19 March 2008 @ Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

Today I was very sorry to hear that Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away. It was not only a great writer and scientist who passed away, but also one of the last great visionaries.

Arthur C. Clarke has for me been the proof that human kind despite many defects can become a more peaceful species and maybe one day even abolish war and weapons. Many people would probably call his beliefs naïve, but Arthur C. Clarke to this day believed that education and development of the human species would be the key to peace. He postulated and in my opinion proved this through his books – if you are in doubt please read Clarke's Time's Eye, which was co-authored by Stephen Baxter.

In his legacy I regret to admit that there almost no visionary presidents or country leaders on Earth who have even the faintest idea of how to shape a prosperous and peaceful world. To underline this fact I recommend reading Arthur C. Clarke's Rama books.

With these lines I would like to thank Arthur C. Clarke for proving to me that it is worth reading novels and fiction.

13 August 2007 @ Moscow, Russia

Maybe this will be more than a dream one day - take a look into the future on the website Galacticsuite.com - enjoy.

6 June 2007 @ Moscow, Russia

Yesterday the International Olympic Committee decided that Sochi will be the host of the winter Olympics in 2014. Therefore I want to congratulate the whole of Russia with this feat - it is an extraordinary task in which Russia and nonetheless Sochi have used a lot of effort to reach. I sincerely think that of the three final cities Sochi indeed deserved to win, not necessarily because Russia's bid was the best - I do not know the details to say either for or against, but because Russia has won so many victories in the winter Olympics that they deserved to get the games, now they are coming with a very serious proposal. However if Russia is sincere in making these winter Olympics the best ever, then they really have challenged themselves. Remember they are up against "brand" games like Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, which really took people with storm.

If we just for a second disregard all the practical arrangements, which of course also has to be addressed, then I have two pieces of advice I would like to give Russia in order to archive their previously set goals:

1. Policing. I do not doubt that Russia will be capable of preventing any violence up to, during and after the games, however I am really afraid that Russia will overreact and deploy too much police, special troops etc. on the streets. Since Russia's police forces earlier have not been good at being friendly and helping people this can cast shadows on the game if this issue is not addressed in a serious way. It would really be sad to see OMON troops stopping a demonstration the way they showed to the international press recently in Moscow. This did not live up to what the world normally thinks of a democratic state, thus this will not be good PR on world wide broadcasts from the games.

2. Visas. For many foreign citizens it is time consuming, expensive and takes a lot of effort to acquire a Russian visa. I would be a really good gesture if Russia could simplify or even abandon this visa-regime. A the moment the current visa-regime only creates unnecessary problems for foreigners and increases the possibility of corruption among state officials and employees. Russia should take the step the Ukraine did with the election of their current president and abandon visas for western countries and other countries. This will not only help the games a lot, but also give tourism a boost and get rid of a lot of pity bribes to document checking street policemen.

It is up to Russia to decide how they will proceed, but once again I would like to congratulate Russia with the first step towards the Olympics in 2014. Now the most difficult task has come and this cannot be solved with good PR only. Good luck!

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