The package could include 60 F-35 fighter jets and 400 Patriot missiles, the FT reported.President-elect Donald Trump has previously said Taiwan should pay the US to defend it.US officials believe China will be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Taiwan may buy a US weapons package worth more than $15 billion to show President-elect Donald Trump it is serious about defending itself against China.According to the Financial Times, the package could include 60 F-35 fighter jets, four Advanced Hawkeyes, 10 retired warships, and 400 Patriot missiles.People familiar with the matter told the publication that Taiwan may also request Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat System, which uses satellites to detect and destroy missile launches."Taiwan is thinking about a package to show that they are serious," one former Trump administration official told the Financial Times."Assuming they follow through, they will go to the US national security advisor when they are named and present a very aggressive package of American hardware."A senior Taiwanese national security official told the FT that informal discussions have already begun with the president-elect's team.Business Insider could not independently verify the report.In a statement to Reuters, the Taiwanese government denied renewed talks on arms sales with the US."There has been a period of consolidation and discussion between Taiwan and the United States on military needs, but there is no new stage of discussion at this time," it said.US officials believe China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, will be ready to invade by 2027.China would initially seek to target key US military sites in the region in missile attacks, then deploy thousands of drones to surveil and help pinpoint further strikes, experts previously told BI.The stakes are high. In its Global Peace Index 2023, the Institute for Economics and Peace estimated that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan would result in a $2.7 trillion loss in world economic activity in the first year alone, equivalent to a 2.8% decline in global GDP.Bloomberg's modeling, meanwhile, estimates that a total blockade of Taiwan and Western sanctions on China could result in a 5% worldwide GDP decline, with US GDP falling by 3.3% and China's by 8.9%.While Trump has not yet revealed his policy toward Taiwan, he has made comments to suggest Taiwan should pay the US to defend it against China."We're no different than an insurance company," he told Bloomberg in July."Taiwan doesn't give us anything. Taiwan is 9,500 miles away. It's 68 miles away from China. A slight advantage, and China's a massive piece of land, they could just bombard it."They don't even need to I mean, they can literally just send shells. Now they don't want to do that because they don't want to lose all those chip plants."Benjamin Blandin, a researcher at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, told BI's Singapore bureau it's unclear what protection Taiwan could receive from the US under Trump even if it were to pay up.Blandin added that it's highly unlikely the US would send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack."China will likely test American reactions by increasing further its gray-zone activities around Taiwan and also against the Philippines," said Sari Arho Havrn, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. In 2022, Biden vowed to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack. In October, he approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including radar systems and three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile SystemsDespite approving packages to Taiwan worth upward of $21 billion during his first term, Trump has been less explicit in his support.The Trump transition team, the Chinese embassy in London, and the British Office Taipei did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

In the weeks after Donald Trumps 2016 victory, many top tech leaders found themselves at a meeting in Trump Tower, frowning and quite obviously full of dread. Now, the same executives sound enthusiastic when they say theyre looking forward to working with the next president.After Tuesdays election, the congratulations from the tech elite to Trump came in fast. The day after he secured the White House, everyone from Tim Cook to Mark Zuckerberg posted their well wishes for Trumps second term. Even Jeff Bezos weighed in, hailing Trumps extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. This, from a man who has been in more than one public feud with Trump.The newfound praise does not, however, signal a political realignment in all of Silicon Valley. Tech executives as well as rank-and-file workers overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris in the election, which shouldnt be too surprising: Shes been involved in Bay Area politics for many years and has deep ties with the tech and venture capital industries. That allegiance continued the trends of the Obama era, which was marked by a bit of a love fest between Washington and Silicon Valley. Barack Obama, who won the White House in 2008 with the help of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, embraced the ethos of