Politics: Bush is the worst president!

Do you need arguments for your dinner conversations on politics?
George W Bush is sure to provide them! He is a fellow who's good at topping lists.
I foud two nice ones - When people were asked in an AP-AOL News poll to name the villains and heroes of the year, Bush topped both lists, in a sign of these polarized times. In another story, Bush tops the list as the US worst president. The non-US world could not agree more. Have we ever seen a "world's-most-powerful-politician" who can't even make an unprepared speech without sounding like a four year old? Who has started more wars and intervened negatively in more non-US politics without a hint on what's going on? When will the american people take responsibility for the person they put in charge? This guy really does not have a clue.

If you have a list of GOOD THINGS Bush has done - please write a comment!

Politics: Somalia är i krig...igen

Till slut exploderade krutdurken Somalia, igen. Ethiopien har gått in med trupper och flyg som stöd till den svaga Transitionsregeringen (TFG). Jag kommenterade detta i Godmorgon Sverige den 27e december. Du kan se programmet här.

Economy: Swedes X-mas shop for Ghana's GDP

Swedish x-mas shopping spree breaks record level this year with more than 52 bilion swedish crowns. That is more than African Ghana's gross domestic product. Scary. And yes, we still celebrate christmas because a special kid was born...

Read about this in the news here (in swedish).

And - let's say some prayers in between the Donald Duck at 4 o'clock and the overloaded dinner table at 6, ok?

once, life was easy...

Music: CHAMBAO

Second Spanish group out is CHAMBAO.

8 man strong, with the marvelous Flamenco vocals of Mari, CHAMBAO, from Malaga have launched 3 CDs, of which "Mi Primo Juan" from the CD "Pokito a Poko" is so cool you just can´t let it go. I admit, there is some of the flamenco-wailing going on, but just enough to add the spice you need.

More clearcut Flamenco influences than ESTOPA, they still represent this to me very exciting mix of traditional and modern.

You can not afford to miss this group! Just listen..., and don´t forget I told you!

Music: ESTOPA

My taste in music is characterized by twists and turns, without any longer committment to any specific genre or artist, but with a personal history of 7 years living in latin coutries, spanish influences in music have stayed strong for a long time. Even though mainstream artists like Shakira or Juanes have managed to get attention even on the Swedish market, the Spanish and Latin American music scene is extraordinary full with undiscovered gems. So, I would hereby like to share a couple.

Formed in 1999. The duo “ESTOPA” made up by brothers David and José Munoz is extremely popular in Spain and have launched 5 records to date. Accordinf to themselves theyt make “streetmusic”. Flamenco-rock with lyrics approaching punk. Alcohol and marijuana romanticism fills the room with smoke when “Vino Tinto” or “Ke Pasa” from the CD “Destrangis” is on loud

Check out their site, and don´t forget I told you!

Books: Årets viktigaste bok har publicerats!

Lagom till julen publiceras boken "Drottning Silvias festklänningar och de Kungliga Smyckena". Författare är journalisten Cay Bond och Göran Alm, chef för Bernadottebiblioteket. I boken avslöjar drottning Silvia ALLT i samtal med journalisten Cay Bond, om sina festkreationer under trettio år!

Det kan helt enkelt inte bli mycket mer spännande!

Göran Alm, berikar dessutom bilden genom att lyfta på locket till drottningens smyckeskrin, genom att presentera de smycken som bärs vid högtidliga tillfällen.

Vad mer kan man önska? Detta är helt klart årets viktigaste Svenska bok!

Politics: Chinas involvement in Developing Countries

Swedish development cooperation is based on some kind of basic ethics and solidarity. A human rights based perspective that everyone in the world share the same value and rights to health, education and non-exploitation. I do not say that on top of this is a filter of Swedish politics. Priorities for involvement might be made on a basis of where Sweden have earlier relations or wants to establish a future partnership, but it is still governed by a "fight poverty" - focus. Other countries have a much lighter luggage of morals to carry when engaging in a fragile, or developing state. The chinese make enormous investments in infrastructure in the developing world - roads, buildings etc, but only after having signed agreements on oil or metal concessions!

