Mnémoglyphes

“President Trump’s State of the Union address last night was very like the man who delivered it: divisive, abusive, and childish. The speech turned reality on its head in many ways. The president who has enriched himself and his family by more than a billion dollars in his first year in office called on Congress to clean up its corruption. The president who has collected about $175 billion in illegal tariffs from the American people falsely told them that he had given them a great big tax cut. The president solemnly condemned political violence—the same president who ended his first term by inciting a mob to sack Congress and overturn an election. Maybe most shocking, Trump demanded that members of Congress rise to agree that it’s the first duty of government to protect American citizens—even as his own government by its brutal police methods has shot American citizens dead on the streets and then tried to deceive the country about how those Americans had been killed and why. Then of course there were the many misstatements of fact about the economy, about crime, and about wars and peace—many of which look like deliberate decisions to deceive the public watching on television.”

David Frum (The Atlantic)

Donald Trump est minable sur tous les plans. En tant qu’orateur, il se distingue par sa médiocrité, multipliant les mensonges, les grossièretés et les énormités, le tout sur un ton geignard et avec un vocabulaire restreint à environ cinq cents mots. Son discours, rempli d’auto-satisfaction vulgaire, déborde de ressentiment et de platitudes sentimentales (ces hommages, destinés à faire pleurer dans les chaumières,aux citoyens, affectés par un malheur et qui s’en sont sortis, et qui sont là, sur les bancs du public, célébrés comme des héros par le personnage le plus vil et méprisable du monde). L’ensemble de cette cérémonie du discours sur l’état de l’Union manque de hauteur, de prestige, de gravité et de dignité. Est-ce à cause de Trump ? Quoi de plus vulgaire qu’un flatteur désireux de prendre un selfie avec le président ? Il me semblait que celles d’Obama en manquaient moins, mais c’est peut-être parce que Barack Obama était un magnifique orateur, lui.

Lu dans Le Monde :

"Lundi 23 février, à La Fabrique, un lieu de réception situé dans le 10ᵉ arrondissement de Paris, à une encablure du siège de LFI, Jean-Luc Mélenchon a (…)"

Surpris par l'emploi du mot encablure, j'ai sorti mon dictionnaire :

ENCABLURE, ENCÂBLURE,(ENCABLURE, ENCÂBLURE) substantif féminin.

MAR. Mesure de distance en mer d'environ 200 mètres qui représente la longueur moyenne d'un câble d'ancre.

"Le temps était sombre, la brise molle, et la houle battait lourdement les écueils à quelques encâblures du vaisseau" (Chateaubriand, Mém., t. 1, 1848, p. 244).

P. ext. :

"Tout se passe dans quelques centaines de mètres carrés. Les cinq grandes banques résident à une encâblure de la Banque d'Angleterre. Les courtiers ne peuvent s'installer à plus d'un kilomètre de la Bourse."

Morand, Londres, 1933, p. 296

Donc emploi correct du mot encablure, par extension. La mer n'ayant pas encore atteint le 10ᵉ arrondissement de Paris.

Convoqué à 19 heures au Quai d'Orsay par le ministre des Affaires étrangères après son tweet sur la mort de Quentin Deranque, l'ambassadeur américain ne s'est pas présenté.

L'ambassadeur est le père de Jared Kushner, le gendre de Trump.

C'est un incident diplomatique grave et rare. Lorsqu'un ambassadeur est convoqué par le ministère des Affaires étrangères du pays d'accueil, la convention diplomatique exige qu'il s'y rende.

S'il refuse de s'y rendre (ou prétexte un empêchement de dernière minute sans motif valable), cela est perçu comme un acte de défiance ou de mépris envers le pays hôte.

Dans ce cas-là, il peut se passer beaucoup de choses, dans l'ordre de gravité de la moindre à la plus sévère :

1. Le ministère des Affaires étrangères envoie immédiatement une note très ferme à l'ambassade (et souvent directement au gouvernement du pays de l'ambassadeur) pour dénoncer ce manquement aux usages diplomatiques.

2. Le pays d'accueil peut décider de limiter l'accès de cet ambassadeur aux officiels. (Apparemment c'est cette mesure qui a été choisie pour répondre à cet incident diplomatique. Le Quai d'Orsay a communiqué : « Face à cette apparente incompréhension des attendus élémentaires de la mission d’ambassadeur ayant l’honneur de représenter son pays, le ministre [Jean-Noël Barrot] a demandé qu’il ne puisse plus accéder directement aux membres du gouvernement français ».)

3. Par mesure de rétorsion (le principe de réciprocité est fondamental en diplomatie), le pays offensé peut demander à son propre ambassadeur (en poste dans l'autre pays) d'aller protester auprès du ministère des Affaires étrangères local, ou de refuser de se rendre à une convocation similaire.

4. Si le refus de se présenter est considéré comme une insulte intolérable ou s'inscrit dans un contexte de crise aiguë, le pays d'accueil peut déclarer l'ambassadeur persona non grata. On lui donne un délai (généralement 24 h à 72 h) pour quitter le territoire. C'est une expulsion.

[L’ambassadeur américain en France, qui a pris ses fonctions l’été dernier, avait déjà été convoqué fin août au ministère des Affaires étrangères en raison de critiques jugées inacceptables par Paris sur « l’absence d’action suffisante » contre l’antisémitisme de la part d’Emmanuel Macron. « En l’absence de l’ambassadeur » à Paris, c’est le chargé d’affaires de l’ambassade américaine qui s’était rendu à cette convocation.]

Je devrais vraiment me calmer à propos de toute cette histoire de neurodivergence. Oui, je suis neurodivergent, mais je ne suis pas seul dans cette situation, et je dois accepter que les personnes neurotypiques ne pourront peut-être jamais me comprendre pleinement. C’est ainsi. Je dois accepter mon autisme. Le fait que je n’aie plus à travailler devrait faciliter cela. Je peux désormais vivre ma vie en tant que personne dans le spectre autistique sans trop de restrictions, et je devrais en être reconnaissant. Je souhaite vivre pleinement sans regretter de ne pas être comme tout le monde. Je n’ai pas besoin d’être « normal » ou d’avoir des liens sociaux étroits avec les autres. L’essentiel est de se défaire de l’idée que je serais d’une certaine manière défaillant. C’est cela qui mène à ma dépression et à mon anxiété : me comparer aux neurotypiques et me sentir inférieur. En réalité, je devrais être assez heureux de vivre ma vie en tant qu'individu neurodivergent. Personne ne me dérange, et honnêtement, cela me convient parfaitement.

I felt almost at ease about the near future, despite the river level rising steadily and unavoidably. Then, out of the blue, I found out that certain streets in the city might experience power cuts (for safety reasons, apparently) beginning Saturday. Naturally, that sent my anxiety into overdrive.

In my building, everything relies on electricity—even the front door. Without power, we'd be looking at no lights, no heating, no food, and, once the batteries on my devices run out, no phone either. It’s quite likely that we'd also lose running water.

So, even if my building and flat are safe from flooding due to the rising Maine waters, they could easily become uninhabitable.

Of course, I have no definitive information about a potential power outage. In my view, the chances of it actually happening are fairly low, but "low" isn't the same as "none."

Anxiety thrives on uncertainty—and this uncertainty is exacerbated by the lack of trustworthy information. Unfortunately, precise data seems to be thin on the ground.

For the moment, I've got two strategies: take a Seresta pill and indulge in some chocolate.

I must admit, I’m quite concerned about the flooding. Although it shouldn’t impact my street or my building—my flat in any case, should be perfectly fine—I can’t shake the thought that the deluge might interfere with our electricity, water supply, or Internet connection. It will certainly obstruct the trams and access to my street, apart from the roads that go uphill, and I won’t be able to cross to the other side of the river either. It leaves me pondering, what next?

La Maine monte, elle est prévue à 6,28 mètres mercredi soir (au pire), c’est un record (celui de janvier 1995 est de 7,04 mètres). Les eaux continuent de monter. Les voies sur berges sont fermées, le tramway A fonctionne encore mais le B et le C ne fonctionnent que partiellement. Au maximum envisageable aujourd'hui, ni ma rue, là où j’habite au moins, ni a fortiori mon immeuble ne sont en danger (et encore moins mon appartement), mais je pourrais être coupé du reste de la ville (il y aurait toujours moyen d’y aller mais en faisant de grands détours). Au maximum, je pense que Carrefour St Serge pourrait être inondé et possiblement aussi le SuperU Université. Je commence à être inquiet (notez bien qu'il m'en faut peu).

