Just as the title says, tell me your most recent dream and I will perform a dream analysis of dubious distinction. Trust me I'm an expert.

Excerpt:

The energy engineer and founder of the Shift Project think tank lays out the major climate challenges facing future governments, with six months to go before France's 2027 presidential election.

With your new book and the citizens' assembly on climate and energy issues that you launched, how do you intend to put pressure on the political sphere during the upcoming presidential campaign?

As long as we live in a democracy – for however long that lasts – we at The Shift Project assume that the political sphere reflects what happens in civil society, albeit imperfectly and with a time lag. In that context, we address our book to civil society, hoping that one day our views will become significant enough to change what happens at the higher levels.

My comment: JMJ is one of the earlier public figures to gain mainstream public acceptance of understanding the forces of collapse, first in France, then abroad. His initial focus and expertise was on energy, but has expanded into other fields, such as this article about politics.

Take particular note of his fatalist view on democracy "however long that lasts".

I'll try to update with a full archive once available.

In a world of fancy espresso machines, gourmet blends and cold brews, instant coffee has often been considered to be at the bottom of the proverbial coffee barrel. But the powder is getting a glow-up, thanks to better quality, social media trends and advancements in instant coffee technology.

"It's having a moment," said Joey Pittoello, general manager of the coffee roaster Just Us! in Halifax. "I think people have discovered that instant coffee can be of much better quality now."

More brewers are choosing to highlight instant coffee, from big brands such as Starbucks, to smaller roasters like Just Us!, in part because they are seeing an increased demand for it.

At Just Us!, which has been selling instant coffee for over 15 years, instant coffee sales have grown around 15 per cent in the last two years, says Pittoello, with other coffee companies such as Eight Ounce Coffee and Canadian Heritage Coffee Roasters in Calgary reporting similar increases in recent years.

According to a 2025 Agricultural Canada report, instant coffee sales totalled $330 million in Canada in 2024, up 10 per cent from the previous year.

"Instant coffee is undergoing the same transformation as a lot of coffee drinks," said Robert Carter, a food industry analyst and the president of the Coffee Association of Canada.

"There's more premiumization that's taking place. And I think that's resulting in an increase in consumption."

Social media trends are also improving instant coffee's rep. There's the Dalgona coffee trend, popularized during the pandemic, which is a whipped drink made by whisking instant coffee, sugar and hot water, then putting it over milk.

People are also using instant coffee to make lattes or iced coffees at home. Additionally, Pittoello says people use it in baking, or in seasoning when barbecuing.

"It's easy to make interesting sweet milky drinks with instant coffee. You just have to add it, right?" said Pittoello. A change in quality and technology

Instant coffee isn't anything new though. Big brands like Nescafé and Maxwell House have been selling instant coffee for decades.

"I don't think it ever really went anywhere," said Pittoello.

What has changed, though, is the quality of instant coffee. Pittoello says the robusta bean, which has a simple flavour profile compared to arabica, had commonly been used to make instant coffee.

"You're enhancing the level of low quality by turning it into instant coffee and that's really what defined instant coffee for decades," said Pittoello.

Now more specialty roasters are using better beans to make their instant coffee. Just Us! uses arabica, as does Starbucks.

But that's not the only reason you're seeing specialty coffee shops selling their own instant coffee. Josh Hockin, head of coffee at Eight Ounce Coffee in Calgary, says it's easier than ever to manufacture it, thanks to advancements in technology.

Mainstream brands like Nescafé and Maxwell House make large amounts of instant coffee through a process called spray drying, which involves brewing coffee as strong as possible, then spraying that coffee into a heated chamber, creating the instant coffee powder.

But Hockin says a better quality coffee can be made by brewing the coffee then freeze-drying it instead. Years ago, the machine to do so would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was as big as a shipping container.

Now, he says the machines cost about $3,000 to $4,000 Cdn, and can plug into the wall.

"It's not cheap to do, but it's certainly way less expensive than it would have been in the past," said Hockin.

According to Robert Carter, it's not that people are replacing their at-home set up with instant coffee. Rather, Carter says, instant coffee is giving people another option to enjoy one of the most consumed drinks in Canada.

"We're not seeing a cannibalization taking place. We're seeing an expansion of the types of coffee products being consumed that are different than just your traditional brewed coffee.”

And people are willing to pay a premium for that, says Hockin. He says it's the equivalent of buying a cup at a coffee shop, with some packets of four selling for $11, while some varieties sell for $42 for a six-pack.

But, he says, the quality is just as good, and it's as convenient as it gets.

"It's not their everyday cup of coffee, obviously. But they are very willing, very very willing to pay that money.”

True story...

My wife (It's her niece's fourth birthday): Can you get her some classic children's books. Just ask for a recomendation if you can't find the familiar classics.

Me: I don't trust their recomendations.

The federal government has withdrawn sponsorship of a European disinformation conference that includes panels discussing the U.S. government as a foreign interference risk.

Samantha Lafleur, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC), said the government took issue with the framing of some panels at the event organized by EU DisinfoLab, a non-profit based in Brussels.

The conference features panels about the U.S. as a source of "foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)," a phenomenon where foreign governments or actors on their behalf manipulate information to confuse, divide or mislead the public and erode confidence in institutions.

