The Incomparable Hans Blix: "I'm more worried about global warming"

Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has an interview in the Friday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Here a translated excerpt:

Q. Many Arab countries want to obtain atomic energy. Are you worried about this?

A. Everything involves risks, including atomic energy. But in the long run I'm more worried about global warming than about weapons of mass destruction.

The FAZ identifies Blix as the chairman of an otherwise unspecified "Commission on Disarmament from Weapons of Mass Destruction ." Given Blix's views, one can well wonder if he is the right man for the job -- though the reference is apparently to a commission sponsored by the Swedish government that finished its work already in 2006.

The Ban That Wasn't: Germany and Al-Manar

Reports of a German "ban" of Hezbollah's Al-Manar television have been greatly exaggerated. See my new article on Pajamas Media here.

Bertelsmann's Man in the White House

The Bertelsmann Foundation has helpfully prepared an 80-page "briefing book" on transatlantic relations for the incoming American president -- or what the foundation's German site also calls a "Europe-Handbook for Barack Obama". Bertelsmann can be sure that Obama will give close attention to its recommendations -- since, as so happens, the Bertelsmann Corporation is the President-elect's principal source of income. See my new article on Pajamas Media here.

German Students Lay Waste to Exhibit on Persecution of the Jews

Only three days after the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, German students ostensibly protesting poor conditions in German schools for some reason layed waste to an exhibit on the persecution of the Jews. For the details, see my new article on Pajamas Media here.

Protecting Anti-Semites in Germany?

A recent court ruling involving the author Henryk Broder will undoubtedly make it more difficult for Germans to discuss new forms of anti-Semitism. For the details, see my new article on Pajamas Media here.

More Euros for Obama

For a bit more on the implications of Maria Laura Rodotà’s column in the Corriere della Sera, see my new article on Pajamas Media here. Interestingly, one commentator from Spain has already noted some similar remarks by a Spanish socialist politician who (unlike Rodotà) admitted to having made a contribution himself.