Opinions

Is Lady ZI Zhongjun an Old Cynic?   Today the social media group composed of my university colleagues underwent an interesting, if not bitter, discussion about who Ms Zi Zhongjun is. Having experienced incredible ups and downs in her life, this extraordinarily talented lady has become a well-known critic with her sharp-eyed, deep-going, relentless and passionate arguments on current issues home and abroad. Some believe she is no more than an old cynic who let out her anger in a destructive way, probably only to harm her own mental health. Some insist she is inspiring in truth-finding, using her influence…

During the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouche unmasked the proclaimed Human Rights as men`s rights, and demanded equal rights for women. She was beheaded. Throughout history, feminist ideas and movements have often arisen together with revolutionary movements. In patriarchal societies, always and everywhere, women have revolted – individually and collectively – against violence, suppression and exploitation. But much of  “history” of women’s quest for self-determination has either never been written, or has been wiped out. In the US, the Women`s Movement emerged from the Anti-Slavery Movement, which had begun in the first half of the 19th century. The two main…

Recently, the 48th World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded its annual meeting in Davos. From the 23. to the 26. of January, 2018,  WEF saw a record high in participation numbers, hosting more than 3,000 guests, among them around 70 heads of state. This year’s WEF was held at a time when fake news were no joke, challenging global politics. AI and Blockchain technology are shaking the business world. Meanwhile, environmental problems including climate changes and plastics pollution pose no less troubling issues. It is a time when human beings are becoming more conscious of social change. We are willing to ponder more on our…

Dear Readers, Happy New Year! Thank you so much for accompanying us and supporting us in the past! 2018 has come, 2017 has gone. Briefly reviewing the past year, we are sad to see that among political instabilities, financial scandals, regional turmoil, natural disasters, airline bankruptcy, road accidents, agony in the Middle East and death of great personalities, the most eye-catching and mind-boggling incidents have been terror attacks. Throughout the year 2017, terror attacks have taken place in different countries, on different continents. The year began with an attack on New Year’s Eve at the biggest nightclub in Istanbul. 39 people died…

Today, Monday December 18th, the far right-wing government is sworn in by the green president in Vienna. A thick political cloud begins to hang over the social atmosphere in Austria. Read the insightful view by the Harvard-graduate, biologist Franz BeerFarmer. During the first “real” world war, which heralded the demise of Europe as world colonial hegemon 100 years ago, the pacifist Austrian writer and journalist Karl Kraus wrote a theater play 10 full evenings long. The title of the play was “The last days of mankind”, the setting being Austria as micro-laboratory for the coming fundamental change and destruction of…

The history of the human rights is as old as mankind. At all times, human life and human dignity tend to be hurt and disdained. Power, ressources as well as the fight for superiority have been a prerequisite of force and violence, individually or collectively. Actually, civilisations and philosophical schools of thoughts on the principal of human equality existed in all cultures, serving also as benchmarks for political rights.  At the same time, descent, ethnic, religious and gender differences have been used to distinquish people and make a difference,  justifying slavery, racism and all kinds of discrimination on women and…

Recently, a hot topic is circulating the political and economical lobbies in the EU, that is the „Marshall Plan with Africa“. As is well-known, the Marshall Plan, officially the European Recovery Program, i.e. ERP, was originally initiated by the USA right after World War II in order to help Western Europe recover from the war devastation. Beginning in 1948, the plan offered over 13 billion US dollars to remove interstate trade barriers, modernize industry, promote labour union membership as well as to support democracy. In the 1970s, Bruno Kreisky, Willi Brand and Olaf Palme began to propose a Marshall Plan…

Mid-October, Austrian electios for the National Assembly  took place. Winner was the People’s Party (ÖVP) with the future chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The Social Democrats (SPÖ) with the present chancellor Christian Kern got second, tightly followed by the Freedom Party (FPÖ) with the chairman Christian Strache. The Green Party dropped out of the parliament, whereas their former member Peter Pilz, who quit his party, could reach eight mandates with his own list. Most possibly SPÖ will go into opposition – as the Social Democrats in Germany do, because there will be a coalition between ÖVP and FPÖ. Different from in 2000,…

On 17. of October, Roger Cohen wrote an article with the title of „Daydreaming in Germany“ for The New York Times, which immediately caught my attention.