The word choice was an unhappy mélange of the common meanings of hot spot, evoking a place that was dangerous, crowded, and high-tech all at the same time.
Opinion
For Europe, the Party’s Over. It’s Not Clear What Comes Next.
The promise of Europe is over. Paradoxically, German hubris carries a good deal of the blame.
Being Cool Has Ruined Berlin
The Berlin I once knew was not the kind of place you raved about. There was no fine dining but plenty of heavy drinking. The beautiful people ran London and Munich and Milan. In Berlin, the punks were in charge.
A Dirty – Not Particularly Funny – Poem Just Turned Into an ‘International Crisis’
Just when Angela Merkel thought she had checked “Turkey” off her to-do list, a filth-laden poem read by a late-night comic is presenting her with a new dilemma.
Vladimir Putin Feels Your Pain
The Kremlin’s call-in program is like a surreal game show where an entire country asks one contestant questions — and his answers are always right.
Germany Can Take That Smug Look Off Its Face
Germans are discovering that their society is not as equitable as they once believed, nor immune to the blather of populists.
Europe Declared Peace While the World Was Still at War
The crux of Europe’s quandary in fighting global terrorism mirrors its problems with a shared foreign policy or common currency: a reluctance to sacrifice even more sovereignty on the altar of EU unity.
He Came, He Saw, He Withdrew From Syria
The main unspoken reason for the Kremlin’s Syria mission was to re-establish Russia as a global player on par with the United States.
German Election Bruises Merkel, But Isn’t a Knockout Blow
The emotive issue of how many asylum seekers Germany is morally obliged — and physically capable — to accept is eroding the country’s consensus-driven politics.
Do You Suffer from Russophobia? The Kremlin Thinks You Might.
Ever since my first visit to Russia in 1991, Russians have asked me why I decided to learn their language and travel to their country. My answer was simple.