GAC — Ottawa's diplomatic arm — Lithuania's Foreign Ministry and the European External Action Service were initially listed as supporters of the annual conference largely attended by researchers and civil society organizations.

As the gathering got underway in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday, their names were covered up on signs spotted around the conference, according to photos shared with CBC News. As of writing, the French government remains a sponsor.

In a statement to CBC News, GAC did not deny that it had concerns with describing the U.S. as a foreign interference threat.

"Following changes to the framing of several panel discussions, GAC decided to revise its participation in those sessions at the EU DisinfoLab 2026 conference," wrote Lafleur.

She did not respond to questions about particular changes GAC took issue with or whether the U.S. raised concerns.

According to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, the description of Wednesday's panel discussing how to push back on the U.S. as a foreign interference threat appears to have been unchanged since Sept. 9. GAC no longer chairing Arctic panel

A GAC official also pulled out of chairing a session on disinformation in the Arctic scheduled for Thursday, said presenter Ben Shultz with the American Sunlight Project.

The panel proposes to talk about Greenland and "growing evidence that the United States has, in specific Arctic contexts, operated as a FIMI actor."

Shultz shared the initial plan for the panel from months ago, which includes talking about the U.S. as a foreign interference actor.

He called three governments withdrawing a "shock" and questioned whether they were pressured.

"Thankfully every speaker has still shown up, which is awesome, and I think a testament to the resolve of the research community. But it's definitely put a bit of a damper on the atmosphere," he said in an interview.

The European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, said in a statement it asked to have its logo removed from the material associated with the conference "in view of the content of the programme."

Asked if it was related to the U.S. foreign interference panel, an EU spokesperson repeated that the EEAS logo was removed because "organizers chose to frame some of the discussions in a way which does not align with the official positions held by the EU."

Neither Lithuania's Foreign Ministry nor the conference organizers responded to a request for comment.

Canada's withdrawal comes the same week the Globe and Mail reported that some people involved in campaigning for Alberta independence had met on both sides of the border with U.S. entities.

CBC News previously reported that some of those meetings took place in U.S. State Department offices in Washington, D.C., last year.

GAC's move also comes as the country is embroiled in an often bitter and personal trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

Lafleur said Canada "remains firmly committed to addressing the challenge of disinformation and misinformation" and that Global Affairs Canada officials "look forward to engaging with partners and stakeholders on efforts to counter disinformation."

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted his country is "not at war" with Canada, then proceeded to mock the threat Canada could pose to his country with "submarines from the Edmonton mall."

The secretary also suggested Prime Minister Mark Carney was to blame for the current "political shouting match" between the two countries because keeping the fight alive is good for his poll numbers.

Bessent made the remarks Monday in an interview with the U.S. cable news network CNBC, where he was asked if his country is now in a trade war with Canada.

"Well, I don't think you can be in a tit for tat with someone that's 13 times larger than you are," he said.

"I mean we're not at war with Canada. How are we going to be at war with Canada? What, are they going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton mall and sic them on us?"

Inspired by this article about a jellyfish that doesn't die of old age, injury or poor conditions, it just reverts back to a juvenile state and is reborn genetically identical. If you could be reborn, as you, would you want to?

Edit: Just the physical you, genetic and presumably epigenetic, no memory.

Seeing we're sharing espresso brews...

Ethiopian light roast (by me) in a Flair signature.

2nd pic is the whole setup. Dead simple and reliable and could probably post it on BIFL.

I decided to try a small bag of mostly robusta coffee after a pleasant surprise at a Vietnamese restaurant.

It was, and is fantastic. It is a major flavour departure from Arabica so for those of you set in your ways, it might not be for you. The flavour is hard to describe, but the taste and aroma are very strong and immediately recognizable. The smell is very sweet and earthy. The flavour is like ... spiced stonefruit.

The restaurant served it with sweetened condensed milk and it was amazing. At home I drink it black.

If you're in for something different, worth a try.

France will experience many more heatwaves and some will be even more severe than the last one, which was historic. To cope, we need to get organized collectively – without giving up the fight to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, Le Monde's climate expert writes.

1/Take a serious look back at the recent episode

At this stage, given the exhaustion and bitterness we are experiencing, the first thing to do is take a look back at what happened. What we've just gone through is physically and psychologically tough, and it's important to document it right away. That's the advice of Alexandre Florentin, former Paris adviser and adaptation specialist, who led a mission titled "Paris at 50 Degrees."

His idea: gather with your family, neighbors, colleagues, or classmates and methodically debrief, following the "Four Fs" method: feelings (what I felt), facts (what happened), findings (what I learned) and future (what we can do going forward). The goal of this method is to remember precisely what took place, as everything will conspire to make us forget the intensity of the heatwave. And write everything down, so it can be useful next time!

The French Red Cross also encourages everyone to prepare a "Catakit," an emergency bag ready for climate disasters. It includes a flashlight, a radio, canned food, an emergency blanket and more. Find the complete list here.

Six months ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out a new and pragmatic path for middle powers in the face of an increasingly hostile U.S. and a rising China. In a new season of his podcast "Gloves Off" journalist Stephen Marche considers the opportunities for Canada given the new geopolitical reality.

https://shows.acast.com/gloves-off

Edit: every Canadian should listen to this podcast. Finally an unvarnished truth.