startup culture and celebrated tech companies as a positive force in the United States. He developed personal relationships with executives like Zuckerberg and championed tech-friendly policies. Now, that era is over. In its place is something darker and dominated by a small but very loud group of techno-libertarian Trump fans whose ranks include not only Elon Musk but also the industrys most influential investors, most of the PayPal Mafia, and the vice president-elect. Does that mean the tech industry has taken a turn to the right? Is Silicon Valley Trump country now?It is neither left nor right, Democrat or Republican, Margaret OMara, an American history professor at the University of Washington, told me after the election. She pointed out that the tech industry culture in Silicon Valley has its roots in post-Vietnam baby boomers viewing personal computers as a form of liberation. They didnt feel like they had anything in common with political conservatives, but they shared a libertarianism that ran its way all the way across the political spectrum, OMara added. Its kind of a funny libertarianism.Tim Cook and other tech leaders met with Donald Trump, Peter Thiel, and other members of the transition team at Trump Tower on December 14, 2016. Albin Lohr-Jones/Getty ImagesYou get a sense of Silicon Valleys anti-bureaucratic worldview in everything from Apples famous 1984 ad, which quite literally suggests tearing down the establishment, to Googles celebrated 20 percent rule, which lets employees work on side projects of their own choosing. Theres also a more extreme version of this philosophy in the tech industry, especially lately, one that leans into anti-establishment thinking, which explains their affinity for crypto. These 21st-century techno-libertarians just want to be left alone to build things and make money. The tech executives busy kissing the ring this week are not necessarily part of this crowd. The Tim Cooks of the world are just doing business, and that requires doing business with the president of the United States, whomever it might be. After the tumultuous first Trump administration, these leaders learned that the president-elect responds best to flattery and praise. Theyve actually been sucking up to Trump for months in hopes that they might have some sway in the event of his return to office. This would be handy for many reasons. The Biden administration, in a break from Obama, has been tough on Big Tech. He appointed anti-monopoly legal star Lina Khan to chair the Federal Trade Commission, and she mounted multiple antitrust suits against the countrys biggest tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta. Now, Khan is currently waiting to see if shell keep her job, and the targets of those lawsuits may have an ally in Trump, who gets to decide Khans fate. In addition to less intense regulatory scrutiny, tech companies would also enjoy lower corporate taxes, which Trump has promised to provide. In my mind, this isnt a story about Silicon Valley overall and DC overall, said Robert Lalka, a professor at Tulane University. Instead, whats occurring now involves the influence of far fewer people: a very close-knit network of like-minded Trump supporters, especially if we focus on the PayPal Mafia, and the transformation of the Republican Party and its policy agenda.The PayPal Mafia refers to a group of entrepreneurs who worked at PayPal in its early days before going on to found or help build hugely influential tech companies. If you had to pick a godfather of the PayPal Mafia and hence the leader of this pro-Trump techno-libertarian political revolution it would be Peter Thiel. The PayPal co-founder donated over $1 million to Trumps campaign back in 2016 and spent $10 million to help JD Vance win a Senate seat in Ohio in 2022. Thiel also helped fund a project to establish autonomous, floating nations in international waters, where they would be free of all laws and regulations one reason he has been called the avatar of techno-libertarianism.The motivations of the techno-libertarians, also now known as techno-authoritarians, are more twisted. Elon Musk, who was also a PayPal co-founder, emerged this year as Trumps biggest supporter after donating nearly $119 million to his campaign through his America PAC and has made the promotion of free speech one of his missions. Free speech is also a big part of why, after accusing it of censorship, Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and turned it into X, where the promotion of right-wing propaganda and misinformation may or may not have helped Trump get elected too. Its not hard to see why Musk would benefit from a close relationship with the White House. The billionaire certainly didnt have much of a rapport with the Biden administration, which snubbed him at an electric vehicle summit, an incident that reportedly led Musk to embrace Trump. Musks rocket company, SpaceX, makes billions of dollars through government contracts, while his car company, Tesla, is lobbying for fewer regulations around self-driving cars as it attempts to launch a robotaxi business. Musks company Tesla Energy, formerly SolarCity, has received billions in subsidies over the years and surely looks to benefit from the federal