Here is something that got me excited to see, as Healthcare reform is a priotrity to me. I really believe that my family in the US deserves affordable, high quality healthcare. They deserve it. So do my former neighbors and friends in the US. I believe it is a right. The care of a good physician may have been relegated to the wealthy in the past, not any longer. Canada, Europe, China has socialized medicine. There is even legislation in place already to give Americans the same healthcare i enjoy here in Sweden. It is a bill in the house of representatives, and had ninety cosponsers the last time i checked, H.R. 676. http://www.congress.org/ams/issues/bills/?bill=9983991
Amazingly, physicians and nurses, business groups, unions, churches, they can all band together and agree on this! The entrenched interests that oppose it are the pharmaceutical companies, who are able to charge whatever they want when the government has given them free reign. The united states spends 20% of its GDP for Healthcare, Sweden, for example, spends a bit under 10%.
Funny thing i noticed this week when reading an article in Reuters, the top of the page has a caption, 'This story brought to you by Pfizer'
Makes you go Hmmm.
Check up more about groups that support single payer healthcare as is described in H.R. 676. There are many. Physicians for a Nastional Healthcare Plan is a group of over 15,000 doctors organized to offer their support, for example. https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/307/t/5720/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3304
Here is another link about the issue http://www.pdamerica.org/leadership/
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Top Ten Reasons I Love Sweden
1. Fika- We shall not only eat between meals, we shall do it together and give it a name! Plus all the fun things to eat at fika chokladbollar, mazariner, etc.
2. Lagom- A concept of knowing things are wholly sufficient, not excessive
3. Often here in Sweden i see groups of kids. I will guess children age 8 and up seem to really have great self control. They can be trusted, as a group, to wait outdoors or go do an activity outdoors and return. It makes me feel good. My daughter is amazed that she can go home for lunch if she wants and return to school, but she hasn't chosen to do it.
4. On a dreary day recently, i went to the store with my 12 year old daughter. When we got to the corner, the sun shown out briefly, and a local Dalatrafik bus stopped and loaded with healthy, cheerful looking people, and suddenly i felt my heart surge in my chest and i gushed, 'I love Sweden.' My daughter replied, 'metoo, i never want to go back.' Of course she complains alot about everything, daily, and i am not sure what came over us at that moment. I think its the society here. Where i come from, its an 'every man for himself attitude.
5. I Love that the walking paths in the town are gravelled and cleared in winter, and even the path in the forest has streetlights, in case you go too late.
6. I love that i do not feel assaulted with fear propoganda every day from the t.v., newspapers, with the latest theme music and logo for the CRISIS. Although not being good on Swedish might mean i miss some of that, lol.
7. I have been to the doctor with a kids earache,seen, talked, and out the door less than ten minutes from the appointment time! In the US i waited 45 minutes standard for any visit to the doc. Healthcare and childcare are so fantastic to me, and if i was to bubble over with this compliment to many Swedes, i love the way they lower their eyes and shift uncomfortably....and i change the subject.
8. I Love that i can have a different opinion than someone else on a political, religious, or social issue, and they do not immediately accuse me for being anti-patriotic, or flame me outright with angry name calling and derision. Real discussions take place and alternative views are allowed.
9. A sense of knowing that people are not working only for health insurance and struggling to pay childcare, they are thinking about the next higher levels of existing, and pursue travel or cooking enthusiastically, are more social.
10. Great place to bring up children, for all the reasons mentioned before.
2. Lagom- A concept of knowing things are wholly sufficient, not excessive
3. Often here in Sweden i see groups of kids. I will guess children age 8 and up seem to really have great self control. They can be trusted, as a group, to wait outdoors or go do an activity outdoors and return. It makes me feel good. My daughter is amazed that she can go home for lunch if she wants and return to school, but she hasn't chosen to do it.
4. On a dreary day recently, i went to the store with my 12 year old daughter. When we got to the corner, the sun shown out briefly, and a local Dalatrafik bus stopped and loaded with healthy, cheerful looking people, and suddenly i felt my heart surge in my chest and i gushed, 'I love Sweden.' My daughter replied, 'metoo, i never want to go back.' Of course she complains alot about everything, daily, and i am not sure what came over us at that moment. I think its the society here. Where i come from, its an 'every man for himself attitude.
5. I Love that the walking paths in the town are gravelled and cleared in winter, and even the path in the forest has streetlights, in case you go too late.
6. I love that i do not feel assaulted with fear propoganda every day from the t.v., newspapers, with the latest theme music and logo for the CRISIS. Although not being good on Swedish might mean i miss some of that, lol.
7. I have been to the doctor with a kids earache,seen, talked, and out the door less than ten minutes from the appointment time! In the US i waited 45 minutes standard for any visit to the doc. Healthcare and childcare are so fantastic to me, and if i was to bubble over with this compliment to many Swedes, i love the way they lower their eyes and shift uncomfortably....and i change the subject.
8. I Love that i can have a different opinion than someone else on a political, religious, or social issue, and they do not immediately accuse me for being anti-patriotic, or flame me outright with angry name calling and derision. Real discussions take place and alternative views are allowed.
9. A sense of knowing that people are not working only for health insurance and struggling to pay childcare, they are thinking about the next higher levels of existing, and pursue travel or cooking enthusiastically, are more social.
10. Great place to bring up children, for all the reasons mentioned before.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Traditional Swedish Birthday Cake
In English, i believe we would refer to this as strawberry creme pie
The yellow cake is made this way
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup water
Bake at 350
The filling is fresh or frozen strawberries, i like to simmer a cup of frozen strawberries and thicken with a teaspoon of cornstarch
The cream filling is simply very thick vanilla sauce. Cheat and use instant pudding mix.
When the cake is cooled seperate into layers and cover with vanilla cream, then strawberry layer, reassemble and top with unsweetened whipped cream. A half pint of heavy whipping cream would work.
Sprinkle cocoa powder on top.
Swedish food and desserts are traditionally not extreemly sweet. There is a great love of candy (godis) in Sweden but the food is not usually flavored with sugar as the Southern US where i am from.
Mike Connell is Dead
On Friday Mike Connell was killed in a plane accident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TCUbKFnh0
To all my family and friends if i never talked to you about who he was, i let you down.
Of course if you want to elaborate on the conspiracy theories he may be in a witness protection program, after all his lawyer asked for federal protection for him back in July.
Here is some more info on him.
On Election Night 2004, Blackwell e-mailed Ohio's electronic vote count to a basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that also housed the servers for the Republican National Committee. The tally "miraculously" shifted from Kerry to Bush between 12:30 and 2 am, ultimately giving Bush a second term.
The data was handled under a state contract funneled by Blackwell to Michael Connell, a shadowy Bush family IT specialist who programmed the official Bush-Cheney website in 2000 and 2004.
