Category Archives: Politics

Everything flies at Half-Mast

After the terrorist attacks in Paris, flags fly at half-mast in places as far away as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. But reading the comments and listening to part of the usual post-attack debate, I have the impression that many … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Gran Canaria, Photography, Politics, Spain, Terrorism, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 8 Comments

What does the future hold for Putin?

He will manage a pub in Jerusalem, wedged between a shop displaying the star-spangled banner in its logo and one in Jamaican colors.

Posted in Israel, Photography, Politics, Russia, Travel | Tagged , | 4 Comments

For once, the right people went to prison.

A friend in Iran took this photo of the prison at Shushtar, pointing out the freedom-celebrating graffiti on the wall and the mural of Iran’s previous and current Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei. Prison is exactly where they belong. … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Photography, Politics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Mass Graves in Europe

Three years after the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize, we have mass graves in Europe again. But it’s easier to ignore them now, because this time they are at the bottom of the sea. In a laboratory at the University of Milan, … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Italy, Politics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Yugonostalgia

When enough years have passed since the end of a dictatorship, some people will become nostalgic. They will talk up the positive aspects of the dictatorship, forgetting about the labor camps, the political prisoners, the censorship. They will promote their … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Montenegro, Photography, Politics, Travel | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

“Why We Lost” by Daniel Bolger

Maybe a book that promises “a general’s inside account of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and how it all went wrong” had to disappoint, but I didn’t expect it to disappoint so much. Lieutenant General Bolger sounds contrite in the introduction: … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Books, History, Military, Politics, USA | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Thank you, refugees!

Dear refugees, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart! With your help, it has become very easy over the past few weeks to tell who of my friends, acquaintances, colleagues and relatives are xenophobes, racists and inhumane … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Britain, it’s time for a revolution!

What kind of a country is that which celebrates having had the same un-elected head of state for 63 years?

Posted in History, Politics, UK | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ronald Reagan on Iran

Tonight, the three dozen or so Republican contenders for the presidential nomination will come together for their second televised debate. All of them will lambast the Iran deal, will say that the end of the world is near and will fail … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Iran, Israel, Military, Politics, USA | Tagged | 7 Comments

Benjamin Franklin on Immigration

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, wrote this about German immigrants in 1753: Those who come hither are generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation… and as few of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Immigration Law, Language, Politics, USA | Tagged , , | 9 Comments