Category Archives: Politics
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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.
Is Albania already in the EU?
Not yet. Only in June 2014 Albania received the official status as a candidate for accession to the EU. Now the negotiations will start for real, and this process usually takes years. Travelling through Albania, one might however gain a different … Continue reading
Am I too late for the war?
Sorry, but my tank got stuck on the Golan Heights. But let’s get serious now: why haven’t I written anything yet on the skirmish between Israel and Gaza? There are two reasons. First, I had been on holiday, and when I … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 