WJJH
@wjjh.bsky.social
Dutch by birth, European by choice. Investment Banker (retired) cross-border Merger & Acquisitions in the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Oil & Gas industries. #Running #chess #books for occasional civil rants on #geopolitics see my #blog
https://wjjh.blog/
Pinned
WJJH
@wjjh.bsky.social
· 9d
Ukraine, Crimea, and the Illusions of Victory
A clear-eyed reflection on the war in Ukraine, the immovable reality of Crimea, Europe’s divided memory, and the illusions driving Western policy. A sober argument for ending the conflict before ca…
wjjh.blog
History returns when we pretend it is gone.
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
November softens the world. A quiet reflection on fallen leaves, remembrance, and the gentle wisdom of a season that walks beside us.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/30/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/30/%...
🌿November: A Walk with Memory
As November arrives with its softened light and fallen leaves, I find the season invites a different kind of clarity. This is the month of my birth, and perhaps for that reason it always draws my m…
wjjh.blog
November 30, 2025 at 7:20 AM
November softens the world. A quiet reflection on fallen leaves, remembrance, and the gentle wisdom of a season that walks beside us.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/30/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/30/%...
Europe on Fantasy Island — Still Waiting for Washington to Listen. Europe complains it is sidelined. But was it ever truly in the room? A reflection on illusions, hierarchy, and the uncomfortable truth of transatlantic politics.
@nrc.nl @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/29/a...
@nrc.nl @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/29/a...
A Short Note to Caroline de Gruyter
NRC’s Caroline de Gruyter is right that Europe feels sidelined — but this is not new. For decades, the U.S. politely listened and then did whatever it had already decided. The real tragedy is not t…
wjjh.blog
November 29, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Europe on Fantasy Island — Still Waiting for Washington to Listen. Europe complains it is sidelined. But was it ever truly in the room? A reflection on illusions, hierarchy, and the uncomfortable truth of transatlantic politics.
@nrc.nl @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/29/a...
@nrc.nl @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/29/a...
Two roofs, both leaking: Brussels from hesitation, Washington from fracture. A realist look at the West’s drifting foundations — and what comes next.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/28/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/28/t...
The Twin Roofs: Washington and Brussels
The West shelters under two leaking roofs: Brussels, weakened by hesitation, and Washington, cracked by internal division. Europe gambled on American stability; America gambled on its own moral exc…
wjjh.blog
November 28, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Two roofs, both leaking: Brussels from hesitation, Washington from fracture. A realist look at the West’s drifting foundations — and what comes next.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/28/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/28/t...
There is a moral case for a settlement in Ukraine—even if the results are not what we’d prefer—this lies in recognizing that the war is destroying the country and that the longer it lasts the more extensive and enduring the damage will be. Unfortunately, this realist view will be harshly condemned.
November 26, 2025 at 7:49 AM
There is a moral case for a settlement in Ukraine—even if the results are not what we’d prefer—this lies in recognizing that the war is destroying the country and that the longer it lasts the more extensive and enduring the damage will be. Unfortunately, this realist view will be harshly condemned.
History returns when we pretend it is gone.
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
Ukraine, Crimea, and the Illusions of Victory
A clear-eyed reflection on the war in Ukraine, the immovable reality of Crimea, Europe’s divided memory, and the illusions driving Western policy. A sober argument for ending the conflict before ca…
wjjh.blog
November 23, 2025 at 7:06 AM
History returns when we pretend it is gone.
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
Crimea, the Donbas, and Europe’s divided memory show why this war must end before illusion becomes catastrophe.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/22/u...
As America lost its north star through overreach, Europe lost hers through hesitation. The EU tanker moves on, but to where? This reflection traces Europe’s long drift between aspiration and inertia, asking whether the Union can rediscover not its size, but its soul.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/21/e...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/21/e...
Europe’s Drifting Tanker: Between Aspiration and Inertia
A decade after Jean-Claude Juncker’s call for “a Europe at the heart of action,” the European Union drifts between ambition and fatigue. From expansion to fragmentation, it has mistaken motion for …
wjjh.blog
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
As America lost its north star through overreach, Europe lost hers through hesitation. The EU tanker moves on, but to where? This reflection traces Europe’s long drift between aspiration and inertia, asking whether the Union can rediscover not its size, but its soul.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/21/e...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/21/e...
