Very sadly, Rutte is not anywhere near a position to ignore Trump. And pushing back currently comes with a much higher risk than sucking up. I think Rutte is playing a short term game because in the long term Trump is too unpredictable anyway. I think Rutte just wants to make sure that Trump leaves this meeting feeling that “NATO likes Donald, NATO good” so that he doesn’t do anything drastic. Tomorrow he will probably focus on something different anyway. Golf, tariffs, Canada, Biden - who knows?

It’s just a strategy for dealing with an ego in need of constant external reinforcement and validation. Absolutely embarrassing but it probably works.

Thank you, those are some interesting perspectives!

Thanks for another great answer. I realise now that the comparison with Soviet wasn’t very thoughtful of me. I just wanted to imagine something that would have broken up the Nazi German hegemony from the inside.

Another thought is that American products and culture probably are popular partly because they were winners in World War 2.

Great answer, do you see any internal tensions within the Axis that could foreseeably have caused collapse comparable to say Soviet communism’s collapse in the real world? How dependant were they on Hitler and Mussolini as individuals?

Thank you so much for taking the time to write a long and informative answer. It was very interesting to learn about the situation. I really hope it will improve. Best of luck to you and your country/community!

PS. If you have any question about either, happy to answer>

Could you please say a few words about the situation for young people (say 15-25) in Pakistan? What are their dreams and aspirations? Main differences between socioeconomic groups of youth? Main conflicts and disagreements with older generations? View of the world?

I fully realise that this is a huge and complex question and that it will be very difficult to generalise. Any response on these kinds of questions would be much appreciated though!

Yeah a clear sign that it’s actually your favourite!

Great to see two really iconic artists and singers at their best!

Indeed, really exceptional performances! Thank you so much for sharing!

Yup, big Whigs fan here! 🙌

Nice song! This Uncomfortably Numb is also great, by Graveyard: https://youtu.be/K58iuxowDvc

Einstürzende Neubauten: Nagorny Karabach https://youtu.be/hd-6WweqD0Y

(With subtitles in English)

Thanks! That was a completely new acquaintance for me!

Nice ones, Incognito was actually my favourite. Also good to see another fan of Hunger Strike!

Thinking outside the box: Nepal 🇳🇵

Haha, thanks, excellent performance by Pavarotti!

Thank you! I love the wild roses, amazing. Also great to see that powerful version of Phantom of the Opera.

Thank you! Great stuff! I’m actually a huge fan of Chris Cornell but had not heard this one! Goosebumps! Here is another fantastic duet with Cornell and Eddie Vedder:

Temple of the Dog https://youtu.be/VUb450Alpps

Beautiful! Everything looks absolutely delicious!

Arrogant behaviour