Category Archives: History

Easily Confused (62) GDP

Posted on 2017-02-15 by Andreas Moser

Donald Trump on GDP: I already understood more about GDP in 9th grade. But then, I just went to a regular public school. Robert Kennedy on GDP:

Posted in Economics, History, Politics, USA | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Winston Churchill on New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on 2017-02-14 by Andreas Moser

It’s mid-February. If you are like me, most of your new year’s resolutions have already dissipated, been forgotten or pushed to March or April. The smarter ones among you won’t have made any resolutions in the first place. But if … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Life, Military, Politics, Time, UK, World War II | Tagged , | 16 Comments

How one translator opened Romania to the world

Posted on 2017-02-05 by Andreas Moser
Posted in Cinema, Cold War, History, Language, Romania | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Who made the first infographic?

Posted on 2017-02-05 by Andreas Moser

Reading about Alexander von Humboldt’s scientific voyage in South America, I stumbled upon his Naturgemälde (“painting of nature”) which he drew after almost conquering the summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador in 1802. It shows a cross section of Chimborazo, arguably the highest mountain in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Ecuador, History, Technology, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“The File on H” by Ismail Kadare

Posted on 2017-02-04 by Andreas Moser

When you visit Albania – which I highly recommend – you should not only get a guidebook, but read a few books by Ismail Kadare during your trip. Of the ones I have read so far, I enjoyed The File on H the … Continue reading →

Posted in Albania, Books, History, Serbia | Tagged , | 6 Comments

A Walk around Iași

Posted on 2017-01-04 by Andreas Moser

I only spent one day in Iași in the far east of Romania, which is the far east of Europe for most of my readers anyway, when I was on the way back from Moldova, even further east. But fear not, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, History, Holocaust, Language, Photography, Religion, Romania, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Video of La Paz in 1943

Posted on 2017-01-02 by Andreas Moser

Anyone who has been to La Paz in Bolivia will notice that some things haven’t changed all that much since 1943, for example how food is sold at the market, the fashion and smiles all around. Links: More from Bolivia. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bolivia, History, Travel | Tagged | Leave a comment

Persecution of Lawyers in South America

Posted on 2017-01-01 by Andreas Moser

Persecution of lawyers has a long history in South America. From Marie Arana’s biography Bolívar – American Liberator: Bolívar was handed an agitated letter from Páez, reporting the miserable state of affairs in Venezuela. “Your cannot imagine how ruinous the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Human Rights, Law, Venezuela | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Random Thoughts (6)

Posted on 2016-12-24 by Andreas Moser

If you read the comments below this article, you get a taste of what’s wrong with Peru. I have never encountered a country that is so bad at dealing with criticism. After my article on Bolivia and the sea, many people … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cinema, Cold War, Cuba, Food, History, Law, Peru, Politics, Religion, USA | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

How Social Media made the World better

Posted on 2016-12-14 by Andreas Moser

Two cities walk into a bar. Says Srebrenica: “I was so unlucky that my massacre already took place in 1995. A few years later, and the internet would have saved us. My people could have alerted the world about the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Human Rights, Military, Politics, Serbia, Syria, Technology, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments