Indeed. And as far as natural experiments go, at the right-hand side of the OMG distribution.

Empathie eisen van anderen maar het zelf weigeren te geven: "Wie in de grote stad leeft, stemt overwegend Democratisch, want als je buren op je lip hebt zitten, kom je er niet mee weg alle dagen een arrogante hork te zijn." www.standaard.be/opinies/hoe-...

Is Bernard Arnault the Fritz Thyssen of France? www.politico.eu/article/far-...

Happy that The Economist is focusing on the economic approach of sex work. And proud that they draw quite a bit from our research and my book "Sex Work by Numbers" (Emerald). www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Definite proof: human societies have shrunk.

This figure raises so many questions. Do people in Africa appreciate bread and butter more than bullets (Russia) or empty words (EU)? Is the low appreciation for the EU driven by memories of former colonisers? Is the democratic or autocratic quality of countries really irrelevant? #Afrobarometer

Problem about the loneliness epidemic is, it's everywhere except in representative survey data. Let's look at where the claim comes from. 1/

On a Belgian train, a man threatened an American foursome. The group flees; bystanders try to help, suggesting they call the embassy, which is declined. Suspect is arrested. Later, the group claims on FB knife threats (not found on him or on the scene) and to have received no help (not).

Interesting analysis of the recent Commission fine imposed on X for breaching the EU Digital Services Act www.techpolicy.press/what-the-eus...

Dear student, your introduction should be both truthful and intriguing, informing your reader and motivating her to continue. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/w...

Great discussion of a great book: 'The business of pleasure' by elwinhofman.bsky.social, Magaly Rodríguez García, and Pieter Vanhees open.spotify.com/episode/4tWW...

Oh boy... www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

I am excited and proud to announce the release of my book, "Sex Work by Numbers." The electronic version will be available tomorrow, January 14, and the print version will be published on February 25. www.emerald.com/books/monogr...

Solid analysis here from Rosa Balfour about how European fecklessness in dealing with Trump is undermining Europe's image around the world. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

A whole new level of globalisation: a presidency exporting its citizens to foreign gulags, and importing a fellow-strongman to a domestic prison.

"A key emphasis very clearly in this document, when it refers to the civilisational crisis of Europe, it’s very clearly framed as racial." open.spotify.com/episode/3fWw...

This makes me think of the old "two cows" joke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...

Nieuw boek op komst. “Zichtbaar/onzichtbaar. Over bedelen in onze samenleving.” Met Mieke Schrooten en Harm Deleu. We verwerkten ons eigen drie jaar-lopend onderzoek in enkele hoofdstukken en bundelden dat met externe expertise. Bij @owlpress/ @BLPublishers begin maart 2026.

The good thing about the past year's shitshow is that we can sing, in a decade or two, this song and see it as a literal prediction. #keeponhoping youtu.be/ifwtWF485HU?...

Happy to announce that I am the proud and grateful winner of the MOPP 2025. (That is: My Own Peace Prize) THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

The reparations loan, with its proposal to immobilise the Russian assets long-term with just a qualified majority, defies both Putin and Trump. The EU, reeling from the shock of the 28-point plan, is now ready to play its most powerful card. My analysis.

Backlash, backlash, backlash...

Sometimes it is hard to deny the light of the sun, even for the gloomy, the cynics, and the conspiracy cracks.

ON A ÉLU DES KLETTES Slogan du jour Slogan of the day Slogan van de dag [541 dagen na de verkiezingen geen Brusselse regering, maar wel het schoonste belgicisme]

THIS!!!!!! (Former FM of Lithuania)

How to do your worst by being inefficient and immoral at the same time? Let's reduce child abuse investigating time by 33%! I do better: reassign experts in money laundering, transnational crime and counterterrorism to arrests at traffic stops and immigration courts! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...

You start with a very very clear statement in mind, and then you remember you were trained to make plenty of qualifications, at least on average, the modal category to be precise, notwithstanding the outliers and some backfiring effects I will try to explain in a minute. You see? It's that simple!

Shooting the piano player, Act IC. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

There's a broad consensus to increase military investments. The defense sector is quite sensitive to graft, partly due to the combination of large budgets and secrecy. An easy piece of advice then would be: beef up deterrence. The US DOJ now does the opposite. Not great. www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...

US pundits and social media extraverts seem shocked by the demolition of a White House aisle, but much less so by the defunding that may cost 14 million lives in the coming years. Obelix would have whispered: Ils sont fous, ces A...! doi-org/10.1038/d415...

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

So far in 2025, Iran’s authorities have executed at least 1,106 people. Today, on World Day Against the Death Penalty, we urge the international community to apply pressure on Iranian authorities to stop their assault on rights.

María Corina Machado, congrats! Not just a deserving Nobel peace prize winner. The message the committee seems to give by this choice is: it's democracy, stupid!

I thought of a paradox: the most Kremlin-friendly populists (soon) seem to rule Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. All countries that resisted and suffered from the Kremlin's iron fist in postwar central Europe. Am I right here? Any central Europe experts have an explanation?

One major challenge in understanding the lives of homeless people, is the lack of reliable and encompassing data. One source that is underexploited are the data produced by outreach organisations. Grateful to Diogenes for the collaboration! doi.org/10.4000/14tnx

Once bitten, twice shy? The country that invented appeasement does it again. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...

Wow...

"The Dunning-Kruger effect applies to smart people also. It's not just that stupid people don't know they're stupid; smart people don't know they're stupid. What happens at a certain level of wealth is, you start to believe that the genius that made you rich applies to everything."

Wow.... Reading for pleasure falls by 40% in the US - on.ft.com/4lBx9yG via @FT

You have to give it to them Americans: irritate your EU and Ukrainian 'allies', give a thumbs up to your kindred spirit, and kiss up to the bully. All of that with choosing a location. Faut le faire.

Waiting for a strange press conference, my train of thoughts drives me from Munich to Canossa. But hey, he didn't have to go to the dictator's crib, and no ashes to see in the POTUS coiffure. So there's hope.

Strange that "across the Atlantic" just means the anglophone mother country across the pond. Could it be related to monolingualism? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/o...

Long time ago, we drove through Morocco by car. Panhandling in every town, except for the capital. We imagined the king could not bear the sight of misery, hence the Maghreb-style Potemkin town of Rabat. Now another prospective king plans the same .. share.google/wBM7WtByk2py...

"Free speech for me, but not for thee" sums it up nicely.

"A fraudster always makes the loudest noise". VERY interesting observation, revealing the rigid thinking of an 8-year old who sipped from his dad's whiskey. As we all know: decibels imply deviance!

Leaving Montréal after the SASE conference. I came to the conclusion I could be a Canadian of sorts: Belgians are the little guy among neighbours, speak English and French, have an even love-hate relationship with both culturally, and are neither Anglo nor French. Great to be stuck in between!

Using time series graphs to make causal claims be like

Zó een ongeïnformeerde, droevige, oubollige, misbegrepen tirade tegen 'tellen': "Want het probleem met telbare dingen is net dat: je begint ze te tellen. En met wiskunde komen sommen en vergelijkingen. En met vergelijkingen winnaars en verliezers." www.standaard.be/opinies/wat-...

Calling people of colour un-American? Free speech! Antisemitic drivel? Unacceptable. All racisms are equally horrible, but some are not. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/u...