Agree. I have been using @kagi.com for several months now, and it is absolutely amazing.

And yet, I do not think I have ever been so concerned about the international situation as I have been in the last few days.

I lived through the First Cold War. I was born 9 days after the Berlin Wall was put up. I was a year old when the Cuban crisis erupted.

In school, we learned how to put on a gas mask and where the nearest nuclear shelter was.

Food security is under threat globally due to climate change and supply chain disruption. It is imperative that we find solutions that not only provide food but are also sustainable for farmers across the world.

I want to bring to your attention an exciting conference in Thailand in December 2026, icaai2026.mfu.ac.th

#PlantHealth #Plants #Agriculture #FoodSecurity

As long it is not two instances of Co-pilot...

State of the War in Iran Is Israel Running Out of Steam? The US is bleeding cash. Threats to raise oil prices (even more). A new participant in the war? Dark Omens. And, fake numbers?

A sober reading. For me the key is the second section on food security, given my interest in agriculture.

Turbulent times ahead, particularly in the Global South. Screwed up already by cancelling USAID, it is now facing fertiliser shortage.

open.substack.com/pub/robertva...

Trump’s Other Tariff Like his tariffs on goods, Trump’s huge tax on overseas talent will harm the economy and fail its stated objective.

For many of the United States’ top research institutions, the new visa fee would result in tens of millions of dollars in new costs—or, more likely, simply block these institutions from hiring the people they need.

thedispatch.com/newsletter/c...

🔍 #Biodiversity. Water. Food. Health. #ClimateChange.

They're all connected, but how deep do these interlinkages go?

Find out more in the IPBES #NexusAssessment Report intro video. 💡

Weekly Agriculture Farms keep getting bigger, even as more close each year — suggesting that small and family farms are hit hardest by economic headwinds.

GRIM FINDINGS: Farmers, who make up one of the Republican Party’s most loyal voting blocs, have been struggling as consistently high input costs thin their margins. Small producers are especially embattled

A big and yet widely ignored threat to food security

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

NHS was ‘on brink of collapse’ during pandemic, Covid inquiry finds Heather Hallett says ‘superhuman’ efforts of workers were at times the only reason health service survived

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Yes, the lockdown was a terrible thing. But it was the only thing standing between us and a much worse disaster.

We simply did not have at that time any other way to stop the pandemic.

Anyone who now tries to invent an alternative reality is lying. #COVID19

Same for food and timber security. We are price takers and massive importers, we need food and timber grown in the country. #foodsecurity

What a privilege to be at Verdi Requiem concert by Edinburgh University Music Society.

So, I have used #ClaudeCode for the first time today.

A dataset I already worked on, but wanted to do additional analysis and tidy up figures.

TL&DR: Very positive.

Takes some time to get used to, but not needing to struggle with code is brilliant.

Expensive in terms of usage on my PRO plan.

#CONFORAwards26

Very proud to represent @forestrytrust.bsky.social at #CONFORawards2026 and congratulations to all prize winners

Europe should make @anthropic.com an offer to move Claude here.

@eib.org and/or Norges Bank should provide a loan to quickly build a data centre.

#Claude is a large set of numbers plus hardware. A 1TB disk can store 10^11 double-precision numbers. A data centre can be built in 12-18 months.

Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. As vaccination rates decline, the economic consequences will increase, research suggests.

The first concern with measles is, of course, the devastating health impact.

But this article does a great job of explaining the economic costs.

Catastrophic for the world-leading science.

The shape of the multipolar world is a little clearer A few thoughts on the new Iran war.

Again, one of the best comments on the war on Iran. Strongly recommend - if there is one Substack worth subscribing, it is by Noah Smith !

open.substack.com/pub/noahpini...

Yes, but it is going to get worse, and we are neither prepared nor even considering how to be prepared.

A disclaimer: I am a late Boomer... so part of the problem myself.

AI – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Part 5 Anthropic and Pentagon I have been planning to write a longer post on what AI I am using, but I have been too busy to produce a satisfactory post. Also, my approach has been changing recently, as I…

My take on the use of genAI:

statisticallyinsignificant.blog/2026/02/27/a...

Also on substack, statisticallyskeptical.substack.com

Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War A statement from our CEO on national security uses of AI

www.anthropic.com/news/stateme...

"We have maybe five years before gerontocratic lock-in becomes permanent." Writer and think tanker Jeff Giesea understands the significance of the demographic time bomb.

"We are not prepared — emotionally, politically, financially — for what it means to care for tens of millions of aging boomers while also trying to invest in the future for our children.”

open.substack.com/pub/lloydalt...

If any tech people do happen to have the ears of billionaires, I am here with my wallet open saying I would pay EXTRA for devices and software that don't have AI in them. Please take my money.

Western Countries Do Not "Need" Immigration But it may still be a good idea to have it

One of the best and well-balanced views on immigration.

A pity most countries do not have a proper discussion about immigration. Instead, knee-jerk reactions lead to disasters.

Western Countries Do Not "Need" Immigration
open.substack.com/pub/alexande...

Pentagon threatens to cut off Anthropic in AI safeguards dispute, Axios reports The Pentagon is considering ending its relationship with artificial intelligence company Anthropic over its insistence on keeping some restrictions on how the U.S. military uses its models, Axios repo...

www.reuters.com/technology/p...

'Fast-spreading' measles outbreak in north London leaves over 60 children infected Health authorities are urging families to vaccinate their children against measles as a surge in cases in several Enfield and Haringey schools threatens to spark a widespread outbreak.

The ‘success’ of antivaccine activists

Inevitability there will be lasting harm, but those responsible won’t ever accept that their ignorance and untruths caused this

"1 in 5 children have been hospitalised due to measles and all of them had not been fully immunised.

news.sky.com/story/fast-s...

Maryland health officials warn providers about an upsurge in mumps cases Maryland health officials are warning about an uptick in cases of mumps.

Measles is a bellwether. Because it’s the most contagious vaccine-preventable disease, when vaccination rates drop, it’s the first to start spreading.

Now we’ve got mumps rolling up.

Expect more.

This is just the beginning of RFK Jr.’s successful infectious disease reintroduction plan.

Nowhere near as big a drop-off as I was expecting tbh. Europe stepped up - at least a decent proportion of the way.