On the day before the 2008 election, Connell was forced to testify under oath under cross-examination by King-Lincoln-Bronzeville attorneys Cliff Arnebeck and Bob Fitrakis. Among the questions at issue was whether Connell left any "Trojan Horse" programs in place in the Ohio electronic vote count structure through which he could have hacked the 2008 outcome.
There has yet to be a definitive answer to that question, or to what he actually may have done to the 2004 vote count. But, for what it's worth, Karl Rove did shift his predictions from a McCain victory to one for Obama shortly after the federal court agreed to force Connell to testify.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00266.htm
We here in this house were cheering when he was subpoenaed before the 2008 presidential election.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TCUbKFnh0
To all my family and friends if i never talked to you about who he was, i let you down.
Of course if you want to elaborate on the conspiracy theories he may be in a witness protection program, after all his lawyer asked for federal protection for him back in July.
Here is some more info on him.
On Election Night 2004, Blackwell e-mailed Ohio's electronic vote count to a basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that also housed the servers for the Republican National Committee. The tally "miraculously" shifted from Kerry to Bush between 12:30 and 2 am, ultimately giving Bush a second term.
The data was handled under a state contract funneled by Blackwell to Michael Connell, a shadowy Bush family IT specialist who programmed the official Bush-Cheney website in 2000 and 2004.
On the day before the 2008 election, Connell was forced to testify under oath under cross-examination by King-Lincoln-Bronzeville attorneys Cliff Arnebeck and Bob Fitrakis. Among the questions at issue was whether Connell left any "Trojan Horse" programs in place in the Ohio electronic vote count structure through which he could have hacked the 2008 outcome.
There has yet to be a definitive answer to that question, or to what he actually may have done to the 2004 vote count. But, for what it's worth, Karl Rove did shift his predictions from a McCain victory to one for Obama shortly after the federal court agreed to force Connell to testify.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00266.htm
We here in this house were cheering when he was subpoenaed before the 2008 presidential election.
Catherine Fitts
I am reposting this from Catherine Austin Fitts blog, an economist and speaker i admire very much. I think its a nice christmas gift to everyone to subscribe to her newsletter.
2008: Looking Back
The global financial bubble burst in 2008 -- and that's a good thing.It means that the bubble economy will stop draining the real economy.Instead of capital being invested in fraudulent mortgage securities,derivatives portfolios, and companies running black-box ponzi schemes,perhaps it can be used to finance real solutions to the problemsbefore us. Now we can talk about the real world and real issues: thereare many worth addressing.
The big question of 2008 is "Where is the money?" It just keepsdisappearing. There was $4 trillion plus that disappeared from the USgovernment between 1998 and 2002 along with the pump-and-dump of theInternet and telecom stocks and Enron. Since then and into 2008, fundskeep disappearing into the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. Now we have$700 billion in bailouts and $7 trillion plus in loans by the Fed, notto mention the $5 trillion in mortgage market liabilities assumed bythe Federal government with the passage of the Housing and EconomicRecovery Act of 2008 <http://solari.com/archive/housing_bill/>. Thefraud in the US mortgage bubble was clearly enormous. But, where didall the money go?
The global financial meltdown that some market pundits predictedhasn't happened. Instead, the "Slow Burn<http://solari.com/blog/?p=818>" continues. But, investor losses havebeen significant. The result has been an outbreak of healthy distrustwhich has resulted in the freezing up of the global financial system.Because they are not leveraged, pension fund losses have beenrelatively quiet. Look for reports regarding pension fund performanceto have a profound impact in 2009.
What this all adds up to is financial coup d'etat. Trillions arebeing stolen through the financial system in a manner that centralizeswealth, leaving governments bankrupt but with bigger budgets to assertcontrol over the wider population. Not surprisingly, this leaveseconomies ever more dependent on defense and enforcement spending asthe infrastructure of central control grows.
One of the biggest stories in 2008 was the continuing censorship ofstories about manipulations harmful to our health, includingchemtrails, the efforts to control the food and seed supply, and theongoing suppression of energy technology. Watch for a continuedfailure of traditional media in 2009 ... and a continuing loss ofmarket share due to public disgust at such censorship. Go, Wikileaks!<http://wikileaks.org/>
The Good News
One of the few good investment categories in 2008 was building localself-sufficiency. From the success of the Financial Permacultureconference in Hohenwald, Tennessee to the rapid spread of TransitionTowns around the world, to the spreading of participatory budgetingfrom Latin America, efforts by local communities to re-localize arevery encouraging. The logical response to uneconomic centralization isto look for ways to decentralize. Despite all the difficulties in theeconomy, entrepreneurs doing natural home building, farmers markets,starting farms, installing solar energy and weatherizing homes enjoyeda market moving their way. These efforts will continue to grow wellbeyond any shakeout.
In this week's Solari Report<http://solari.com/store/the_solari_report/> (Friday, December 26),I'm doing a year-end "wrap-up" looking back at events in 2008 anddiscussing what they mean to our future.
Here's an outline: -
The Slow Burn-
Bailouts: Where's the Money?-
Financial Coup d'etat-
The Crash in Commodities: Temporary or Permanent?-
The Freezing Up of the Global Financial System-
Election 2008: The First Billion Dollar Candidate-
Russia, China, and the Middle East Rising-
Pension Fund Time Bomb-
The Shake-
Out Moves into 2009 You can learn more about The Solari Report and subscribe here<http://solari.com/store/the_solari_report/>. I hope you'll join us.
2008: Looking Back
The global financial bubble burst in 2008 -- and that's a good thing.It means that the bubble economy will stop draining the real economy.Instead of capital being invested in fraudulent mortgage securities,derivatives portfolios, and companies running black-box ponzi schemes,perhaps it can be used to finance real solutions to the problemsbefore us. Now we can talk about the real world and real issues: thereare many worth addressing.
The big question of 2008 is "Where is the money?" It just keepsdisappearing. There was $4 trillion plus that disappeared from the USgovernment between 1998 and 2002 along with the pump-and-dump of theInternet and telecom stocks and Enron. Since then and into 2008, fundskeep disappearing into the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. Now we have$700 billion in bailouts and $7 trillion plus in loans by the Fed, notto mention the $5 trillion in mortgage market liabilities assumed bythe Federal government with the passage of the Housing and EconomicRecovery Act of 2008 <http://solari.com/archive/housing_bill/>. Thefraud in the US mortgage bubble was clearly enormous. But, where didall the money go?
The global financial meltdown that some market pundits predictedhasn't happened. Instead, the "Slow Burn<http://solari.com/blog/?p=818>" continues. But, investor losses havebeen significant. The result has been an outbreak of healthy distrustwhich has resulted in the freezing up of the global financial system.Because they are not leveraged, pension fund losses have beenrelatively quiet. Look for reports regarding pension fund performanceto have a profound impact in 2009.
