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Sarajevo, 1914: The Bullets That Ended a Dynasty

«Let justice be done, though the world perish.»—Historical Habsburg Motto

A modest noble house from a rugged alpine valley began as loyal vassals, managing estates with shrewd care. Marriages wove their blood into greater lines, securing lands from misty forests to sunlit plains. Castles rose under their banners, each stone laid with calculated ambition. By the time a golden crown rested on their patriarch’s head, their domains sprawled across rivers and mountains, knit by pacts and dowries. Cathedrals bore their crests, and their court buzzed with envoys from distant realms. Armies marched at their command, while their children, wed to foreign thrones, carried their influence like seeds on the wind. Palaces gleamed, filled with tapestries of their triumphs, as their name became a whisper of power in every corner of the continent. The Habsburgs, one of Europe’s most enduring and formidable dynasties, wielded unparalleled influence over Central and Eastern Europe for nearly seven centuries.

I Don’t Know What Gave Them the Idea to Put a City in the Middle of All This Sand

«Before God, all people are actually Berliners.»–Theodor Fontane

An ‹Ur-Berliner› is someone who was born in Berlin. Ideally, their parents were also Berliners, and their grandparents too. Even better if you can trace your ancestors back to a local mammoth hunter clad in a bearskin. Back when Berlin actually belonged to the Berliners, and people knew their neighbors. Of course, the place wasn’t yet called Berlin back then.

Downfall: The Last Days of the Stasi

On February 8, 1950, something ordinary happened that would reshape millions of lives. The People’s Chamber of the German Democratic Republic passed one of the shortest laws in German history. There was no debate. No discussion. The law was approved in minutes.

It contained just two paragraphs. The first transformed an obscure economic security office into an independent Ministry for State Security. The second stated that the law would take effect immediately.

Paragraph 1:
«The Head Office for the Protection of the National Economy, previously under the Ministry of the Interior, shall be transformed into an independent Ministry for State Security. The Law of 7 October 1949 on the Provisional Government of the German Democratic Republic (Law Gazette p. 2) is amended accordingly.»
Paragraph 2:
«This act shall come into effect on the date of its promulgation.»

That was all it took. The Stasi was born.

Humanity Isn’t Ready Yet: Why Colonizing Mars is Pure Science Fiction

«Misdirection. False signals. Spreading confusion. This is the Tao of deception.»—David Ignatius

There have been some pretty wild ideas throughout American history, some of which were dreamt up by presidents who were ahead of their time or, at times, just completely out there. Take John Quincy Adams, for example. In the early years of his presidency, Adams approved a journey to the Earth’s core (funded by taxpayers, naturally) in hopes of uncovering the mysterious worlds hidden beneath our planet’s surface. The goal? To conduct trade with the mole people living there.

They Don’t Mince Their Words: The Brutally Honest Art of Berlin Communication

Welcome to Berlin, the city where «politeness» is just another word for cowardice, and where the weather isn’t the only thing that’s cold. Fancy a chat? Prepare for a clinical dissection of your motives. Craving a little kindness with your morning coffee? Dream on. If cities had spirit animals, Berlin’s would be a grumpy, half-plucked street pigeon: unimpressed, slightly threatening, and always suspicious of good intentions.

The Veiled Summer: From Tambora’s Shadow to Transhumanist Dreams

A Sky Without Warmth

The year 1816 entered memory as the Year Without a Summer, a period of frost and hunger under a darkened sky. The eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815, on the island of Sumbawa, tore a hole in the earth and cast its entrails into the firmament. Ash, pumice, and sulfuric gases rose forty kilometers high, columns of fire stretching into the stratosphere. By the time the flame was spent, the volcano had collapsed into itself, diminished by half its height, leaving behind silence where an entire mountain had stood. The local devastation was immense: tens of thousands buried, drowned, or consumed by famine. Yet more terrible than the immediate ruin was the slow, colorless shadow that spread across the world in the months that followed.

Chaos, Comedy, and You: Embracing the Lotterleben

Some German words slip through the cracks of translation and land in our laps like unexpected gifts. Schadenfreude has gone global, becoming shorthand for that guilty pleasure we take in watching someone else fumble. Wanderlust conjures images of free spirits drifting through train stations with scarves trailing dramatically behind them. But Lotterleben? That one drags different baggage altogether.

Bloodstained Fatwa: Leftists and the Iranian Revolution

Some political alliances defy logic. They emerge from desperation, shared enemies, and the seductive illusion that today’s tactical partner won’t become tomorrow’s executioner. The relationship between certain leftist factions and Islamist movements in Iran stands as one of history’s most cautionary tales about misplaced trust.

The phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” has guided countless revolutions, wars, and political movements. Yet this ancient logic carries a fatal flaw. It assumes that shared opposition creates shared values. In Iran during the late 1970s, leftist groups discovered too late that overthrowing a common enemy does not guarantee a common future.

Asimov’s Robotic Rules: Feasible Fiction or Real-World Flaw?

Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics first appeared in his 1942 short story “Runaround.” They quickly captured the public imagination and became a cornerstone of how we think about machines and morality. These laws shaped countless narratives across books, films, and television, from the helpful androids in “I, Robot” to ethical dilemmas in “Star Trek”. They embedded a reassuring idea: intelligent machines could be safely governed by simple, hierarchical rules. For decades, they influenced not just entertainment but also early debates on technology’s role in society, portraying robots as obedient servants rather than rogue threats.