David Cerny and Czech vs. The rest of Europe

I don't really know quite how to respond to this controversial piece of art that the Czech's commissioned for their stint as head of the EU. David Cerny is definitely not making friends in the greater Europe region with a work like that. First let me state that I think the EU is a good idea and I wish that a nation like Czech, who has benefited from joining, would grow up and stop whinning about being a part of it. I also find it amusing that their current President is none other that Vaclav Klaus who is a notorious Euro-skeptic. The problem with the younger batch of EU countries like Czech and the other Eastern block nations are that they want all the goodies and don't want to do anything to get them. This is a rather odd state of being but nonetheless one they seem to have adopted quite well. The other problem with these states are that they are willing to do whatever the US asks of them, which has included ignoring the EU to negotiate their own treaties.

So this brings us back to David Cerny. Really I think the piece is hilarious. Its absolutely over the top, and why not? Every piece is a stereotyped image of a country. Like Sweden is a wing from our military airplane that we can't sell wrapped in an Ikea box (that is amazing). England isn't even on the piece, its intentionally left out as being absent. Belgium is shown as a box of chocolates. Germany is a set of highways. France is a sign that says STRIKE! While it should never be acceptable to encourage stereotypes, at the same time we should ask ourselves whether these things say anything about our culture. Of course it is too bad that Cerny managed to lie his way into doing the art (he was supposed to do it as a group project but it turns out he did the entire thing by himself), but that doesn't change the fact that he made a funny piece of art. I like it.

by the way here is a joke about belgium...

What is Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, but they only invented the chocolate to get to the children. (Note: this is from a movie).

Night and Day

I am watching the Clinton confirmation hearing right now live on CNN. The thing that I am really finding amusing is the page that they are all on. I am realizing more and more as they are talking about various issues, that I don´t really see myself as being on the same page. When they talk about climate change, they talk about it in the sense of national security. When they talk about energy, they talk about national security. When they talk about europe they talk about national security. When they talk about Latin America they talk about national security. That is all they are talking about: themselves. Don´t get me wrong every nation talks about itself, but very few waste so much money on national security. Why don´t they deal with the issues that cause national security? Then they talk about Venezuela as if they are some issue that needs to be dealt with. Who do you think you are and where is your international police badge? Fix your healthcare system and then worry about other countries.

Fools rush in...

It strikes me (funny that the article is already taking a violent turn) that the title is a double entendre: first it refers to me making a statement about the current situation in Gaza and second it refers to the Israeli assault. I am going to be as honest and upfront as possible here: I am not an expert on the conflict that has been going on since the UN partition.

Gaza is and has been under occupation for a long time now. The Israelis may not have bases inside, but they control everything (well almost everything) that goes in and out. They control the airspace and they control the maritime border. Hamas is a terrorist organization (or freedom fighters depending on which side you like to stand on). They don't do nice things and I will not say that they have done much for the Palestinian cause. However at the same time as they are in an occupied area, isn't it justified that they be allowed to fight against their oppressors. True the Palestinian people have always suffered from bad leadership, however when there have been real chances for peace, the Israelis have been the ones who have said no. Why? Because they don't want to return to the old borders. When Israel offers peace they do so on their own terms and don't offer anything valuable in exchange (which is how peace negotiations work). That the United States does not do more to tell Israel that they are in the wrong is one of the tragedies of history.

A final note: What happened to the Jews in the second world war is one of the greatest tragedies of history. However it does not justify what is happening today.

Anti-Biotics, Berlin, and more...

Well pardon for the interuption, but its been a busy little time. It all started when I turned in my final class paper for the semester and then packed up all my stuff. Then I went to Malmö, and after a night of Cash (the man in black) 4 X-mas, I woke up at four in the morning to continue my journey to Berlin. Of course this involved changing busses in Copenhagen which is always exciting at five in the morning with rain and two big suitcases. The buss driver was naturally in a bad mood as everyone was throwing their luggage into the back while he was flirting with some backpacker. Then he decided to yell at me while I was trying to rearrange everything so that we could fit it all in. Plus while standing there someone told me that really I was only allowed to have one large item (I had read two on my travel receipt and the other buss driver hadn't said a word). So then the buss driver tried to figure out how many bags I had. Of course I played dumb and acted like I didn't really understand what was going on (plus I had already put one bag on while he was flirting). Anyway I made it to Berlin without any problems and he even smiled at me as I walked away with all my luggage.

Then Spain was next and once again it was four in the morning. We missed the first subway but somehow still ended up at the airport early (still haven't figured that one out). Then it was seven days of mideval living in Costa Brava with Clara's family. I went swimming on Christmas day in a freezing swimming pool (yes its spain, northern spain). Then of course somehow three days later I ended up getting sick. So sick indeed that once I got back to Berlin I had to take antibiotics for the first time in years. Then I decided that it would be a good idea to look over my finances and so I checked when my next payment was due from CSN (Swedish student grants and loan system) and discovered that they had somehow determined that my program only lasted for three semesters as opposed to the four that it does in reality. This of course lead to me having to reapply for money and I am still waiting to hear from them. Anyway tomorrow is monday and the first day of the rest of my thesis.