333 More Depeche... give me more..

2010-02-01T11:14:00.002+01:00

Try walking in my shoes

2010-01-31T20:51:00.001+01:00

Halo

2009-06-02T22:14:00.002+02:00

More on Dae

2009-03-29T14:53:00.004+02:00

Dae is a midget

Piratecat...

.. and a bat..

Stop you diet...

2009-03-23T14:08:00.002+01:00

Meow

2009-03-17T13:41:00.003+01:00

Å piske liv i en død hest

2009-03-17T09:30:00.001+01:00

Den var en gang at Espen Askeladd kjøpte en hest fra en bonde for tjue tusen kroner. Bonden lovde å levere hesten dagen etter.

Dagen etter kom bonden på døra og sa at dessverre, hesten hadde dødd om natten.

"Det er greit," sa Espen. "Bare gi meg pengene tilbake."

"Kan ikke det," sa bonden. "Jeg har allerede brukt pengene."

"Ja, så gi meg skrotten," sa Espen.

"Hva skal du med den?" spurte bonden.

"Jeg skal bruke den som premie i en loddtrekning."

"Men det er vel ingen som vil kjøpe lodd på en død hest," sa bonden.

"Klart det er," sa Espen. "Jeg skal bare unngå a nevne at hesten er død."

Noen uker senere møtte bonden og Espen på gata. Bonden spurte hvordan det hadde gått med den døde hesten.

"Ganske bra," sa Espen. "Jeg solgte 500 lodd a tusen kroner og tjente kr 479.000,-"

"Jøss," sa bonden. "Men var det ingen som klagde?"

"Jo, han som vant. Derfor fikk han tilbake sin tusenlapp."

Moralen: I finansverdenen er det faktisk mulig å piske liv i en død hest

My Second Life

2009-03-12T17:38:00.014+01:00

Dae as a Pirate.. She will be dancing at a new Pirate Club very soon

Dae.. she is me... the Avatar of ME inSecond Life... She was born 20.02.09 and she has evolved rapidly... to the point of my first life taking the back seat.. This is not good... BUT it's so much FUN!!! She has many colors.. her face has now settled though.. She is exploring this second universe... she is getting jobs (she is a dancer at night clubs lol) and making new friends! For now she must live... If it's get interesting, she might show up in this blog again

Dae waiting to be judged to perhaps become a model.. but it was too boring to wait so se left and quickly dropped the pink outfit

She attached her cat-tail and cat-ears and went dancing at a club instead

Dae is homeless.. She has no house, so she sleeps on the sofa in Second Norway.. Here she is with red hair..

Nordlendingen ser alltid et lysgløtt

2009-03-10T16:06:00.000+01:00

Det e aldri så galt at det ikkje kunne ha vært verre!

Sivert kom tuslanes i 40 kuldegrader over vidda

med frostjammer under føtn og naggelbett til albogan.

Han slår floke og blæs i de blåfrosne klørn sine og sei:

-Det va no pinade en gang det ikkje va mygg her!

Mercy

2009-02-20T20:19:00.002+01:00

wordle

2009-02-18T18:09:00.002+01:00

-- love supreme

2009-02-12T12:31:00.001+01:00

..........

All the handsome men are gay
You feel deprived

.........

When there's no love in town
This new century keeps bringing you down
All the places you have been
Trying to find a love supreme
A love supreme

Oh what are you really looking for?
Another partner in your life to
abuse and to adore?
Is it lovey dovey stuff,
Do you need a bit of rough?
Get on your knees

Yeah turn down the love songs that you hear
'Cause you can't avoid the sentiment
That echoes in your ear
Saying love will stop the pain
Saying love will kill the fear
Do you believe
You must believe
When there's no love in town
This new century keeps bringing you down
All the places you have been
Trying to find a love supreme
A love supreme

.................

Lenore

2009-02-09T00:34:00.001+01:00

Hvilken sortkledd tegneseriefigur er du?
Mitt resultat:
Lenore
Du er den søte, lille, døde jenten Lenore. Du kan være litt morbid til tider og vet ikke alltid forskjellen på rett og galt. Likevel er du veldig søt og mener det som oftest godt.
Ta denne quizen på Start.no

Vi er like vi er en.. men hjernen er alene

2009-02-08T18:09:00.001+01:00

..

Hjernen er alene

(Tekst og melodi: Lars Lillo-Stenberg)

Det er midt på dagen
Jeg er alene i huset
Jeg står midt i stuen
Jeg er alene i huset
Jeg stirrer ut av vinduet
Jeg stirrer ned mot havet
Med ett blir jeg redd
Jeg ser at havet kommer nærmere

Jeg vil få meg vekk
Men jeg tør ikke gå ut
Jeg vil ikke se
Men jeg tør ikke la vær
Jeg hvisker hjelp
Selv om jeg vet
At ingen vil høre meg

Jeg går ut av huset
Jeg går ned mot havet
Jeg hører ingenting
Naturen står stille
Men trærne krymper
Og havet det tørkes bort
Selv om jeg går og går
Så kommer jeg ikke nærmere

Jeg snur og ser tilbake
Huset er fullt av mennesker
Jeg løper ned mot klippene
Men havet er forsvunnet
Jeg roper hjelp
Selv om jeg vet
At ingen vil høre meg

Hjernen er alene
Hjernen er alene
Hjernen er alene
Hjernen er alene

Hjernen er alene alene med hjernen
Hjernen er alene alene med hjernen
Hjernen er alene alene med hjernen
Hjernen er alene alene med hjernen

What type of Art are You

2009-02-07T23:43:00.002+01:00

DRAWING
You're more on the quiet side, but once people get to know they become really good friends with you. You like just about everyone, even if you don't really talk to them. You live in a little bit of a fantasy world and sometimes space off.

99 ballonger...

2009-02-01T01:31:00.004+01:00

Dagens desiderte høydepunkt.. takk Atle og Johan..

DDR - 99 luftballons

More Depeche

2009-01-29T16:19:00.003+01:00

Lydverket skriver:
20. april slipper Depeche Mode sitt nye album Sounds of the Universe, og måneden etter legger de ut på en verdensomspennende arenaturné.

Og de kommer til BERGEN! (Dit jeg skal, som sagt..) Og det blir vanvittig bra

Lovely lyrics

2009-01-25T19:11:00.006+01:00

.. and I want.. and I need... and I lust.. animal... ... til' we loose control.. see i wanna move but cant escape from you... so I keep in mind when I'm on my own.. you loose.. you choose.. just give me a pain that I'm used to.. with a prayer in the air I will leave it there .. on a note full of hope not despair .. caught between my devil and the deep blue sea.. but you know, I'm fine.. it was a turning point.. all in your mind... living on your breath, in your room, where time stands still or moves at your will..

This is the best party that I've ever been to
Today I asked for a god to pour some wine in my eyes
Today I asked for someone to shake some salt on my life

With the lights out it's less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My Libido
Yeah

The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can't do the little things
I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things
That I fear

Heaven knows your mother lied
Mon cher
Separate your right from wrongs
Come and sing a different song

So come on let me entertain you

Enda en godnyhet fra Obama

2009-01-25T01:54:00.003+01:00

Barack Obama har opphevet forbudet mot å gi statlige bevilgninger til grupper som fremmer kvinners rett til selvbestemt abort i utlandet.
Dagbladet 24.01.09

Et lite skritt i riktig retning! :) Hurra!!

Svak låt fra Surferosa i MGP

2009-01-25T01:20:00.004+01:00

... men jeg tror kanskje det er en sånn låt som "vokser" for hver gang jeg hører den.. så jeg skal høre den igjen og igjen... Den gikk jo videre, til sistesjansen, tror jeg...

Så jeg limer den inn her så skal jeg høre mer på den ... lover:

Hvis du ikke kjenner til Surferosas nydelige hits fra før har du her noen godbiter:

Hvis du vil høre mer:Surferosa på MySpace

Skal fremdeles på Depeche Mode!!

2009-01-24T02:06:00.003+01:00

Jeeeeeeee! :D

Closing Guantanámo - now what?

2009-01-24T01:05:00.007+01:00

Finally...

President Barack Obama is closing Guantanámo Bay.. a place of torture. It has made me ashamed of belonging to the western world. Finally! Thank you Obama! I named my car after you (yes, the VW Golf.. Rolf Obama). (It's black OK, and it was during the elections that I bought it). And so far the car need not be ashamed of its name. So far, mind you...

Guantanámo and all the other torture chambers of the US has been places of great injustice, terrible crimes on human kind, in conflict with all treaties, with basic human rights. The CIA has been told to do whatever, almost.. in the "war on terror". Which is not a war, but a slogan. So thank you Obama... for bringing some hope to the human race.

But.. now what?

Amnesty is clear that crimes such as these should not go unnoticed..

“This must not be, however, the end of the story. All those responsible for approving and carrying out crimes such as torture, disappearances and arbitrary detention must be brought to justice, and an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA’s detention and interrogation practices in the ‘war on terror’ be established.”
Editorial Closing Guantánamo - Amnesty.org

Mr. Bush and all those responsible should pay for their crimes... Right? But they won't..

Have you seen the campaign-site for Obama? Do you think it will all come to pass?
Barack Obama website

Ett er nødvendig

2009-01-20T09:24:00.001+01:00

Ett er nødvendig - her
i denne vår vanskelige verden
av husville og heimløse:
Å ta bolig i seg selv.
Gå inn i mørket
og pusse sotet av lampen.
Slik at mennesker på veiene
kan skimte lys
i dine bebodde øyne.

[Hans Børli]

Looking forward to being in their Room

2009-01-19T18:57:00.004+01:00

Depeche Mode - In Your Room

Depeche Mode, Bergen, Norway, july 2009. I'm there. I'm SO there....

Depeche Mode - Stripped

Great quotes by women

2009-01-05T23:43:00.001+01:00

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.
-Helen Hayes (at 73)-

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.
-Lily Tomlin-

A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car.
-Carrie Snow-

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.
-Laurie Kuslansky-

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
-Erma Bombeck-

Old age ain't no place for sissies.
-Bette Davis-

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't.
-Rhonda Hansome-

The phrase "working mother"! is redundant.
-Jane Sellman-

Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows.
-Jennifer Unlimited-

Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.
-Charlotte Whitton-

I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once.
-Jennifer Unlimited-

If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just ! have to be a horrible warning.
-Catherine-

If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them.
-Sue Grafton-

I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr-

When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country..
-Elayne Boosler-

Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
-Maryon Pearson-

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.
-Margaret Thatcher-

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.
-Gloria Steinem-

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.
-Zsa Zsa Gabor-

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
-Eleanor Roosevelt- ;D

--

stolen

Gaza og mørketid

2009-01-04T18:01:00.004+01:00

Tro ikke frosten som senker en fred
av sne i ditt hår.
Alltid er det på jorden et sted.
tidlig vår.

Tro ikke mørket når lyset går ned
i skumringens fang.
Alltid er det på jorden et sted
soloppgang.

Andre Bjerke

I guess I have a blog..

2009-01-04T17:50:00.004+01:00

And I have forgotten all about it.. Last time I wrote here I had a broken foot.. Well, this summer I broke my wrist, right hand.... Yeah, I know.

I live in Bodø now, a little further south than Hammerfest. Working as a webmaster.

Still single.

This is my most recent picture. Taken by Merika.

I hope I will start using this blog now for stuff. I think so..

My leg ... my leeeg!

2006-02-12T23:24:00.001+01:00

It's broken, I fell on the ice! Right ancle.. I'm in cast, for another 5,5 weeks and it sucks. Of course.

So that I shall no break down into tears and despair, I try to think of the positive aspects.. One is that I finally came round and had time to update my blogs. The other is that I have to relax.. and I needed that... I have really been stressed out lately. I have lots of projects that needs to get done, and maybe I will get round to them as well!! Yeah! The cat loves that I am home, because I am her favourite pillow. I am very warm to sleep on. Other positive things are that my friends have really come true for me.. they do my shopping, they wash floors and they are all so nice I'm overwhelmed.. so thanx!

Some other news about me. I have quit smoking.. its now almost 5 weeks since I last smoked! Yay for me! Today I ordered a new mobile phone, a Sony Ericsson W800i.. YAY! My first cameraphone as well... Can't believe I waited this long to get one. My job is busy but good. I am still single and it doesn't look like that will change for a good while. I want a car, too. I should get me a man with a car! :) Clever.

I am happy for now in Hammerfest. It looks like I will be here at least until august 06.

SommeR

2005-12-07T09:57:00.000+01:00

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: en ting jeg må komentere er din anti USA holdning, og sammenligner til det norske samfunnet

Helen says: ja det er min største fordom

Helen says: er du uenig

Helen says: kommenter ivei.. gjør du det på bloggen

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: jeg har ikke lyst til å gå inn i en dyp diskusjon for øyeblikket, men jeg kan vel ikke si meg helt enig i at Norge baer blir mer og mer amerikanisert

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: ikke enda

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: må sette meg ned og tenke godt etter først

Helen says: neida, så enkelt er det jo ikke, så klart.. men det er tendenser som kan peke i den retning at verden går til helvete og vi med den.. jeje

Helen says: og jeg skylder på USA.. fyyy.. noen må man jo skylde på. De skylder jo på muslimene.

Helen says: men vi trenger ikke ta den diskusjonen nå

Helen says: når du har tid, vil, gidder

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: joda

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: jeg forstår dine syn på usa når det gjelder dagens status i verden

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: er enig i at USA misbruker den "makten" de har

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: veldig

Helen says: *klappe på skulder*

Helen says: og så har de for mange rosa hus

Helen says: .. sorry *alvorlig mine*

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: men jeg føler at Norge ved å velge en rødgrønn regjering nå er mer og mer på vei bort fra USA

Helen says: jeg ser ikke at vi er på vei bort, bare at vi begynner å bremse litt på vei mot stupet Håndbrekken er det ingen som tør å dra, og det er jo like bra, for da går det jo rett i grøfta, men jeg ville gjerne sett full stopp og så helomvendig.. For å bruke masse metaforer

Helen says: Kanskje jeg kan bruke hele denne diskusjonen som et blogg-innlegg Er det greit for deg eller

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: for all del

Helen says: Kult! *lagre*

Helen says: jeg må desverre gå nå, skal faktisk gå og poste julegaven din

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: bare du ikke kritiserer meg og mine meninger nå r du skal blogge, men har et åpent sinn

Helen says: nei jeg tror vi mener ganske det samme.. tenkte bare jeg skulle lime denne diskusjonen rett inn jeg

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: der var läkerol eska tom så da tror jeg nesten jeg skal ta kveld jeg også

Helen says: ps: dette er mitt søskenbarn som skal bli ubrukelig akademiker som meg (presentasjon til bloggen)

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: er du flink i amerikansk styresystem...????

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: hehehe

Helen says: hm nei, egentlig ikke.. må innrømme..

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: hva slags styresett har vi egentlig i norg

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: norge ?

Helen says: Parlamentarisme

Helen says: Kongedømme

Helen says: demokrati Det har de ikke i USA

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: hva kaller vi det når vi har en regjering som tar alle valg og delegerer makt til distriktene ?

Helen says: Parlamentarisme.. eh.. lokaldemokrati

SommeR @ Dragvoll says: I usa har de federalisme men det har vi ikke her

Helen says: MÅ STIKKE *stikker av*

Jeg har kjøpt meg en fin pute

2005-10-30T13:22:00.000+01:00

Den er stor og brun i en slags fløyel med frynser på. Den kostet 350 kroner. Jeg bare måtte ha den. Jeg trenger en fin pute å hvile hodet på når jeg seg på TV og VIRKELIG skal slappe av! Så jeg fortjente den, ikke sant? Joda.

I dag skal jeg rydde i klærne mine og vaske badet. Jeg må ordne CD'ene mine også, de har ikke vært ordnet i på over to år, og det er fakta faen. De bare står der i en haug, og roter og vet verken ut eller inn. Det er cd'er der jeg har glemt jeg har.

Jeg har endelig fått bok nr.11 i WoT. Leser fremdeles på prologen, og har mange mange fine timer foran meg. Den er forresten fin å lese på den brune puten.