What this all adds up to is financial coup d'etat. Trillions arebeing stolen through the financial system in a manner that centralizeswealth, leaving governments bankrupt but with bigger budgets to assertcontrol over the wider population. Not surprisingly, this leaveseconomies ever more dependent on defense and enforcement spending asthe infrastructure of central control grows.
One of the biggest stories in 2008 was the continuing censorship ofstories about manipulations harmful to our health, includingchemtrails, the efforts to control the food and seed supply, and theongoing suppression of energy technology. Watch for a continuedfailure of traditional media in 2009 ... and a continuing loss ofmarket share due to public disgust at such censorship. Go, Wikileaks!<http://wikileaks.org/>
The Good News
One of the few good investment categories in 2008 was building localself-sufficiency. From the success of the Financial Permacultureconference in Hohenwald, Tennessee to the rapid spread of TransitionTowns around the world, to the spreading of participatory budgetingfrom Latin America, efforts by local communities to re-localize arevery encouraging. The logical response to uneconomic centralization isto look for ways to decentralize. Despite all the difficulties in theeconomy, entrepreneurs doing natural home building, farmers markets,starting farms, installing solar energy and weatherizing homes enjoyeda market moving their way. These efforts will continue to grow wellbeyond any shakeout.
In this week's Solari Report<http://solari.com/store/the_solari_report/> (Friday, December 26),I'm doing a year-end "wrap-up" looking back at events in 2008 anddiscussing what they mean to our future.
Here's an outline: -
The Slow Burn-
Bailouts: Where's the Money?-
Financial Coup d'etat-
The Crash in Commodities: Temporary or Permanent?-
The Freezing Up of the Global Financial System-
Election 2008: The First Billion Dollar Candidate-
Russia, China, and the Middle East Rising-
Pension Fund Time Bomb-
The Shake-
Out Moves into 2009 You can learn more about The Solari Report and subscribe here<http://solari.com/store/the_solari_report/>. I hope you'll join us.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Online Gaming
My husband and i play an online game together. There is some uproar lately about the SOE EULA agreement. Here i will post the differences in part bewteen the agreement for North Americans and those in the EU countries. I am still digesting this information. The EULA agreement is that annoying little message where you click 'agree' you get every time you log on.
Both North American and EU agreements are duplicated in this part:
9. We cannot ensure that your private communications and other personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries.
From here they diverge.
For North Americans, they get a continuation:
You acknowledge and agree that we may transfer such information (including, without limitation your personally identifiable information or personal data) to the United States or other countries or may share such information with our licensees and agents in connection with the Game. You agree that we may communicate with you via telephone, email and any similar technology for any purpose relating to the Game, the Software and any services or software which may in the future be provided by us or on our behalf. You expressly permit SOE to upload CPU, operating system, video card, sound card and memory information from your computer to analyze and optimize your Game experience, improve and maintain the Game and/or provide you with customer service.
For EU countries you get:
For persons in European Union countries, terms such as "personal information" refer to "personal data" as defined by the Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (the "Directive"). We will not collect any personal data from you unless you provide it voluntarily by providing us with your freely given specific and informed consent. You acknowledge and agree that we may transfer such information (including, without limitation your personally identifiable information or personal data) to the United States or other countries or may share such information with our licensees and agents in connection with the Game; you should be aware that different laws and/or regulations may apply outside the European Union with respect to your personal data.
Then both agreements return to the duplicate:
Furthermore, if you request any technical support, you consent to our remote accessing and review of the computer you load the Software onto for purposes of support and debugging. You may choose to visit http://www.station.sony.com (" The Station "), SOE's web site, if The Station offers services such as a Game themed chat room or other services of interest to you. You are subject to the terms and conditions, privacy customs and policies of SOE while on The Station. Since we do not control other web sites and/or privacy policies of third parties, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the personal information you disclose to others. Solely for the purpose of patching and updating the Game and/or the Software and ensuring the integrity of the Game, you hereby grant us permission to: (i) upload Game related file information and data from your computer; and (ii) download Game files to you. You acknowledge that any and all character data is stored and is resident on our servers, and any and all communications that you make within the Game (including, but not limited to, messages solely directed at another player or group of players) traverse through our servers, may or may not be monitored by us or our agents, you have no expectation of privacy in any such communications and expressly consent to such monitoring of communications you send and receive.
Both North American and EU agreements are duplicated in this part:
9. We cannot ensure that your private communications and other personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries.
From here they diverge.
For North Americans, they get a continuation:
You acknowledge and agree that we may transfer such information (including, without limitation your personally identifiable information or personal data) to the United States or other countries or may share such information with our licensees and agents in connection with the Game. You agree that we may communicate with you via telephone, email and any similar technology for any purpose relating to the Game, the Software and any services or software which may in the future be provided by us or on our behalf. You expressly permit SOE to upload CPU, operating system, video card, sound card and memory information from your computer to analyze and optimize your Game experience, improve and maintain the Game and/or provide you with customer service.
For EU countries you get:
For persons in European Union countries, terms such as "personal information" refer to "personal data" as defined by the Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (the "Directive"). We will not collect any personal data from you unless you provide it voluntarily by providing us with your freely given specific and informed consent. You acknowledge and agree that we may transfer such information (including, without limitation your personally identifiable information or personal data) to the United States or other countries or may share such information with our licensees and agents in connection with the Game; you should be aware that different laws and/or regulations may apply outside the European Union with respect to your personal data.
Then both agreements return to the duplicate:
Furthermore, if you request any technical support, you consent to our remote accessing and review of the computer you load the Software onto for purposes of support and debugging. You may choose to visit http://www.station.sony.com (" The Station "), SOE's web site, if The Station offers services such as a Game themed chat room or other services of interest to you. You are subject to the terms and conditions, privacy customs and policies of SOE while on The Station. Since we do not control other web sites and/or privacy policies of third parties, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the personal information you disclose to others. Solely for the purpose of patching and updating the Game and/or the Software and ensuring the integrity of the Game, you hereby grant us permission to: (i) upload Game related file information and data from your computer; and (ii) download Game files to you. You acknowledge that any and all character data is stored and is resident on our servers, and any and all communications that you make within the Game (including, but not limited to, messages solely directed at another player or group of players) traverse through our servers, may or may not be monitored by us or our agents, you have no expectation of privacy in any such communications and expressly consent to such monitoring of communications you send and receive.
Pickled Herring
Inlagd Sill (Pickled Herring)
8 salted herring filets
1 quart water 1 cup
Swedish vinegar (ättiksprit, 12%)*
2 cups sugar
3 cups water
5 allspice whole
5 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 red onion -- peeled and sliced
1 carrot -- peeled and sliced red onion -- sliced
Soak 8 salted herring filets in 1 quart water for 3 hours. (at Christmas we buy fish in cans at this stage)
Skin and cut up into bite size squares
Combine 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups water, allspice, peppercorns, and 2 bay leaves in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then let cool.
Place fish in a glass jar, layering up with the sliced peeled red onion and sliced peeled carrot. Reuse a spaghetti sauce jar works for this. The layers look attractive in the jar.
Pour vinegar mixture over herring and vegetables, cover, and refrigerate for 3-7 days. We also did a version with leeks, you can put in what you like.
Serve with sour cream and boiled potato, garnish with chives. Great cool summer dish!
*I am not sure if you can get 12% vinegar in Virginia at supermarkets, personally, I think its worth a try with white vinegar.
There are many variations of this dish, and at Christmas and Easter we get several varieties for the table. Red beet sill, Mustard sill, Onion sill…. I have an absolute favourite if you go to the Ikea you MUST try this stuff!!!! Its made by the Abba brand, its called Skärgårdssill (archipelago herring) It’s a white creamy sauce with roe, the sauce the fish is in is just as yummy as the fish! I love it on whole grain bread for breakfast :P or lunch…. Or snack…. Good luck making sill, I hope you all at least get to salt some, the fried salted herring we eat in Virginia is exactly the same here.
8 salted herring filets
1 quart water 1 cup
Swedish vinegar (ättiksprit, 12%)*
2 cups sugar
3 cups water
5 allspice whole
5 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 red onion -- peeled and sliced
1 carrot -- peeled and sliced red onion -- sliced
Soak 8 salted herring filets in 1 quart water for 3 hours. (at Christmas we buy fish in cans at this stage)
Skin and cut up into bite size squares
Combine 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups water, allspice, peppercorns, and 2 bay leaves in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then let cool.
Place fish in a glass jar, layering up with the sliced peeled red onion and sliced peeled carrot. Reuse a spaghetti sauce jar works for this. The layers look attractive in the jar.
Pour vinegar mixture over herring and vegetables, cover, and refrigerate for 3-7 days. We also did a version with leeks, you can put in what you like.
Serve with sour cream and boiled potato, garnish with chives. Great cool summer dish!
*I am not sure if you can get 12% vinegar in Virginia at supermarkets, personally, I think its worth a try with white vinegar.
There are many variations of this dish, and at Christmas and Easter we get several varieties for the table. Red beet sill, Mustard sill, Onion sill…. I have an absolute favourite if you go to the Ikea you MUST try this stuff!!!! Its made by the Abba brand, its called Skärgårdssill (archipelago herring) It’s a white creamy sauce with roe, the sauce the fish is in is just as yummy as the fish! I love it on whole grain bread for breakfast :P or lunch…. Or snack…. Good luck making sill, I hope you all at least get to salt some, the fried salted herring we eat in Virginia is exactly the same here.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cuba Grows 4%
These things seem out of place but i will pull it together at the end.
Weird stuff, Cuba's economy grows 4% in 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24754940-5018001,00.html
And here you can read about the missing trillions everyone is wondering (and still wondering) about
http://whereisthemoney.org/
Dick Cheney is indicted for prison profiteering.
http://solari.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/cheney_indictment1.pdf
(sadly the judge who performed this act of justice may face persicution for doing his job)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6131207.html
One day before charges of corruption were brought upon him,
'Gov. Rod Blagojevich told all state agencies to suspend business with Bank of America immediately.'
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_illinois_governor_cuts_off_bank_of_ameri.html
Wow all this stuff is totally random i guess..... and in no particular order. Its easy to get distracted isn't it and start chasing your tail. OK going down the line i will make a train of thought .
What we want is sustainability,
Cuba does show an example of that, though we may not agree with everything about their way of government, they are the only nation in the world who has achieved sustainable agriculture.
I dislike the mistrust that is being sown by the secrecy of where all that money flows through federal agencies. It echos in our mistrust of institutions that we need to strengthen our families, like education and retirement.
It is really hard to believe that there are people in this world who, when they see children playing in the schoolyard, see only $oldiers, and jailbirds. It's discouraging. The Judge and Mr. Blagojevich, both facing repercussions
from standing up to this twisted system. If they are indeed corrupt also, as the things they tried to bring to light, i hope all people can take educated action. I am debating myself how to use my credit union from Europe...
Weird stuff, Cuba's economy grows 4% in 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24754940-5018001,00.html
And here you can read about the missing trillions everyone is wondering (and still wondering) about
http://whereisthemoney.org/
Dick Cheney is indicted for prison profiteering.
http://solari.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/cheney_indictment1.pdf
(sadly the judge who performed this act of justice may face persicution for doing his job)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6131207.html
One day before charges of corruption were brought upon him,
'Gov. Rod Blagojevich told all state agencies to suspend business with Bank of America immediately.'
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_illinois_governor_cuts_off_bank_of_ameri.html
Wow all this stuff is totally random i guess..... and in no particular order. Its easy to get distracted isn't it and start chasing your tail. OK going down the line i will make a train of thought .
What we want is sustainability,
Cuba does show an example of that, though we may not agree with everything about their way of government, they are the only nation in the world who has achieved sustainable agriculture.
I dislike the mistrust that is being sown by the secrecy of where all that money flows through federal agencies. It echos in our mistrust of institutions that we need to strengthen our families, like education and retirement.
It is really hard to believe that there are people in this world who, when they see children playing in the schoolyard, see only $oldiers, and jailbirds. It's discouraging. The Judge and Mr. Blagojevich, both facing repercussions
from standing up to this twisted system. If they are indeed corrupt also, as the things they tried to bring to light, i hope all people can take educated action. I am debating myself how to use my credit union from Europe...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Send Warm Wishes to Canada
I hope you all are noticing the struggle for democracy in your backyard.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/05/stephen-harper-parliament-suspended-canada Harper appeared on national television on Wednesday night vowing to block a coalition from coming to power. "Canada's government will use every legal means to protect our democracy, to protect our economy," he said. The Liberals AND the Socialists have put aside their differences to unite in a DEMOCRATICALLY elected parliament. They areunited because they belive Mr. Harpers economic policies are dangerous to the nation of Canada. The nation, is not the same as the government. The president is essentially saying *your government will protect you from democracy*
There is something else i want you to watch because ignoring the struggle of other countries and knowledge of history is dangerous.This stuff is important and i hope you will do more research on it, and share what you learn with concern, not combatance. There is a coalition of parties in Thailand. They represent the majority of the people, many poor rice farmers and other less powerfulpeople. The parties are unbited against the old Chinese-Thai families and royalists who are rich and powerful. They PAID protesters to shut down the airport in Banghkok recently and dissolved the democratically elected government. By paying the protesters, who called themselves'People's Alliance for Democracy, ironically, and also by controlling media and convincing people the opposition used voter fraud and is corrupt, they have suppressed a government who represented the needs of poor workers in Thailand. Most westerners do not care, they just care their vacation plans are disrupted. Many news articles give incomplete information you will have to read different sources. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5271710.ece http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/12/200812372511594298.html
Btw, In your own neighborhood there are numerous grassroots activists who are organizing on issues that you may find important. I just thought this was interesting if anyone wanted to get motivated about schools or something. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_results?event_type=231&zip_radius%5B1%5D=150&type=advanced&orderby=zip_radius&zip_radius%5B0%5D=23116&x=22&y=15
Happy Reading!
