For four hundred odd years, the fourth Earl of Bothwell, James Hepburn, has lain buried in a tomb in the Danish village of Fårvejle. Hepburn was once the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots and according to the legend; he actually murdered her previous husband in 1566 in order to gain her hand.
When he was accused of treason he fled Scotland for Scandinavia where he apparently hoped to raise an army in order to put Mary back on the throne she’d been forced to abdicate (after having married Hepburn) but upon arriving in Bergen, in Norway, he was arrested by the Danish Kings men (Norway fell under the Danish crown in those days). After an unsuccessful attempt at escape in Norway he was imprisoned in Dragsholm Castle (once a notorious prison, now a fancy restaurant) in Denmark where poor conditions are said to have driven him mad and where he eventually died in 1578.
And now the Scots want him back. Members of the Bothwell Clan have hired a San Francisco lawyer to have the Earl’s remains returned to a proper burial in Scotland where he would be honoured as a true Scottish patriot.
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Christiania is a region within the greater urban sprawl of Copenhagen. Originally a military area, it was taken over by hippies and other like-minded people back in the sixties and became a sort of ‘free state’ within Denmark. The idea then was to create a sort of communal area where the socialist fraternity of the 1960’s mentality could be given its free expression. Many people defied the rest of society and moved to Christiania and its development is something of a well-documented social curiosity. The area has always been in the news for one reason or another, but the most common cause for media attention has been the ongoing problem of drugs which, for most of the ‘free state’s’ history were and are sold openly in the streets. The Danish police have long considered Christiania a trouble spot and have raided it many times often arresting people for selling drugs in the streets and taking them back to the police station for questioning. Recently this practice was deemed ‘illegal’. A few days ago Villy Søvndal of the Socialistisk folkeparti made a big fuss about this decision and at a meeting in the ‘Peace Ark restaurant, told the people of Christiania that he would arrange for politicians to periodically visit the ‘free state’ in order to make sure the police behaved themselves…
Yesterday a nineteen-year-old man was attacked in the ‘Peace Ark’ when he tried to sell 5 grams of hash at a price below the average. A crowd of some fifteen to twenty men from the free state, presumably all drug dealers, chased the man and his friends and upon catching them, beat them. The nineteen year old was beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Christiania online
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Four Islamic terrorists who were arrested in Denmark last year have had their trial dates extended once again, which means they have now sat eight months in prison without trial. According to DR, Judge Katrine B.B. Eriksen is said to be losing patience, but has extended the trial by four weeks in order to allow the prosecution time to prepare their case. According to the state prosecutor, Henrik Holten-Rasmussen, the investigation is now ended but none of the four suspects have allowed themselves to be interviewed by the police. The mastermind of the intended terrorist attack is still in prison in Sarajevo (where the attack against the US embassy was to have taken place) and the Danish have asked their colleagues in Bosnia to help with the trial in Denmark.
In the mean time, it was discovered that one of the suspects had had a phone smuggled in to his cell and had been coordinating pressure on a witness in order to conceal his Islamic fervour.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Xebecs
So, I’m still looking at naval warfare in the middle ages and I’ve reached the xebec. The xebec ship type is yet another spin off from the classical galley which evolved, even more so than the galleass, to counter the advantages of main stream European ship development. Xebecs are characterized by their low displacement and shallow draft through having so narrow a hull, and upper structures which tend to extend out, fore and aft to give the xebec the space needed to support its two or three masts. Some xebecs wore lateen sails whilst others were ship rigged, but they were never classed as anything above a small frigate (mounting less than 40 guns and having a displacement of under 200 tonnes). They were extremely agile and thus favoured by the Barbary pirates and other rapacious privateers mostly in the inner sea’s like the Mediterranean, Black and possibly even the Baltic. Crew’s varied, but on a large man of war they could reach as many as 300+. Some depictions of xebecs show oars, as does the image above, but many others, such as on this diagram, do not and I suppose that the earlier, smaller xebecs were manned by permanent rowers where as the later, larger xebecs, being based on European ships, did likely retain their oars, but only in case they were needed, choosing to rely on their sophisticated sails instead.
Most sources describe the xebec as a pirate ship but this is not structly true. Xebecs were used by traders as well as by the major maritime powers. In 1788 the Ottoman Turks, sailing twenty one xebecs in their fleet, engaged and were defeated by the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the Battle of Fidonisi, also known as the Battle of Ochakov if you are Russian. (Another interesting detail of the Battle of Fidonisi is that the Turks had five 'second rate' ships, all over 80 guns, as well as twelve other ships of the line)
Xebec
Xebec Model
Tall ship models: Xebec
Monday, May 29, 2006
Freja and the district nurse
Today was the day for Pipski's eight month examination (she is now 9½ months old but due to a vacation and some poor planning the examination was pushed back 6 weeks) and it transpires that she now weighs 10.6kg and is 77½ cm long. I was certain she was going to be heavier and I'd wager that she passed the 11 kg mark a month or so ago. Her active development has meant some weight loss as the waistline of her pants indicates though so she is now a mere 200 grammes heavier than she was February.
The nurse wrote in Freja's baby journal:
Happy and smiling little girl - much interested in social contact. Curious & interested in playing games. Babbles in double syllable sounds. Crawls, gets up by balancing against tables and chairs and practices her finer dexterity.
Awareness test was good.
Eats rough and varied diet with liquids, fruit, stewed fruit , bread and 'mush' (corn, rice) etc.
Sleeps well at night.
I dag fik Pipsen besøge af sundhedsplejesken. Egentligt skulle hun har været her for seks uger siden men det track lidt ud. Freja blev målt til 10.6 kg og 77½cm lang. Jeg troede hun var tunger end det, og jeg tør væde på at for en månede siden var hun over de 11kg.... vi kan se på hendes talje hun har tabte sig, men det er ikke til at vide hvor meget. Jeg var sikker på hun var nær de 12 kilo, men Mette var tættere på. Hun sagde omkring 11.
Sundhedsplejersken skrev i Freja's journal:
Glad & smilende lille pige - der meget gerne vil i kontakte. Nysgerrig & interesseret i leg. Pludre i 2 -stavelser.
Kravler, rejser sig ved bord, stol o.lign, øver finmotorikken.
Boelprøven i orden.
Spiser grovere varieret kost. evt. suppe mellemmåltider med frugtgrød, brød, grød (majs, ris, hirse) eller lign.
Sover godt nat.
The nurse wrote in Freja's baby journal:
Happy and smiling little girl - much interested in social contact. Curious & interested in playing games. Babbles in double syllable sounds. Crawls, gets up by balancing against tables and chairs and practices her finer dexterity.
Awareness test was good.
Eats rough and varied diet with liquids, fruit, stewed fruit , bread and 'mush' (corn, rice) etc.
Sleeps well at night.
I dag fik Pipsen besøge af sundhedsplejesken. Egentligt skulle hun har været her for seks uger siden men det track lidt ud. Freja blev målt til 10.6 kg og 77½cm lang. Jeg troede hun var tunger end det, og jeg tør væde på at for en månede siden var hun over de 11kg.... vi kan se på hendes talje hun har tabte sig, men det er ikke til at vide hvor meget. Jeg var sikker på hun var nær de 12 kilo, men Mette var tættere på. Hun sagde omkring 11.
Sundhedsplejersken skrev i Freja's journal:
Glad & smilende lille pige - der meget gerne vil i kontakte. Nysgerrig & interesseret i leg. Pludre i 2 -stavelser.
Kravler, rejser sig ved bord, stol o.lign, øver finmotorikken.
Boelprøven i orden.
Spiser grovere varieret kost. evt. suppe mellemmåltider med frugtgrød, brød, grød (majs, ris, hirse) eller lign.
Sover godt nat.
Freja and the family
Yesterday my parents came by for dinner and we had ‘roast something or other’. Pork with gravy, the sort of thing my Dad likes. Pip was a bit shy of my parents at first since she has reached that age where her memory of people doesn’t quite serve to remind her who is who. Its odd, but she remembers, or seems to remember some people, more than others. For example, she apparently has no problem remembering Malene whom she only sees once every fourteen days or so. Apart from Mette, and myself I think the people she sees the most often are my gaming friends who are here three Thursday in every four. Of these she seems to like Oleg the best, though she is most curious about André and Peter who she watches with wide eyes, no doubt trying to decide if they are children like her, or adults like the others.
(I should explain that André and Peter are Oleg’s two sons. They stay here, usually watching TV, drawing or playing on my computer whilst we all play our boring old-fashioned games.)
My Dad is besotted with his grand daughter and it’s a joy to see him so at ease around her. Sometimes he starts acting like a kid himself and I wonder how it must be to reach the age where one looks back over two generations. Freja has already awoken many of my own memories and long dormant thoughts and I have no doubt that deep inside his heart, his memories are equally stirred. I’m not sure about my Mother though. Her relationship with Pipski is more distant, less proud and more practical. She usually waits until my father’s initial enthusiasm has waned before she plays with her grand daughter and I think her own maternal experiences must surely lend her a more complex relationship to Freja and what Freja means to her. Or maybe I just think too much? I’m just happy that we can all share in the pleasure it is to behold the birth of a new generation.
