antonfoek 1. The Fall of the Wall: A Triumph of People Power The year was 1989, and the world watched in awe as the Berlin Wall crumbled. East German communism, once an ironclad fortress, now lay in ruins. Crowds stormed the Dresden headquarters of the Stasi, the notorious secret police, rendering them powerless. But amidst…
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Frühling, September, Beim Schlafengehen, Im Abendrot Strauss’ Four Last Songs. For the profundity that is achieved not by complexity but by clarity and simplicity. For the purity of the sentiment about death and parting and loss. For the long melodic line spinning out and the female voice soaring and soaring. For the repose and composure…
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At What Costs Part II by Yanis Varoufakis edited: Anton Foek Amsterdam, September 26th 2021– Consider the ambition and desire to create a euro-dominated payments system that allows companies and states to trade independently of the US-dominated financial system. For such a system to work, it must be liquid, which means it must be able to…
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Long-, short- or other term relations According to Werner Bartens by Rosan Hollak/ nrc Amsterdam, July 29th 2021–When you have just fallen in love, you are almost bursting with zest for life. Dopamine is released in the brain. That works as a stimulant, it makes you look at the world through rose-colored glasses. That one…
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Including pain And sorrow Part VIII Amsterdam, June 30 2021– According to Robert Musil, Rainer Maria Rilke was the greatest German-speaking poet since the Middle Ages. He had made the poem “perfect for the first time.” Musil made his oft-quoted statements in a 1926 article shortly after Rilke’s death, and at first glance his preference seems…
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What is it by Richard Dawkins Amsterdam, 21 april 2021–Notice that the Palolo worms achieve their synchrony not by simultaneously responding to a particular signal from the sky. Rather, each worm independently integrates cycles registered over many lunar cycles. They all do the same sums on the same data, so like good scientists they all come to…
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