My Life on this planet.

Recently, I saw an interesting short video (although, what can you discuss in 5 minutes?) in which a scientist discussed genetically-modified (GM) crops (and food) with someone from UK's Green party. She said she wasn't completely against GM crops but thought it is not good that only a few companies rule the planet concerning GM crops and that larger numbers of crops should be grown. Indeed, she is right that it can't be that a few companies are becoming so powerful they silent everyone who criticises them, not only politicians but even others working in this field of sciences. On the other hand, the professor was very right to say that many scientists not even had a chance to test the safety of GM plants because they are not even allowed to grow and test them, except on a small scale in their own labs (or in some developing countries). Over the past few months there were a number of occasions when people protested against GM crops from Monsanto and others but I am s

Dear Mr Nelson Mandela, May you rest in peace as you were really a remarkable man who had to live an extraordinary life. As a younger man, you came up for your own oppressed people, i.e. black people in a racist South-Africa, ruled by white people. However, you quickly understood you had to defend everyone who has fewer chances. As a result, you spent many years in prison, so that 27 years of what could have been your best years were wasted. Still, after your release you embraced everyone: black people but even those white people who sentenced you to jail. You had one condition: they had to speak so errors could be acknowledge and then corrected. As a result, a society developed where black, white and other colours can live together in what is today known as the Rainbow Nation . Although, we should not forget President F.W. de Klerk who liberated you because another person holding the office may have resulted in another outcome. Of course, it is still not perfect, and many

The Philippines, the country suffered a lot, last month from an earthquake and this weekend from a storm that killed maybe up to or even more than 12,000 people and destroyed many houses, it seems even whole cities while large boats were thrown on land. There are now reports of looting and I heard the army will be used to stop them. The people roaming the streets and breaking into houses are condemned but I wonder what we would do if our houses were destroyed, including our food we stored for winter and all our crops in the fields? Would we not start looting damaged houses and shops, certainly money has become useless and all vegetation is destroyed? Of course, when people start stealing televisions and radios then they should be stopped but I think most people will start 'stealing' food to stay alive. When the army will prevent people taking food out of shops, maybe even shoot some, then I wonder how many people may die while food is rotting unused in shops. An

During the past days, the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was again in the news and that about nine years after his death. The reason: it seems he was poisoned by the radioactive substance Polonium. This substance is not unknown for those reading newspapers as the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was also killed by this. And it may be a weapon of governments as this substance can't be bought in supermarkets. A slogan certain individuals may consider theirs while others will mainly notice the large green word. President Yasser Arafat was a very controversial figure to say the least who was ones the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and leader of the Fatah political party and former paramilitary group, which he founded in 1959. He fought against Israel and for the self-determination of the Palestinians, killing many Israelis. While originally he opposed the existence of Israel, it seems

Today, I prepared something Italian. I loved it and therefore want to share it. Ingredients: Almond and pine nuts Green asparagus Mushrooms Wok mix Pasta: Mezzelune con verdure alla griglia Garlic Herbs Olive oil and spicy olive oil Let's start ... The pasta are mezzelune filled with basil, spinach and grilled vegetables including courgette and aubergine. I bought it prepared in a package and only needed to boil it for about 3-4 min but if you really like cooking, you may try to prepare it yourself (I won't). In addition, I decided there needed some extra vegetables so I can use the pasta spread over two days. Therefore, I cut some green asparagus in half and some mushrooms in small pieces. I also used mixed sprouting vegetables called "wok mix". Finally, I cut a garlic in small pieces. Some of the ingredients, i.e. "wok mix", mushrooms, green asparagus and garlic together with the pasta While I started heating the water, I added some

Over the weekend newspapers (e.g. BBC and the Guardian ) published that scientists discovered that elephants seem to be able to understand humans pointing at something and they think elephants themselves can also point to something, using their trunk. It is quite fun to know that my favourite animals as a kid are for ones positively in the news and not only because they are killed. Elephants, since centuries used by humans as transport system and to carry heavy weights. I think it is quite unbelievable scientists spend years studying these animals before understanding they are able to understand human gestures (although the scientists expected something and therefore did this experiment) and thus they find them very intelligent animals, saying even our closest relatives (i.e. the apes) don't understand us pointing to something while domestic animals also understand us although it took thousands of years for those animals to learn (does this mean animals return and learn

During this crisis, many in power always talk about the need for a growing economy to end this crisis (such as the need for ever higher house prices). Here I will try to discuss why growth is not a necessity to have a healthy economy and a happy society. Maybe on the contrary. For instance, when every country on this planet has developed to the level of the West, how can the West then continue to be "better" than the rest (certainly when at the same time people in the West are losing what they saved and thus move in the direction of lesser-developed countries)? Most of what I write below is so obvious people reading this may wonder why they waste their time; still we forgot to implement them in life. Question : How does the ideal economy looks like in a graph (according me)? Answer : After a p eriod of almost continuous growth that accelerated over the past decades, in 2007-2008 this growth came to an abrupt end when the economic and financial crisis started with in many (of