My Mother brought news from my relations in England (and also America) and it seems that on the whole, things are well in the Cooke family though my thoughts turn to my cousin Louisa and her son who was born last November. I hope things go well for them.
Freja had a fairly good day yesterday… that is, when she wasn’t banging her head on the floor. Greater mobility has meant a slimmer waistline and a mass of bruises and bumps. She is wild about her little pink cart and will insist on climbing onto it whenever I am not paying attention. Thrice today she fell off it, twice jack-knifing to land on her side and once keeling over backwards to bang her head on the floor. I can report that a bit of love and some cuddles soon saw her to rights again and back to her capers!
Here we are watching a popular Swedish children’s programme called ‘Emil fra Lønneberg’
I går kom min forældre og vi fik flæskesteg (som Mette lavede for min far). Som en nye ting var Pipsen var lidt genert da hun så min forældre men hun kom hurtigt i godt humør og charmede med sin ’snorte ansigt’. Hun har nåede den alder hvor hun er begyndte at blev lidt forsigtig med nye ansigter, men ikke med alle. Malene for eksemple er hun altid glad for at se.
Ud over Mette og mig selv ser hun nok min spiller venner mere end nogen anden. De er her tre gang om måneden og hun er ret vant til dem. Hun kan bedst lide Oleg, men er meget nysgerrigt over for André og Peter (Olegs børn).
Min far er meget begystret for hans barne-barn (Hvordan siger man det?) Nogen gang bliver han helt pjattede og jeg tænker at det må være en mærkeligt ting at kigge tilbage over to generationer. Det er så mange forskel, men også så mange ligheder at det må væke ret mange minde og tanker om sig selv og livets gang. Freja har vækket mange sjøv, og nogen gang ikke så sjovt, tanker og følser i mig at jeg er ikke i tvivl at det må også være sådan for min far. Min mor er ikke det samme. Hendes forhold til Freja er mere virker mere fjernt og tilbage holdent, mere praktiske og mindre ’stolt’. Hun plejer at vent med at snakke og lej med Freja indtil min far’s entusiasme er kølet lidt af (nok fordi det kan være svært at kom til ellers). Ligesom min far tror jeg at Freja’s tilkomst i verden har betydet meget for hende, men jeg tror hendes egen moderlig oplevelser har givet hende en mere indviklet forhold til Freja end min far. Måske tænker jeg for meget om det (og det er ikke fordi jeg er så fandens god til at forklar hvad jeg snakker om) men jeg er bar glad for at vi kan alle deles om den glæde det er at se starten på en ny generation.
Min mor hevde jo også nyheder from England og Amerika med (min kusine er flyttet til USA og bleven gift. De fik en søn sidst November)
Freja havde en god dag I går, selv om hun slået sig selv flere gang. Hun er så glade for hendes lille lyserød vogn men hun er så frygtløs at hun klatrer oven på den hele tiden og tre gang faldt hun i går og en gang var hun ned og slå hovedet i gulvet. SÅ skreg hun, men med lidt kærlighed og en del nys var hun hurtigt på ben igen og tilbage til at lave ballad.
Mette siger hun tror Freja kan gå før hendes første års fødselsdag og det ser ihvert fald såden ud!
Its now 3 am and I've been listening to 'Passion' by Peter Gabriel as I wrote this post. Now I really need to get some sleep!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Baby boom!
Welcome to the world Åsne!!!
Heh heh heh heh. And so, yet another of my friends has had yet another baby!
How wonderful is life!
Congratulations to Andreas and Frederikke up there in cool Norge.
Heh heh heh heh. And so, yet another of my friends has had yet another baby!
How wonderful is life!
Congratulations to Andreas and Frederikke up there in cool Norge.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Models...
Haven't done much on the Nao or the inn of late because I got side tracked, yet again. Over the week, whilst working on images for Ken's Crucible project, I knocked together a few models for a trial naval battle using Oleg's sea battle rules (based on the DBA/M system) but in the end we didn't get to do it any way.
Thursday was gaming day and Oleg brought along a 28mm galley model he is in the process of building. I forgot to take a picture of it, but so far he has a hull and a central spine upon which to build. It looked good and was pretty long compared to the Nao.
Here are the naval element models. Each base is 4cm wide. On the left are two squadrons of Napoleonic era ships, including two 74 gun ships of the line, four 28 gun frigates, four brigs and two elements of boats. At the bottom of the image are some damaged counters. To the right are two renaissance era galleys and a galleass (all unfinished)
In the mean time I've cleaned up my desk and I'm finishing some palisade elements I had unfinished. With a bit of luck I might even get a chance to use them at some point. I'm undecided as to which project I shall pick up on next...
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Comment from Denmark
So I was watching a socio-political debate programme called 'Clement Direkte' on DR1 tonight. Hosted by a media cult celebrity called Clement Behrendt Kjærsgaard, I find 'Clement Direkte' to be one of the most curious debate shows on Danish TV since its host is a man gifted with unusual mannerisms and a cunning debatorial style that often leaves his guests at a loss for words. A few weeks ago I was well pleased to see him run rings around Mogens Lykketoft (an old puppet master of the Socialdemokraterne) though I don't have any great fondness for Kjærsgaard.
On tonight’s show he had two interesting guests. The first was Eva Smith, the Danish author of the recent EU report which criticised Denmark and which I wrote about here. Clement Kjærsgaard put the question to Smith as to what was so wrong with the current political climate to which Smith replied with the same tired old line that the socialist opposition has been repeating, mantra like, for the last few years. According to Smith, the problem in Denmark, with regards to immigration, lies in the 'tone' of the debate.
I sighed. I've heard this so many times that it’s become a direct provocation to my sensibilities. Thankfully, Clement Kjærsgaard is not as easy going on his guests as most Danish journalists are and so he asked Eva Smith for an example. Smith wasn't really able to accommodate such a simple request so Kjærsgaard basically provided one for her.
A recent study by a Danish newspaper called Ekstra Bladet asked Danes whether or not they'd be inclined to testify against either rockers or immigrants in a court of law. The background for this example lies in that in the last decade or so Denmark has witnessed many high profile crimes carried out by both those biker gangs who are referred to as rockers (mostly Hells Angels & Bandidos) and criminal immigrant gangs and with both groups there has been a noted lack of witnesses prepared to face the consequences of testifying. The most recent case was the murder in the streets of Copenhagen of a noted boxing champion who was stabbed to death.
Eva Smith identified the study by Ekstra Bladet as being an example of the 'tone' in the immigration debate here in Denmark. Why she asked were all immigrants being identified as a single unified group? If bus drivers were treated thus, she argued, then the bus drivers union would be up in arms. In essence her point was the oft repeated, and essentially true, argument that not all immigrants share a common identity and so they ought to be treated with more care so as not to insult so many innocent and law abiding people.
But then she made a comment that betrayed her bias. She told Clement Kjærsgaard that he couldn’t possibly understand because he belonged to the one group that had never experienced prejudism, the white male. With this observation Smith made it clear that in her worldview, there is apparently no need to search for any further cause of why Denmark, and Europe, is facing such a hard time with immigration, or any other issue you care to mention, for the blame rests safe and sound on the head and shoulders of Caucasian masculinity.
The irony, which no doubt escaped her entirely, was that Clement Kjærsgaard’s third guest was none other than Pia Kjærsgaard, (no relation of the host that I am aware of) the leader of the nationalist Danske Folkeparti and the favourite ‘figure of hatred’ for the socialist opposition. Here was the physical, female, embodiment of the ‘tone’ of the debate, sitting right beside Smith (who could not even bring herself to look at Pia Kjærsgaard) and proving the lie to Smith’s argument.
It’s an appalling set of affairs when a politician, in all seriousness, bases an argument against stereotyping by means of a stereotype. For all her self-righteous indignation and moral authority, Eva Smith proved herself to be not only a hypocrite but also a clumsy hypocrite to boot.
I would have liked to hear Smith defend her views, especially in regards to the sorry state of affairs that is Sweden, where the ‘tone’ of the debate mirrors that which Smith so ardently desires.
On tonight’s show he had two interesting guests. The first was Eva Smith, the Danish author of the recent EU report which criticised Denmark and which I wrote about here. Clement Kjærsgaard put the question to Smith as to what was so wrong with the current political climate to which Smith replied with the same tired old line that the socialist opposition has been repeating, mantra like, for the last few years. According to Smith, the problem in Denmark, with regards to immigration, lies in the 'tone' of the debate.
I sighed. I've heard this so many times that it’s become a direct provocation to my sensibilities. Thankfully, Clement Kjærsgaard is not as easy going on his guests as most Danish journalists are and so he asked Eva Smith for an example. Smith wasn't really able to accommodate such a simple request so Kjærsgaard basically provided one for her.
A recent study by a Danish newspaper called Ekstra Bladet asked Danes whether or not they'd be inclined to testify against either rockers or immigrants in a court of law. The background for this example lies in that in the last decade or so Denmark has witnessed many high profile crimes carried out by both those biker gangs who are referred to as rockers (mostly Hells Angels & Bandidos) and criminal immigrant gangs and with both groups there has been a noted lack of witnesses prepared to face the consequences of testifying. The most recent case was the murder in the streets of Copenhagen of a noted boxing champion who was stabbed to death.
