Birthday Boy

I've had so much to do lately I feel like my body is on the verge of collapse! But even so I had a very nice birthday today. In all the confusion I had totally forgotten about my old tradition of watching a film by Clint Eastwood I've never seen before as a birthday present to myself. When it struck me it was a bit late to do anything about it. Also, I have seen all of Eastwood's films except Bird (1988), which isn't available here. But I'll get it in a couple of weeks when in St Andrews.

Once I wrote a lot about politics on this blog, but it was quite a while since now. I wonder why. Probably because I'm so fed up with most of what goes around in the world. But I read an article in last week's issue of The Economist about cooperation and cross border teambuilding in the countries that were once Yugoslavia. That was a piece of optimistic news which made me surprisingly happy.

Now, I will end this birthday with some ice cream and, well, maybe an episode of Friends, an old one. Just for me, me and my ice cream. And my thanks to Lisa and Annelie for making this such a lovely day.

My life as an expat

Long, hot days in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. It's difficult to navigate around the keyboard, but otherwise I'm having one hell of a time. The city has all the decay and ambiance you could wish for, and my Georgian contacts are ever so lovely. I've also made some new friends, the pride of British judiciary. And with the embassy as my base camp I need not fear anything. Maybe just the sun, which has been unforgiving today.

I just read that Al Franken won the election as US senator from Minnesota. The election was last November so it was about time a winner was pronounced you might think. Franken is a comedian who, after writing Bush bashing books, decided to become a politician himself. As a Democrat naturally. I don't know how he will be as politician but as a comedian he can be very funny. My favourite Franken joke is from when he was a guest at David Letterman and talked about his new book tour. He said that he was doing it together with Bill O'Reilly (the right wing bully from Fox News). "I'm doing my book, and Bill his, Living With Herpes".

Now there's a thunderstorm over Tbilisi. I must go and watch.

Maher on Obama

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid6555681001?bctid=26316540001

I agree with what Maher says. But maybe Obama is just waiting for the right moment to strike.

St Andrews and the Middle East

St Andrews might be exactly what I'm looking for. Been here one evening and one whole day and it's been most satisfying, in every way (well, OK, the cleaning of my room has not been most satisfying, but other than that) and I believe I could be very happy here.

Iran is in turmoil. Imagine if Ahmadinejad was forced to give up and Mousavi became president. What kind of message would not that send to the good people in the Middle East and to that Arab street? No one knows what kind of president Mousavi would become, but he would represent something different. And what if he and Obama started talking. The people of Iran deserve much better than what they've got. More power to them!

In Lebanon the losing side in the recent election gracefully acknowledged defeat. When will every country in the region (or in the world for that matter) be as civilized as that?

Follow what's going on in Iran at Andrew Sullivan's blog: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/

Night of the Hunter

Today I've been playing balls with Maeby in the rain. I think it's fair to say that she was more amused than I was.

I've also been listening to four actor students do a reading of a film script. The first time I've done that and I liked it. Script developing is something I think I might like, and also be good at.

I've been so stressful lately it's made my neck and upper back stiff and it hurts slightly. Need to relax, need to get a massage. A long warm bath would also help. That at least I'll have tomorrow. And there shouldn't be any reason for me to be stressed tomorrow. But I don't always need reasons for that unfortunately.

I'm thinking a lot about what I will write when I get to St Andrews. The thesis is of course the main thing, but I have so many other ideas. Ideas for articles and essays. It's going to be so much fun and I think it's safe to assume I won't be able to wait until September. As soon as I quit my job in three weeks I'll probably start writing. I'm already writing down ideas.

It's a shame about the election in Iran. Ahmadinejad has not been a good president, neither for Iran nor for the region. Too much hate mongering and bad economic policy. They all deserve something better. Or did they all actually vote for him? I had a look on his blog by the way but it seems he hasn't written anything since 2007.

No, it's too late now, my political musings will have to wait.

