Financial disaster Hypo Alpe Adria
Much has been written about the largest bank failure in Austrian history. So much in fact, that it was and still is difficult for observers to find to find the red / black / blue thread within the jumble of…
All articles from 2016
Presidential election: the blue surprise egg
The pollsters’ astonishment was great. Not even in the autumn of 2015 in Vienna had they been as far off as in the first round of the presidential election. Yet another head-to-head race, which failed to materialize. Given the ever…
Global volunteering day
Last Saturday "Volunteers for Peace Vietnam" (VPV), whom I am privileged to number among, hosted the "Global Volunteering Day 2016", together with other institutions. More than 20 countries and numerous organizations each prepared booths, where games and samples of local…
Life jacket graveyard
After I had reasonably recovered from the previous night, I decided to have a "day off" and explore the island. [caption id="attachment_898" align="alignnone" width="805"] Molyvos[/caption] My first goal was to go to Molyvos, a small village in the island’s northern…
Newspaper canard leads to federal trojan horse
Today, the AK Vorrat published their statement on Minister of Justice Brandstetter’s proposal to introduce a governmental monitoring software (Federal Trojan). The detailed legal and technical statement shows, why this ad hoc legislation causes more problems than it can solve. PDF…
I am happy it was not just a dream
It's Saturday night. I've settled in well in the VPV House, rejoicing every single day over the excellent food prepared twice daily for us volunteers. In general, it consists of rice and a variety of pots of vegetables, meat and…
South coast patrolling
This rainy night, "South coast patrolling" was once more the word. I packed my things and drove to the meeting point. Once there, we were divided into three different bases. We were sent to "Lasia", along with other volunteers from…
Better days for Moria
https://www.idealismprevails.at/en/at-the-port-of-lesbos/ My last article " At the port of Lesbos " (note the link above) ended by spending all night in my car. This is what happened afterwards : First experience with the BDFM = Better days for Moria The…
I am here because I care!
The idea to help out in one of the poorest countries of the world through voluntary work with children, has been occupying me for almost three years. I therefore did not know what exactly to expect, when I applied with…
AK Vorrat critizises federal trojan horse – causes more problems than it could solve
The justice department is working on an above board regulation to legalize the so-called ‘Bundestrojaner’ (Federal Trojan). Minister of justice Brandstetter is doing the utmost to grace the planned surveillance software with a new name – yet software planted by…
Resettlement: orderly help for persons in distress
Imagine: a politician applying for the office of chancellor enters the election with the promise, that, should he be elected, he would admit 25,000 refugees from Syria as part of a resettlement program. And - he wins the election. This happened…
At the port of Lesbos
On the very same day, after the arrival of the boat, I mentioned before, I went to "Attica" - which is one of the warehouses , where all donations, clothes, shoes, strollers, tents etc. are kept. I crammed my car…