Archive for Islamic Republic of 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.
a journal of the Aregenua years
Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel, University life, Wines with tags affogato al caffè, archeology, Black Plague, boarding school, book reviews, Caen, Channel, conspiracy theories, Courseulle, COVID-19, Daniel Defoe, Dark Ages, FBI, Gallo-Roman culture, ghost story, gothic novels, half-marathon, Iranian regime, Islamic Republic of Iran, Journal of the Plague Year, museum, Roman Empire, Russian invasion, Stand Up To Trump, thriller, Ukraine, Vieux-la-Romain, Vieux-la-Romaine on May 10, 2026 by xi'an
Read The Moth Diaries, by Rachel Klein, presumably following a recommendation in The Guardian or on Tor’s Reactor blog. This is a 2002 book, labelled as gothic horror by the review I read then. However, there is little horror in the novel and much more of a diffracted snapshot of a perturbed pupil at a US boarding school, traumatised by the suicide of her father. As the story is told through and only through the diary of that pupil, most facts being reported second-hand and not always coherently, it becomes quickly impossible to separate truth from fantasy, especially the veracity of another pupil being a vampire. Or just the new best friend of the narrator’s former best friend. Which makes the book much more interesting, if unsettling. (Especially regarding how a sexual assault by a teacher on the pupil is not reported by her as such.)
During a May 01 trip to Caen, if not for the half-marathon, next month!, I visited the nearby fish market in Courseulle, where I tasted fantastic, local, oysters, possibly at the height of their growth, despite the warning to avoid oysters in months without R’s! I also taught a restaurant waiter how to make affogato! And visited the amazing archaeological site of Aregenua, in the tiny village of Vieux, of which I had never heard. This Gallo-Roman city was the centre of local power in the early centuries, when Caen hardly existed, with 5000 inhabitants, temples, a forum and a theatre. All of which gradually vanished in the Dark Ages… The site is now protected from pilfering, but a large fraction remains un-escavated. (Too bad the museum boutique was not selling garum!)
Watched some episodes of The Night Agent (2), rather efficient copycat of the Bourne movies, but also requiring a huge suspension of belief in its accumulation of coincidences and the ability of the agents to operate in completely new environments. With a completely implausible reception at the Iranian Embassy. (And a DGSE agent with an awful French.) But the tension in the cat & mouse “game” is there, to the point I had to split episodes when it got too intense!
mirror of the warmongers
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures with tags civilian deaths, imperialism, international law, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israeli bombardments, Israeli government, Lebanon, pro-democracy protesters, Russian invasion, theocracy, Trump administration, Ukraine, United Nations Charter, US Congress, US politics, Vladimir Putin, war crimes on March 11, 2026 by xi'anThe New York Times reporter Anton Troianovski drew a ghastly parallel between the declarations of Russian officials on the invasion of Ukraine and of US officials on the attacks on Iran. As a background for the lack to a long term strategy behind these attacks and the highly unlikely emergence of an Iranian democracy…
“[the United States] didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.” — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
“We didn’t start the so-called war in Ukraine. Rather, we are trying to finish it.” — President Vladimir V. Putin
“This is a special military operation. If Russia had started a full-scale war, it would have been over long ago.” Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin
“I think it’s an operation.” — Speaker of the US Congress Mike Johnson
“We haven’t even yet started anything in earnest.” — President Vladimir V. Putin
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard.” — President Donald Trump
“I am appealing to the military of the armed forces of Ukraine. Do not allow neo-Nazis and Banderites to use your children, wives and elders as a live shield. Take power into your own hands.” — President Vladimir V. Putin
“I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country” — President Donald Trump
“the leaders of France, Germany and the UK (…) are the ones that are wrong by refusing to come to the Iranian people’s aid and adding insult to injury, you’re suggesting we should continue to negotiate with religious Nazis.” — US Senator Lindsay Graham
While the NYT article does not get into a similar mirroring with Israel official statements on their attacks on Iran and Lebanon, they also follow the very same warlike rhetoric…