There is something else i want you to watch because ignoring the struggle of other countries and knowledge of history is dangerous.This stuff is important and i hope you will do more research on it, and share what you learn with concern, not combatance. There is a coalition of parties in Thailand. They represent the majority of the people, many poor rice farmers and other less powerfulpeople. The parties are unbited against the old Chinese-Thai families and royalists who are rich and powerful. They PAID protesters to shut down the airport in Banghkok recently and dissolved the democratically elected government. By paying the protesters, who called themselves'People's Alliance for Democracy, ironically, and also by controlling media and convincing people the opposition used voter fraud and is corrupt, they have suppressed a government who represented the needs of poor workers in Thailand. Most westerners do not care, they just care their vacation plans are disrupted. Many news articles give incomplete information you will have to read different sources. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5271710.ece http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/12/200812372511594298.html
Btw, In your own neighborhood there are numerous grassroots activists who are organizing on issues that you may find important. I just thought this was interesting if anyone wanted to get motivated about schools or something. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_results?event_type=231&zip_radius%5B1%5D=150&type=advanced&orderby=zip_radius&zip_radius%5B0%5D=23116&x=22&y=15
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Not what it Seems
Thailand's government has been disbanded in a ruling of the courts. Here are a couple of articles on the subject.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5271710.ece
Yes you finally got to use your airport again, forget those people and their petty problems.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/12/200812372511594298.html
Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that the PAD had "successfully manipulated Thailand's democratic process".
The PAD protesters were PAID, many times the daily wage of a farmer in Thailand. They shut down the airport and sure got the attention. The truth should be told, PPP won the election fairly, and the Royalists along with other moneyed interests don't want things to change. PPP is the party of the rural people and the poor who want to see more infrastructure built. I will get back to this later.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5271710.ece
Yes you finally got to use your airport again, forget those people and their petty problems.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/12/200812372511594298.html
Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that the PAD had "successfully manipulated Thailand's democratic process".
The PAD protesters were PAID, many times the daily wage of a farmer in Thailand. They shut down the airport and sure got the attention. The truth should be told, PPP won the election fairly, and the Royalists along with other moneyed interests don't want things to change. PPP is the party of the rural people and the poor who want to see more infrastructure built. I will get back to this later.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Chokladbollar
The secret with these candy balls is to get the right ingredients. the Oatmeal must be quick cooking type, the coconut should be the dried dessicated coconut, and use a firm decent quality baking margarine.
Mix together
1/2 cup(minus a teaspoon) margarine
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 cups of oatmeal
2 tbl cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbl cold strong coffee
(Optional dash of arrak flavor)
Mix these ingredients and roll them into small balls in your palms then garnish with coconut. You could also roll them in pearl sugar, or more cocoa.
These are fun to make with kids!
Mix together
1/2 cup(minus a teaspoon) margarine
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 cups of oatmeal
2 tbl cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbl cold strong coffee
(Optional dash of arrak flavor)
Mix these ingredients and roll them into small balls in your palms then garnish with coconut. You could also roll them in pearl sugar, or more cocoa.
These are fun to make with kids!
What can We Learn from Argentina?
Just this fall, the government of Argentina has seized the pensions of citizens, 'The failed experiment' of private pensions is finished, ANSES Director Amado Boudou said at the ceremony with Fernandez, before hundreds of political supporters.Why should we care? What can we learn from the crisis in Argentina?http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2128838220081021 Argentina's capitalist economy was liberalized during the 1990s, along lines drawn by the IMF and applauded by the pro-capitalist (Hoover Institute/Chicago School) theorists. These theorists and policy wonks are neoclassical theory fundamentalists, arguing for absolute faith in the ability of unbridled markets to solve all problems (in the long run?). In other words, Argentina's leadership did just about everything the pro-capitalist theorists said they should do to be prosperous and were rewarded with 40 billion US dollars in support. But what was the result? Argentina is three years into a deep recession, now has almost 20% unemployment, homelessness has doubled in the last four years, and more than 50% of the population is now below the poverty line. And this in a country that was once one of the richest in the Western Hemisphere and that is still one of the richest countries in natural resources on the planet. Why did capitalism fail in Argentina? http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/sgabriel/argentina.htm Currently, Argentina is experiencing what the government describes as a 'great depression.' Using the'Great Depressions' methodology developed by Cole and Ohanian (1999) and Kehoe and Prescott(2002), we find that the primary determinants of both the boom in Argentina in the 1990s and the subsequentdepression were changes in productivity, rather than changes in factor inputs. The timing of eventslinks the boom to the currency-board-like Convertibility Plan and the crisis to its collapse. To gain credibility,the Argentine government took measures to make abandoning the plan more costly. Because thegovernment was unable to enforce fiscal discipline, however, these increased costs failed to make the planmore credible and instead made the crisis far worse when it failed.http://www.econ.umn.edu/~tkehoe/papers/argentina.pdf (2002)In other words, Argentina became caught in a vicious cycle of weak activity, overvaluation, and mounting debt.http://internationalmonetaryfund.com/external/np/speeches/2002/071702.htm There are in this last article some suggestions for the prevention of the crisis, and lessons learned.What i have learned from this is that the crisis in the US will be felt for years to come, the debt will be hard to maintain and it cannot be ignored and running up indefinately,a dollar may not be worth what you thought so don't assume it will retain its value, credit should be hard to get, listen to policy advice (from who, getting to that one) and change policies when needed, and lastly when things are good is the time to show restraint and discipline even if private money is pouring in.
And here is an interesting thing...'Hence our proposal for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism that would empower the debtor and a super-majority of creditors to take the key decisions in a restructuring in a timely and efficient way. Perhaps if such a mechanism had been in place, Argentina's debt time-bomb could have been defused a few months before it finally blew up? Anne Krueger of the International Monetary Fund.
I had also been thinking of this type of thing, a sort of *Consumer Credit Counselor for people in the US who cannot afford their mortgages because of rising interest rates. But such an office for whole nations.....hmm. It sounds like the prevention or the cure, no matter, it is perhaps the goal?
