Carthage - my first impressions of the book

I sat down at a cafe, ordering myself a Flat White (even though that's not very usual in Norway, so I can consider myself lucky...) and I started reading the book Carthage. It has gotten really good reviews so I was excited to start reading, and after a little while I got pretty into it. The rain was pouring outside, but I was happily wrapped up inside with my book and my coffee.

First of all, the book seemed to me as sligthly unusual. I love travelling novels, love stories and a thriller once in a while - but this book is different to my usual liking. It didn't have a lot of character descriptions, except for the missing girl, the lost daughter. The father is not much described. A scene in the book that I reacted to was the scene where the father thinks he finds his missing daughter, lying down by a waterfall, only to discover that it is a carnage of a dead deer. The descriptions were painful, but I can understand that the author is talented, and it gives a dramatic effect to the plot.

I want to comment the way he writes, and the author uses a lot of more difficult words. It might be my vocabulary in english that can be lacking, but it kind of looks like he is trying to find the most difficult words to make his book more spectacular. It makes the book harder to get through, but it will help me expand my vocabulary - so I should definitely see it as a good thing.
Another thing I want to point out is the section where there is a conversation between his other daughter and her fiance Brett, where the conversation is one-sided. It was difficult to understand the situation at first and I am not  a particular fan of this kind of writing, but the more I read, the more poetic the novel got.

These are some of my first impressions, and I can tell that it is a good book that I am definitely going to enjoy. I am excited to read the rest, and also having an excuse to have some me-time, no matter if I read in the bath tub, or sitting down at a nice cafe. What is not to like about that?

UK miners strike

First, I will introduce you to what the Miner Strike was. The Miner Strike happened in 1984 and lasted for one year, and it was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. Basically, it was a battle between Margaret Thatcher's economic policies and the organised working class. The entire year showed violence between striking miners and militarised police force attempting to maintain coal production at some level and aid strike-breakers. 

The strike was undertaken by the National Union of Mineworkers, led by Arthur Scargill. The National Union of Mineworkers was established in 1888. Arthur Scargill was, according to Wikipedia, a Yorkshire miner, militant, trades unionist and and a socialist, and he had strong leanings towards communism. He stated that Margaret Thatcher wanted to destroy the coal industry and the NUM. This lead to the most bitter industrial dispute in British history, according to BBC. 

The strike ended on 3rd of march 1985, and it was a defining moment in British industrial relations. The strike definitely weakened the British Trade Union, and the strike became a symbolic struggle, as the NUM was one of the strongest unions in the country. The strike ended with the miners defeat and the Thatcher goverment was able to consolidate its fiscally conservative programme. The strike led to three deaths during the year.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_miners%27_strike_%281984%E2%80%9385%29

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/keith-pattison-photographs-the-miners-strike-342

The UK election

Today, the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom will be selected. The way the Parliament is selected is by a "first past the post-system". It is a single-winner system, and there is no requirement that the winning party need to have the majority of votes.

It was prime minister David Cameron from the Conservatives who asked for a reelection. The oppositionleader is Ed Miliband from the British Working party - Labour. Now, the question is who is going to be selected tonight.

According to Norwegian newschannel NRK, the Conservatives are getting much more support from British newspapers. What the Brits are adviced to vote on depends on what newspapers they read, and the varied newspapers are in addition very subjective.

The polls are showing that the election is very close, and voters are deciding on who to vote for in last second. Anyhow, many people believe that more people than ever will take part in the election. It will be very interesting to see what is going to happen when the voting shuts at 11 pm tonight.

sources:
 http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Derfor-velger-de-Cameron-eller-Miliband-i-dag--8011144.html

Trident

What is trident and why should it matter?

This article will explain what a Trident is, and a popular misconception is that it is a spear commonly used by fishermen - but that is far from the truth. A trident is something far more serious. Furthermore, a trident is a submarine nuclear missile operated by the United States navy and the royal navy. The issue is that the missile has sparked a lot of controversy in Britain. We will take a closer look on the background of the Trident, and why it has sparked such controversy.

The US Navy began  advanced studying of Undersea-long range Missile system in 1971. The Trident was developed in 1972. The Trident was a larger higher-performance missile with a range capacity greater than 6000 metres. In Britain the missile is currently located in river Clyde in Scotland.

