Author Archives: sebastiaanjansen

Dr. Albert Winsemius, Singapore’s true founding father?

Dr. Albert Winsemius, a leading Dutch economist, was once called the ‘founding father’ of Singapore by Kees Tamboer in the leading Dutch newspaper ‘Het Parool’ (Tamboer). I personally feel this may be a bit of an overstatement considering Lee Kuan … Continue reading

Posted in Singaporean History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Egypt and the Weimar Republic

The current situation in Egypt is highly worrying. With the army taking control over the government and supporters of Morsi taking the streets, there seems to be no clear solution in sight. I myself do not foresee the conflict calming … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dutch Colonialism and its influence on Indonesian Language

Many colonial countries have brought a lot of death and destruction to their colonies. The Netherlands is no different, and as a Dutch citizen I am still very ashamed of this. An example is the wiping out of Balinese kings … Continue reading

Posted in Asian History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Otto Braun A.K.A. Li De

Yesterday I came across a figure who may have had the most interesting life, one that most communists at the time could only dream of. Mr. Otto Braun, a German communist born in Munich in 1900, started his career in … Continue reading

Posted in Asian History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment