NATO

Donald Trump’s wayward actions have created uncertainty about the role and survival of NATO, the defense organization of the free West. Trump focuses mainly on direct American interests and less on the old alliance with the European countries, you even hear discussions about the possible imminent end of the treaty organization. The US sometimes seems…

Sun Firdar

Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors has always been very violent, but that relationship seems to have entered a new more radical phase since the attack by Hamas. Not only has the Gaza Strip been mercilessly razed to the ground and become virtually uninhabitable, Lebanon has also been bombed. In the north, Israel expanded its…

Marianne Faithfull

This week the singer Marianne Faithfull, who you could call an icon of the 60s, passed away. She was discovered in 1964, the song with which she broke through was written by Mick Jagger, with whom she also had a relationship for a while. After the end of that relationship, she struggled with her drug…

Greenland

With the melting polar ice, Greenland has been increasingly in the picture in recent years. The island’s rich mineral supply has become moer easily available for extraction as the ice disappears, and its strategic position is also extremely interesting. In the Arctic, activity is increasing as the absolute rule of ice and snow disappears. Donald…

47

On Monday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the US, and he immediately announced the beginning of a golden era for America. There was not much unexpected to hear, although the whole atmosphere was a bit grim. Biden’s policies were mercilessly critcized, tech tycoons and extremist politicians from abroad, such as the…

Jean-Marie Le Pen

This week saw the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the right-wing radical Front National and the father of Marine Le Pen, who succeeded him as party leader and changed the name of the party to the friendlier-sounding Rassemblement National (RN). Jean-Marie Le Pen’s activities have not been without success, his daughter’s RN…

Dominique Pelicot

Last month, the gruesome Pelicot case played out in France, against the man who drugged his wife for years and had her raped by dozens of other men. Not only the man, Dominique Pelicot, was convicted but also the other rapists and this horrible case started a discussion about the way French men see women….

Raw Nights

The beauty of these dark days is the symbolism that pops up everywhere. Not only in the Christmas tree as a symbol of the structure of the cosmos, but also, for example, in the Advent wreath with its five candles. Every Sunday of Advent, one more candle is lit and finally at Christmas the fifth…

Crisis

It seems as if the whole European political world is in crisis, in the Netherlands we mainly go from one riot to another, in Germany the government has fallen and in France now too. Even the former Brexit negotiator and very competent diplomat Michel Barnier could not balance forces as the French prime minister. As…

Nadal

Recently, Rafael Nadal ended his career, he is one of the most successful tennis players ever, with no less than 22 Grand Slam titles. He won 12 times on the caly court of Roland Garros and that is why he was also called the gravel king, especially on the slower clay he could play optimally….