Archive for European Union
Já við viðræðum. Já við Evrópu ! [sorry & thanks for all the fish]
Posted in pictures, Travel with tags 69⁰ North, EU, European Democratic Party, European Union, fishing quotas, Iceland, industrial fishing, referendum on September 1, 2026 by xi'an
Nature tidbits [14 May 2026]
Posted in Books, pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags academic freedom, AI, AI coding, anthropology, antibiotics, apes, Asilomar conference centre, biohazards, bioweapon, book review, California, Canada, coding, David Hume, EU, European Union, Fukushima Daïshi, Fukushima region, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, John Locke, LLMs, Middle East, Nature, nuclear disaster, programming, rationalism, sleep patern, US wars on June 21, 2026 by xi'an
The same issue covers the opening of a radiation observation centre in Fukushima, where an area of 300 km² remains off limit. While the remainder of the Fukushima region is declared as safe as the whole of Japan, very few people have returned. One of the goals of the institute (F-REI) is to induce more confidence in the scientific validity of the above declaration, but it remains to be seen how effective it will prove. (I intended to hike nearby this summer but plans have changed!)
Still in the 14 May volume, a longer “feature” article on the dangers of AI-based bioweapons. Which seem real but also difficult to counteract. Especially if rogue states are involved and can create AI-controlled robotic labs for the production. The common recommendation that scientists should create adequate guardrails sounds naïve, at best, since generic LLMs are not designed with such guardrails. (It seems to me each article on the topic reaches the Asilomar trigger at some point!) Followed by a less doom-laden article on the use of AI “vibe coding” by scientists, if not of lesser interest. Which relates to the explosive call to LLMs to design or improve codes. (Also impacting our students and courses in a massive way.) The gains are mostly appreciable for those in the know, since newcomers without coding experience are unlikely to spot subtle errors. (Of course, we a.s. faced pre-AI codes with a subtle error that took ages to detect. Or may even still be there!) The issue also contains an “outlook” leaflet [supported by external sources, who assumedly do not influence the contents!] on antimicrobial (incl. antibiotic) resistance. Among the causes are the default use of antibiotics in farming, which again reflect on the difficulty of controlling such practice (banned in the EU, except in some imports!) and the urge to reduce faster meat consumption. And a book review of Canadian anthropologist Samson’s The Sleepless Ape, which offers an interesting theory of evolution thru sleep deprivation! (“The philosophers John Locke and David Hume thought that sleep hindered rationalism and the pursuit of knowledge.”)
and it is getting worse… [verbatim]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Agent Orange, autoritarian, baby Trump, Bahrain, BBC, cliffs, Derailed Trump, designators, Donald Trump, European Union, humanism, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, nationalism, populism, Qatar, quotes, Saudi Arabia, The Guardian, The New York Times, theocracy, UAE, US elections 2024, US politics, war crimes on April 3, 2026 by xi'an
“It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.“ — DT, 28 Feb. 2026
“I might have forced [Israel’s] hand. If we didn’t do it, [Iran] were going to attack first.“ — DT, 03 March 2026
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough“ — DT, 08 March 2026
“There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.“ — DT, 06 March 2026
“I think there’s a very good chance we’re going to end up in a deal. And so we’re giving it five days and then we’re going to see where that takes it.” — DT, 23 March 2026
“I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side” — DT, 20 March 2026
“[The Iranian Government] want very much to make a deal. We’d like to make a deal, too.”— DT, 20 March 2026
“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.” — Pete Hegseth, 02 March 2026
“So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.“ — DT, 16 March 2026
“[NATO countries] don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” — DT, 20 March 2026
and it is getting worse… [verbatim]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Agent Orange, America, autoritarian, baby Trump, BBC, cliffs, Denmark, Derailed Trump, Donald Trump, European Union, global warming, Greenland, humanism, Kyiv, nationalism, NATO, Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, populism, quotes, snowstorm, The Guardian, The New York Times, theocracy, truth social, US elections 2024, US politics, war crimes, xenophobia on February 1, 2026 by xi'an
“The United States [of America] needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. (…) NATO should be leading the way for us to get it (…) [and] becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States [of America]. Anything less than that is unacceptable” — DT, 14 Jan. 2026
“Yeah, there is one [limit to my ability to use American military might]. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law.” — DT, 08 Jan. 2026
“We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries [sic], it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!” — DT, 17 Jan. 2026