The missile has sparked a lot of controversy in Britain because of the cost of having it regarding whether or not britain needs a nuclear missile that will cost a 100 billion pounds during the next 30 years. Some people want the nuclear missile because they do not want to give up Britain's nuclear arsenal unilaterally. In addition, it is unknown of the prime minister wants to go down as the one, in a future crisis, who had been responsible for giving up Britain's nuclear weapons.

The current missiles is set to retire in 2020 which has made the government propose new replacements. Despite the growing opposition the government has not given an option to abandon nuclear weapons.

UK ELECTION

1. Explain the role of the European Parliament and mention some important areas they work with
   
   The role of the European Parliament is that it is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. It exercises the legislative function of the EU together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. 
   The European Parliament is elected every 5 years. According to their webpage, they have three main roles;
   
   -debating and passing European laws, with the Council
   -scrutinising other EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to make sure they are working democratically
   -Debating and adopting the EU's budget, with the Council ^
   
   Some important areas they are working with is finance, environment, health, consumer protection, free movement of people, services, commerce and so on.
2. Explain the voting system how many representatives do each country have?
   All the MPs elected is elected under some form of proportional representation. Proportional representation means that political parties put forward names of candidates in rank order, the number of candidates being no more than the number of seats allowed for each region. 
3. 
   
4. 
   
   
   
5. From the UK election, Why is UKIP so popular in the European Parliament and what is the significance?
6. Watch the debate and look at the numbers below and write your article using the debate as your source.

Returning home

The moment she walked into her old room, a wave of emotions crashed heavy into the walls of her heart. While she entered the room she embraced the white walls, let her fingers linger around the framed old memories. Memories and dreams that had just been put away for a year, replaced with new memories and dreams. Now it was time to unpack these memories and dreams again, and leave the other world behind. Dark clouds filled her mind, and she could not let the thoughts about meeting her old friends stop haunting her. Would they be different? Or would they be exactly the same? She realized that the things that was the most important a year ago would not be so important anymore, but what she held highest now, no one at home would understand. A sparkling tear dropped down on Idunns cheek, like a reflection of everything she had seen and done a year away. A reflection of how everything had changed and what person she had become. Like it all was collected in one perfect, beautiful little tear drop.

"Det er godt aa ha deg hjemme igjen, kjære." "It is good to be home too, mum." Idunn replied, but in the internal conflict in her head the two worlds she lived in had brutally collided. She looked up at her beloved mums face, trying to force upon a smile to match her mums cheerful look. Idunns eyes looked like they were not connected to her smiling mouth, filled with water like it was the great blue ocean that separated these two countries. The deep blue ocean she had to cross to get home. If there is such a thing called home anymore. Being separated from mums safe arms, she had matured in ways that no one except her would understand. There had been times when she felt so helpless to be hours away from home, when she knew the ones she held closest to her heart needed her. There had also been times she felt helpless being so far away, when she was the one needing help. They had been 12 months away from each other, and the relief of seeing her almost felt unbearable. Idunn picked up the white box filled with photos taken from this other world, and began hanging them up to her wall ; a desperate act to hold the memories close and never forget. The first day of school. A nerve-wracking day, a vulnerable day, a day she would meet the people that would turn into her best friends. She looked at the picture of a smiling girl, proudly showing off her uniform. She had left her best friends, yet to return to her best friends. The picture she was holding in her right hand was of her with the family she stayed with, the people that were once just names on a sheet of paper. People that had become her family, people that had opened their hearts and their homes to shelter her. She walked out the arrival gate, nervously scanning the room for the faces she had just seen pictures of. Feeling scared, more little and lonely than ever, and yet so excited, she spotted the familiar faces in the crowd. This was the moment she would meet them, and everything would begin. 

She stepped back and admired the wall, but with a pain in her heart. A year had passed and she was standing on a brink, a world where she were surrounded by the paradox of everything and yet nothing was the same. Smiling faces were looking at her, those lazy crazy days of summer, the everlasting beach with sand soft as silk, pictures from important events, days she and her friends had discussed every day before and after, and dreams and adventures she had experienced. No more staying up all night talking to her friends which brought her to laughter and tears in a second language, no more spontaneous things she would never think of at home, and no more walking into the particular town, just to take a walk. No more a different country. She had now gone back to the same place she came from, and she would go back to the same things she did last summer and the summer before, but with no idea how to proceed.