And here is an interesting thing...'Hence our proposal for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism that would empower the debtor and a super-majority of creditors to take the key decisions in a restructuring in a timely and efficient way. Perhaps if such a mechanism had been in place, Argentina's debt time-bomb could have been defused a few months before it finally blew up? Anne Krueger of the International Monetary Fund.
I had also been thinking of this type of thing, a sort of *Consumer Credit Counselor for people in the US who cannot afford their mortgages because of rising interest rates. But such an office for whole nations.....hmm. It sounds like the prevention or the cure, no matter, it is perhaps the goal?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Perils of Obedience
For a couple days now i am wondering how this sort of thing comes about, how is it that parliments of nations can vote to lock the EU into these neoliberal economic policies. How can they willingly turn over their self determintation to a less democratic agency. How can they look at Argentina the last 15 years, or where the US is now and see the fruits of those policies and willingly vote for them here. Then i read this interesting article, The Perils of Obedience, http://home.swbell.net/revscat/perilsOfObedience.html
This has gotten me thinking perhaps that our elected officials really believe they are serving a higher good, fulfilling some duty that we cannot possibly understand yet. Our cries of discomfort and shouts of 'NOT FAIR' will quiet in the future.... how will they quiet us. Will our food get cheaper, will jobs become numerable and pay less, so we will work more and be too busy to notice what is happening. The ladies at the Dagis, i did not meet one who knew what the Lisbon Treaty was. Of course since i have come from the US i am frightened these people here do not know how good they have it. Nationalized childcare is a dream come true for me. Canadians are pushing for it now, but i don't see it happpening under Harper Regime.
Still reading about the Lisbon Treaty here are some links,
http://www.robert-schuman.eu/doc/divers/lisbonne/en/10fiches.pdf
http://www.independent.ie/special-features/your-eu/the-lisbon-treaty-for-dummies-1376340.html
http://guengl.org/upload/10_lisbon_treaty.pdf
This has gotten me thinking perhaps that our elected officials really believe they are serving a higher good, fulfilling some duty that we cannot possibly understand yet. Our cries of discomfort and shouts of 'NOT FAIR' will quiet in the future.... how will they quiet us. Will our food get cheaper, will jobs become numerable and pay less, so we will work more and be too busy to notice what is happening. The ladies at the Dagis, i did not meet one who knew what the Lisbon Treaty was. Of course since i have come from the US i am frightened these people here do not know how good they have it. Nationalized childcare is a dream come true for me. Canadians are pushing for it now, but i don't see it happpening under Harper Regime.
Still reading about the Lisbon Treaty here are some links,
http://www.robert-schuman.eu/doc/divers/lisbonne/en/10fiches.pdf
http://www.independent.ie/special-features/your-eu/the-lisbon-treaty-for-dummies-1376340.html
http://guengl.org/upload/10_lisbon_treaty.pdf
Thursday, November 20, 2008
What is the Lisbon Treaty?
Ok so what is this Lisbon Treaty of which Magnus speaks?
It is a 'new improved' EU constitution which gives the EU legal personage and the ability to amend itself without democratic measures. Legal personage means workers lose the right to strike because they would be harming the 'person' that is the EU. A foreign company can come to Sweden, and pay only the fair wage for their home country, not a fair wage for Sweden. Sweden and Denmark have no minimum wage, the people here would be forced to take less pay for their work. I feel this is wrong and i hope parliment remembers their brothers, sisters, and family who work to provide a safe environment for their children which Sweden has been known for. I will update more as i learn it. Only two countries, Ireland and Belgium, voted it down in nation wide referendums. The only arguments i can find for the ratification involve fear. Here is one
http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/irish-eu-treaty-referendum/article-172508
The Paradox of the No Vote' Ireland has gained a lot from its EU membership. When Ireland joined the EU in 1973, it was the poorest country in the Community of Nine, as it was then. But the country soon became a model of success.' So why is it a paradox that changes to the Irish Constitution would be questioned? Why would Ireland want to become a province again? Is this insinuating that Ireland would suffer economically for not forfeiting its sovreignty? How about this claim;
'If the EU fails to find a quick way out of the crisis, it is likely to be weakened internationally, notably in its dealings with powers such as Russia and Iran.' First of all there is no crisis. Secondly a less militarized EU is exactly more able to relate to Russia and Iran. Thats why we have had a positive relationship since the cold war. You know... less guns more trade. Respect is an underutilized diplomatic device and it could work here if the EU wants to streamline processes and make decisions more quickly and efficiently, instead of a move towarsds totalitarianism.
It is a 'new improved' EU constitution which gives the EU legal personage and the ability to amend itself without democratic measures. Legal personage means workers lose the right to strike because they would be harming the 'person' that is the EU. A foreign company can come to Sweden, and pay only the fair wage for their home country, not a fair wage for Sweden. Sweden and Denmark have no minimum wage, the people here would be forced to take less pay for their work. I feel this is wrong and i hope parliment remembers their brothers, sisters, and family who work to provide a safe environment for their children which Sweden has been known for. I will update more as i learn it. Only two countries, Ireland and Belgium, voted it down in nation wide referendums. The only arguments i can find for the ratification involve fear. Here is one
http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/irish-eu-treaty-referendum/article-172508
The Paradox of the No Vote' Ireland has gained a lot from its EU membership. When Ireland joined the EU in 1973, it was the poorest country in the Community of Nine, as it was then. But the country soon became a model of success.' So why is it a paradox that changes to the Irish Constitution would be questioned? Why would Ireland want to become a province again? Is this insinuating that Ireland would suffer economically for not forfeiting its sovreignty? How about this claim;
'If the EU fails to find a quick way out of the crisis, it is likely to be weakened internationally, notably in its dealings with powers such as Russia and Iran.' First of all there is no crisis. Secondly a less militarized EU is exactly more able to relate to Russia and Iran. Thats why we have had a positive relationship since the cold war. You know... less guns more trade. Respect is an underutilized diplomatic device and it could work here if the EU wants to streamline processes and make decisions more quickly and efficiently, instead of a move towarsds totalitarianism.
My Orwellian Nightmare
So this month, with little notice we have this ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/world/europe/07georgia.html?_r=2&ref=europe&oref=slogin
So we forgive the newspapers of that time, 'Thousands Flee in the face of the Red Scare'?
After the sorrow that i felt in August of this year, and wrote to my friends then...
