The Guardian title: Britons ‘need to accept’ they’re poorer, says Bank of England economist Guardian subtitle: Chief economist Huw Pill says workers and firms should stop trying to pass on rising costs by hiking prices or demanding better wages By: Graeme Wearden Date: 25 April 2023 "British households and businesses “need to accept” they are poorer and stop seeking...
Greed
Why China Is So Bad at Doing Big Things (Bloomberg)
15 Apr, 2023
Bloomberg Opinion title: Why China Is So Bad at Doing Big Things Bloomberg Opinion subtitle: The country has a reputation for accomplishing impossible tasks. But its strengths only work in certain cases. By: Minxin Pei Date: 3 April 2023 "Countries around the world are awed by China’s ability to marshal its national resources and do big, seemingly impossible...
Greed is (not) good
19 Jan, 2023
Tuesday, the Dutch PM visited the US president to discuss (a.o.) the American export ban for ASML, a Dutch company that specializes in the development and manufacturing of high-tech machines, which are used to produce high-tech computer chips. This American export ban hurts ASML's profits. Several decades ago, Western companies moved production facilities...
Space travel
9 Sep, 2022
The Universe is expanding. Each year, the (accelerating) distance to our Moon is "increasing at the rate of about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year" (source). In the absence of (imaginary) faster than light space travel technology, planets that we can still see now, will then be too far away to visit. Notwithstanding the above, we are still planning new visits...
Is stupidity the flip side of beliefs?
4 Aug, 2022
There is a Dutch saying: "A donkey does not bump into the same stone twice." I didn't see foreign equivalents. An alleged quote by Albert Einstein states: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” The key difference between animals and humans is (not) having beliefs. Recently, I noticed this question: If Humans Are the...
The lesser of two evils principle
16 Jun, 2022
Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote the following in his book Nicomachean Ethics: "For the lesser evil can be seen in comparison with the greater evil as a good, since this lesser evil is preferable to the greater one, and whatever preferable is good" (Wiki). Fast-forward: if Russia is the greater evil, does that make Ukraine good? I've been carefully avoiding this topic...
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