On July 15, 2020, the General Court of the European Union ruled that Ireland had not offered illegal state aid to Apple, so the computer giant did not have to pay €13 billion in back taxes[i]. Apple had been allowed to set up its European operations so that on paper they were in Ireland, even… [Read More]
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Category: Rest of the World
Germany: A Coffee in Berlin
The entry for Germany in the Around-The-World project is a 2012 movie on Amazon Prime, A Coffee In Berlin. It’s a day in the life of a Berliner in his early 20s named Niko. HIs is trying to get a cup of coffee–and realizes that he needs to make changes in his life. I have… [Read More]
Albania: The Fall of the Stone City
Albania is next up in the alphabetical list of nations. Ismail Kadare is probably the novelist who is best-known outside of the country, often listed as a possible Noble Prize winner. The Fall of the Stone City is a story about the Nazi invasion in World War II. Albania is one of those nations that… [Read More]
United Kingdom: This Is London
My plan for my country-by-country project is to go alphabetically, with a few exceptions. After all, it can take a while to track down a good book or movie about a tiny nation, like Andorra. Meanwhile, I have lots of books accumulated on my shelves about other nations. And that is the case with This… [Read More]
Afghanistan: The Looming Tower
The first installment in my new global blog post series is Afghanistan. I do not want to visit, because it has been at war for 40 years. Afghanistan is caught among China, Iran, Pakistan, and a host of former Soviet Republics. The Soviet invasion was followed by the military and religious rule of the Taliban,… [Read More]
