“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
Vermont is very political—people say what they think. They disagree without being disagreeable and have discussions without fighting.
— Alyssa Mastromonaco, in ‘Who thought this was a good idea’
We love Thanksgiving. We cook everything. But we’re still learning many things about the American culture. Back home everyone likes to hug and kiss on the cheek. It communicates that you care about someone. But here it is different. My friend tried to give me a Thanksgiving handshake at the gym today. But I went in for a Thanksgiving hug. And he only gave me a Thanksgiving half-hug. A few months ago I was called into Human Resources, and they said: ‘Mr. Mauricio, no more hugging at the office. It is making people uncomfortable.’
— Mr. Mauricio, in ‘Humans of New York’
P.S.: I’m a big time hugger. The British around me are definitely not. I’m available for hugs.
In the East, I’ve heard it said, there’s intimacy without friendship; in the West, there’s friendship without intimacy.
—Karan Mahajan, in The New Yorker
Continue reading Friendship, intimacy, commerce, and the West
A lesson from the cold war:
Russia teaches us a very important lesson: losing an ideological war without a fight will ruin you as a nation. The fight is the American way. When we stop fighting for our ideals abroad, we stop fighting for them at home.
Putin’s Real Long Game, January 27, 2017 at 02:59AM
The true believers share views that run counter to the Paul Ryan-wing of the GOP on everything from immigration and infrastructure spending, to bullying corporations. They are anti-“corporatists” who want to methodically destroy conventional conservatism.
Trump 101: What he means by “America first”, January 23, 2017 at 03:44PM
… it isn’t over yet.
Some countries build benign, efficient institutions that foster economic growth;
others build predatory ones that retard it.
How to fix failed states, January 12, 2017 at 02:53AM
“… away from multiculturalism and towards assimilation”
Segregation scars parts of Britain, some immigrant groups remain poorly integrated and minorities within them are hostile to liberal values.
Britain’s genius is its ability to integrate newcomers, January 13, 2017 at 06:03PM
What Russia does today is very much the digital version of what we Germans, before 1989, termed “Zersetzung.”
… political equivalent of what happens when you pour acid on organic material: dissolution and disintegration.
Angela Merkel, Russia’s Next Target, January 11, 2017 at 03:32PM
Finding and drilling oil requires elaborate modelling—both of underground geologies and messy aboveground geopolitics—to make money over the long-term.
Give Rex a chance, December 20, 2016 at 01:47 AM
Use my marker 