Posts, June 2004:

.. now far ahead the road has gone: Savonlinna, Finland 29/6 - I'm still alive. Took the coastal express up Northern Norway, from Trondheim to Tromsø. The scenery up there just knocks you out. There are places in Lofoten - a maze of mountains shooting up of the [...]

.. out from the door where it began: I'm off for a couple of weeks. Initial direction: North. Blogging forecast: Light, but possible. A few questions to discuss while I'm away: 1. If a bird flies inside an airplane, does the airplane weigh less? 2. If there's an [...]

Mullah Krekar case dropped: The Norwegian police dropped the Mullah Krekar case this week. There wasn't enough evidence to convict him of attempted murder, kidnapping, funding of terrorism and the other crimes he committed during his time as acting leader of Ansar al-Islam in [...]

What is real Islam?: That Reagan thread got carried away a bit (my fault!) by a discussion on what Islam is or isn't. Is it true to say that "Islam is world war", and thus a major threat even in moderate clothing? Is it [...]

Reagan and the end of the Cold War: Let's try something new. Instead of me telling you what to believe, (as if!), you tell me what to believe: Most favorable obituaries of Ronald Reagan attribute our victory in the Cold War to his aggressive policy against the Soviet [...]

The anti-terror meeting in Hamar: Those who came to the anti-terror meeting at Hamar OL-Amfi on June 5 expecting fire-breathing Zionists were disappointed. The purpose of the meeting was to condemn terrorism while being otherwise politically neutral - and at that we succeeded. This was [...]

D-Day & the fog of history: Watched the 60th anniversary D-Day ceremony on CNN now - was struck by the fluidity of history, the chaos of cause and effect. We don't honor a step on the predictable staircase of history, but a focal point for a [...]

Bombed Israeli bus displayed in Norway: The remains of an Israeli bus destroyed in a terrorist attack has been on display in Norway. First in Oslo last Saturday, and then in Bergen, to bring attention to the first of several meetings about terrorism and anti-semitism which [...]

Is passive smoking dangerous?: One of the world's strictest anti-smoking laws came into force in Norway this week. Inspired by similar laws in Ireland, New York and California, all smoking in pubs and restaurants is now banned. It would be an exaggeration to say [...]

Socialists to advertise in Washington Post: Did you know that most Norwegians were against the war in Iraq, are critical to the United States, and are uncomfortable about our involvment in Iraq? Wow, me neither! George W. Bush has obviously based his foreign policy on an [...]

Remember Maher Arar?: Probably not. Maher Arar is a dual Canadian/Syrian citizen who was arrested at an American airport on his way to Canada in 2002, under suspicion of being an al-Qaeda member. After a brief detention he was deported to Syria, where [...]