The one thing Canadians are usually pretty adept at is knowing when they are walking on thin ice. I know that this post is akin to this kind of dangerous territory. Yesterday I went to Konstanz, only 15 km from my village, for my weekly investigation of what´s new in the stores in the line… Continue reading The Jihad of Canada Slim
Dark discussions
I asked Reggie, my American cousin in all but bloodline, why Americans are responding with such fear and suspicion to Syrian refugees. He responded that I should not be so surprised considering how America treats its minorities already resident there. Why, I asked Reggie my ebony brother, was there so much violence against black folks in… Continue reading Dark discussions
Saints and monsters
It was with the greatest pleasure that I spent most of the first two days of December in my favourite European City, Freiburg im Breisgau, the “capital” of southwestern Germany´s Black Forest. I have in two previous posts briefly touched upon my last visit to Freiburg (Sign of the Times / Victims of the Machine)… Continue reading Saints and monsters
We the Judge and Jury
Adult film star Stoya accused her former boyfriend and fellow porn actor James Deen of rape in a series of tweets posted to her account the weekend of 21-22 November. On Saturday afternoon, 21 November, she tweeted: “That thing where you log in to the Internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped… Continue reading We the Judge and Jury
The importance of appearance
Recent events have made me think a lot about appearances and the vast amount of importance we place upon them. Friday was our annual Christmas party for the staff of Starbucks St. Gallen Bahnhof, a greatly anticipated event, as it is a rare moment when our boss “Ebenezer Scrooge” Ricardo acts uncharacteristically generous! Dinner was… Continue reading The importance of appearance
Raising Cain
Many a magazine and newspaper I see in the shops, almost every post I see on Facebook, much of what I hear and see on the TV, all seem convinced that the Friday 13 November attack on Paris demands a response. Fighting fever and fervor has swept the West and much of the message is not whether the Islamic State should… Continue reading Raising Cain
Brave New World / Meanwhile…
Recent statistic… There are now more mobile phones on the planet than there are people. The World Wide Web continues to grow at staggering rates, with millions of websites, hundreds of thousands of categories, in most of the world´s languages, serving at least half of humanity. Meanwhile- 24,000 people die every day from hunger. 3/4 of… Continue reading Brave New World / Meanwhile…
Giving Thanks
For Canadians a typical aspect of what we label as “American” is the tendency to steal the credit for someone´s idea. So often Americans have the notion that if something is a great idea then it must have been America that came up with it. Now, there is no denying that the United States has… Continue reading Giving Thanks
The past and other foreign countries
Much to my wife´s endless despair and frustration my personal library of books, DVDs and music keeps growing and expanding in our apartment, but this is one issue between us that I have difficulty apologizing for! I know that books, films and music can be easily downloaded onto our electronic gadgets, (what Ute would prefer… Continue reading The past and other foreign countries
Arguing with the gatekeepers
I´ve been reading Mark Hertsgaard´s The Eagle´s Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World and what follows is a combination of his thoughts alongside my own. It is always difficult to argue with the right or conservatives of America. It is often difficult to debate or discuss with many an “average” American. Americans, for… Continue reading Arguing with the gatekeepers