"Kommer du? We will be late! " (Are you coming?) asked Helene, who was standing in her doorway waiting for her. Helene was happier than ever, her best friend had returned home. A year apart had been hard, and doing every-day things without idunn by her side had been difficult. Giving her the last hug and fighting the tears when she left, and then waiting at the arrival, giving her the biggest hug and fighting the tears again, welcoming the girl that knew all her secrets, home. Helene flicked her blonde hair back, watching her old best friend putting lots of pictures away in boxes. "what are you doing, don't you want those up on your wall?" Idunn got up on her feet, and walked across the room into Helenes arms. ?I will put those away for now? she said, embracing the warmth of her best friend, who she had been talking to all night some nights through the year, who had brought her to laughter and tears. Idunn had taken down the pictures and dreams, and put them away, saving them for the return to that world. The world where she learned to grow up and to become her own person. She knew that somehow, some way, she would find her place between these two worlds. Now it was time for unpacking her old dreams and memories, that had just been put on hold for a year. She looked up at Helene and smiled, "Im ready to go."

Lions for Lambs

1. Lions for Lambs is a 2007 American drama film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor. Explain how they are connected and what the soldiers are doing in Afghanistan?

All of them are connected, that none of them would work without the support from the others. The US soldier would not be in war if the senator had not convinced the soldier to do it. In addition, the soldier watches the news which is instigated by the senator - through the reportert. The professor follows the guilde lines and laws the senator has implied. And the big paradox continues. 

1. The professor asks Todd to get involved.  What can he do?

One can look at it this way; the professor wants him to join the army. In one way, the way he talks about the brave soldiers who came from little but fight the most, can be a way of convincing Todd. This is just one from perspective though, one can view the situation completely differently. It can be viewed as the professor instigates him to stay away from the army. His intention can be that Todd needs to be to rule, not to be sent to war. The army needs lions to rule, not lambs for lions. 

1. Is there a connection between social conditions, the welfare state and US involvement in wars?

Yes, in my opinion there is a connection between many things. The connection between social conditions, the welfare state and the US involvement  in wars can be for example the financial situation. There is an incredible amount of american dollars put into their involvement in wars, because the soldiers needs ammunitation, new and modern technology of war gadgets, such as; weapons, tanks, helicopters, uniforms and so on. An increase of involvement needs more resouces, and this will affect the economical situation in the US. 

1. What is the current opinion of the American people regarding US engagement in wars

It seemed to me that the opinon of the American people regarding US engagement in wars is negative. Current news is that Obama asks for an acception to fight IS, but he needs support from the Congress. If he does not get his request confirmed, he wont get involved. 

5 Reasons for Obama to be happy and the situation with Cuba

Barack Obama has improved the lives of many americans, according to Public surveys. He is still not all that popular, but his populuarity has increased. According to Gallup's, 48% of the population said they were happy, and 48% said they were unhappy. It might not seem like a great deal, but it is better than the former president George W. Busch's numbers. So, what are the contributing factors that made Barack Obama a bit more popular?


1. The employment  has increased
2. The fuel price has decreased
3. The relationship With Cuba has improved
4. The immigration-policy
5.  The pulling out of unpopular wars, popular ones in


The contributing factor I found the most interesting is the improvement of the relationship with Cuba. I am going to explore the situation, and explain the cause, consequenses and todays situation in the following blog post.


First of all, we need to look into the history to understand the background of the situation between Cuba and the US. We can begin with mentioning the support the US government offered Fulgencio Batista's dicatorship. The dictator murdered more than 20 thousand Cubans, and the US supported with military aid and weapons.
After the winning revolution in 1959 and the proclamation of the Agrarian Reform, the US threatened Cuba with reducing its sugar quota, banning Investments and eliminating all economic aid if the US properties were nationalized.


