The Goetia, the first book of the Lemegeton, also known as The Lesser Key of Solomon, is a grimoire of ceremonial magic that catalogs seventy-two spirits or daemons and provides instructions for invoking and commanding them. This text, attributed to King Solomon, details how he supposedly bound these entities to aid in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Goetia emphasizes summoning these spirits for specific tasks, ranging from acquiring knowledge and treasure to influencing people or uncovering secrets. Each spirit possesses unique attributes, titles, and roles, often organized into a hierarchy of kings, dukes, and princes, among other ranks. They are associated with specific planetary influences, making their invocation part of an elaborate astrological and magical system.

The spirits described in the Goetia are not inherently good or evil; their nature depends on how they are approached and the intent of the practitioner. They embody archetypal energies or forces that can be harnessed constructively or destructively. The summoner must possess discipline, knowledge, and moral clarity to work with these entities safely. Rituals often involve protective measures, such as casting a magical circle, invoking divine names, and using the pentagram or hexagram for spiritual shielding.

Descriptions of the spirits are vivid and symbolic. Their visualizations often reflect the functions attributed to them, aligning with psychological archetypes or natural forces. The Goetia also employs sigils—unique symbols representing each spirit—as focal points for invocation. These sigils are drawn on parchment or engraved on magical tools to establish a connection with the entity during rituals.

The process of working with Goetic spirits requires mastery of the text's rituals and invocations, often incorporating prayers, incense, candles, and precise timing based on planetary hours. The practitioner must call upon higher divine forces to maintain authority over the summoned spirit, reinforcing the hierarchical structure in which these spirits operate under divine law. Failure to adhere to these protocols can result in spiritual and psychological dangers, as the energies invoked are potent and do not conform to human morality.

Modern interpretations of the Goetia often view its spirits as symbolic representations of inner psychological forces rather than external entities. From this perspective, summoning these spirits becomes an act of engaging with and integrating aspects of the self, such as hidden desires, fears, or untapped potential. This psycho-spiritual approach highlights the transformative potential of working with the Goetia when performed responsibly and with clear intent.

Even more inflation and a general depreciation of the Canadian market. If Canada increases tariffs on US imports, Canadian companies will have to borrow more to buy what they need to produce, therefore increasing the money supply and driving Canadian inflation higher. The vast majority of the borrowing will be directed to buying supplies not increasing salaries.

Tariffs on Canadian products in the US will likely lower the demand for them. Which means Canada will have a surplus of products that they might not be able to sell. The US is after all the number one market for Canadian products and for some companies the only one. This in terms will lead to a lowering of production which coupled with increased borrowing will likely increase inflation even higher.

So why not sell in Canada? Canada has a very high GDP / Capita but the size of it's market is not comparable to the US. Canada has also accumulated a high number of regulations that prevent economic growth and turn one of Canada's biggest advantage (its size) into one of it's biggest disadvantages. Canada is the second biggest country on earth, a fact that comes with a unique set of economic challenges, chief amongst them is the transport of goods. Canadian economy mostly relies on trucks to ship good from A Mare Usque Ad Mare. Canadian trucks are subjected to different laws in different Provinces. Some cannot event drive at night. In the second biggest country on earth it means a huge increase in shipping time and therefore cost needed to ship goods. Canadian energy costs are high, due to carbon taxes and various laws and regulations that prevent the growth of its oil industry. Canadian provinces also have specific taxation laws that effectively act as tariffs within the country, driving the competitiveness of the inner Canadian market lower. Canada taxes on employment and consumption are also general higher, driving cost of labor and therefore the cost of everything higher.

All this means that until now, it was cheaper to sell to the US than within Canada. For some, it was even cheaper to drive to the border and send a package with USPS than to send from Canada using Post Canada.

Why not Europe then? Europe is far, which means higher logistical and shipping costs. Europe is also extremely regulated, which means that Canadian companies would have to undergo massive restructurations to make their products fit the European market from a regulatory perspective. Canadian market is so intertwined with the US market that a lot of what it produces is in inches and feet. Not what Europeans are looking for. Europe is also suffering from a serious inflation meaning that their capacity to buy Canadian surplus is not that high. Europe is not an homogeneous market. Selling in Europe means dealing with many languages and tax regulations like VAT that are specific to each country. This drives the cost of compliance even higher.

In short, If the tariffs war lasts, Canadian economy will produce surplus that it will not be able to sell, leading to a downsizing of the economy, and Canadian companies will have to increase their borrowing to maintain production. These will lead to higher inflation in Canada that will be accelerated by existing consumption taxes. This in turn will lead to an increase in salaries, therefore of borrowing and an acceleration of inflation due to existing labor taxes, which will lead to an increase of unemployment. This is the road to a Canadian recession that could lead to a massive defaulting on debt in Canada (especially in the housing market) and a general divestment from the Canadian economy.

The only viable option for Canada to soften the blow is to increase the competitiveness of its inner market: lower taxes and lower government spending (to reduce inflation), remove regulations (starting with the ones hindering inter-provincial economy), lower energy costs.

Finally, the world realizes that Bitcoin is not a currency but an asset. Those who understand the technology knew it from the beginning, isn't Bitcoin "digital gold", and isn't gold an asset. In 2017 Morocco decided to ban the use of digital assets, back then a Bitcoin was worth 8K dollars. This decision stemmed from a misunderstanding of the technology and a fear propagated that Bitcoin was only good for criminal activities. Interesting how things changed, and so quickly.

To understand Bitcoin, you need some background in Economy and Energy, but you absolutely need a very strong understanding of Maths, and Computer Science. Without it you cannot understand what Bitcoin is, how it works, and why it is such a strong ledger of value. Bitcoin works Mathematically not on opinions or regulations.

Arguably, the decision to ban digital assets cost Morocco billions of dollars. In the long run it will perhaps cost more than any other in the history of the country. The very hard anti digital stance (that was reinforced in 2022) dissuaded legitimate business from using the technology. Something that would have modernized the banking and financial system, facilitated payments and potentially captured billions worth of digital assets in Morocco. The country could have owned a significant amount of those assets that would have boosted its economy.

Yes Bitcoin fluctuates, it does so because it is an asset. However, it is also a very liquid asset, it is so valuable that it is easy to exchange for Dollars or Euros. A reserve of digital assets would have guaranteed the country's access to other currencies, and would have paved the way towards the only viable long term monetary strategy for Morocco (if it wants to keep it's currency): a strong Dirham.

African Cup of Nations: will the public be there?

The 2030 World Cup is fast approaching, but even closer to home is the African Cup of Nations, which we will be hosting at the end of this year.

Many people are asking questions about the renovation and rebuilding of the stadiums. The photos and a few videos picked up here and there show that things are progressing well and that soon, certainly before the opening of the African Cup of Nations, all the stadiums will be operational. Those in charge should be a little more transparent on this subject and hold press briefings from time to time. This would put everyone's minds at rest, put a stop to the lies and untruths told by some and, above all, encourage the population to support the success of this organization.

The success of such competition also depends on the support of the public, who should feel concerned. After all, it's with their taxes that stadiums are built and it's to boost the progress of our country that we host this kind of event. We would do well to look at them not just as consumers of events, but as a key element in their success.

The success of an event depends on the quality of the organization, and there is no need to worry about that. Morocco has always shown great expertise and mastery in this field. Combined with the secular hospitality of the Moroccan people, all the events organized on Moroccan soil have met with immeasurable success.

Success also depends on the level of infrastructure on offer. Here too, there is no problem, as the country has been a master of major projects for some time now. The engineering, architecture and work carried out by national companies have shown great efficiency and a level of mastery worthy of the world's greatest nations. Morocco will deliver true monuments to the glory of sport. And there will be much to be proud of. Let's just hope that the Moroccan touch will not be omitted and that many craftsmen will be involved in the finishing touches and decorations. This would create a lot of jobs and boost the sector in much the same way as the Hassan II mosque did.

