Telephone Boxes
For several years now I have been taking pictures of a dying breed: telephone boxes. I managed to upload a few yesterday.
Determine Your Rates
I recently had an issue with a newspaper using one of my images without permission (see here). When I tried to determine how much I could/should charge, I discovered a few lists and thanks to Manuela Schwendener, who sent several more yesterday, I now have these for future reference:
Germany
- Liste der Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Foto-Marketing
- VG-Bild-Kunst
- Rates at Der Spiegel
- Overview at Fotomonat.de
Austria
Switzerland
Bribing MPs soon illegal in Germany
Finally the German Bundestag made a move and eleven years and three governments after the United Nation Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was signed by Germany, it can now finally be ratified. Until now it had only been illegal to buy the vote of a member of parliament, other forms of corrupting them were fair game, which made it impossible for Germany to ratify the UNCAC – and put the country in very shady company:
Medical Practitioners cannot be Corrupt
At the moment, medical practitioners in Germany can only be corrupt when employed by someone else. As long as they practice on their own, German law to date knows no way of finding them corrupt – even if pharmaceutical companies give something in exchange for the practioniners prescribing certain medication.
The good news is that German health minister Daniel Bahr is about to change that.
Germany Fails GRECO Deadline
When it comes to UNCAC (United Nations Convention Against Corruption), Germany is in the good to shady company of Bhutan, Côte d’Ivoire, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and the Syrian Arab Republic (many of which buy German tanks, too). These states all signed UNCAC, but have not yet ratified it.
Since it is still legal (or rather: not illegal) to bribe a German member of parliament as long as you are not buying her vote (§ 108e, StGB), Germany can’t even ratify the convention, which has been subject of much deliberation.