Archive for Agent Orange
Civilians in Lebanon are already paying an unbearable price with children, health workers and journalists amongst those killed—the latest attacks will only escalate this devastating human toll
Posted in Kids, pictures with tags Agent Orange, Amnesty International, Beirut, ceasefire, civilian deaths, freedom of press, Hezbollah, international humanitarian law, Israeli bombardments, Israeli government, Lebanon, Stop the War, Trump administration, war crimes on April 11, 2026 by xi'anand 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
Nature’s menu [12 March 2026]
Posted in Kids, pictures with tags Agent Orange, AI, diabetes, ethical machine learning, funding, health, Jeffrey Epstein, microbiome, moisturizer, Nature, NIH, nutrition, Pokemon, potatoes, proteins, rationing, starch, Stop the War, sugar, sunscreen, Trump 2.0, Veganuary, WWII on March 26, 2026 by xi'an
In this issue with a nutrition highlight, some recommendations for healthier options, not particularly surprising:
- “Morning coffee seems best for heart health“, based on a large longitudinal US study, even though “relationship between coffee consumption and health is unclear”, and especially since this does not impact all-day coffee (and tea?) drinkers.
- “Go vegan for the gut microbiome“, again based on a relatively large metagenomics study (in the US, the UK, and Italy). Omnivorous get the most diverse microbiomes, but red-meat eaters produce some species linked with IBD and cancers, while vegans host more beneficial bacteria with anti-inflammatory impact. Dairy eaters are also (unsurprisingly) associated with healthier microbiomes. And a connected article in this volume on how changes in the microorganisms in the guts contribute to cognitive decline.
- “The quest for proteins“, associating the hormone FGF21 as an endocrine signal of protein deprivation, and hence justifying our craving for protein-loaded food. Without concluding at its health consequences.
- “Sugar rationing reduced diabetes and high blood pressure“, really?! Reminiscing of the post-war (WWII) years in the UK when sugar was rationed. And surveying people born before and after the rationing about their diabetes and hypertension patterns. (Guess what?!)
- “Ditch the fries, not the mash” as a recommendation to eat potatoes despite the high sugar content of this starchy root (which I very rarely consume, even less in the fried format!). Again based on a huge longitudinal study of 5.2 million people years! The conclusion is still that “replacing total potatoes (…) with whole grains was associated with a lower risk of [type 2 diabetes],”
And a shorter list of recommendations for skin care, away from influencers! Like applying sunscreen, eating a nutrient-dense diet, using a simple, well-balanced moisturizer. Apart from these servings, a continuation of themes met in previous issues
- an editorial on the three recipients of the 2026 Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature, as part of a series of remarkable women scientists, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Xiwen Gong at the University of Michigan, Ellen Roche at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Zhen Xu at the University of Michigan, with a rather un-international location
- yet another tribune on Epstein!, calling for stricter rules on private funding of research,
- and yet another on stopping the use of AI in war, which has about as much chance to be heeded as a call to stop the wars (alas!),
- two further wishful opinion articles calling for action against Trump 2.0, with lots of must and can, but little consideration for the negligence of the rule of law by Agent Orange and his administration…
And an article on how Pokémons inspired future scientists, especially those involved in collecting and classifying.
lost science
Posted in Books, pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags @ScientistTrump, Agent Orange, book review, capitalism, China, globalisation, grants, greed, indirect costs, liberalism, mirror workshop, Mondrian forests, nationalism, Newspeak, NIH, NSF, public funding, student visa, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Trump 2.0, Trump administration, UCS, University of Ottawa, US Congress, US research on February 22, 2026 by xi'anThe on-going Orange chainsaw massacre on US science is taking a significant chunk of 22 Jan issue of Nature. With prognosis for 2026, and more of the same, special maps on quantifying the impact of 2025 Federal cuts, scientists reflecting on disrupted careers and best ways of fighting back. Plus a book review of The Great Global Transformation by Branko Milanovic (to appear), which explores how globalization and the rise of new elites has induced a parallel growth in nationalism and greed. Which strongly correlates with the Orange disaster. (As a funny aside, both the authors of Why China Will not Rule the World and of When China Rules the World are quoted for their positive reviews!)
On the 2026 US budget prospects, the battle between the Trump administration and the US Congress will a.s. (hopefully!) continue, incl. the cuts to indirect costs, the politisation of grant panels, the drop in foreign student applications and conference attendees. The maps are making much more sense through Nature interactive page than on paper. Since the Mondrian-like maps that represent grant cuts and cancellations according to state, funding source (NIH, NSF—from which direction our Ottawa U friend Panchanathan resigned last April), court reinstatement, and topics. Still, the dynamic change of colours and the lack of scale make these poor or even terrible graphs. Over-optimistic scientists consider reimagining higher education towards public needs (to be distinguished from populist and conspirationist calls on which ground?!), turning to philanthropic support (with highly uncertain long-term prospects, seeing how quickly high-tech moguls turned their jackets under Orange pressure!), and the remaining entries are just wistful thinking… The UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists) is reported documenting 536 attacks of the Trump administration on science and scientific integrity, not counting harassment and intimidation, but this pales against the several thousand federal scientists who have fired and the remaining ones who (still) work in federal agencies under several swords of Damocles, from abruptly cut funding, to newly prohibited domains of research, like health disparities and sexual diseases, to firing, and to visa cancellation… Not a comforting read, this 22 Jan issue of Nature, when realising how massive, deep, long-term-impacting, the havoc the Trump administration has wreaked (or wrought!) on science as much as economy and international relations.
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
Xi'an's Og