India's election and personal stuff

Yesterday I had breakfast with Lisa and Maeby, lunch with the deputy prime mininster and dinner with my cousin, the children and the cats. In between I got a fee waiver scholarship from St Andrews. £11 000 or something. I hope they will find it was money well spent.

Congress (and the alliance UPA) won the elections in India, and that's a relief. There are many parts of BJP (the main opposition party), such as it's close links to RSS (an extreme hindu nationalist organization) which are downright scary. Hopefully this election will lead to a more powerful government, with Congress less dependent on the communists for support, because there's so very much that needs to be done in India. Reducing poverty, expanding infrastructure, making peace with Pakistan and in Kashmir and reforming the political system (for example getting rid of the overwhelming number of harden criminals in parliament and in regional politics.) India may be the world's biggest democracy but it is also deeply flawed.

Now I'm listening to Gustavo Santaolalla and wondering what to do today. Low-key is the theme. I recently got up. There are two options. Either return to bed and read the latest issue of The Atlantic, or go on a biking trip with a book. But why choose, there's time for a bit of both.

post easter post

When I wrote about Israel some weeks ago I was worried about Kadima not getting a seat in the government. Now it seems everybody but Kadima is in the new government. We'll see how that pans out, But it doesn't really matter who's in charge as long as the peace process, such as there is, continues and gives birth to something lasting. 

It's finally warm here and I've started running. It's going very well and it feels good, very fulfilling and satisfying. I'm simultaneously reading Haruki Murakami's book I wrote about in my last blog post, which is also fulfilling and satisfying. For some reason I only read it in the bathtub, bathing. Oh, well.

I've also finished reading Cosmopolitanism, which I also mentioned in my previous blog post. It was slightly disappointing. It's written by a professor at Princeton University, Kwame Anthony Appiah, a philosopher, and I had expected more. I agreed with most of what he wrote, in fact I've written myself most of the same things he wrote. But shouldn't he, with all his experience and age, gone farther than me? On the other hand, if he can write a book like that, so can I. One of these days I'm gonna. The working title is at the moment Transit.

time and keys

When coming home, realising that you and your key are no longer together is not the most joyful of discoveries. But I'm keeping my upper lip stiff. I suppose the key decided to spend the weekend at the office. It's a good thing I have relatives with spare keys.

These last three weeks have been intense and hectic to say the least. First four days in London, which were packed with meetings, museums, plays and films, most of it related to Ingmar Bergman. Not the film though, that was Joseph H. Lewis' magnificent and outrageous Gun Crazy from 1949. It's has such master of framing and camerawork it's uncanny, and the sexual tension between John Dall and Peggy Cummins is quite something.

And after London, four big projects at work have been taking up all my time. And then there was my mother's 60th birthday and... well, you get the idea. But it has been fun almost every single minute of every single day. And that's not bad . Not bad at all.

Last I wrote I mentioned Michael Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road. I've now read it, and it was rather good. But it was my third book by Chabon, and every time I've been slightly disappointed. It's like they're not as good as they should've been. But I haven't given up yet. Soon I'll sink my teeth into The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I've also read P.J. O'Rourke's book about Adam Smith, which I enjoyed immensely. By the way, O'Rourke's piece in The Atlantic, about the future and the fact that we seem to have lost faith in it, is among the best articles I've written in a long time.

In Israel they still haven't manage to form a government. But apparently Kadima is out of the picture for the time being. I'm worried. But the new administration in Washington is making some promising sounds. And speaking of international politics, it's appaling and terrifying how Pakistan is deteriorating further and further, whilst the politicians are more inclined to beat up lawyers than tackle insurgents and terrorists, not to mention the fast diminising economy. What if it becomes a failed state? Then where would they be? Or we? 

I have Pankaj Mishra's Temptations of the West - How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond right next to me, and I'll probably start reading it over the weekend. I love his writing, what little I've read so far, and I have great hopes for this collection.

