Graham

Another referendum in Bolivia

August 29, 2008 By Graham 5 Comments

President Morales has announced that the people of Bolivia are to get the chance to vote in a referendum on the future constitution of the country. The referendum is due to take place on 7th December.

The big question is: will this be the final decision on a number of policitcal issues?

One of the changes concerns the re-election of the Bolivian President. If he wins the vote, President Morales could be re-elected a number of times more than is currently allowed. I for one am wondering why such a step is necessary. After all, other countries have rules to stop a President from ruling ad infinitum, and it probably does them good to have a change very few years. Removing this rule in Bolivia would surely be a step backwards?

The other major issue is that of autonomy for some of Bolivia’s wealther regions – something that was partially voted on back in May of this year, although the result was not recognised a national level.

So will it be different this time around? Will the people get to chose more autonomy for their regions, as long as they agree to an indefinite number of terms for the President?

Filed Under: Bolivia, News Tagged With: bolivia, referendum

Lebensversicherung

August 24, 2008 By Graham Leave a Comment

Lebensversicherung is the name in Germany for life insurance. There are two types of Lebensversicherung, both are designed to pay out in event of the death of the insured person.

The main difference is between a Risikolebensversichung that is designed to cover this risk, sometimes combined with a disability insurance, and a Kapitallebensversicherung that not only covers the risk of dying, but also pays out a lump sum or a person if the insured person reaches a specific age.

The cost depends on the type of insurance, but also on the person being insured, such as age, lifestyle, etc.

A special form is the Ausbildungsversicherung, which allows parents to save up for their childrens’ future, eg. to cover student fees.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

Disclaimer: this podcast is a simple explanation for non-native speakers. For insurance advice, please contact a Versicherungsvertreter or Versicherungsmakler.

Filed Under: German Words Explained, Insurance, Podcasts Tagged With: Ausbildungsversicherung, Lebensversicherung, Life insurance

KiKa Summer Tour in Wiesbaden

August 18, 2008 By Graham 2 Comments

KiKa is a German television channel for Children. Last week their summer tour visited Wiesbaden, so we took a break from moving into our new flat to go there for the day.

We arrived early enough to get a good view of the main stage and at the very front there was even a special area for children. After the first few acts we tried to get autographs from the main presenters, but the queues were so long, that by the time we got to the front they were in the process of leaving.

The main presenters – Singa and Juri on stage

Although there was plenty on offer, the number of children present meant that anything you wanted to do you had to queue for, which is why in the afternoon we spent 2½ hours queuing for the chance to climb up a giant loaf of bread!