Eva Smith identified the study by Ekstra Bladet as being an example of the 'tone' in the immigration debate here in Denmark. Why she asked were all immigrants being identified as a single unified group? If bus drivers were treated thus, she argued, then the bus drivers union would be up in arms. In essence her point was the oft repeated, and essentially true, argument that not all immigrants share a common identity and so they ought to be treated with more care so as not to insult so many innocent and law abiding people.
But then she made a comment that betrayed her bias. She told Clement Kjærsgaard that he couldn’t possibly understand because he belonged to the one group that had never experienced prejudism, the white male. With this observation Smith made it clear that in her worldview, there is apparently no need to search for any further cause of why Denmark, and Europe, is facing such a hard time with immigration, or any other issue you care to mention, for the blame rests safe and sound on the head and shoulders of Caucasian masculinity.
The irony, which no doubt escaped her entirely, was that Clement Kjærsgaard’s third guest was none other than Pia Kjærsgaard, (no relation of the host that I am aware of) the leader of the nationalist Danske Folkeparti and the favourite ‘figure of hatred’ for the socialist opposition. Here was the physical, female, embodiment of the ‘tone’ of the debate, sitting right beside Smith (who could not even bring herself to look at Pia Kjærsgaard) and proving the lie to Smith’s argument.
It’s an appalling set of affairs when a politician, in all seriousness, bases an argument against stereotyping by means of a stereotype. For all her self-righteous indignation and moral authority, Eva Smith proved herself to be not only a hypocrite but also a clumsy hypocrite to boot.
I would have liked to hear Smith defend her views, especially in regards to the sorry state of affairs that is Sweden, where the ‘tone’ of the debate mirrors that which Smith so ardently desires.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
News from Denmark: The war continues.
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been in Iraq where he met with the Iraqi prime minister Nuri Malika in Baghdad. After the meeting Malika told journalists that it was unlikely that Danish troops would be leaving Iraq before Christmas. This slightly contradicts previous statements Malika made after he'd met with Tony Blair. On that occaision the Iraqi PM told the media that Iraq's own forces would be able to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq by the new year.
Later, Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid a surprise visit to the 535 Danish soldiers at Camp Dannevang and told them that twice, when Danish soldiers had been killed by terrorists, he had had second thoughts as to the validity of Denmarks contribution. Naturally he then praised their work and committed himself and Denmark to the project of advancing democracy in Iraq.
moif: The Danish military presence in Iraq is largely symbolic and (I think) depends largely on UK forces for operational and logistical support. I can't imagine that the Danish forces would be left in Iraq for long without the British.
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Mean while the WOT continues to be fought in the shadows. A week ago Jyllandsposten reported on an attempted theft of Anthrax from the Swedish University of Gotheborg.
The method was to order the bacteria under the pretext of being scientists, and it almost succeeded, says a not yet released report from the Swedish “Crisis Readiness Authority” (Krisberedskabsmyndigheten). “There was an order, from Amman I believe, the bacteria was to be sent to a post box,” says Björn Sandström, analysts at the “Total Defense Research Institute” (Totalförsvarets Forskningsinstitut) at Gothenburg University to the newspaper Daily Medicin’s Swedish Edition. It is not the first time that an attempt has been made to get the Research Institute to hand over anthrax. Shortly after 9/11 a similar attempt was experienced.
Here is a translation of the JP article and here is another regarding the theft of a ton of Beryllium.
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In other news, the Danish parliment has passed a law that allows lesbians to recieve state funding for artificial insemination (I think thats what its called in English). This happened despite the government positio.
Later, Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid a surprise visit to the 535 Danish soldiers at Camp Dannevang and told them that twice, when Danish soldiers had been killed by terrorists, he had had second thoughts as to the validity of Denmarks contribution. Naturally he then praised their work and committed himself and Denmark to the project of advancing democracy in Iraq.
moif: The Danish military presence in Iraq is largely symbolic and (I think) depends largely on UK forces for operational and logistical support. I can't imagine that the Danish forces would be left in Iraq for long without the British.
---
Mean while the WOT continues to be fought in the shadows. A week ago Jyllandsposten reported on an attempted theft of Anthrax from the Swedish University of Gotheborg.
The method was to order the bacteria under the pretext of being scientists, and it almost succeeded, says a not yet released report from the Swedish “Crisis Readiness Authority” (Krisberedskabsmyndigheten). “There was an order, from Amman I believe, the bacteria was to be sent to a post box,” says Björn Sandström, analysts at the “Total Defense Research Institute” (Totalförsvarets Forskningsinstitut) at Gothenburg University to the newspaper Daily Medicin’s Swedish Edition. It is not the first time that an attempt has been made to get the Research Institute to hand over anthrax. Shortly after 9/11 a similar attempt was experienced.
Here is a translation of the JP article and here is another regarding the theft of a ton of Beryllium.
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In other news, the Danish parliment has passed a law that allows lesbians to recieve state funding for artificial insemination (I think thats what its called in English). This happened despite the government positio.
Freja
Yesterday Pip had visitors. Little Sofie and Esther, the other children in Mette’s mother group came by. Both are progressing well and provide an interesting contrast to Freja’s development. Both are slightly older than Pip and it’s interesting to learn what is directly ahead of us. Both are really sweet girls; Sofie has the biggest smile you can imagine and Esther has the beautiful eyes. It’s always nice to see them. I usually end up playing with the girls whilst their mothers are sitting around drinking coffee and talking. We also discovered Esther’s mother is already pregnant again, so the moif world baby boom continues un-abated.
Pipski is coming along well. Her linguistic skills are still pretty obscure but with patience (and no distracting guests) I can get her to repeat ‘Hiya’. She wouldn’t do it for my brother Philip yesterday. He actually scared her a bit, which is only the second time she’s reacted to a stranger by crying.
I går havde Pipsen besøge fra Mette’s moder gruppe. Lille Sofie og Esther var her og begge var i godt stand og giver en interessant kontrast til Freja’s udvikling. Det er nyttige og interessant at har to små pragt eksemplar til at lære af. Så kan vi se hvad den nær fremtid bringer for Pipski musen. Som før endt jeg på gulvet med pigerne mens mødrene sad og drak kaffe. Det viste sig at Esther’s mor er gravid igen så det var et godt nyhed!
Pipski er i god form (bortset fra hun har lige slået hoved igen). Hendes tale evne har ikke ændret siden sidst, men med lidt tålmådighed kan jeg stadig få hende til at sige ’Hej hej’. Det er så sjovt.Philip var her igår. Det er kun anden gang han har været i stand til at kom til Århus. Det går vist ikke så godt med hans nye lejlighed men vi håber det bliver bedre med tiden. Freja var lidt pylret fordi hun sovet da Philip kom og ringede på dør klokken. Så vågnet hun op men hun var meget rundt på gulvet og græd ad Philip. Det er kun anden gang det er sket at Freja er brudt i græd ved synet af en fremmed.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Another day...
Not much to report. I've been pretty ill the last few days and not up for much. Mette and Pipski came back yesterday afternoon and I cycled up to the station to meet them. I felt like crap the whole way there and back and today I've been sore and weak and not in a sociable mood.
I watched the latest episode of 'Lost' today and recorded it for Lipps as usual. She probably thinks I've given up on her, but its just this chronic 'laziness' thats taken a hold of me in the last six months.
I spent the afternoon working on images for a project I've been working on with my friend Ken and knocking up a few naval elements for Oleg's latest naval skirmish endeavours.
(Looking forward to trying the new rules)
I watched the latest episode of 'Lost' today and recorded it for Lipps as usual. She probably thinks I've given up on her, but its just this chronic 'laziness' thats taken a hold of me in the last six months.
I spent the afternoon working on images for a project I've been working on with my friend Ken and knocking up a few naval elements for Oleg's latest naval skirmish endeavours.
(Looking forward to trying the new rules)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Freja
Yesterday was a great day for the lil Pip. Uncle Christian and his girl friend Maja was here and Pipski was in her element. She demonstrated all her balancing and proto walking skills and SHE SAID HER FIRST WORD!!!!
I was so happy I nearly exploded with pride. I waved to her and said 'Hiya' and she looked back at me, waved and replied 'Hiya'. We repeated this process several times incase it was a fluke, but each time she responded promptly. Okay, so its not much of a word, but it was a genuine response with both a physical and oral element.
Today Mette and Pipski are with the others in Ålborg visiting the in-laws, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather these days so I'm still at home, resting and taking it easy. It was good to see them and I wish them good luck in their continuing educational aspirations.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
News from Denmark
A recent study by Greenpeace has shown that 8 famous Danes who took part in an experiment all had no less than 28 dangerous chemicals in their blood. The younger participants had the most it was revealed.
The chemicals were a mixture of various hormone mutating and carcinogenic agents, found in various places, such as perfume, cleaning products, toys and electronic apparatus. Others are found in air and food pollution. Greenpeace has put pressure on environment minister Connie Hedegaard to help strengthen the coming EU chemicals law against lobby activity by various multinational chemical corporations.
moif: Well I guess I don’t have to look very far to find out why I have an autoimmune illness then!
In the meantime the Danish government, as a result of political pressure from the Parliamentary Energy Commission has put aside 200 million kr for research into bio fuels for cars and power stations.
