Category Archives: Military
An idea for Kaliningrad
From the letters to the editor in The Economist: SIR – I suggest taking another page from Mr Putin’s playbook to resolve the lingering issue of Kaliningrad. This Russian-governed territory sits squarely isolated in the midst of the European Union and … Continue reading
Commemorating World War I
For the 100th anniversary of World War I in 2014, the participating countries have different plans to commemorate this 4-year long war: The United Kingdom will hold a military parade in London and bask in memories of the Empire that once spun … Continue reading
“The Liberator” by Alex Kershaw
The full title of the book The Liberator: one World War II soldier’s 500-day odyssey from the beaches of Sicily to the gates of Dachau gives you the gist of the story already. It recounts the experience of Felix Sparks who served … Continue reading
Emigrants are better people
Emigrants are bolder, willing to take on more risk, more active and more appreciative of freedom than those staying behind. General Patton already knew that. From his letter to the Allied forces before they first stepped onto the European continent by landing … Continue reading
Easily Confused (35) Perished Cities
Old cities, whose ruins we visit, wondering how erstwhile grand and important cities could cease to exist: Aleppo, Syria: (Diesen Vergleich gibt es auch auf Deutsch.)
There are more important things than territorial integrity
Democracy and self-determination are great. But nobody should believe that a referendum hastily pulled out of a hat, with limited choices and without a proper prior public debate about the question posed at the polls is a good example of direct … Continue reading
Ariel Sharon, 1928-2014
Because Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006, didn’t really do anything for the past 8 years, some of the obituaries published today were probably written by journalists (or interns) who have passed away themselves in the meantime. … Continue reading
Child Abuse by Egyptian Military
To those of you who have always seen through the Egyptian military junta, this doesn’t come as a surprise of course. After all, why should a military dictatorship which abuses men and women stop short of abusing children? To those … Continue reading
Video Blog: Civil War in Palermo
I spent New Year’s Eve and the first couple of days of January 2014 in Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. I only made one New Year’s resolution (although I had previously dismissed those kind of resolutions as bunk) and … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 