These people are extremely corrupt and incompetent. (WSJ. Gift article) I wonder if they will go to jail after Trump due to their corruption and lawlessness. In that case, they may feel cornered and ready to do anything to hold onto power: for them, it's all or nothing, a fight to the death against their enemies.

The network of recruiters and propagandists associated with the Wagner Group is now being utilised by Russian services (gift article, the Financial Times) particularly the GRU, as a means to recruit economically vulnerable Europeans through social media and Telegram. The network has been aimed at carrying out sabotage operations on NATO territory, already resulting in attacks—such as the recent fire at a warehouse in London—and subsequent convictions. This strategy enhances Moscow's scale and deniability, but it also leads to a loss of competence and secrecy, enabling European agencies to identify and thwart numerous plots.

As you might have guessed, I’m quite the news enthusiast. Now that I’m retired, I have ample time to devour newspapers and magazines, and I find myself particularly drawn to news from the United States, with a bit of interest in the UK as well. I closely monitor global affairs, particularly those pertaining to Ukraine and China, which are currently on my radar. I don’t watch much television—though I do enjoy Darius Rochebin on LCI from time to time—and I only listen to the radio as background noise. When it comes to French news, I tend to steer clear unless there’s a major event; it’s just too close to home and tends to irritate me far more than it should, to be honest, and I find it rather uninteresting.

You could also say I’m an internet enthusiast and a bit of a tech aficionado—or perhaps even a geek! There, I’ve said it. A very close American friend of mine once suggested that I consider becoming a "current events teacher," and she teaches French at a university in the States. I’m not sure that role exists over here on this side of the Atlantic, which is a bit of a shame. Another dear American friend recently remarked that I’m “really an atypical guy,” and I can certainly see that; I’ve never quite fit in with the conformist bees happily buzzing around in their hives. My passion for the English language, for instance, is a testament to that, and I’m not entirely sure where it comes from. Nothing in my upbringing—a family of provincial notables, Catholic, middle-class French roots—seemed to set me on the path I’ve taken.

You know me: I like to understand how things work, at least on a surface level. So, when the internet went down this evening, I jumped into action.

First, I connected my laptop to the 5G network on my phone. Then, I reached out to ChatGPT for a bit of assistance. After some tinkering and an interesting discussion with the AI, I figured out that I’m connected to the Free NRO: 49007LAC. For context, the NRO is the main distribution point (the nerve centre for fibre) within a city or part of it, linking several secondary distribution points that service a neighbourhood or a few buildings. My secondary distribution unit is LAC49-x, and there are four of them in total.

Since all four LAC49 units are down, it points to an issue with the NRO itself, which is more serious. You might say, “Why bother?” But for me, it’s all about understanding how it works!

And just as I was writing this, voilà! The internet is back! 💡

The revelations in the documents related to Epstein have sent conspiracy theorists into a frenzy. However, it's essential to temper this excitement: in reality, these disclosures shed little light and reveal few concrete conspiracies. Yes, there are influential individuals tainted by corruption, greed, and questionable behaviours. But really, what’s new about that? It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine Jack Lang getting involved in Epstein’s dubious dealings. As for Peter Mandelson, he managed to leave the British government twice due to scandals. It’s quite remarkable that he was appointed ambassador to Washington, given his history.

This situation is becoming increasingly concerning. By naming public figures who merely exchanged emails, accepted invitations, or happened to encounter Epstein at a one-off meeting, we're fostering a climate of suspicion. Such unfounded associations reduce the entire political sphere to a gallery of corrupt and depraved individuals. Yet, it's clear that most political actors, rather than being driven by self-serving motives, genuinely strive to serve their country, even if they do have ambitions for power and occasionally entertain questionable ideas—two aspects that aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

Les appels à la démission de Jack Lang se sont multipliés ces derniers jours depuis que ses liens avec Jeffrey Epstein ont été mis au jour avec la publication de millions de documents, le 30 janvier, par la justice américaine. Si aucune charge ne pèse à ce stade contre l’ancien ministre, la mention de son nom à 673 reprises dans des échanges avec Jeffrey Epstein et ses liens d’intérêt avec le financier américain ont poussé de nombreux membres de la classe politique à exiger son départ de l’Institut du Monde Arabe. Ce qui est fait aujourd’hui : Jack Lang (86 ans) a *proposé* sa démission.

