Category Archives: Politics

Europe, still divided

Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, Europe has grown together. Countries which didn’t even exist as independent states back then are now member states of EU and NATO. The European Union reaches all the … Continue reading

Posted in Europe, Family Law, Human Rights, Law, Politics | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Easily Confused (43) Drama

Watching a comedy: Watching a tragedy:

Posted in Cinema, Politics, Syria | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Nobel Peace Prize 2014 for Liu Xiaobo

My suggestion for the Nobel Peace Prize 2014: Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese writer and human rights activist. Yes, I know that Liu Xiaobo already won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 and it would be the first time that one person … Continue reading

Posted in China, History, Human Rights, Politics | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Brazil, a Paradise for the Left?

Brazil will hold the first round of a presidential election tomorrow. The candidates with the best prospects of advancing to the second round are incumbent Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party, Marina Silva of the Brazilian Socialist Party and Aécio Neves of the … Continue reading

Posted in Brazil, Politics | 4 Comments

Easily Confused (41) Rubik’s Cube

You can spend years playing with differently colored fields without getting one step closer to a solution. When you are just about to solve the puzzle, somebody will come by and destroy years of work within minutes: the Rubik’s Cube. You can spend … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Shouldn’t this be red?

Like red phone booths and red double-decker buses, red postboxes feature in millions of touristy snapshots taken all over the UK. In anticipation of an independent Scotland, someone already painted this one blue: They will have to paint it red again … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Politics, Sark, Scotland, Travel, UK | Tagged | 2 Comments

“1493” by Charles C. Mann

Zur deutschsprachigen Rezension. 1493 refers to the year after Christopher Columbus “discovered” America and as the second part of the title suggests, the book describes how Europe’s discovery of the Americas revolutionized trade, ecology and life on earth. That sounds … Continue reading

Posted in Books, China, Economics, Europe, History, Military, Politics, Technology, Travel, UK, USA | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Scotland, a Lawyer’s Dream

If you know someone who is eligible to vote in this week’s referendum in Scotland, please tell them to vote “yes” for an independent Scotland. There are probably good arguments for an independent Scotland (as there may be against it), but … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Politics, Scotland, UK | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Scotland secretly preparing for Independence

The world looks to Scotland this week, where supporters and opponents of Scottish independence are fighting tooth and nail before the referendum on 18 September 2014. But the vote doesn’t really matter anymore. The Scottish government is set to declare independence, whatever the result … Continue reading

Posted in Language, Military, Politics, Scotland, UK | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Easily Confused (40) Beheadings

People whom we call “barbaric” and “monsters” when they cut somebody’s head off: ISIS, IS, Al-Qaeda. People whom we do business with when they cut somebody’s head off: Saudi Arabia.

Posted in Economics, Human Rights, Law, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments