Sunset

Challenge - try this!!!

Let us condemn the violence in Burma

Norway has supported the Burmese people for a number of years. So far this year Norway has allocated NOK 55 million to support measures inside Burma and assist refugees on the border with Thailand and Bangladesh.

The events of the past few days have shown that the regime has to take the suffering of the people and the dramatic economic situation seriously and immediately initiate a dialogue with those who won the election in 1990 and the leaders of the various ethnic groups.

Support the People in Burma (Myanmar)

This is a appeal to support the People in Burma you can copy the painting, place it into your blog. Let us show our respect and supports

Art: Margareth Osju Arverudo

I believe in love , I believe that two are moor then one, I do believe in peace in the whole world. I do believe that all humans shall have the rights of freedom and that no one shall be hungry. I see the courage and fair in the peoples faces from Burma, there determination to make there country safe. I believe that there fight not are in vain.

Please sign on the list here for the Burma people

(From FANCY, Sweden)

Copenhagen, Denmark

Stockholm, Sweden

Playing Game Boy?

Muslims feel they are being watched

Many Muslims living in Norway feel they are being watched as terrorist suspects by the Norwegian authorities, and are afraid they cannot speak freely.

Spokespersons for the Muslim Student Association and the Muslim Council Norway say they fear that phones are being monitored and that their e-mails are being screened by the police.
Several Muslims say they experience that they are regarded as a security risk.

Thousands of deer, moose and stags die on Norwegian roads

As many as 6,300 deer, moose and stags, equivalent to 17 a day, suffered tragic deaths on Norwegian roads last year

It’s not uncommon to drive by a dead moose or deer while travelling on Norwegian roads.
According to new figures from Statistics Norway, an average of 17 moose, deer and stags were killed daily by traffic last year, totalling as many as 6,300 animals.
5,500 animals were killed by cars and 800 by trains.

'All time high' for cruise traffic

A record number of tourists have been cruising along Norway's coasts this year, and the number of vessels and passengers may keep rising.

The Nordic area is considered a "safe" part of the world, and cruises to the Scandinavian countries and around the Baltic have exploded in popularity.
Around 370,000 cruise passengers will have visited Norway by year end. That's double the number that arrived in 2000.

Few keen on joining EU

A new public opinion poll indicates that relatively few Norwegians are interested in joining the European Union (EU), continuing a trend that was first confirmed in a referendum 35 years ago.

The poll, showed 52.5 percent of Norwegian voters opposed to EU membership and 35.6 percent in favour.

Arctic bird in trouble

An estimated 3,000 arctic birds have been blown off course and have ended up on dry land in the Oslo region. The guillemot or murre, needs water in order to take off.

Experts say the birds will die unless they are assisted in getting back to sea.
The birds have not been injured. They lie still on the ground, but this is because they are not able to take off. They are like jumbo jets, and need a long "runway" in order to get back on their wings.

I suggest the nearest highway..

Women's Football: Norway ready for the WC Semifinal

19-year old Isabell Herlovsen scored in the 32nd minute when Norway's women beat host nation China 1-0 in the Women's World Cup 2007 quarter final on Sunday, earning Norway a semi-final meeting with Germany.

Congratulation!

Skagen, Denmark (NASA - WorldWind)

Photo from NASA-WorldWind

Hirsholm, Denmark

Polar explorer sounds alarm

Norwegian polar explorer Ousland is just back from an expedition that's left him convinced that drastic measures are needed to halt the rate at which polar ice is melting.

Ousland, who trekked from the North Pole to Franz Josefs Land in the footsteps of legendary explorer Fridtjof Nansen, said he noticed major changes in the landscape since the first time he went to the North Pole in 1990.

"The ice was around three meters thick 17 years ago," Ousland said "This time, we measured the ice every day and we didn't find any ice that was thicker than two meters."

Ousland said he and his team also witnessed polar bears trapped on Kapp Flora. The polar bears didn't have enough strength to swim the distance needed to reach the nearest firm ice, he said.

Government reshuffle made history

Parliament Buildings - Stortinget

Following Friday's reshuffle, the Norwegian Government has become historic: For the first time ever there are now more women than men in the Government.

After the resuffle there are 9 men and 10 women ministers in the Norwegian Government.
The first important change in women's representation came in 1986: It made international headlines when prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland appointed 8 women out of the 18 cabinet ministers.

Drug addicts offered money to vote Labour

kebab

Drug addicts in the town of Drammen say they were offered money or free kebabs to vote for the Labour Party in the local election last week.

People was offered NOK 50 (about USD 9) to vote for the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) in the local election last week.

It is nasty to take advantage of society’s weakest people. And to offer NOK 50 is scornful.

Aftenposten

Jomfru Ane Gade, Alborg, Denmark

White moose spared bullets

With hunting season just around the corner, things could look bleak for the rare white moose, which became a national celebrity after it was first spotted last year. But now hunters are instructed to spare it.

The rare white moose, has been given at least one more year to live. Hunters are now being instructed from the local agency in charge of the hunt to protect it from their bullets.
The moose, named Albin, quickly became a national celebrity after it was fist spotted a year ago. And it is Albin’s celebrity status that could now save his life.

Fears for Finnmark’s Nature

Due to a lack of knowledge and skills, the local council does not know how and where to develop, and more and more areas of beautiful nature are lost.

The County Governor in Finnmark, said that he has received 10 times as many applications for the development of properties between 1999 and 2006.
The applications are for exemptions from the ban on building in public areas along the coastline, where conservation is in question.

The ferry between Norway and Denmark

Color Line is Norway’s largest cruise ferry line, operating 10 ferries serving six routes from Norway to Germany, Sweden and Denmark.

Skagen, Denmark

Skagen takes its name from the region, which projects into the waters between the North Sea and the straits of Denmark. Skagen is considered the boundary between the Skagerrak (named after Skagen) and the Kattegat. At its very tip is a sandy, shifting headland known as Grenen. Here it's possible to experience the sight of waves clashing together from each side of the tip.

Teenager wins big in poker

A Norwegian 18-year-old became the first woman to win the World Series of Annette Obrestad became the youngest winner of the World Series of Poker over the weekend.
It was the first time the event was arranged in Europe, and Annette Obrestad of Sandnes, Norway beat 362 rivals to walk away with GBP 1 million (more than NOK 11 million).

The sand-engulfed Buried Church, Skagen, Denmark

The desertification that hit the area in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the abandonment of the old parish church to the migrating sands— the famous Buried Church (Den tilsandende Kirke). The tower of the church remains protruding from the dunes, as it was left as a sea marker when the church was abandoned at the close of the 18th century.

Aalborg, Denmark

Off to Denmark this weekend

Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen

Hello everyone!

I'll be leaving for Denmark on Friday.

Back late Sunday evening..

(and I'll leave my laptop at home)

Bryggen, Bergen, Norway

Vikings Return from the Grave

The remains of two female Vikings were rediscovered on Tuesday, as their coffin was opened at the Vikingship museum at Bygdoey. The two women originate from the Oseberg ship, which was stationed at the Oseberg farm in the fall of 834.

The grave was first opened in 1914, but the two women were buried again in 1948. The archeologists at the time did not have sufficient knowledge and equipment, and decided to put the remains in a more sustainable grave and rebury them in specially made coffins of metal.
A team of very excited archeologists and press were gathered today at the museum to witness the opening of the coffin. It took Ragnar Loechen and his team about one hour to get it open, after it had been squeezed together in order to fit into the original sarcophagus.

Hammerfest, Norway

Industry fears ban on PCs, mobile phones, TVs and cameras

The electronics industry fear empty shops as Norwegian environmental authorities call to ban environmental contaminants in electronic products. A ban would in practice mean a ban on much consumer electronics, according to the industry.

The electronics industry launched back at the environmental authorities today, after a proposal by The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority to ban certain environmental contaminants found in consumer electronics.

Kristiansund, Norway

Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway

Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)

Preikestolen or Prekestolen, also known by the English translations of Preacher's Pulpit or Pulpit Rock, and by the old local name Hyvlatonnå, is a massive cliff 604 metres above Lysefjorden, opposite the Kjerag plateau, in Forsand, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 metres, square and almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway.
In 2006 approximately 90,000 people took the 6-km hike to Preikestolen in the four summer months making it one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway.

Car accident

Norwegians fall for potency drug promotions

Saguaro Viagra Erectus

Authorities say Norwegians are gambling with their own health by ordering large amounts of drugs that are supposed to resemble Viagra over the Internet. Customs inspectors are seizing rising numbers of the drugs when they enter the local postal system.

It seems that many Norwegians actually click on the numerous "penis enlargement" promotions that regularly make their way through junk mail filters and into Norwegians' e-mail accounts.
That's the only explanation Norwegian health and customs authorities have for the jump in potency drugs entering the country outside the regulated pharmacy system. Many of the drugs are so-called "pirate copies" of well-known brands like Viagra.
How stupid can the norwegians be?!?

Teenager's speeding set new record

A 19-year-old male was stopped by police in southern Norway, after being caught driving 199 kilometers per hour in an 80 zone.

The young man was picked up by radar at Haugesletta, near the coastal town of Mandal, last week. His speeding, roughly equivalent to 120 miles per hour, set a new record.

Cases of such excessive speeding generally result in the immediate confiscation of the driver's license, sometimes for life. Fines are high, and jail terms can be handed out as well. It wasn't determined what punishment the young man faced, but his license was revoked.

Travel: Check your spelling!

Rhodos
The Cathedrale of Notre-Dame in Rodez, France

Three Norwegian tourists who believed they were on their way to the white beaches of the Greek holiday island of Rhodos, ended up in a French medival mountain village.

The three, Bente, Marit and Knut were more than surprised when their plane on Monday landed in the city of Rodez in south western France, north of Toulouse.
The town is proud of its old city centre which dates back to around 1200, but it is far from the Rhodos beaches.
The problem was caused by a slight keying error when the three ordered their tickets via internet.
In the end, they decided to return to their home mountains in Norway.

Ethnic discrimination still a problem on the Norwegian labour market

Four out of ten Oslo residents with non-Western background have felt discriminated against in the job seeker’s process, according to a new survey. Leader of the Organisation against public discrimination warns of a consequent "brain drain" from Norway.

Forty percent of Oslo residents with a non-Western background report that they have experienced ethnic discrimination on the labour market.
The shocking figure represents a major setback for integration and ethnic equality in the capital.

Lillehammer, Norway

Norwegian highway-building lags rest of Europe

Norway, despite its vast oil wealth, has been extremely slow to improve its roads and build safer, multi-lane highways. Startling new statistics were unveiled Monday, just after another weekend of deadly head-on collisions on heavily trafficked two-lane highways.

While Sweden has 1,740 kilometers of "Class A" multi-lane highways, Norway has just 281 kilometers. Denmark, meanwhile, can boast 1,024 kilometers and Finland 700 kilometers.

Even poorer countries like Portugal have built 972 kilometers of multi-lane highways in the past six years.

Mushroom

Huts

Football: Solskjaer to train ManU strikers

Norway international Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will stay on at Manchester United as special coach for the Premier League club's strikers.

This was confirmed by ManU manager Sir Alex Ferguson at a press conference on Friday.
- We want him as part of our coaching team this season. He will assist us with the technicaal part, particularly with the strikers. I believe he will be a good trainer, Ferguson said.
He also paid further tribute to Solskjaer:
- He was a fantastic player and a human being, a dedicated footballer. All that you all know about Ole Gunnar is quite true. There are no myths around him. He is a genuine man, and has been a credit to our club, to himself and to his family, Sir Alex said.

Balestrand, Norway

Toddler went hiking alone, in the middle of the night

Donning a backpack and going for a hike is deeply engrained in the Norwegian culture. A little girl up north took the national pastime to heart, much to her mother's dismay.

The four-year-old girl apparently woke up in the middle of the night, climbed out of bed and decided it was time for a midnight stroll.

She put on her playclothes (pink), slung a backpack over her shoulders and set off into the newly returned darkness of a late summer night in Tromsø, northern Norway.
Police got a call shortly after 5am that a little had been spotted out wandering alone near the Tromsdalen campground. They sent a patrol car to the spot and found the little hiker, who told them her name.

She also could tell them her mother's name. The police called her, and then took the intrepid little girl home.

Old house

Eroticism!?!

Football: ManU's Solskjaer retires

Norway's most famous footballer, Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Solskjær), has decided to retire from the sport with immediate effect.

The report says Solskjaer had been informed that an eighth operation on his knee would be needed if he wanted to continue his career, and that this had made the 34-year-old star decide to retire.
He underwent his last operation last June, and was then convinced he still had something to offer.

Soskjaer has played 366 matches and scored 126 goals for Manchester United since he transferred from Molde in 1996. He became legendary in ManU when he scored the winning goal in the Championship League final in 1999.