The third pillar of success is, of course, a Moroccan victory. A country that hosts international sporting events also does so to shine. It's been almost 50 years since the Moroccans last lifted the African trophy. That's still a lot for the country that was the first to represent the continent, the first African country to get past the first round and top of the group, if you please, and the first just recently to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Morocco are feeling the pressure, even if their performance in Côte d'Ivoire was disappointing. The public, and the footballing public in particular, cannot imagine anyone other than the Moroccan captain lifting the famous Cup.

The fourth element of success is public support, and not just when it comes to the Moroccan team's matches. Success is also measured by the number of spectators present at all matches. There are some real concerns here, and there are certainly questions to be asked and answers to be found.

Morocco already hosted an African Cup of Nations in 1988. While the Moroccan matches were sold out, the others were played in an embarrassingly intimate atmosphere. I was a member of the organizing committee and frankly we were ashamed and had no explanation to give to the leaders of the participating nations. We all thought that we were a football country and that the stadiums were going to be packed.

So the question was asked in 1988, but has anything changed since then?

Developments in recent years show us that we have several types of football fans. We have club supporters. We have the fanatics who only travel for their club. Let's not dwell on some of the behavior of the latter, which has led many football fans to stop going to the stadium. We have the national team fans. And that's another sociological profile. We also have the millions of spectators in cafés who follow European competitions in particular. Many also support certain prestigious foreign clubs, organize themselves into communities and even travel to support their teams.

Who will fill the CAN stadiums?

In March, we will have the chance to experience a real-life test. Morocco will be hosting no fewer than twelve African matches as part of the World Cup qualifiers, in six different cities. While there will be no problems in Oujda, where the Moroccan national team will be playing, what will happen in Meknes, where Côte d'Ivoire will be playing Burundi? It would be incomprehensible for the African champions to perform in a sparsely packed stadium. The same goes for Berkane, where Mali, a direct opponent of the national team, will be playing, or Eljadida, where Burkina Faso, known for their high-quality, shimmering football, will be playing. But what about the Larbi Zaouli stadium in Casablanca, which will host both Mali and Egypt, with world-class stars on both sides. We are here in Casablanca, the most populous city where club fanaticism is at its peak. Would things be better at the El Houceima stadium, where Ghana will be playing?

There is no doubt that Africans and the world press would be astonished to see top-level matches taking place without a crowd or atmosphere.

Let's wait and see, but right now things don't seem very clear. There is virtually no coverage in the media and that is a bad omen. The press must play its part in informing and encouraging the public to go and enjoy such world-class performances.

Coming back to the CAN, we also need to think about the realities of the continent. First of all, let's not forget the size of Africa and the scarcity of air links, which make air fares very expensive. Those who make comparisons with Europe are very much mistaken. It takes 3? hours to fly from Moscow to Paris, exactly the same as from Casablanca to Dakar. On the other hand, it takes 5h30 to get to Yaoundé or Douala, for example. Not to mention East or South Africa...

In other words, it's up to the Moroccans to fill the stadiums, both in March and next December, and to do so we must not forget to work on the issue of football culture. Moroccans certainly love football when it involves them. They have to love it for the quality of the spectacle and make the effort to show it even when it's not their club or their national team playing. This is no mean feat. It has to be taken seriously - the success of a test event before 2030 and the economic profitability of the project are at stake.

The "Arbatel of Magic", a 16th-century grimoire, is a unique and influential text within Western esoteric tradition. Unlike many grimoires of its time, which focus heavily on demonology or the coercion of spirits, the Arbatel emphasizes a more harmonious and spiritual approach to magick. Central to its teachings are the Olympic spirits, celestial intelligences associated with planetary spheres. These spirits serve as intermediaries between humanity and the divine, guiding practitioners toward wisdom, balance, and the manifestation of their intentions.

The Arbatel is structured as a collection of aphorisms and practical instructions, promoting a form of magick rooted in piety, virtue, and alignment with divine will. It encourages the practitioner to cultivate purity, self-discipline, and humility, aiming to align their will with the divine order of the cosmos. The text highlights the importance of seeking wisdom and the betterment of oneself and others, rather than pursuing materialistic or selfish goals. This approach distinguishes it from many contemporaneous grimoires, which often focus on summoning and commanding spirits for personal gain.

The Olympic spirits, described in the Arbatel, are powerful intelligences governing the planetary spheres: Aratron (Saturn), Bethor (Jupiter), Phaleg (Mars), Och (Sun), Hagith (Venus), Ophiel (Mercury), and Phul (Moon). Each spirit embodies the qualities and energies of its associated planet and has specific functions and attributes. For example, Bethor, linked to Jupiter, is associated with abundance, growth, and authority, while Och, of the Sun, governs health, success, and illumination. These spirits are not malevolent or coercive; rather, they are seen as willing collaborators with those who approach them with reverence and sincerity.

The Arbatel provides methods for invoking these spirits, emphasizing the need for moral and spiritual purity. Rituals involve prayers, meditations, and the use of planetary correspondences to attune oneself to the spirit’s energy. The practitioner must align their intent with the qualities of the planet and the spirit, seeking harmony rather than domination. The Olympic spirits, in turn, assist in achieving wisdom, understanding, and the fulfillment of divine purposes.

This grimoire also integrates concepts from Christian mysticism, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism, presenting magick as a sacred art deeply intertwined with spiritual growth and divine will. It encourages practitioners to see the universe as a reflection of divine order, with the Olympic spirits serving as stewards of this cosmic harmony. Rather than focusing on control or manipulation, the Arbatel fosters a relationship of respect and collaboration with these intelligences.

A few hours earlier, a Republican senator had ticked the box for the Ukrainian President, but he missed the boat. He was packed off like a dirty shirt and asked to clear the floor.

Couldn't things have gone differently?

Was Trump going to meet Zelensky, were it not for the insistence of Britain's Stramer and France's Macon?

Were the two protagonists really ready to talk peacefully?

Nothing is less certain.

From the outset, things were not looking good. Showing up at the White House in jogging bottoms and trainers is a serious visual blunder. At a time when Trump is looking for partners for peace, Zelensky is in a thinly veiled warrior outfit. It's the same mistake Arafat also made, without realizing it. The Syrian Ahmed Achara, a true warrior, quickly understood by changing his attire, even if he is a little uncomfortable in his ill-fitting Western outfit.

In addition to the ill-fitting outfit, Zelensky also had a teenage hairstyle. His temples bore fresh razor marks. That's a bit unusual for the Oval Office.

A lot of tension in the air. Tense atmosphere.

Knowing that Trump did not hold him in good esteem, he was told not to irritate him too much. Very uncomfortable in his broken English, he said the things that the American did not want to hear. Words that the American should not have dared to use, words that were insulting to Putin. Peace is always made with enemies that we refrain from insulting. Describing Putin as a murderer in the Oval Office and in public was unacceptable. If Trump had acquiesced without retaliating, he would have sent the wrong signal to the Russian with whom he had begun a genuine rapprochement.

Trump stopped the Ukrainian dead in his tracks for his warmongering, taking the audience as witness: He has so much hatred in him that we can't have a peace agreement in this case,’ he said in substance.

Lively altercation.

Later, on Truth Social, he wrote: ‘I have determined that President Zelensky is only ready for peace if America is involved because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in the negotiations. I don't want an advantage, I want PEACE’. In other words, he said to Zelensky: you want to trick me. Didn't he say to Zelensky two times right then: ‘you're gambling with World War three’.

In the bulging, tired eyes of the Ukrainian, thus brought back to the dimension that the new America wanted to give him, one could read dismay and despair. The Ukraine resisted above all with American arms and billions. Unlike his predecessor, whom he describes as ‘a guy who didn't think things through’, Trump does not want to prolong the charade.

The world has changed. Things have changed without Zelensky being consulted. He doesn't yet understand the new state of affairs, intoxicated by embraces that exude hypocrisy.

When sarcastic Vance joins in the dance, he is unbelievably virulent. He calls Volodymyr ungrateful, tells him to apologize accusing that he was not thankful enough.

By dint of the pompous remarks of the Europeans, Zelensky was up to his neck in the character of a hero of the resistance and was surely beginning to believe it. Trump cynically reminded him that he had lost the war.

