Older articles
Earlier pieces, beyond today’s front list.
The Fence and the Fire Truck
On the same continent, in the same summer, Europe shows two very different ways of treating a stranger — and only one of them deserves the name neighbourly.
The Border You Didn't Notice You Crossed
Every August thousands of Europeans drive from one country to another without slowing down — and that ordinary miracle deserves more attention than the slogans built on top of it.
The Beginner's Guide to Ruling Forever (Terms and Conditions Apply)
A helpful, entirely unnecessary manual for anyone hoping to turn a five-year term into a lifetime achievement award.
The Sentence Everyone Quotes and Almost No One Reads
Article 5 is often summarized as an alarm bell, but its actual language is closer to a marriage vow — and vows are tested by patience, not just crisis.
A Beginner's Guide to Ruling Forever (Batteries Not Included)
A tender, step-by-step manual for anyone hoping to turn a four-year term into a permanent lifestyle — offered with the sincerity it deserves.
The Market Stall That Never Runs Out of Answers
Every marketplace has one stall selling certainty at a discount — the interesting question is why the line for it is always the longest.
Eleven Strangers, One Set of Rules
Long before treaties are signed, two teams in different shirts already agree on where the lines are drawn — which may be the oldest diplomacy we have.
The Portrait That Never Blinks
Why do the most powerful men on earth so often need a wall of their own face to remind them who they are?
The Belief You Hold and the Belief You Tolerate
Freedom of conscience is easy to claim and strangely hard to practice — especially toward the people we're most sure are wrong.
The Man Who Wasn't There at Nine
On the impossible art of judging a stranger's idleness from across the street.
The Freedom We Claim for Ourselves, and the One We Forget to Lend
Everyone insists on the right to believe as they please — the harder question is whether we extend that same right to the person across the table.
Article 5 and the Fine Print of Friendship
A seventy-year-old promise to defend one another only means something on the days nobody wants to test it.
The Man Who Would Be the Whole Government
On the peculiar comfort some citizens find in handing one man the job that belongs to millions.
A quiet question for a loud week
When the strongmen shout, common sense whispers — and asks one more question.
Welcome to Use Common Sense
A quiet paper for loud times — irony first, dignity always.