“This is just a step on the road,” said Kim Mortensen (energy spokesperson for the Social Democrats) “and it’s only happened because we’ve been putting a lot of pressure on the government.”
The government has been reluctant to invest in bio-fuels since it didn’t consider the first generation of such fuels to be worth investing in. Today however, Energy Minister Flemming Hansen is saying that Denmark must become one of the world’s leaders in bio fuels.
“I dream that we can expand the scope of second generation of bio fuels, especially to include cars” he says.
moif: Cool. Get on with it!
The chemicals were a mixture of various hormone mutating and carcinogenic agents, found in various places, such as perfume, cleaning products, toys and electronic apparatus. Others are found in air and food pollution. Greenpeace has put pressure on environment minister Connie Hedegaard to help strengthen the coming EU chemicals law against lobby activity by various multinational chemical corporations.
moif: Well I guess I don’t have to look very far to find out why I have an autoimmune illness then!
In the meantime the Danish government, as a result of political pressure from the Parliamentary Energy Commission has put aside 200 million kr for research into bio fuels for cars and power stations.
“This is just a step on the road,” said Kim Mortensen (energy spokesperson for the Social Democrats) “and it’s only happened because we’ve been putting a lot of pressure on the government.”
The government has been reluctant to invest in bio-fuels since it didn’t consider the first generation of such fuels to be worth investing in. Today however, Energy Minister Flemming Hansen is saying that Denmark must become one of the world’s leaders in bio fuels.
“I dream that we can expand the scope of second generation of bio fuels, especially to include cars” he says.
moif: Cool. Get on with it!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Nao
Haven't had much time to keep on building the model Nao, but I have begun the upper decks at last...
Building the fore and aft upper structures
Beams
Bow
building the foc'sle
I also came across another site selling model ships. This one has numerous interesting models of carracks, a cog and various other early sailing vessels (as well as a full range of Napoleonic ships that oncludes just about every ship from the 'Master and Commander' series).
Building the fore and aft upper structures
Beams
Bow
building the foc'sle
I also came across another site selling model ships. This one has numerous interesting models of carracks, a cog and various other early sailing vessels (as well as a full range of Napoleonic ships that oncludes just about every ship from the 'Master and Commander' series).
Baltic cog combat
There are numerous possibilities for cog combat in and around the Northern seas of Europe, especially in the Baltic. As to how extensively the cog was used above other ship types of the period is any body’s guess but the cog was the main trading and transport ship of the 13th century and any skirmish or naval game involving the Hanseatic League would almost certainly have to include these ships.
In the mid 13th century, German merchants began to form powerful guilds to protect their interests. At first these were located in individual cities but eventually they spread to form one large all powerful guild which was eventually named in 1267 as the Hanseatic League (Hanse means trade). The League was a purely economic arrangement. It held little territory and had no actual military cause beyond protecting its own interests. With time it would develop strategic military interests, engage in national politics and eventually succumb to internal dissention in the 17th century but in the 13th century its ships were only interested in protecting themselves.
Several maritame ‘nations’ existed in the Baltic region. These include Denmark, Sweden, Norway, at the larger end of the scale and the Russians, Finns, Rugians and Poles in the middle of the scale and the various Livonian, Estonian and Oeselian pagan tribes at the lower end. The German states, and the Order of Teutonic Knights could fit in any category since Germany’s naval resources were scattered amongst various smaller powers and the Hanseatic League.
As to who was using which type of ship is a matter of conjecture, but its probably safe to assume that the Scandinavians and Germans (and possibly the Russians) would have used cogs for trading and transporting troops and possibly early carracks as war ships. Every one else would have used the typical Scandinavian raiding ship which would resemble a Viking ship, low in the water with a single mast and little protection against missile weapons. I’m not sure about the Rugians, but they started out as raiders, like the Vikings but quickly developed into a Danish and later German ally. I would guess they had Scandinavian type ships, maybe a few cogs but no carracks.
In the early 13th century the Hanseatic League helped to finance and supply the Catholic German Crusade against the Livonians. Every year cogs laden with pilgrims, military supplies and crusaders would sail from Lubeck for Riga. Sometimes these ships would be engaged by pagan raiders, especially from the island of Oesel. The Oeselians had single masted raiders, and these were often at a disadvantage in close quarters, but were still able to gang up on the Germans when the opportunity arose. Henry of Livonia’s eye witness account of the Crusade mentions several examples of Oeselians attacking German cogs on the Dvina estuary as well as large scale raids against the Island of Gotland.
The German crusaders were heavily armoured and armed, but the Hanseatic cogs which carried them were basically 'up armoured' trade ships and not built for naval combat. They did however have the advantage of sitting high in the water and being difficult to board from a Scandinavian type raider.
Another organisation of independent traders using the later, larger cogs were the Vitual brothers, also known as the Vitalians. Hired by the Duke of Mecklenburg to fight against Denmark in 1392, the Victual Brothers were a group of independent privateers based in the Baltic Sea who later went on to become pirates.
News from Denmark: Flying the red flag.
Today, Denmark witnessed the largest demonstrations since 1985. Upwards of 50,000 people gathered before Christiansborg with a further 50,000 in the rest of the country, to protest against the governments plans to reform the welfare system (specifically unemployment benefits, pensions and student funding). Several thousand marched past our apartment and headed up towards the University. Looking down on them from above I couldn't but help note how subdued they were compared to the students from last week.
The most prominent politician to meet the demonstrators (in Copenhagen) was leader of the Social Democrats, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. This didn't hue the government who criticised Thorning-Schmidt for taking part in demonstrations against the very negotiations she was taking part in.
At the same time, the nationalist Danske Folkeparti partially pulled the rug out from under the protestors by refusing to back some of the governments plans and thus removing the majority needed to pass them. This didn't faze the demonstrators though who marched on regardless.
The most prominent politician to meet the demonstrators (in Copenhagen) was leader of the Social Democrats, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. This didn't hue the government who criticised Thorning-Schmidt for taking part in demonstrations against the very negotiations she was taking part in.
At the same time, the nationalist Danske Folkeparti partially pulled the rug out from under the protestors by refusing to back some of the governments plans and thus removing the majority needed to pass them. This didn't faze the demonstrators though who marched on regardless.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
News from Denmark: Criticism
Denmark has been severely criticised by the ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance) for having a generally negative view of ethnic minorities, especially Muslims. According to the ECRI report, it is too difficult to get citizenship in Denmark, too difficult to have one’s family brought to Denmark if one has achieved citizenship, and too difficult to get married to a non Dane. The mood of the country is generally hostile towards immigrants, especially Muslims and the media and politicians are constantly putting immigrants, and especially Muslims in a bad light. Ethnic minorities do not have the same opportunities as other members of society the report concludes
The Danish government’s integration minister Rikke Hvilshøj has responded by rejecting the report as being undocumented and full of factual errors.
“There is an ocean of errors and it is a little difficult to take such a report seriously. For example, it says [in the report] that Danish judges have a bias against ethnic minorities, and yet there is no basis offered for this” Hvilshøj has called for concrete examples.
Government spokesperson Jens Rohde has also responded. “The report is completely unbelievable and without validity. It has deliberately withheld important information on the positive effects for immigrants of the governments policies. It is completely unacceptable”.
According to Ekstra Bladet, Denmarks Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has said he will throw the report in the waste paper basket.
Professor of Law and Chairperson for the ECRI Eva Smith is of the opinion that Rikke Hvilshøj has misinterpreted the report. “The idea is not to criticise” she says, “The idea is to be a conduit for those people whom one normally cannot hear and to try to point out those things which perceive might be a problem in Denmark.” Eva Smith is 'surprised' that the Danish government is not interested in investigating whether or not there is any basis to the report.
In an interview with Jyllands Posten however, Eva Smith relates that the report is not based on actual studies of Danish judges behaviour, but rather on what the ECRI ‘has heard’. She explained “You can’t honestly say that there is not one single judge in [Denmark] who hasn’t made a discriminating statement”.
moif: If Denmark really is as bad as every one is making out then I must be blind, because I just can’t see it. I don’t understand how raising the standards as to who gets in and who doesn’t is ‘racist’. From my perspective its simply a question of who decides who can become a Dane? The EU seems to wish us to have no say in who can come and settle in Denmark and would leave the decision to the immigrants themselves. Looking at whats happening in Sweden, I see a nation that is rapidly becoming Muslim. Sweden, which is circa 9 million people, has the lowest fertility rates in Europe, except amongst its Muslim population. Currently Sweden is granting entry to 60,000 immigrants per year. It is also granting 21,000 families to come to Sweden to join those who have already been granted the right to live in Sweden. More people now apply to live in Sweden every month than do in a full year in Denmark.
I can't see how stopping this sort of influx can be considered 'racism'. Its simply a matter of self defence. Once the Muslim minority becomes a majority, it will simply use democratic means to take over the government and introduce Sharia law. According to some people, just my saying that qualifies me as being, if not racist, then certainly islamophobic, but the truth is, that the Swedish imams have already made their intentions clear and I'm not saying anything they haven't said themselves.
---
In the meanwhile the (British) Islam Channel’s conference on ‘Islamophobia’ here in Denmark ended with a decleration. During the conference men and women were seated seperately as in accordance with Islam’s teaching and this brought about condemnation from Danish womens rights groups (criticism which has gone unanswered as usual).
