XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, alt.politics.trump   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv, uk.politics.misc   
   From: whatsupwiththatear@theyleftmealive.com   
      
   On 7/31/25 1:36 PM, Marmalade King wrote:   
   >   
   >   
   > The first American ‘scientific refugees’ arrive in France   
   > Aix-Marseille University is wooing researchers who feel targeted by the   
   > Trump administration.   
   > Free article usually reserved for subscribers   
   > Safe place science   
   > U.S. researcher Brian Sandberg applied for the “Safe Place for Science"   
   > program. He said the U.S. research and education systems were "really   
   > under attack." | Victor Goury-Laffont/POLITICO   
   > July 1, 2025 4:22 am CET   
   > By Victor Goury-Laffont   
   > MARSEILLE, France — The first American academics fleeing Donald Trump's   
   > America for France have arrived.   
   > Aix-Marseille University last week introduced eight U.S.-based   
   > researchers who were in the final stage of joining the institution's   
   > “Safe Place for Science" program, which aims to woo researchers who have   
   > experienced or fear funding cuts under the Trump administration. AMU   
   > offers the promise of a brighter future in the sun-drenched   
   > Mediterranean port city.   
   > While both France and the European Union have launched multimillion-euro   
   > plans to woo researchers across the pond since Trump assumed the U.S.   
   > presidency in January, AMU's initiative was the first of its kind in the   
   > country — meaning the eight researchers who were welcomed are the first   
   > academic refugees planning to trade the United States for France.   
   > Speaking from the university’s hilltop astrophysics lab, AMU President   
   > Eric Berton likened the situation to that of European academics who fled   
   > persecution by Nazi Germany both before and during World War II.   
   > “What is at play here today is not unrelated to another dark period of   
   > our history,” he said.   
   > Berton and former French President François Hollande have pushed for the   
   > creation of a "scientific refugee" status.   
   > As most of the researchers who attended Berton’s speech had not yet   
   > signed their contracts with AMU, they requested anonymity to protect   
   > their stateside research positions if they ended up not being admitted   
   > or declining the offer.   
   > Among the applicants were James, a climate scientist at a reputable   
   > research university, and his wife, who studies the intersection of   
   > judicial systems and democracies. James said they had applied because   
   > they were “working in areas which are targeted” and could be prone to   
   > funding cuts.   
   > While James, who didn't want his surname used, said he doesn't think of   
   > himself and his fellow academics as "refugees," he voiced deep concern   
   > about the future of academic research under Trump.   
   > Brian Sandberg, a professor of history at Northern Illinois University   
   > who researches climate change during the Little Ice Age period from   
   > roughly the 16th to 19th centuries, had already been set to spend a year   
   > in Marseille as a visiting professor. While taking part in a workshop in   
   > the city in March, he learned of AMU’s program and decided to apply.   
   > "The entire system of research and the entire education in the United   
   > States is really under attack," Sandberg said.   
   > AMU said 298 researchers from prestigious universities including   
   > Stanford and Yale had applied, despite the university's lack of name   
   > recognition outside France compared to some of its Parisian   
   > counterparts. Berton said the high volume of applicants spoke to the   
   > "urgency" of the situation across the Atlantic.   
   > The university’s president insisted that participants in the “Safe Place   
   > for Science” program would be paid the same wages as French researchers.   
   > | Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images   
   > The school has already put up €15 million to pay for the program and is   
   > lobbying the French government to match that figure, which would enable   
   > it to nearly double its planned hires from 20 to 39.   
   > Still, moving to a new country where English is not the official   
   > language a big step. There's also the issue of salaries, which are lower   
   > for academics in France than in the United States, and the fact there's   
   > less money for research.   
   > An early-career biological anthropologist said she was still awaiting   
   > contract details from AMU before putting pen to paper because of salary   
   > discrepancies, though she took comfort in the fact that the cost of   
   > living is lower in France — especially considering that education for   
   > her two children, who she said were eager to settle in Marseille, would   
   > be free.   
   > The university’s president insisted that participants in the “Safe Place   
   > for Science” program would be paid the same wages as French researchers.   
   > The statement sought to appease concerns within France’s academic   
   > community that money would now be focused on drawing U.S. scientists   
   > whereas local researchers have long complained of insufficient funding.   
   > But the biological anthropologist said a more carefree life could   
   > compensate for a lower salary. "There’ll be a lot less stress as a   
   > whole, politically, academically," she reflected.   
   >   
   >   
   > https://www.politico.eu/article/meet-first-academic-refugees-fleeing-us-   
   > france-science-program/   
      
      
   Safe Place for Science program? Is that just another term for "taxpayer   
   funded, government tit sucking, can't find a job in the private sector   
   program"?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)