Category Archives: Politics
Al-Qaeda 2.0: DIY Terror
Remember Al-Qaeda? They used to scare us a bit by hijacking planes and blowing themselves up. With their nasty activities, they have caused us quite some trouble. Recently however, they seem to have experienced some problems of their own. Recruits … Continue reading
Education Reform, Iranian Style
I have already written about my total lack of understanding for UNESCO’s decision to award the hosting of the 2010 World Philosophy Congress to Iran. But as so often, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not avoid providing plenty of … Continue reading
Where did I put that Nuclear PIN?
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Shelton, has revealed in his book Without Hesitation that during the Clinton presidency, the codes that were necessary to launch America’s nuclear arsenal had gone missing for several months. This is … Continue reading
A new Chess War?
Alik Gershon has set a new world record for the most chess games played simultaneously by one player: He played against 523 people, moving from one board to the next in a Tel Aviv square. He only lost 11 of … Continue reading
How about some Waffen-SS on the weekend, son?
Richard Iott is the Republican candidate for the 9th Congressional District in Ohio. He is also the father of a son and came up with an interesting idea for what to do with his son on weekends. As a “father-son … Continue reading
Nobel Peace Prize 2010 for Liu Xiaobo
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo who is serving a prison term of 11 years for having signed Charter 08, a document that calls for political reforms and civil liberties. More than … Continue reading
No rape in marriage, says head of Islamic Sharia Council
Sheikh Maulana Abu Sayeed, president of the Islamic Sharia Council in Britain says that under Sharia law, there can be no rape in marriage “because sexual intercourse is part of the marriage”. That is clearly a repulsive view, because as … Continue reading
UNESCO World Philosophy Day – why in Iran?
Since 2002, UNESCO is holding a World Philosophy Day each year in November. – That’s a nice idea because philosophy is much underrated in public debate. This World Philosophy Day is hosted by a different country each year. – That’s … Continue reading
Don’t travel to Europe!
So say the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office in travel warnings issued because of terror alerts in October 2010. Just having been to Germany a few weeks ago, I checked the Foreign Office’s travel warning about my … Continue reading
New innovation from Iran: Islamic bikes
After its revolutionary space programme, sending a mouse, a turtle and a can of worms into space in February 2010, and after being set to uncover the secrets of nuclear fusion, Iran is continuing on its unstoppable path of innovation … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 