A big yawn

This is the typical response when I try to lay out for people why they need to be concerned. It is really simple in my simple mind.

Hardangerfjord, Norway

With a length of 179 km (111 miles), the Hardangerfjord in the county of Hordaland in Norway is the third largest fjord in the world and the second largest in Norway. The surrounding district is called Hardanger.

About 10,000 years ago the Scandinavian land mass started to rise up as enormous glacial ice started to melt. The lower parts of the valleys became flooded, and so created what we today know as the Hardangerfjord. The valley was originally not only made through glacial erosion but by the high pressure melting water which pushed its way beneath the ice.

Women to blame

Every other Norwegian man believes that flirtatious women have themselves to blame if they are raped.

The shock results appear in a report compiled by Amnesty in cooperation with Reform - resource center for men

One in five men surveyed said that a woman known to have several partners is fully or partly responsible if sexually assaulted, and 28 percent believed that a woman who dresses sexily is wholly or partly responsible for a sexual assault.

I think the results of this study are frightening.
It is unacceptable to blame women who have been exposed to sexual assault and violence.

My favorite mountain, Hamarøyskaftet

One of the oddest mountain in Nordland, climbed for the first time in 1885. Hamarøyskaftet is a landmark and are approximately 612 metres.

Rising seas threaten Bergen

Climate change and rising sea levels are posing huge threats to the historic city of Bergen on Norway's west coast. Large areas of downtown face submersion, and the ancient wharf known as Bryggen is especially vulnerable.

A sudden fall in groundwater levels under Bryggen, years of settling and frequent flooding are endangering the structural stability of the complex, which dates back to Viking times. The wharf's current buildings stem from the early 1700s, rooted in the latter days of the Hanseatic League.

Bryggen (Norwegian, "The Wharf"), also known as Tyskebryggen ("the German Wharf") is a series of Hanseatic commercial buildings lining the eastern side of the fjord coming into Bergen, Norway. Bryggen is on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites. The name has the same origin as the Flemish city of Brugge.

Business tags along on royal trip to South Korea

Crown Princess Mette-Marit draws a fairly large following wherever she goes, and a looming trip to South Korea is proving no exception.

The crown couple will visit Seoul, Busan and Ulsan from May 8-11. Crown Prince Haakon will attend a variety of business seminars and deliver a speech on peace and development to students at Korea University.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit will attend a seminar on family life that will focus on ways of combining work and family life. South Koreans have been reported to have the world's lowest birth rate, and are reportedly keen to hear how Norwegians combine careers with family life.

Lofoten, a beauty in Norway

Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.

Lofoten is located at the 67th and 68th degree parallels North of the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. It is well known for its exceptional natural beauty within Norway.

Ari Behn turns designer

Never before has the introduction of some new tableware and glasses attracted so much media attention in Norway. Then again, such items have never been designed by the celebrity husband of a Norwegian princess, either.

Ari Behn -- author, trendsetter and husband of Princess Martha Louise -- held court this week when he rolled out the tableware and glasses he designed for Norwegian firm Magnor Glassverk.

Big green promises

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg opened the Labour Party's national congress Thursday with the bold environmental promises he had refused to make before.

"Forward to 2020 we assume the duty of cutting greenhouse gases by 30 percent," Stoltenberg said in his speech to the party congress. "The mission of greenhouse gases is the most important challenge of our time and the challenges are greater than we previously believed," he said.
Idon't believe in miracles from the government.

Stoltenberg also promised to buy CO2 quotas for 100 percent of Norway's greenhouse emissions by 2050, to make the country "carbon neutral", in an address with a clear emphasis on climate commitments.

Let's hope so!!!

Nazi newsreels released

Hitler and Quisling

Newsreel films from occupied Norway will be released on the Internet this month.

Most of the films were made on assignment from the National Socialist authorities for propaganda purposes. Quisling's role in the German occupation is toned down in the series, and he appears far less often than other members of the occupation government.

Quisling, after Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling, is a term used to describe traitors and collaborationists. It was most commonly used for fascist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II Europe, as well as for their members and other collaborators.
That Quisling's name should be applied to denote the whole phenomenon of collaborationism is probably due to the place of Norway on the list of countries occupied by the Third Reich.

North Cape (Nordkapp)

The midnight sun

The municipality's most famous point, after which it is named, is Nordkapp (North Cape). This 307 m high cliff is usually referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. Some 200,000 tourists visit annually, during the two to three months of summer. The neighbouring point of Knivskjellodden is, however, some 1,500 m further north.

Bryan King honored

English goalkeeper Bryan King was honored for his long football career at Millwall over the weekend, but his Norwegian connections are less well known.

King now lives in Kongsberg in Norway and is a talent scout for top London club Tottenham. He has also trained four Norwegian teams in the lower divisions of the national league system.

Still revered as a hero by Millwall supporters, goal keeper King was signed for £57,000 from the Lions in the summer of '75. He will never be forgotten for misjudging his drop kick out of the area in the final minute against Burley, and being penalised for handball.