Guys i have been so depressed, i have spent this month fretting with and such because i... here in Europe, on August 7 my husband i could read on the news that hostilities had broken out between Ossetians and the Georgian government. Russia came in afterwards to stop it, but three days later all the news in the west was saying the opposite. This aggression, started by the Russians, it said....talk about an Orwellian feeling. Around the world young people and old have shouted out, here is two old guys who are trying to speak out but i don't know if people are hearing them Pat Buchanen (if this video is deleted just search intermittently til someone posts it again) http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UBRl-BvKJII and Gorbachev in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/opinion/20gorbachev.html?_r=1&oref=slogin When this is behind us someday, the powers that be can simply claim they did what they could with the information that they had. An excuse that wears thin in the information age. But let this be a huge wake up call to us all, don't let it be as painful for you as it was for me to accept. How much have we criticized the governments of Bellusconi or Putin for being false democracies by controlling the mass media? There is no need to make a mockery of the intelligence of a literate public. The huge gaps and leaks come from the media itself, who feel cheated. A retiree said, 'The Philadelphia Inquirer, which was a very respectable paper, having won a number of Pulitzers was bought by an ad agency executive and the local Chamber of Commerce. Foreign Bureaus were closed, the paper is now dumbed down and just shell of itself. It isn't the only one to go that route. I'd use the Internet to monitor media coverage in the US just for fun. ' What should we do. I think most people submit to the euphism, 'all media lies anyway', and block it out, don't question the discrepencies, and are only swayed to make a decision based on how much they hate the alternative. Trust me this phenomenon is nothing new at all. Our music, poetry, and film for decades has articulated these issues. Personally my advice to everyone is to keep alert, read, research, don't be swayed by extreemist views. Interesting that anarchists, revolutionary Marxist Communists and libertarian neo-conservatives have so much in common. In their most extreemist form,they strive to throw off the confines of government, have an every-man-for-himself atttitude, and agree that if anyone has too much we should steal it from him. The fruit of the last few years mindset has allowed the acceptance of such things as this, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1538661720080815 See how much information and opportunity you can find lately on the types of government (or other outlets) who promote moderation, provide for the health and self confidence of its citizens, look for cross debates on economics.... For myself, i have decided, if religion, media and politics are all in agreement, its probably not a democracy. This is a concern for ALL people, whatever your poltical views are, unless democracy is not what you want. So our enemy is not some world totalitarian government that horifies you into inaction. It's our ignorance and apathy. Learn how to scrutinize your input. Its not a party issue to ask who sponsers your programming, who is that 'expert employed by, etc. That guy retired from the navy when? what does he know about Iran this week? That expert is from 'Coalition for the what? I don't see any reference on them anywhere, did that webpage pop up this week? The headline was so alarmist, but the actual article does little or nothing to back it up. Does this information assume my memory is less than three days old? Do they insult my intelligence by ignoring history? So check your sources, learn a bit about the PR industry, lobby groups,(the richest counties in America are funded how?) what a media mogul is, read and consider other countries news,(yeah radical) etc. XOXO Teresa
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/world/europe/07georgia.html?_r=2&ref=europe&oref=slogin
So we forgive the newspapers of that time, 'Thousands Flee in the face of the Red Scare'?
After the sorrow that i felt in August of this year, and wrote to my friends then...
Guys i have been so depressed, i have spent this month fretting with and such because i... here in Europe, on August 7 my husband i could read on the news that hostilities had broken out between Ossetians and the Georgian government. Russia came in afterwards to stop it, but three days later all the news in the west was saying the opposite. This aggression, started by the Russians, it said....talk about an Orwellian feeling. Around the world young people and old have shouted out, here is two old guys who are trying to speak out but i don't know if people are hearing them Pat Buchanen (if this video is deleted just search intermittently til someone posts it again) http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UBRl-BvKJII and Gorbachev in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/opinion/20gorbachev.html?_r=1&oref=slogin When this is behind us someday, the powers that be can simply claim they did what they could with the information that they had. An excuse that wears thin in the information age. But let this be a huge wake up call to us all, don't let it be as painful for you as it was for me to accept. How much have we criticized the governments of Bellusconi or Putin for being false democracies by controlling the mass media? There is no need to make a mockery of the intelligence of a literate public. The huge gaps and leaks come from the media itself, who feel cheated. A retiree said, 'The Philadelphia Inquirer, which was a very respectable paper, having won a number of Pulitzers was bought by an ad agency executive and the local Chamber of Commerce. Foreign Bureaus were closed, the paper is now dumbed down and just shell of itself. It isn't the only one to go that route. I'd use the Internet to monitor media coverage in the US just for fun. ' What should we do. I think most people submit to the euphism, 'all media lies anyway', and block it out, don't question the discrepencies, and are only swayed to make a decision based on how much they hate the alternative. Trust me this phenomenon is nothing new at all. Our music, poetry, and film for decades has articulated these issues. Personally my advice to everyone is to keep alert, read, research, don't be swayed by extreemist views. Interesting that anarchists, revolutionary Marxist Communists and libertarian neo-conservatives have so much in common. In their most extreemist form,they strive to throw off the confines of government, have an every-man-for-himself atttitude, and agree that if anyone has too much we should steal it from him. The fruit of the last few years mindset has allowed the acceptance of such things as this, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1538661720080815 See how much information and opportunity you can find lately on the types of government (or other outlets) who promote moderation, provide for the health and self confidence of its citizens, look for cross debates on economics.... For myself, i have decided, if religion, media and politics are all in agreement, its probably not a democracy. This is a concern for ALL people, whatever your poltical views are, unless democracy is not what you want. So our enemy is not some world totalitarian government that horifies you into inaction. It's our ignorance and apathy. Learn how to scrutinize your input. Its not a party issue to ask who sponsers your programming, who is that 'expert employed by, etc. That guy retired from the navy when? what does he know about Iran this week? That expert is from 'Coalition for the what? I don't see any reference on them anywhere, did that webpage pop up this week? The headline was so alarmist, but the actual article does little or nothing to back it up. Does this information assume my memory is less than three days old? Do they insult my intelligence by ignoring history? So check your sources, learn a bit about the PR industry, lobby groups,(the richest counties in America are funded how?) what a media mogul is, read and consider other countries news,(yeah radical) etc. XOXO Teresa
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The War Prayer, Twain
"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle – be Thou near them! With them – in spirit – we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with hurricanes of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it – for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."
[After a pause.] "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."
It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
[After a pause.] "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."
It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
Stompa
Here is the recipe in Swedish for a Scandinavian fried Bread, Stompa
http://recept.nu/1.149475/leila_lindholm/smaratter_tillbehor/agg_mejeri/stompa_stekpannebrod
In a bowl,mix these five things;
1. 6 and a half cups of flour
2. 2 teaspoons of baking soda
3. 2 teaspoons ground anise seed, pulverized
4. 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed, pulverized
5. 2 teaspoons of salt
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add these two things
1. 2 and a half cups of plain yogurt (maybe buttermilk could be used)*
2. 3/4 cup of light baking syrup
* the original recipe calls for filmjölk instead of yogurt, in english you might call it sour milk,it is very much like yogurt, a bit thinner. To get the moisture content right in the dough, it might need some adjustment.
