Intro LO: The recent warning of Janet Yellen (b.1946), economist and former US Treasury Secretary (2021-2025), has been on my mind for quite some time. I suppose this quote is essential for any country, and especially USA: "a state with increasingly expensive obligations and a very limited appetite for taxes." (Fortune) Note LO: markings in quote by me. Most likely,...
UK
Het recht van de sterkste
9 Jan, 2026
Het bombardement van Venezuela (o.a. aanlegsteiger, boten, hoofdstad) en het kidnappen van de President betekent dat (tegenwoordig) het recht van de sterkste geldt. Ik vermoed dat dit "incident" uiteindelijk nogal verstrekkende internationale en geopolitieke consequenties zal hebben (o.a. EU, ICJ, VN). De Amerikaanse aanvallen op de Verenigde Naties en het...
A new Moscow on the Hudson (6)
6 Nov, 2025
Following American election results (eg, New York City, New Jersey, Virginia), I doubt that Europeans can and/or will truly understand Americans. European socialism is dead, while European nationalism is surging. “Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York in a historic victory that will put an avowed democratic socialist — and the first Muslim...
The Dumbest Trade War in History (WSJ)
4 Feb, 2025
Intro LO: On Monday, there was a rare moment: “Trump admits Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his tariffs, but it will be ‘worth the price’ “ (eg, Forbes, Fortune, the Hill, WaPo). The WSJ article below is about (not) “worth the price”. Next in line are Europe and the UK (eg, BBC, CNBC, EuroNews, the Guardian). The above reminds me of a quote by American...
Trump’s game of chicken
29 Jan, 2025
“The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.” (AP, 27 January 2025). Trump’s psychological game is also known as game of chicken. Its essence is simple: who will...
De tolerantie van intolerantie
10 Jan, 2025
In 1945 waarschuwde Karl Popper ons reeds voor de paradox van tolerantie in zijn boek The Open Society and its Enemies. Hij wordt “algemeen [] beschouwd als een van de grootste wetenschapsfilosofen van de 20e eeuw.” “Minder bekend [dan andere paradoxen] is de paradox van de tolerantie: onbeperkte tolerantie moet leiden tot het verdwijnen van...

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