Month: June 2025

In the Financial Times, Ankit Panda opines that the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites may be the death knell for the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Iran’s lead­ers now have sev­eral options, but a chief con­sid­er­a­tion will be the mat­ter of whether to remain in the NPT or to become only…

When I arrived in Rome, my predecessor had been gone for some time.  His assistant, who would be my assistant, had been handling the science job until my arrival.  I had not had Italian language training, and the main issue for the office was fisheries, which was handled by the…

Bloomberg reports that export controls will play an increasing role in trade negotiations: The London meetings showcased the growing role of export controls in modern trade warfare, where access to rare minerals or tiny microchips can give one economy a big edge over a rival. China controls much of the…

A New York Times editorial described the ways in which President Trump has behaved corruptly in office: The self-enrichment of the second Trump administration is different from old-fashioned corruption. There is no evidence that Mr. Trump has received direct bribes, nor is it clear that he has agreed to specific…

Miles Taylor v. Trump https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/03/anonymous-miles-taylor-trump-treason-interview-00380063

As I was finishing my tour as the deputy director of the State Department’s “green” environmental office – responsible for living things like forests, animals, and humans – the office across the hall that was responsible for supporting foreign service science officers in the field asked if I would accept…