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...
UK
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...
Birds of a feather flock together
8 Oct, 2024
Recently, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant published an article that caught my curiosity and my interest: How do I step outside my bubble more often? My question is/was simple: do I need, want, or believe in this?? Hence, I asked my girlfriend. She was also skeptical. Perhaps given our differences. The ancient Dutch saying is "soort zoekt soort", which translates like...
How to stop Europe’s decline ??
30 Sep, 2024
Recently, the Washington Post (WaPo) published this article: How to stop Europe’s decline, an opinion by its Editorial Board. Its subtitle was: "Fixing the European Union’s flagging economy will require it to reconsider key elements of its architecture." The WaPo may well be right about Europe's flagging economy but why do they fail to see the American decline...
Politics versus Money
23 Jul, 2024
Recently, the Dutch FT published an article with an intriguing title: The Republicans say goodbye to Big Money (HFD, translation by LO). The FT published a similar title that day: Donald Trump pledges tax cuts, trade wars and border crackdown. Actually, this development is visible in China, Europe, and USA. It might be the greatest danger for nationalism. In my...
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