The Human Archipelago / L'Archipel humain

  Il y a un demi-siècle, l'Union soviétique a d'abord dominé la conquête de l'espace, avant de se laisser distancer par les États-Unis. (Article basé sur un texte publié sur X (Twitter) le samedi 2 novembre 2024) La compétition spatiale entre la Chine et les États-Unis fait irrésistiblement penser à la course à la Lune des années 60, entre l'Union soviétique et les USA, mais avec des différences majeures. D'abord, cette course visait essentiellement la Lune, alors qu'ici, il y a deux objectifs principaux, la Lune et Mars, soit les deux objets célestes les plus susceptibles d'accueillir un jour des installations humaines, même limitées. Ensuite, il ne s'agit plus simplement d'y mettre le pied à quelques reprises pour prendre des photos et récolter quelques échantillons, puis d'en revenir en laissant peu de traces de son passage. Ici, il est plutôt question de monter une série de missions visant à terme à mettre en place des établissements durables

  Here's a series of publications on X (Twitter) in the last few weeks, as combat continues to rage in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and as tensions keep rising here and there, along the line of contact between the Eurasian powers (BRICS) and the Western powers (G7), all around Eurasia, including in the Indian subcontinent and in East Asia. The presidential election in the United States (and especially the growing prospect of a second Trump mandate) will certainly be important in determining the course of what many observers are already starting to call the Third World War... * * * (September 30, 2024) A direct claim of China on the Andamans and Nicobar archipelagos is a possibility, as stated in this 2016 article in the Indian press. It is also mentioned in the last edition of the American publication The Diplomat. Another possibility is a claim made by Myanmar, an ally of China. That country already own the islands to the north of the two archipelagos. Geographical proximi

  Here's a text published recently on X (Twitter). * * * (October 18, 2024) An illuminating article about the current race to the Moon. It is increasingly clear, though, that this race will probably not be between the respective space agencies of America and China. For one, the once-mighty NASA has become a shadow of itself. Its new rocket is a monstruosity that cost a fortune and is a one-shot affair. And its plan for bringing a crew on the surface of the Moon is, compared to China's much simpler and doable approach, a complex logistical nightmare where everything can go wrong, and where something, somewhere, s omehow probably will. In a long-term program of lunal exploration and exploitation, NASA seems doomed to fail, especially in a country with out-of-control deficits, exploding national debt, and more pressing needs. This Moon Race 2. 0 should really oppose China and SpaceX, not China and NASA. It is becoming increasingly clear that America's only chance of getting

  These posts on X (Twitter) have been published in the last weeks. They describe the rising tensions all around the Eurasian landmass, from Ukraine to the Middle East, and then to East Asia and the South China Sea. That arc of tensions separate the expanding Chinese sphere of influence, as represented in part by the BRICS economic association and also by the SCO political association, and the receding Western sphere of influence, centered on the United States. Other flashpoints along the same arc include the civil war in Sudan and the insurgency in Myanmar, along with the South Caucasus conflict, now resolved, at least for now, and the Sahelian crisis, still ungoing. The next summit of the BRICS countries, to be held in Russia in a few weeks, may bring another round of expansion, with unpredictable consequences all over the geopolitical tectonic plates... * * * (September 1, 2024) A lucid voice from Taiwan can be heard in this letter to Nikkei Asia, refusing to join the current anti-C

  (Voici une série de pûblications sur X / Twitter au cours des dernières semaines.) * * * (17 août 2024) Family is paramount. Individualism is a social cancer that is eating the West from the inside out. In human life, the individual is nothing and family is everything. https://johnmenadue.com/birth-rate-down-attacks-on-marriage-and-family-are-counterproductive/ * * * (28 août 2024) En Suède, tout récemment, selon le texte ci-dessous, une ligne complète de vêtements folkloriques unisexe a été créée en s'inspirant des vêtements réels d'autrefois, lesquels étaient différents selon le sexe. Cela semble avoir été fait pour accommoder les personnes non binaires et éviter de les traumatiser en les confrontant avec des réalités biologiquement offensantes. Un jour, dans un demi-siècle, voire même avant, nos descendants ne pourront s'empêcher de se tordre de rire en pensant aux sottises délirantes qui circulent présentement, ces dernières années, surtout en Occident, concernant les

  (Here's a series of publications on X / Twitter, published in the last weeks.) * * * (16 août 2024) AUKUS appears likely to happen, for better or for worse... An interesting point being made in this article is that Australia, with hindsight, would probably have been better off to stay the course with the initial contract with France, instead of finding itself stuck with such a fuzzy and expensive alternative. Strangely enough, the whole AUKUS thing remind one of Brexit: an idea that sounded fine, at least at first... https://johnmenadue.com/aukus-one-of-the-worst-defence-and-foreign-policy-decisions-our-country-has-made/ * * * (20 août 2024) This interesting article in Foreign Affairs has only one flaw, but a big one. It is based on the assumption that America is all-powerful, it can do whatever it choose, and money is no object. The argument may seem evident now, but it is not in reality, and it is likely to become increasingly baseless with time. Just look at the current budg

(Série de publicartions parues sur X / Twitter au cours des dernières semaines.) * * * (2 août 2024) La rivière du Désert est ainsi nommée parce qu'elle se termine sur une vaste clairière (i.e. un espace "déserté", selon le vocabulaire de l'époque), à son confluent avec la rivière Gatineau. Pour les premiers explorateurs français, il s'agissait simplement d'un lieu désert, sans arbre, au beau milieu d'un environnement forestier. Les Algonquins utilisaient cet endroit ouvert, aujourd'hui connu sous le nom de Pointe des Pères, comme point de rassemblement saisonnier. Les familles se dispersaient l'hiver dans les collines environnantes et se rassemblaient au confluent des deux rivières lors du retour de la belle saison, pour des retrouvailles. Cette présence algonquine explique d'ailleurs l'établissement d'un poste de traite de la compagnie de la baie d'Hudson sur ce site, au confluent des deux rivières, juste au nord de l'embouch

(Published on X / Twitter in the last weeks.) * * *  (August 9, 2024) The Americanisation of culture and public policy is a growing phenomenon in Australia, as this very interesting text in Pearls & Irritations shows, but also in Canada. It is especially true for the English-speaking part of the population of Canda, which is to be expected given the many similarities between Anglo-Canadians and Anglo-Americans, but it can also be seen among francophones, though to a lesser degree. It has an influence on the matter of foreign policy in both countries. Ottawa is used to follow Washington everywhere as much as Canberra is, no matter who is in power at this or that moment. That being said, the economic and political growth of the emerging powers, especially China and the ofther BRICS countries in general, should eventually have an impact on that phenomenon if America continues its relative decline. https://johnmenadue.com/the-americanisation-of-australias-public-policy-media-national-i