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Category Archives: Opinion
Merry Christmas, America! (Don’t be so overly politically correct all the time!)
Language shapes how we think. It changes our mindsets. Not only George Orwell acknowledged this with his novel Nineteen Eighty Four, where MiniTru – the Ministry of Truth – rewrites newspaper articles and manipulates recorded history. I am an atheist, … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Opinion
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Finally … (adblocking)
I’ll out myself as iPhone 5s user now. I bought it with a German vendor who specializes in used and refurbished devices, not just from Apple. The latest update to iOS brings two features I really like: accommodates ad-blockers and … Continue reading
Is it really skyr?
Arla, the big Danish dairy manufacturer, started selling a product named “skyr” inside the EU – including in Germany – which claims to be skyr according to Icelandic traditions. Well, the news caused quite a stir1 in Iceland and the … Continue reading
Dear Mister President (POTUS)
I know I don’t get to vote for or against you despite being subject of a vassal state of the US, but then the same applies to some of your own citizens in certain overseas territories. Nevertheless I hope you … Continue reading
Civilization
Several botched executions in the recent past in the US after the individual states had trouble to acquire the drugs for the deadly cocktail whose inventor – a pathologist – is, by the way, against the death penalty now. All … Continue reading
Death penalty again
Two recent editorials of The Times of Shreveport (Louisiana) shine a light at the mechanisms behind the death penalty, especially the second one: State should give Ford real justice RE: “State should give Ford real justice,” March 8, 6D No … Continue reading
American Sniper?
What’s the buzz about that “American Sniper”, Chris Kyle, right now in the US? Wasn’t he but another murderer killing from safe distance? Much like drone-killer dad who kisses his kids goodbye in the morning, drives to work and kills … Continue reading
Rodney Reed
As recently noted below the article about Tony Abbots remarks that Texas was about to kill an innocent man. Good news is that the execution scheduled for 5th of March 2015 has been postponed according to the Wikipedia article (permalink … Continue reading
Tony Abbott is right
I’m no fan of this hardliner, but him asking for clemency for two drug traffickers from Australia on the death row in Indonesia was the right thing to do. The outrage of the Indonesians is understandable, because those drug traffickers … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Human Rights, Opinion
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Honest words
In a recent interview US president Obama conceded that the USA behaves on our planet like a bully in would in a school yard. His words: Now, I also think that if we were just resorting to that and we … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Opinion, Peace
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Fairfax County (VA): Thou shalt install proper crosswalks
… and traffic lights for pedestrians. Honestly, I now know what Americans mean by “going the extra mile”. I have seen at the very least three cross junctions with only two crosswalks. Takes no degree in mathematics or deep knowledge … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Opinion
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Only in Germany
… will it matter to the vain to proudly carry a “Dr.” (used for PhD and other doctoral degrees) in front of their names. It’s not like you’re forced to put it there, it’s very often literally abused to convey … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Opinion
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Anders “Fokk” Rasmussen: Iceland crucial to NATO
Helvítis fokking fokk! The NATO flag was flying at the ministry of foreign affairs, approximately a hundred meters from our office here in Reykjavík, on Wednesday. I pointed it out to my colleagues who hadn’t recognized it while we took … Continue reading
George Carlin
Remember him? One of my favorite contemporary American satirists. He had one piece where he stated that we have no rights. In particular he referred to all the Americans always yammering about their rights. He then pointed to the Americans … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Human Rights, Opinion, Thoughts
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Smart guy, but partially flawed logic
Neil deGrasse Tyson, a world-renowned physicist, defended genetically modified organisms some time ago and it went viral on Youtube with this video, posted some days ago. He wrote a rebuttal on Facebook1 regarding the reactions to his words. Of course … Continue reading
Beer lovers who are actually beer haters?
Too often I see self-proclamations of beer lovers that advertise all kinds of equipment to cool down the beer to arctic temperatures. I am not sure how these people qualify as beer lovers. If you numb your taste buds by … Continue reading
Posted in Beer, EN, Opinion
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When in Rome …
Strange, the parents – especially the native Icelandic mother – of this 10-year old girl (related English article by The Guardian) should have been aware of the naming rules here in Iceland. What’s the big deal? Usually Icelanders have first … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Island/Iceland/Ísland, Opinion
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Keep it real, tough guys
So Obama did a workout in a gym at the hotel in Warsaw (Poland) and the video “leaked”. Big deal! What’s the issue? He’s a busy man and lifting weights other than your own body weight isn’t exactly going to … Continue reading
Posted in EN, Opinion
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Macklemore anti-semitic because he looks like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
My significant other pointed me to this article over at People Magazine. The allegation is that Macklemore is anti-semitic, because his costume looks like a caricature of jews from the Third Reich. I don’t get it, my first association was … Continue reading