Utfordringen nå blir å gjøre alt jeg bør før jeg gjør det jeg vil. Kanskje jeg ikke fortjente den brune puten likevel? Jeg skal gå og gjøre meg fortjent til den nå. Håper jeg. Eller trenger den en skikkelig innkjøring, for å teste den litt, liksom? Nei, det er kanskje ikke nødvendig..

Glitterskog

2005-10-26T22:11:00.001+02:00

Kjørte gjennom Finland i går. Jeg kom fra Kirkenes og skulle tilbake til Hammerfest og da er det kjappest gjennom Finland over Karasjok.

Uansett. Store uendelige furuskoger. Så kaldt at det er frostrim på trærne. Det er krystallklar natt. Det er en rar fin kjempegul måne som ligger lavt lavt i horisonten - det ser ut som en kan kjøre rett inn i den. Nordlyset leker over himmelen og det glitrer glitrer glitrer i trærne. Det er minus 21 og jeg er alene i verden (bortsett fra de andre i bilen)

Kjøreturen tok 7 timer (ca.)

Spm og svar

2005-10-22T12:17:00.000+02:00

1. HVA HETER DU?
Helen

2. HVA SLAGS FARGE ER DET PÅ BUKSENE DU HAR PÅ DEG??
Lysegrønne army

3. HVA HØRER DU PÅ AKKURAT NÅ??
Svisj på NRK2 (vet ikke hva det er, men de sier mye 'smokin')

4. HVA GJORDE DU I GÅR KVELD?
Så filmen 'Don Juan de Marco'. Jeg har en quest - å få alle Johnny Depp
filmene! Det går framover. hehe

5. HVA VAR DET SISTE DU SPISTE?
Frokostblanding med Biolamelk

6. HVORDAN ER VÆRET HOS DEG AKKURAT ?
Opphold og snødekt, skikkelig vinterfint

7. DEN SISTE PERSONEN DU SNAKKET MED PÅ TELEFONEN?
Det var mamma, hun ringte i går.

8. DET FØRSTE DU LEGGER MERKE TIL HOS DET MOTSATTE KJØNNET??
Håret

9. LIKER DU PERSONEN SOM SENDTE DETTE TIL DEG??
Absolutt! En av de virkelig gode gamle vennene!

10. HVORDAN HAR DU DET I DAG??
Ganske bra. Skal til venninne og spise russisk kaviar i kveld og i
morgen skal jeg kjøre til Kirkenes. Det er full rulle.

11. HVA ER DIN FAVORITTDRIKKE?
Schweppes Lemon

12. FAVORITT ALKOHOLBASERT DRIKKE?
Martini Bianco, men det går som regel i øl eller rødvin

13. FAVORITTSPORT?
Fotball

14.HÅRFARGE?
Akkurat nå er det svart gitt.. sto på pakken det skulle bli mørkebrunt :(

15. ØYENFARGE??
brungrønne

16. SOLOPPGANG ELLER SOLNEDGANG?
Solnedgang. Står aldri opp så tidlig.

17. SØSKEN OG DERES ALDER??
Andreas, 27

18. FAVORITTMÅNED(er)?
mars, april, mai, august

19. FAVORITTMAT??
Pinnekjøtt, lapskaus, fårikål.. jeg er veldig norsk! Elggryte,
kjøttsuppe.. mmmm

20. SISTE FILM DU SÅ
Don Juan de Marco

21. FAVORITTDAG I UKA?
Fredag

22. FAVORITTHOBBY??
Oljemaling

23. ER DU FOR SJENERT TIL Å BE NOEN UT??
Nei

24. FAVORITTLÅT NÅ?
'Det årnar seg' (det gjør det alltiiiid, det kommer FIXA seg..) med Timbuktu

25. SOMMER ELLER VINTER?
Sommer

26. KLEMMER ELLER KYSS?
Klemmer

27. FORHOLD ELLER ONE-NIGHT STAND?
Forhold

28. SJOKOLADE ELLER VANILJE?
Sjokolade

29. VIL DU AT VENNENE DINE SVARER?
Ja klart det, men om de ikke gidder, fordi de har gjort det før, så er
det ok.

30. HVEM ER DET STØRST SJANSE FOR AT DU FÅR SVAR FRA?
Hmmm... Siv?

31. HVEM ER DET MINST SJANSE FOR AT DU FÅR SVAR FRA?
Tone B, siden hun alt har sendt meg på Blink, men svarer her, håper det
er ok :)

32. HVA SLAGS BØKER LESER DU?
Endelig Ikkerøyker (kremt...).. ellers fantasybøker som Tolkien og
Robert Jordan, men vil gjerne lese Alkymisten snart.. og jeg liker
norske bøker, som Erlend Loes, og jeg leser også bøker som heter 'why we
hate America'.. hehe

33. HVORDAN SER MUSEMATTA DI UT?
Det er en sånn man kan legge bilder i selv, så der er det bilder av pus
med kattunger og et bilde jeg tok av en vill løve i Afrika.

Det stormer

2005-10-14T20:36:00.000+02:00

ute, i vannglass og inne og inni. Været, Blink, Katta og noe personlig..

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.

Murmansk og Amnesty

2005-10-09T10:40:00.001+02:00

Det er mye å fortelle! Jeg har vært i Murmansk på Nord-Norge møte i Amnesty! Buss fra Kirkenes, gjennom Nikkel, forbi sovjetiske momumenter fra 2. verdenskrig, forbi flere passkontroller, forbi de ødelagte skogene i Nikkel, innom en skole i Nikkel der barna sang og danset og inn i Murmansk - en by med 350.000 innbyggere - 'metropolen i Finnmark'. Det tar ca. 5 timer å kjøre (uten stopp) og det går rutebuss fra Kirkenes to ganger om dagen!

Det visste du ikke vel? Russland er nærmere. Murmansk er nærmere enn Trondheim og nærmere enn Oslo.

Møtet var utrolig inspirerende! Som nytt Amnestymedlem sugde jeg alt inn - informasjon hva Amnesty er, informasjon om russiske problemstillinger, informasjon om 'konflikter' innad i Amnesty, om aktivistarbeid, om homofiles rettigheter i Russland, om barnefengsler, om hvordan russerne ser på vår behandling av våre eldre...

Bilder blir kanskje lagt ut på www.amnesty.no. Jeg orger det, og skal skrive ref.

Foreløpig kan du lese dette

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Menneskerettigheter er ikke knyttet til en persons handlinger, eller hvor mye penger han har, eller hvor gode karakterer, eller hvilken Gud han tror på. Rumsfeld sier "er jo bare terrorister"..

Amnesty tror alle mennesker er like mye verdt fordi vi er mennesker. Er det sant? Kan vi bevise det? Nei. Det er en påstand vi holder for å være sann. "Alle mennesker er født frie". Dette er ingen ny påstand. "Det du vil at andre skal gjøre mot deg, skal du gjøre mot dem". Dette gjelder mange religioner. Etter 2. verdenskrig ble det klart av vi trengte en gjensidig forpliktende avtale. Dette ligger bak menneskerettighetserklæringen. 1948. Landene kunne nå holdes til ansvar for noe.

Demonisering, avhumanisering, betyr å tilføre andre mennesker onde hensikter, farlige egenskaper, noe uønsket, gjerne knyttet til en merkelapp som gir oss 'rett' til å krenke dem.

Jøder
Hedninger
Kommunister
Terrorister
Psykoser

Disse 'samfunnsfiender' eller 'samfunnsbelastninger' brukes som tillatelser/ begrunnelser til å krenke rettigheter. Når makt føler seg truet, står menneskerettigheter i fare! Kampen mot terror er et eksempel på det, men dette skjer også i fengsler, mindre organiasjoner osv.

Utfordringer, i Russland og verden og Norge:

Vet ikke hvilke rettigheter man har
Myndighetene skjuler sine spor
Det er for få som bryr seg

(Kort ref. av tale av leder i Amnesty Norge, John Peder Egenæs)

---------------------------------------------------------------

- Bremsekloss for kulturlivet

2005-10-08T17:52:00.000+02:00

Ny rød-grønn regjering lover mer penger til kulturen, men Frp kan bli en bremsekloss for viktig kultursatsing, spesielt flerkulturell satsing, frykter folk i kulturmiljøet.

Frp gjorde sitt beste valg noensinne, og de har betydelig mer makt i Stortinget enn før valget. Dette bekymrer kulturnorge.

Til NRK.no sier Arnfinn Bjerkestrand i Musikernes Fellesorganisasjon at det er viktig å følge med på hva som skjer.
- Jeg er bekymret, særlig i forhold til det flerkulturelle aspektet, hvor jeg oppfatter at jeg bør kjøre hardt, og det mener jeg er ikke i kunsten og kulturens vesen, og ikke i kunstens ånd, sier han til NRK.no 14. september i år.

Synne Skouen i komponistforeningen sier i samme artikkel at Frp er direkte kulturfiendtlig.

Frp har en lang historie i kulturfiendtlig politikk. I 2000 sa de for eksempel, i en arikkel i Dagbladet.no:
"Dersom en kunstner vil leve av sine kunstneriske fremstillinger, bør vedkommende fremstille den kunst som er salgbar uten statlige støtteordninger."

Gjennomgående sier de at kulturlivet får klare seg selv. De sier for eksempel i sitt program:

"Fremskrittspartiet ser på teater som et viktig kulturtilbud, men ser det ikke som en statlig prioritert oppgave å gi driftstøtte til slike kulturinstitusjoner."

Omtrent alt skal være basert på frivillighet og næringslivsinteresser i deres program. De vil kutte NRK-lisensen og privatisere kommunal kinodrift. Om flerkulturell satsing vil ikke Frp løfte en finger. De sier i sitt program:

"Fremskrittspartiet ønsker å ivareta norsk kultur og kulturarv. Integrasjon av uttrykk fra andre kulturer bør foregå i et naturlig tempo og bør ikke være en offentlig oppgave."

• http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/kultur/5053057.html
• http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2000/09/18/219647.html
• http://www.frp.no/Innhold/FrP/Artikkelsok/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=13474

Liten statusrapport/ report on current status

2005-09-25T14:15:00.000+02:00

Jeg begynner i trives i Hammerfest nå! Gode venner, fine jobben! Skal til Kirkenes nå og holde kurs (hjelp)! Skal i samme slengen til Murmansk på møte i Amnesty avd. nordnorge! Det blir kjempespennende! Har nesten ikke rukket å tenke på det eller forberedt meg til det enda, men det blir utrolig moro, tror jeg.

Ellers har min kjæreste niese Aurora blitt ett år! Av meg fikk hun sitt eget lille domene: aurorajohanna.net... Følg med, følg med.. Hennes fader (bruttern) vil nok snart legge ut noe her mens vi venter på at Aurora lærer seg litt basic html (når som helst nå).

------------------------------------------
I'm starting to like it here in Hammerfest! Friends, nice job. I'm going to a local town called Kirkenes (close to the russian border) to hold a course (help)! And then I travel further to Murmansk in Russia for a meeting in Amnesty. I can't wait, it will be great.

My dearest niese, Aurora, has become 1 year old. From me she got her own netplace - Aurorajohanna.net.. Stay tuned here, her father (my brother) will update it for her until she learns the basics of html (any day now).

Hammerfest

2005-08-14T10:54:00.001+02:00

Kjedelig søndag. Det er ikke rein utenfor vinduet engang i dag. Skulle gått tur. Skulle ordna i CD'er. Skulle ha funnet Ozzy. Skulle ha vaska gulvet. Kjedelig.

Ny jobb, ny by. Litt ensomt akkurat nå. Hører på radioen. Veksler mellom P3, Kanal 24 og P4. Helt til det blir reklame. Over til P1. Over til P2. Klassisk musikk. Kjedelig. Over til P3. Sport. Over til...

Får TV på tirsdag. Med kabel. Har heldigvis bredbånd også, hjemme. Hjemme på Prærien.

Pus har orm. Igjen. Hun ligger i senga mi. Må skifte sengeklær.

Må skrive TO DO liste.

Kjederøyker.

Det interesserer meg ikke

2005-08-14T10:52:00.001+02:00

Det interesserer meg ikke hva slags arbeid du har.
Jeg vil vite hva du higer etter, og om du våger å
drømme om å møte ditt hjertes lengsel.

Det interesserer meg ikke hvor gammel du er.
Jeg vil vite om du vil risikere å dumme deg ut
for kjærlighetens skyld, for din drøm,
for det eventyret det er å være i live.

Det interesserer meg ikke hvilke planeter som
står i kvadratur i din måne.
Jeg vil vite om du har berørt kjernen i din egen sorg,
om du er blitt åpnet av livets mange svik,
eller om du har trukket deg sammen og lukket
deg av frykt for mer smerte.
Jeg vil vite om du kan bære sorgen,
min eller din egen,
uten å prøve å skjule den,
viske den ut eller prøve å lege den.

Jeg vil vite om du kan være i gleden,
min eller din egen,
om du kan danse vilt og la ekstasen
fylle deg til fingerspissene
og helt ut i tærne uten å be oss om
å være forsiktige, om å være realistiske,
om å huske begrensningene ved
det å være menneske.

Det interesserer meg ikke om den
historien du forteller meg er sann.
Jeg vil vite om du kan skuffe en annen
for å være tro mot deg selv,
om du kan bære beskyldningen
om svik og ikke svike din egen sjel,
om du kan være troløs og derfor troverdig.

Jeg vil vite om du kan se skjønnheten,
selv når den ikke er vakker, hver eneste dag,
og om du kan søke kilden i ditt eget liv i dens nærvær.

Jeg vil vite om du kan leve med nederlag,
dine eller mine,
og likevel stå ved bredden av innsjøen
og rope til den sølvblanke fullmånen: Ja!

Det interesserer meg ikke hvor
du bor eller hvor mye penger du har.
Jeg vil vite om du kan stå opp
etter en natt i sorg og fortvilelse,
dødstrøtt og med verkende lemmer,
og gjøre det som må
gjøres for at barna skal få næring.

Det interesserer meg ikke hvem
du kjenner eller hvordan du kom hit.
Jeg vil vite om du kan stå midt i ilden
sammen med meg, uten å vike.

Det interesserer meg ikke hvor eller
hva eller med hvem du har studert.
Jeg vil vite hva som holder deg oppe,
innenfra, når alt annet faller bort.

Jeg vil vite om du kan være alene med deg selv,
og om du virkelig liker ditt
eget selskap i øyeblikkene av tomhet.

(Oriah Mountain Dreamer)

null null null null null

2005-06-29T18:33:00.000+02:00

sier jeg på jobb. Null null null null null tanker i hodet. Eller en null null null null null tanker i hodet, egentlig. Samtidig. Det er mange tanker det, om null og niks og om alt. Bare en og halv uke igjen av denne jobben, så blir det endelig litt sommerferie på meg også! Med litt mere enn null kroner denne gangen.

Middelalderfilmer

2005-06-27T20:05:00.001+02:00

en post i gruppen: *Vi som skulle levd i middelalderen*
på blink.dagbladet.no

*Middelalderfilmer.. NOMINER!*
Skrevet av daewen 32 27. juni 2005 kl. 19.52

Ingen tvil om at det er mange bra filmer fra middelalderen! For moro kan vi jo lage en avstemning, men først bare nominere! Jeg foreslår at vi kan ha med også fantasyfilmer - altså med drager, magi osv. som Ringenes Herre, som på en måte lever i den alderen. Apropos sistnevnt, sjekk utdenne linken *grin* : http://live-artist.com/braindead.gif

FILMER til nomiasjon jeg kommer på i farta - de jeg har sett gir jeg
terningkast, de andre filmene må andre uttale seg om:

Ringenes Herre triologien *(Terning 6) :-D *
Kristin Lavransdatter *(Terning 4) :-) *
A Knights Tale *(Terning 1) >:o *
Den 13. Kriger (The 13th Warrior) (1999) *(Terning 5) :-P *
Sigurd Drakedreper (1989)
Brødrene Løvehjerte *(Terning 5) :-) *
Ronja Røverdatter *(Terning 5) :-) *

Og så fant jeg en link med masse: http://www.heimskringla.no/filmer/index.php
Her noen utdrag fra det:

Útlaginn (1981)
Veiviseren (Ofelas) (1987) (Terning 4)
Valhalla (1987)
Arns Rike (2004)
Øya ved verdens ende (The Island at the Top of the World) (1974)
Braveheart (1995) (Terning 4)
Erik the Viking (1989)
La Guerre du feu (Ildkrigen) (1981)
The Vikings (1958)
Ring of the Nibelungs (2004)
Prinsen af Jylland (Prince of Jutland) (1994)
The Long Ships (1963)
Hrafninn flýgur (1984)
The Saga of the Viking Women and the Voyage to the Waters of the Great
Sea Serpent (1957)
Tollsyn - sagnet om Jostedalsrypa (1994)

OG SJEKK DETTE: Skandinavisk vikingfilm
Den danske Pusher-regissøren Nicolas Winding Refn har endelig valgt å lage en skandinavisk vikingfilm. http://www.release.no/content/news/87594922 (+ Det kan også i samme omgang nevnes at den svenske regissøren Bo Svenson, som for ikke alt for lenge var å se som presten Harmony i Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), også arbeider med en vikingfilm. Handlingen i denne filmen tar utgangspunkt i en ung viking som ankommer Amerika 500 år før Columbus.)

....t...i...r...e...d....

2005-06-24T13:03:00.001+02:00

.............Are you tired?

.............Tell www.tired.com why.

I'm so very tired because this week I had to get up at 5am! Which is an absolutely horrendous thing to demand! I'm so very tired because I will start a new GREAT job in august so I don't feel that motivated in the job I have now - one of those 'just-to-get-cash' jobs. I'm tired so my english sucks, sorry about that. I am so tired of stupid customers. I am so very tired of the rain. I am so tired of sitting here writing about how tired I am. I'm going out for a sig in the rain now.. Bye!

A

2005-06-23T12:58:00.002+02:00

Jeg kan ikke fatte det.. jeg fikk A på min thesis!! Det er faenmeg beste karakter!! iiiiiiiiihihihihihihihihihihihii.... ufattelig utrolig..

I got an A on my thesis! I can't fucking believe it!

Birth Test .. I'm an 8!

2005-06-22T14:51:00.000+02:00

Birth Test:

Let the sender know your number. Once you have discovered your Birth number, forward this email to the rest of your friends, including the one who sent this to you. Put your "number" in the subject line! Have fun! Your birth date describes who we are, what we are good at and what our inborn abilities are. It also points to what we have to learn and the challenges we are facing.

To figure out your Birth Number, add all the numbers in the birth date together, like in the example, until there is only one digit.

A Birth Number does not prevent you from being anything you want to be, it will just colour your choice differently and give you a little insight.

Example: March 20, 1950
3 + 20 + 1950 = 1973
1 + 9 + 7 + 3 = 20
2 + 0 = 2

Keep going until you end up with a single digit number. 2 is the Birth Number to read for the birth date in the example.

1 THE ORIGINATOR
2 THE PEACEMAKER
3 THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
4 THE CONSERVATIVE
5 THE NONCONFORMIST
6 THE ROMANTIC
7 THE INTELLECTUAL
8 THE BIG SHOT
9 THE PERFORMER

READ BELOW FOR A SUMMARY ON YOUR NUMBER...

# 1 THE ORIGINATOR:

1s are originals. Coming up with new ideas and executing them is natural. Having things their own way is another trait that gets them as being stubborn and arrogant. 1s are extremely honest and do well to learn some diplomacy skills. They like to take the initiative and are often leaders or bosses, as they like to be the best. Being self-employed is definitely helpful for them. Lesson to learn:

Others' ideas might be just as good or better and to stay open minded. Famous 1s: Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Hulk Hogan, Carol Burnett, Wynona Judd, Nancy Reagan, Raquel Welch.

#2 - THE PEACEMAKER:

2s are the born diplomats. They are aware of others' needs and moods and
often think of others before themselves. Naturally analytical and very intuitive they don't like to be alone. Friendship and companionship is very important and can lead them to be successful in life, but on the other hand they'd rather be alone than in an uncomfortable relationship.

Being naturally shy they should learn to boost their self-esteem and express themselves freely and seize the moment and not put things off. Famous 2s: President Bill Clinton, Madonna, Whoopee Goldberg, Thomas Edison, Wolfgang Amadeus, Mozart.

# 3 - THE LIFE OF THE PARTY:

3s are idealists. They are very creative, social, charming, romantic, and easygoing. They start many things, but don't always see them through. They like others to be happy and go to great lengths to achieve it. They are very popular and idealistic. They should learn to see the world from a more realistic point of view. Famous 3s: Alan Alder,Ann Landers, Bill Cosby, Melanie Griffith, Salvador Dali, Jodi Foster.

4 - THE CONSERVATIVE:

4s are sensible and traditional. They like order and routine. They only act when they fully understand what they are expected to do. They like getting their hands dirty and working hard. They are attracted to the outdoors and feel an affinity with nature. They are prepared to wait and can be stubborn and persistent. They should learn to be more flexible and to be nice to themselves. Famous 4s: Neil Diamond, Margaret Thatcher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tina Turner, Paul Hogan, Oprah Winfrey.

#5 - THE NONCONFORMIST:

5s are the explorers. Their natural curiosity, risk taking, and enthusiasm often land them in hot water. They need diversity, and don't like to be stuck in a rut. The whole world is their school and they see a learning possibility in every situation. The questions never stop. They are well advised to look before they take action and make sure they have all the facts before jumping to conclusions.Famous 5s: Abraham Lincoln, Charlotte Bronte, Jessica Walter, Vincent Van Gogh, Bette Midler, Helen Keller and Mark Hail.

# 6 - THE ROMANTIC:

6s are idealistic and need to feel useful to be happy. A strong family connection is important to them. Their actions influence their decisions. They have a strong urge to take care of others and to help. They are very loyal and make great teachers. They like art or music. They make loyal friends who take the friendship seriously. 6s should learn to differentiate between what they can change and what they cannot. Famous 6s: Albert Einstein, Jane Seymour, John Denver, Meryl Steep, Christopher Columbus, Goldie Hawn.

#7 - THE INTELLECTUAL:

7s are the searchers. Always probing for hidden information, they find it difficult to accept things at face value. Emotions don't sway their decisions. Questioning everything in life, they don't like to be questioned themselves. They're never off to a fast start, and their motto is slow and steady wins the race. They come across as philosophers and being very knowledgeable, and sometimes as loners. They technically inclined and make great researchers uncovering information. They like secrets. They live in their own world and should learn what is acceptable and what not in the world at large.

Famous 7s: William Shakespeare, Lucille Ball, Michael Jackson, Joan Baez, Princess Diana.

# 8 - THE BIG SHOT:

8s are the problem solvers. They are professional, blunt and to the point, have good judgment and are decisive. They have grand plans and like to live the good life. They take charge of people. They view people objectively. They let you know in no uncertain terms that they are the boss. They should learn to exude their decisions on their own needs rather than on what others want. Famous 8s: Edgar Cayce, Barbra Streisand, George Harrison, Jane Fonda, Pablo Picasso, Aretha Franklin, Nostrodamus, and Ron Connolly.

#9 - THE PERFORMER:

9s are natural entertainers. They are very caring and generous, giving away their last dollar to help. With their charm, they have no problem making friends and nobody is a stranger to them. They have so many different personalities that people around them have a hard time understanding them. They are like chameleons, ever changing and blending in. They have tremendous luck, but also can suffer from extremes in fortune and mood. To be successful, they need to build a loving foundation. Famous 9s: Albert Schweitzer, Shirley MacLaine, Harrison Ford, Jimmy Carter, Elvis Presley

Helen
http://dae333.blogspot.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They
never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our
people,and neither do we."
George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
Americans Against War - http://www.iterapi.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------

INFP

2005-06-19T10:45:00.001+02:00

INFP
"Questor". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to
the world. High sense of honor derived from internal
values.
Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Helen
http://dae333.blogspot.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They
never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our
people,and neither do we."
George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
Americans Against War - http://www.iterapi.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally in Nidaros

2005-03-27T15:31:00.001+02:00

Summertime started today, the sun is shining, the snow
is smelting, everything feels great! Even though I am
still in limbo when it comes to everything, I am were
I want to be, at least for a while, and I see an
ending to old things and the start for new.

My niese Aurora says *nnnn bibibibibi Aæijyui...*

Sitter her i Bodø

2005-03-11T15:09:00.001+01:00

og ser ut over havet.. mens jeg skriver på tesen min...
Og jeg har det så bra, takk skal du ha! Jeg smiler og ler, .. tralalalala

Jeg vil være din venn, jeg vil være en venn, jeg ser at du faller, ser du at jeg faller, jeg vil reise meg igjen....

First email blog

2005-03-05T18:44:00.001+01:00

Just testing.. And I changed my blogger template look, and now one of my good friends get all my blogger postings directly to his email.. if he wants..

Stor klem fra Helen/ Hugs from Helen

Daelog

Æ drømme at vi får en vår
da undertrøkkinga på jorda stanse.
Ei ny tid kommer sjøl om fjellan står,
og det bli like fint å jobbe som å danse

(Fra Ellinors Vise)

Moose and Fishes

2005-03-04T14:59:00.001+01:00

My days living with my father is finishing soon. Here I have relearned how to quickly get the fire going in the fireplace for not to freeze to death. I am making dinner every day, and it is mainly fresh or very very very salted fish, or moose. The food is heavenly.

PRIORITY NR.1: Finishing my thesis.. All interviews are done. Waiting for feedback

PLAN FORWARD: Tuesday I am leaving for Bodø, where I will have a GREAT time at the dentist.. yeeeaaahh... yeah yeah.. 'cause I need to fix up a cracked tooth. More fun will happen with my friend Anne May, where I am staying. I hope to finish my thesis while in Bodø. Then I am leaving for Trondheim, to seak jobs and spend the days with my niese Aurora. That is my master plan. It better work out.

hei!! husker du meg?

2005-02-14T01:54:00.001+01:00

Lenge siden sist!! Tenker jeg bare hiver inn det jeg har rivd ut av meg i Blink idag! Er ikke så ofte jeg er så aktiv der heller da nå for tiden.

TV var først ('Cyber')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 01.43

Jeg er veldig enig i mye av det du (BirkDirk) sier, og likte veldig godt den linken, tusen takk for den!! Det du skriver og det linken sa, er temaer jeg skriver om i min masteroppgave (som jeg nå prøver for hardingen å avslutte i tide). Men jeg er kanskje litt mer opitimistisk enn deg.

Masseødeleggelsesvåpenet på det mentale plan er TV først og fremst. Idiotboksen. TV er noe du må ha rettigheter og penger for å sende. Uansett hvor mye dritt du kan finne på Internett, av de samme selskapene du finner på TV og ellers, så finner du også for eksempel sider med informasjon til mennesker i land som ellers bare får propaganda ned over ørene. Jeg snakker om asiatiske land og jeg snakker om USA. Dette har ført til (jeg har et eksempel her men jeg klarer ikke å komme på navnet på landet nå... mmmmm .. i Asia.. S'tri Lanka??) at korrupte løgnaktive diktatorer har blitt styrtet faktisk!! Du finner også Blink. Og folk som kun tenner på røde høyhælte sko finner folk som tenner på folk som tenner på at de har på seg røde høyhælte sko. Så NOE BRA skjer!! Spørsmålet er om det drukner så mye i all JUNK at det ikke vises for verdens folk?? For hvor er det folk surfer online, jo her på Dagbladet.no eller TV2, eller så søker de på Google, som lar de som betaler komme øverst på søkelista!! Jo! De finner neppe mine tanker om og løsninger på verdens problemer. Sånn med det aller første. Men kanskje noen gjør det??

Diskuterer gjerne dette videre, du hjelper meg, jeg må snart skrive konklusjon.

Som tidl. odelsjente.. ('Vi som skal flytte til skogs')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 00.49

føler jeg meg herved nødt til å gå til forsvar for den Norske Bondestand!! Den Fine Bygutt Birkdirk skriver:"Vel, bønder driver jo som kjent med dyr (og holder på med masse annet vi barn av nyere sivilisasjon har hevet oss over), og bønder tar seg skjelden tid til ekstra gleder. Bønder er trauste typer med en tiltrekning mot traktor, og de lukter vondt."

Bønder har ikke tiltrekning til traktor, men til snøscooter (eller skuttjæ) som de så riktig uttalte det i Team Antonsen. Og bønder lukter ikke vondt, bare like etter kl.7.30 og kl.19.30 hver dag.. altså like etter fjøstid før de rekker å ta dusjen. Dessuten lukter møker bare helt naturlig, og jeg hadde ikke noen problemer med at klærne mine luktet ku om våren da pappa sprøytet kudritt ut over alle nogenlunde horistontale flater i 3km omskrets fra huset (slik at vinden alltid brakte golukta med seg). Tar seg ikke tid til ekstre gleder?? Om vinteren sover de mellom 8.00 til middag hver dag, for da er det så mye snø at det ikke er noe å gjøre likevel. Å sove er jo godt, det er vi jo alle enige i!! Og MacGyver er jo uomtvistelig en glede!! Hver dag kl.14.00 tror jeg det er. (Det forklarer forsåvidt også sveisen på mange av dagens bønder, De Stolte Menn!) (Og Kvinner) (Men slik sveis er jo kult på kvinner synes jeg da, litt sånn pønk)

Jeg håper det nå blir slutt på tullete misoppfatninger om bønder, dette begynner å likne fremmedfrykt. (Takk Gud for at pappa har solgt gården og jeg ikke lenger har den fryktelige fristende muligheten å bli bonde hengende over meg)

Ja du rekkart du rekkart.. ('Politisk Debatt')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 01.13

'Jeg er så redd for at noen skal bruke atomvåpen i verden, at for å forhindre dette synes jeg vi skal sende en atombombe i hodet på dem i tilfelle de kommer til å gjøre det!! Å huffamegoghuffameg jeg er så redd'

Skremmende nyhet nr.2 ('Politisk Debatt')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 01.11

Det har kommet meg for øre om et land som har MASSE atomvåpen!! Og de HAR BRUKT DET!! Det må jo bety at de når som helst kan kommet til å prøve en gang til!! Dessuten nekter dette landet å skrive under på Kyoto avtalen, de har masse gjeld til FN og de har styrtet demokratisk valgte presidenter og satt inn morderiske diktatorer isteden!! Jeg håper noen gjør noe med dette snart!! Jeg synes dette er veldig skummelt. Landet?? USA! Seffern.

Fordommer mot FrP? ('Politisk Debatt')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 01.08

Nei, det ordet og FrP hører jo slett ikke sammen!! Det er slett ikke slik at når folket er redd for noe, så er de lettere å styre og overtale! Det er ikke slik det fungerer i USA i det hele tatt, det er nok helt andre grunner til at folk låser dørene 20 ganger og ligger med en revolver under puta. Nei, fordommer mot FrP? Fremmedfrykt er en helt naturlig ting!! FrP sier jo bare det alle vet, at muslimer ikke tror på Jesus og er noen fælinger, for eksempel!! Bare tenk, de sprenger seg selv i lufta!! Bare gale mennesker gjør slikt! Kors a meg og skrekk og gru. Det er jo slett ikke slik at når folk er opptatte med å sparke nedover, så glemmer de å se oppover der Makta og Penga sitter. Godt at Israel bygger den muren nå, slik at det blir litt Ordnung Muzz Sein der nede!!Nei, jeg har ingen fordommer mot FrP. For å ha en fordom er å tro noe som ikke er sant om noe. Og er det noe jeg ikke eier ubegrunnete tanker om, så er det FrP, denne fremtidsrettede og pensjonistkyssende Deilige voksbehandlete eple!! Jeg har absolutt ingen tvil om hva som kommer frem hvis jeg skjærer litt i det fristende epleskallet.