“Considering your Country decided [sic] not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS [sic bis], I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the US. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland” — DT, 19 Jan. 2026
“Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 States. Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – whatever happened to global warming?” – DT, 23 Jan 2026
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that. It was very nice. A lot of people almost didn’t believe it, but they were very happy about it because they are struggling badly.” – DT, 29 Jan 2026
our closest enemy [verbatim]
Posted in Books, Travel with tags 61st Munich Security Conference, Donald Trump, EU, Europe, European Union, far-right ideology, imperialism, JD Vance, National Security Strategy, Russia, Stand Up To Trump, suprematism, Trump administration, Ukraine invasion, US politics, USA, verbatim, White House on December 17, 2025 by xi'an
It was clear from day #1 of the Trump -2.0 presidency (or day #25 if waiting for JB Vance’s attacks at the 61st Munich Security Conference) that it no longer considered Europe as a de facto ally, that the European Union should be terminated for being “set up to take advantage of” the USA, and that that its regulations and institutions were attacking freedom of opinion—for far-right parties—and of conducting business—for American companies. The November National Security Strategy published by the White House makes this even clearer and shows how deeply it is aligned with the “great replacement” conspiracy theory of these white supremacy parties, as well as downsizing the Russian menace. Ghastly.
Continental Europe has been losing share of global GDP (…) partly owing to national and transnational regulations that undermine creativity and industriousness. But this economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure. The larger issues facing Europe include activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence. Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies. Many of these nations are currently doubling down on their present path. We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation.
This lack of self-confidence is most evident in Europe’s relationship with Russia. European allies enjoy a significant hard power advantage over Russia by almost every measure, save nuclear weapons. As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, European relations with Russia are now deeply attenuated, and many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat. Managing European relations with Russia will require significant U.S. diplomatic engagement, both to reestablish conditions of strategic stability across the Eurasian landmass, and to mitigate the risk of conflict between Russia and European states. It is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, in order to stabilize European economies, prevent unintended escalation or expansion of the war, and reestablish strategic stability with Russia, as well as to enable the post-hostilities reconstruction of Ukraine to enable its survival as a viable state.
The Ukraine War has had the perverse effect of increasing Europe’s, especially Germany’s, external dependencies. (…) The Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition. A large European majority wants peace, yet that desire is not translated into policy, in large measure because of those governments’ subversion of democratic processes. This is strategically important to the United States precisely because European states cannot reform themselves if they are trapped in political crisis. Yet Europe remains strategically and culturally vital to the United States (…) Not only can we not afford to write Europe off—doing so would be self-defeating for what this strategy aims to achieve.
American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history. America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism. Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory. We will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete, and to work in concert with us to prevent any adversary from dominating Europe. America is, understandably, sentimentally attached to the European continent (…) The character of these countries is also strategically important because we count upon creative, capable, confident, democratic allies to establish conditions of stability and security. We want to work with aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness.
Our broad policy for Europe should prioritize:
• Reestablishing conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia;
• Enabling Europe to stand on its own feet and operate as a group of aligned sovereign nations, including by taking primary responsibility for its own defense, without being dominated by any adversarial power;
• Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations;
• Opening European markets to U.S. goods and services and ensuring fair treatment of U.S. workers and businesses;
• Building up the healthy nations of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe through commercial ties, weapons sales, political collaboration, and cultural and educational exchanges;
• Ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance; and
• Encouraging Europe to take action to combat mercantilist overcapacity, technological theft, cyber espionage, and other hostile economic practices.
