In contemporary history, 7/17 – the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17 – may have a significance comparable to 9/11. It symbolizes the antagonism between two world-views: the democracies with their critical thinking versus those who do not have their values and oppose them. One thing characterizes the opponents: a sense of moral superiority and “the rage of the losers.” This is a phrase coined by the German writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Both Putin’s Russia and radical Islam are enraged by the relative backwardness of their societies.
The West can learn a great deal from the innumerable mistakes it has made since 9/11. One of them was the failure to use “soft power” effectively, a failure to make use of the advantages the West has over the others. The Americans might have derived invaluable benefits from funding a few universities in Iraq.
Points made by Jochen Bittner in Die Zeit, July 24
Eric Koch’s new book, New Beginnings, was launched on September 20. The book is available from 
I think he’s stretching it too much for the comparison. One event was from a series of mistakes/bad luck/and bad judgment. The other was incredibly deliberate. Another comparison might be 1914 Sarajevo: a serious incident that was magnified beyond anyone’s expectation. Hopefully “the democracies with their critical thinking” can display enough of it this time.
Also, (having found nowhere to respond to the sketch about bees)
“A typical honeybee colony contains residue from more than 120 pesticides.” This is so staggering a figure! Why didn’t we know? And NOW can’t we publicize it?