Experience a movie on a real stamp! Austrian Post has produced an official stamp using lenticular printing technology. 48 images of a TV recording have been superposed, so to the viewer the optical effect looks like a film sequence of approximately 3 seconds. The stamp features the goal scored by Andi Herzog, Austria's football player, in the 76th minute of the game against Sweden on September 6th, 1997. The goal paved the way for the Austrian national team to enter the main draw of the 1998 World Championships in France.

Arguably Andi Herzog stamp is the most technologically advanced stamp ever. It is also one of the the largest, measuring 6.5 by 4.7 cm (2.6 by 1.9 in), and the most expensive stamps ever made. Its nominal value is 5.45 Euro (8.45 U.S. dollars). With this stamp Austrian Post wants to bring the legendary team spirit of the 90s back to the hearts and minds of today's professional players and football enthusiasts. This stamp is available for purchase at all Austrian postal branches and in the Austrian Post online shop.

Photo by Oriol Gascon

Unlike Kosovo Tibet has a recorded history of statehood extending back to 127 B.C. Tibetan nation used to have its own Government, its own Foreign Office, treaty relations with other countries, distinct culture, history, language and religion. Before the Chinese invasion of 1950 Tibet was spread over 2.5 million sq km (965,255 sq mi), representing almost 25% of China's landmass, while Kosovo is less than 11,000 sq km (4,203 sq mi).

Nevertheless, Tibet will not become independent in the foreseeable future, and there are at least 5 reasons for that:

1. As a result of China's policy of population transfer, the non-Tibetan population has increased many times, reducing Tibetans to an insignificant minority in their own country. The language, customs and traditions of Tibet are gradually fading away. On the contrary it was Albanian population growth that slowly overwhelmed the ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.

2. Becoming more and more dependent on Chinese import United States will not support Tibet independence. In historic perspective this is not entirely something new, since American cowboy attitude (profits first!) towards native people is well known.

Illustration: Bloodless (Original idea: Hromov)

I find it disturbing how ignorant Americans are of world politics. Kosovo independence is the bomb and for a reason. Creating an independent Kosovo on the territory of Serbia, an internationally recognized sovereign state, is contrary to international law and very likely to bring a whole deal of unrest in other parts of the world. They set an example for IRA, the Basques, Northern Cyprus, Iraq's Kurds and many other separatists who also want to declare independence and thus set the relative stability ablaze. Of course you're too far away to care, but as a European I am very concerned. If indeed we'll get a rise of separatist movements and thus instability and war here in Europe, I will blame “woo-hoo” people like you, who without any consideration reinforce actions that are illegal under international law.

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Photo by Alexander Petrenko

For the second year in a row Moscow has been the world's most expensive city. After calculating the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive than New York. The Russian capital is choked with luxury cars, upscale construction projects and a new financial self-esteem. If Lenin had ever been buried he'd be rolling in his grave now.

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“In Norway there's no tradition for fireworks arranged by the city. It's too cold in January to gather downtown for the celebrations, so everyone just go out into their gardens or a nearby open spot, launch their rockets and then head back inside.” – writes Norwegian photographer Bjørn Christian Tørr. In this case decentralization certainly works. The result is more than simply beautiful. It shows the spontaneous power and happiness of the people.

2008 will be a pivotal year. This year the entire world will change. And it’s up to the people, if it will change for better or worse.