“Only when the generation that survived the war is no longer with us,” said Angela Merkel last year, “will we discover if we have learned from history.”
—The Economist, in ‘Historical memorials are not enough to stop anti-Semitism in Europe’
Continue reading Historical memorials are not enough to stop anti-Semitism in Europe
The dispirited remnants of Egypt’s civil society miss the relative openness. Mr Mubarak allowed a bit of space for opposition, as a safety valve and a sop to the West. Mr Sisi has ramped up executions and persecutes even supporters who step out of line. “They were professionals. Now they’re amateurs,” says one activist of those in charge.
—The Economist, in ‘Many Egyptians miss their deposed president, Hosni Mubarak’
A Forsterian summary might read: “The bubble burst, people became cautious and the economy got stuck in too low a gear to stop prices and interest rates from falling.”
—The Economist, in ‘The Japanification of bond markets’
Shunning is a powerful tool, it is a sanction that society uses to maintain norms. But it’s an absolute tool, a final resort.
It’s possible to connect with people without endorsing their worst actions. In fact, the best way to undo negative actions may be to engage with people to persuade them that there’s a different way forward.
—Seth Godin, in ‘The shunning’
Sometimes when potential clients send me long emails I turn those emails into PDFs (by printing them to PDF), then load them into Notability with very wide margins, and write my notes in the margins, with screenshots, captions, and diagrams, and send them back. It’s a way to let people know that I’m really listening and trying to help them, not just talking. They see handwriting and know I’m committed. It’s the opposite of robotic interaction.
Today the magic formula has many parts: openness to people and capital, the time zone, proximity to subsea data cables, and posh schools. But, above all, it relies on stable politics and regulation, close ties to America and seamless ones to Europe.
—The Economist, in ‘Can the City survive Brexit?’
…he was reminded of the brave little group of Bilbo, Frodo, Sam and the rest, who left the quiet Shire “to shake the towers and counsels of the Great”. They were small, shaggy-haired and barefoot, usually unarmed and often frightened. But they lived, and eventually triumphed, by their wits. Every problem had a solution, and every battle could be won, if you thought hard and fast enough.
—The Economist, in ‘Obituary: Steve Sawyer died on July 31st’
This has always been the gap in the Amazon model. It’s ever more efficient at finding what you already know you want and shipping it to you, but bad at suggesting things you don’t already know about, and terrible whenever a product needs something specific—just try finding children’s shoes by size
—Benedict Evans, in ‘Amazon as experiment’
In Krulak’s example, Marines may be required to conduct full scale military action, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid within the space of three contiguous city blocks.
The thrust of the concept is that modern militaries must be trained to operate in all three conditions simultaneously, and that to do so, leadership training at the lowest levels needs to be high. The latter condition caused Krulak to invoke what he called “strategic corporals”; low-level unit leaders able to take independent action and make major decisions
Instead the protesters are at best dupes, and at worst foreigner-loving race traitors, ashamed of being Chinese.
—The Economist, in Why Chinese officials imagine America is behind unrest in Hong Kong
Continue reading Race traitor: Oxford dictionary word of the year?
Use my marker 