Prostitution be on the rise in Oslo

Prostitutes have become more brazen than ever in Norway's capital, with many aggressively peddling their wares on Oslo's main streets and around key tourist attractions. Politicians are quarreling over whether to finally make the trade illegal.

Prostitution currently remains legal in Norway, but sellers of sexual services traditionally have stuck to specific areas of downtown and let customers approach them

The ultra-feminist group Ottar argues that prostitution is an affront to all women and should be illegalized. In line with this thinking, they would like to shut down the Pro Senter, a center specializing on legal and social aid for prostitutes. It seems kind of backasswards to me to preclude prostitutes from getting help and possibly putting them in more harm just because someone feels that prostitution shouldn´t exist...

Muskox from Dovre, Norway

This picture is from Dovrefjell (the Dovre Mountain), Norway

The muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is an arctic mammal of the Bovidae family, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives.

Muskoxen are usually around 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long and 1.4 m (4.6) high at the shoulder. Adults usually weigh at least 200 kg (440 lb) and can exceed 400 kg (880 lb). Their coat, a mix of black, gray, and brown, includes long guard hairs that reach almost to the ground.

Dovrefjell
The natural habitat for many rare plants and animals, it has become a national park in several stages starting in 1911, when some plants were put under protection. In 1974, parts of the range became a national park and the park was extensively enlarged in 2002. Together with Rondane it has Norway and Europe's last stock of wild reindeer of Beringia orign. Dovrefjell also has a stock of musk oxen, imported from Greenland in 1932.

Meadow and ocean

The Holmenkollen ski jump

The Holmenkollen ski jump, located in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway, is host to the world's second oldest ski jump competition still in existence.

Since then crowds have increased to over 100,000 and the jump has been extended 18 times, last time in 1982. Today's tower extends 60 meters above ground, and 417 metres above sea level. The current record is 136 meters.
Crown Prince Olav participated in 1922 and 1923. Every year, more than a million tourists visit the ski arena. The tower offers a panoramic view of Oslo and the Oslofjord.

Fishing a long time ago

Kadra attacked in public

Norwegian-Somalian Kadra, who became famous in Norway for exposing imam support of female circumcision, was beaten unconscious on Thursday.

Kadra was attacked and beaten senseless by seven or eight persons of Somali origin.
She said that the Koran's views on women needed to be reinterpreted.
The Islamic Council Norway (IRN) condemned the attack on Kadra and urged that she pursue the matter with police.

Nazi groups quiet

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) considers the threat posed by neo-Nazi groups to be at the lowest level for some time, but concerns remain.

Neo-Nazi circles are less organized and have fewer members than before according to this year's PST assessment.
That's good news, I hope they disappear for good....

Hip hip hurrah! hurrah!

Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen)

Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen), considered the most significant church of Norway, is located in Trondheim. It was the cathedral of the Norwegian archdiocese, established in 1152. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim or Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is romanesque and gothic. It was an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe.

U of M Conference to examine unique question of Norway and the Holocaust

A conference at the University of Minnesota will examine a seldom-considered aspect of the Holocaust: the fate of Jews in Norway. Bringing together academics, researchers, a child survivor and a resistance fighter, “Norway, World War II and the Holocaust” takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m Friday, April 20, at the Radisson Metrodome, 615 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis, and will cover topics including the Norwegian government’s collaboration with the Nazis, the role of the resistance and the issue of restitution claims by the approximately 55 percent of Norwegian Jews who survived.

The Arctic Cathedral

The Tromsdalen Church (Tromsdalen Kirke), which is more commonly known as The Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen), is a church in Tromsø, Norway, built in 1965. The church is a parish church and not, strictly speaking, a cathedral.

Because of the church's distinct look and situation, it has often been called "the opera house of Norway", likening it to the famous Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The church is probably the most famous landmark in Tromsø.

Moose taste test road salt

Sweden's road administration wants moose opinion before deciding which road salt to switch to.

A series of studies in Sweden, Finland and Canada reveal that wildlife are drawn to roads in order to try and lick road salt. Swedish road authorities will now try to choose a salt that does not tempt animals to risk heavy traffic, as well as use a type that is more environmentally friendly.

Eye surgeon for Munchs

The two Munch masterpieces damaged in an armed robbery in 2004 will now receive specialist treatment during the restoration process.

Edvard Munch's Skrik (The Scream) and Madonna were damaged during Norway's first ever armed robbery of artwork on Aug. 22 2004, and now the Munch Museum officials have called in an eye surgeon to remove glass splinters from the paintings.

Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen)

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, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 metres, square and almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway.

The walk to Preikestolen is partly very steep. The path starts at the Preikestolhytta Youth Hostel at a height of approximately 270 metres, and climbs to 604 metres. The trip is estimated to 2 hours, but that is with children and/or many pauses. It can be completed in 1 hour by experienced hikers. Even though the height difference is only 330 metres, and on the map the trip is only 3.8km (each way), the actual hike is much more as the path goes up and down various ridges.

