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.

Books I've read lately

I've started the year by reading After Dark by Haruki Murakami and L'Africain by J.M.G. Le Clézio. Haruki I've read before, he's a favourite of mine, and After Dark didn't disappoint. It's short, precise and to the point, whilst also dreamy and horrorlike. The writing is, as always, wonderful, this time translated by Jay Rubin. It does benefit from being read from cover to cover, preferably at night of course. It takes place during one night, involving a young man playing jazz, a young woman reading, a Chinese prostitute in trouble and the violent man who beat her up and stole all her possessions. There's no reason why these four people's lives should be interconnected, except that they are.

L'Africain hasn't been translated into English yet, but I've read the Swedish translation, (Afrikanen), and it was rather good. It's only 88 pages, about Le Clézio's childhood and in particular his father. It's a quick rewarding read, both if you want to learn more about the author and/or what it was like being the son of a white doctor working in colonized Africa.

I've also begun reading His Illegal Self by Peter Carey, but more on that when I'm through. I does seem promising.

Back off the track

Well, when one is very busy, one might be forgiven for not writing regularly on one's blog. But now there's time and so, no excuses for not writing.

Since the war between Georgia and Russia I've been wanting to do something in Georgia, and now, after a meeting with a woman working at the Georgian ministry for culture, sports and public buildings or somethng rather, I might be able to make something happen. And maybe do something in Saudi Arabia too...

But not now, and neither will I do any more writing tonight. I just wanted to get back in the game.

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.

Leaning Birch

Why do I have such a weakness for this photo?

No space

Well, my myspace period was very, very short. There's a limit to a man's time. But now that I suddenly remembered my English blog, I might occasionally write a line or two here.

It's dark outside, as dark as my chocolate, but the light of the Christmas candles make it cosy and comforting inside. A helicopter is taking off outside my office and Rolling Stones is playing on the web radio. Five minutes left of my working day....

my other space

Things change, habits change, everything changes. I used to take great pleasure in writing here, but I found myself writing less and less frequent, until I stopped. I did other things instead. But if you want to read me on a regular basis these days, please visit www.myspace.com/fredrikzi, where I write a blog, every other day. I wonder for how long I'll keep it up.

Apartment Hunting and Book Reading

Long ago I promised I'd write about my thoughts on The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. I have now begun reading it, and I'm currently at page 180 or something, halfway through. It isn't all that gripping I'm sorry to say, so I have taken a break. But I will finish it, just not just yet.

I'm also on the prowl for a new apartment, something smaller and cheaper than the one I got. There seems to be a lot of apartments out there which appeals to me, I just hope I will appeal to the apartments as well.

It's all so very relaxed at work, and I really really need that. It's almost comforting to go to work. But now I have three days off, and that is comforting to. Because I haven't anything needs to be done, I can continue to relax. After one year of abject stress, it feels almost to good to be true. I wonder for how long it will last.

Stranger Than Fiction

How can anyone be as cute as Maggie Gyllenhaal? A question that will not be easily answered, not even by the greatest of brains. I saw today Stranger Than Fiction in which she appears, ever so sweet. She is also very talented, and not shy of working on offbeat material. I like her, and her brother Jake as well. Some family.

Family is an interesting thing. When people talk of family they usually mean mother, father and children, but family is more than that if you ask me. And since I have some problem with my own, or more to the point, my parents, I take comfort in the fact that there are other (kinds of) families out there for me to join.

My relationship with my own parents are somewhat fraught, and I try to keep them at a distance. Compared to most, if not all, of my friends, I talk to, and see, my parents very seldom, and even so I think it is far to often. I wonder when I begun to withdraw. I think it was as soon as I was old enough to do so. Sometimes I feel that there must be something wrong with me, not really caring that much for my own mother and father, but there it is. It's not that we have any issues, or any quarrels, or anything like that. I just don't enjoy being with them. Maybe it will change when I get children of my own, who knows?

And if you are curious, I did enjoy Stranger Than Fiction immensely.

Easter Bunny

I've been celebrating Easter like there's no tomorrow, and I've been having a ball. Things are good, but, alas, time is short. But I'm still here, only not so much. Soon days will come when I will be writing more, and who knows, maybe even publish some photographs.

Always one for trying new things, I today twitted, or whatever it is called. There doesn't seem to be much fun in that, but time will tell, it always does. If you want to twitt(?), go to twitter.com, and see for yourself.

And now, I'm off to do some reading in my bed, although the hour is late. Tonight's book is Mr. Potter by Jamaica Kincaid.