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.

If you are going down, go down in flames!

At the end of the worst presidency in recent memory, we are beginning to see that what Clinton did on the way out is going to be nothing in comparison. That Bush would weaken a rule designed to protect natural resources (wildlife and their habitats) like this is just shameful. That it would in any way be justified in the name of money is even more sickening. Mr. Bush cares about the special interests of a few companies who will make a lot of money at the expense of the vast majority of people. Thank you for wearing your true money comes first face for once. May your ugliness never be forgotten.

The Death of Surfing and Freedom

Today I was reading about how a city in England is trying to increase its tourism industry by constructing an artificial shore reef that will, if succesful, create waves that can then be surfed by surf tourists. The first thing that came to my mind after this was how crowded it would be. Crowded and fake. Like it or not that is the direction that surfing is going anyway. First off Surfing has become a business. Corporations make millions of dollars every year off this hobby (call it lifestyle if you will but that died a long time ago). It has been accepted and popularized by the media. Its even perceived as a good, clean, fun, sporty thing to do.

All this brings us back to crowded surf spots. As the number of surfers increases, there will be an increase in the number of crowds at spots leading to increased anger, fighting, and with all probability deaths. At some point in time law enforcement will be forced to intervene and we may have an organizational system imposed upon us like skateparks do with helmets and waiting in turn etc. This will likely be coupled together with the concept of private waves, that is someone will own the spot where the waves break and be able to control who surfs there and how much it will cost. Welcome to the death of the spirit of surfing and freedom.

Motivation

I am struggling for motivation with both my current class project as well as with my thesis. I am going to go ahead and blame the weather as well as this course that I am taking. Anyway that is about all that is going on. In a few minutes someone will hopefully text me and let me know that I am supposed to go to a meeting where we will discuss some papers we had to read that were really stuff we read already first semester. Sometimes thats the way it is; you review and until it sticks. Blah!

Mess with airport security...if they are this weird

So I think it was last year someone got mad that a certain celebrity made a Dunkin' Donuts add wearing a keffiyah (and if you don't know what that is you might want to use wikipedia). Not only were people irritated with her for wearing one, they were also mad that Urban Outfitters were selling them (luckily I bought one before this became an issue) and so as retail giants often do they made like a reed and blew whichever way the wind carried them.

So here is my idea, if this fashion item has this kind of power and association then what impact will it have one ultra-patriotic airport security guards. So next time you want to mess with them, wear one of these to the airport. Of course the chance is that they ignore it completely but on the other hand there is always the chance that they go off the deep end about. Either way it makes for smugness (until the cavity check of course).

Communal Shower debate

Today I went to the swimming pool as I do about twice a week. I took a shower in a communal area before and after and when I got home I started thinking about how this doesn't happen in the US that much. My question today is why not? What is the reason that people are afraid to take showers in a public area where only members of the same sex are present?

My first thought when trying to understand this phobia from a male perspective would be to assume that many men are rather uncomfortable about their sexuality, and/or they have the assumption that were they to shower in the presence of other men they would become targets of a pick-up attempt. This seems over simplistic however and childish. First off I doubt many gay men go to communal showers and attempt to pick up men they think are straight anyway. Secondly this falls into the mental trap that many straight men have in their perception of homosexuals: that everyone who is gay wants them. Wake up and smell the coffee, they probably aren't interested.

My second big thought about all this is that there is some phobia about exposing one's body to someone else. The underlying idea here is that a person is extremely self conscious about their body and therefore unwilling to put it up for scrutiny. The odd thing about this however is how little people actually wear at a beach on the other hand. My thought on this, as someone who has used communal showers all his life and never found it odd, is that people don't use communal showers for sizing each other up. A shower serves a purpose: to get clean and I doubt anyone stands around looking at each other. I am going to guess that the recent generations obsession with penis size might also be a part of this. If this is part of the problem then I am going to go ahead and say that it is the most irrational reason for not using a shower.

In the end I think that having been raised in a culture that didn't have a problem with communal nudity is probably a part of the puzzle. I also think that since I like my body that might be another reason I don't take issue with these communal showers. Please add your thoughts.

Disturbing storms in Latvia

Today I found out that the Latvian security police has arrested two individuals who have expressed doubt in the countries ability to handle the economy. The one is a musician and the other is a university lecturer. Congratulations Latvia, you are now repressing anyone practicing free speech and that is equivalent with the tactics of the country that you once broke free from. That it was able to happen in the first place is a disgrace, that these two are now being prosecuted is a scandal. I hope that the individuals at the EU take serious notice of this.