governments continued investment in the energy transition. Meanwhile, Trump has promised Musk a role in his administration as the secretary of cost-cutting a position that doesnt yet exist, but one that Trump seems to be seriously entertaining.The other loud pro-Trump voices in Silicon Valley share a web of connections to each other and to Musk. Theres former PayPal COO and Musk pal David Sacks, who spoke at the Republican National Convention in July; Joe Lonsdale, who co-founded Palantir with Peter Thiel and helped launch Musks America PAC; and Marc Andreessen, who last year published the 5,200-word Techno-Optimist Manifesto that envisions tech leaders as keepers of the social order. Its worth noting that not every member of the PayPal Mafia has pledged allegiance to Trump. Reid Hoffman, another former PayPal COO and LinkedIn co-founder is a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser. He donated $7 million to pro-Harris and pro-Biden PACs, even though hes a vocal Lina Khan critic. He was also on a list of more than 100 venture capitalists who threw their support behind Harris leading up to the election.Donald Trump did a campaign stop at a crypto-themed bar in New York Citys West Village on September 18. Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesAnd then theres cryptocurrency.Andreessens VC firm announced in 2022 it was going all-in on crypto, a bet thats starting to pay off after two years of looking very foolish. Trump has promised to create a strategic cryptocurrency stockpile for the US government in his second term. Trumps general anti-regulation, pro-crypto stance sent Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies soaring to all-time highs after election night, following a widely covered crypto winter that lasted a couple of years. You could argue that the crypto vote was vital to helping Trump and a lot of other Republican candidates win, too. The crypto industry has emerged as one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the country, pouring tens of millions of dollars into races against politicians they perceive to be anti-crypto and its working. So far, 48 candidates backed by pro-crypto PACs have won their races this year. Zero have lost. When you think of it that way, Trumps win on the back of techno-authoritarian billionaires seems less like a seismic shift in the politics of the tech industry and more like a bunch of one-issue voters who donated lots of money and got their way.I think a lot of it is about crypto, OMara said. Crypto is also tied in and always has been tied in to a broader worldview, which is one of libertarianism, deregulation, or privately regulated markets that are separate from government. She described this ethos as escaping the state.Now, the techno-libertarians are the state. The day after Trump declared victory, he asked Musk to join him on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And in the coming months, several more members of the PayPal Mafia get to decide what US tech policy will be for the next four years. You have to wonder if they just want to tear it all down. Or maybe theyll get bored and move to a floating nation in international waters where there are no laws and never have been.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Americans disheartened by this years election results may find themselves in a 2016 redux. Facing yet another Donald Trump presidency, you might be asking yourself: How do I cope? How will I steel myself to do it all over again for the next four years? This time around, Trump and his allies have vowed to deport millions of people, fire civil servants and appoint loyalists in their stead, and further restrict abortion access. These policies are genuinely distressing and can feel overwhelming for the many millions of people who will be affected by them. But it is not 2016. Having a clear-eyed plan for how youll handle what lies ahead is more protective than succumbing to despair. You can take the lessons learned to buttress your coping skills and avoid psychological exhaustion to make it through the coming days and the next four years. How to cope right nowDont suppress your emotions, process themIn the immediate aftermath of the election results, you may be flooded with emotions ranging from despair to rage. You cant suppress those emotions of fear and despair. You have to process them, says Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University. When you finally accept how you feel and the reality, you can start to focus on what you can change.Processing emotions requires quiet time with your thoughts. Its important in this moment to tune out distractions, like social media, and resist avoidant coping strategies, such as sleeping or doomscrolling, and sit with your feelings instead whether out in nature or while meditating in your living room.Right now, we probably dont have very high distress tolerance were maxed out, Heinz says. But just remembering those emotions dont last forever. They might feel like theyre going to eat you and swallow you whole, but if you can walk through them and come out the other side, you will be more emotionally intelligent.You may want to seek out a trusted friend or a mental health professional to help you work