Ja du har naturligvis rett ('Politisk Debatt')
Skrevet av daewen, 14. februar 2005 kl. 00.59

Jeg synes alle burde få trykke sine egne penger!! At staten skal legge seg opp i alt mulig er jo bare tøv!! Jeg mener først så skattlegger de meg, og så mener de i tillegg at jeg må følge lover og regler og ATTPÅTIL bruke bare de pengene som DE trykker opp!!Er ikke dette et fritt land?? Jeg føler meg undertrykket og kneblet!! Mine rettigheter som individ blir TRÅKKET PÅ!! Alle burde få ha sine egne gullreserver og lage sine egne penger, som Onkel Skrue!! Om man også har teite nevøer (som Onkel Donald) eller andre godfjotter som arbeidere, kan man jo komme godt ifra det!! Den sterkestes rett!! Men Staten må jaggu holde veiene i orden, sørge for at noen henter meg når jeg går meg bort i fjellet og passe på slik at ikke Onkel USA invaderer oss når de føler det for godt.. ja eller Iran da, eller noen av de andre fæle muslimene, det er jo ikke godt å vite hva de kan finne på... Passe på og passe på!! Penger får de jo fra å krige litt og stjele olje fra de derre fæle muslimene, de fortjener ikke bedre, de tror jo ikke på rett Bok!! Ja så lenge jeg får gjøre hva jeg vil med mine penger så må de bare fengsle alle som sier noe kritisk mot regjeringen.. de er sikkert kommunister alle sammen!! Pføy for pakk

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Neida, dette er ikke genialt skrevet eller noe som helst, jeg bare er i litt sånn gi faen humør og håper at jeg klarer å provosere noen.

Books I want.. need.. must have.. is a must.. require

2004-12-06T09:37:00.000+01:00

Catch 22
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
1984
Cloudstreet
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Fortunate Life
Pride and Prejudice

My days in Australia

2004-12-04T15:55:00.000+01:00

is coming to an end.. My mother is coming here and we will travel around abit before I finally land in Norway again close to christmas. But it is going to be sad to leave Australia!

I'm also applying for jobs, via email. I really hope I can find a good job in Oslo or Trondheim, so fingers crossed! :)

Now I have to get back to that chapter 3...

My survey

2004-11-23T13:21:00.000+01:00

is finally coming along.. (for my thesis). It is only for users of Blink, so I will not post its whereabouts here...

Other than that time flies very quickly!! I am going home soon !! Right now I am trying not to finish chapter 1 while trying to finish chapter 1. I have already changed my cursor twice today, as well as slept a bit more.. but I have also worked... but I am still not quite happy with chapter 1.

... and I have obviously discovered smiley central

Got that out of my system... NOT!! hahahahahahahwhahahahahahahaha!

for sale

2004-11-14T15:06:00.000+01:00

$110	Sofa, white – KLIPPAN - IKEA. 2 years old, excellent condition. New price $225
$20	Table, small triangle black IKEA
$5	Chair, folded plast and metal, black IKEA. NICK New price 9,95
$5	Chair, folded plast and metal, black IKEA NICK New price 9,95
$20	Fan, white, tall, from Target.
$10	Weight, normal, white
$10	Linen Basket, red plastic medium
$10	Linen Basket, white plastic medium
$5	Linen Basket, white plastic small
$20	CD-player and radio, TEAC, small, round, blue, 1 years old
$5	Cooler Bag, small blue
$9	Hanging cloth rack, white, small, IKEA. Fits shoes. LINNAN. New price $19
$2	Waste bucket, small white plastic.
$10	Box with lid, and lock, black metal, big, IKEA (AVID) – new price for these are $49
$5	Box with lid, black metal, medium, IKEA (AVID)
$5	Box with lid, black metal, medium, IKEA (AVID)
$8	Basket with handles, black metal, IKEA (MUCK) New price $16
div	Div. Student equipment
$2	Poster, ‘Blow’ movie
$5	El-contact with 4 outlets
$10	Inflatable mattress, singel
$10	Inflatable mattress, singel
$1 ea	Towels, mostly white
$10 ea	Linens, for large doona
$20	Doona, 2 years old
$10	Pillow, 1 year old
$10	Pillow, 1 year old
$10	Couchpillow Purple
$10	Couchpillow ‘Furry’
$3	Couchpillow Heart w. arms, IKEA
$3	Couchpillow Heart w. arms, IKEA
$10	Huge pillow, purple,
$10	Huge pillow, purple
$20	Quilt, huge, red and warm. 1 year old. From Target.
$5	Quilt, purple, small, with frills.
$5	Quilt, purple, small, with frills.
$5	Quilt, blue, small, , with frills.
$5	Mat, floor, blue
$5	Waste bucket, big white plastic. Suits kitchen
$2	Bucket, for washing
$15	Toaster, white, Chief (1 year)
$25	Mixer, white, Breville (good for smoothies) (1 year)
$7	Frying pan
$10	Casserole, big
$8	Casserole, medium
$5	Casserole, small
div.	Kitchenstuff: Plates, cups, glasses, div. cutlery – mostly from IKEA
$5	Fruit basket, metal, IKEA
$5	Pirex bowl
$5	Plastic container big IKEA
$4	Plastic container medium IKEA
$3	Plastic container small IKEA

t w a n g ....

2004-11-14T15:04:00.000+01:00

... but the sun still do shine..

2004-11-13T04:37:00.000+01:00

.. and I did not loose a friend, although it was close... and hopefully I will be able to truly forgive.

I remembered something else I want for christmas:

Nemi books!
Lenore cartoons
Cartoons in general

I was out last night to a private coctail party with E&N.... I invented a new drink.. called Peach Virgin.. It was peach schnaps with tonic water and something red in it that turned the drink terribly sweet at the bottom.. LOL.. It was fantastic.

November is dark even in Melbourne

2004-11-11T12:34:00.001+01:00

I won't go into detail - but men suck.

However, there is some good news!! I just handed in my chapter 2 in my thesis, and my supervisor LOVED it!! He even said he enjoyed reading it!! And there I was thinking it was crap!! Anyway, all I have to do now is finish ch.1 during this next week (yeah riiiiight), then hammer down chapter 3 before mom comes dec.6... I just HAVE TO! So... that means..

No more procrastination!! Before ... mmm ... 7pm! And no more sleeping in!! Any longer than 11 am!! Ever!! There, that shouldn't be so hard??

Anyway, christmas is coming, so this is the start of my wishlist (in random order):

- Dum Dum Boys live DVD and CD (Dødens Dal).
- Johnny Depp movies (I still don't have Edward Scissorhands.. shocking I know)!!
- Giftcard to expensive make up (getting older, need it)
- A good professional wok
- A wellpaid interesting job
- That my cat comes back from her extended holiday to who-knows-where... (please don't be dead!)
- A good man that ain't stupid and don't deserve to rot in hell
- A horse (I always want a horse for christmas, and I will until I get one!)
- Giftcards to buy clothes
- A badgemaker machine!
- One of those tall mixers to make smoothies with

Web Cams = Bad News!

2004-11-01T16:59:00.000+01:00

At least if you got friends like mine.. These pictures of me are now online.. Cute, aint it? Ow, and that other girl, that is Tjorven, my former roomie!! (Btw. the villain was Elwe. Lucky for him he is in another continent.. USA to be exact... lol)

See, I'm not a nerd!

2004-11-01T03:14:00.001+01:00

Just a little bit!! You'll fin the test here at nerdbird

Your EuroNerd 98 score

Your EuroNerd 98 score is 20.49%.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

2004-10-30T05:14:00.001+02:00

Filmen ble veldig virkelig, egentlig.. Huff.. Har litt vondt i halsen.
The film kinda got a little bit roo real.. my neck hurts a bit today...

ssshhhh it's a secret

2004-10-22T17:05:00.000+02:00

Dark Chocolate!

2004-10-21T08:31:00.001+02:00

DID YOU KNOW THAT CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU?

"... chocolate can contribute a significant portion of dietary antioxidants, and the pleasure of pairing red wine and dark chocolate could have synergistic advantages beyond their complementary tastes."

"Chocolate may be a vital ingredient in fighting heart disease and the darker the better, researchers in America claim. In a study that will bring pleasure to cocoa addicts, confectioners and dentists, the winning recipe for good health would be to combine chocolate intake with red wine. Dr. Andrew Waterhouse and researchers from California University found that chocolate contains significant levels of phenol, which prevents oxidation of a specific type of combined fat and protein complex in the blood. Oxidation of these low density lipoproteins is known to be linked to furring of the arteries which can lead to heart attacks.

"Chocolate doesn't just tingle the tongue: it makes people feel good in some fundamental, undefinable way. No surprise, then, at a report in the current Nature. Chemicals found in chocolate, it seems, go after the same brain receptor system targeted by marijuana. …Unlike THC, the active ingredient in pot, chocolate's chemicals turn on only a few circumscribed regions of the brain. …But chocolate craving is evidently a real, physiological phenomenon. It's too early to tell precisely how the process works…"

"Chocolate could be good for you, especially if you sniff it. Its smell has been shown to boost the immune system …Scientists at the University of Westminster made the discovery while studying how pleasurable experiences affect the immune system."

"Here's more good news about chocolate: chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne … chocolate isn't so bad for your teeth. Because it melts quickly, it's less likely to cause cavities than you might fear. Better yet, several substances in cocoa actually inhibit cavity promoting bacterial growth. The fat (stearic acid) in chocolate doesn't raise blood cholesterol levels. … chocolate does seem to smooth the edges of a hectic day or stressful week. …So, just what causes chocolate's cheering effect? One current theory suggests that eating chocolate may help increase the amount of serotonin, a brain chemical that helps brighten your mood. "

http://www.chocolatebyjamieson.com/culture/chocoindex3.shtml

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Dark Chocolate Lowers Blood Pressure, and Dark chocolate -- but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk -- is a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.
"Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate ... and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."

http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/73/81921.htm?pagenumber=2

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pregnant women rejoice. Eating chocolate is good for the baby, say Finnish researchers.

http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/003273.html

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... flavan-3-ols, the main flavonoids found in cocoa, are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. "Cocoa contains the same nutrients found in other plant foods, including minerals and specific antioxidants that help ward off diseases such as heart disease". "What's more, researchers reported that Europeans living in the 17th century praised chocolate for its healing powers. They believed that chocolate 'comforted the liver, aided in digestion and made one happy and strong,'"

http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20030102212836_health_news.shtml

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HOW TO EAT CHOCOLATE:

"Chocolate is best tasted on an empty stomach. The proper temperature of the chocolate should be between 66 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Never put your chocolate in the refrigerator - it will cause the cocoa to separate and form a white 'bloom'."

"If you are trying several different chocolates, always start with the one that has the least cocoa, most likely a milk chocolate - unless it's white chocolate, which has cacao butter, and no cocoa at all."

"When tasting dark chocolate, let the chocolate sit in your mouth for a few seconds to release its primary flavors and aromas. Then chew it a few times to release the secondary aromas. Let it rest lightly against the roof of your mouth so you experience the full range of flavors. Finally, enjoy the lingering taste in your mouth."

http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20030102212836_health_news.shtml

Hello is this Mrs

2004-10-19T13:59:00.000+02:00

Duster? Hi, my name is Helen, and I'm calling for DØST BØSTERS!! (Dust Busters) May I just ask, do you have ducted heating in your home?? Yes, centreal heating. Yes? How long since you had it checked or cleaned?? We are in your area right now offering a free no obligation inspection of your ducted heating. Would you be interested in that??

Will you please also shoot me?

democracy

2004-10-14T05:57:00.001+02:00

the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

a way of governing a country in which the people elect representatives to form a government on their behalf a country with such a government the idea that everyone in a country has equal rights www.aph.gov.au/find/glossary.htm

Derived from two ancient Greek words demos (the people) and kratos (strength). A system of government in which governance of the people is by elected representatives. www.elections.act.gov.au/glossary.html

Form of government in which the people rule, either by directly voting on issues (direct democracy), or indirectly through electing representative to decide issues (representative democracy). members.aol.com/lshauser2/lexicon.html

A form of government in which the citizens share the power. pittsford.monroe.edu/jefferson/calfieri/government/Glossary.html

a democratic country has a government which has been freely elected by the people. Adults vote at an election for the government of their choice. www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/glossary.htm

Literally, the term means power of the people (combining the Greek words demos, meaning "the people," and kratien, meaning "to rule"). It is usually used to describe a political system where the legitimacy of exercising power stems from the consent of the people. Accordingly, a democratic polity is often identified by the existence of constitutional government, where the power of the leaders is checked and restrained; representative institutions based on free elections, which provide a procedural framework for the delegation of power by the people; competitive parties, in which the ruling majority respects and guarantees the rights of minrities; and civil liberties, such as freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion. www.indiana.edu/~ipe/glossry.html

Genus: Type of government Differentia: Rule by the people Comment: In true democracy, all government decisions are made by vote. Link: Article www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Dictionary.html

A form of government in which power is held by the people. The people exercise their power either directly or through elected representatives. www.teleschool.k12.hi.us/vw/glossary.htm

– a system of government in which people cast votes for elected representatives in a multi-party election. It comes from the Greek word "demos", meaning "people." Canada has a democratic political system. www.cbc4kids.cbc.ca/election/glossary.html

government by the people or their elected representatives www.ourheritage.net/Great_Adventures/Waterways_of_Russia/Glossary.html

A form of government that represents the people. www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/hancock/pol204/definitions.htm

Participation by the mass of people in the decisions that shape their lives; government by majority rule, with recognition of the rights of minorities; freedom of speech, press, and assembly; freedom to form opposition political parties and to run for office; commitment to individual dignity and to equal opportunities for people to develop their full potential. www.ptvincivilsociety.org/glossary.htm

Government in which the people hold the ruling power either directly or through elected representatives. The concept originated in ancient Greece but was in practice much different from what it is understood to be today. Democracy is used generally to denote political systems which operate with the participation and consent of the citizens, as through the practice of regular elections. www.pbs.org/democracy/glossary/print.html

Government by the people, either directly or through the election of representatives. We have a democracy in this country. It is also called a republic. members.tripod.com/~tutor_me/book/glossary.htm

A Republican form of government, a commonwealth. (Greek, demos-kratia, the rule of the people.) www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/data/341.html

a form of government in which groups of people, commonly known as ‘political parties’, compete to offer the most inspiring false promises www.gordonfamily.freeserve.co.uk/sp/humour/dictionary.html

democracy: 1: ~ a form of social organisation that is directed by the people; www.nephridium.org/features/anarchy/dissertation/glossary.html

, n. [Gr. *******; *****, people, and ******, to possess, to govern.] www.lexrex.com/catalog/web_def.htm

"Government by the people; political and social equality in general." New American Webster Dictionary 1972 www.1hope.org/glossary.htm

Greek: Demos (the people) Kratos (authority). System of government in which ultimate political power rests with a nation's population at large. Citizens have the right to participate in political decision-making. Democracy is not an Ideology, but rather an ideal that can be reached or embodied by various institutional arrangements according to one's ideological conception of Freedom, Participation, Rights, etc... www.jdar.org/dico/dico/D.htm

– a system of government in which political authority is held by the people; typically feature constitutional governments where the majority rules, a belief in individual liberty and in equal rights for all people, freedom of expression, political freedom, and freedom of choice. www.whitehall.k12.mi.us/curriculum/socialstudies/glossaryofterms.htm

You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point that you must first milk the cows, convert the milk to cheese, then sell all the cheese to pay taxes, then sell them both in order to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government. www.upliftingjokesandstuff.com/definitions3.htm

a form of government in which political control is exercised by all the people, either directly or indirectly through their elected representatives www.sde.state.sc.us/reports/ssframwk/glossary.htm

Am I living in a democracy? Use this simple test: www.citizenz.org/public_html/topics/1-demproc/dp-terms.html

A form of government that is elected and controlled by the people who live under it. sesd.sk.ca/dmerilees/Social%20Studies/citizenship%20glossary.htm

This Is Not Art

2004-10-06T05:51:00.001+02:00

... just back from the Student Media Conference in Newcastle, a part of the This Is Not Art festival!! I had a lovely time! Me, "Motherfucker', 'Skidmark' and Bob went together, and rented a house there together.