Fear forged in armor, shadows cast over continents—the Black Knight of Muscovy rides on.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/18/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/18/%...
📖 The Black Knight of Muscovy ⚔️
The Black Knight of Muscovy rides with poisoned words and bags of gold, whispering promises of strength and destiny. But every gift he offers comes at a price — and the price is always chains.
wjjh.blog
November 19, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Fear forged in armor, shadows cast over continents—the Black Knight of Muscovy rides on.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/18/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/18/%...
Reposted by WJJH
Reposted by WJJH
💔African Penguin on the Brink of Extinction
Once, millions of these birds graced the coasts of South Africa and Namibia
Today, fewer than 32,000 remain in the wild—just 1% of the original population
Starved by over fishing as humans consume the ocean
www.birdlife.org/news/2024/11...
Once, millions of these birds graced the coasts of South Africa and Namibia
Today, fewer than 32,000 remain in the wild—just 1% of the original population
Starved by over fishing as humans consume the ocean
www.birdlife.org/news/2024/11...
African Penguin on the Brink of Extinction
The African Penguin has been officially uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, highlighting the species’ severe risk…
www.birdlife.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:41 AM
💔African Penguin on the Brink of Extinction
Once, millions of these birds graced the coasts of South Africa and Namibia
Today, fewer than 32,000 remain in the wild—just 1% of the original population
Starved by over fishing as humans consume the ocean
www.birdlife.org/news/2024/11...
Once, millions of these birds graced the coasts of South Africa and Namibia
Today, fewer than 32,000 remain in the wild—just 1% of the original population
Starved by over fishing as humans consume the ocean
www.birdlife.org/news/2024/11...
As the saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them." @nrc.nl
Trump maakt draai en roept op tot vrijgave Epstein-dossier
Trump maakt draai en roept op tot vrijgave Epstein-dossier
De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump heeft zondagavond opgeroepen tot steun voor de vrijgave van het Epstein-dossier.
www.nrc.nl
November 17, 2025 at 7:11 AM
As the saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them." @nrc.nl
But we all knew! If a person shows you who he is, believe him. @malloy.rocks
November 17, 2025 at 7:06 AM
But we all knew! If a person shows you who he is, believe him. @malloy.rocks
Silent violins, fading roses, and butterflies from another age — a quiet November reflection on memory, beauty, and what we carry forward.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/16/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/16/%...
🎻Violins, 🌹Roses, and Butterflies🐚
Violins, roses, and a small box of butterflies — three quiet remnants of a life that shaped my own. In this November reflection, I return to the objects left in my care: my mother’s long-silent vio…
wjjh.blog
November 17, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Silent violins, fading roses, and butterflies from another age — a quiet November reflection on memory, beauty, and what we carry forward.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/16/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/16/%...
The Internet connects us like never before — yet isolates us in new ways. A reflection on technology’s promise, peril, and our shared humanity.👇
wjjh.blog/2025/11/14/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/14/t...
The Internet and Humanity: Between Promise and Peril
Few inventions have transformed humanity as profoundly as the Internet. It connects us across borders, democratizes knowledge, and reshapes how we work and learn. Yet it also divides, distracts, an…
wjjh.blog
November 16, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The Internet connects us like never before — yet isolates us in new ways. A reflection on technology’s promise, peril, and our shared humanity.👇
wjjh.blog/2025/11/14/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/14/t...
@katiephang.bsky.social Not everyone seems to honor all veterans and those who did not survive WWII equally, like POTUS “In name only!”
At the American cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring WWII Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. To erase their story is to betray not only history, but ourselves.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
The Silence At Margraten
At Margraten, silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. My parents, when they returned to their war-torn home,…
wjjh.blog
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 PM
@katiephang.bsky.social Not everyone seems to honor all veterans and those who did not survive WWII equally, like POTUS “In name only!”