Evil Santa

I was thinking for some reason about Santa Claus and his appearance and portrayal in the media. Generally I find him to be a very kitchy figure who doesn't really bring anything new to the myth and instead limits himself to giving us a cheap holiday smile. Enter Robot Santa from Futurama who was designed to give presents to those who are nice, but due to a computer error judges everyone to be bad and therefore goes on massive killing sprees during Christmas, thus leading to everyone locking their doors and hiding on Christmas eve. He is probably one of the best characters on Futurama.

Arrgh!

So this pirate phenomenon is on my mind the last few weeks (I guess it helps that up until the recent terror thing in India this was the main topic in the press). Its funny to think that while we have these vast warships that can launch airplanes and WMDs, we are pretty much helpless in trying to stop piracy. A couple of days ago a cruise ship outran two pirate boats. The reports are saying that shipping companies are turning to private protection firms. Essentially what we are going to have then is some sort of privateer industry that is designed around protecting sea bound vessels. The scary thing to me then is do they really have the legal ability to fire on pirate vessels. I am sure that there is some protection code in the law of the sea (UNCLOS) which the US has yet to ratify (losers).

Yes it is interesting that these massive naval forces are able to do so little, but then on the other hand, they were designed to fight each other instead of small bands of economically disadvantaged Africans who don't really have many other options for entrepreneurship. Of course as a German newspaper has noted, by protecting the ships and not trying to offer the pirates other means of providing income, the wealthy nations are only proving that their capitalist system is exclusionary and that if you are on the outside that is where you belong.

Tuesdays with the rain...

Its raining. That is what happens in Lund. Its dark outside. I don't feel like biking home and getting wet. Plus after that I have to bike to the store and buy some food because I am all out. Then I need to check my bank account to see that I have enough to pay rent and for my medication for the next three months. Doh! Anyway I still don't want to own a car so that is positive.

More Wisdom

The hand that stocks the drug stores rules the world.
-Bokonon

A quote

What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
-Bertolt Brecht

Withdrawal symptoms and snow

This is the first real day without football and already I feel that it is losing the hold it had over me. Tonight is the champions league round something but I didn't watch a single minute of any of the games. I am happy but am not patting myself on the back just yet. I will give it two more weeks before I claim success.

Its freezing cold outside and I can't say that that thrills me in the least. Ok I will give in to the notion that it is more aesthetically pleasing than grey skies, dead grass, and leafless trees. Right now I am trying something else new: I am reading two books at the same time. I think that this will be the only way that I will be able to read fiction and school books at the same time. Currently reading a book by Kobo Abe (fiction) and a book by David Harvey (non-fiction but I wish it was).

Resolution

Today I realized that I waste a lot of time watching football lately. Sure I've blamed it on the weather or not feeling good, but that just isn't good enough anymore. I could have been reading books instead. Basically I am admitting to being lame. So the new resolution is to immediately give up all watching of football for...well forever would be nice but I imagine that I will watch the next world cup so how about the qualifiers and the world cup. Not bad and knowing that I can actually do this is the best part. After all it took me five minutes to give up meat for the last three years. With all the time left over I am going to read, skate, and hopefully take a yoga class after new years.

Words of wisdom

"You don't have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn't like the way I found America some sixty years ago, and I've been trying to change it ever since."
- Upton Sinclair

Springboks to go extinct...

Today the BBC reported that in the near future, the official name of the South African National Rugby team, the Springboks, will be changed. The name is a leftover of the old apartheid era in South Africa and the idea is that by changing the logo there will more of a feeling of inclusion of all the ethnicities of the country. I have to say that while this isn't really something that concerns me on a day to day basis at the same time I still find it a bit sad.

There are opinions on both sides of the racial divide (whatever that really means) who have called for it to be kept, and those who want it to disappear for good. What I think would be interesting would be if the people who were excluded from the team due to Apartheid would instead make it a part of their culture. That is to say that they would adopt the symbol and by so doing make it their own. To me that would be a stronger statement than changing a picture on a jersey and an official name.

I'm behind...

I know this is probably a bit late to be coming with this right now but after reading about it, I just couldn't help commenting. Paul Broun is a member of the House of Representatives and on top of that, he has proved that he is in fact an idiot. In an interview he managed to compare Obama to Hitler and the Soviet Union. To begin with the notion that Hitler and the Soviet Union are somehow similar in their politics is probably the best part of what he said. Apparently, Mr. Broun has no idea what the difference between communism and fascism are, which is strange when one thinks about the fact that Mr. Broun is supposedly well educated. Then there was this statement that Obama would somehow be capable of setting up a dictatorship. This is so amusing. This is why there are checks and balances in the US system. It seems very strange that the Republicans keep bringing up these fears. I bet Mr. Broun's top advisor is Mr. Hannity. The two of them would do best to bury their heads in a small town somewhere where they wouldn't be able to hurt others with their ignorance.