Clemens

Logician/computer scientist living and working in Scotland.

Last Notes

2026-09-29 05:48:14 UTC

Given how many academics are on this platform I'd expect a "slightly" bigger outcry about Russia destroying the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and targeting other education facilities in #Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine.
In fact, it would be important to get more initiatives going for the support of Ukrainian academia. Rage against what's happening isn't helping per se but a precondition for any such initiatives gaining momentum. I'll try to preserve my own rage for when I'm back in Scotland to see what's already happening and possible...

2026-09-23 08:59:00 UTC

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those deals are usually not that public precisely for that reason. There are also several additional dimensions to this: we are not talking about French sanctions, but EU sanctions, which should certainly not be on the table for grubby French (or other) deals. In fact, as far as I remember the French wanted to get the sanctions only for Usmanov lifted and then Luxembourg insisted on Fridman for their own reasons. If countries start to lift Russian sanctions for their own national short-term interest, sanctions will be gone in no time. Again, the French gov knows this, what I am sayng is basically the French position until about a couple of weeks ago, so claiming all changed because some French spies were arrested is highly dodgy.

2026-09-23 08:38:50 UTC

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I don't respect to get explanations that aren't any. If the official line is the explanation then I expect many more French and EU citizens to be taken hostage from now on 🤷

2026-09-23 08:29:28 UTC

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"a couple of billionaires" - one of them used to be the richest Russian. Given how big and public that "favour" to the Russians is, the explanation of "some spies" in Azerbaijan (confusingly not Uzbekistan) doesn't cut it.

2026-09-23 08:03:52 UTC

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Ok: who are those prisoners? (ignoring the fact that "exchange" clearly doesn't work to describe what's happening because those oligarchs weren't prisoners)
Also: as some kind of response to blackmail (of the kind: "we have your guys - lift the sanctions or else") seems deeply flawed because now the Russians know that if they want to get something they just have to arrest a couple of Frenchmen.

2026-09-23 07:07:17 UTC

The EU lifting sanctions against Russian oligarchs because of France and Luxembourg should receive far more public interest: even if you don't care about Ukraine you should ask why on earth Macron et al publicly humiliated themselves? What blackmail do the Russians have? Or is it "just" corruption?

2026-04-01 04:24:44 UTC

Can we print this part of Microsoft's T&S as a leaflet and distribute at our university?
#AI
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/for-individuals/termsofuse
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/116/327/533/219/503/589/original/972da024535c283d.jpeg

2026-02-04 14:27:23 UTC

What fresh hell is this? I am at the beginning of a line on overleaf and as soon as I press space it opens the AI window to help me writing 🤯 I am pressing space because I want to indent the stuff I am writing...
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/116/012/823/221/971/877/original/70f033f8f116b7f1.png

2025-12-30 11:37:23 UTC

Hello from #Kyiv where heating and hot water is currently off (in the district where we are staying) and it's -4 degrees outside. Ukrainians are leading a life with restrictions that are *currently* unimaginable in the West, yet they do it stoically because they know that there's no alternative to resisting the Russian fascist invasion.
Meanwhile too many in the West seem unable to even bring the tiniest "sacrifice" eg of not spreading hateful and often racist lies on social media. Or to sanction Russia in a meaningful way that might also involve personal discomfort.