Läste ett nummer av Bon när jag avnjöt ännu en latte på Tres och hittade Caroline Ringskog Ferrada-Nolis artikel om Poprasism. Jag var tvungen att återvända efter dagens projektmöte för att läsa klart för jag hittade inte artikeln på nätet. Dock denna intressanta bloggpost som i mångt och mycket sammanfattar även mina åsikter. Inte minst hennes artikel Kortslutning i media ger en bra bild av hur totalt ointegrerat det svenska samhället verkar vara med - det svenska samhället...
Jag skulle eventuellt vilja krydda lite extra med hur förändringsrädda och inskränkta svensken i gemen är. Vi tror gärna att vi är så internationella, bara för att vi drömmer om Det Stora Landet I Väster. Vi skiter i Europa, vi skiter till och med i våra grannländer! Vet någon vem som leder Lettland tex? Nej, för vår lika inskränkta borgarpress bryr sig ju inte om att skriva nåt om något sketet grannland. Hur många inser vidden av ett Europasamarbete? Ibland tror man att de som säger ja bara gör det för att vara anti-vänster eller för att slippa växla så ofta...
Nej, i ankdammen Sverige ska man anpassa sig. Bara den som är tillräckligt extremt annorlunda så att denne rent av kan leva på det är värd att beundra. Ni andra håller er i ledet. Köp en villa, pensionsspara, följ vinden, tänk inte så mycket.
Är det bara för att Sverige är så litet? Kanske är vår isolation ett resultat, eller snarare en vidare utveckling, av att vi inte var med i Andra Världkriget? Vi var liksom de enda som inte ens försökte, vi var inte en i gänget. Vi ville inte då, och vill inte nu, vara en i gänget. Men ändå vill vi ju vara med, inte bli utfrysta.
Faktum är att jag är likadan - har aldrig platsat i nåt gäng, men alltid velat tillhöra ett sammanhang. Är jag lika patetisk som Sverige???
Vid närmare eftertanke gäller detta nog inte bara Sverige och svenskar. Det är nog så att detta med att ty sig till sin egen grupp är något grundläggande, ett medfött arv från historien. Kanske just därför något som måste bekämpas desto hårdare. För historiskt är det de mångkulturella som klarat sig bäst. Och vi vill ju gärna ha det så bra som möjligt...
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Italien!
Jag har läst italienska. Mina föräldrar älskar landet. Jag gjorde en säsong i Livigno. Och kom till slutsatsen att det inte var något för mig. Denna artikel i DN belyser orsaken på nåt sätt. Jag kan inte riktigt sätta fingret på det, men det är något fundamentalt fel på ett folk som låter sig styras av Maffian. Insnöade, konservativa, främlingsfientliga bonnläppar hela högen liksom. Kan man välja mellan en kompetent medarbetare eller en idiot som på något sätt är kopplad till familjen, så väljer man familjen. Det blir inget bra... Ett helt land med SD-anhängare, typ. Patetiskt. (Läste nånstans att den typiska SD-väljaren är en man på landsbygden utan högre utbildning som inte brydde sig om politik utan bara var allmänt missnöjd. En sorglig typ. Det hade varit helt ok om han gick omkring och surade för sig själv, men hans röst förpestar livet även för dem som faktiskt både vill och kan tänka.)
Friday, April 06, 2007
Digging a hole
A year ago I began digging a hole. I didn't realize what I was doing until I had lost sight of daylight. At that point the hole was so fuckin deep it was hell crawling out. But I managed to, I just have the final step left now. It feels kind of sad leaving the hole, though, because I learned a lot while wandering around in the shadows...
The most important thing is that I can't do everything. I've managed doing lots of things, but while doing shitloads of different things you end up not really doing anything at all in the end. You need focus. But it's tough, because it means you have to prioritize, which means you have to say no to some things. I hate that, I want it all. And I want it now! (Nice tune, that one...)
So I don't climb anymore. I don't run after every single girl that happens to cross my path (or come close enough). I don't play the drums, nor guitar. I don't skate. I don't drink as much as I used to. I don't waste all my money as I used to. I don't work as much as I used to.
I have rediscovered my love of music. I have realized I actually love my friends - they are no longer a bunch of people known as "friends of mine" (or rather "people that miraculously puts up with me").
As I said, I still have that last step to take - I have to decide which life to choose. But I doubt I will make that decision until I meet Her, She who will walk with me until the end of the world.