It was a harsh observation. Zelensky's eyes glaze over. He exuded defeat and realized that he had to accept it. He resists, but the sobs are not far away.

The hero of the European ‘supranationalists’ has collapsed, he who unconsciously may have been encouraged in his enterprise to serve the emergence and consolidation of a common European front, at the expense of age-old nationalities and identities.

He tries in vain to recall a few recent historical facts, accusing Putin of not respecting his commitments. He further irritates his hosts and forgets to mention in passing that he too and his sponsors may not have honored theirs. He tried to say that diplomacy was not working with the Russian and asked what kind of diplomacy he was talking about. Vance retorted, pointing his index finger and threatening: ‘I'm talking about the diplomacy that will put an end to the destruction of your country’. In JD Vance's view, Zelensky is engaged in propaganda by taking European leaders on dubious tours. He indirectly accused him of manipulation and told him that it was disrespectful to do so in the Oval Office, in front of the press.

The clash goes into high gear.

The tone went up another notch when the Ukrainian, gasping for breath and short of inspiration, retorted to the Americans that they were mistaken in their approach and that they would soon feel the repercussions of Putin's alleged behavior. He offered himself up as a punching bag. The words fly. Peace is slipping away. The visit was falling apart. The president and his vice-president took turns. They hit out bluntly. Volodymyr Zelensky, European hero of the resistance, is knocked out.

In the back office, he is asked to leave. He had learnt that playing in the big league is not easy, not to say perilous. He left empty-handed, while his host, as if nothing had happened, took off for his beloved Florida and his round of golf.

During the night, one of the most informed and influential Republican senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox News: Zelensky must resign or find someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine. Mike Waltz, the security adviser, will repeat this in no uncertain terms. The Americans are convinced that Zelensky is an evil man who has disrespected their idol.

The diplomatic support given by the French President and the British Prime Minister collapsed in the space of one interview. During the night, the Frenchman became awkwardly agitated and lost his bearings. His remarks were belligerent and insulting towards the Russian president. But it was he who had to be dealt with to save the Zelensky soldier. The British Prime Minister expressed his solidarity and met Zelensky the next morning. He lent him 2.5 billion pounds. He would, of course, have to pay them back. Having him received by King Charles was a daring move.

Georgia Meloni, perhaps more inspired than usual, is proposing a summit of America, Europe and their allies. Everyone goes according to their own position. Everyone felt that the situation was serious.

If there's one issue that has been preoccupying the public for a long time, and which has unfortunately been prolonged, it's the cost of living. It is perceived as unreal by a large fringe of society. In fact, it's not just a feeling, but a bitter reality that the government has been unable to rectify. It has never been easy to curb inflation anywhere in the world, except by means of drastic and unpopular decisions. What is currently happening in Argentina is the perfect illustration of this difficulty. The Moroccan government is not ready to shoulder such responsibility, especially as some of its so-called social decisions have contributed to the current situation.

Since the COVID pandemic, inflation has not stopped. There has of course been imported inflation, particularly since the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, but there has also been domestic inflation, which has been there since certain decisions were taken by PJD governments. The long-term rise in prices has also accelerated as a result of the money distributed by the current government, for reasons that are quite understandable from a human point of view.

Citizens no longer know where to turn. The HCP confirms that there has been a slight overall improvement in Morocco, which is to be welcomed, but not for everyone. Gaps are still widening, and precariousness is catching up with a middle class that has been weakened for almost ten years now, one after the other.

Against this bitter backdrop, over the past few weeks people have been looking ahead to Ramadan with uncertainty, and have already been talking about Eid, wondering how they are going to make ends meet. They dared to make alarming comments, vociferating recurrently, particularly on social networks and via certain ‘specialist’ websites. Clear demands have been made of the government. Each time, it has timidly tried to respond, without being convincing. Each day that the good Lord has done for a few weeks, not to say months, has only widened the gap, to the point where a crack has been felt in the coalition at the helm. The leader of the Istiqlal party came out clearly on the side of the plaintiffs, taking up the arguments of this important fringe of society.

The situation is very special. The impact of 6 successive years of lack of rain on grazing and therefore on livestock is palpable. As a result, in line with economic logic, prices are on an upward trend. At the same time, it should be noted that for some years now, the habits of Moroccans have changed considerably. Improved living standards and certain cultural biases mean that we slaughter more sheep than any other Muslim country, especially when you compare the number of animals sacrificed on this sacred day of Aid with the number of inhabitants. In fact, the 36 million Moroccans that we have been for some time now sacrifice some 6 million animals every year on a single day. That's almost a third of the national sheep herd. Moroccans, who are very attached to tradition, are the people who sacrifice the largest number of sheep on Aid El Kebir. By way of example, our neighbors, who have a population of five million, only sacrifice between 3 and 3.5 million animals. In the Gulf countries and even in Mecca during the pilgrimage, people prefer to spend the equivalent of the amount needed to buy a sheep on charity.

The impasse.

It was clear that a powerful and far-reaching decision was needed to turn the tide.

And it was through a message that His Majesty the King, may God assist him, in his capacity as Commander of the Faithful, came to break the spiral and restore hope to the people.

When Si Ahmed Taoufiq, Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, read the royal message calling on the faithful to refrain from performing the rite of sacrifice for Eid, he could never have imagined the scale of the demonstrations of joy that the solemnly pronounced words would provoke. Back home, Moroccans instantly appreciated the invitation and chanted prayers in unison for His Majesty's health. The weight and impact of the Sovereign's words on the occasion were like a balm, healing wounds and reassuring people. In the cafés, some people behaved as they did when our national team scored goals in the World Cup. Chairs jumped up and down, and the joy and emotion were palpable. Moroccans approved and were satisfied and happy.

The next day, things had changed.

I was particularly surprised that beef was offered at 75 dirhams in Temara on Saturday. The price fell by 40 dirhams in record time.

The impact of the royal message shook things up. Tongues have been loosened. Some speculators were exposed, while others reported that some players in the industry were not declaring the exact number of animals in their possession, or were not even declaring any at all. As if by magic, all these fine people came out of the woodwork, some to complain, some to express their discontent. In fact, people whose job is not to rear sheep have no structure to look after them. Generally speaking, all they have are sheds and staff to look after them. Their difficulty now is how to sell the quantity of sheep they trade in.

It became clear that the effects of the drought were in fact combined with those of unbridled speculation at the expense of the consumer.

The situation today is that meat is in the process of returning to the affordable, even normal, pre-crisis prices it was before the crisis, without imports and without any public aid being distributed for this purpose. In fact, without any intervention from the government, whose previous attempts have failed.

Things are unlikely to stop there. The fall in the price of sheep has led to a fall in the price of cattle, and will probably lead to a fall in the price of goats, chicken and fish. The balance of these products in the consumer basket will inevitably rebalance prices to everyone's advantage.

The upward spiral has been stopped dead in its tracks.

Moroccan citizens have once again had proof, if proof were needed, of the closeness of His Majesty Amir Almoumine and feel perfectly well protected.

Without a doubt, the followed event this week was Macron's visit to the US. How he would be treated after the cold sweats endured with skill and patience by the King of Jordan and the Polish President, assigned to wait in the corridors for an hour and a half before being given 10 minutes of interview time, suffering a cruel humiliation at his expense. He will not be returning here any time soon. Unless...

From the first images, it was clear that things were going to be different. Hugs, familiarity, debonair and mocking laughter followed in quick succession. Was this obvious duplicity or a posture of convenience? Who knows? Both were overacting. Trump is known to be a jokester, he showed a great sympathy for his guest, mentioning Notre-Dame and describing Mrs Macron as charming.Macron, on the other hand was more annoyed than genuinely happy.His joy appeared at times when his forehead relaxed for a few seconds. He must have wondered, and with him the press, a little larger than usual: had he been received here for his stature, out of consideration for his country or as the leader of Europe, which he wanted to play by beating the British PM to the White House?