***

Hier soir, c’était la cérémonie d’ouverture des Jeux Olympiques d’hiver. Ils se déroulent cette année dans les Alpes italiennes, au-dessus de Milan. Les J. O. d’hiver sont en général pour des sports qui sont très peu pratiqués par les amateurs, ce sont des J. O. pour sports de niche. Un athlète britannique « a lancé une attaque cinglante contre l'agence ICE avant la cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux d'hiver, en pissant les mots "FUCK ICE" dans la neige ». En plus d'avoir une précision assez remarquable, Gus Kenworthy représente ce qui pourrait être des Jeux olympiques quelque peu inconfortables pour l'image américaine. Des manifestants sont déjà descendus dans les rues de Milan pour protester contre la présence de l'ICE aux Jeux. 

***

Et demain soir, dimanche, aura lieu le Super Bowl, la grande finale annuelle du football américain, qui est aussi un sport de niche, évidemment partout dans le monde sauf aux États-Unis. Dans le genre, c’est pire que le cricket.

***

Certains Anglais sont fous. Ross Edgley était à 950 miles de son projet de nage de 1 000 miles autour des côtes islandaises lorsque son corps a commencé à lâcher. Coincé au large de la côte sud-ouest, près de Grindavík, pris en étau entre un volcan en éruption, un glacier et un ouragan arrivant de l’Atlantique, l’aventurier de l’extrême et athlète d’endurance a développé une rhabdomyolyse. « Mon urine était de la couleur du Coca-Cola. Je pissais littéralement des muscles liquéfiés », dit-il. « C’était un moment décisif. Mais Edgley ne pouvait ni s’arrêter ni ralentir : dans quelques jours, il allait devenir père. Ne vous en faites pas, il a réussi, le bébé va bien et son père envisage de nouveaux exploits.

To explain Donald Trump’s behavior, several analysts, biographers, and political opponents put forward a psychological theory that strikes me as both interesting and plausible. Three main threads stand out:

1. The “final act” syndrome, or narcissistic urgency: At an advanced age (Trump is nearing 80), his time horizon shrinks considerably. If he knows he won’t bear the long-term consequences of his actions, he may be tempted to behave—and make decisions—in a more uninhibited way. For him, it’s no longer about building the future, but about enjoying power, adoration, and immediate victory. That would explain why he feels able to do and say anything without fearing repercussions.

2. Nihilism, or “after me, the flood”: If Trump thinks the world can’t revolve around him anymore simply because he won’t be here, then the state of the world matters less. Sowing chaos then becomes a way of saying, “Look how everything collapses without me.” It’s scorched-earth politics. Institutions are designed to outlast individuals. By attacking or destroying those institutions, he seeks to assert that his will stands above them.

3. The lifting of inhibitions: Although Trump has always been provocative, awareness of his own finitude could lead him to drop the last social filters that held him back. He says what he thinks without restraint and attacks without holding back, asking himself, “What can they possibly do to me?” The threat of prison or disgrace carries less weight compared with the universal threat of death. There’s no time left for slow diplomacy, complex negotiation, or caution. Vital urgency pushes him toward radical, impulsive, and potentially dangerous decisions, because patience is a luxury he can no longer afford.

Trump embodies a narcissistic personality, and such a personality, when confronted with the imminence of its own disappearance, could become very dangerous.

But how, then, do we explain his constant reversals (the Trump TACO phenomenon)?

Maybe, in reality, he doesn’t care about being right tomorrow, since tomorrow may never come for him. What matters to him is winning today. In truth, he doesn’t care about long-term consequences; it’s enough for him to be unpredictable and remain at the center of media attention. The adrenaline of the announcement and the drama is what drives him.

The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 members, elected to two-year terms. These representatives are distributed among single-member districts, assigned to each state based on its population as determined by the census. Each state is entitled to at least one representative. Every two years, in November (next in 2026), the House is entirely up for election. Representatives may run again in their district or choose another one as many times as they wish. In addition, there are five nonvoting delegates (representing the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa). A nonvoting resident commissioner, elected to a four-year term, represents the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Special elections may be held when a seat becomes vacant.