Until then I will just enjoy life as it is. Because - life's goooood!
The most important thing is that I can't do everything. I've managed doing lots of things, but while doing shitloads of different things you end up not really doing anything at all in the end. You need focus. But it's tough, because it means you have to prioritize, which means you have to say no to some things. I hate that, I want it all. And I want it now! (Nice tune, that one...)
So I don't climb anymore. I don't run after every single girl that happens to cross my path (or come close enough). I don't play the drums, nor guitar. I don't skate. I don't drink as much as I used to. I don't waste all my money as I used to. I don't work as much as I used to.
I have rediscovered my love of music. I have realized I actually love my friends - they are no longer a bunch of people known as "friends of mine" (or rather "people that miraculously puts up with me").
As I said, I still have that last step to take - I have to decide which life to choose. But I doubt I will make that decision until I meet Her, She who will walk with me until the end of the world.
Until then I will just enjoy life as it is. Because - life's goooood!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Facken får välförtjänt stryk
Utan att på något sätt vilja stödja en antifackrörelse á la USA, är det ändå med en genuin njutning jag läser om Byggnads som inte längre tillåts fortsätta med sin utsugning av svensk byggindustri. De har tidigare alltså snott 1,5% av alla byggarbetares lön, oavsett facklig tillhörighet, och bidragit till Sveriges osunt höga byggkostnader. "För att kontrollera lönens storlek" säger Byggnads. För att göda en självgod tyranni á la Sverige skulle jag säga.
Sverige fälldes i Europadomstolen för att ha brutit mot artikel 1 i konventionen för de mänskliga rättigheterna. Sverige! Inte någon bortglömd diktatur, utan Sverige, vars medborgare tror sig vara så moraliskt högt stående.
Heja EU!
Sverige fälldes i Europadomstolen för att ha brutit mot artikel 1 i konventionen för de mänskliga rättigheterna. Sverige! Inte någon bortglömd diktatur, utan Sverige, vars medborgare tror sig vara så moraliskt högt stående.
Heja EU!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
The best day of my life?
I just had a fantastic day. It was so good I want to make a note, a place to come back to ro re-live this day and recap this deep feel of happiness I feel right now. It's so strong, even though it's Saturday night, I'll go to bed early not wanting to be anywhere else than right here, right now.
This day started where Friday ended - in my kitchen. I had cooked a nice pasta dinner to us - me, my Mexican friend Jarmo and his Spanish friend George. Unfortunately my friend Lena couldn't make it, she became ill that Friday, and my friend Nina was buying a car. When the clock stroke Saturday, we were stuffed with pasta and had emptied two bottles of nice red wine (Ramón Bilbao (also used in the pasta sauce) and Viña Albali (a gift from George)). We've had a few drinks as well, so we were well prepaired for this fantastic Saturday. We continued the partying in town, Park Lane to be exact. It was great fun, but after a while I decided to go to Dubliner's to see my friend Sofia, who no longer lives in Gothenburg. We had great fun, but it was late and soon we took a cab to my place to sleep.
Is there anything worse than waking up all alone, with a severe hung-over, after a good night out??? Well, this morning I wasn't alone. I got up early (my father was about to pick me up at noon) and made up the dishes from the dinner (yeah, better do the shitjob as soon as possible to get it over with). I was in a silly good mood! I actually love my hangovers. I never feel sick, instead it feels like there's a soft blanket over my brain, making everything soft and mellow and just - groovy. :) I also get a nice, deep bass voice which sounds brilliant in the shower! So I was singing along, making poor Sofia wander what the hell she's done to deserve this early waking up! But she didn't complain about my the buns I served, nice, hot and crispy straight from the oven (I always have these buns I make myself in the freezer).
Then Sofia left, I played some piano and father came to pick me up. We where going to Inet Data to get me a laptop. Sure, I could have done that without my father, but he was picking up the freezer box I had used to thaw my freezer the week before. Also he's a bit of a computer geek, just like me and I had planned to go with him back to Älvängen to see my sister's kids. (It turns out they got some bug making the youngest sick, though, so I decided to stay in town in the end.)
Anyway, I bought the LG F1 laptop I had looked at for a while for my newly started firm (Auvinen Konsulting). I needed a good working tool that I could use whereever I went.