Read about the new Super Power of Development Cooperation in this report from the Chr. Michelsen Institute

Politics: US new president will be black, and have a name lika Osama

Barack Hussein Obama is black, and has a name almost like US nemesis number 1. He is born on Aug 4, 1961 and is quickly advancing in popularity for the Presidential Elections on November 4, 2008 with his magnetic personality. Wonders still happen! Who knows, maybe we'll even see a change in US warprovoking policies in the third world?

Politics: Leftist winds turns to hurricane in Latin America

Ecuador: Rafael Correa is the last president to join Latin America's strong leftist, anti-USA wave. Even though he is not officially proclaimed winner, an overwhelming lead of more than 13% over the runner up Alvarado Noboa is far to much to worry.

Rafael moves quickly - he already stated he will try to rejoin the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) which Ecuador left in 1992, and promises to shred the much criticised free trade agreement with the US as well as close down a United States military base in Ecuador.

This will be an interesting decade in the US backyard with Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Luiz Inacio Lula (Brazil), Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Fidel Castro (Cuba), Evo Morales (Bolivia) and Michelle Bachelet (Chile) playing together.

Read about the Ecuador election in Swedish here.

Facts: Slavery

The only country in the world that still has not abolished slavery is Mauretania. Swedish TV4 will soon do a feature on this country's inhuman tradition.

Estimates of the number of black Africans enslaved in Mauritania range from 100,000 to as many as one million. Chattel slavery, in which one person is owned as another's property, has existed in Mauritania for 800 years-born out of racism and a skewed version of Islamic fundamentalism. Slaves are raised to believe that serving their Arab-Berber masters is a religious duty, and most remain in bondage their entire lives.

We will soon enter 2007...

in my iPod: Stieg Larsson

I recently discovered the joys of Audiobooks. Suddenly, I have an excellent way to breach former genre-phobias: in the last 15 years I have seldom read anything else than Sci-Fi or Fantasy, apart from academical literature. Never crime, thriller, horror or romance. For some reason, I also almost never read swedish authors. I had become so used to english reading and style, that swedish writers felt odd. But loading an audiobook in the iPod is a great way to keep my mind from vegetational state while commuting to work. And it is easy to try new authors or genres. So I stuffed the machine with swedish crime author Stieg Larsson's two books "Män som hatar kvinnor", and "Flickan som lekte med elden" and I LOVE THEM! Profound, interesting characters solving intricate mysteries. Try it out! You can not turn it off (or put it down, if it's the paper copy). Stieg Larsson was a journalist during the day, fought neo-nazis during the evenings and wrote thrillers during night time. Unfortunately, he died suddenly at his work at the paper "Expo". At the time, he had published three books. They are recommended reads.

Welcome back Daniel Ortega!

Nicaraguans just elected their former dictator, Daniel Ortega, to be their new president for the next five years. Why? Although one would think otherwise, it is not unusual for former dictatorships to re-elect their old leaders, but it is still hard to understand. Daniel Ortega won because of several factors: he still has his hard-core electorate base of approximately 30% who really do believe in Daniels revolutionary rethoric, although he has already proven his low moral's worth a hundred times. Furthermore, he couts with powerful alliances this time: in a Nicaragua with overpriced electricity, daily power-cuts and gasoline prices rising every day, Daniel promises subsidised electricity and gas for all and no power cuts through Venezuelas' Hugo Chavez; he promises country wide and cheap healthcare through his alliance with Castro and his electoral posters were all about Peace, Reconciliation and Unity - all the oposites of what he managed when he was in military power 1985 - 1990 after the civil war between his Sandinistas and the US-sponsored Contra-guerilla. Apart from his hard-core base and alliances, the opposition was divided between four parties, of which three managed to get hold of an important amount of seats in the parliament. The interesting thing now is that Daniel actually has to negotiate solutions with other parties. That is not something he is used to, being a military general and dictator...

Ida Maria Silvertsen

I just came back from Nicaragua, and in my jet-lagged haze happened to turn on the Swedish radio P3-Lab that plays unsigned, new swedish music. They had a couple of minutes with a girl called Ida Maria. Norwegian born, living in Uppsala Sweden, just like me. Right a way, her music stuck. She also replies to emails. Check out her myspace. Listen to her vocals. Reminiscent of Björk, but with a more positive touch to it. She will be playing in Oslo in late november and later in Madrid.