A chilling inside report of Al Nusra, the Syrian branch on Al Qaeda. Al Nusra is fighting Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and the Islamic State. What broke my heart was watching 8 year olds sing ‘I am going to fight the Jews’ and yelling that Americans will find their grave in Syria. One of the youngest giggles when heContinue reading “Al Qaeda’s youthful new face”
Category Archives: Van het web
At war
Since the horrendous attacks in my beloved Paris I’ve been increasing my reading on ISIS, the attacks, jihadism and the Middle-East. Here’s a selection: A Vox article on the gap between true narratives and true facts. “America has not changed Iraq or Syria, but the wars there have indeed changed America” – a long-read Continue reading “At war”
To b-school, or not?
Forget Business School, just watch these 10 TED Talks. Some interesting talks on leadership and innovation.
A day in the life of a ‘sensor’ – a drone pilot
Thousands of people have been killed by drones in the last 14 years: in Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and probably many other countries. This is how such a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) is operated, from thousands miles away.
Food for thought
As seen during my visit to Riga, Latvia. A powerful reminder of the suffering the Baltics went through.
The migration dilemma
In times of great emotion taking some distance can generate new perspectives. For sure, in dealing with the huge immigration crisis in Europe rational analysis is of great help in finding workable answers. This is an interesting, factual look at arguably the biggest challenge we’ve been facing for a while on the Old Continent. TheContinue reading “The migration dilemma”
Messy Iraq will remain an issue in American elections
As this New Yorker article by Dexter Filkins (author of the great book The Forever War) argues, it should’t surprise anyone that no politician in charge in the last 10 years, Republican or Democrat, isn’t compromised by the chaotic American involvement in Iraq. Claiming that State Secretary Hillary Clinton stood by while events unravelled is as un-factualContinue reading “Messy Iraq will remain an issue in American elections”
The importance of insititutional reform – lessons for Greece
A recent Foreign Affairs article draws a parallel between the Greek crisis and how Latvia recovered from its own crisis. The lesson – one that we learn over and over again – is clear: unless accompanied by substantial institutional reforms, neither austerity nor Grexit will work. I furthermore hope that Tsipras finds the time toContinue reading “The importance of insititutional reform – lessons for Greece”
Modern Verdun
April 25th, 2012, Originally published on thnk.org TAKE A STAND | I was hoping that Easter would bring us a small miracle. The miracle of a political breakthrough. Not in the last place because Easter is a historically good period for miracles. It didn’t happen. But then suddenly, last Saturday, after 7 weeks of completeContinue reading “Modern Verdun”
DANIEL PEPIJN VAN DIJK 