The weather this day was just awesome! February, but 7 sunny degrees and a clear blue sky. I just couldn't stay in, playing with my new toy! But Nina didn't mind driving us (in her new Mazda 3!) to some place by the sea. While waiting for her I made some food to bring along (the buns, you know, with brie, honey and wallnuts) adn then got down to Linnégatan to get me a coffee and a sandwich in the sun. Sitting at Dream Coffee I red an interesting article in Affärsvärlden about yet another bad side of the oh so overrated "swedish model". (The swedish model is about the employers and the employees together coming to an agreement about pays etc. The government doesn't need to do shit, nor the legal system. Works fine in a perfect world (just as communism would have been grand in a perfect world). And it has worked quite well historically, probably because the party which has always dominated Swedish policy - the Social Democrats - and the unions are so tightly coupled they are to be seen as one. Which of course is a severe contradiction to true democracy. (I would like to claim that Sweden historically has not been a democracy - it has in practice been a one-party dictatorship. Hopefully this can change now that they finally lost power.) Also the unions have a very strong position in Sweden, they actually do represent the vast majority of the employees. (Which, again, I would claim is not truly democratic. In a democracy, you should be able to choose wether to be a member or not yourself, but this is often not possible today. This has led to a situation where the unions (just like the Social Democratic party) have become arrogant and haught. And as we all know - pride comes before a fall...)). Anyway, the article explained how a few people in the unions and in the employers' organization control hundreds of billions of our money - the pension funds. And this is all done in a structure without insight. "A democratic deficit" as one person politely put it...
Anyway! Then came Nina and we went out for a walk in Hinsholmen. We walked out on the cliffs, talked about life, as we always tend to do, and enjoyed the buns and fruit I brought in the sunshine, looking out over the sun-lit sea. So beautiful. Then came clouds and we escaped the cold going for a spinn in the Mazda 3. Nice car, indeed!
Nina left me off at home and I unpacked all the gear I've bought and did the laundry. Then I got hungry and thought I'd invite someone over to join me eating - after all it was Saturday! But Lena was even more ill. Then Lina called! A girl I really, really like. Unfortunately she lives in Oslo, so we've just met once. But I still love talking to her. We are somehow so different but still so much alike. It's weird, but it feels really good.
After those calls it was too late to invite anyone so I cooked a tasty broccoli/blue cheese dinner for myself. But the day had been so good I didn't mind rounding it off all alone. Not a bit. I even told Jarmo I'd go to bed instead of meeting them in Nefertiti. Then I wrote this. And the day had turned over to Sunday. The end of a really, really good day.
This day started where Friday ended - in my kitchen. I had cooked a nice pasta dinner to us - me, my Mexican friend Jarmo and his Spanish friend George. Unfortunately my friend Lena couldn't make it, she became ill that Friday, and my friend Nina was buying a car. When the clock stroke Saturday, we were stuffed with pasta and had emptied two bottles of nice red wine (Ramón Bilbao (also used in the pasta sauce) and Viña Albali (a gift from George)). We've had a few drinks as well, so we were well prepaired for this fantastic Saturday. We continued the partying in town, Park Lane to be exact. It was great fun, but after a while I decided to go to Dubliner's to see my friend Sofia, who no longer lives in Gothenburg. We had great fun, but it was late and soon we took a cab to my place to sleep.
Is there anything worse than waking up all alone, with a severe hung-over, after a good night out??? Well, this morning I wasn't alone. I got up early (my father was about to pick me up at noon) and made up the dishes from the dinner (yeah, better do the shitjob as soon as possible to get it over with). I was in a silly good mood! I actually love my hangovers. I never feel sick, instead it feels like there's a soft blanket over my brain, making everything soft and mellow and just - groovy. :) I also get a nice, deep bass voice which sounds brilliant in the shower! So I was singing along, making poor Sofia wander what the hell she's done to deserve this early waking up! But she didn't complain about my the buns I served, nice, hot and crispy straight from the oven (I always have these buns I make myself in the freezer).
Then Sofia left, I played some piano and father came to pick me up. We where going to Inet Data to get me a laptop. Sure, I could have done that without my father, but he was picking up the freezer box I had used to thaw my freezer the week before. Also he's a bit of a computer geek, just like me and I had planned to go with him back to Älvängen to see my sister's kids. (It turns out they got some bug making the youngest sick, though, so I decided to stay in town in the end.)