To avoid going too far back in history and making this post excessively long, we could begin by mentioning the support the US government offered Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship, which it furnished with military aid and the weapons with which more than 20 thousand Cubans were murdered.
Immediately after the triumph of the revolution in 1959 and the proclamation of the Agrarian Reform, the US government threatened Cuba with reducing its sugar quota, banning investments on the island and eliminating all economic aid if US properties were nationalized. http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=100145


These are some of the reasons the relationship is not working very well. There are more reasons to it as well, but I chose the ones I found that makes a big difference. Questions are why the relationship is bad, when Cuba makes no threat whatsoever to the big superior country. Therefore, when the relationship has improved with Obama's rule, it makes many americans happy.


What Obama has done, is that in secret he has talked to his cuban friends for 55 years. President officially announced earlier in december that he plans to normalize the relationship with Cuba. A survey in the Washington Post shows much support from the electors. 74% wants an end to the travelling restrictions, 68% wants to open up for trading and 64% wants to reintroduce diplomatic connections. His work with fixing the relationship has increased his popularity, so that is one of the biggest rasons fo Obama to be happy this year.

911 - Now we know what evil looks like

On September 11, 2001, the Islamic extremist group al-Quaida hijacked four airlines, and targeted suicide attacks against the two tallest towers in the United States. Two of the hijacked planes were flown into towers of the World Trade Center in New York city, and the two others hit Pentagon outside Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania. Now, the attacks are often referred to as 9/11, as this crucial event had devastating consequences, and resulted in extensive death and destruction. The Twin Towers shattered down to the ground, and more than 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. Included in the statistics were more than 400 police officers and firefighters.

At 8:45 a.m, an American Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The attack killed hundreds of people, and hundreds were trapped in higher floors. The impact left a burning hole, and as the evacuation began, television broadcasting stated that it most likely was a freak accident. Then, suddenly just 18 minutes after, a second plane crashed into the second tower. It was a massive explotion, and burning pieces of the plane were dripping over surroundings and the streets below.

I want to aim this article to the firefighters, the policemen, the doctors, nurses and everyone that contribted to helping the injured, cleaning out the burning fractures of buildings, and the ones that spread courage, love and support each other under the difficult circumstances. No words can thank the people enough, the ones that put a side every human need - to help those who needed it the most.

Firefighters where in the lobby of Tower One when the second one came down, and suddenly everything turned to dust. Pitch-black, smoke everywhere and I cannot even imagine trying to breath with million pieces of dust, paper and steel scattered around, floating in the air. The fragments that would get stuck in their throats, the burning pain in their eyes, the intense sense of smoke in the air and the desperate search for other survivors. The thuds from bodyparts falling, another life falling to the ground, the sounds of bones breaking and turning into dust. Still, the firefighters kept on doing their job. No matter what, they continued searching for every last piece of an alive human being on a ground that looked more like hell on earth.

If not us, who? If not now, when?

As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters, often solving fictitious problems,”DiCaprio continued. “I believe that mankind has looked at climate change in that same way — as if it were a fiction, as if pretending that climate change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.”

 Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the most outspoken celebrities on the issue of climate change, opens the Climate Summit 2014 in the UN with a four minute long speach, framing the controversial topic in unsparing terms. He claims the disaster has grown to a maximum limit, it is no longer controlled by any individual. Something needs to be done about the industries and the governments on a broad scale, not to a small point controlled by the citiziens. He says in firm words that mankind has changed the way they view climate change - to a point where they pretend it is pure fiction. Dicaprio is concerned, because pretending the climate change isn't real would not in any ways make it go away. 

"To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car; this disaster has grown; this disaster has grown beyond the choices that individuals make. His message is clear; the governments around the world needs to adress this rising issue. This can not be done by the individuals alone, and the amount of carbondioksyd from a normal car, compared to the world's industry is barely anything. It is extremely important that the issue is taken seriously, and that the government goes in front as a leading example of how to deal with the hard facts of how the climate change will harm the planet.

The next generation will inherit the reality of the climate change- if our generation does not do anything to sort out the problem. This cannot be done on an individual level - and the political leaders of the world has to set some rules for the industry to follow. Otherwise, nothing will change and the harms it is causing will increase rapidly. This will haunt the next generation - so if not us, who? If not now, when?