House rules favor a two-party system, with a majority party in power and a minority party in opposition. The Speaker of the House, currently Mike Johnson (Republican of Louisiana), is elected by the members. Other leaders are chosen by the Democratic caucus or the Republican conference.

Currently, the majority party is the Republican Party, led by Steve Scalise, with 218 representatives. The minority party is the Democratic Party, led by Hakeem Jeffries, with 214 representatives. Three seats are vacant: Mikie Sherrill’s (Democrat of New Jersey), for which a special election is scheduled for April 6; Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (Republican of Georgia), with a special election on March 10; and Doug LaMalfa’s (Republican of California), who died on January 6, 2026, with a special election to be held on August 4, 2026.

Republicans therefore have only a one-vote majority, at least until March 10, when Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat—considered a safe district for the party—will be on the line.

“Midterms” refers to elections held halfway through a president’s term. They are scheduled for early November 2026, unless Trump manages to delay or cancel them. The entire House of Representatives will be up for election, and one-third of senators (12 Democrats and 22 Republicans) will also have their seats up for election. At present, 49 incumbent House members are not running again, including 28 Republicans and 21 Democrats. In the Senate, between 9 and 11 senators (depending on the most recent early-2026 sources) have confirmed they will not seek another term, including 5 to 6 Republicans and 4 to 5 Democrats.

This situation, combined with recent trends, suggests Republicans could lose their majorities in both chambers of Congress. If that happened in the House, it would significantly complicate Trump’s governance. The House, which holds the power of impeachment, can convene investigative committees and block legislation, including the budget. The Senate is different: Democrats could easily regain the majority, but that would not be enough to overcome the famous filibuster. Under Senate Rule 22, to end debate and prevent a filibuster, a “cloture motion” must be approved. The threshold is 60 votes (three-fifths of the 100 senators). If that 60-vote majority is not reached, the bill remains indefinitely blocked.

For Democrats to prevail in the Senate, they would need to hold all of their seats up for election and pick up 10 additional Republican seats to get around the filibuster on an ordinary bill. That is unlikely.

It is important to remember that, while the House can approve an impeachment by a simple majority, the Senate requires a two-thirds majority (67 votes if all 100 senators are present) to convict and remove a president or another Cabinet member permanently.

The release of millions of emails without commentary and with certain things or names redacted makes it impossible to determine the veracity of their content. What is alleged may be proven true, but could just as likely stem from a sick fantasy, revenge, slander, or hostility. In this context, Trump was right to allow their disclosure. Indeed, the sheer quantity and scope of the information contained in these emails can obscure the truth and offer hackers the opportunity to create fakes, making the situation even murkier. The strategy is to flood the entire surface with shit so that nothing else can be distinguished.

Peter Mandelson's career path is truly staggering. This man has been involved in one scandal after another since 1995, yet he has always managed to bounce back. He was removed from several high-ranking government positions due to various controversies. However, in 2024, he was appointed UK Ambassador to Washington, only to find himself once again at the center of a media storm, this time linked to a particularly serious scandal involving Epstein.

In deeply conservative Texas, Democrat Taylor Rehmet pulled off a surprise victory in a state Senate special election, capturing a Republican stronghold. 

In this Fort Worth district, where Donald Trump won decisively with nearly 57% of the vote in 2024, Rehmet defeated Leigh Wambsganss with a comfortable lead of more than 14 points. 

This success against a candidate backed by the former president confirms the Democrats' current momentum. Since last year, they have flipped over 20 seats in state legislatures, notably winning a Georgia district in December that had previously gone to Donald Trump.

This article highlights that the highly publicized killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis have exposed state brutality, eroding its legitimacy with a politically influential public. Studies confirm that exposure to police violence reduces support for law enforcement, even among supporters; thus, a majority of Americans deem Ms. Good's death unjustified after viewing the video. Consequently, presidential approval is plummeting, skepticism towards federal investigations is growing, and support for abolishing ICE is increasing, including among independents and some Republicans. Politically, these events have triggered calls to suspend ICE operations, the resignation of a Republican candidate, and budget blockades in the Senate. While local protests remain peaceful, the central issue remains accountability for these deaths. The author finally compares this situation to the killings of the civil rights era, which had galvanized public opinion and led to major reforms.