Google is Getting it
I guess I shouldn’t be startled by the news that governments and law enforcement are hitting up Google for user data – more so than ever before. Or that multiple governments have asked that content be removed, also on a record-breaking scale. What is worth applauding is that Google has for three years now been [...]
Austrians Keep Their Secrets
Changing banking laws is tricky, wherever it’s done. It affects nations, businesses and citizens – in fact, everything. In Austria, the last big change was…
Ride the Pony
You’re at a club. Over the din you hear the first riff of that tune from way back when, that cheesy, heavy-rotation song from your…
Plamen Goranov – Martyr Of the ‘Bulgarian Spring’
In a desperate act of protest against goverment austerity measures, 36-year-old Bulgarian Plamen Goranov set himself on fire in front of the City Hall in…
Kurz Cares About The Card
Say you’re from a non-EU country – America, say, or Singapore, or South Africa – and decide to study in Austria. Maybe you arrived here…
Life is not Fair
Walking through the snowy Vienna streets so close to April, it’s hard to ignore the many complaints. That’s…
Diagonale: How to Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory
I pulled into Graz just in time for the gala opening, threw on a fancy suit, refreshed my hair and…
Brothel Turned Bar
As the world’s oldest profession moves steadily towards Vienna’s city limits, a few of the older downtown establishments…
Humble and ‘in Awe’
Michael Haneke and Christoph Waltz don’t have all that much in common. One is a seasoned director,…