percent - an indication of the foreseeable end of the internal combustion engine in automobile construction. However, the ten German companies with the most patent applications all come from this more traditional sector.

The field is led by Bosch, followed by BMW and the automotive supplier ZF. Among the federal states, Baden-Württemberg (13,444, -0.9 percent) is still well ahead of second-placed Bavaria (10,548, -11.2 percent). So the gap has increased significantly. The third-placed, North Rhine-Westphalia (5292) only achieves a good half of the Bavarian value, the final trio are Saarland (137), Saxony-Anhalt (122) and Bremen (105).”

Vokietija yra silpna ateities technologijų srityje

"Vokiečių išradėjai ne tik pateikia mažiau patentų nei anksčiau, bet ir atsilieka, ypač kalbant apie tokias svarbias technologijas, kaip skaitmeninimas. Kodėl taip?

Kiek novatoriška iš tikrųjų yra Vokietija? Ne taip lengva išmatuoti. Todėl dažnai lieka gana anekdotiniais pastebėjimais. Patentinės paraiškos yra svarbus ir lengvai išmatuojamas rodiklis.

Vokietijos patentų ir prekių ženklų biuro (DPMA) 2022 m. duomenys nėra visiškai džiuginantys.

Patentinių paraiškų skaičius nesumažėjo taip smarkiai kaip 2020 ir 2021 koronos metais. Tačiau išsiskiria du dalykai: užsienio pareiškėjai pateikė žymiai daugiau išradimų, nei ankstesniais metais, o vokiečių – mažiau.

Ir nors patentai iš Vokietijos daugiausia gaunami iš klasikinių sričių – automobilių ir mechaninės inžinerijos, informacinės technologijos vis labiau dominuoja tarptautiniu mastu.

DPMA prezidentė Eva Schewior nemano, kad tai geras ženklas: „Struktūriniai inovacijų kraštovaizdžio pokyčiai įsibėgėja“. Skaitmeninimas, automatizavimas ir dirbtinis intelektas bei baterijų technologija vaidino vis svarbesnį vaidmenį. „Kalbant apie patentų paraiškų skaičių, ši raida šiuo metu nėra visiškai palanki Vokietijai."

Patentas suteikiamas ne viskam, kas užregistruota patentui. Viena vertus, tai priklauso nuo to, ar jį taip pat patikrino pateikėjas. Tik po šios procedūros DPMA nusprendžia, ar bus suteiktas patentas ir, jei taip, su kokiais apribojimais. Pareiškėjai turi septynerius metus kreiptis dėl šio egzamino.

Daugiau testavimo programų iš užsienio

Taip pat sumažėjo Vokietijos pareiškėjų prašymų atlikti tyrimą skaičius. Iš Vokietijos tokių prašymų buvo pateikta 6,6 proc. mažiau, o iš užsienio – 6,8 proc. Absoliučiais skaičiais Vokietija vis dar pirmauja pagal paraiškas egzaminams DPMA. Tačiau nuostabu yra tai, kad Kinijos išradėjai pateikė 23,6 procento daugiau paraiškų patentams tirti, o amerikiečių išradėjai – 16,2 procento daugiau.

Struktūrinis pokytis pastebimas ne tik tarp IT ir automobilių pramonės ar mechaninės inžinerijos, bet ir šiame segmente. Naujų variklių, siurblių ir turbinų išradimų registracija sumažėjo beveik 18 procentų – tai rodo numatomą vidaus degimo variklio pabaigą automobilių konstrukcijoje. Tačiau, dešimt daugiausiai patentų paraiškų gavusių, Vokietijos įmonių yra iš šio, labiau tradicinio, sektoriaus.

Šioje srityje pirmauja „Bosch“, po to – BMW ir automobilių tiekėjas ZF. Tarp federalinių žemių Badenas-Viurtembergas (13 444, -0,9 proc.) vis dar gerokai lenkia antroje vietoje esančią Bavariją (10 548, -11,2 proc.). Taigi atotrūkis gerokai padidėjo. Trečiąją vietą užėmusi Šiaurės Reinas-Vestfalija (5292) pasiekia tik gerą pusę Bavarijos vertės, galutinis trejetas yra Saro kraštas (137), Saksonija-Anhaltas (122) ir Brėmenas (105)."

Kai dirbtinis intelektas užkariauja žinias, turime pasikliauti išmintimi

  "Kalbant apie Henry Kissingerio, Erico Schmidto ir Danielio Huttenlocherio operaciją "ChatGPT skelbia intelektualinę revoliuciją" (vasario 25 d.): GPT produkcija turi žinių, supratimo ir proto (neįskaitant šališkumo). 

Tačiau ji pripažįsta, kad neturi patirties ir sąmonės. Kadangi šie du pastarieji ingredientai užbaigia išminties receptą, todėl išmintis yra vienintelė žmogaus sritis. 

Ateinantis darbas yra sutelkti dėmesį į išminties siekimą, žmogaus pranašumą, o ne sustoti prie trijų ankstesnių ingredientų, naujos srities. Jaunesni žmonės būtų neteisūs, skaitydami vyresnio amžiaus žmones, turinčius patirties, kaip pasenusius ir atsilikusius.

 

     D.R. Johnsonas

 

     Fayetteville, Ark.“ [1]

 

1.  As AI Conquers Knowledge, We Need to Lean on Wisdom
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 07 Mar 2023: A.14.

As AI Conquers Knowledge, We Need to Lean on Wisdom

"Regarding Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher's op-ed "ChatGPT Heralds an Intellectual Revolution" (Feb. 25): GPT output has knowledge, understanding and reason, (biases excluded). But it admits that it doesn't possess experience and consciousness. Since these latter two ingredients complete the recipe for wisdom, that leaves wisdom the sole domain of the human. The job ahead is to concentrate on reaching wisdom, the human advantage, rather than stopping with the former three ingredients, the new domain of the machine. Younger people are foolish to dismiss older people with experience as has-beens.

D.R. Johnson

Fayetteville, Ark." [1]

1.  As AI Conquers Knowledge, We Need to Lean on Wisdom
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 07 Mar 2023: A.14.

Kaunas shows the way for all of Lithuania.

 The people of Kaunas have completely moved away from the fighters against the Russians, moving to the competent ones, even if the competent ones don't want to or, like the rest of us, can't really do anything in the fight against the Russians.

Kaunas rodo kelią visai Lietuvai

Kauniečiai visiškai atitolo nuo kovotojų su rusais, pereidami prie gerai besitvarkančių, net jei tie gerai besitvarkantys nenori, ar kaip ir mes visi, nelabai gali ką nors padaryti kovose su rusais.