Poorly seated in the Voltaire armchair to the right of his host, with the backdrop of a fireplace that had not been lit for, Macron was about to be subjected to a veritable diatribe from Trump. At his Resolute Desk, in front of a lectern or in an armchair, Trump is the same: self-assured, determined and oblivious to what others may think. What matters is what he says. We're used to the US Presidents speaking on behalf of departments that meticulously prepared the remarks, the narrative and the story. Now it's Trump who sets the course, unashamedly in public; it's up to the administration to implement.

Macron will therefore have to endure and, above all, learn things first-hand. Trump began by announcing that Zelensky would be flying to Washington ‘either this week or next week to sign’. So, he's telling Macron in public what he is normally supposed to do in private, away from the cameras.

In fact, he is trumpeting the economic capitulation of Zelensky, whom he had stripped of legitimacy a few days before, calling him a dictator. In essence, he is saying that he wants to recover the American money unjustly spent by Biden on an idiotic war. He set the figure at 350 billion USD. To do this, he is going to get his hands on the rare earths in Ukraine. Concomitantly Putin says that he is ready to cooperate with the Americans to exploit these minerals.

In fact, much of this wealth are in the areas annexed by Putin which he calls ‘the new territories’. When asked about Ukraine's recovery of the land it lost during the war, Trump replied ‘it's not easy’. These heralds the other phase of the capitulation. It's territorial, no doubts any more.

By linking these remarks to those in which Trump informs that Ukraine will have to forget its desire to join NATO, is he not announcing the political capitulation and the end of the Zelensky who more than ever, must regret having played with fire. Respecting the Minsk agreements would perhaps have spared him what he is about to experience: losing rare earths, ceding 20% of the territory and probably giving up his presidency.

Macron seemed to be sitting on a folding seat with no margin of comfort; so uncomfortable that you could see the pronounced wrinkles on his nervously contracted forehead and his furrowed brows. He was being tutored by Trump. Embarrassment on the one hand, ease, precision and assurance on the other. He made several attempts to speak, while his host looked the other way. When he finally conceded the courtesy of letting him speak, Macron was a little confused before finding a decent speaking rhythm and a presidential voice. He even apologized for speaking French. In such circumstances one often returns to mother tongue to regain a little ease. When he said that Europe would like a swift, fair and lasting agreement, implying that he was refusing a dictatorship, Trump did not flinch. He had said what he had to say and would not discuss it. The future of the region is not being decided in Europe but in Saudi Arabia, which is entitled of epithets, each more eulogistic than the last, with its Crown Prince, whom he calls King, incidentally. Macron seems to be addressing the Frenchs and Europeans. Trump is addressing Americans and the world. He repeats that if he had been president, this war would never have happened. He blames his predecessor, and at the same time the European warmongers.

Indeed, come to think of it, with a bit of hindsight, without justifying Putin's warlike enterprise, who among the Europeans still talks about the Azov regiment, which came into being in 2014 in Mariupol, a neo-Nazi formation that sowed terror among Russian speakers, weighing heavily on the country's politics and largely contributing to the election of Zelensky? Every day, they marched in their provocative black outfits, yellow flags with a stylized swastika on their arms, pumped up on hormones, shouting ultra-nationalist chants of rare malice. At the time, this seemed to annoy the Europeans, who magically forgot all about Azov as soon as Putin began the invasion, which he justified as a fight against Nazism. Who is still talking about the Minsk agreements and the trick played by Merkel and Hollande to buy time for Ukraine? These agreements were signed to guarantee peace. Ukraine never respected them, with Europe's blessing.

Trump does not mention any of this, but makes it clear that the European position of cutting off all relations with Putin was ill-advised. Macron tryed to justify himself but was not convincing anyone. This is borne out by the very few questions to him. He wanted to gain a foothold in the situation, proposing that Europe is prepared to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Is this naivety or much worse? Trump cast a furtive glance at his ‘counterpart’ and moved on. How could Putin accept a European army on his borders, from countries that financed a war against his armies. European troops there would be like installing NATO without the Americans.

When Macron tried to position Europe on the question of the sums spent, saying that Europe had contributed 60% of the war effort, Trump smiled sarcastically, one arm stretched forward, waved his hand as if to say:‘I don't believe you, you little liar’. A cute gesture, highly indicative of Trump's perception of his European peers. It also means: the rare earth’s affairs is between Putin and me.

Final signature to this skillfully orchestrated production, a journalist confirmed to Trump that he had the broad support of the Americans for everything he was doing. The powerful man nodded generously as he straightened his torso, as if to say to his host: ‘You see, I have the support of my people, not you’.

In the Oval Office that afternoon, a guest was treated politely, but there was only one interlocutor, and that was Mr Trump.

A control freak is someone who has an overwhelming need to dictate people and situations, often to the point of obsession. Their desire for control stems from different factors, including anxiety, insecurity, or even underlying psychological conditions like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). While they may believe their meticulous oversight ensures perfection, their behavior often damages relationships and creates unnecessary tension.

Why Do Some People Become Control Freaks?

Anxiety: A person who struggles with anxiety may attempt to control everything around them to minimize uncertainty and reduce stress.

Insecurity: Those with low self-esteem or a history of being controlled themselves may develop controlling tendencies as a defense mechanism.

OCD and Perfectionism: Some individuals have an intense preoccupation with perfection, organization, and structure, making them hyper-controlling in their interactions.

Signs of a Control Freak:

They rarely, if ever, admit when they are wrong.

They blame others for mistakes rather than accepting responsibility.

Delegating tasks is difficult because they don’t trust others to do things correctly.

They micromanage, obsessing over small details rather than focusing on the bigger picture.

They may try to undermine others' reputations to maintain a sense of superiority.

Lying—whether about their behavior or yours—is a common tactic for maintaining control.

Extreme jealousy often accompanies their need for dominance.

The Desperation of Losing Control:

The most dangerous moment is when a control freak feels they are losing their grip. When this happens, they will do everything in their power to regain control—no matter the cost.

They may reach out to your surroundings, trying to manipulate your friends, family, or colleagues against you.

They could spread false information, twist narratives, or play the victim to make you look like the problem.

In extreme cases, they might resort to emotional or psychological attacks, using guilt, fear, or even threats to pull you back into their influence.

Not everyone responds to control the same way. If you attempt to dominate someone who recognizes what you're doing—and knows how you operate—they may see it as a threat rather than an inconvenience.

Some people will leave you for good, cutting ties entirely rather than tolerating manipulation.

Others will wait for the right moment to strike, using your need for control against you. They may anticipate your actions, exploit your weaknesses, or retaliate in ways you never saw coming.

A control freak often believes they are in charge, but in reality, those who understand manipulation can either escape it or turn it into a weapon.

If you are experiencing this, just be pure, open you heart, and pity them, don’t hate them. Beneath the manipulation and obsession is a person who is suffering—someone so afraid of uncertainty, failure, or rejection that they feel the need to control everything around them.

Umbanda is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that emerged in the early 20th century in Brazil, blending African traditions, Catholicism, Christian Spiritism, and indigenous beliefs. It is characterized by its focus on mediumship, healing, and the pursuit of spiritual evolution. The religion embraces a diverse pantheon of spirits, known as entidades, who assist practitioners in their daily lives, offering guidance, protection, and healing. Among its many facets, magick plays a central role, deeply interwoven with the rituals, symbols, and spiritual practices of Umbanda.

According to tradition, Umbanda was founded in 1908 by Zélio de Moraes, a Brazilian medium, who claimed to receive instructions from a spirit named Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas - there are some authors who believe that Umbanda was practiced in Atlantis with a different name and was only "rediscovered". This new religious tradition emerged as a response to the social and religious landscape of Brazil at the time, incorporating elements from various spiritual traditions to create an inclusive and accessible faith.

At its core, Umbanda teaches the existence of a single, supreme divine force, often equated with God (Olorum or Zambi), who oversees the universe. It also acknowledges a hierarchy of spiritual entities, including orixás (divine forces of nature), caboclos (indigenous warrior spirits), pretos velhos (spirits of former enslaved Africans), and exus (messengers and protectors), each with unique roles in guiding and assisting devotees.