Mix this stuff up and seperate it into 20 pieces, roll them out with a rolling pin to 7 inch circles, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.
Now fry them in a dry pan, just until brown on each side, it does not take long at all. I have two pans going, and Magnus does the frying He says stompa is an ancient scandinavian recipe, they may have used different ingredients in the past, but frying the dough on hot stones! Its that old.
http://recept.nu/1.149475/leila_lindholm/smaratter_tillbehor/agg_mejeri/stompa_stekpannebrod
In a bowl,mix these five things;
1. 6 and a half cups of flour
2. 2 teaspoons of baking soda
3. 2 teaspoons ground anise seed, pulverized
4. 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed, pulverized
5. 2 teaspoons of salt
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add these two things
1. 2 and a half cups of plain yogurt (maybe buttermilk could be used)*
2. 3/4 cup of light baking syrup
* the original recipe calls for filmjölk instead of yogurt, in english you might call it sour milk,it is very much like yogurt, a bit thinner. To get the moisture content right in the dough, it might need some adjustment.
Mix this stuff up and seperate it into 20 pieces, roll them out with a rolling pin to 7 inch circles, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.
Now fry them in a dry pan, just until brown on each side, it does not take long at all. I have two pans going, and Magnus does the frying He says stompa is an ancient scandinavian recipe, they may have used different ingredients in the past, but frying the dough on hot stones! Its that old.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Lussekattor
Traditional food eaten during the holiday season in Sweden, beginning on Lucia, December 13, and all the way through January 12. The shape of the buns represents a sleeping cat curled up, but there are alot of traditional shapes for the buns, the cat is just most popular. Simply make a sweet dough with 1/2 gram saffron dissolved in the milk.
Klimpsoppa
Klimpsoppa, klimp means 'dumpling.' Simmer minced steak for about 1 1/2 hours with a scant handful of allspice, a bayleaf, white pepper, and salt. Add parsnips, carrots, turnip, cubed. To make the climp stir together 2 cups of wheat flour, white pepper and salt to taste with 1/2 cup of water, it should be the consistancy of drop buscuit dough. Drop by spoonfuls into the simmering soup, cook until firm about twenty minutes is plenty. (don't eat the allspice or bayleaf of course)
Pytti Panna
Pytti Panna, another classic Swedish 'soul food' that can be found in roadside diners in Sweden for hungry truckers. It is basically potato and onion diced with other sausages and meats added. Serve with chili sauce and red beets. Excellant! Great way to use leftover grilled meat for a lunch.
Kroppkakor
Klassiska kroppkakor med lingon och smör. Means classic potato dumplings with lingon jam and butter. Good Swedish food! You take the dough that is used for Gnocchi and leave out the parsley and fill each with a mixture of fried sausage and onions. Great on a snowy day.
Here is a project we have been thinking about, it is a work in progress, trying to get a map of political ideas.
*Democracy works everyplace on this circle except the outside borders. Extremity in any disallows citizen participation, as does the centre, when the right to vote is restricted.
*On Civil Liberties- ‘All men are created equal.’ is an accepted premise among all on this circle except the centre and pure conservatives, where some people are more deserving than others.
*On Economy- Capitalism flourishes everyplace on the circle except the center and pure socialists, the centre choosing to subsidize agriculture and industry over individuals
*On Strong Government- Strong government influence is accepted in all areas of the circle except the centre and pure Liberalism, people who proclaim to be anti-government but organize into political parties and effect government making policies are exception, a common occurrence in the middle
Radical Center politics has no clear agenda or direction and thrives over one party issues and black-white division. It is very hard to see because it borrows from all political ideals. Imagine this diagram as a race track, and the goals and ideals of the people should be pursued, meaning confrontations should happen. Solutions should be taken in a direction that meets the needs of the people. Extremism in any one direction is unstable, resulting in revolution, and sinking in the middle means nothing gets done.
From Wikipedia, 'Various groups have adopted 'radial center' as a term to describe a third way philosophy which includes their belief that, in affirming the core principles involved on both sides of a dilemma, the dilemma or disagreement can be rendered moot.'
Popularism is another word for the radical middle because they find it easy to get votes, everyone can see some element of their beliefs in the party. Lets take an infamous example, national socialists (Nazis) They pushed for workers rights which no conservative would touch, then espoused a survival of the fittest ideal that scared off socialists. They supported for a strong government that horrified liberals. Simultaneously, National Socialists appealed to conservatives’ appreciation of heritage and history, with strong religious or moral values, Government ownership of industry appealed to socialists and appeal to liberals’ desire to influence government policies, seeming to apply more government control to industry (corporatism) than individuals.
Despite the claim to these values by National Socialists, all of it is rendered moot. Only the value that is needed at the time to stay in power gets enforced. They orally promoted workers rights, but the shot workers who striked, claimed devout religious values while promoting hate and fear, and claimed less government while increasing spending and monitoring of citizens.
*On Civil Liberties- ‘All men are created equal.’ is an accepted premise among all on this circle except the centre and pure conservatives, where some people are more deserving than others.
*On Economy- Capitalism flourishes everyplace on the circle except the center and pure socialists, the centre choosing to subsidize agriculture and industry over individuals
*On Strong Government- Strong government influence is accepted in all areas of the circle except the centre and pure Liberalism, people who proclaim to be anti-government but organize into political parties and effect government making policies are exception, a common occurrence in the middle
Radical Center politics has no clear agenda or direction and thrives over one party issues and black-white division. It is very hard to see because it borrows from all political ideals. Imagine this diagram as a race track, and the goals and ideals of the people should be pursued, meaning confrontations should happen. Solutions should be taken in a direction that meets the needs of the people. Extremism in any one direction is unstable, resulting in revolution, and sinking in the middle means nothing gets done.
From Wikipedia, 'Various groups have adopted 'radial center' as a term to describe a third way philosophy which includes their belief that, in affirming the core principles involved on both sides of a dilemma, the dilemma or disagreement can be rendered moot.'
Popularism is another word for the radical middle because they find it easy to get votes, everyone can see some element of their beliefs in the party. Lets take an infamous example, national socialists (Nazis) They pushed for workers rights which no conservative would touch, then espoused a survival of the fittest ideal that scared off socialists. They supported for a strong government that horrified liberals. Simultaneously, National Socialists appealed to conservatives’ appreciation of heritage and history, with strong religious or moral values, Government ownership of industry appealed to socialists and appeal to liberals’ desire to influence government policies, seeming to apply more government control to industry (corporatism) than individuals.
Despite the claim to these values by National Socialists, all of it is rendered moot. Only the value that is needed at the time to stay in power gets enforced. They orally promoted workers rights, but the shot workers who striked, claimed devout religious values while promoting hate and fear, and claimed less government while increasing spending and monitoring of citizens.
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