Abu Laban, who spoke at the conference, didn’t seem to notice the irony of this self imposed apartheid when he actually compared himself to Nelson Mandela. Neither did the audience who nodded at his audacious self description just as they happily nodded when the US military prisons at Guantanamo Bay were compared to Auschwitz (and just what does that have to do with European Islamophobia?).
'Fear of and prejudices about Islam have always been there, but we need to have the courage to talk about things,' said Mohamed Ali, president of the Islam Channel.
Despite being billed as an international conference, and the largest of its kind since the row over the Mohammed cartoons exploded this winter, the majority of those participating were Muslim.
Organisers had invited a broad spectrum of Danish politicians, members of the press and other public figures, but only a handful of ethnic Danes were to be found amongst the 900 people in attendance.
'We had hoped to see more Danes take part in the debate. We invited the prime minister to open the conference and all Danish ministers to participate. We invited political parties, even the Danish People's Party, the mayor of Copenhagen - and the Queen,' Ali said.
Link.
moif: I’m not surprised so few wanted to join in. Why would ethnic Danes wish to participate in a conference that was clearly designed to push the blame for Islamophobia away from Islam and onto the Europeans? Those few Danes who did participate were all strong advocates of multiculture and familiar faces in the TV debate circuit and were largely 'nodding dogs' to what was basically a facade. The conference was billed as an attempt at dialogue, but there was no such thing and any one who accepted the invitation to speak at the conference would have been granting validity to the practice of gender discrimination.
In a DR TV interview I saw one British women in a headscarf telling the Danish journalist that “Denmark is years behind us in the UK”. I’d have liked to have asked her, why then have Muslim terrorists twice attacked London and yet no one has blown up the metro in Copenhagen? Why is it we tolerate Abu Laban's open defiance of our culture and values but your own country has thrown Abu Hamza into jail?
Sure we are not perfect, but neither are we ignorant as to the Islamic terrorism that rampant multiculture has brought to the UK.
The Danish government’s integration minister Rikke Hvilshøj has responded by rejecting the report as being undocumented and full of factual errors.
“There is an ocean of errors and it is a little difficult to take such a report seriously. For example, it says [in the report] that Danish judges have a bias against ethnic minorities, and yet there is no basis offered for this” Hvilshøj has called for concrete examples.
Government spokesperson Jens Rohde has also responded. “The report is completely unbelievable and without validity. It has deliberately withheld important information on the positive effects for immigrants of the governments policies. It is completely unacceptable”.
According to Ekstra Bladet, Denmarks Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has said he will throw the report in the waste paper basket.
Professor of Law and Chairperson for the ECRI Eva Smith is of the opinion that Rikke Hvilshøj has misinterpreted the report. “The idea is not to criticise” she says, “The idea is to be a conduit for those people whom one normally cannot hear and to try to point out those things which perceive might be a problem in Denmark.” Eva Smith is 'surprised' that the Danish government is not interested in investigating whether or not there is any basis to the report.
In an interview with Jyllands Posten however, Eva Smith relates that the report is not based on actual studies of Danish judges behaviour, but rather on what the ECRI ‘has heard’. She explained “You can’t honestly say that there is not one single judge in [Denmark] who hasn’t made a discriminating statement”.
moif: If Denmark really is as bad as every one is making out then I must be blind, because I just can’t see it. I don’t understand how raising the standards as to who gets in and who doesn’t is ‘racist’. From my perspective its simply a question of who decides who can become a Dane? The EU seems to wish us to have no say in who can come and settle in Denmark and would leave the decision to the immigrants themselves. Looking at whats happening in Sweden, I see a nation that is rapidly becoming Muslim. Sweden, which is circa 9 million people, has the lowest fertility rates in Europe, except amongst its Muslim population. Currently Sweden is granting entry to 60,000 immigrants per year. It is also granting 21,000 families to come to Sweden to join those who have already been granted the right to live in Sweden. More people now apply to live in Sweden every month than do in a full year in Denmark.
I can't see how stopping this sort of influx can be considered 'racism'. Its simply a matter of self defence. Once the Muslim minority becomes a majority, it will simply use democratic means to take over the government and introduce Sharia law. According to some people, just my saying that qualifies me as being, if not racist, then certainly islamophobic, but the truth is, that the Swedish imams have already made their intentions clear and I'm not saying anything they haven't said themselves.
---
In the meanwhile the (British) Islam Channel’s conference on ‘Islamophobia’ here in Denmark ended with a decleration. During the conference men and women were seated seperately as in accordance with Islam’s teaching and this brought about condemnation from Danish womens rights groups (criticism which has gone unanswered as usual).
Abu Laban, who spoke at the conference, didn’t seem to notice the irony of this self imposed apartheid when he actually compared himself to Nelson Mandela. Neither did the audience who nodded at his audacious self description just as they happily nodded when the US military prisons at Guantanamo Bay were compared to Auschwitz (and just what does that have to do with European Islamophobia?).
'Fear of and prejudices about Islam have always been there, but we need to have the courage to talk about things,' said Mohamed Ali, president of the Islam Channel.
Despite being billed as an international conference, and the largest of its kind since the row over the Mohammed cartoons exploded this winter, the majority of those participating were Muslim.
Organisers had invited a broad spectrum of Danish politicians, members of the press and other public figures, but only a handful of ethnic Danes were to be found amongst the 900 people in attendance.
'We had hoped to see more Danes take part in the debate. We invited the prime minister to open the conference and all Danish ministers to participate. We invited political parties, even the Danish People's Party, the mayor of Copenhagen - and the Queen,' Ali said.
Link.
moif: I’m not surprised so few wanted to join in. Why would ethnic Danes wish to participate in a conference that was clearly designed to push the blame for Islamophobia away from Islam and onto the Europeans? Those few Danes who did participate were all strong advocates of multiculture and familiar faces in the TV debate circuit and were largely 'nodding dogs' to what was basically a facade. The conference was billed as an attempt at dialogue, but there was no such thing and any one who accepted the invitation to speak at the conference would have been granting validity to the practice of gender discrimination.
In a DR TV interview I saw one British women in a headscarf telling the Danish journalist that “Denmark is years behind us in the UK”. I’d have liked to have asked her, why then have Muslim terrorists twice attacked London and yet no one has blown up the metro in Copenhagen? Why is it we tolerate Abu Laban's open defiance of our culture and values but your own country has thrown Abu Hamza into jail?
Sure we are not perfect, but neither are we ignorant as to the Islamic terrorism that rampant multiculture has brought to the UK.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Battle of Damme
Not much of a fair fight this one. In 1213 an English fleet of 500 ships, carrying about 700 knights, retainers and a sizable force of mercenaries arrived in the joint Zwyn estuary of the rivers Rey and Lieve in modern Belgium. Here they found the French invasion fleet of King Philip II of France and attacked it. In the lead up to the attack, Philip had been preparing to invade England and the news of this had reached the English. William de Longspee (Longsword) was sent by King John to assist Count Ferrand of Flanders and stop the invasion and upon his arrival in the estuary he found the entire French invasion fleet of 1,700 ships, lightly guarded and heavily laden. In one of those cruel twists of fate that have protected the Britannic islands for almost a thousand years, Philip was absent. Having left his invasion fleet for the time being he was busy punishing Ferrand for his refusal to join in a league with him against England and generally pillaging the neighbourhood. Initially the French army, having marched into Bruges, offered Ferrand terms and Ferrand accepted, but once the moneys had been paid, the French broke the deal and attacked anyway.
When Longsword’s fleet arrived in the Zwyn estuary they immediately attacked the French ships and took 300 of them in prizes and sank a further 100.
The ships of this time were probably a mixture of styles that defy accurate description. Most were probably cogs or something similar. Northern cogs were clinker built which limited the size a ship could be built and remain watertight and they would have been, mostly, smaller vessels, with a single mast bearing a square sail and probably with a large crows nest that could be used as a firing platform for a crossbow or two. Illustrations from the period indicate that these ships were armoured fore and aft with highly decorated ‘castles’, which were mounted as high as possible in order to get a height advantage over other ships. Whether or not the decorations shown in illustrations are actual shields hanging from the side of the ‘castles’ or are a fixed detail is not certain, but it seems that each ship displayed the heraldry of the knights aboard.
The English could have withdrawn, victorious at this point, but carried on the wings of success they sent their prizes home and remained and the next day they attacked the French again. Thus far the English had taken the ships moored in the estuary, but a good proportion of the French fleet was moored in the harbour at Damme and Longsword ordered his smaller boats in to grapple with the French. The English attacked those ships that were farthest from the town and which were pretty well guarded. Once the English had engaged them, the French put up solid resistance. They also called upon their foraging forces to return and assist the fleet and soon the English found themselves paying a heavy price for the French ships. Longsword had kept back reserves of his forces however and he landed these on either side of the harbour to catch the French in an out flanking move. After a bitter fight, the surviving Frenchmen surrendered.