But now it's time for tea. Bon weekend!

kadima

It would be very nice indeed if Kadima won the election and were able to form a government. Politics in Israel seems to have run out ouf steam, and they need time and willpower to form a new outlook. Will they succeed?

Changes and Changeling

I just saw Changeling and it was the scariest film I've ever seen directed by Clint Eastwood. And I cried as well. It was maybe a bit too obvious sometimes, and I missed the typical sardonic humour which Eastwood is so good at, but on the whole it was a good film, and beautiful to look at.

It was set in Los Angeles in the late 20s, and it was not a pretty picture it painted of the city. "How could people be so cruel back then" you wondered. And then you read a story in the International Herald Tribune about a Palestinian mother who watched her children burn to death after being bombarded with white phosphorous and you realize that people are just as cruel today.

In Washington Post today, ex-president Bush's speechwriter Marc A. Thiessen wrote a column where he bragged about the fact that Bush could say that on his watch no terrorist attack occurred on American soil since 9/11, and he wondered (or rather questioned) if Obama would be able to say the same. That's a bit of a thin argument, since it's equally true that on Bush's watch the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil took place. But never mind, I understand if the team around Bush are upset and maybe even scared. 

Me, I'm tired after a very long and varied day. Good night.

Island weekends and inaugurations

I spent the weekend in Visby, at the island of Gotland, and it was heavenly. So quiet and relaxed it was almost unreal. I've been there many times, every time with someone different, and every time I've felt I must buy a house there. Not to live there permanently, but to have as a retreat, a haven. I think I need that since I seem to be incapable of relaxing at home. But would I be able to relax, even if I had my own house there? Wasn't the fact that I visited my best friend in her home there, and the fact that our relationship is so very relaxed and comfortable, why I felt so good and so at ease? If I had been there all alone I would probably not have felt the same kind of wellbeing.

I saw Obama's inauguration speech and it was the first speech of his I've seen in full. It was about time, and now that I've got a taste for it I want more. It was a sometimes beautiful speech, surprisingly critical of Bush, who sat next to him, but also full of the humble self-confidence that has all along been Obama's greatest asset. If he stays on message and watches his back he might actually be able to (almost) live up to the ridiculously high expectations everybody has.

It was very nifty by the way how the gas war between Russia and Ukraine broke out the day after France handed over the EU presidency to the Czech Republic and ended the day before the inauguration of Obama, as did the war in Gaza.

Cold days and no gas

The fact that most of the EU is currently without gas is of course totally unacceptable. A liberalization of the energy market and the building of a more flexible supply system between EU Member States must now get priority once and for all. It'll make the EU more secure and more solidary, and maybe even keep gas prices down. The EU also needs to move ahead with getting more gas from other countries and sources than Russia and Ukraine. But that's easier said than done of course.

The EU must also improve their crisis management and work closer together. When Russia or Ukraine, or any other country, causes trouble the EU should answer in one voice. Various countries shouldn't send their own missions to Moscow. That's perhaps understandable, but it's still objectionable.

But it's the same old story. When trouble brews, the EU splinters. I think that that is what annoys me most.

Political blogging (on Gaza and other conflicts)

Two things are all too common when it comes to blog posts on the war between Hamas and Israel, and indeed postings on most of the various conflicts around the world. The first thing is that the blogger is saying that whatever story he or she is telling, mainstream media is either not aware of it or deliberately keeping quiet about it. The other thing is that the blogger complains about how biased and unbalanced the mainstream media coverage of the conflict is. 

Well, the first these statement is almost never true. The story is usually out there. As for the unbiased and unbalanced reporting, this is almost always much much worse in the blog posts and the comments to them. My mainstream sources such as The Guardian, BBC, The Economist, International Herald Tribune or Svenska Dagbladet are handling the Israel/Hamas conflict very well, with the occasional blunder. (I will return with a list of recommened reading.)