The Scots inspires the separists of Europe

The nerve-wracking excitiment towards thurdays happening can be felt anywhere in Europe right now, and the Scots are holding their breath. Will they finally break out of England, or will they stay as a part of the union? Anyhow, they have already set an example for many separists in Europe, and things are about to change in the modern-day Europe. Four more days, and history can be changed forever.

The Scottish referendum has become a catalyst for the following Europe. Catelonia and Venice are following the referendum up close. Catalonia is a part of Spain that wants to separate, but Madrid holds up the constitution law and says firmly no. There was a protest in the streets of Spain with 1,8 million people, all wanting a right to vote for separation of Spain. The fact that Scottish people got a right to vote has an enormously big impact on the separasits of Europe, creating hope all over Europe. In addition, one thing almost all of the small separists has in common; they all want to break out of their country and join the EU.

In Edinburgh, streets are covered in blue flags for Scotland and for the Eu, and one cannot see a Union Jack very often. Scotland goes infront as an excellent example of separisation, and europeans are asking the question: if the Scottish people can do it, why can't we?  Therefore, regardless if the yes-part goes through with the votes on thursday, Europe will never remain the same.

Why Remember?

This year marks a significant important year earlier in history, the year the First World War broke out. 100 years ago, a whole world was mobilised, battles were fought, sorrow was raging and dreams were shattered. About 72 million troops were mobilised to fight, and half of the troops were either killed, wounded or prisoned. 100 years has past since our ancesters shaped the modern society, but the memories of it are starting to fade. There are not many left to pass on the story to the new generations. The Tower of London is making an overwhelming statement to the British people, and they are sending out the important message - Why remember?

The Tower played an important role during the war,  as a mobilisation and recruitment place, and a prison and executement place. Now, the whole tower is covered in red ceramic poppys.

"Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" is the name of this major art installation, and it is created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins. 888,246 ceramic poppies will fill the Tower's moat throughout August, and each poppy represents a British military fatality during the war.
Everyone can buy a poppy, donate money for their lost ones or participate to volunteer in the history in making with this installation. With the hashtag #TowerPoppies, one can follow the following reactions to the statement made. The British people are impressed, and says that the sight is breathtaking, surreal and highly moving. Every sunset, 180 new names of British soldiers is read out loud, making every poppy really represent the fallen soldiers.

Remembering this is important to pass on history, cherish the loved ones lost in battle, and know something about what we Europeans are and where we come from. To me, I believe this art installation is incredibly beautiful, and an incredibly bright idea. It really sends out a message, making everyone involved and letting the younger ones in the society participate and learn about the history. We must always remember - and reminding us can begin with only one poppy made out of ceramic.

Live

 

a mobilisation and recruitment site for troops, and as a place of execution for spies - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/firstworldwar#sthash.HqHYWNNa.dpuf

a mobilisation and recruitment site for troops, and as a place of execution for spies - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/firstworldwar#sthash.HqHYWNNa.dpuf

My expectations for this year

As this is my final year with English in school, this is an important year for me. English has always been very important to me, as I am a keen traveller and the language has always fascinated me. I had to explore more of the english-speaking world, so I did an exchange to Australia last year to fulfill this wish. This was a very successfull year, and I'm left with many wonderful memories and long-lasting friendships. Therefore, to still be surrounded by as much English as I can, thursdays will be something I will look forward to. When this is said, I have set myself a few expectations for this year - to make the most out of my English lessons. 

To begin with, my expectations is to keep up my level of english from my exchange year. It is highly important for me that I don't lose any of my vocubalary, my confidence in speaking english and at least some of my australian accent. It will be difficult to keep the accent - as the english im surrounded by is mostly american, but I will put in a great effort to keep this up. It is very important for me that when my friends down under Skype me, I can be able to respond just the way I used to.

In addition, I want to be able to discuss political issues, relationships between countries and social studies in a fluent way. In order to do this I will read articles in english, read news from various sources such as BBC, CNN, The Times and so on. In that way I will have information about global issues on a worldwide scale, and I will be able to draw data from these sites. Since I am also doing the subject "Politics And Human Rights", I hope I will be able to contribute to class with important information and things to discuss.

To end this, my last goal is to read more english books. This is a good way to relax and zone out, and learn english as well.

Live