Julen frukt kaka

(recipe for Christmas Fruit cake we made in Virginia in Swedish)

ingredienser:

totalt 6 dl vetemjöl, delade
1 flask citron essens (30 ml)
400 gram påse hasselnötter
store påse valnötter (600 gram?)
4 burker hackad kanderade frukt blandning
3/4 tsk bakpulver
3 dl ljus russin
175 gram smör
4 ägg

för att dekorera toppen av tårta:
1 burk hela kanderade körsbär
några hela nötter
(om du har överblivin frukt eller nötter, bara lägg den till degen)

1. Smörj bakformen med lite margarin

2. Man behöver tre skålor, en liten, en mellan, och en stor

3. I den lilla skålen blanda 4 dl vetemjöl med 3/4 tsk bakpulver och låt stå

4. I den storsta skålen blanda 400g hasselnötter och en store påse valnötter, fyra burker torkade frukt blandning, 3 dl ljusa russin, och 2 dl vetemjöl, blanda väl

5. I mellan skålen använda elvisp blanda 175 gram smör och 3 dl socker, när det är väl blandade lägg till ett uns (30 ml) citron essens (ja den hela lilla flask) fyra ägg och då den innehåll av den forst lilla skålen, lägg till en tredje del åt gången, blanda väl

6. Lägg innehållet till den stora skålen, blända ihop och dela ute mellan två tårtformer eller en stor

7. dekorera toppen av kakor med hela nötter och kanderade frukt

8. baka 150 centigrader ugn för 2.5 timmar och har med en skål vatten i ugn när du bakar

Wikileaks Reading

Wikileaks, lately I am reading embassy cables at
http://213.251.145.96/

The quardian newspaper is doing several series to help overview here is one
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/29/wikileaks-embassy-cables-key-points

This website is peers reading and discussing the cables I have really enjoyed watching this site,
http://qualitycontrol.operationleakspin.org/?ticket_status=new

Enjoy! The voice of the Embassy Cables is that of an employee reporting to their boss. For example when the embassy in Stockholm says "During seven months in office, the Alliance government has changed the labor laws to reduce unemployment benefits and
provide incentives to employment. It has announced plans to
do away with the wealth tax and abolish the valuation-based
property tax, replacing it with a much-reduced local tax. (reduced tax for somebody with property but more tax for those of us who don't) It
has introduced and is expected to pass legislation
authorizing the sale of six large state-owned businesses
during the coming three years." The tone is of approval.

SD are better than Pirates?

This is an unclassified cable in the wikileaks archive that describes Sweden's Pirate party from June 10, 2009.
'A side effect of the Pirates’ success is that it most likely reduced the chances for the far-right nationalist Sweden Democrats to gain representation in the EP. The Pirates have some of the same voter base -- young men with mistrust for politicians. Although the Sweden Democrats tripled their results to 3.3%, up from 1.1% in 2004, they remain below the threshold for representation in either the EP or Swedish Parliament.'
Why is it in American interest to groom a xenophobic backwards little party who focusses on immigration compared to the intelligent rebellious party who focusses on changes to copyright law and file sharing? Do I really need to ask after what has gone on in US with the Tea Party? ( although in my opinion I have an issue with single issue parties)
The voice of the cables is of course extremely opinionated and not neutral when it comes to the election results around the world, when it is seen as affecting the American governments interests. From living in Virginia and experiencing first hand the detrimental effects of media concentration, gerrymandering, single issue, opaque ballot counting, and dirty campaigning, I know how much the establishment we have today values democracy. The results speak for themselves.

Suicide Bomber Scare?

What has become of Aftonbladet? Wasn't it the newspaper for unions? Today the headline reads suicidebomber! And when you click on it you see some guy actually had a fatal accident with explosives and not near any people whatsoever. Well..... I asked my class this past week, please let Sweden never become like the US with bomb sniffing dogs every time you go on a train, for example. I hope the Swedish people see through this bullcrap. The wikileaks emails reveal a government planning to sell off six large companies, reducing unemployment benefits and no plans for anything better. Of course we can build up an economy with lots and lots of police of all flavors...

Banks or their Minions Running the Show

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/valet2010/socialdemokraterna/article8121040.ab
Party politics are new to me but banks or private interests running the government is not. Sweden's social Democratic party is being threatened to play along with the privitization schemes, putting the Swedish people into debt and losing social protection, or become irrelevant. By become irrelevant it just means the newspapers will bully them as they do today, right? Or is there more? I have been reading an economist from University of Kansas, Michael Hudson who wrote, -“Join the fight against labor, or we will destroy you,” the EC is telling governments. This requires dictatorship, and the European Central Bank (ECB) has taken over this power from elected government. Its “independence” from political control is celebrated as the “hallmark of democracy” by today’s new financial oligarchy.-
If this is so then the Social Democratic party, given their history of representing the needs of labor, just became more important than ever. It is no wonder that making people like Leif Pagrotsky sit down and shut up has become so urgent, or relegating the Swedish people to a two party system.

Swedish Election 2010

Today there is a large demonstration of between 5 to 7 thousand people in Stockholm because a political party in Sweden that ran their election platform completely on racism. They made the 4% necessary to get some representatives into parliament. As for me and me and my family, we are heartbroken. I am stunned at Swedish people being fooled by the racism card, after we have read so often in the US racism is used to stir up hatred against the wrong cause. It gets the people chasing their tails while they are being ripped off. Even the 'left' media here was very key in making sure the public felt they were doing a corageous thing to vote for people who will take away their right to vote. The parliment will be ruled with a right wing coalition of the environmentalists, which means that people who voted for the environmentalists see their vote go to privatization and more social Darwinistic policies.
The result is orchestrated to get all the protest voting used against citizens own interests.

Homage to Catalonia

Short and informative, amazing story of George Orwell's volunteered service with the P.O.U.M. militia during the Spanish Civil War.

http://www.george-orwell.org/Homage_to_Catalonia/0.html