On pirates and Nazis

Today a group of German lawyers arrived in Kenya, where they will attempt to defend several Somali pirates being held there for attacking a German ship earlier this month. With a new pirate attack happening nearly every day off the eastern coast of Africa, the coverage has skewed towards tales of capturing these guys, not who will defend them in court. I wrote a piece about this German defense team, which appeared recently in the Christian Science Monitor.

Also in the Monitor recently I write on John Demjanjuk, 89, currently fighting deportation to Germany on the grounds that he was a former Nazi SS guard responsible for the death of some 30,000 Jews.

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Essay on Czech EU presidency in Prague Post

If you're following the G-20 summit in London, you'd be forgiven for assuming there are only four major European powers present: Germany, France, Italy and the UK. But in fact, the whole of the European Union is in the British capital, under the representation of the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The major focus of the G-20, of course, is whether global powers can somehow toss aside their differences and find a measured, common plan for dealing with the economic crisis. But among the dozens of smaller stories playing out at the margins of the meeting is whether outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek can somehow regain a degree of relevancy on the EU stage following a disastrous few days last week, when his government collapsed and he insulted President Barack Obama in a speech to the EU Parliament.

In an essay published today in the Prague Post, I argue that Topolanek can indeed recover and that the Czechs can still have an impact on the EU's agenda, especially when it concerns Eastern Europe, during the latter half of their presidency. 

Whether Czechs deserve to, given their shameful lack of confidence in the very idea of the EU, is of course another matter altogether.

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Goodbye, Christian Science Monitor...

...Well, at least to the print version for the Monitor. After 101 years, the venerable independent newspaper is halting its daily printed version, in a move that will be watched closely by the newspaper industry. In many respects, the Monitor is going to become much more daily, as its Web site is going to be the nucleus for a new, 24-hour news operation, complemented by a weekly in-depth magazine.

I wrote a piece about the German car industry that was published in today's final print edition of the newspaper, a nice break that allows me to be a small part of this collector's item. 

The online version of the story appears in the Monitor's "Rebuilding the Economy" blog.

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From Latvia, with love

I recently returned from Latvia, where I was reporting on the country's dire economic situation. It seems while most of Europe is waiting for the "next Iceland," Latvia is trying perhaps harder than anyone from owning that claim to fame. It was an interesting trip, especially given that the last time I was in the country was nearly four years ago. Even during this short period of time change, and prosperity (or at least spending) was evident everywhere I went.

My report appears today in the Christian Science Monitor.

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Breaking the silence

I've been neglecting the blog these last few months, I know, but these have also been some quiet times. I've been doing some traveling, but mostly I've been either working on or outlining some long term projects that will develop during the course of the year.

I've gotten word that Esquire is to publish a short story of mine this coming fall, but I do not know much beyond that. I'll definitely keep you posted on that.

In immediate publication news, I wrote yet another essay on tax havens (I swear, it's becoming a speciality with me), this one for Legal Week, which appears today. 

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Here come the Czechs

A new year, and a new "president" of the European Union: The Czech Republic.

The EU's rotating presidency, largely a symbolic carrot thrown out to the bloc's members to give each a chance to spend six months setting Brussels' agenda, took on a heightened role during the latter half of 2008 with France at the helm during a war in Georgia and the worst financial crisis in Europe in more than 50 years. Add to that the pressing challenges of climate change and the EU's continuing struggle to pass a constitution and it was a busy time.

Now come the Czechs, not widely known throughout Europe as being the most embracing of the EU experiment -- despite most everyday Czechs saying they are in favor of their country's membership in the 27-member bloc. 

I write a little bit about Europe's uneasiness with the Czech EU presidency -- and in particular, with the country's appallingly contrarian president, Vaclav Klaus -- in a piece that appears today in the Christian Science Monitor.

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A dormant December

It's been a very quiet December, on the publication front. I've mostly been on the road, back in the US and making my way between appointments of various kinds.

A series of pieces I wrote on the global financial crisis and its impact on European regulation appears in the current (Dec/Jan) double issue of Top Legal International. 

This month I also returned proofs for a piece in the upcoming Winter 2009 edition of Focus Europe, also concerning the financial crisis and its impact on Europe's beloved tax havens. It has just been published (unfortunately, available by subscription only).

Other than that, I have to reach back to late November for any other piece of note, this one being a short essay on the glories of the rock bank Midnight Oil, which appeared as part of Gadling "Sounds of Travel" series.

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