Readers respond to Red Bull Cola

The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.

Voter apathy reflects lack of interest in EU affairs

Personally, I think in Spain there are two big problems. First of all, because the whole territory is a single constituency, PP and PSOE get about 90% of the votes, and will get 46 of the 50 MEPs elected. This is discouraging for people with non-mainstream political views. The other problem is that not even the politicians take it seriously. They send to Europe those who they want to give a nice retirement, and they use the campaign to talk about national politics, and to insult each other, and the key figures are not the MEPs but the party heads. It's pathetic, really. As a Catalan independentist who placed great hopes in Europe, I'm getting more and more frustrated with this European experiment where the states still controls everything, thus rendering the Union a toy in their hands.
Xavier Martin, Spain

Red Bull Cola banned for containing cocaine traces

Although the product is most probably harmless, the authorities are hoist by their own petard, to the extent that they put themselves at risk of being sued by a malicious consumer, or someone seizing an opportunity to sue the state for all that could be gotten because of an imprecision in the categorization. Charles Smyth, Great Britain

Did the authorities over react in this case? No, because they're reacting to a contaminant. Should coca be recognized as a legitimate ingredient in energy drinks? Yes - get over it. In such low doses it's most likely no more harmful than caffeine and possible less so, therefore if the ingredients were listed properly this would not have happened. Ron Forinash, US

Sky is not the limit for German astronaut Gerst

I would like to travel into space but am afraid that it will not happen due to my age and condition. Keep up the good work! Karin Oaks, US

EU officials condemn North Korean nuclear test

It is completely unacceptable that some politicians around the world continue firing nuclear weapons, ignoring the great danger that they represent to all humanity and all life on this planet. All nuclear weapons should be destroyed, including those of USA, Russia, UK, France, etc. If Americans complain about other countries having weapons of mass destruction they should start by setting the example. No more nuclear weapons! No more wars! Rodrigo Rios Lee, Mexico

How Germany's president is elected

The method of electing the German president seems to be as effective as any method used in the democratic world. As the German system of government has taken the powers of the US president and split them between two separate offices, the office of the chancellor, and the office of the president, it depoliticizes to a certain extent the office of the president. It is unclear however, how certain powers of the president can avoid political argument. Such as appointing judges, or pardoning criminals. In the US, these are very political decisions. Or does the president only confirm the choices previously made by the chancellor & the Bundestag, in the same manner as the Queen of England confirms the decisions made by her government? BC Richards, US