First it was sun, then it was rain, rain and rain, and then it was sun again. I learned a lot, but it's good to be home...

Links and info from the conference and the festival:

Electronic Art Links - go to TASTE

Freedom to write, freedom to read = PEN

http://www.energypeakoil.net

Animal lib

HERE IS NOT FOR CHILDREN

intimate converstations Intimate conversations hopes to capitalise on the wealth stored secretly in your in-box. With the low-tech materials supplied (typewriters, rubberstamps, idiosynchratic stationary ...) , or more contemporary items of your own choosing, we will synthesize our private SMS into (some kinda) public form. How? -is up to you.
Further info: http://tinywords.com, http://www.centrifugalforces.co.uk/web/, http://www.textually.org, http://sistero.sysxorg/sms/sms.html

Undergrowth. 'The future is here, it's just not widely distributed yet'. William Gibson. A nice quote from Undergrowth there, the digital magazine discuss counterculture in the 21th century, social and environmental writing and the challenge of creating a sustainable future. With Anto Skene, Nic Low, Rak Razam and Tim Parish. Check out Shelly Innocence, in Melbourne (all about happiness).

Peer casting. 'The Internet views censorship as a network failture, and routes around it.' John Gilmore. Mark Pesce talked about peer-to-peer technologies for sharing information on the net. A new word: PEER CASTING. Get the software from BitTorrent. More useful tech from DivX and X\eD. His lecture can be obtained from his website, and webearth. QUALITY WILL OUT!

Check out alternative online news: Buzzflash, Truthout, Crikey and GNN. (+ indymedia)

Pesce talked a lot about the new documentary OUTFOXED Rupert Murdochs War on Journalism, which was shown on the conference!! It was really relevant for my thesis, so I have to get a hold on it I think... Interesting is that one can download footage from the film for free (on bazaar). For now, I'll write a small review I think.. Yeah, why not!!

REVIEW:
It's impossible to outfox Fox News in their own game: being a shameless partisan for the Bush government. But OUTFOXED outfoxed Fox (quite a mouthful) in another game, a game that Fox News and Rupert Murdoch have no experience in: THE TRUTH! This documentary is scary - it was actually worse than I thought! Fox News are not doing journalism, they are pretending to be journalists under the shameless slogan 'Fair and Balanced'. It is quite amazing that they can get away with it! I hope this documentary will open some eyes, maybe make people thing! No matter how you stand politically, this is against any democratic idea of a free media. It is worse than the propaganda from the old communist regimes - and they said this in the documentary and I agre - because in USSR people KNEW it was propaganda. Do people know that Fox News are duping them? I hope they will soon!

Other documentaries worth seeing:
Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky zmag, zeitgeist
The Corporation
Control Room
Spellbound

And well, of course, Michael Moore.. and his Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11.

Me - lazy?

2004-09-27T07:59:00.001+02:00

What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

Red hot!

2004-09-27T07:31:00.001+02:00

You have Red Wings! Long, Luscious, red wings that
are as crimson as blood, bust as soft as the
clouds, you are very passionate and outspoken.
Go you! People admire you because you have your
firm opinion, and do not care what others think
of you. Youre very passionate toward life, and
will do anything to help a friend in need. You
believe in loyalty, Justice, and the famous
saying: What goes around comes around. Some are
jealous of you, but they never cloud your mind.
You dont need a boyfriend to complete you, and
would rather chill with friends. A born
leader-your wings are truly red, so you stand
out.

What Color are your wings?(Mainly for Girls)Beautiful Pix!
brought to you by Quizilla

My Soul

2004-09-27T07:26:00.001+02:00

You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be
poetry, writing or song. You love beauty and
creativity, and usually are highly intelligent.
Others view you as mysterious and dreamy, yet
also bold since you hold firm in your beliefs.

What Type of Soul Do You Have ?
brought to you by Quizilla

The TABU MONSTER

2004-09-26T19:30:00.001+02:00

.. grins you a big welcome to this last Tabula Rasa issue for 2004!

This is my last Tabula Rasa, as I will be going back to Norway after this semester. Thanks for picking TR up and reading it! We are very pleased that this year the magazine has gone from the stands quickly! I have had lots of fun making this mag, and if you are thinking about joining don’t hesitate! :)

This issue is coloured by the facts that elections are coming up, both student elections and federal. Don’t forget to vote! Tabula Rasa elections are also coming up, so if you want to have a say in who runs the mag next year, get in touch and become a member.

We have lots of interesting and fun stuff to read, so enjoy!

And yes, we do know how to spell taboo

--------------------------- Editorial Tabula Rasa issue 6 2004

I'm a Radical! And Justice!

2004-09-24T18:53:00.001+02:00

You are a Radical. Right on!

What kind of Sixties Person are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

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You are the Justice card. Justice preserves the
harmony of the world. Working with opposite
forces, Justice does not seek to criticize or
condemn but rather to accept. The idea behind
the card justice is that opposite forces are
complementary; you could not have good without
evil or light without darkness. Justice's
position is to make sure that if a thing is out
of balance, the weight of its energy is
realigned with its opposite force. This card is
also a card of humour, for it is in pointing
out contrary positions that humour is often
found. The attitude that is found in the
humourous person, being able to shift
perspective and flow with an instinct, is
important in the maintenance of good balance.
Image from The Blue Moon Tarot Deck.
http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/bluemoon.htm

Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm Galadriel!! And Neo!! (?)

2004-09-24T18:30:00.001+02:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.

What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Katz

2004-09-21T17:08:00.001+02:00

“Where conventional politics is suffused with ideology, the digital world is obsessed with facts.” (p.51)

“Fresh ideas, fearsome debates, and a bran new culture were rising out of the primordial muck, its politics teeming with energy.” (p.51)

KATZ, J., 1997. The Netizen: Birth of a Digital Nation. Wired.com, 5 (4), p. 49-52, p.184 – 191.

“The less connected people are the more ignorant of and alienated from politics they are likely to be.”

KATZ, J., 1997. The Netizen: The Digital Citizen. Wired.com [online]. Available from: http://hotwired.wired.com/special/citizen/ [Accessed July 2004].

Smith and Smythe

2004-09-20T15:53:00.001+02:00

“The ascendancy of the market over the state and inside the state (…) atrophies the public, closes political spaces, and further marginalizes the already marginalized.” (p.184)

“The Internet (…) creates a rather anarchic environment where information flows in a largely unmediated way, and can be shared so as to facilitate collaborative, rather than competitive, behaviour.” (p.194)

“(…) the growth of a global civil society facilitated by the rise of international technologies has the potential to enhance citizenship globally and domestically. By opening public spaces and making critical aspects of politics more relevant new information technologies are revitalising democratic institutions.” (p.203)

SMITH, P. AND SMYTHE, E., 2001. Globalisation, Citizenship and Technology. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) meets the Internet. In: F.WEBSTER, ed. Culture and Politics in the Information Age. London: Routledge, p.184-206.

hangover

2004-09-18T06:43:00.000+02:00

It was T's 21th birthday party yesterday!! And M's 24th. Many people, many norwegians, many mexicans, many samoans and germans. And more. And even some aussies!! E dropped by as well. It was a nice evening. So today I feel a bit groggy, is very thirsty and tired - ie. hangover. I have to go buy groceries though, as I need something to drink! Oh, I just remembered - I smoked 20 yesterday... baaad baad girl!! My throath is not feeling to well... sigh!! :(

Tomorrow is sunday. It will all be better tomorrow.

Eurobitch

2004-09-16T13:35:00.001+02:00

A fuckin fuck said this on his blog about me:

... My digital camera so I can take pictures of Helen doing this political protest. Then I'll make sure they 'accidentally' fall into the hands of immigration department officials. You see, people on student visas aren't allowed to participate in political protests, it's one of their visa requirements. (I warned that Eurobitch not to fuck with me)

I'm happy to be THE EUROBITCH!! Yeah!!

No comment otherwise.

apart

2004-09-14T05:09:00.001+02:00

he waits for her to understand
but she won't understand at all
she waits all night for him to call
but he won't call anymore
he waits to hear her say
forgive
but she just drops her pearl-black eyes
and prays to hear him say
i love you
but he tells no more lies

he waits for her to sympathize
but she won't sympathize at all
she waits all night to feel his kiss
but always wakes alone
he waits to hear her say
forget
but she just hangs her head in pain
and prays to hear him say
no more
i'll never leave again

how did we get this far apart?
we used to be so close together
how did we get this far apart?
i thought this love would last forever

he waits for her to understand
but she won't understand at all
she waits all night for him to call
but we won't call
he waits to hear her say
forgive
but she just drops her pearl-black eyes
and prays to hear him say
i love you
but he tells no more lies

how did we get this far apart?
we used to be so close together
how did we get this far apart?
i thought this love would last forever

the cure lyrics

'Case watched a drone ..

2004-09-13T09:36:00.001+02:00

.. microlight bank gracefully in an updraft at the greenverge of an artificial mesa, lit for seconds by the soft glow ofthe invisible casino. The thing was a kind of pilotless biplaneof gossamer polymer, its wings silkscreened to resemble a giantbutterfly. Then it was gone, beyond the mesa's edge. He'd seen a wink of reflected neon off glass, either lenses or the turrets of lasers. The drones were part of the spindle's securitysystem, controlled by some central computer.'

I'm finally reading 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson. It is very interesting, but it's also a hard read - because he uses a lot of words you could not possible know what means, and sometimes he doesn't explain them.. like mesa.. what the hell is mesa? It just hangs there, and you have to imagine what it could be from the context it is put in. It is sometimes fun, sometimes really annoying. But I am enjoying the book.

I have already written an essay about the book (check this blog on Sunday, March 28, 2004) , well, it's about sci fi literature and cyberpunk in relation to what is actual happening in 'cyberspace' today. Yes, I know, before I even read it.. I didnt have time ok, it was an assignment!

Many of the 'unknown' words in Neuromancer are actually real words today, like the matrix and cyberspace. Gibson was the first to describe what cyberspace is:

`Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimateoperators, in every nation, by children being taught mathe-matical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstractedfrom the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace ofthe mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding...'

The Sun

2004-09-12T05:38:00.001+02:00

I just asked my roommate E what I should write about in my blog today. I am sitting by the kitchentable eating my oakporridge wanting to write something profound. The sun is shining through the windows - it's a beautiful day! 'The sun' E said. Of course. The sun. The summer is warming the land 'down under' now - with promise of beautiful lazy days by the beach in St.Kilda, icecream and Melbourne Cup Day! I found this nice poem online about the sun. It is written by Mary Oliver.

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful

than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone--
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance--
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love--
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed--
or have you too
turned from this world--

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

But my sun is not the australian one, that burns your skin. No, my sun is the midnight sun - the one that never goes away. For me, it's not natural when its warm outside and dark at the same time. Dark=Cold, Light=Warm. And summernights are not for sleeping.

I guess this means I am starting to become a little bit homesick...

Gold Stones

2004-09-11T00:31:00.000+02:00

First when my doctor told me I had gall stones, I was sure she said 'gold stones'. I thought that was a way too nice a name for something so terribly painful (I had 'acute cholecystitis'). I have just returned home from the hospital after removing my gallblather with an easy 'key-hole surgery'. Almost no pain and up and about. Weird. But nice. And I still can't believe all the love and support from the friends and housemates around me!! It really meant heaps since all my family is in Norway and I am in Oz all by myself ('Travelling Alone') .. Note that I have never been to Kansas, though.

What ever should I do there? Especially today!

I keep calling the former twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York for the Two Towers. I know it was grusome, but it has a certain true ring to it. (Of course I am referring to the Two Towers the movie, not the book, as that is actually not exactly the same, but I will not go into that now.) I'm just saying that the two towers in the film was the towers of evil. So, yes, I am saying that USA is evil too, and that the attack did not 'come out of the blue', as the Media certainly made it look like 3 years ago. Nothing has changed by the way. Even though I do have red shoes. But as I said, I don't want to go to Kansas.

"... know what I mean?

2004-09-06T12:12:00.000+02:00

.. cause... where is the T's? There's one right there. These are the values, and when you get one value, you end up with T, so basically you multiply everything by T... because here is some pretty fucking complex shit... and we were all just like.. this is just fine.. this is the final temperature, initial temperature minus 398... have to find the constant first.. we only really have to get worried when they ask for a second temperature lalala.. oh, I worry all the time..."

No, I don't understand shit.. This is my roomate and her boyfriend and another bio chemist engineer scientist person that is discussing the next days lab or something... Let's just say that I am grateful that I have chosen something that is more vague.. in my studies 'nothing' is true or false, per say. It's more dynamic and you can always argue against almost everything.. Which suits me fine...

A cure for procrastination

2004-09-05T13:36:00.001+02:00

I have managed, after many minutes of hard work, to produce the CURE for procrastination. It was a long and hard process, of course - and the success only pure luck and chance due to my dubious intellect and imagination (which is of course otherwise is busy finding new ways to procrastinate, like writing a blogpost ...)

The cure has been painstakingly written down in a small green notebook on a day by day basis. Each day stating what I need to do, so that I know exactly how much I need to do. So what I need to do is do that it says that I need to do, in order to do what needs to be done. Easy.

Some dude named John Perry has written a little paper called Structured Procrastination. Here he states: Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important.

I can totally connect to what he is saying, and therefore perhaps I need to put down something even MORE important to do so that I can avoid doing, so that I can get my thesis done.. Don't really know what that could be... hmmm.. If one of you (my 3 readers (?)) have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear about it! Perhaps world peace? I dreamt of George Bush the other night. It was a nightmare... because I forgot to punch his face!! Talk about being a disapointment to myself..

* LIBRARY REMINDER *

2004-09-03T09:20:00.000+02:00

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..

2004-08-30T09:48:00.001+02:00

Procrastination

This is an act of procrastination
Words are swimming, need of trimming
Ready for my education, castration
Way too much stagnation

I need an act of easy stimulation
Feelings non-empowering, hovering
Around globalisation, crisis of the state, the nation
Everything is masturbation

This is an act of procrastination
Beats pulsating helps me, diverts me
Pulls me into the radio station, alienation
I need this simple violation

Smokescreens

2004-08-25T09:21:00.001+02:00

Editorial Tabula Rasa Issue 5 2003 - DRUGS

It is elevating to be free. The cigarette’s smoky tendrils still try to wrest excuses out of my brain to light up ‘just one more’. However, I am not fooled anymore! The craving that I felt was not for anything substantial, it was a ‘smokescreen’, a hallucination of a ‘crutch’, a ‘friend’ or a stress relief. It’s none of those things, its pure poison, written clear as day on the package. Nicotine is the worst drug I have ever encountered personally, and I hope I never ever start again!

Do you have a drug? Is it a good or a bad one? What is a drug to you? Check out the answers in Vox Pops this time. A drug can be many things. Not all can be studied in a microscope.

Remember when you were a child, quarrelling and squabbling over who should be the pirate and who the cowboy, who was ‘it’ and who friends with whom? We can see this power struggle in today’s politicians sometimes, and it is quite ludicrous. Sometimes people that are around you on a daily basis can start behaving like snivelling brats as well. Sometimes too much sugar or too little caffeine just can’t justify it. The sad part is that by backstabbing, lies, gossip and childish pranks, friendships may be ruined and days darkened for everyone for no good reason. It is quite frightening to behold when it start spreading as well, like some kind of virus. It must be a terrible drug to become addicted to, especially because it too is just a smokescreen. Beware that you do not become caught up in it.

Editorial Tabula Rasa Issue 4 2003 - LIES

Winter is still keeping us inside, but as long as you got something interesting to read - like Tabula Rasa - and a cup of something warm, it’s endurable. Enjoy this very interesting issue we have called LIES.