Magick in Umbanda is an essential tool for spiritual transformation, healing, and protection. It is not merely an abstract or theoretical concept but a practical aspect of rituals and ceremonies, used to influence the physical and spiritual realms. Magick in Umbanda manifests in several key ways:

1. Rituals and Symbolism - Magick is performed through rituals that often involve candles, herbs, incense, and sacred chants. These elements are used to align spiritual energies, cleanse negative influences, and establish a connection with guiding spirits. Pontos riscados (drawn sigils or sacred symbols) are often inscribed on the ground or altars, channeling divine power and invoking spiritual protection.

2. Healing and Spiritual Cleansing - Healing rituals, known as passes espirituais, employ magickal practices to remove spiritual disturbances, illnesses, or negative influences. Sacred herbal baths, fluidic passes, and the use of blessed objects are common forms of magickal healing. Umbanda also utilizes descarrego (spiritual cleansing) rituals to free individuals from malevolent spirits and negative energies.

3. Mediumship and Spirit Work - Mediumship is central to Umbanda, where trained mediums enter trance states to channel spirits. Through mediumship, spirits provide counsel, prescribe rituals, and offer magickal interventions for various life challenges. Some spirits, like Exus and Pombagiras, specialize in magickal work related to protection, love, prosperity, and justice.

4. Offerings - Offerings, or oferendas, are essential in Umbanda’s magickal practices, serving as a form of exchange with spiritual entities. These offerings, which may include food, beverages, candles, or flowers, are made at specific locations such as crossroads, rivers, or forests, aligning with the energetic nature of the spirit being honored.

Umbanda's syncretic nature allows it to coexist with other religious traditions, particularly Catholicism and Spiritism. Many practitioners simultaneously adhere to other faiths, seeing no conflict in worshiping both Catholic saints and Umbanda spirits. This religious fluidity has enabled Umbanda to thrive despite periodic social and political challenges.

However, Umbanda has also faced discrimination, particularly from fundamentalist groups that view its practices as superstition or even witchcraft. Despite this, the religion continues to grow, attracting followers from diverse backgrounds who seek spiritual guidance, healing, and the empowerment that its magical traditions offer.

On Saturday february 22, I had the privilege of attending the 6th Rare Disease Day. Dr Khadija Moussayer, President of the Moroccan Rare Diseases Alliance, did me the honour, and I thank her for allowing me to sit at the table with the great medical professors who were going to discuss cutting-edge medical issues, requiring expertise and mastery of various subjects, as well as a deep humanism and a certain love of the country and its people.

Unfortunately, I was only able to attend half of the proceedings, for which I am very sorry.

So-called rare diseases are not in fact all that rare. They may be rare in terms of numbers, but they are so common that they are a daily occurrence in medical circles. They are rare because they are often invisible in a social environment that does not yet understand them or does not understand them well enough. They have a heavy impact on the emotional, sociological and economic life of families and enormously on the lives of the people affected. They are not yet adequately treated in university curricula, and are poorly understood by general practitioners and even by many paediatricians. Increasingly easy access to medical treatment is bringing these conditions out into the open, revealing their complexity and diversity to the medical community itself, as well as to families and society at large.

They have an enormous psychological impact on families, disorientating them, tearing them apart and impoverishing them. Because of their genetic nature, they leave the families and individuals concerned in doubt, and plunge them into anxiety, disgust and self-hatred. Negative emotional reasoning and feelings of responsibility are never far away. This is often the driving force behind heavy social prejudice. Tradition and lack of education do the rest. They can go so far as to break up a family and often make the woman responsible. I myself met a young woman who was repudiated and rejected simply because she had given birth to a Marfan child. Her husband and family blamed her for the problematic birth and put her out on the street. Today, she is bringing up her child alone and is fighting to feed him, look after him, educate him and have his difference understood and accepted at school.

Rare diseases are even more problematic, when you consider that doctors don't come across them every day in their consultations, and can even go so far as to ignore their existence. Their diagnoses are so complex at times that they require the intervention of multiple highly qualified specialities to define their existence and the protocols to be followed. More than in any other situation, the person diagnosed needs to be followed by more than one specialist at the same time. Is this always the case?

Special tribute must be paid here to Professors Asmaa Quessar and Amine Benmoussa, who addressed the issue from the haematological point of view, explaining the complexity of the manifestations of some of these diseases and the impact of certain treatments. Professor FZ El Fatoiki focused in particular on skin manifestations, which in fact hide many things inside and are therefore crucial to diagnosis.

Professor Imane Chahid received a special mention for her presentation on type 1 neurofibromatosis, which goes beyond café au lait spots. She recommended the creation of working groups involving all the specialities concerned, in order to limit patients' medical wandering and save time, efficiency and money. We need to explain to mothers that café au lait spots on a baby's skin are not ‘touhimates’. This ignorance can delay the treatment of a child with the disease, with all the consequences that can entail.

That's true.

One of the problems faced by families is medical wandering. Patients can spend a long time consulting and treating symptoms - ophthalmological, gastric, dermatological, etc. - before being diagnosed with a rare disease. Wandering is extremely costly.

The testimony of a father who lost two children was particularly poignant. It was an emotional moment. The dignity and courage he showed make him an admirable character.

I was reassured by the youth and commitment of more than one of the speakers. The sheer number and quality of people in attendance, and the questions asked by professionals and parents, show that there is a growing interest and expertise. The clarifications and commitment expressed on behalf of Moroccan geneticists by Prof. Karim Ouldim augur better days ahead, and a probably innovative approach to rapid and early diagnosis, and hence to treatment. In a way, he was responding to Prof. Chahid's call to work in clusters.

Taking an interest in genetics brings us back to the question of data and the power of our computers. When it comes to genetics, AI is going to play a vital role, and if Morocco is not to suffer from the biases of others, it must compile and process its own data and train machines capable of understanding the specific genetic characteristics of Moroccans, because there are some, and that's normal. Any delay in this area will result in a lack of control, a squandering of skills, waste and a failure to respond effectively to the real needs of citizens.

A fundamental question hovered over the room just before the lunch break: why is it that the work carried out by eminent Moroccans, the results of research carried out in the country and other discoveries are not taken into account in the establishment of public health policies? The gap between Moroccan research and the spheres of political decision-making is simply abnormal. A country can only progress from within through scientific research and hard work. Public policy must be based on innovation and research in the Moroccan field. Benchmarking is good, but research at national level is even better. I had the impression, and I was not the only one, that politicians go so far as to ignore, not to say despise, national skills, preferring to put their trust in foreign consultancies that are often ill-advised and ignorant of Moroccan realities and particularities. This is one of the reasons why our health and other systems are being hampered and impacted.

It's unfortunate to be asking such questions in 2025.

The day was an immeasurable success and deserves a great deal of media coverage, because the aim was to raise awareness. Lalla Khadija Moussayer and her team succeeded. We can never thank them enough for that.

Thank you also for giving me the opportunity to meet Professor Mohammed Itri, an eminent paediatrician who left Rabat to teach at the CHU Ibn Rochd, but who never forgot his neighbourhood and his childhood neighbours...

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Neville Lancelot Goddard, the man who used to write and go by the solitary 'Neville'. Neville was born in Barbados the 19th of February 1905 to Joseph and Wilhelmina, the 4th boy in a family with 9 boys and 1 girl. At the age of 17 he departed for the United States to become a talented Broadway dancer. There, during the great depression he met his teacher Abdullah. A friendship that will transform his life, and the life of the many touched byNeville's teachings.

Abdullah taught Neville Kabbalah, the spiritual art of receiving, Neville would then teach it the world. Through 14 Books, starting with the pamphlet "At your command" (1939), and finishing with "Resurrection" (1966), and countless conferences, Neville would introduce the world to an incredibly new, invigorating and potent exegesis of the Bible: Imagination creates reality, and imagination is God. He interprets the Bible seamlessly bridging between the old and the new testament, William Blake and John Keats, all in light of that singular premise.