Now Longsword turned his attention on to the ships in the inner harbour at Bruges. These were protected by the town itself and the considerable French force garrisoned there. As the remains of the captured French shipping was torched the English were joined by Count Ferrand and his forces. Together the two sides launched an assault on the town but now the French were better prepared and the return of King Philip tipped the scales against the English and Flemish troops who were now forced to retreat after losing over 2,000 men. Longsword returned to England, where he was covered in glory and praise. The return of so many prizes was considered the greatest influx of treasure in England since the days of King Arthur!
So angered by the loss of his invasion fleet was King Philip that he torched the town of Bruges in his wrath.
William de Longspée. 3rd Earl of Salisbury is an atypical English noble of the period in that he seems to have remaind loyal to King John when all others weren’t. As such he held numerous official positions in John’s court over the years, including Warden of the Welsh Marches, Warden of the Cinque Ports (Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich.), Sheriff of Wilshire, Lieutenant of Gascony and Constable of Dover. Judging by these titles he was no stranger to martime warfare, nor even land based combat as prior to leading the fleet at Damme, he had been a commander in the king's Welsh and Irish expeditions of 1210-12.
The battle of Damme, which is sometimes considered Englands first great maritime victory, is his most famous acheivement, but his military adventures on the continent carried on as the year after Damme he was sent to assist the Holy Roman Emporer, Otto IV in an attempted invasion of France. Alas for Longsword he was captured by the French whilst leading the right flank at the Battle of Bouvines.
Eventually he was released. In those days captured enemy nobility were almost always assured of a safe return home if they could afford to pay a ransom. Upon his return he found England in turmoil. The nobility were tired of King John and after Magna Carta they rebelled. Longsword stayed loyal to John until the French Prince Louis (later King Louis VIII) landed as an ally of the rebels at which point he surrendered to the inevitable. Henry III, despite his youth, was crowned King of England and Longsword swore allegience to him. For a while Longsword served in the young kings government but eventually he found his way back to the European main land, fighting to secure Englands possesions. This was the last chapter of his life. Upon his return to England he died, possibly poisoned and was buried at Salisbury Cathedral. There is a macabre epilogue to Longswords story: 500 years after his death his tomb was opened (for what ever reason) and the well preserved body of a rat was discovered inside Longswords skull.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Freja: 9 months old today
Today is Pipski’s nine-month birthday! As usual I have taken a special photograph of our delightful little girl in order to keep a record of how her face develops.When she reaches the age where she can stand alone, I will also start taking pictures of her against a white background with the intention that at some point in the future we will be able to make an animation that shows her actually growing up. I’m not sure how I’ll do this yet. I need to think of a way that clearly shows her height.
The portrait pictures go in a special book I’ve been keeping and they document what her face looks like each month.
Yesterday Mette’s friend Camille came by on a visit from Copenhagen. She was as good looking and charming as ever, and she brought the news that she is also pregnant! The baby boom around me continues. Her due date is Christmas day.
It’s a sort of tradition that when Camille comes by in the summer we all go to the beach, so yesterday was Pip’s first encounter with the sea… and she loved it until Mette dipped her toes in the water and then she screamed in shock and anger since it was icy cold. I waded in, with Freja in my arms to just over my ankles and it was so murderously cold that I had to get out after two minutes because it hurt so much!
Of course, Mette and Camille both went out and dipped into the sea. Scandinavian women are insane! Neither stayed in the water for more than thirty seconds though.
I dag er Pipsens ni måneders fødselsdag. Som altid har jeg taget et specielt foto af vores dejlige lille pige som skal i gå i hendes bog. På denne måde har vi et journal der viser hvordan hendes ansigt forandrer sig.
Når hun når denne alder hvor hun kan stå op selv vil jeg også begynde at tage billeder af hende med en hvid bagrund for at vise hvor høj hun bliver. I fremtiden kan all disse billder blive lagt sammen i et animation som vil vis hvordan hum vokser. Jeg skal bare har fundet en måde at viser klart hvor højt hun er.
I går kom Camille på besøge (hun er lige taget afsted igen). Som altid så hun godt og friske ud, men denne gang havde hun den glædig nyhed med at hun er gravid og er sat til Juledag!
Det er en slags tradition at når Camille kommer på besøge om sommeren så skal vi ned til stranden så i går var Pipski’s første gang ved vandet og hun elskede det, indtil Mette dyppede hends taer i vandet som var pisse koldt! Jeg tog Pip og gik lidt ud i vandet i et par minutter men det kun jeg ikke hold ud, så grusom koldt var det.
Men, Mette og Camille skulle absolut ud i vandet så de smid tøjet og hoppede ud i det. De er begge to sindsyg! De var i vandet for kun circa 30 sekunder og det kun jeg godt forstå.
News and comment from Denmark: Threats and yet more threats.
Al qaeda has once again threatened Denmark with terrorist attacks. By my count this is the third such call for death over Denmark by al qaeda. This time the message was from some one called Mohammed Hassan who is apparently a Libyan and infamous for having escaped the Americans at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. The response from Denmark was predictable. Our politicians ‘distanced themselves’ from the use of violence and ‘condemned it’ and our native Muslim Faith Society, not to be outdone, made their own veiled threats against prominent Danish politicians.
Abu Laban, the most popular of the imam’s in Copenhagen has said he intends to leave Denmark (I’ll believe it when I see it) because he feels ‘humiliated at being regarded as a terrorist’. This statement was made against the background of recent violence in the Vollsmose district of Odense that flared up when Danish Police stopped and detained four French imams visiting Denmark. The rioting Muslim youths in Vollsmose were furious that their imams had been so ‘humiliated’, and now Abu Laban also feels ‘humiliated’. During yesterdays friday prayers, Abu Laban carried out a sort of pantomime performance for the news cameras. calling to his congregation, "should I stay?"
"YES!" they cried out.
"Should I leave?" he questioned them.
"NO!" they replied.
"I will only leave with the permission of this gathering" Abu Laban concluded.
moif: Abu Laban has been at the pinnacle of the local Muslim heirarchy here in Denmark's ease and comfort for two decades. I really can't see him decamping back to Gaza's misery and uncertainty to become just another guy with a beard! This whole thing has just been Abu Laban's play to regain the public spot light from Naser Khader.
The foreman of the Islamic Faith Society Said Kasem Ahmad has told the Danish media that if Abu Laban leaves it will be a 'serious blow' for the Danish Muslim community.
He said; “There is such a poisonous atmosphere against Muslims in Denmark that it will/would (depends on how you translate it) not be difficult to find Danish Muslims willing to sacrifice themselves in a terrorist action.”
He continued. “This is a warning, not a threat. There are signs in society that must be interpreted, for example, the episode in Vollsmose, where imams were arrested. Our young Muslims over reacted to this and threw stones at the police and did not respect the work of the police. This is a form of radicalisation. On the one side are those who do not respect imams and on the other some who do not respect the police. It is all equal one might say.”
Said Kasem Ahmad went on to list possible targets for attack, these included (in this order) Education and Church Minister Bertel Haarder (who is also a prominent Christian). The leader of the nationalist Danske Folkeparti Pia Kjærsgaard. Member of Parliament for the Radikal Venstre and chairperson of the Moderate Muslimer Naser Khader and The Prime Minister himself, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
There is currently a conference being held over here on ‘Islamophobia’ by the British Islam Channel. Asked why they chose to hold their conference in Denmark their spokesperson told DR that it was because Denmark was the 'centre of European Islamophobia'. This observation was apparently based on the cartoon affair and Danske Folkeparti’s support with the electorate. No mention was made of the domestic death threats, al qaeda or the 12 assassins said to be on the way to Denmark to kill the Mo’toons artists.
In the mean time a poll taken amongst the Muslim population in Denmark indicates that half of Denmark’s Muslims feel a loyalty to Denmark, one third feel a loyalty to the country from which they originate and the remainder is unsure.
MP Peter Skaarup of Danske Folkeparti calls these figures, ‘disturbing’, and advises those who do not feel loyalty to Denmark, to "go back to where ever it is they do feel loyal to".
moif: Personally I can’t see what difference it makes whether someone feels loyal to Denmark or not. When we moved back to Denmark in 1986 I hated the place and wanted to go back to England It was only after I’d finished being a teenager and lived here for a time that I began to realise I was actually more Danish than I was English. Also, I don’t think feelings of national identity are the problem amongst Muslims. I’d be more interested in a poll that asked how many Muslims put Islam before any other national, legal or moral considerations. I think that this is the real issue at hand, not whether an Iraqi immigrant feels loyal to Denmark.
Abu Laban, the most popular of the imam’s in Copenhagen has said he intends to leave Denmark (I’ll believe it when I see it) because he feels ‘humiliated at being regarded as a terrorist’. This statement was made against the background of recent violence in the Vollsmose district of Odense that flared up when Danish Police stopped and detained four French imams visiting Denmark. The rioting Muslim youths in Vollsmose were furious that their imams had been so ‘humiliated’, and now Abu Laban also feels ‘humiliated’. During yesterdays friday prayers, Abu Laban carried out a sort of pantomime performance for the news cameras. calling to his congregation, "should I stay?"
"YES!" they cried out.
"Should I leave?" he questioned them.
"NO!" they replied.
"I will only leave with the permission of this gathering" Abu Laban concluded.
moif: Abu Laban has been at the pinnacle of the local Muslim heirarchy here in Denmark's ease and comfort for two decades. I really can't see him decamping back to Gaza's misery and uncertainty to become just another guy with a beard! This whole thing has just been Abu Laban's play to regain the public spot light from Naser Khader.