through some of your feelings, says Riana Elyse Anderson, an associate professor at Columbia Universitys School of Social Work. However, give yourself permission to mute group chats with friends if the conversation or information shared feels overwhelming.Stay in the momentInstead of worrying about whats to come, hard as that may be, ground yourself in the present. Remind yourself that the tree on your lawn is still there, that the bus is still following its route, says licensed clinical social worker Jne Hill. Squirrels are still scurrying along. Life is still going on, Hill says.She also recommends spending time with children who generally have other concerns theyre more interested in the book fair they just visited or the new move they learned in karate. This can bring you back into the present moment. Dont forget to lean into joy wherever you can this is what refills your energy stores.Avoid fatalistic thinkingAlthough the country has clarity on its next president, there are still plenty of unknowns about what exactly will unfold over the next four years. Uncertainty breeds anxiety, research shows, so its understandable to feel uneasy.Daniel Hunter, founder of Choose Democracy, an organization that provides resources to help Americans prepare for an undemocratic power grab, says his experience in activism has taught him that the solution isnt to bury your head in the sand or jump to the worst-case scenario. Try not to paint a narrative of the future based on assumptions.Consciously engage in that uncertainty and hold there are things we dont know, he says. We can grieve for the things we know, and we can grieve for the things we dont know, the things were not certain about. But thats different than telling ourselves a story.Curb reactionary impulsesTrumps first administration was a near-daily blitz of chaotic headlines, Hunter says. Trump would announce at 3 am some new policy that had never been discussed before, he says. Then people would feel like we have to react and do something about that. What it meant was we stayed in a constant state, or near-constant state, of Trump setting the agenda. This time around, try to be more measured and targeted with your reactions, Hunter says. Use moments of outrage to ask yourself what you feel inspired to do and what youd like to accomplish, and continue to press forward on those things, regardless of a political context, he says. Hunter points to the effectiveness of the so-called Muslim ban protests, which communicated the publics outrage over the policy at airports across the country. The disruption that happened in the airports, he says, was a major piece of putting the pressure on in a material way.Focus on what you can changeIn a similar vein, instead of devoting your attention to things you have no power to change, like the enactment of specific policies or Cabinet appointments, Heinz says to focus on what you do have control over. Choose one issue that resonates with you and find ways to get involved locally. It might be organizing something at the grassroots level to support new families who need child care, Heinz says. It could be going to a city council meeting to talk about housing.You can also consider areas where you dont feel like you have total control, Hill says. Are you not feeling in control of your livelihood, of your safety, your security, just being able to go out and not be attacked or injured? The question to then ask is, what can you control to make yourself feel safer during this moment? Perhaps thats spending more time with friends in your home. Maybe I want to spend some time beautifying and taking care of it, Hill says.Social isolation can make you feel fatigued and emotionally exhausted, studies suggest. Lonely people may also be less trusting of others, another study found. Surrounding yourself with people you love can bring comfort, Heinz says. The morning the race was called, Hunter texted a few friends to make plans to get together and commiserate, cry, laugh.Knowing your neighbors and finding local groups of people who champion the same causes as you can help you form community. Anderson recommends Mobilize to find events and volunteer opportunities near you. Think about what makes you feel like youve made a difference in the world. Is it protesting? Working with a mutual aid organization? Making dinner for your elderly neighbor? Ask yourself what issue in your town or city matters the most to you and how you could make an impact there. Getting people in person with each other is how were going to be able to show up for each other and also get the work done more effectively, Anderson says. Youve got to liveAuthoritarianism is fueled by fear, isolation, and perceived helplessness, Heinz says. That combination ultimately leads to psychological exhaustion, she says. But throwing yourself completely into resistance mode will ultimately lead to burnout. On the other end of the spectrum, there will be moments when you want to curl up in bed and shut out the world, but that isnt an effective long-term strategy, either.To keep from full emotional exhaustion, you need to set boundaries. We need psychological boundaries, Hunter says, not on our phones all the time, spaces where were not talking about it. Take time to rest and recuperate, but dont disengage. Set time limits on your news consumption, but dont avoid it completely. Balance upsetting coverage with good news, stories of progress, and examples of people who have gone through tragedy and made it to the other side. Support those you love and stand together with your community to protect others. How we live [is] not really a question thats intrinsically tied to a political outcome, Hill says. Obviously, it has real-life impact, globally and personally, but that philosophical question of how you live your life is not something that can be dictated by other people.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

