Archive for Iran
les mille et une vie de Marjane Satrapi [cover]
Posted in Books, pictures with tags BD, comics, cover, French culture, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Libé, Liberation, Marjane Satrapi, obituary, Persepolis, Résistance, theocracy, Woman Life Liberty on June 22, 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.”)
mort d’une résistante [درگذشت مرجان ساتراپی، مبارز مقاومت]
Posted in Books, Kids, Travel with tags bande dessinée, banned books, BD, book censoring, Cannes film festival, comics, compulsory veiling laws, Farsi, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahsa Amini, Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis, Persian music, Special Jury Prize, tar, theocracy, US politics, Woman Life Liberty on June 5, 2026 by xi'an
Today, the Iranian-French BD writer Marjane Satrapi (1969-2026) died. She is the author of the monumental Persépolis (originaly written in French) denouncing the Islamic Republic theocracy, seen through the eyes of a young girl. (A book eerily banned from some US school libraries as Islamic literature!) She also adapted the books into a film, winning Special Jury Prize in 2007 from the Cannes Film Festival. I also loved her Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums), following a tar player dying from sadness when loosing his beloved instrument after an argument with his wife. (Tragic premonition: Satrapi’s family announced that she died of sadness from loosing her husband, Mattias Ripa…) More recently, she also coordinated the collective book Femme, Vie, Liberté (Woman, Life, Freedom) in support of the Iranian revolts following the killing of Mahsa Amini.
We are gravely concerned that the conduct and threats outlined here are causing serious harm to civilians in the Middle East, and that they also contribute to escalating the conflict, damaging the environment and the global economy, and that they risk degrading the rule of law and fundamental norms that protect every nation’s civilians
Posted in Books, Kids, Travel, University life with tags civilian deaths, civilization, Geneva Conventions, ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross, international humanitarian law, international law, Iran, Israel, Israeli government, jus ad bellum, jus in bello, Just Security, nuclear power plant, protection of civilians, rules of engagement, stone ages, Trump administration, UN, United Nations Charter, United States, war crimes on April 8, 2026 by xi'an
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
