Andreas Salmen

Born and raised in Germany, learned a job in IT and Business and ultimately decided that this wasn't exactly where my life was going to end. Left everything behind to become a writing backpacker instead. The world's crumbling away anyway so why not write about it and get a few good Instagram pics on the way, am I right?
China Africa Neocolonialism Trade
 Africa, Asia-Pacific, China, World

African Neocolonialism: Is China Exploiting Africa?

Colonialism has shaped Africa in a multitude of ways. The scramble for Africa in the late 19th century caused traditional values and culture to give way to European influence and ideals, deforming the African identity through exploitation. This impact is felt until today, as the continent struggles to bounce back and embrace its wealth of natural resources to advance independently without relying on foreign aid. China has been the most active player in providing services, import and export goods, and investments on the African continent, in a move that many describe as neocolonialism, implying exploitation and an increase of power at the expense of the African people.
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Inflation Ice Cream
 World

Ice Cream Inflation: Is Life Getting more Expensive?

Everything was better in the old days, right? Well maybe not healthcare, electronics, and women’s rights, but at least everything was affordable. It seems life has been getting more and more expensive, especially for Millenials. But is that really true? Are we just overinterpreting inflation or are we indeed paying more today than we ever have? In Germany, ice cream is an integral part of the felt inflation, one that paints a grim picture for the price development in recent years within the country. Or so do people think.
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100% Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels
 Science & Tech, World

100% Renewable Energy: Can we Live without Fossil Fuels?

When we talk about energy production and consumption, we inevitably have to talk about Fossil Fuels and renewable energy. The impacts of coal and oil on our planet is undeniable and the search for viable alternatives is still ongoing. Over time, the dream of being independent of depletable Fossil Fuels and to switch to potentially endless environmental resources like water, solar, and wind has grown significantly and becomes more realistic every day. Today, some countries and regions are already utilizing 100% Renewable Energy, but is that a realistic goal for all of us? What would it take to realistically ditch Fossil Fuels and bank on 100% Renewable Energy?
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Online Piracy Torrenting Download
 Opinion, Science & Tech, World, Editor's Choice

Digital Pirates: How Piracy Changes Consumerism for Good

If you’ve lived through the early days of the internet and beyond, chances are you have indulged yourself in some innocent internet piracy. Chances are that you have seen the rise and fall of Napster and enjoyed the way it helped you discover new music and download it for free. The industry went head over heels in taking down these early but widespread signs of a consumer revolution, misreading that piracy is not only an inevitable part of our society but way more than that. While pirating content is a real crime with real-world consequences, it has had effects on the way we all consume goods for the better. However, it still poses great challenges to established industries that resist changing the status quo.
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What Facebook Data
 Science & Tech, World, Editor's Choice

What Data does Facebook Collect From Us? Take a Look!

Cambridge Analytica and the Facebook Data Breach are still very much dominating the news, especially with the recent hearing involving Mark Zuckerberg. While changes to Facebook’s approach to Data Security and Privacy are (hopefully) imminent, we actually went ahead and checked what of our data Facebook actually saves and uses. We downloaded a copy of our Facebook data and looked closely what Facebook actually has on us.
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Genetics Race Racism Science
 Science & Tech, World, Editor's Choice

Genetics and Race: Science is Colorblind

The concept of race seems to be an inherent trait of humanity. While diversity is increasingly accepted and embraced by many, ideologies like white supremacy keep looming on the fringes. Racism is deeply rooted in the fear of the unknown and the rejection of superficial differences. Genetics prove just how arbitrary these notions actually are, and that science actually cannot define or replicate the races as clearly as we use them, making them a primarily social concept.
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Cotton Global Economy Globalization
 World

The Cotton Story – Slavery and the Birth of Modern Economies

Cotton is a product we don’t think too much about, yet it is an integral part of our everyday lives. But that’s not all. Cotton is not only still widely used in our clothing products and remains to be a big industry, but it also had major impacts on how our global economy developed over time. Sven Beckert’s book “Empire of Cotton” illustrates how cotton impacted our world.
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White Supremacy Racism Equality
 Americas, USA, Human Rights, Opinion, Politics

USA – The Pinnacle of Racism and White Supremacy

We have talked about inherent racism and racial divide in the USA a bunch of times already, looking at different angles, but mostly in regards to recent history. However, to conclude our journey into just how embedded racism is in the history of the United States, one has to go back to the beginning to understand that racist ideology and White Supremacy are not just an occurrence, but arguably part of the very foundation of America.
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Clean Coal Environmental Impact Coal Mining
 Opinion, World

Clean Coal: The Environmental Impact of Coal Mining

If you were to listen to the people involved in the coal industry, and to some extent President Donald Trump, they would tell you that coal is the fuel of life. It is cheap in production costs, efficient in energy creation, and still plentiful compared other fossil fuels like oil. Unfortunately, coal is also the dirtiest and most harmful fuel for power generation known to mankind. No matter how much the industry likes to throw the term clean coal around, king coal remains to be the dirty ruler of the energy industry.
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Geography China
 Asia-Pacific, China, Politics, World

Foundation of a Superpower: How Geography Shaped China

There are 195 countries in this world, and most of them are unique in several ways. They possess their own history, culture, and citizens that separate them from the rest of the world in one way or another. An important factor as to how and why nations have developed the way they have is their geography. Geography is the very foundation of any nation, influencing their growth, security and wealth in a significant way. Geographical features dictate the national and international policy of every country, which is why we want to take a look at several nations, this time China, to analyze how geography shapes and influences their every decision. Read more

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