I finally have a brand new updated car course available, check it out here - https://cgmasters.com/3d-cars-inside-and-out-in-blender/ This tutorial is a chapter from my older course, Master Car Creation in Blender. In this chapter we'll be modeling the car tire for a Corvette Stingray and you'll learn about using modifiers for an efficient workflow in building 3D tire models. Download the project files below to get started.Project Files -https://cgmasters.com/tutorials/tire_modeling_start_files.zip Check out https://cgmasters.com for more courses and tutorials.Like the tutorial and want to leave a tip?PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/cgmasterscom Bitcoin - bc1qh2cx8kz4wjj855cruk2sfwftl69vmmuau94w9vEthereum - 0xfb2D6886347434Eb2DACde22C6b96889dDAE6255XRP - r4A4bxQ5wK8R1rEhecgvTy1wSXoCfoE42bDogecoin - DLDZ8fngi4KJkNnHQafV4vxDwaPzZ7e92W

Dynamic Rope in Cinema 4DC4D + Redshift Project File https://i.mtr.cool/zdaplbmhjg Includes models, materials and render settings.Download and use royalty-free in your own projects!#Cinema4D #C4D #Redshift #CGShortcuts

SummaryThis podcast episode focuses on the creation of interactive visual effects (VFX) in video games, using Unreal Engine's Niagara system. It explains why interactive VFX are crucial for enhancing gameplay and player immersion, providing a step-by-step guide to creating simple interactive effects. The episode then discusses how to integrate these effects with gameplay events using Blueprints and emphasizes the importance of testing and optimizing these effects. It concludes with case studies highlighting successful implementations of interactive VFX in popular games like DOOM Eternal and Fortnite, and speculates on the future of this technology.

Part 2 - https://youtube.com/shorts/YOOSz3u3HbM Learn More: https://shorturl.at/bjHV0 Join our Realtime VFX for Games course and embark on an 8-week journey to mastering dynamic game effects. Learn about layering complexity in VFX, simulating a production environment.#VFX #games #cgma

Head to https://squarespace.com/cgmatter to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code CGMATTER https://www.patreon.com/posts/blend-calculus-107015661?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp ;amp;utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link https://www.cgmatter.com

CGI 3D Animated Short Film: Things in jars Animated Short Film by Malle Gress-Denois, Haruthai Marchand, Kianna Molino, Gwendoline Moscato, Ana Beln Negrete Jacome, Quentin Piefke, Matilda Vial and Yuewan Zhou at ESMA. Featured on CGMeetup Gallery http://www.cgmeetup.com/gallery Finn, a teen who goes on a visit to his grandmothers house for his birthday, finds himself entangled in an unexpected adventure along with his grandma, Fionna. Together theyll have to overcome every challenge, while remembering what it was to be a team.Directors: Malle Gress-Denois, Haruthai Marchand, Kianna Molino, Gwendoline Moscato, Ana Beln Negrete Jacome, Quentin Piefke, Matilda Vial and Yuewan ZhouMusic: Laurent Vang & David EscuderoVoices: Angela Kent, Hylan Kaczmarek, Mark KaczmarekSingers: Laurent Vang, Nolwenn GuhenneuxSound: Jos Vicente, Yoann Poncet, Mickal Merrheim - STUDIO DES AVIATEURS
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Hello everyone, it's CGVinny!In this livestream, I'll show you how to create your own tools and filters for Substance Painter using Substance Designer. This session is for those with a basic understanding of Substance Painter and Substance Designer. We will use advanced techniques to customize your workflow and push your creations to the next level. Agenda:Creating simple and complex graphsDeveloping custom filtersIntegrating and using tools in Substance PainterTips and tricks to optimize your workflowPrerequisites: This livestream is intended for users with basic knowledge of Substance Painter and Substance Designer. The basics of Substance Designer will not be covered.Join me for an interactive session where we will explore the fascinating world of creating custom materials and tools together. Prepare your questions and projects, and don't forget to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss anything. Subscribe and activate notifications to be informed when the livestream starts!See you soon for a session of creation and learning!Do you have suggestions/ideas to improve the content of my channel? Please send them to me here: https://cgvinny.com/feedback/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------https://linktr.ee/cgvinny Grupo de Telegram: https://t.me/Substance3DHub