The Sognefjord (Norway)

The Sognefjord (Sognefjorden) is the second largest fjord in the world after Scoresby Sund on Greenland, and the largest in Norway. Situated in Sogn og Fjordane in Western Norway, its mouth is about 72km (45mi) north of Bergen, and it stretches 203km (126mi) inland to the town of Skjolden.

One of the worst song ever..

AQUA “Barbie Girl” from 1997
Brilliant idea: Take a child’s toy, turn it into a twisted sexual fantasy (“Kiss me here, touch me there”), set it to teeth-rotting synth-pop like a robot pony kicking children to death and hawk it like Happy Meals to the under-13s. Perhaps the gambit sounded acceptable in helium-huffing singer Lene Nystrøm’s native Norwegian, but in English it’s just plain wrong. Barbie manufacturer Mattel sued, but that didn’t stop “Barbie Girl” from casting a blight on 1997. One question sprang to mind if you were unlucky enough to catch the video: Weren’t they a little old to be doing this?
From Blender
I do agree with the magazine....
You can see the video here
Here is my favorite to the worst tune/video

History
Aqua was a Danish-Norwegian dance/pop group, best-known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989, and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although often criticised by the media, the group managed to top the United Kingdom singles chart with their first three singles, a feat few artists have achieved. The group released two albums, Aquarium in 1997 and Aquarius in 2000, before splitting up in July 2001. The group sold an estimated 28 million albums and singles.

Easter exodus empties cities

Norwegians settled down Wednesday for the country's annual five-day Easter vacation. Most stores and businesses were to be closed Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, as folks flock to the mountains, the coast and other holiday retreats.

Happy Easter......

Stand in for Castro IS Castro

Drawing by Marijke van Eeckhout

This is where naughty boys end up…

Drawing by Marijke van Eeckhout

A diffrent kind of Easter

Ready for the rush


Nothing could be further from the traditional Norwegian Easter of mountain cabins and long skiing outings, but the skating arena in Hamar is building a new alternative.
For the 16th time, the Vikingskipet in Hamar hosts The Gathering, a non-stop computer party that now attracts 5,200 participants.
"This is social for nerds. I'm here to meet people I've chatted with on the 'net, to play computer games and to download stuff," said one of the participants

Royal Caribbean orders another huge cruiseship

This is "Freedom of the Seas"

The partly Norwegian-owned cruiseline Royal Caribbean is going ahead with another huge cruiseship from a Norwegian-owned shipyard in Finland. The new vessel will be able to carry more than 5,000 passengers.

Royal Caribbean's new ship will have capacity for 5,400 passengers. It will cost about USD 1.2 billion to build, which equates to about USD 260,000 per berth.

M/S Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship and the name ship of her class. The world's largest passenger vessel, she can accommodate over 4,300 passengers on her fifteen passenger decks, served by over 1300 crew. She and her sisters will keep the title of the largest passenger ships ever built until construction of the Genesis class ships in 2009, also owned by Royal Caribbean International.

The City Jungle

Oslo,Norway

The City Jungle
By Roger Pedersen

I walk the streets alone
in the city jungle
there’s no green
no trees, no leaves

Only grey concrete
black asphalt
cold metallic streetcars
cold people
with eyes that do not see

They do not see
the forgotten ones
the lost ones
those who sleep in the alleyways
those who die in the backyards
of drugs and booze
in the coldness of night

They do not see
the rape victims
the brutal killings
those who die alone
those who suffer
whose pain’s too much to bear

I walk the streets tonight
like a lonely and lost God
who no longer can create
who no longer can redeem

I am no Jesus, No Buddha
No Muhammed or Allah
I am just one lonely man
walking the city jungle
amongst its predators
its killers and hunters.

My own website

Cruiseships send smog over scenic Geiranger Fjord

Smog has begun settling over Norway's scenic Geiranger Fjord, which recently won a spot on the United Nations' "World Heritage" list. Emissions from the stream of larger and larger cruiseships sailing into the fjord are being blamed.

The quiet fjord tightly surrounded by high mountains can be especially vulnerable to air pollution, and smog has been forming of late like a grey-blue lid over the otherwise pristine area.
Results show that one of Norway's most popular tourist destinations, and one often featured in promotional materials, can have air quality that's on par with London or Glasgow.
Tourism officials are concerned over the consequences of the very tourism they've been promoting, and not just because of the potential environmental damage.

A small pool

This is a small constructed bathing pool in Bjarnarfjörður, the Westfjords, Iceland, that receives hot water from a hot spring nearby. It is probably medieval and is a protected archeological site. It is one of many pools, wells, etc. said to have been blessed by bishop Guðmundur the good (1160-1237). These sites were believed to have miraculous powers, as Guðmundur was a popular saint (never actually canonized though). Right below this pool, there is a modern swimming pool, that gets its water from the same source.

Famous phone box

Picture from the movie "Local Hero", a British comedy film.
The film is set in the fictional fishing village of Ferness on the coast of Scotland. A young representative of an American oil company is sent to the village on a mission. The film features a notable ensemble of character parts.