Category Archives: History

This sign post did not help

Found in Mdina, Malta: a sign post informing me that I am “XX miles from XXXXXX”. This is especially tough for people like me who refuse to use GPS. I wonder if the sign post was stolen from somewhere else … Continue reading

Posted in History, Malta, Photography, Travel, World War II | 5 Comments

Bücherverbrennungen hier und dort

Diese Woche haben US-Soldaten in Afghanistan aus Versehen ein paar Exemplare des Korans verbrannt, da die in den Gefängnissen dort ausliegenden Koran-Exemplare regelmäßig ausgetauscht werden, damit Gefangene keine Nachrichten darin hinterlassen können. Die Bevölkerung Afghanistans ist aufgebracht, entsetzt und wütend. … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Books, Germany, History, Islam, Politics, Religion | Tagged | 10 Comments

Book Burnings, here and there

This week, US soldiers in Afghanistan accidentally burnt a few copies of the Quran because they regularly change the copies of the Quran that the prisoners there are allowed to use, in order to prevent messages being written into the … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Books, Germany, History, Islam, Politics, Religion | Tagged | 30 Comments

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

Since February 1952, Elizabeth II has been the Queen of the United Kingdom and a few other Commonwealth countries, putting her into a league with other long-reigning heads of state like King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya or … Continue reading

Posted in History, Politics, UK | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Desperate Ken Livingstone invokes Hitler

In Germany, there is an informal rule in political debate: if you have to invoke a Nazi-comparison, you have lost the argument because you have displayed that you have no serious arguments left. By these standards, Ken Livingstone, the Labour … Continue reading

Posted in History, London, Politics, UK, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Peace Camp at Parliament Square in London

I wonder if the participants of the “Peace Camp” at Parliament Square in London have ever noticed the irony of protesting against all kinds of wars under the amused eyes of Winston Churchill. The “Peace Camp” is a continuous protest … Continue reading

Posted in History, London, Military, Photography, Politics, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mubarak doesn’t get the point.

President Mubarak’s speech on the evening of 10 February 2011 was not only a disappointment to Egyptians and the world, but it will be remembered as one of the worst political speeches ever. Poorly written and delivered, filled with platitudes, … Continue reading

Posted in Egypt, History, Israel, Military, Politics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Film Review: “The King’s Speech”

The film “The King’s Speech” depicts the speech problem of King George VI (reign 1936-1952) and how he struggled to overcome his stammering with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. Now if you think that this is a bit … Continue reading

Posted in Cinema, History, UK, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

A literary explanation of the US housing bubble.

I am currently reading – among other books – “Parrot and Olivier in America“, a novel by Peter Carey which is based on Alexis de Tocqueville‘s travels to the early United States of America and his research for “Democracy in … Continue reading

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

Film Review: “The Specialist” about the Eichmann Trial

Last night, I attended a screening by the Birkbeck Law Society of the film “The Specialist” about the trial of Adolf Eichmann in an Israeli court in 1961. The film, by Israeli director Eyal Sivan, works with original footage from the … Continue reading

Posted in German Law, Germany, History, Holocaust, Human Rights, Israel, Law, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments