Archive for Trump administration
naked imperialism & ultimate deligitimization
Posted in pictures, Travel with tags Afghanistan, authoritarian regime, Caracas, cover, Hugo Chavez, imperialism, international law, Irak, Kidnapped, Libé, Lybia, Maoist posters, military coup, propaganda, rule of law, South America, Trump administration, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela on January 5, 2026 by xi'an
Nature tidbits [06 Nov 2025]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags 5 year plan, @ScientistTrump, AI, Amazon, brain model, Brazil, CDC, China, Chinese politics, civet coffee, climate change, coal mining, coffee, coral reefs, cover, DNA helix, EPA, evidence, Florida, Francis Crick, India, James Watson, koti luwak, LLM, Margaret Thatcher, minerals, mining, MRC, NASA, Nature, NIH, Nobel Prize, non-fossil energy, non-fossil fuels, NOOA, pangolin, PhD scholarship, proteins, rare earths, renewable energy, Singapore, Trump administration, US politics on January 3, 2026 by xi'an
A reflection on China’s 5y plan for science and its reaching a $500 billion annual investment in R&D, predicting (with a large confidence margin) that it will become the #1 power in sciences and technology in the coming decade. I am actually surprised that China has not yet achieved this goal for semi-conductors. And a tribune on the mixed signal of Takaichi Sanae becoming Japan’s first female prime minister, for science as a whole and for gender equity. (My take being that her having UK’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, as a role-model is not particularly promising. Just like the projection of Marine Le Pen on the verge of becoming France’s first female president does not carry any optimistic message!)
A light entry on a chemical analysis of the specifics of koti luwak (or civet coffee) that does not tell much, beside civet digestion adding caprylic and capric acids making beans lower in proteïns and higher in fat. Not yet reaching the goal of “leaving the animals out” from producing this luxury coffee ($75 a cup!).
An article on the shrinking number of US PhD admissions (in some colleges) conflicting with another article in a later issue of a stable influx. And a rather shallow article on the creativity or lack thereof of AI, along with the high sycophancy of LLMs, to be opposed to a thoughtful reflection on how AI is radically changing the PhD experience and focus, if almost shelving statistics as a thing from the past! But insisting on graduates keeping their ability to check for the validity of their (AI’s) statistical conclusions!! And another entry on the systematic dismantling of US federal scientific agencies like EPA, CDC, NASA, NOOA, NIH, &tc., by Trump -2.0, which beyond terminating staff contracts in huge proportions is culling the independence of these agencies. With generational impacts on science, training, and evidence-based policies.
A Where I work column featuring a pangolin treated by a Singapore vet, Charlene Yeong. (Unfortunately said pangolin was euthanised after the surgical intervention.) And a book review on the background and motivations of Francis Crick, just prior to his collaborator James Watson passing away. As noted by the author, Cobb, as MRC staff and later non-resident fellow of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, “Crick never had to teach or grapple with university administration: he applied for a grant only once in his life.” And concludes that he was not a saint or a hero but “an extraordinarily clever man with limits to his interests and perception”.
renewable energy [book review]
Posted in Books, Kids, Travel with tags agrivoltaics, biomass, book review, CHANCE, Chernobyl disaster, China, climate change, Cop30, dam, dams, EU, Fukushima Daïshi, hydro storage, hydroenergy, Normandy, nuclear energy, nuclear safety, OUP, Oxford University Press, Paris Agreement, photovoltaics, Que sais-je?, renewable energy, Russian invasion, sun farms, tidal dam, Trump administration, Ukraine, very short introduction, wind farms on December 28, 2025 by xi'anRenewable Energy
(2nd edition, 2025), by Nick Jelley is part of the terrific “Very Short Introduction” series, which provides an expert introduction to a topic within 150 pages. (The OUP equivalent of the French series “Que sais-je?” that started in 1941.) The reason for the second edition, as provided by the author, is the “dramatic expansion, and fall in cost” of clean energy products. Unfortunately, it comes out just short of realising the magnitude of the backlash again renewable energy and fighting climate change launched by the second Trump administration and the ensuing added pressure on other countries to reduce further their fuel consumption.
The main sources of renewables are identified as wind, sun, and water, in a first chapter that operates as an historical recap on the evolution of energy sources and consumption. The second chapter stresses the need for renewable to fight global warming and to reverse climate change, with a rather vague discussion of the costs of producing energy from renewable. Chapter 3 focusses on (debatable) biomass, solar heat, and hydropower. Chapter 4 on wind power, with a few paragraphs on the production costs and the reluctance of local populations (that seems to be fuelled by right-wing parties). Chapter 5 is specifically about solar photovoltaïcs, deemed to be now cheaper than fossil fuels inmost countries. And substituting for deficient or inexistent large scale energy grids in some countries. And Chapter 6 deals (briefly) with other low-carbon technologies, like tidal dams (mentioning the 1966 La Rance dam near Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, we would visit now and then when I was a kid!), wave turbines, nuclear energy, and geothermal power (both heating and providing electricity). Chapter 7 discusses renewable electricity issues with energy storage (batteries and pumped hydro storage), since most solutions cannot be fired at will. The book addresses neither the loss in carrying electricity over long distances (as suggested p103 between Morocco and Europe, or Australia and Singapore), nor the hacking risks impacting large electricity grids. Chapter 8 switches to decarbonasing heat and transport, where heat pumps and electric vehicles are the most promising venues. Chapter 9 concludes by a more political discussion of the transition to renewable, pointing out the Chinese leadership in switching to solar and wind capacities. And the brake put on the transition by international crisis such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine that keep subsidies on fuel consumption. And make European countries divesting from this transition to invest in military budgets.
While the book manages a proper introduction to renewable energy and stays up-to-date with the current developments, I find it a bit overly optimistic on the prospect of achieving COP goals and carbon neutrality. Beyond the geostrategic issues briefly mentioned in the concluding chapter, there is no mention made of the exploding energy consumption of AIs and of the limited investments of AI companies into renewable energies… Reducing energy demand does not even occupy one page of the book (p127). Similarly, I find too little discussion of the political and human aspects of using renewables, eg photovoltaïcs and batteries, which resurfaced in the recent Chinese blockade on rare earths or coverages (as in Nature, 04 Nov 2025) on the extreme hardship of extracting minerals. Contrary to those (aspects) for massive dams affecting the local populations and in the dispute between countries or States. And also little on the environmental costs of producing and recycling both solar and wind farms, in contrast with hydroelectricity. Surprisingly, nuclear energy is evacuated in one paragraph in Chapter 2, on safety arguments. If reappearing in Chapter 6 with further concerns about the overall cost of nuclear energy.
[The usual disclaimer applies, namely that this bicephalic review is likely to appear later in CHANCE, in my book reviews column.]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Posted in Books, Travel with tags Calibry, censoring, DEIA, Department of State, diversity, fonts, Newspeak, reactionaries, Roman Empire, The New York Times, Times New Roman, Trump administration, US politics on December 27, 2025 by xi'an
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.