The foreman of the Islamic Faith Society Said Kasem Ahmad has told the Danish media that if Abu Laban leaves it will be a 'serious blow' for the Danish Muslim community.
He said; “There is such a poisonous atmosphere against Muslims in Denmark that it will/would (depends on how you translate it) not be difficult to find Danish Muslims willing to sacrifice themselves in a terrorist action.”
He continued. “This is a warning, not a threat. There are signs in society that must be interpreted, for example, the episode in Vollsmose, where imams were arrested. Our young Muslims over reacted to this and threw stones at the police and did not respect the work of the police. This is a form of radicalisation. On the one side are those who do not respect imams and on the other some who do not respect the police. It is all equal one might say.”
Said Kasem Ahmad went on to list possible targets for attack, these included (in this order) Education and Church Minister Bertel Haarder (who is also a prominent Christian). The leader of the nationalist Danske Folkeparti Pia Kjærsgaard. Member of Parliament for the Radikal Venstre and chairperson of the Moderate Muslimer Naser Khader and The Prime Minister himself, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
There is currently a conference being held over here on ‘Islamophobia’ by the British Islam Channel. Asked why they chose to hold their conference in Denmark their spokesperson told DR that it was because Denmark was the 'centre of European Islamophobia'. This observation was apparently based on the cartoon affair and Danske Folkeparti’s support with the electorate. No mention was made of the domestic death threats, al qaeda or the 12 assassins said to be on the way to Denmark to kill the Mo’toons artists.
In the mean time a poll taken amongst the Muslim population in Denmark indicates that half of Denmark’s Muslims feel a loyalty to Denmark, one third feel a loyalty to the country from which they originate and the remainder is unsure.
MP Peter Skaarup of Danske Folkeparti calls these figures, ‘disturbing’, and advises those who do not feel loyalty to Denmark, to "go back to where ever it is they do feel loyal to".
moif: Personally I can’t see what difference it makes whether someone feels loyal to Denmark or not. When we moved back to Denmark in 1986 I hated the place and wanted to go back to England It was only after I’d finished being a teenager and lived here for a time that I began to realise I was actually more Danish than I was English. Also, I don’t think feelings of national identity are the problem amongst Muslims. I’d be more interested in a poll that asked how many Muslims put Islam before any other national, legal or moral considerations. I think that this is the real issue at hand, not whether an Iraqi immigrant feels loyal to Denmark.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Battle of Lepanto
The third battle of Lepanto
The third battle of Lepanto is probably the second most famous galley engagement in history (the first being the doomed Spanish Aramada). On the 7th October 1571, the Muslim Ottoman Turks met the Christian Holy League in a naval battle in the Bay of Lepanto, in Greece, known today as the Gulf of Corinth.
The Ottoman Turks were the greatest of all the Muslim powers and at the time of Lepanto they were at the peak of that power. Attacking Europe was how the Ottoman Turks spent their free time and this was just another of their attempts to 'convert the Europeans'. Their empire already had dominion over most of the Mediterranean and they had already won the first and second battles at Lepanto and no doubt were in good spirits as they lined up their ships. Their commander Ali Pasha had some 230 galleys and circa 55 galliots (which are lighter than ordinary galleys) under his command. He also had two allies fighting alongside him; Chulouk Bey of Alexandria and Uluj Ali (who was an Italian who converted to Islam after his capture by the Ottoman Turkish ‘Barbary pirates’ and who then went on to become the King of Algiers) Ali Pasha’s fleet was the cream of the Mediterranean. His crews were all well experienced and he had 25,000 soldiers of whom 2,500 were the crack Janissaries.
A Janissary was a European boy (usually Greek or Albanian) taken captive by the Ottoman Turks and then raised, trained and indoctrinated in special schools to be crack Muslim troops.
The Christian Holy League were a sort of sixteenth century 'Coalition of the Willing' formed with the express intention of breaking the Ottoman Turks stranglehold on the Mediterranean Sea. Commanded by an Austrian called Don Juan who was the illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and thus the half brother to King Philip II of Spain, the Holy League fleet had 212 galleys (of which 6 were the superb, heavy galleasses) from Venice, Portugal, Spain, all the coastal Italian city states and the Knights of Holy Order of the Hospitallers.
The Christian fleet was manned by 12,920 sailors, 43,000 rowers and some 28,000 fighting troops, of which some 13,000 were German and Italian mercenaries. An interesting detail is that the Spanish Royal Marines are the only surviving unit to have taken part in the battle of Lepanto. Another such detail is that the author Miguel de Cervantes (who wrote ‘Don Quixote’) also fought and was wounded at Lepanto.
A galleass was the ‘super carrier’ of the sixteenth century Mediterranean world. Originally they were converted merchant ships made obsolete by the introduction of Round ships but they soon developed into the largest class of galley, often mounting upwards of fifty guns and having a full sailing rig. Unlike a galley, a galleass was able to deliver a full broadside and that made them extremely valuable at Lepanto.
I should explain that at this point in history, a 'galley' was a warship whose primary weapon was not the ram as was the case in the ancient world, but rather the cannon. Sixteenth century galleys had a forward battery of guns, which, usually, pointed forwards, or were splayed out to cover a full 180 degree's from the bow of the ship. The secondary weapon of the galley in this period was the marine soldier and blasting, then boarding an enemy was how the sixteenth century galley operated.
The two fleets drew up in the bay and deployed their forces. Don Juan had his galleasses towed to the fore where they turned sideways to the enemy so their heavy guns could be brought to bear. The Galleasses had to be towed because they were slow and unlike galleys mostly relied on the wind. Once they were in position though they were lethal and soon started making splinters of the Turkish ships.
Don Juan himself, aboard his flag ship the Real, remained at the centre of the line of ships that spread out behind the galleasses in four divisions. It should be noted that a line of galleys faces the enemy head on, where as galleasses, like ‘ships of the line’ face them broadside on. Don Juan, nobody’s fool, also left some 38 galleys to the rear as a reserve.
Ali Pasha, aboard his flag ship, the Sultana, split his force into three groups with Chulouk Bey to the North with 56 ships and Uluj Ali to the south with 93 ships. He left a mere 8 galleys and 22 galliots in reserve.
The battle began with the Turks advancing to meet the Christians. In order to do this they had to pass the six galleasses which naturally broke up the Turkish formations as the heavier ships pelted them with gunfire. Once this obstacle had been passed by however the two sides fell into combat.
To the south Uluj Ali managed to out fox the Genoese commander, Doria. Feinting southward he managed to create a gap between Doria’s galleys and the main Christian fleet when Doria tried to counter Uluj Ali’s flanking move. Doria’s over reach left a great hole in the Christian line which Uluj Ali immediately took advantage of by attacking the Christian centre where he took the flagship of the Maltese Hospitallers, the Capitana, killing every one aboard, including the Hospitallers commander Giustiniani, who was cut down, 'Kurasawa style', by no less than five arrows. Don Juan brought up his reserve of 38 galleys to counter Uluj Ali’s attack and the Italian Muslim was forced to flee.
In the north, Chulouk Bey had managed to out manoeuvre the Christians, getting 6 galleys onto the Christian flank and killing the Venetian commander Agustino Barbarigo. The Europeans turned to face this threat but it was only the arrival of one of the galleasses with its heavier guns that saved the northern division.
In the centre, both fleets were going hard at it with great losses on either side. Don Juan had already called up his reserves to deal with Uluj Ali’s attack and now the battle reached its climax with the Christians engaging the Turkish flagship. The Europeans sent in their heaviest troops, the Spanish tercios, who were heavily armoured pike men, and the Turks responded with their Janissaries.
Twice the Janissaries pushed the Spanish back, but on the third attack the Turks caved and the Sultana was taken.
Despite standing orders to take Ali Pasha alive, the Spaniards cut off his head and raised it on a pike. This was the last straw for the Turks. Once they saw their commanders head raised high on the Spanish flagship they lost heart and soon disengaged. The battle was over and the Christians were victorious.
Naturally they gave the credit to the Virgin Mary who they argued had intervened on their behalf.
The aftermath of the battle was long lasting. The Ottoman Turks had lost 30,000 men and the bulk of their fleet and though they set about replacing their lost ships, they never managed to regain their martial superiority in the Mediterranean. The Ottoman Empire continued to attack Europe by land until eventually its vigour was exhausted. The empire finally fell in 1923 and was eventually replaced by the modern state of Turkey.
For the victors, Lepanto was also a dead end. Instead of taking advantage of their success the Europeans fell to bickering amongst themselves and no further attempt was made to capitalise on Don Juan’s victory.
Don Juan himself was appointed governor of the Spanish Nederland’s by his half brother, the Spanish King, in a vain attempt to curb his ambitions. Don Juan agreed to the position only if he were allowed to marry Mary I of Scotland though. Since Mary was then a prisoner in England, this plan called for an invasion of England and hey presto, Don Juan went and died two years later in Bouges before his ambitious plans could be executed.
For the Galley, Lepanto is the grande finale. The galley as a ship type would cotinue to play a role for several centuries but after the battle of Lepanto there would never be another pure galley fleet against galley fleet engagement.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Corsairs of Umbar
The Corsairs of Umbar!
