Dediu Newsletter, Vol. 5, Number 6 (54), 6 May 2021: World Monthly Report

For a change, let's start with some good news: at a recent public video-colloquium of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), which I had the pleasure to attend, presided by the distinguished Dr. Joseph Czika, NASEM, Mr. Robert Cardillo (a former high-ranking official (who recently received an honorary doctorate from Saint Louis University), now the president of The Cardillo Group) quoted the famous Roman poet, who lived around 1,900 years ago, Decimus Junius Juvenalis! In Latin!! Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who watches the watchmen?). It's clear that the things are getting better...At another public virtual meeting of NASEM, which I had also the pleasure to attend, there were excellent presentations by Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, Professor Emeritus, George Mason University, and George E. Apostolakis, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). These events reminded me of other memorable presentations at conferences, which I attended, with Dr. William Perry, Former Secretary of Defense, 1994 - 1997, and John Hennessy, Stanford's President Emeritus.Also, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine invited each other for a meeting, the leaders of France and Germany help on the road to peace and harmony, the leaders of UK and Kenya work to bring millions of children back to school, and the President of the United States invited 40 leaders to a videoconference, including, of course, China and Russia.In this World Monthly Report, which is the 54th in total, we included the most relevant news, in a balanced approach, usually directly from the source, to help the general public better understand the realities around us. Being well and correctly informed is a sine qua non requirement for everybody, in order to make the right decisions for the future. Enjoy this global, comprehensive, useful and timely World Monthly Report, and be optimist!