Some of you have probably noticed how much our issues relate to a theme. We will continue to do so, but this does not mean we will not print articles that don’t ‘fit’. If it’s good, we print it – eventually. So please keep sending in your good articles! Maybe you have written an exceptionally good essay? Send it to us! Get published, get famous! We also welcome students that want to be active members of Tabula Rasa, of course, either as journalists, photographers, illustrators, proof-readers or whatever. Check out our website to see how to get involved.
So why LIES? When we choose a theme, we first look at what kind of articles we got, and if there is a recurring tread, that’s a theme! This time, it’s a lot of politically orientated articles, so LIES surprisingly seemed to fit..

thesis faesis ...

2004-08-18T07:12:00.000+02:00

ok that is a bit harsh.. I know.. I love my subject and all, it is interesting... just sometimes it is hard to start tackling the huge stack of books I have to read.. and read every day for a long time. I am doing it though, and I have made a plan and everything. It will be all good!!!

Right now its TR weekend again. I try not to spend too much time there, but it is my 'job' kindof, since I am getting paid and all.

Yesterday I went with E&N to kick some ball in the park.. we even played some 'basse'!! That was fun.

I am sorry I have been neglecting my blog for so long, I will not do that again. Just somehow I feel I have to write just clever things here... which is bullshit of course! I write whatever I damn please.

I miss Joppe

Allow me to reformulate

2004-08-01T04:07:00.000+02:00

my last post. Wireless at Swin sucks!! At least from my room. Every time (or almost) the train whizzes past my window, the wireless drops. $^#&*$@*****@!$@#%&^

wireless bliss...

2004-07-09T12:33:00.001+02:00

I have wireless Internet in my room! I have high speed wireless Internet right here where I have all my stuff! Fanfuckingtastic!! And it's free too!! Thanks to Swinburne!! (Thank you Swinburne!)

Get ready from more action on this blog... I don't know if anyone ever reads it, though.. lol... hmmmm

tabula rasa

2004-06-27T20:22:00.000+02:00

…I love the smell of Tabula Rasa in the morning…
…Gimme some Tabula Rasa, baby…
…Ask not what Tabula Rasa can do for you, but what you can do for Tabula Rasa…
…Go ahead, make my Tabula Rasa…
…Just when we thought all hope was lost, our noble Tabula Rasa has arrived…
…My precious…

Democracy or Mediocracy?

2004-06-15T04:34:00.000+02:00

An Essay in “Globalisation; Media and Communication”, Master of Arts in Communication, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 2004

Norway: a democracy or a “mediocracy”? International media corporations & cross-media ownerships - a threat to democracy in Norway?

The media has from the start had an important role in any modern nation that desires to call itself a democracy. I will discuss whether large international media corporations and cross-media ownerships are threatening the Norwegian democracy, with the help from examples from comparable countries in Europe. With comparable countries I mean countries, mainly in Western Europe, with similar social, political and economical structures that consider themselves democracies. First I will define democracy and place the media in a democratic context, before looking at the contemporary European media industry, especially UK. Then I will take a short look at the organisation and history of the Norwegian press, before looking at these circumstances in relation to current debates. I will use some Norwegian sources, and some of the used quotes are translated by me.

What is democracy? Democracy has it roots in ancient Greek; 'demokratia' –meaning 'rule by the people'. Today the concept is complex and contested, both in justifications and practical implications. (Gutmann, 1995) The most common type of democracy in contemporary Western Europe is the representative democracy and within this a three way split of power: the executive, legislative and judiciary ‘power’. The significance of a free press is deeply rooted in the idea of democracy, and is ‘the watchdog over the workings of democracy' ('According to classic liberal theory, as expounded most famously by Fred Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbud Schramm in Four Theories of the Press, "the underlying purpose of the media was to help discover truth, to assist in the process of solving political and social problems by presenting all manner of evidence and opinion as the basis for decisions". In order properly to fulfill this purpose, the media needed to be free from government controls or domination, since its prime duty was to "keep officers of the state from abusing or exceeding their authority. It was to be the watchdog over the workings of democracy, ever vigilant to spot and expose any arbitrary or authoritarian practice.' (Petley, 2004)). It is often referred to as the ‘fourth estate’.

Europe

A report from 2003 by EFJ concludes that there are major threats in Europe’s media landscape. Some of the threats identified are political and private threats to public service broadcasting, power over global media in the hands of few, more and more media concentration, threats to emerging markets in Eastern and Central Europe and regulation getting weaker as media power grows (William, 2003). The rapport shows that in the United Kingdom, the Communications Bill, published in May 2002 and updated in 2003, will drastically liberalise media ownership and regulation (One controversial proposal is the lifting of cross-media ownership-restrictions, so that potentially, Rupert Murdoch’s UK-based News International could acquire TV-channels in the UK even though he already is a heavy player in the printed press). Petley (2004) argues that the media in the UK no longer can be called the ‘fourth estate’ – he says the reason for this is simple: self-interest ('The reason for such comprehensive abandonment of the ideals of the fourth estate can be summed up in one word: self-interest. Murdoch routinely uses his media to support governments that support his business interests.'), and he quotes John Kean who renames media to ‘the marketplace of opinion’ (Petley, 2004). Petley continues with examples from Murdoch's dealing, for example his Chinese ‘Star’ satellites deal. When his own HarperCollins wanted to publish a book critical of the Chinese by the former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten, Murdoch stopped it, saying 'Let someone else annoy them'. Petley also quotes from Bruce Page's recent book 'The Murdoch Archipelago' about politicians and the press: 'fear moves them as fully as admiration' and 'find themselves in a dance of folly which has at least the potential to be a dance of death for democracy'. Petley concludes that the idea of the press as a fourth estate needs to be put to sleep once and for all.

James Curran (2002) says that media conglomerates have been able to persuade governments around the world to ease monopoly control (‘(…) a one-sided protection of our freedoms: a state of constant alert against the abuse of state power over the media, reflected in the development of numerous safeguards, not matched by an equivalent vigilance and set of safeguards directed against the abuse of shareholder power over the media.Indeed, one consequence of the current quiescence is that media conglomerates have been able to persuade governments around the world to ease monopoly controls. In the 1980s, lobbyists argued that these were redundant since the advent of new communication technology would lead to the break-up of media empires. Now the argument is more frequently heard that media ‘consolidation’ is necessary for success in the competitive global marketplace’ (Curran, 2002).). The European Parliament has also failed to put limits on the ownership of media (’ The European Parliament has, on more than occasion, expressed the need to deal with the megamedia threat in Western Europe; and twice the European Commissioner for the Internal Market has proposed a directive that would deal with the ‘merger mania’ and put limits on the ownership of media. Through late 1997, however, the powerful megamedia and their political allies had repeatedly beaten back the establishment of any such rules’) (Alger, 1998, p.213). It is almost inevitable that big media corporations like News Corporation, Disney or Time Warner will take advantage of liberal rules and use it to increase their already substantial multinational cross-media ownerships, by merging and converging with any type of media, expanding their control in already established areas as well as new markets. Dean Alger talks about a ‘Megamedia Era’ that started with Murdoch’s purchases of newspapers in the UK and the US in the 70’s. (Alger, 1998, p.5)

Norway

What about the Norwegian market? Norway is the best country in the world to live in according to the UN (BBC, 2002) with a population of only 4, 5 million. They are spread in a long thin country that borders to Sweden, Finland and Russia, and by sea to Iceland, the UK and Denmark.

One of the most important media commentators in Norway is professor Sigurd Allern. His book ‘Kildenes Makt’ (The Power of Sources) from 1996 is a major reference in Norway, as are his later works, despite media suspicion of his revolutionary past . In Allern’s book from 1996 he says that any debate about Norwegian press always starts with a ‘homage to the diverse press’, mainly because of two historical circumstances. Norway is sparsely populated, and the local newspapers have always been an important part of the identity of local communities and small towns (Allern, 1996, p.116). The other important historical circumstance is the close connection between the development of newspapers and political parties. Readers in the cities earlier had a choice between several different newspapers of different political colours (Allern, 1996, p.116). Most newspapers today are independent from political parties, but some still has ties to the left or right. Most #2 and #3 newspapers in many cities have disappeared today, but this ‘newspaper death’ was mild compared to others . Norway is currently number one in the world when it comes to newspaper circulation, with 559.81 per 1000 people (Nationmaster.com, 2004), and about 220 newspapers (Østbye, 2000, online). An important reason for the continued variety of newspapers in Norway is the ‘Pressestøtte’ (press subsidy), as well as tax exemptions (Østbye, 2000). (Professor Helge Østbye is also an important media commentator in Norway. ‘Helge Østbye (born 1946) is professor at the Department of Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norway. His main research interests are media structure and media development. He has previously written about the Norwegian media structure in 'The Media in Western Europe', 'The Euromedia Handbook' (London: Sage 1992, new edition 1997). He has also written textbooks in Norway media studies in Norwegian.’ (Østbye, 2000, online). ).

The Norwegian media legislation doesn’t allow more than 1/3 of the total newspaper and broadcasting market to be own by a single entity, this to prevent the concentration of media ownership in too few hands (Fosland, 2004). Not surprisingly, there are three major players: Schibsted, Orkla and A-pressen (Allern, 1996, p. 126-138). In 2000 they had 55-60 per cent of newspaper circulation as well as major shares of broadcasting (‘Two of the major newspaper owners (Schibsted and A-pressen), are major shareholders in TV 2, while the third important shareholder is the Danish multimedia company Egmont, which has been present in the Norwegian magazine market since the 1920s. TV 2 is a major shareholder in TvNorge, but 51 per cent of the shares are owned by the American group Scandinavian Broadcasting System (SBS)’(Østbye, 2000). They have also moved into the new media markets with for example online newspapers and portals.

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik addressed the problems of market liberalism in a global world in 1998 (Bondevik, 1998):‘The perpetual pursuit of short-term profit by international currency brokers is increasingly being seen as a threat to democratic control.’ One can therefore argue he is aware, even though a new proposition by ‘Kultur- og Kirkedepartementet’ (the Ministry of Church and Culture) now wants to increase the limit for national media ownership from 33% to 40%, as well as making it harder for local and regional authorities to stop media concentration – with a regional limit of 60% (Eierskapstilsynet, 2004).

Norwegian broadcasting began with the publicly owned NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting - Norwegian State Broadcasting). Like the BBC the NRK was to be a ‘public service’, unbiased and objective. In 1991 the privately owned Norwegian TV2 was allowed to go on air, with certain demands; – it had to reinforce the Norwegian language, identity and culture. Several channels also broadcast Norwegian television through satellites. NRK was turned into a joint stock company in 1996, and thus the channel NRK2 and several NRK Radio channels emerged. The NRK is still ad-free, but can now obtain sponsors for its shows (Allern, 1996, p.136). In Norway there is also one national private radio channel as well as many local radio stations. The report by EFJ from last year shows that NRK1 is the most popular TV channel (38%), but that TV2 has provided competition and challenged NRK’s position (31.5%). Norway’s cable market is dominated by Telenor (Telenor – the biggest telecommunication operator in Norway, and has a history as the state monopoly institution) and UPC Norge (42% market share), and Telenor is the main telecom provider, and active in the satellite and multimedia markets (Williams, 2003).

Allern concluded in 1996 that: ’The Norwegian media market is still more diverse than in many other countries. But the tendencies to concentrate are, as we have seen, strong. Large capital groups dominate.’ (Allern, p.142) and ’Cross-ownership is in reality being encouraged rather than prevented. It is the editorial teams in these corporations and chains that now primarily influence which news become news in Norway’ (Allern, 1996, p.143).

Democracy challenged

I have not seen any evidence that points against Allern’s conclusion from 1996 to still hold true. But why is this bad news for democracy? Media and democracy have mostly been linked together in debates about unfree media in totalitarian regimes. The government has historically been the main objective for the ‘watchdog’ to keep an eye on. This issue is still an important one, and in my search on the Internet for ‘democracy and media’ I got far more hits on this issue than my primary one about media companies. It is almost easy to dismiss any criticism about the media being too free, compared to the problems journalists face in other parts of the world. But in light of media concentration and globalisation, every country can be affected by the power and the reach of big, mostly western, corporations. The ‘watchdogs’ are meant to keep an eye on the government, but Julian Petley (Julian Petley is chair of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and professor of film and television studies at Brunel University in the UK.) (2004) says about British media that corporations and private interest have taken over many previous state functions, and among these, media corporations ‘loom ever larger and more powerful. As James Curran has put it: 'the issue is no longer simply that the media are compromised by their links to big business: the media ARE big business.'

The ‘True Globalists’ (Examples being Rupert Murdoch and Manuel Castells) says that large multinational corporations are best equipped to service the demanding communications needs, that the cultural homogenisation that naturally follows is positive because it highlights similarities rather then differences in people, and that a similar understanding of the world is a positive thing (Barr, 2002). ‘Some argue that conglomerate control is much more limited and much less worrying than state regulation (Beesley, 1996)’ (Street, 2001, p.128).

I will argue that when the media itself is ‘big business’, it gets a problem of integrity, since democracy needs the media to be a watchdog over both governments and market players. ‘If the public has reason to doubt the independence and integrity of news operations, a vital part of democracy is damaged’. (Alger, 1998, p.13). Silvio Berlusconi did a good job in destroying the integrity of the Italian press (‘(…) the private concentration of symbolic power potentially distorts the democratic process. This point is underlined by the way in which Silvio Berlusconi was catapulted into the premiership of Italy without having any experience of democratic office’ (Curran, 2002). I will also argue that the media need to be diverse and plural to make sure that as many different voices as possible get heard in the public debate. The media has a major influence on public opinion (’A number of social science studies have shown that the media are powerful agendasetters for the public and have a significant impact on the political prosess’ (Alger, 1998, p.5). When media companies become big business, it is natural for them to use the power they got in order to further their own political interests. We have seen examples of this from the News Corp. in the UK, where Murdoch has supported conservative and liberal political views in his newspapers (’(..) Rupert Murdoch, (..) was very influental in Britain during the Tory governments of Thatcher and Majors). When the big players are allowed to remain big and grow even more, it also becomes harder for new players to get a foothold. To start up a new media company you need receivers for your message, and if they are not there, the sender gets no money from advertising to continue sending the message (unless it is otherwise funded). One argument is thus that new voices are muffled already in the start, a claim supported by CNN founder Ted Turner (Ted Turner wrote in the Washington Post in USA recently that the latest liberalisation proposal over there would "stifle debate, inhibit new ideas and shut out smaller businesses trying to compete" and “if these rules had been in place in 1970, it would have been virtually impossible for me to start Turner Broadcasting or, 10 years later, to launch CNN”.) .

‘The number of mass medias has seen an explosive increase, but the UN resolution concerning ‘free flow of information’ is in reality a freedom primarily reserved for those with resources, i.e. large industrial countries like the USA’ (Allern, p. 112).

In Norway, the three big media companies (Schibsted, Orkla and A-Pressen), are nothing compared to the international ‘mega media’, but they are still three major voices. Despite regulations it is still difficult to start competing newspapers in Norwegian cities (One example is ‘Bodøavisen’, who died just after a few months when it tried to compete against ‘Avisa Nordland’, who is the merge of the former #1 and #2 newspapers in the city of Bodø). However, the three big players in Norway are basically on Norwegian hands, and Curran (2002) argues that we are still in an early stage of global media concentration – the market is still fragmented, he says (‘(…) we are still at a relatively early stage of what will almost certainly be a continuing process of global media concentration. While the dynamic shift has been towards the increased global integration of media markets, the global media system is still fragmented. The ownership of television, radio and the press, in most European, Asian and Latin American countries, is still predominantly national rather than global – something that cultural globalisation theorists repeatedly ignore’ (Curran, 2002).). Another argument is that the media has a very strong ethic base, with common guidelines written down in a ‘Caution Plaque’ (Vær Varsom plakaten - ‘This Plaque states: ‘One of the most important institutions in a democratic society is a free and independent press.’ The Plaque also states that the press preserves and performs a number of important, democratic tasks such as information, debate and social criticism. The press is to protect free, open debate, free flow of information and free access to sources’ (Allern, 1996, p.39).) and in a common understanding of what defines a news story (The norms of news institutions exist partially as unspoken, common forms of understanding amongst members of the press and broadcasting, about what defines a news story and what rules of genre it must comply with. We also find these norms stated as explicit ethical guidelines concerning what defines good press ethic; the Norwegian media’s Caution Plaque is an example of the latter’ (Allern, 1996, p. 19).). On the other hand, one can possibly argue the same for UK, where the Times has a strong historical significance. Now it is in the hands of the Australian American Rupert Murdoch.

New Media and ’the return of voice’

In the age of globalisation sometimes the talk about ’old media’ and ’new media’ make it seem like the ’old’ media is dead, but we still watch TV, and we still read newspapers (even the printed version). The New Media, as in CMC (Computer Mediated Communication) and the Internet, can be argued in a technological determinist way as being the answer to the ‘crisis in democracy’ (Flew, 2002, p.184). Flew describes this crisis as a lack of control by the nation state because of globalisation, less participation in political parties and a reduced commitment in civic and social institutions (latter as described by Manuel Castells). Malcolm Waters (2001, p.94) says that ‘the nation state might be thought to be the chief victim of globalisation’. These are great democratic problems, and the argument about the Internet being the answer to them is oversimplification. It is true that the Internet and especially the World Wide Web allows people to communicate on a global scale in an equal setting to enjoy a liberating freedom of speech – as there is no real censorship. ‘Everyone’ is on the ‘net’ if we are to believe the hype. 'Millions have flocked to the Net in an incredibly short time... (..) The spiritual lure of the Web is the promise of the return of voice.' (Levine, 2000). On the net people have a voice and they are using it, and it might spill over in other areas of democracy because of the easy availability to information, from both NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and government institutions. The Internet therefore has a potential to be a good ‘media-champion’ for democracy, with possibilities like E-democracy, E-government and global debate. The problem of course, is that the Internet is not available for about 92% of the population worldwide. In Norway however there were 2.68 million users in 2002, which means that 589.51 per 1000 people are Internet users, #5 in the world (Nationmaster.com, 2002). This number suggests that Norway has a better chance of using Internet for democratic purposes than most countries in the world. Flew however says that the value of Internet must not be overstated, as it has not ‘ushered a new age of ‘athenian’ democracy’, but that there have been changes in contemporary political life if Internet is seen as a part of a wider mediasphere (Flew, p.183).

It is true that when we look at new media, we need to take into account that the ‘old’ media has converged with the new. Newspapers have web pages, radio stations can transmit to anywhere in the world due to digitalization of sound, and television companies are moving into the interactive era, using both the Internet and mobile phones, but this is why the Internet is also part of the problem. Rushkoff (2003) is almost utopian when he talks about his ‘network-enhanced democracy’, but even he says that it will require a new way of thinking (‘The implementation of an open source democracy will require us to dig deep into the very code of our legislative processes, and then rebirth it in the new context of our networked reality. It will require us to assume, at least temporarily, that nothing at all is too sacred to be questioned, reinterpreted and modified. But in doing so, we will be enabled to bring democracy through its current crisis and into its next stage of development’ (Rushkoff, 2003, p.57). The Internet is not cut off from the rest of the world; it is very much a part of it – and already in the grasp of the ‘media moguls’. They own the big media ‘brand’ names and they are the ones that most people know about – the ones that people seek out for news. People still read Rupert Murdoch’s ‘The Times’ – it doesn’t really matter if they read the printed version or the digital version. The major media corporations are getting more and more access to the world, as they have the money and the political power to do so. Their voices are heard in a much greater scale and much louder as well.

Globalisation

The Internet is strongly linked to globalisation, it is perhaps even the greatest tool of globalisation. Anthony Giddens (1998, p.30) says it well; ‘The most important change is the expanded role of the world financial markets, increasingly operating on a real-time basis.’ People might be debating in real time chat rooms, but the media-markets are never asleep. Critics say that globalisation is the worst form of cultural imperialism, and is in reality not a globalisation but an ‘Americanisation’ (Barr, 2002). Albert Einstein once said; ‘Information is not knowledge’. Songok Han Thornton agrees: ‘If the Net fails to produce a virtual community at the national level, it all the more fails on a world scale. The idea of a "global village" is a geocultural misnomer. The Web is controlled and populated by First World nations that "push" information and values onto an all too receptive periphery. As Herbert Schiller and Cees Hamelink argue, this global imbalance is widening. Indeed, within the geocultural core there is another kind of "push" taking place: that of blatant Americanization’. (Thornton , 2002)(Songok Han Thornton is a doctoral candidate in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung). This globalisation knows no borders, is under no restrictions from governments and thus also makes Internet a ‘democratic foe’ in the case of national identity and culture.

‘A propagandist system will always have a tendency to split the world in two. ‘Us’ vs. ‘them’ and ‘good’ vs. ‘evil’’ (Allern, 1996, p.32).

Allern quotes from the ‘Propaganda’ model by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman (1988): ‘The question is not whether the media’s freedom exists, but what its limitations are and how it’s being used.’ They say that the most important task of the mass media is to manufacture consent with the ruling system, and that the tool for this is news, being the ‘product’ of the ‘deal’ (‘Those segments of the media that can reach a substantial audience are major corporations and are closely integrated with even larger conglomerates. Like other businesses, they sell a product to buyers. Their market is advertisers, and the 'product' is audiences, with a bias towards more wealthy audiences, which improve advertising rates. [....] In short, the major media -particularly, the élite media that set the agenda that others generally follow - are corporations 'selling' privileged audiences to other businesses. It would hardly come as a surprise if the picture they present were to reflect the perspectives and interests of the sellers, the buyers and the product (Chomsky)’ (Underwood, 2004). Allern says that: ‘A ‘critical journalism’ that considers its task to be to clear the capitalist system of grime may achieve a high status. Journalism that is critical of the system itself, is ignored or marginalised’ (Allern, p.34). This point is highly relevant in the case of the major media becoming the major world media, and the Americanisation.

Democracy or ‘Mediocracy’?

My arguments have been very much in the pessimistic tradition of what professor Trevor Barr calls the ‘Neo IT Marxists’ (Barr, 2002), I would much rather have been optimistic ‘fresh start’ – but found that hard in light of my research. Ideas like ‘Democracy’ and ‘Freedom of speech’ are core values of western civilisations. The media in all its variations has historically been the greatest champion of these values, and western societies have not considered nations with censored or controlled media to be democratic countries, the idea being that a truly democratic society needs a diverse media that is independent and free from political interests and the censorship of governments. In the current ‘information age’, cross media-ownerships and huge international media moguls are busy changing this champion into a ‘Black Rider’ – the bigger range and power it gets, the bigger a threat it becomes, especially when economic interests coincide with political ones. Street (2001, p.271) says that ‘democratic media do not, in and of themselves, create democracy. Democratic media need a democratic policy, and vice versa’. But instead of putting restraints on ownership of media companies, they are being loosened in many western European countries, eagerly lobbied and forced into place by the media owners themselves. Norway is not a member of the EU, but has close ties to it, and may become a member in the not so distant future. Norwegian protective laws may then have to be removed in the name of ‘free trade’. Helge Østbye believes the old actors will continue to dominate the field, possibly with more international dominance (Østbye, 2000). The Norwegian new law proposal points in this direction - not so much as to rename ‘democracy’ to ‘mediocracy’, but it is a great concern that the very entity that should tell us democracy is under threat is the one we need to be vary of.

Other References

ALGER, DEAN, 1998. Megamedia. How Giant Corporations Dominate Mass Media, Distort Competition, and Endanger Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc: UK.

ALLERN, SIGURD, 1996. Kildenes Makt. Ytringsfrihetens Politiske Økonomi. (The power of sources. The political economy of freedom of speech.) Pax forlag: Oslo.

BARR, Trevor. 2004. Lecture: Forces for change: convergence and globalization. Swinburne University of Technology, February 2004

FLEW, Terry. 2002. Newmedia – an introduction. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.

GUTMANN, AMY, 1995. Democracy, ch. 19, pp. 411-421 in ‘A companion to contemporary political philosophy’ by Goodin, Robert E. and Philip Pettit. Blackwells: UK

LECHNER, FRANK J. AND JOHN BOLI, 2004. The Globalization Reader. 2nd ed. USA: Blackwell.

LEVINE, L, Locke, C, Searls, D, and Weinberger, D. 2000 The Cluetrain Manifesto, Persues Books.

STREET, JOHN, 2001. Mass Media, Politics and Democracy. PALGRAVE: USA.

WATERS, MALCOLM. 2001. Globalization. 2nd ed. London: Routledge 2004.

WILLIAMS, GRANVILLE, 2003. European Media Ownership: Threats on the Landscape. A Survey of who owns what in Europe. Supported by the European Commission. September 2002. Updated 2003. The European Federation of Journalists: Brussels.

mhmhmhmhm hm

2004-06-12T09:38:00.001+02:00

Yessssa! I got the student resident flat I wanted!! So for the next half year I'm well set with Wi-Fi and verrrry short way to uni. Brillliant :0) Could not be more happy, I'll tell ya!! It's a verrrrrrry short way to the gym as well!! Do you think it is possible?

But before I can move in I need to get my last assignment over and done with. I'm still finding great quotes, but I can't have an essay only in italic, can I? Nope. Anyway, here is one of the good ones:

-------------------------------- W O R D
‘If the Net fails to produce a virtual community at the national level, it all the more fails on a world scale. The idea of a "global village" is a geocultural misnomer. The Web is controlled and populated by First World nations that "push" information and values onto an all too receptive periphery. As Herbert Schiller and Cees Hamelink argue, this global imbalance is widening. Indeed, within the geocultural core there is another kind of "push" taking place: that of blatant Americanization’ (Songok Han Thornton)

Sigurd Allern

2004-06-11T03:33:00.001+02:00

Antallet massemedier har økt eksplosivt, men FN’s prinsippvedtak om ’fri informasjonsflyt’ er i realiteten en frihet som i første rekke kan brukes av dem som har ressurser, dvs de store industriland med USA i spissen.

Et propagandasystem vil alltid ha en tendens til å todele verden. ’vi’ mot ’dem’, det ’gode’ mot det ’onde’.

En ’kritisk journalistikk’ som ser det som sin oppgave å rense det kapitalistiske systemet for slagg kan få høy status. Det som defineres bort, eller marginaliseres, er systemkritisk journalistikk.

'Kildenes Makt - Ytringsfrihetens Politiske Økonomi' Sigurd Allern 1996.

Daelog is brought yo' ass by da number 333

2004-06-07T05:24:00.000+02:00

Shizzolate that shit!

------------------------------------------
lyricus melicus

Music is yo' only cuz - until da end."

lyricus -a -um [of da lyre, lyric]

"We now live in an age that Walter Ong calls “secondary orality” (a repetition of orality but wit differences)." Rhapsody may has ancient roots in magic, but rhapsodists are not pagans or primitives, know what I'm sayin'? They denote neither da fall of civilization nor some presumed loss of moral fiber n' shit. On da contrary, rhapsodists emerge whenever 'n wherever oral skills—primary or secondary—are valued." "

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I finally handed in my Electronic Writing major assignment n' shit. It wuz harder than I though n' shit. I'm sort of happy wit that shiznit, sort of not, know what I'm sayin'? I also handed in my reading journal."

lyricus melicus

2004-06-07T05:07:00.002+02:00

Music is your only friend - until the end.

lyricus -a -um [of the lyre, lyric]

"We now live in an age that Walter Ong calls “secondary orality” (a repetition of orality but with differences). Rhapsody may have ancient roots in magic, but rhapsodists are not pagans or primitives. They denote neither the fall of civilization nor some presumed loss of moral fiber. On the contrary, rhapsodists emerge whenever and wherever oral skills—primary or secondary—are valued."

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I finally handed in my Electronic Writing major assignment. It was harder than I though. I'm sort of happy with it, sort of not. I also handed in my reading journal.

Vannevar

2004-06-03T09:17:00.002+02:00

For my assignment in Electronic Writing, I have to write this reading journal. Only 100 words per 'reading'. This is more than 100 words.. A lot more. Crap, crap and crap. It is due tomorrow and this is all I have so far.. There are many more.. I don't know how the hell I am going to manage to get it all done in time.. Shit. This is very interesting reading though. Vannevar was an interesting fellow.

As We May Think – By Vannevar Bush
The Atlantic Monthly, July 1945

Vannevar Bush made some impressive predictions in his article from 1945. The editors comment about Dr.Bush calling for ‘a new relationship between man and the sum of our knowledge’ didn’t become clear until I have read the article. He used the current knowledge of Leibnitz’ calculating machine, Babbages arithmetical machine as well as photography, facsimile, radio and television to predict/ wish for many things that have come true (he imagined that Encyclopedia Britannia could be reduced to the volume of a matchbox) – and in conclusion – he wanted HYPERTEXT. He called it TRAILS – maybe even a better word to describe hypertext.
Bush says that for a RECORD to be useful to science, it must be continuously extended, stored and consulted. He named this machine Memex, in which one can store books, films – anything and everything! His trails are links between these records.
More important than his pinpointed predictions however are his thoughts of the use: ‘To free the brains for something more than repetitive detail..’ His Memex is an ‘enlarged initimate supplement to mans memory’. He pondered the difficulty that the human brain does not work like a machines; ‘The human mind does not work that way. It operates by association.’ He wanted a selection by association rather than mere indexing to be mechanized, and this is exactly what his Memex would do in something he called ASSOCIATE INDEXING ‘The process of tying two items together is the important thing’. This would so create TRAILS, to be shared with others or consulted later. He even describes a new profession: TRAIL BLAZERS.
His idea of tapping directly into the electronic impulses of the brain to ones memory has so far only come true in the movies.

Oh So Quiet..

2004-05-27T23:23:00.000+02:00

Shhhhh...

Tjorven has left me. She is now up in the air somewhere on her way back to Norway. It's very quiet here. There is no TV on, no 'Home and Away' or 'The Simpsons', no Linkin Park on the CD-player. Boring.... I miss you already, girl!!

Yesterday I handed in my Multimedia Authoring project, my 'Fantasy Castle'. It was bigger than most of the others project (we all showed our projects to each other), so I probably overdid it... but it was fun making it.. :)Thank you, Joppe, for the time you used on the actual content of it (information about fantasy literature). I will publish it on my website shortly.

Å eg veit meg et land..

2004-05-24T17:48:00.000+02:00

JP og Joppe i fint driv...

17 Mai vel overstått.... skrev sak til ANSA-nytt i bytte mot inngang.

Ellers er det jo jævli lenge siden jeg har skrevet her, egentlig. Skuffende innsats. Skal skjerpe meg. Tjorven reiser på torsdag! Jeg flytter snart ut jeg og, men har ingen steder å flytte til, ennå.. flytter inn til Joppe og Emil foreløbig, men de drar også snart.. (buhu), og før det T&B også. Men nok sutring nå... Snart er skoleåret over (etter noen uker til med panisk oppgabeskriving) og det skal bli godt.

I dream of castles

2004-05-13T06:11:00.000+02:00

possibly because I am making one in Macromedia Director. A fantasycastle. It is great fun, but it takes a lot of time and I have two other assignments as well!!

We have guests (B&T) and Tjorven is soon moving back to Norway, so we are busy trying to sell off furniture and all, and I don't really now where I am going to stay for the next half year...

Norways national day is soon upon us (17 May), and we plan to celebrate it with ANSA, who invites to big dinner and all.

I have no money. I just bought a USB storagedevice with room for 256mb!!

Donnie Darko is a great film. Sad, strange but beautiful.

Globalization and ‘the movement’

2004-05-04T08:25:00.001+02:00

An essay in HAM 500 Globalization: Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia 2004.

In this paper I am looking at an important contemporary concept in ‘Media- and Communication’ studies – Globalization - through the eyes of some of the players in the inaptly named ‘anti-globalization’ movement; mostly author Naomi Klein – whose book ‘No Logo’ has become somewhat of a bible for the movement according to the New York Times (Klein, 2002) and the infamous ATTAC (‘International movement for democratic control of financial markets and their institutions’).

I will first establish what globalization is, as well as the ‘anti-globalization’ movement. My resources about the movement are limited to the Internet, where they are in fact themselves ‘globalizing’ with each other extensively. The information I thus gather must be viewed in this light. I will start this analysis by defining the term globalization and its history. I next place the movement in a theoretical context, before listing and analysing the main arguments by Naomi Klein, ATTAC and others. Then I will take a new look at how the movement fits in theoretically, before drawing a conclusion.

What is globalization? The word ‘Global’ is over 400 years old (Waters, 2001, p.2). Common usage of the words ‘globalization’, ‘globalize’ and ‘globalizing’ began already in around 1960 but was not recognized academically before around 1980, and was still rare in academic articles until around 1990 (Waters, p.2). Waters (p.6) says that ‘Globalization is the direct consequence of the expansion of European culture across the planet via settlement, colonization and cultural replication. It is also bound up intrinsically with the pattern of capitalist development as it has ramified through political and cultural arenas.’ This rings true for the ‘anti’-globalization movement, as they often argue that globalization is little more than a continuance of the Western colonization as well as cultural imperialism.

Roland Robertson started to produce papers on globalization in the mid-1980s (Waters, p.3) and his definition of the therm is one of the first; ‘Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole … both concrete global interdependence and consciousness of the global whole.’ Already then globalization had two faces; globalization as a way for humans to better and quicker communicate with each other through different communication technologies (better infrastructure in total, also in the ways of travel) and globalization as how each country and continent started to become more dependent on and linked economically with each other. Today globalization is debated as never before, on all levels – the streets, the Internet, in academic, political and economic circles.

Waters (p.5) defines Globalization as ‘a social process in which the constraints of geography on economic, political, social and cultural arrangements recede, in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding and which people act accordingly.’

This explains very well why there is an anti-globalization movement. The ‘anti-globalization’ movement has acted ‘accordingly’. The arguments of the movement are many, and all the different organizations that can be rallied on ‘anti-globalization’ protests have many different agendas.

The movement seems to fit right into one of the ten Schools of Thought in the field of political economy of media and telecommunications; School No. 10 – The Neo IT Marxists . The movement’s protests are mostly directed against capitalist ‘free trade’ negotiations and treaties, arguing that this does not benefit the poor countries at all, but are in fact a continuation of the colonization, this time under a capitalist flag. A key concept is ‘cultural imperialism’, as the movement looks with dismay at the growing ‘McWorld’ - afraid that natural cultural diversity is under threat by corporate brand-names that move in and often outmanoeuvre local businesses.

Author of ‘No Logo’ and ‘Fences and Windows’ – Naomi Klein – has become a key player in the movement. She argues that the ‘goal of the movement is not to take power for themselves, but to challenge power centralized on principle’. (Klein, 2002, p.XXVI). She has nevertheless become one of the spokespersons for the movement. In ‘No Logo’ she takes a long hard look at corporate branding, and in ‘Fences and Windows’ she look at both the virtual (‘ … there is a fence that goes up around the very idea of democracy when Argentina is told it won’t get an International Monetary Fund loan unless it further reduces social spending, privatizes more resources and eliminates supports to local industries, all in the midst of an economic crisis deepened by those very policies.’ (Klein, 2002, p.XVIII)) and physical (‘… barriers separating people from previously public resources, locking them away from much needed land and water; restricting their ability to move across borders, to express political dissent, to demonstrate on public streets, , even keeping politicians from enacting policies that make sense for the people who elected them’. (Klein, 2002, p.XVIII)) fences of corporate capitalism.

Klein says that ‘the fences that protect the public interest seem to be fast disappearing, while the ones that restrict our liberties keep multiplying.’ (Klein, 2002, p.XX). According to her the ‘euphemism globalization’ now reaches into every aspect of life, making it a measured and owned commodity (Klein, 2002, p.XX) as well as making a global security state instead of the promised global village – ‘a network of fortresses connected by highly militarized trade corridors’. (Klein, 2002, p.XXIII).

These fences are not easily spotted by the population in the western world, and Kleins opponents are often found under the ‘Neo-Liberalist’ flags, and fit well in School No. 5 – ‘The True Globalists’. They say that large multi-national corporations are best equipped to service communication needs efficiently and relatively cheaply, to distribute the ‘Information Revolution’ everywhere .

The job is big, however, since about 92% of the world’s population today doesn’t have access to the Internet. The solution of the Neo-Liberals is to increase free trade. Klein disputes this, saying that the big players only play by the rules when it suits them but still enforces them heavily upon others (Klein, 2002, p.81) with their physical and virtual fences.

Agreeing with Klein is ATTAC, one of the best known organisations in the movement. The International ATTAC Movement was created at an international meeting in Paris, 1998. In their platform they state that; ‘Financial globalization increases economic insecurity and social inequalities. It bypasses and undermines popular decision-making, democratic institutions, and sovereign states responsible for the general interest. In their place, it substitutes a purely speculative logic that expresses nothing more than the interests of multinational corporations and financial markets’.

On the other side, author Manuel Castells argues that; ‘who are the owners, who the producers, who the managers, and who the servants, becomes increasingly blurred in a production system of variable geometry, of teamwork, of networking, outsourcing, and subcontracting.’ (Castells, 2000, p.506) The ‘True Globalists’ also say that free trade creates wealth and enhances other cultures with art, music, crafts and literature . US culture is good, because it is the result of its own diverse, immigrant population, and should not be admonished, but celebrated. (Balko, 2004) Pro-globalizers say that cultural homogenization is positive because it highlights similarities in people rather than differences and that a similar understanding of the world is a good thing. The process involves the real convergence of the telecommunications, IT and the broadcasting industry . The movement does not have such an optimistic view; rather they call it ‘cultural imperialism’.

Both sides offer extensive examples from the world, especially the third world, for why their view is correct. Both sides agree that the world is not perfect. The Neo-Liberalist say that; ‘protesters shouldn't blame globalization for this failure. It's the refusal of poor countries to adopt pro-globalization policies and embrace economic freedom that condemns their citizens to poverty.’ And; ‘…"Free" countries in the 2002 Index had a per capita income of $23,325; "repressed" countries had a per capita income of $3,829.’ (Schaefer) ‘…the hopes of the world’s poor are being heard above the shouting by those who want to deny poor countries the opportunities offered by increased trade, said Fred Smith, president of CEI.’ (Competitive Enterprise Institute). (CEI-staff, 2003) On the other side Klein tells of refugees found dead in cargos together with goods, pointing to how more free that furniture in that cargo was than those eight Romanians. (Klein, 2002) Indian physicist Vandana Shiva says that the history of the World Bank has been to take power away from communities, give it to central government for in the end giving it to the corporations through privatization. (Klein, 2002, p.36) Rodrik says that for most of the world's developing countries, the 1990s were a decade of frustration and disappointment. ‘Latin American countries were buffeted by a never-ending series of boom-and-bust cycles in capital markets and experienced growth rates significantly below their historical averages. Most of the former socialist economies ended the decade at lower levels of per-capita income than they started it—and even in the rare successes, such as Poland, poverty rates remained higher than under communism. East Asian economies such as South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia, which had been hailed previously as "miracles," were dealt a humiliating blow in the financial crisis of 1997. That this was also the decade in which globalization came into full swing is more than a minor inconvenience for its advocates. If globalization is such a boom for poor countries, why so many setbacks?’

The movement itself by its very nature disputes who is really converging, and who is really globalizing. The movement stresses that they are not against the Internet, or against communication, or necessarily against globalization as such. To ridicule them for using the Internet is therefore nothing more than a cheap shot from their opponents. On the contrary: ‘The irony of the media-imposed label ‘anti-globalization’ is that we in this movement have been turning globalization into a lived reality, perhaps more so than even the most multinational of corporate executives or the most restless of jet-setters.’ (Klein, 2002, p.XV) The movement is not homogeneous, but are lot of different organizations with somewhat different views and solutions, who from time to time come together for a common purpose. ATTAC is one of these organizations, and according to ATTAC’s website, ATTAC itself is a network with no centre or hierarchical structure. This, they say, makes the common action easier and don’t limit any contribution from their various members. There are ATTAC organizations in most of the west-European countries, as well as in the USA, Japan, Australia, Brazil and some African countries. In the same way, ATTAC says it aims to cooperate with other networks ‘whose objectives converge with its own’. The movement as a whole does not like to be marked as ‘anti-globalists’, both because this gives fuel for pro-arguments, but also because it isn’t true, not for all, not anymore . Other names, like ‘global justice/ fair trade movement’, ‘global justice and solidarity movement’ or simply ‘the movement’, (Wikipedia, 2004) is emerging, as well as “the true internationalists”, the ‘anti-corporate globalization movement’ or the ‘global social justice movement’. (Anderson, 2002)

This points to that parts of or all of the movement may fit under another ‘School of Though’ as well – School No. 8; Social Justice: Social Policy. Naomi Klein says about the protests in Seattle December 1999 (which she named ‘the coming out party of the movement’): ‘What is on trial in Seattle is not trade or globalization but the global attack on the right of citizens to set rules that protect people and the planet’. (Klein, 2002, p.5) She says that there is an emerging consensus in the many different movement-groups for decentralized power as essential to counter the multinational corporations (Klein, 2002, p.16). Indeed, the movement itself has no elected spokesperson, but uses the Internet to mobilize and is itself an example of decentralized globalisation in practise. Klein offers solutions as well as critique.

‘… countries need trade, you say, particularly poor countries, and to have trade there must be rules. Of course. But why not build an international architecture founded on principles of transparency, accountability and self-determination, one that frees people instead of liberating capital?’ (Klein, 2002, p.79) ATTAC also offer solutions, for instance to tax income on capital, and more .

The movement is for globalisation when it comes to ‘free trade’ of information, communication, art, ideas and so on, brought forward by new communication technologies like the Internet. They are against globalisation when it comes to ‘free trade’ of goods and money who many argue only benefits the already rich countries that have a huge head start – thus being most unfair. Most agree that policies and regulations are the way to go, but the movement do not trust international organizations, ‘free trade’ treaties, business alliances or the governments that promote these. (Organizations like the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) or the World Trade Organization (WTO, "free trade" treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), business alliances like the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) or the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC.) ( Wikipedia).

What will happen in the future of the movement is open. Anderson has a positive outlook; ‘With some imaginative progress along those two fronts – becoming much more explicitly globalist and at the same time more vigorously proactive – the movement might evolve into a real alternative philosophy of how to achieve good governance and sustainable development in a fast-changing global civilization’. (Anderson, 2002) Rodrik (2002) says that ‘Antiglobalization protesters may have had only limited success in blocking world trade negotiations or disrupting the meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but they have irrevocably altered the terms of the debate.’ And just as important, authors like Naomi Klein and economist Dani Rodrick of Harvard – who is proposing policy alternatives with even more globalization (Anderson, 2002, Online) as well as Walt Truett Anderson – are some of many who are bringing the debate from the streets and into the academic and political debates.

References besides online resources:
*CASTELL, MANUEL, 2000. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. The Rise of the Network Society. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
*KLEIN, NAOMI, 2000. No Logo. London: Flamingo
*KLEIN, NAOMI, 2002. Fences and Windows. London: Flamingo.
*LECHNER, FRANK J. AND JOHN BOLI, 2004. The Globalization Reader. 2nd ed. USA: Blackwell.
*WATERS, MALCOLM, 2001. Globalization. 2nd ed. London: Routledge

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2004-04-28T19:43:00.000+02:00

The blog looks awsome!! I am totally superhappy with it! Tabula Rasa is in the print, which is fantastic, for now I can finally get that essay done.. and wash my clothes, buy some food.. but first I fixed my blog of course, and my homepage - Daewens.

I am freezing though. It's becomming winther here down under!! Here are some more links I found today about Globalization, which I am write my minor essay in the class Globalization about.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

No Radio in my Head

2004-04-27T19:04:00.000+02:00

Thom Yorke is sich. Or rather he has a sore throat. For a singer that is sick. So sick in fact that the consert with Radiohead was CANCELLED!! Crap... I hope I can get the chance later..

I have been fucking around with this blog now.. trying to make it better looking with Dreamweaver. When everything looked fab, somehow the text-formatting started to fuck about with these stuff: æøå'"-`(this is a test, naturally). It's always something, ain't it?

I am tired now, I think I will find my bed. I think I still remember where it is.

The ages we are in

2004-04-25T08:33:00.001+02:00

I personably think I had these ages: happy, naïve, depressed (after loosing my illusions) and now I am in the angry age. Some of my rude friends call it my ’30-year old crisis’

Some thoughts around the theme Ages (Tabula Rasa Issue 3)

Yeah, right. I believe that we are as old as we think we are!! I know kids that are more mature than some 50-yearolds I know. It's all in your mind. Still, our ages in years are used for pinpointing us in life, to what we are supposed to be doing. My mother at my age had a little me of 11 running around… I don't! I'm still a bloody student, for crying out loud! And this is starting to get more and more normal… students are getting older, first time mothers are getting older and somehow I think the kids of the modern rich world are resisting becoming adults. Still we are adults; we just don't feel like we are. Perhaps we should.

If you can somewhat decide how old your mind is, you cannot decide what age you live in. Some of us are fortunate or unlucky enough to live through more than one age in our lifetime. Like my grandfather. He is still in this world, and has witnessed an amazing change in how the world works, from a community based on farming and fishing to industrialism and now the age of the Internet. With a lot of scepticism I might add, perhaps justly so. On his 23'rd birthday Norway was occupied by Nazi-Germany. He might have said: I wished they had not done that! And someone might have answered:

'So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' (Gandalf)

So what about our time, our age, right now, in 2004? Who determines when an age ends and a new start? 'There are no beginnings nor endings in the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning'. Thus begins Robert Jordan his famous fantasy novels, and many argue that we now are in a beginning of a new age. It is called many things, like Cyber-Age, Information-Age, Globalization-Age, Global Age, the Network Society, Information Revolution, Information Society etc. What defines it?

The Stone Age was pretty self-explanatory, so was the Industrial Revolution. Today we got no more cold war and only one superpower, we have Internet & Globalization, we got big multinational corporations, wars, unrest, terrorism and somewhat radical climate changes. All linked together like the hypertextual world of Internet. Chaotic.

A key therm is Globalization. It sounds like a very nice thing at first, with shiny happy people holding hands throughout the world, chatting on the net, travelling the world in fast airplanes, trading equally from each other and exchanging ideas to make the world a better place for our children and so on. It’s the utopian dream, but alas like all utopian fantasies not the whole truth. To my big surprise I am now going to quote a former American president to get my point across:

'Globalization, as defined by rich people like us, is a very nice thing... you are talking about the Internet, you are talking about cell phones, you are talking about computers. This doesn’t affect two-thirds of the people of the world.' (Jimmy Carter)

In fact, it doesn’t affect 90% of the people in the world. The only shiny about Globalization is the 'TV-reality' served to us by men like Rupert Murdoch, who are very busy trying to get his hands on every media company in the world.

I might add at this point that Tabula Rasa is very happy to announce that we are an independendt studentmagazine. Not many of our media colleges can say that. Remember that the next time you watch TV, read a newspaper, read online news or listen to the radio. One man can, if he decides to, possibly make you and most of the world believe any old crap. Murdoch owns many big newspaper in UK, USA and Australia as well as many television stations and radiostations. How was he able to get to that point?

'The origins of the catastrophe lay in the Utopian endeavour of economic liberalism to set up a self-regulating market system.' (Karl Polanyi)

Globalization is very much about free market. When countries open up for unlimited trade, it does not mean it will be fair trade. It’s actually helping the big corporations expand and grow. They want you to be able to buy a Big Mac anywhere in the world.

'If the market is the driving force in globalization, many fear, it is bound to exacerate inequality by creating winners and loosers. If globalization makes the world more homogeneous, others fear, many cultures are in trouble' (The Globalization Reader)

Don’t believe a word you read or hear, take care of your original culture, discover your inner age and think about what kind of age you are living in. Your grandchildren might ask what you did about it. Remember that 'even the smallest person can change the course of the future.' (Galadriel)

Good luck to you, spoiled child!