The Japan earthquake is absolutely tragic, and the people affected have all my sympathies. I admire the Japanese people's ability to handle a catastrophe of such gravity, and especially the courage and self-sacrifice of the power plant workers still fighting to save the rest.
However, quite contrary to how it may seem, at least in parts of the media world that I'm connected to, things have not come to a standstill in the Arab world. Concerned and connected citizens are still demonstrating around the Middle-East and North Africa. And, not to forget, fighting for their own and others' lives and freedom.
As if that shouldn't be enough, this article in Al Jazeera, by Nouriel Roubini, highlights another reason not to forget what's going on in the Arab world.
Please read, think and comment!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Panem et circenses - bread and circus
Nearly every citizen in this strange little country at the top of Europe has plenty of bread. So, we all know what's the second thing needed to keep them happily calm and inactive - circus!
The Roman emperors knew that. In the days of The Roman Empire it meant gladiators fighting till the end. In Norway today it means arranging the Nordic skiing WC, with athletes fighting till the finishing line (and then a bit in the media later on).
Seen from abroad, the most interesting thing about this event is probably that the world hardly cares. They couldn't care less, actually. There are a few historical events going on in the Middle East at the moment, and, as if that shouldn't be enough, they're probably busy with the cricket WC anyway.
However, seen from here, this event for the local few, let's count Austria, Sweden and Finland among the countries that are even aware of it, is regarded as the main thing in the world during the days it's happening. The fact that a local kid is probably the world's fastest cross country skier totally dominates the news scene, and it would probably take the killing of a Libyan head of state to even compete for news value these days.
And what's even more impressive in these days of watching TV and surfing the internet: in our capital, Oslo, a city of less than 600,000 people, more than 150,000 actually attended the most popular prize ceremony. That's more than 25 percent of the population actually standing out there in the freezing wet snow, watching this guy receiving his umpteenth little gold medal that the rest of the world doesn't even know about.
What was valid for the passive and over-fed citizens of Rome of days long gone, is apparently still valid for the otherwise passive and over-fed citizens of Oslo, or Norway if you will, today. Why am I not surprized?
The Roman emperors knew that. In the days of The Roman Empire it meant gladiators fighting till the end. In Norway today it means arranging the Nordic skiing WC, with athletes fighting till the finishing line (and then a bit in the media later on).
Seen from abroad, the most interesting thing about this event is probably that the world hardly cares. They couldn't care less, actually. There are a few historical events going on in the Middle East at the moment, and, as if that shouldn't be enough, they're probably busy with the cricket WC anyway.
However, seen from here, this event for the local few, let's count Austria, Sweden and Finland among the countries that are even aware of it, is regarded as the main thing in the world during the days it's happening. The fact that a local kid is probably the world's fastest cross country skier totally dominates the news scene, and it would probably take the killing of a Libyan head of state to even compete for news value these days.
And what's even more impressive in these days of watching TV and surfing the internet: in our capital, Oslo, a city of less than 600,000 people, more than 150,000 actually attended the most popular prize ceremony. That's more than 25 percent of the population actually standing out there in the freezing wet snow, watching this guy receiving his umpteenth little gold medal that the rest of the world doesn't even know about.
What was valid for the passive and over-fed citizens of Rome of days long gone, is apparently still valid for the otherwise passive and over-fed citizens of Oslo, or Norway if you will, today. Why am I not surprized?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Barging up the Zuari river - the loading site
In spite of our somewhat slow progress upriver, the loading site is not really crowded when "Nitya Sushil" arrives in the early afternoon.
As soon as the first mate has finished the slow, but elegant "elephant-dance manoeuvre" of turning the old lady around, our main activities for the next few hours consist of waiting, drinking tea and watching newcomers arrive. The turning operation is based on three important steps: (1) Run her up against the riverside, (2) Tie her up to a convenient palm tree and (3) Let the wind do the hard work.
The site is basically a riverbend with a couple of ramps where trucks can dump the ore directly on-board the barges. And once the loading starts, and the iron dust starts drifting around, the whole thing is unexpectedly fast. Two trucks dumping alongside each other and a seemingly endless line of more trucks waiting. In not much more than an hour, the first barge is loaded and the next one can move in.
Darkness comes fast on these latitudes, and the foreign "stowaway" is not wanted on the pitch dark return trip downriver during the night. A taxi is organised out of the blue, and, at a somewhat elevated price due to a total lack of alternatives, the foreigner is returned to the comfort of a hot shower and a cold beer back in Vasco. A farewell to the crew, and the captain who, relaxing on the bridge, utters his second word of the day to me: "Goodbye"!
(And thanks to Prakash, my shipowning friend! I know you had to bend a few rules for me, but what have we got friends for? And, after all, this is India ...)
As soon as the first mate has finished the slow, but elegant "elephant-dance manoeuvre" of turning the old lady around, our main activities for the next few hours consist of waiting, drinking tea and watching newcomers arrive. The turning operation is based on three important steps: (1) Run her up against the riverside, (2) Tie her up to a convenient palm tree and (3) Let the wind do the hard work.
The site is basically a riverbend with a couple of ramps where trucks can dump the ore directly on-board the barges. And once the loading starts, and the iron dust starts drifting around, the whole thing is unexpectedly fast. Two trucks dumping alongside each other and a seemingly endless line of more trucks waiting. In not much more than an hour, the first barge is loaded and the next one can move in.
Darkness comes fast on these latitudes, and the foreign "stowaway" is not wanted on the pitch dark return trip downriver during the night. A taxi is organised out of the blue, and, at a somewhat elevated price due to a total lack of alternatives, the foreigner is returned to the comfort of a hot shower and a cold beer back in Vasco. A farewell to the crew, and the captain who, relaxing on the bridge, utters his second word of the day to me: "Goodbye"!
(And thanks to Prakash, my shipowning friend! I know you had to bend a few rules for me, but what have we got friends for? And, after all, this is India ...)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Barging up the Zuari river - the river journey
We're on a slow boat towards the loading site. I'm given a corner on the bridge, and there's nothing to do but enjoy the trip and he surroundings.
Coconut palms, green fields and the occasional temple passing by slowly.
After a period of activity in the boiling hot engine room, the second enging wakes up and lives. Black smoke erupts, our speed increases marginally and people gather upstairs in the wheelhouse to enjoy the breeze and watch the white guy. The wheel, by the way, is pretty close to the only piece of technical equipment on the bridge, apart from the engine controls. No hi-tech navigation systems or other fancy stuff on board this old lady, only experience and complete knowledge of the river and it's ways.
The barges we meet on their way downriver are heavily loaded with iron ore. Down in the port of Vasco lies plenty of bulk ships waiting. Most of them going to China, the world's giant steel consumer.
As the hours pass, the river is getting narrower and the riverbanks even more lush green. A few incidents of meetings with less maneuverable vessels on our way acts as welcome breaks from the slow routine.
The fact that the river is now hardly wider than the lenght of the barge, and they've got to turn this thing around somehow, indicates that the busy action of the loading site is drawing nearer.
Coconut palms, green fields and the occasional temple passing by slowly.
After a period of activity in the boiling hot engine room, the second enging wakes up and lives. Black smoke erupts, our speed increases marginally and people gather upstairs in the wheelhouse to enjoy the breeze and watch the white guy. The wheel, by the way, is pretty close to the only piece of technical equipment on the bridge, apart from the engine controls. No hi-tech navigation systems or other fancy stuff on board this old lady, only experience and complete knowledge of the river and it's ways.
The barges we meet on their way downriver are heavily loaded with iron ore. Down in the port of Vasco lies plenty of bulk ships waiting. Most of them going to China, the world's giant steel consumer.
As the hours pass, the river is getting narrower and the riverbanks even more lush green. A few incidents of meetings with less maneuverable vessels on our way acts as welcome breaks from the slow routine.
The fact that the river is now hardly wider than the lenght of the barge, and they've got to turn this thing around somehow, indicates that the busy action of the loading site is drawing nearer.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Barging up the Zuari river
It's not from the fjords today, it's from the river - the Zuari river - in Goa, India.
What lots of people know about Goa is beach and tourism, and maybe a dash of hippie wannabes, dope and trance music. And they're all here, hippies in the north, charter tourists in the south. And the beaches are beautiful, temperatures fantastic (while it's cold and snowing back in Norway) and life seems good.
But how do the other guys make their living in this little Paradise state of Goa? The answer is, as always in India, a little bit of everything. But the main areas seem to be mining, fishing and shipbuilding.
Iron ore is mined in lots of open works, legal as well as illegal, in the interior. It doesn't look too good, and environmentalists are not too happy, but it pays for a lot of food. The low-grade iron ore is transported down to the nearest river, loaded onto river barges, and taken down to port where it's transferred to the big deep-sea ships, normally bound for Far East.
Tuesday this week I signed on to the "Nitya Sushil" for a trip up the Zuari river to the loading site.
Nitya is, and looks like, an old lady, but she does her job day in, day out.
The captain, Gurudas Naik, suits the ship - not a young man anymore, slow moving and relaxed. And he knows the river as his own pocket.
A long, slow, hot and dusty journey upriver lies ahead.
What lots of people know about Goa is beach and tourism, and maybe a dash of hippie wannabes, dope and trance music. And they're all here, hippies in the north, charter tourists in the south. And the beaches are beautiful, temperatures fantastic (while it's cold and snowing back in Norway) and life seems good.
But how do the other guys make their living in this little Paradise state of Goa? The answer is, as always in India, a little bit of everything. But the main areas seem to be mining, fishing and shipbuilding.
Iron ore is mined in lots of open works, legal as well as illegal, in the interior. It doesn't look too good, and environmentalists are not too happy, but it pays for a lot of food. The low-grade iron ore is transported down to the nearest river, loaded onto river barges, and taken down to port where it's transferred to the big deep-sea ships, normally bound for Far East.
