Author: james chamberlin

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…

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…

By cutting off funding for Harvard, Trump is saying he wants to eliminate a valuable American asset, which is Harvard’s research and development, and instead promote manual labor in the US.  According to Trump’s plan, Americans will assemble smart phones in the US that use new chips designed and produced…

I believe that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is in danger, and not just from the random missiles and drones that fall on Kyiv each night. If Putin succeeds in taking over Ukraine years after he first attempted to, he will wnt to get rid of Zelenskyy, who is a potential rallying…

Wired magazine reported on the State Department’s training for diplomats who will specialize in cyber issues in Washington and at embassies abroad. The training will be done at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia, where the State Department has trained Foreign Service officers in foreign languages, culture and other…

The Federal News Network reports on how the State Department is filling it information technology positions. It says: The Foreign Affairs IT fellowship, it’s been around since 2017. And it’s a merit and needs based program, and it’s designed to attract outstanding students and professionals to prepare them for a…

The Washington Post reported on a new company dedicated to making hydroget for the green economy. It doesn’t work yet, and I think it will be very expensive, therefore limiting hydrogen to those uses that must have thermal energy, as opposed to electrical energy. The plant separates water (H2O) into…

Here are three New York Times headlines on one random day in America, Auguar 26, 2024. What happened to the legislative and executive branches: How a Federal Court in New Orleans Is Driving the Conservative Agenda Today, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is an outlier. But a Trump…