Margraten is not a place for selective remembrance. As a reminder: The Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten stands as a poignant testament to courage and compassion, its adopted graves symbolizing a living bond between liberators and the liberated.
wjjh.blog/2024/05/04/m...
wjjh.blog/2024/05/04/m...
Margraten: A Legacy of Sacrifice
Reflection: On May 4th, the Netherlands commemorates Remembrance Day, followed by Liberation Day on May 5th, marking the end of Nazi occupation. It is a time for reflection on the sacrifices of Wor…
wjjh.blog
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Margraten is not a place for selective remembrance. As a reminder: The Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten stands as a poignant testament to courage and compassion, its adopted graves symbolizing a living bond between liberators and the liberated.
wjjh.blog/2024/05/04/m...
wjjh.blog/2024/05/04/m...
Europe still speaks of “global horizons,” but its roof is leaking. A reflection on decline, delusion, and the need for renewal.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
The Leaking Roof of Global Europe
Ursula von der Leyen speaks of Global Europe—of new horizons and strategic ambition. Yet the roof of the European house is leaking. Behind lofty ideals lies a Union drifting between crises, overreg…
wjjh.blog
November 9, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Europe still speaks of “global horizons,” but its roof is leaking. A reflection on decline, delusion, and the need for renewal.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
If a person shows you who he is, believe him. We all knew.. @denisedwheeler.bsky.social
Contrast this with the video I just posted of Americans standing in food lines this weekend, in the rain and cold.
Don't have to wonder where the SNAP funds are.
Don't have to wonder where the SNAP funds are.
November 9, 2025 at 7:21 AM
If a person shows you who he is, believe him. We all knew.. @denisedwheeler.bsky.social
Geert Wilders blocked me on the former site in 2003, so I am a member of a large but esteemed club. The best way to tell the truth is via a fable, and it is impossible not to conclude that there are similarities with the old Dutch story of the Ratcatcher of Harmelen. wjjh.blog/2025/09/30/%...
📖 The Rat Catcher of Harmelen 🐀
In Harmelen, a piper with spun-sugar hair plays a tune of nostalgia and fear — promising golden guilders, pure families, and empty streets. But without their “strangers,” no bread would be baked, n…
wjjh.blog
November 8, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Geert Wilders blocked me on the former site in 2003, so I am a member of a large but esteemed club. The best way to tell the truth is via a fable, and it is impossible not to conclude that there are similarities with the old Dutch story of the Ratcatcher of Harmelen. wjjh.blog/2025/09/30/%...
Reposted by WJJH
MACHIAVELLI OP HOGE HAKKEN
Tout Nederlandse media papegaait dat de VVD hun verkiezingsbelofte niet kan breken waarmee het de “comeback” maakte, en dat het “logisch” is een centrumrechts kabinet te vormen van D66, CDA, VVD en JA21 (75 zetels in TK, 24 in EK).
1/14
Tout Nederlandse media papegaait dat de VVD hun verkiezingsbelofte niet kan breken waarmee het de “comeback” maakte, en dat het “logisch” is een centrumrechts kabinet te vormen van D66, CDA, VVD en JA21 (75 zetels in TK, 24 in EK).
1/14
November 6, 2025 at 12:59 PM
MACHIAVELLI OP HOGE HAKKEN
Tout Nederlandse media papegaait dat de VVD hun verkiezingsbelofte niet kan breken waarmee het de “comeback” maakte, en dat het “logisch” is een centrumrechts kabinet te vormen van D66, CDA, VVD en JA21 (75 zetels in TK, 24 in EK).
1/14
Tout Nederlandse media papegaait dat de VVD hun verkiezingsbelofte niet kan breken waarmee het de “comeback” maakte, en dat het “logisch” is een centrumrechts kabinet te vormen van D66, CDA, VVD en JA21 (75 zetels in TK, 24 in EK).
1/14
@alemanno.bsky.social Although I try to block out the noise and there is not much that surprises me about the Trump administration, the below is deeply troubling and cannot be ignored. The Margraten cemetery is sacred ground, a place where history, sacrifice and gratitude converge.
At the American cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring WWII Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. To erase their story is to betray not only history, but ourselves.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
The Silence At Margraten
At Margraten, silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. My parents, when they returned to their war-torn home,…
wjjh.blog
November 8, 2025 at 7:05 AM
@alemanno.bsky.social Although I try to block out the noise and there is not much that surprises me about the Trump administration, the below is deeply troubling and cannot be ignored. The Margraten cemetery is sacred ground, a place where history, sacrifice and gratitude converge.
At the American cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring WWII Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. To erase their story is to betray not only history, but ourselves.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
The Silence At Margraten
At Margraten, silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. My parents, when they returned to their war-torn home,…
wjjh.blog
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
At the American cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands silence has fallen where truth once spoke. Two panels honouring WWII Black American liberators have been removed without explanation. To erase their story is to betray not only history, but ourselves.
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/07/t...
In the ivory towers of Bruxelles, a capital fast asleep—will a kiss of urgency ever wake her?
wjjh.blog/2025/11/04/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/04/%...
📖 The Sleeping Beauty of Bruxelles 🏰
In Bruxelles, an enchanted castle slumbers while crises knock at its gates. Courtiers applaud their debates, villagers pay the bills, and the Princess dreams of greatness — if only she could wake.…
wjjh.blog
November 4, 2025 at 6:01 AM
In the ivory towers of Bruxelles, a capital fast asleep—will a kiss of urgency ever wake her?
wjjh.blog/2025/11/04/%...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/04/%...
A reflection on D66’s shift from principled liberalism to populist pragmatism — and what it reveals about Dutch democracy today. #D66 @robjetten.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/03/d...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/03/d...
D66 and the Cost of Compromise
D66’s populist turn raises a question: has Dutch liberalism lost its conviction? A reflection on politics, compromise, and democracy.
wjjh.blog
November 3, 2025 at 6:53 AM
A reflection on D66’s shift from principled liberalism to populist pragmatism — and what it reveals about Dutch democracy today. #D66 @robjetten.bsky.social
wjjh.blog/2025/11/03/d...
wjjh.blog/2025/11/03/d...
During yesterday's Election in The Netherlands, One in five chose fear over freedom. The danger is not Wilders alone, but a democracy without conviction.
Although still embarrassing, the bright side this morning may simple be that Dutch #democracy is proving resilient.
wjjh.blog/2025/10/30/m...
Although still embarrassing, the bright side this morning may simple be that Dutch #democracy is proving resilient.
wjjh.blog/2025/10/30/m...
Morning Reflection: Democracy Without Conviction
The Netherlands has moved further to the right. Wilders may have lost ground, but one in five still chose fear over freedom. What troubles me most is not only his persistence, but the volatility of…
wjjh.blog
October 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM
During yesterday's Election in The Netherlands, One in five chose fear over freedom. The danger is not Wilders alone, but a democracy without conviction.
Although still embarrassing, the bright side this morning may simple be that Dutch #democracy is proving resilient.
wjjh.blog/2025/10/30/m...
Although still embarrassing, the bright side this morning may simple be that Dutch #democracy is proving resilient.
wjjh.blog/2025/10/30/m...
Reposted by WJJH
The Ratcatcher of Harmelen is an old Dutch story, a piper with spun-sugar hair plays a tune of nostalgia and fear — promising golden guilders, pure families, and empty streets. But without their “strangers,” no bread would be baked, no streets swept, and no lights kept on. wjjh.blog/2025/09/30/%...
📖 The Rat Catcher of Harmelen 🐀
In Harmelen, a piper with spun-sugar hair plays a tune of nostalgia and fear — promising golden guilders, pure families, and empty streets. But without their “strangers,” no bread would be baked, n…
wjjh.blog
September 30, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The Ratcatcher of Harmelen is an old Dutch story, a piper with spun-sugar hair plays a tune of nostalgia and fear — promising golden guilders, pure families, and empty streets. But without their “strangers,” no bread would be baked, no streets swept, and no lights kept on. wjjh.blog/2025/09/30/%...