Tag Archives: German politics

Michael Burnham, Poe Dameron and the Decline of the Maverick Hero

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Cora

Science fiction has always been the genre of the maverick hero and occasionally, the maverick heroine. Han Solo, Malcolm Reynolds, Kirk and Spock, Riker, Worf, Kathryn Janeway, the Doctor (“Fine chaps, all of them” – and now a fine lady, … Continue reading →

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Some Comments on the 2017 German General Election

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Cora

As you may know, Germany had a general election today. Angela Merkel’s CDU is still the strongest party, though they suffered significant losses. Her coalition partner SPD under Martin Schulz, former president of the European parliament, fell to only 20% … Continue reading →

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There will be no golden age…

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Cora

So Britain (well, Wales and England minus London) voted to leave the European Union today. I’m pretty pissed off about this, because I rather like Britain, have lived in London for a while and also like to visit on occasion. … Continue reading →

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Yet more Hugo Debate 2016 – and a bit about the Clarke Awards

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Cora

The 2016 Hugo debate is still going on, which isn’t surprising, since last year it lasted all the way until the winners were announced in August, whereupon it morphed into a debate of the winning works. For my own contributions … Continue reading →

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The Böhmermann Case

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Cora

I’m one of them. One of the approximately 300000 to 500000 German TV viewers who knew who Jan Böhmermann was before last week and who regularly watched his comedy program Neo Magazin Royale in its Thursday/Friday night post-midnight graveyard slot. … Continue reading →

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Remembering Guido Westerwelle

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Cora

Yesterday, Guido Westerwelle, former head of the liberal party FDP and German foreign minister in the second Merkel cabinet from 2009 to 2013, died aged only 54. Westerwelle was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2014, but was until recently believed to … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Night 2015/2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Cora

2016 is approximately five hours old where I am, so a Happy New Year to all readers and followers of this blog. As always, WordPress/Jetpack offer a yearly report and the 2015 report for this blog may be found here. … Continue reading →

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A new fantasy story available and Cora participates in an SF Signal Mind Meld

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Cora

First of all, I was invited to participate in SF Signal‘s regular Mind Meld feature. The subject this time around was cities in science fiction and fantasy. You can see my answer as well as those of Kelly McCullough, Beth … Continue reading →

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In Memoriam Günther Grass

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Cora

Yesterday, German novelist, poet and artist Günther Grass died of a lung infection aged 87. His death caused an outpour of tributes and condolences from writers and politicians worldwide. Deutsche Welle and The Guardian have collected a few of them. … Continue reading →

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A few words on VAT and pricing

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Cora

As you may or may not know, from January 1 on, the European Union has changed the way that VAT (value added tax, similar to sales tax in the US) is calculated for cross-border transactions, including online sales. Previously, VAT … Continue reading →

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