Perhaps, more importantly to his followers, Neville would teach how to realize your dreams, how to get out of dire undesirable situations: how to receive the light of the creator. He taught people how imagine to create the reality they desire: how to use "'States akin to sleep", how to pray, revise the past, and how to take care of "mental diet" and "self-concept."

Neville would end his life teaching what he called "The Promise", but that's for another day.

Neville is often placed among "New Thought" authors, in a certain sense he was one, but he was also much more. Make no mistake, Neville taught Kabbalah, but he did in such an approachable and marvelous that only few could notice. Neville is the hand that revealed Kabbalah to the word, thank you Neville.

I miss her now,

Though sense says that I shouldn't,

For when she shared my floating space,

I did all the things a careful sailor couldn't.

My compass gathered dust, my charts went unread,

Let slip away each task that kept us fed.

Lost track of time from sunrise until night.

Forgetting that a sailor needs his sight.

The weather shifted but my eyes were blind

To everything but her - until I'd find

The waves had moved unobserved,

And the boat had drifted far from paths I'd served.

I thought my love would be enough to bind,

Not seeing through the depths of my design,

That hearts can't hold what never was mine,

But a steadfast course makes hearts fall into line.

And so came the dawn - and with it came to mind

That every sailor leaves some love behind,

That no tide stays high,

And that safe ports deny.

That winds blow where they please,

And ships bend to their seas,

But stars still guide when harbors slip away,

The Anunnaki, according to ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets and interpretations by Zecharia Sitchin, were beings of advanced intelligence who played a pivotal role in the development of humanity and early civilizations. These entities are said to have originated from Nibiru, a planet in our solar system with an elongated orbit that takes approximately 3,600 Earth years to complete. According to Sitchin’s translations, the Anunnaki came to Earth in search of gold, a critical resource they needed to repair their planet's damaged atmosphere.

The Anunnaki initially undertook the labor-intensive task of mining gold themselves, but their dissatisfaction led them to create a hybrid species to perform the work. Using their advanced genetic knowledge, they combined their DNA with that of the primitive hominins already present on Earth. After several attempts, they succeeded in creating Adamu, the first human, who was born from the womb of a female Anunnaki acting as a surrogate. This narrative aligns closely with the biblical story of Adam and has been interpreted as an origin story for humanity, engineered to serve the Anunnaki’s needs.

In addition to their role as creators, the Anunnaki are credited with teaching early humans critical skills such as writing, engineering, animal husbandry, and agriculture, enabling the rise of civilization. They are also believed to have been the source of many myths found in later religious texts. Stories from Mesopotamian tablets about giants, devastating floods, and ancient wars bear striking similarities to those found in Abrahamic scriptures, but often with more detail. Sitchin suggested that many of the gods and heroes of polytheistic traditions were inspired by the Anunnaki, whose advanced technology and long lifespans made them appear divine to early humans.

Eventually, the Anunnaki departed Earth, leaving behind colonies and legacies that became the basis for myths and legends. After the establishment of monotheistic religions, many of these beings were demonized, transforming from revered gods into malevolent figures. Despite their departure, the knowledge they imparted to humanity persisted, shaping early societies and their cultural practices.

The NIH is the single major granting institution for research in the world and it has decided to cap the administrative overhead to 15%. This decision might forever change the organisation of major universities.

To understand how university funding works in the US, when a researcher gets a grant, a significant part of that money (think 50% to 100%) usually goes to the administration of the university and not directly to research. For example if the administrative overhead is 60% on a grant of 1M$, either the research gets 40% (400k$) of the money and the university administration 60% (600k$), or the organism has to pay 1.6M dollars. This is what the NIH has been doing so far, creating a huge competition of for NIH grants. The NIH was the only organism that gladly paid the administrative overhead, while other institutions would cap it or completely refuse to pay it. Now the NIH will no be so accommodating.

The huge administrative overhead is explained by the fact that over the year, administrative personnel in major universities has grown to far outnumber faculty, researchers and clinicians. Administrations at universities tend to follow extremely rigid and complex processes for almost anything. Most decisions and actions are regulated through a slow, rigid and scrutinizing process, either through a deep chain of command or through commissions that are slow to gather and have to debate every decision. This has been ongoing for a while at major universities because of virtually no negative feedback loop. The university could always raise the administrative overhead to pay for any new administrative processes it decides to implement.

Major universities also do other things than research, and teaching. They are gigantic institutions with gigantic ramifications.

The second week of February saw Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinians. The Hamsaouis were still armed to the teeth. The bombings did not do much. This happened against the backdrop of President Trump's confirmation that there would be a Gaza Rivera without the Palestinians. Bluffing is becoming a constant in the President's language. He said that he was 99% certain that Egypt and Jordan would agree to receive him, brandishing the fatal weapon of the dollar.

When he received the King of Jordan in the Oval Office, it was a painful moment bordering on humiliation. It took all the class and dexterity of the Hashemite sovereign to finally get through it, his face taut and red with barely veiled anger and sadness. He had to stand his ground and he did.

Trump seems to be ignoring history and geography, or at least not taking them into consideration. Let's wait for the Arab summit on 27 February in Cairo and the reactions of countries that have so far been silent or in a state of expectation. In the meantime, Hamas is begging the Arab countries for help, going so far as to acknowledge at last that 7 October was a mistake.

Trump quickly moved on to other things. After 19 minutes and 55 seconds with the King of Jordan, he now had a long telephone conversation with Putin lasting almost an hour and a half. The two men seem to be on the same wavelength. They say they want peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. The future of the troublemaker Zelensky seems to be numbered. In principle, the Europeans say that peace cannot be achieved without them. They don't have the power, divided as they are.

At the same time, the Palestinian Authority, or what is left of it, has thanked His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his intervention to release funds held back by Israel for its benefit.

What is happening in Gaza has overshadowed the most important event of the month: the Paris summit on artificial intelligence. Almost every country in the world was there. Some were represented by their presidents, such as India and the Emirates. China and the USA were represented by their respective vice-presidents. The American president's remarks were in line with his own. This just goes to show how important this issue is for the future of humanity as a whole. Some want fairness, others balance, and still others transparency and ethics. This is difficult to achieve when the world's major players do not sign the final resolutions and make no commitment to restrict their domination and the technological development that serves them first. 61 countries have signed up to an open, inclusive and ethical AI, not including the USA and the United Kingdom.

On the fringes of the summit, there was a very important meeting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, which today brings together some fifty countries. This was necessary, as many countries, including Morocco, are knocking on the door to join. The young body took the opportunity to take stock of its strategy, which it is seeking to bring into line with the OECD's recommendations on AI.

While many countries are campaigning to reduce the gap between nations as much as possible, it has to be said that this is not going down well with the purists and the naïve. The gap is already there, with the two behemoths, the USA and China, firmly in the lead. Others are hoping and doing their utmost to catch up, notably India and now France, which has announced its intention to invest $109 billion in AI. To achieve this, they are joining forces with the United Arab Emirates, which will contribute $50 billion, and Canada, which will inject $20 billion into the project. The most important thing is to have their own data centres. Data being the sinews of war at this level, alongside technology of course. The amount announced by France is still a far cry from the 500 billion American project. We're on a different planet here.

But do we need so much money when we learn that DeepSeek, developed by the Chinese, only cost USD 6 million? What China isn't saying is that it started from where the Americans had arrived with heavy investment, even using INVIDIA cards, albeit from a slightly earlier generation.

To get an idea of the differences, consider that in terms of data centres, there are 5,381 in the USA, compared with 521 in Germany, 449 in China, 315 in France and just 219 in Japan, for example. The USA has more than 50% of the world's data storage capacity, compared with 16% for China. Africa is counted in the rest of the world, a truly negligible quantity.

Having data and computing centres is first and foremost a matter of will and funding, as well as the ability to produce energy and have access to large quantities of water.

Yes, when you click to open a WhatsApp message or send one; when you do a search on Google, Brave or others; when you watch a video on YouTube or a film on Netflix, you consume energy to run the machinery that will respond to you but also water because it is water that cools it down. The technology consumes a lot of energy and water. Some even say that it is Silicon Valley's excessive water consumption that explains the recent huge fires in California.

