la liberté avant tout
This is, without a doubt, one of the best times to be alive. We live longer. We’re subject to less violence. We live in cleaner, more prosperous cities, and enjoy more civil and individual freedoms than any generation before us. Innovations have brought us closer together and shed our prejudices. Young men now take up…
By Yaël Ossowski | Comment Central Yaël Ossowski argues that the Boeing-Bombardier affair shows that waging trade wars isn’t to anyone’s benefit, certainly not consumers, workers, and citizens who have the most at stake. A stinging rebuke by the U.S. International Trade Commission last month was a hard defeat for Boeing. The American aircraft manufacturer…
By Yaël Ossowski | Washington Examiner For far too long, domestic producers of sugar have gotten a sweet deal from the federal government. Thanks to the U.S. sugar program, sugar beet and sugar cane farmers have had the advantage of minimum prices, cheap loans, and tariffs to keep out competitors — all at taxpayer expense….
East versus West. What constitutes a western country, and what’s an eastern country? Is it cultural? Reflective of how societies are organized? What about art and expression? Todor and Yaël debate the notion and recount their recent trip to Odessa, Ukraine, where they were confronted with the debate, and also put the final touches on…
By Yaël Ossowski | Morning Consult As President Donald Trump schmoozed with economic titans in Davos, Switzerland, over the weekend, news from Washington indicated parts of his trade agenda won’t go forward as planned. In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. International Trade Commission struck down the Trump administration’s request to slap tariffs of 300 percent…
To the Trump protectionist hammer, every product imported looks like a nail. On Monday, we learned that President Trump’s trade enforcer, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, announced new tariffs on solar panels and washing machines assembled outside the U.S. For washers and dryers from companies such as Samsung and LG, steep tariffs as high as…
By Yaël Ossowski | Devolution Review Review of ‘Art’, a play by Yasmina Reza. Performed at Vienna’s English Language Theatre Jan. 15 – Feb. 24, 2018 Directed by Sean Aita For any young fool, a hefty portion of their lives is fraught with the pursuit of finding an ideal partner. There’s a plethora of novels,…
Beyond the café window, there’s a young girl squeezing her schoolbooks between her clasped arms. Her round glasses sit low on her nose, and her long brown hair swings from side to side. She’s waiting on the light to change, her head quickly darting to and fro to anticipate the bustle of horn-friendly cars. The…
In one of the episodes in the newest seasons of Netflix’s Black Mirror, a young woman visits a strange museum across the way from a gas station in the hot desert. Inside, she meets the museum’s proprietor who offers her an early tour. The exhibitions preserved onsite include eccentric artifacts viewers of the series recognize…
Last week I was a guest on the Scotch Enlightenment podcast. I had a great conversation with Daniel and Bill, and I recommend you give a listen! ––– In our first regular episode of The Scotch Enlightenment, Yaël Ossowski (@yaeloss) joins us for an hour full of society, economics and technology. Our topics in this…