It sometimes seems that to be a political blogger you have to be self delusional. Which obviously isn't true either (as this blog is a living proof of...) but is so depressingly often the case. I will not give any specific examples now, but just look at any random blog and chances are you'll see a good example of my point.

The conflict is much to complicated to get right in a few short lines in a blogpost, that goes without saying, but maybe if the bloggers (or facebook group instigators for that matter) spent more time actually trying to understand the conflict instead of raving about their own high moral standing and/or raging against mainstream media, it would make the world a slightly better place.

The Bear and the Hare

With Russia behaving like a hoodlum screaming for respect, Europe must speed up diversifying it's energy network. The EU should make gas and oil supplies flow more easily between EU-countries and so get less dependent on Russia's mood swings. If one member state should get it's supplies from Russia cut, they should be able to get the stuff from another EU-country, at the press of a button.

And why's Germany so soft with the Russians? I'm not expecting anything less from Berlusconi's Italy but Germany should be more muscular. And if they were, others would maybe follow. The EU needs to get tougher with Russia. This is no time to be vague and queasy.

Late Autumn Sun

I should be outside, taking a lovely walk in the lovely autumn weather. But the sun will not set yet for some time. Eventually I'll get there.

Yesterday I saw an Australian film, Jindabyne, about life in a little town among what might be called white trash. Family tensions, racism, male chauvinism, and environmental concerns where among the topics referred to. And yet it made my constant longing for that marvelous country increase, ever so slightly. When will I return?

In China, the experiment with grass root democracy that has been going on for some years, with elections on low levels in towns and communities, seems to have come to a standstill. That is a shame. Surely the best way to ease the tensions that simmers, and occasionally explodes, all over the country, is to give to people more power over their lives, and over the decision process. Since I take it for granted that the leading men and women of the Chinese Communist Party read my blog on a daily basis, I hereby take the opportunity to urge them to expand democracy in urban and rural China.

The House, The Senate, The Swimming Pool

Well, the Republicans were clobbered. Fancy that. A few years ago it seemed every thing was going their way. Now the Democrats will have to show that they are of better judgement. I have some doubts, but at least now that they have to work together, maybe the compromises will be better then what went before.

As quoted in San Francisco Chronicle today, Bush said "Look, people say unfortunate things at times, /.../. But if you hold grudges in this line of work, you're never going to get anything done." That was in regard to the harsh words Nancy Pelosi has said about him. Perhaps he should think along similar lines when dealing with Iran, North Korea and other obnoxious regimes. You need not like them, but please talk to them. Deal with them.

I went swimming this evening, indoors of course. The lights were dimmed and they were playing classical music, Vivaldi I believe. It might have been rather nice and relaxing, but they were playing it far to loud! It wasn't soothing at all, rather the opposite. It might have looked (sounded) good on paper, but in reality, well, I'm sorry, it just didn't work. And what's with all the splashing? I try to swim as splashfree as possible, but apparently I'm one of the endangered species.

On the love front, things are progressing fast and wonderful. As soon as we see each other, our hands get out of control, and soon end up on any given part of the other's body. And such a lovely body she has!

Weather, Love and Elections

Winter came, and went away almost as quickly. And now? It's neither autumn nor winter, neither spring nor summer. It's just weather, and as it says on my Korean t-shirt "We are fighting on the brink of Weather." I'm not sure what that means, but it somehow seems suitable on days such as these.

Days such as these are also full of love. It's wonderful! I watch her face when we talk and it makes me speechless. Is it possible? Is she really saying these things to me?

Tomorrow is election day in the US. Will the Democrats take over? I hope so. I'm tempted to say that, surely, anything is better than this. Maybe not. But I'm sure of one thing, and that is that the Republicans have spent the last years bullying, lying, cheating, harassing, torturing and stupefying as much as possible, whenever and wherever they've got the chance, with the odd honourable exception. How will it all end?