Anyway, I bought the LG F1 laptop I had looked at for a while for my newly started firm (Auvinen Konsulting). I needed a good working tool that I could use whereever I went.
The weather this day was just awesome! February, but 7 sunny degrees and a clear blue sky. I just couldn't stay in, playing with my new toy! But Nina didn't mind driving us (in her new Mazda 3!) to some place by the sea. While waiting for her I made some food to bring along (the buns, you know, with brie, honey and wallnuts) adn then got down to Linnégatan to get me a coffee and a sandwich in the sun. Sitting at Dream Coffee I red an interesting article in Affärsvärlden about yet another bad side of the oh so overrated "swedish model". (The swedish model is about the employers and the employees together coming to an agreement about pays etc. The government doesn't need to do shit, nor the legal system. Works fine in a perfect world (just as communism would have been grand in a perfect world). And it has worked quite well historically, probably because the party which has always dominated Swedish policy - the Social Democrats - and the unions are so tightly coupled they are to be seen as one. Which of course is a severe contradiction to true democracy. (I would like to claim that Sweden historically has not been a democracy - it has in practice been a one-party dictatorship. Hopefully this can change now that they finally lost power.) Also the unions have a very strong position in Sweden, they actually do represent the vast majority of the employees. (Which, again, I would claim is not truly democratic. In a democracy, you should be able to choose wether to be a member or not yourself, but this is often not possible today. This has led to a situation where the unions (just like the Social Democratic party) have become arrogant and haught. And as we all know - pride comes before a fall...)). Anyway, the article explained how a few people in the unions and in the employers' organization control hundreds of billions of our money - the pension funds. And this is all done in a structure without insight. "A democratic deficit" as one person politely put it...
Anyway! Then came Nina and we went out for a walk in Hinsholmen. We walked out on the cliffs, talked about life, as we always tend to do, and enjoyed the buns and fruit I brought in the sunshine, looking out over the sun-lit sea. So beautiful. Then came clouds and we escaped the cold going for a spinn in the Mazda 3. Nice car, indeed!
Nina left me off at home and I unpacked all the gear I've bought and did the laundry. Then I got hungry and thought I'd invite someone over to join me eating - after all it was Saturday! But Lena was even more ill. Then Lina called! A girl I really, really like. Unfortunately she lives in Oslo, so we've just met once. But I still love talking to her. We are somehow so different but still so much alike. It's weird, but it feels really good.
After those calls it was too late to invite anyone so I cooked a tasty broccoli/blue cheese dinner for myself. But the day had been so good I didn't mind rounding it off all alone. Not a bit. I even told Jarmo I'd go to bed instead of meeting them in Nefertiti. Then I wrote this. And the day had turned over to Sunday. The end of a really, really good day.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
US treatment of prisoners
"If we were to judge the United States by its penal policies, we would perceive a strange beast: a Christian society that believes in neither forgiveness nor redemption."
Freedom and happiness
This career advice from George Monbiot is really good! Follow your guts. Don't fall into the trap of the ordinary and expected, it will only make you miserable.
Makes me wonder how long I will stay at this (in Swedish terms) big company, working for one of the biggest companies on earth...
But until I have an idea where I want to go, until I have managed to figure out what my unsettled guts really are saying, I will stay. After all, I make a good living. And I think (and I do hope!) that I'm strong enough not to become one of the living dead...
Makes me wonder how long I will stay at this (in Swedish terms) big company, working for one of the biggest companies on earth...
But until I have an idea where I want to go, until I have managed to figure out what my unsettled guts really are saying, I will stay. After all, I make a good living. And I think (and I do hope!) that I'm strong enough not to become one of the living dead...
En ljus framtid väntar oss!
I många år har företagens vinster ökat allt mer och de enda som blivit rikare har varit de som redan haft kapital (även de som finansierat kapitalet genom lån). Men nu tyder allt mer på att en vändning är att vänta. Löntagarna vill ha sin beskärda del. Detta kommer driva upp löneanspråken, vilket kommer hålla nere företagens vinster och bidra till högre räntor för att bekämpa den uppressade inflationen. Detta gör i sin tur att det blir mindre intressant att placera i aktier.
