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The Continental Marketing Error. Flanders Is Prominently Wielding the Art Budget Axe. The End of the Old World Is Nearing — Europe Is Cutting Its Main Global Relevance. By Rik Raats

Dolly will always remain vibrantly present in our hearts as most probably one of the wittiest spirits in musical literature. In her hyper-feminine, iconical character of traditional rural Americana, Dolly turned femininity into a powerful bandwagon and harnessed her unique genius to pull it all the way to the top as probably the most successful emancipator of our era. And for the literature-hungry—if you studied Shakespeare and Parton, you already digested two grand universit

We've landed in the era of the absurd idea of winning and losing as good vs. bad. The reality is, more often than not, the loss of victory in the win and the blessing found in the disappointment, as Whistler's Mother taught us. Her icon is engraved in our American DNA; but her lesson seems forgotten. Article by Rik Raats —the fool who practices the pen in an attempt to process reality.

Few partnerships have shaped modern global philanthropy as profoundly as that between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Two entrepreneurial giants, they came to embody a model of corporate leadership in which commercial success and philanthropic ambition reinforced one another. Their shared legacy extends far beyond the businesses they built. Yet when Buffett quietly excluded the Gates Foundation from the latest chapter of his historic giving, the significance of the decision la

The invisible cargo of the Mayflower was a precious intangible asset — an idea. It was the small candle whose light, once kindled, could ignite thousands more. Its flame crossed the Atlantic almost unnoticed, yet it carried far more than the hopes and beliefs of a handful of English Separatists. In fact it even outgrew the American project. The candle embodies the essence of a human spirit that may lead to the better versions of ourselves.

We are all, from time to time, homesick for ourselves. It's part of being pilgrims, whether we choose to be one or not.

Margo Raats Concert, Brixton, London, April 7 2026

Has the aviation industry lost its magic? Or are we just overwhelmed?

Yes, It’s St. Patrick’s Day — and This Year I Wildly Tribute this Celebration to the Reigning Irish Cathedral of Streaming: All Hail Saoirse Ronan.

A goldmine of guidance hidden in the Hemmingway classic that became the marlin of world literature

The movie which you will recall, each time you read a bed-time story Article by Rik Raats Yes, it's worth a transatlantic flight (or just pay video-on-demand for it via Apple TV or Amazon Video).The Masterpiece of Storytelling. Why “Operation Mincemeat” Keeps Rewarding the Viewer? Some films entertain for two hours and disappear. Others linger. And then there are the rare works that quietly return to your mind long after the credits have rolled. The 2022 historical drama “Ope

Seldom our bright-minded illusion brings to the next stage of development—It's the accidental wrong in the right direction that makes the great invention land in our lap.

February 1, 2026 Article by Rik Raats We are living through a moment of deep unease. Generative AI systems now produce text, images, strategies, and decisions at a speed and scale that openly challenge human relevance. At the same time, shared values erode, public trust thins, and societies increasingly find themselves shaped by vast corporate structures and authoritarian power rather than by civic imagination. In such a climate, the real question is no longer whether techn

The Clan Alpine HMA. A sanctuary for these wild horses, offering them a haven where they can roam freely and thrive in their natural habitat.

The crucial question 'To Buy or Not to Buy' has often little to do with logic. And foremost because the bottom-line outcome of the emotional gamble called advertising will be attributed to human honor, added to human capital, or paid for by human sacrifice.

Tony Bennett not only made the world embrace San Francisco—way beyond all his accolades and achievements he genuinely demonstrated that style never goes out of fashion.

The essential wealth of this planet is our collective wisdom, our diverse cultures, science, arts, and intelligence — including the public debate in search of answers for the future.

–In 2007, Mark Zuckerberg announced the beginning of what effectively became a new age in marketing and communications. How about Facebook as a media- & marketing tool tomorrow? Will this one day end up all forgotten like the first -Egyptian- plow of the planet? Probably not. At Facebook’s Press Conference in New York, Tuesday, NovemberContinue reading “Facebook’s MARKeting Plow and its Future.”