Tuesday this week I signed on to the "Nitya Sushil" for a trip up the Zuari river to the loading site.
Nitya is, and looks like, an old lady, but she does her job day in, day out.
The captain, Gurudas Naik, suits the ship - not a young man anymore, slow moving and relaxed. And he knows the river as his own pocket.
A long, slow, hot and dusty journey upriver lies ahead.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Summer solstice - the forgotten pagan roots
The climate in these parts of the world (Norway) makes it probable and understandable that our forefathers were sun-worshippers. Winters are long, dark, cold and, sometimes, terrible. Summers are uncertain at best, sometimes wet and cold like last year, and sometimes bright, sunny and absolutely lovely like so far this year.
Summer solstice is on June 21st, but due to traditional calendar confusion, we celebrate the event on the eve of June 23rd. For most people (probably more or less everyone) this is just a traditional party day. But in former times this was the most dangerous night of the summer season, just like Christmas Eve in the winter. All the evil forces were loose, and people had to do whatever they could to protect themselves. Houses, entrances at least, were decorated with foliage to keep the evil forces out, and huge bonfires were lit during the short night for the same reason. The witches had their traditional gathering on Midsummer's Eve.
When the new religion was forced upon our ancestors around a thousand years ago, the new rulers were smart enough to realize that the pagan traditions of midsummer were far too strong to be ignored. Midsummer was immediately made a christian celebration in honour of St. John the Baptist. St. John in Norwegian is St. Johannes, and the name of both the man and the holiday was shortened to St. Hans, which is still what we call the celebration: St. Hans' Eve. The only difference in the tradition after the new religion took over, was the fact that now also the churches were decorated with foliage and that people tended to take refuge inside the churches for the rest of the night after the last flames of the bonfires had died out.
Today, here on the south coast, where everyone seem to have at least one boat of their own, the celebration starts with the crowding of boats in Grimstad harbour around 6 PM. The foliage has been moved from the houses to the boats, but the bonfires are still burning as soon as it's dark enough to actually see them, around 11 PM. The largest bonfire I've heard of this year, on the northwest coast of Norway, was 39 meters high.
The tradition of summer solstice celebration is still very much alive; the origins very much forgotten.
Summer solstice is on June 21st, but due to traditional calendar confusion, we celebrate the event on the eve of June 23rd. For most people (probably more or less everyone) this is just a traditional party day. But in former times this was the most dangerous night of the summer season, just like Christmas Eve in the winter. All the evil forces were loose, and people had to do whatever they could to protect themselves. Houses, entrances at least, were decorated with foliage to keep the evil forces out, and huge bonfires were lit during the short night for the same reason. The witches had their traditional gathering on Midsummer's Eve.
When the new religion was forced upon our ancestors around a thousand years ago, the new rulers were smart enough to realize that the pagan traditions of midsummer were far too strong to be ignored. Midsummer was immediately made a christian celebration in honour of St. John the Baptist. St. John in Norwegian is St. Johannes, and the name of both the man and the holiday was shortened to St. Hans, which is still what we call the celebration: St. Hans' Eve. The only difference in the tradition after the new religion took over, was the fact that now also the churches were decorated with foliage and that people tended to take refuge inside the churches for the rest of the night after the last flames of the bonfires had died out.
Today, here on the south coast, where everyone seem to have at least one boat of their own, the celebration starts with the crowding of boats in Grimstad harbour around 6 PM. The foliage has been moved from the houses to the boats, but the bonfires are still burning as soon as it's dark enough to actually see them, around 11 PM. The largest bonfire I've heard of this year, on the northwest coast of Norway, was 39 meters high.
The tradition of summer solstice celebration is still very much alive; the origins very much forgotten.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The right not to be offended
An Italian mother has just won a case at The European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg to ban crucifixes in Italian public school classrooms. The 37 highly respected (and highly paid) lawyers at the court have spent a considerable amount of time and money to invent or discover "the right not to be offended" by the presence of religious symbols. Not very surprisingly, the Italian authorities have not yet accepted the court's decision.
So, why do I care?
If the decision of the court becomes valid one way or the other, it will have a whole bunch of strange effects all over Europe. One of them is that Norway, along with 19 other European countries, will have to change their official national flags. Imagine the process of selecting new national symbols in the 20 countries. Imagine the costs connected to carrying out whatever the decision might be in the 20 individual countries. Imagine what other corrective actions that would have to be implemented.
I'm a freethinker myself, but for once the Italian government has my support!
So, why do I care?
If the decision of the court becomes valid one way or the other, it will have a whole bunch of strange effects all over Europe. One of them is that Norway, along with 19 other European countries, will have to change their official national flags. Imagine the process of selecting new national symbols in the 20 countries. Imagine the costs connected to carrying out whatever the decision might be in the 20 individual countries. Imagine what other corrective actions that would have to be implemented.I'm a freethinker myself, but for once the Italian government has my support!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)