Så i framtiden kommer vi se en normalisering där uppressade företagsvärderingar (liksom huspriser) kommer anta mer normala nivåer. När detta kommer ske är omöjligt att sia om, men det kommer börja märkas under 2007. Så att gå in på aktie- eller bostadsmarknaden nu verkar vara en dålig idé. Däremot inte sagt att det är dags att lämna den, om man redan är där.
Vad innebär då detta? I vårt kapitalisthetsiga samhälle riskerar detta att tolkas som ett slut på de goda dagarna, men det vore ett misstag. Vad vi förhoppningsvis kommer se är en förmögenhetsförskjutning från de få rika till de många "vanliga", en utbrett ökad levnadsstandard. Företagen kanske får det lite tuffare, men de har å andra sidan haft det för bra för länge som det är och kommer klara sig alldeles utmärkt (även om klagovrålen kommer höras högt och länge). Samma mekanism gör att huspriserna kommer ner till rimligare nivåer (även om det kommer ta ett tag, kanske kommer absolutbeloppen aldrig minska). Rimligare bostadskostnader är något som kommer alla till del och gagnar dem som vill in på bostadsmarknaden.
Räknar vi nu dessutom in att byggföretagen i framtiden får arbeta på en konkurrensutsatt marknad som alla andra, så bidrar detta än mer till lägre priser på bostäder.
En annan aspekt är att klimatproblemen måste hanteras. Det enda sättet är troligen en koldioxidransonering (George Monbiot - Heat) vilket kommer leda till mindre resor och transporter och dessutom till en förmögenhetsutjämning (eftersom de rika måste köpa ransoner av de fattiga).
Sammanfattat: Levnadsstandardarden kommer öka eftersom de rika tvingas ge av sitt överskott. Tillväxten så som den mäts idag kommer kanske öka mindre snabbt, men befolkningens välbefinnande kommer öka desto snabbare.
Så i framtiden kommer vi se en normalisering där uppressade företagsvärderingar (liksom huspriser) kommer anta mer normala nivåer. När detta kommer ske är omöjligt att sia om, men det kommer börja märkas under 2007. Så att gå in på aktie- eller bostadsmarknaden nu verkar vara en dålig idé. Däremot inte sagt att det är dags att lämna den, om man redan är där.
Vad innebär då detta? I vårt kapitalisthetsiga samhälle riskerar detta att tolkas som ett slut på de goda dagarna, men det vore ett misstag. Vad vi förhoppningsvis kommer se är en förmögenhetsförskjutning från de få rika till de många "vanliga", en utbrett ökad levnadsstandard. Företagen kanske får det lite tuffare, men de har å andra sidan haft det för bra för länge som det är och kommer klara sig alldeles utmärkt (även om klagovrålen kommer höras högt och länge). Samma mekanism gör att huspriserna kommer ner till rimligare nivåer (även om det kommer ta ett tag, kanske kommer absolutbeloppen aldrig minska). Rimligare bostadskostnader är något som kommer alla till del och gagnar dem som vill in på bostadsmarknaden.
Räknar vi nu dessutom in att byggföretagen i framtiden får arbeta på en konkurrensutsatt marknad som alla andra, så bidrar detta än mer till lägre priser på bostäder.
En annan aspekt är att klimatproblemen måste hanteras. Det enda sättet är troligen en koldioxidransonering (George Monbiot - Heat) vilket kommer leda till mindre resor och transporter och dessutom till en förmögenhetsutjämning (eftersom de rika måste köpa ransoner av de fattiga).
Sammanfattat: Levnadsstandardarden kommer öka eftersom de rika tvingas ge av sitt överskott. Tillväxten så som den mäts idag kommer kanske öka mindre snabbt, men befolkningens välbefinnande kommer öka desto snabbare.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Det kommer göra ont...
Omställningen till en långsiktigt hållbar politik kommer kännas och märkas av oss alla. Nu när vi vet vad som krävs för att mänskligheten (och planeten) ska överleva gäller det att politikerna är handlingskraftiga. Och modiga!
Men, för att citera Staffan Laestadius, författaren till länkad artikel från SvD:
"Att skapa förutsättningar för en industriell omvandling som anpassar sig till vad jorden tål är inte ett hot - utan ett löfte om långsiktig överlevnad."
Men, för att citera Staffan Laestadius, författaren till länkad artikel från SvD:
"Att skapa förutsättningar för en industriell omvandling som anpassar sig till vad jorden tål är inte ett hot - utan ett löfte om långsiktig överlevnad."
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