Met een uitgekiend plan werden vier  mannen vorig jaar multimiljonair. Eerst kochten ze bestaande Android-apps die mensen echt gebruiken – spelletjes, een selfie-app, een zaklamp. Deze brachten ze onder bij brievenbusfirma’s in Israël, Servië, Duitsland, Bulgarije en Malta. Op die manier verbloemden ze dat deze tientallen apps van dezelfde eigenaren waren. De volgende stap was het analyseren van de manier waarop mensen de apps gebruikten, waarop ze … Lees verder De (on)zin van online advertenties: meetbaarheid is heilig, maar écht meten is onmogelijk

“The price, in this case, is volatility and uncertainty. And like the car, you have a few options: You can pay it, accepting volatility and uncertainty. You can find an asset with less uncertainty and a lower payoff, the equivalent of a used car. Or you can attempt the equivalent of grand theft auto: Take the return while trying to avoid the volatility that comes … Lees verder The psychology of Money

Als je de officiële prijscijfers mag geloven, dan is licht – of eigenlijk: kaars, olielamp, gloeilamp et cetera – in de afgelopen tweehonderd jaar ongeveer tien keer zo duur geworden. Maar als je dit omrekent naar de hoeveelheid licht die ze geven, en er rekening mee houdt dat een gloeilamp langer meegaat dan een kaars, dan is de prijs van een eenheid licht sinds 1800 … Lees verder Onze vooruitgang is véél groter dan je denkt als je voorbij de prijzen van producten kijkt

In 2015 heb ik de Tegenlicht ‘Onderhandelaar in Oorlogstijd’ gezien en sindsdien altijd veel bewondering voor Sigrid Kaag gehad. Met deze speech gaat ze wat mij betreft een stap verder. Een absolute parel voor de Nederlandse politiek     Lees verder Sigrid Kaag

The news pushed the U.K.’s currency up—herding investors toward a cliff hours ahead of one of the largest crashes for any major currency since the birth of the modern global financial system. Trillions of dollars in asset values would be wiped off the books, but not just yet. At 10:52 p.m., the pound rose above $1.50 and reached its highest mark in six months. A few minutes … Lees verder The Brexit Short

Just a few months ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was being described as the new leader of the free world. But recently she has been having trouble getting her way even in Berlin and Europe. Her days of dominance appear to be over. The meeting was so urgent the ministers even skipped the Social Democrats’ traditional asparagus feast at Berlin’s Wannsee lake. Shortly before 8 … Lees verder Increasing Headwinds for Angela Merkel

Great documentary about a pyramid scheme called Herbalife. A show of powerplay by Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn, with the Latino community in between. Lees verder Betting on Zero

Great documentary about Chinese companies listed in the United States of America. Numerous of companies are a fraud and, obviously, the recurring event: nobody gets jailed.   Lees verder The China Hustle

From his corner office overlooking the gardens of the Elysée Palace, the youngest French leader since Napoleon is running a tight operation designed to exert maximum control over his government, parliamentary majority and party. Surrounded by a handful of trusted aides and dozens of millennial, mostly male, staffers, Macron is rolling out his economic plan, overseeing every element of its execution, shaping France’s diplomacy and … Lees verder The Macron paradox: can one man really change France?

For more than a decade, Chinese political and corporate leaders have been scouring the globe with seemingly bottomless wallets in hand. From Asia to Africa, the U.S. and Latin America, the results are hard to ignore as China has asserted itself as an emerging world power. Less well known is China’s diffuse but expanding footprint in Europe. By Bloomberg (click here)  Lees verder How China is building its way into Europe

And yet, the majority still do not give a fuck.   Lees verder How a warmer Arctic could intensify extreme weather

“I was in Moscow in 1988, during the final years of the Soviet Union. The system was sliding towards shabby oblivion, even if no one knew at the time how soon the end would come. While carrying out research for my doctorate on the impact of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, I was interviewing Russian veterans of that brutal conflict. When I could, I would … Lees verder Gangster’s paradise: how organized crime took over Russia

The dissimilarities between Trump and Obama regarding diplomacy are intense. Trump is tweeting a long history down the drain. A great documentary about diplomacy in the Obama administration: The Final Year Lees verder The Final Year – Diplomacy in the Obama administration

Heerlijke longread van James Risen (voormalig New York Times-journalist) over zijn gevecht met de Amerikaanse overheid: “The next day, Abramson and I went to the West Wing of the White House to meet with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. In her office, just down the hall from the Oval Office, we sat across from Rice and George Tenet, the CIA director, along with two of … Lees verder James Risen – The Biggest Secret

Het blijft vanuit mijn (ethische) bubbel lastig om te geloven wat voor cowboys er op de wereld leven. Het geo-politieke spel tussen de NAVO en Rusland wordt hoog gespeeld, uiteraard ten koste van de inwoners van Moldavië en Oekraïne. Een bijzonder stuk van Follow The Money: Follow The Money Lees verder Transnistrië – De corrupte speelbal

Bizarre documentaire over hoe het komt dat de frauduleuze Nederlandse afvalverwerkers decennialang vrijwel ongestoord milieuwetten kunnen overtreden. 2doc: Beerput Nederland   Lees verder Beerput Nederland

The video’s from Kurzgesagt are in my opinion the reason why Youtube is invented.   Lees verder Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Is Saudi Arabia slowly moving towards a post-oil era? An interview with the crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman. “RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — I never thought I’d live long enough to write this sentence: The most significant reform process underway anywhere in the Middle East today is in Saudi Arabia. Yes, you read that right. Though I came here at the start of Saudi winter, I … Lees verder Saudi Arabia’s Arab Spring

I really love that intro. An interesting keynote from Jensen Huang (CEO Nvidia) about AI tools.   Lees verder Keynote Nvidia