Are we happier with less
In 1991 I had my second tour as a United Nations soldier in Syria and met someone who told me about his former work as a bodyguard for some members of the Saudi Royal family. I was instantly hooked. I…
Category Peripheral Vision
Up here, the shouting fades. Below, the deckhands brawl over semantics and empty barrels. But from the rigging, the shape of things comes into focus — slow collapse, fast delusion, and the absurd elegance of it all.
This is where I map the mess from altitude. Big arcs. Broken patterns. Unwelcome truths seen before impact. No rah-rah optimism, no collapse-porn doomerism. Just the sharp wind, a good scope, and the knowledge that sometimes the best you can do is spot the rocks early and yell loud enough for someone below to hear.
Are human rights treaties a scam
Few events have shaped human history like the French Revolution has. France has seen many revolts and also full-blown revolutions. Still, as soon as I say the very words, you will immediately and correctly associate them with the events that…
The day after Globalization
In 1983, at the height of the Cold War, the world was exposed to a new movie. The Day After. Not a very good movie, no outstanding screenplay, and no imaginative plot. Even the pictures were rather – dull. But…
The slow death of the Cold War
In 1999, just one year shy of the Millennium, I lived in Paris. Like many of my age, I waited for the release of the movie Matrix. The Wachowski brothers built up the suspense of what it was all about…
Come with me if you wanna live …
The last couple of weeks were a real rollercoaster. When I went into my summer recess, I had the intention to clean up and streamline the portfolio of projects that I worked up for the last 5 years. Pursuing everything…
Summer Recess
2020 has turned out to be a weirdly exciting year for all of us. For all the wrong reasons I dare say. And it’s not uniquely because of the COVID-19 virus situation. The oil price war and resulting extreme oil…
The industrial revival of North America
Last week we have seen that COVID-19 might have been the wake-up call the world needed. It is most certainly not the cause of our current economic woes. Those have their roots decades back in the past. The remedy is…
The awakening of the zombie
Early in 1981, a man walked into a village in Central Haiti. He walked up to a peasant woman and identified himself as her brother Clairvius. The woman did not believe him as there was one problem. Clairvius died 18…
Better than pie in the sky – Venus
Thanks for all the feedback I got on this space series so far. Out of all comments and questions, one loomed large. “Where would we get enough methane from in space and economically so?” But before we go there, we…
Russia is trying to save what cannot be saved
I love quotes and of all quotes, those from Nicollo Machiavelli rank among my favorites. There is hardly any subject I can write about that would not find a fitting quote from the man. For the initiator has the enmity…