If Morocco is seeking to join the PMIA, it's because it feels the importance of not just being a simple consumer of AI. It wants to play its part and, above all, position itself so as not to be left behind. The country already has respectable-sized computer centres, enabling it to aspire to efficiency in scientific research and in meeting the needs of its citizens. But this is not enough. Today, AI is everywhere in our daily lives, and it will be even more so in the future. Morocco aims to continue its digital transformation and is looking for a small share in technological innovation. This means that we will need to produce more energy, and to do so we may have to take account of the limits of renewable energies and their cost, and give serious thought to nuclear power. This is what is planned in the American project.

We mustn't be mere consumers of AI, otherwise we'll be importing other people's biases and then we'll simply be lost.

To achieve this, we need to be careful not to over-legislate and over-regulate in a rapidly evolving field where no one can say how or what tomorrow will bring. One article, one comma in a law and the machine is irremediably blocked. We are in a field where milliseconds are important, and the freedom to think without limits, to venture beyond barriers and to undertake without conditions is vital.

500 Billion dollars to keep the USA the number one power in AI followed by Deepseek whose creators claim has been trained on lower grade hardware, and now the AI summit in Paris.

Modern AI is a breakthrough perhaps of the same magnitude as the steam machine or electricity, perhaps even bigger. It touches everything and, most importantly, for the first time it allows for the mechanization of intellectual work. Previous industrial major breakthroughs were focused on automatizing physical labor, AI offers the potential of automatizing the mind. The implications are hard to comprehend, but what is sure is that no nation wants to be left behind.

The world of AI is segmented on a few pillars:

1 - The theory and software: mostly public and open-source

2 - The talent that is rare: Becoming a top tier talent in AI takes time. Being able to use off-the-self AI designed by other people is not enough to drive breakthrough

3 - The infrastructure hardware: Most importantly GPUs that are virtually all controlled by one US company, NVIDIA

4 - Electrical Power: Modern AI requires datacenter that consume astonishing amounts of electricity

It is on these fronts that the big battles over AI supremacy and autonomy will be fought. Laying these pillars also highlights the dominance of the US: it is the first on every single one. The US has the top universities and AI companies. This Naturally translates to more talent available. The US has the only company capable of making high-end GPUs, and the US has the most electricity available.

Other nations should wisely pick their battles and focus where they can make most impact. France for example, with it's nuclear energy and engineering culture could make it's mark, and Germany is already a leader in semiconductors. There is potential in Europe, the major question is will regulations and fiscal regimes adapt fast enough to allow for rapid technological growth.

Even low and middle income countries could make a dent and enjoy the AI boom. Morocco is positioning itself as an electricity producer, and all countries could work on education and skill levels. The time where people had to leave the country to offer their services abroad is long gone. The internet has no borders, which also mean the brain drain does not need to happen! It's not impossible for a country to become a top tier exporter of high quality AI services. Again for it to happen, cross country work regulations, and exchange rate controls must be heavily simplified or completely removed.

Final words, If anything the Deepseek story is interesting because it potentially expands the market for NVIDIA. If the story is true, it means that the market is now bigger, not smaller because lower grade GPUs have suddenly become more useful, without questioning the supremacy of the last generations of NVIDIA's AI workhorses.

The role of a parent is to be the architect of the world within which their kids grow in, and inevitably grow out of.

At least, that's what the experience of fatherhood has been for me, so far. For some, there is an obvious comparison to be made here with the role of a Dungeon Master (DM) in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). This is a slippery slope that can quickly lead one to certain delusions, so let's nip that in the bud right now: a DM is not a parental figure to their players, a parent shouldn't attempt to control the fate of their children, and a game designer shouldn't be so obsessed as to turn their kids' life into a game. Let's keep those three things compartmentalized while we identify the root from which these roles all stem.

The shared element between a game designer, a DM, and a parent is the skill of worldbuilding.

But first, for those unfamiliar with the role of a DM or how D&D works, here is a gross over-simplification: D&D is a tabletop role-playing game where players control characters within a world entirely designed by the DM. The DM enforces the laws and nature of the world, as well as narrates consequences of the players' actions, and might control the actions of Non-Player Characters (NPCs), but poses no action in the story. The Players' characters (PCs) have complete agency over their own actions but cannot change the fundamental laws of the universe.

So let's take the scenic route first, and explore worldbuilding as a DM. The flexibility and/or rigidity of a DM's rules in a campaign represent the very fabric of reality within the campaign, shaping the environment for the players. I've read fascinating background stories that DMs keep hidden indefinitely from their players, but are intrinsic parts of the campaign that allow the DM to sculpt a solid fabric of reality for their players to adventure in.

For example, in one fascinating story that was shared on Reddit, the entire universe is the fabrication of a dying child's mind while in a coma, in which the main villain, an NPC controlled by the DM, is the incarnation of the child's understanding of death. The villain senses that the universe is begging to collapse and his mission is to prepare the universe for the end. The player characters are each manifestations of the child's mind struggling to prevail against death itself. While the players may never learn this backstory, it serves as a foundation for the DM to consistently enforce or bend the world's rules and limitations.

Worldbuilding requires an unwavering belief in the reality you're creating, even if that world is fabricated. 

If a DM bends the rules - say, resurrecting a player's dead character - it has to mesh well with the rest of the universe they've built, otherwise the whole woven tapestry falls apart. Similarly, parents and game designers can and should apply worldbuilding principles to shape experiences, whether for children or players.

As a parent, your worldview influences the environment you create for your kids. 

I am a person who grew up in an insidiously oppressive environment. I'll spare you the sob story, but I carried this baggage with me for most of my adult life, and eventually I realized that I had two choices: 

pass on my bleak reality to my kids -or- choose to view the world differently and pass that on instead.

One thing that became very clear in that moment though was that ultimately, the worldview I adopt will shape the world my kids inhabit.

To make this change, I had to mentally construct a new way of viewing reality - a better one - and believe in it fully.

All so that I can authentically and sincerely pass on something truly good and healthy to my children. Anything less would just be a well-crafted lie delivered by a well-trained actor playing the role of a good parent.

In other words, "fake it 'till you make it".

One of the house rules I constantly repeat to my kids is:

"we say what we do and then we do what we say."

This is so simple, but it's rooted in neuro-science, human psychology, trust-building, and self-regulation, all of it based on my experience and research on the matter. They don't need to know the complexities of it, just that it works.

They must be given just enough information that they can identify a clear and subjectively desirable objective, as well just enough tools to manage themselves towards their objective while navigating their obstacles. Just like you don't play a deckbuilding card game with full unlimited access to all the cards. You gradually unlock more options as you play. And you gradually unlock a deeper understanding of the overall game the more times you play the game, based on your interest in that game. This is true about life as well.

For fun, here are some more of those bite-sized rules that I've created for my kids:

- "Bad guys make trouble and good guys stop trouble."

- Addendum to the previous one, revealed much later: "REALLY good guys make good things happen and REALLY bad guys stop good things from happening."

- "The truth brings us together, and lies make us alone. Stay with me in the truth and we'll figure it out together."

- "Failure leads to learning, which leads to more ways to have fun."

- "Your feelings are like kids in the backseat of your car: listen to them, but don't let them drive."

These rules are foundational to the world I'm building for them, but they're completely different from the ones I grew up with. I aim to provide a better reality - one with hope, agency, and a clear path to success.

It's fascinating to realize that these rules are indeed almost arbitrary; I've chosen them as part of a world I've constructed, and it all comes down to my faith in my own system. Unlike the harsh environment I knew, my kids will grow up in a world where mistakes are just stepping stones to success. This new reality shapes their future, and allows my old one to fade into memory.

I hear you, those with teenagers who don't give a rat's ass about anything and who actively reject everything around them like it's an Olympic sport. I'll admit my kids are still quite young, less than 10 years both of them. But you see, this is what's fun for me; it's a calculated gamble. I'm not here to enforce consequences - reality, the one I've shaped for them, will do that. They can lie, cheat, steal, party, and experiment, or just be lazy all they want, and if my reality is consistent and balanced enough, it will handle the consequences. If my rules are solid and coherent enough, they'll understand what went wrong and how to fix it. My role is simply to be present, help them pick up the pieces, and guide them back on track. Hell, if I'm lucky, maybe they'll even be able to identify nefarious activity from afar, and give it wide berth.

In today’s AI-driven world, data is often compared to oil. However, not all data holds the same intrinsic value. While some datasets are critical for the performance of AI models, others contribute little or no enhancement. As organizations pour vast resources into acquiring, processing, and leveraging data, the ability to systematically assess its worth has become a fundamental challenge.

The Need for Intelligent Data Valuation

When companies acquire data, it’s not enough to simply consider its quantity. They must also evaluate its quality, uniqueness, and relevance to the problem at hand. Equally important is understanding the relationships between datasets—whether they complement each other or act as substitutes. This distinction plays a pivotal role in making cost-effective decisions.

For example, a bank seeking to improve its fraud detection capabilities might consider purchasing two datasets:

- Transaction History (Dataset A): Records of past financial transactions, which may reveal patterns indicative of fraud.

- User Behavior Data (Dataset B): Behavioral analytics, such as login habits and spending behaviors, which can help identify anomalies.

If combining both datasets leads to a significant improvement in fraud detection accuracy, they are considered complementary—together, they provide more value than the sum of their individual contributions. However, if one dataset alone offers nearly the same predictive power as the other, the second dataset becomes a substitute, diminishing its marginal value.

This distinction is crucial. Companies can waste millions on redundant or low-value data if they fail to evaluate dataset interactions properly. A deeper understanding of these relationships helps ensure that only the most valuable data is acquired, processed, and used to drive AI-driven decision-making.

Assessing the True Economic Worth of Data with Shapley Value

To address this challenge, the Shapley value—a concept rooted in cooperative game theory—provides a fair and consistent method to assign value to datasets based on their contributions to the overall performance of an AI model. In this context, the "game" refers to model performance, and the "players" are the datasets used to train it. The Shapley value acts as a metric to evaluate the contribution of each dataset to the model’s performance.

General Concept of the Shapley Value

The Shapley value distributes the total "payoff" (or performance improvement) of a cooperative game (i.e., model accuracy) among the "players" (datasets) according to their marginal contributions. To calculate the Shapley value for a dataset, we consider all possible combinations of datasets and evaluate how much the addition of that particular dataset enhances the model’s performance.

Let’s consider an example: Fraud Detection System: Imagine a fraud detection system with three datasets:

- Transaction history (Dataset A)

- User behavior data (Dataset B)

- Geolocation data (Dataset C)

To calculate the Shapley value, we would:

1. Evaluate the model’s performance with each dataset, both individually and in combinations

2. Determine the marginal contribution of each dataset by seeing how much it improves the model’s performance when added to the other datasets.

3. Calculate the average contribution of each dataset across all possible combinations.

There are capacitors in all our electronic devices and equipment, and screens are becoming an increasingly important part of our lives. Even our watches, for those who still wear them, now have screens. In aeronautics, alloys, i.e. the aircraft we borrow, are not only made of Cobalt and Nickel.

The common ore here is Coltan. It is rare, but not everywhere. It is an essential composite in all these technologies. There's a lot of it north of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a marvellous inland sea of breathtaking beauty. I'll always remember the wonderful times I spent there.

Nearly 80% of the world's reserves are there. The rest of the commercial quantity is shared between Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, China, Spain and Australia.

Coltan, which is very important in modern industries, is strategic for all economic powers and is therefore an extremely important issue. And when you say ‘stake’, you mean the desire to secure the quantity needed to keep the machine running, and at the lowest possible cost. In Africa, particularly in this region to the north of Kivu, this has been possible since the 1960s. Mining is still done by hand. Young people toil all day long with hammers and chisels, scratching the ground in search of the right vein to fill sacks of tonnes of earth and extract the precious black or brown ore. That's where their work ends. Others on the surface are there to harvest the young people's labour and hand it over to the Chinese and others hiding in the shadows of unsanitary sheds, like predators on the lookout for prey. The precious sesame is traded for between US$30 and US$50 a kg... no more. The companies reap millions, the middlemen make a tidy sum, the children get a few crumbs, and the State just stands by and watches.

The Kivu region is in turmoil and permanently unstable. It has never known peace since the country gained independence in the 1960s. The peacekeeping contingents are there, but how effective are they?

Coltan is a curse for this Congo...

Needless to say, hardly anyone cares about what's happening in the region, about the fate of the people and the despoiled country. The people there should be living more than decently, but they never have. Do they know what it means to live decently, properly from their wealth and hard work? Generations go by without anything changing, quite the contrary.

In the last few days, the media world seems to have rediscovered that there is a high-intensity conflict going on and that thousands of poor people are being tortured, displaced, pillaged, raped and killed.

In 2012, as was the fashion throughout Central Africa, a liberation movement was formed, which was called Mars 23 and later became M23, following the fashion of the dimunitives. It is made up of the heirs of the famous Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (National Congress for the Defence of the People). Excuse the pun. The DRC government succeeded in signing a peace agreement with the CNDP, a faction of which will consider in 2022 that it has not honoured its commitments. It's an armed gang, the likes of which are easy to come by in Africa. Overnight, people in a given region are capable of raising an army that is better equipped and more powerful than the national army. Miraculously, they do this without manufacturing weapons, ammunition, vehicles or having factories to sew outfits, make shoes or produce fuel... This kind of movement is never found in poor areas, on the contrary... They are particularly fond of rich areas rather than poor ones. Once operational, in the name of a declared revolutionary ideal, they seize the wealth of the land and reduce populations to slavery if they are not driven out or deported. To see the extent of this, you only have to look at the reports on refugees or go to Rwanda to see the extent of the camps of these deportees abandoned in misery if not for the rationed and always inadequate aid from NGOs and certain governments, to ease their conscience.

It is in this region of the DRC that the M23 operates. The Congolese government had done its best to weaken it, but once again it has magically risen from the ashes and has been growing stronger since 2021. A few weeks ago, it launched a spectacular offensive and seized the very region where the most Coltan is produced.

The particularity of the situation this time is that the M23 is openly supported in its offensive by no fewer than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers. They have returned triumphantly to the town of Goma, the hub of the Coltan trade. No matter what the people or the government of the DRC think. The strongest is there and then.

Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, is a 48-hour drive from Goma, and what a drive it is.

There too, as elsewhere in these times, international law is being flouted and the integrity of lands and peoples trampled underfoot. The M23 adventurers have no plans whatsoever, other than to corner the Coltan for their avowed sponsor Rwanda, which has thus become, as if by chance, the world's leading exporter of Coltan, without a single gram being extracted from its soil. The price has risen to over USD 70 per kg.

As this conflict is taking place in Africa, it does not even interest Africans themselves. Nobody talks about it, or very little.

Politicians, on the other hand, are busy with a summit of neighbouring countries this weekend in Dar Essalam, Tanzania. The stated aim is to find a solution to bring peace to the region. Many are aware that the initiative is doomed to failure. For ethnic reasons, Tanzanians, Kenyans and Ugandans are in solidarity with Rwanda.

It is in this context that Morocco is taking action, sending its Minister of Foreign Affairs Nacer Bourita and its Director of Intelligence to the main player in the affair, Rwandan President Paul Kagamé.

So why Morocco, so far away from the area?

In fact, no one else has known the region so well for so long. Morocco has been leading and participating in the UN peacekeeping contingent since the early 1960s. Since then, the Cherifian Kingdom has accumulated data and knowledge of the population, geography and politics of the region. As usual, it is not acting as a hero giving lessons, but as a neutral mediator. He is not openly proposing a solution, but he will carry more weight thanks to his wisdom and the growing respect he enjoys on the continent.

So, let's wait a few days before deciding on the fate of this mediation and on the intentions of all concerned.

In the meantime, ‘innocent slaves’ will continue to scratch the earth and provide the world with screens and capacitors.