Here is a great way to build 28mm scale model ships. It looks a lot easier than the way I've been doing it, though I wager my ship models will last longer! Essentially the LOTR ships are modified dhows. Whats interessting is that they have junk sails just like the ship in the animated film 'Sinbad', yet I've never seen an image of a real life dhow with junk sails. I guess this is due to western misconceptions of non western ship types, or maybe there just aren't that many 'foreign looking' ship types to choose from...
Here is a great way to build 28mm scale model ships. It looks a lot easier than the way I've been doing it, though I wager my ship models will last longer! Essentially the LOTR ships are modified dhows. Whats interessting is that they have junk sails just like the ship in the animated film 'Sinbad', yet I've never seen an image of a real life dhow with junk sails. I guess this is due to western misconceptions of non western ship types, or maybe there just aren't that many 'foreign looking' ship types to choose from...
News from Denmark: The natives are restless.
According to Hamid Mir, who is one of Pakistan’s leading journalists, over 300 men volunteered to join a death squad to travel north to Denmark and kill the 12 Mohammed cartoon artists. Apparently 12 men were chosen because they could read and write English and these are now said to be on their way to Denmark. Chairperson of the Danish Parliment's Security Council, Peter Skaarup (Danske Folkeparti) has put Denmark’s Police Intelligence Unit ‘PET’ on the job.
PET is also reported to be launching a new initiative to tackle the problems of extremist views amongst the Muslim population. PET has already been working with the Danish imams for some time in an effort to establish a working relationship with the core of the Islamic community, but this new idea has yet to be run by the religious establishment.
Rather than wait for ideological friction to flare up into violence PET is suggesting the imams take steps to spread a counter ideology that would disarm any tendencies towards violence.
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A school headmistress called Lone Nørgaard has brought a book today titled, ’My Blue Sofa’. In it she describes the situation, as she sees it in Denmark’s schools. Nørgaard speaks with some authority as one who has been on the sharp edge of immigration, effectively interviewing thousands of pupils and parents on the blue sofa that adorns her office. Snaphanen has a post on it, and JP has an article devoted to it. Here are some of the quotes, translated by me, from Snaphanen:
“The actual problems we are experiencing everyday, are nearly all, bound up in Muslim traditions and habits”.
“Too much consideration and too many special conditions is in fact contributing to the advance of fundamentalism”.
With regards to teaching in Danish, a Pakistani mother is quoted as saying; ”Urdu is the path to the past. Danish is the way forwards”.“The ethnic schools are a scandal for our society and the blame lies with an angst to touch the subject. There must be a debate about this, but it is delicate because the majority of politicians now place their own children into private schools”.
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A 17 year old male was sentenced yesterday for making death threats, in rap form, against Naser Khader. The song included such lyrics as; Now I’m coming. To shoot you with a gun.You know nothing. Your going to be done, freestyle by Abu. Hamad will exterminate you as if you were a pig. Naser Khader you are, the biggest pig. When I come knocking at your door, I shall smash you up. And your wife. And your kids. When I get your parents, you will be shot. I shoot you with words. Like, fuck Odin and Thor.
According to Hamid Mir, who is one of Pakistan’s leading journalists, over 300 men volunteered to join a death squad to travel north to Denmark and kill the 12 Mohammed cartoon artists. Apparently 12 men were chosen because they could read and write English and these are now said to be on their way to Denmark. Chairperson of the Danish Parliment's Security Council, Peter Skaarup (Danske Folkeparti) has put Denmark’s Police Intelligence Unit ‘PET’ on the job.
PET is also reported to be launching a new initiative to tackle the problems of extremist views amongst the Muslim population. PET has already been working with the Danish imams for some time in an effort to establish a working relationship with the core of the Islamic community, but this new idea has yet to be run by the religious establishment.
Rather than wait for ideological friction to flare up into violence PET is suggesting the imams take steps to spread a counter ideology that would disarm any tendencies towards violence.
---
A school headmistress called Lone Nørgaard has brought a book today titled, ’My Blue Sofa’. In it she describes the situation, as she sees it in Denmark’s schools. Nørgaard speaks with some authority as one who has been on the sharp edge of immigration, effectively interviewing thousands of pupils and parents on the blue sofa that adorns her office. Snaphanen has a post on it, and JP has an article devoted to it. Here are some of the quotes, translated by me, from Snaphanen:
“The actual problems we are experiencing everyday, are nearly all, bound up in Muslim traditions and habits”.
“Too much consideration and too many special conditions is in fact contributing to the advance of fundamentalism”.
With regards to teaching in Danish, a Pakistani mother is quoted as saying; ”Urdu is the path to the past. Danish is the way forwards”.“The ethnic schools are a scandal for our society and the blame lies with an angst to touch the subject. There must be a debate about this, but it is delicate because the majority of politicians now place their own children into private schools”.
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A 17 year old male was sentenced yesterday for making death threats, in rap form, against Naser Khader. The song included such lyrics as; Now I’m coming. To shoot you with a gun.You know nothing. Your going to be done, freestyle by Abu. Hamad will exterminate you as if you were a pig. Naser Khader you are, the biggest pig. When I come knocking at your door, I shall smash you up. And your wife. And your kids. When I get your parents, you will be shot. I shoot you with words. Like, fuck Odin and Thor.
Venetian Galley
Venetian Galley
So, I've been skulking about the net looking for information regarding galleys and not finding much. Google image search was particularly disapointing and even Wikipedia didn't have much to say on the subject.
But, I did come across this page where some modeller has scratch built a cool Venetian galley and who provides enough info for me to see as to how to make a similar shaped model for 28mm skirmish. All I need now is the time to build it. I've not done much work on the Nao of late (been sitting out in the sun mostly) but its now reached the stage where I have to figure out how to make the detachable upper decks.
edited to add:
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Lord of War
I don’t really like Nicholas Cage as an actor. He’s pretty wooden and he seems to only have two ‘modes’: ‘confused’ and ‘shouting’. In this film he uses the former to sleep walk through most of what is an excruciatingly boring film, slogging his way from one scene to the next in what felt like an eternal march towards the predictable moral ending.
‘Lord of War’ is the story of an American/Ukrainian arms dealer who starts small and works his way up through the 80’s and 90’s. Along the way he explains why and who and what, setting up the viewer for what is probably supposed to be the shocking revelation that guns kill people and that the five permanent members of the Security Council are the five largest manufacturers and sellers of weapons. The story is dull, uninspiring and predictable. It attempts to be unbiased but fails leaving the viewer in little doubt who the ‘bad guys’ of the modern world must be.
‘Lord of War’ is the story of an American/Ukrainian arms dealer who starts small and works his way up through the 80’s and 90’s. Along the way he explains why and who and what, setting up the viewer for what is probably supposed to be the shocking revelation that guns kill people and that the five permanent members of the Security Council are the five largest manufacturers and sellers of weapons. The story is dull, uninspiring and predictable. It attempts to be unbiased but fails leaving the viewer in little doubt who the ‘bad guys’ of the modern world must be.
News from Denmark
Yesterday a local politician from the nationalist Danske Folkeparti in the town of Korsør was awoken by a molotov cocktail being thrown against his house. Apparently it narrowly missed his bedroom window. Naturally he called the police only to be told they couldn’t be bothered to come and investigate since the fire had gone out. He was refered to another police station which would be open for business at 8am.
According to DR news, there have been multiple verbal attacks and threats against local politicians made in Korsør and upwards of one third of all local council authorities have reported on threats of violence in the last few years. One of the other local politicians in Korsør received a note which told him that his ‘anti Muslim’ attitude had been noted and he was to consider himself warned. The note was signed ‘al qaeda’.
edited to add this observation on social violence in Europe:
BBC: Bad behaviour, worst in Europe.
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The government is proposing a new licensing law today where by all homes, whether they own a TV or not, must pay a TV license if they own a computer. Their argument rests on the possibility that people can now see TV online and whether or not they choose to do so they must cough up a few thousand kroner to help pay for Denmarks state media service (called Danmarks Radio).
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According to an article in JP today, Danmarks Statistik has released figures which show the level of immigration into Denmark. According to these figures, immigrants now make up 8.6% of the Danish population, that is to say, 467,371 people, about 200,00 of these are Muslims, predominantly from Turkey and Iraq. These two groups also dominate the numbers of second and third generation children born to immigrants, who are not considered immigrants if they are born in Denmark.
The trend of immigration shows that currently there are more Poles than any other group entering Denmark (something the Europhiles said wouldn’t happen) but the numbers of immigrants from India, the Philipines and Ukrania are also rising considerably. For the first time since the early 90’s the number of Somali’s is in decline.
Yesterday a local politician from the nationalist Danske Folkeparti in the town of Korsør was awoken by a molotov cocktail being thrown against his house. Apparently it narrowly missed his bedroom window. Naturally he called the police only to be told they couldn’t be bothered to come and investigate since the fire had gone out. He was refered to another police station which would be open for business at 8am.
According to DR news, there have been multiple verbal attacks and threats against local politicians made in Korsør and upwards of one third of all local council authorities have reported on threats of violence in the last few years. One of the other local politicians in Korsør received a note which told him that his ‘anti Muslim’ attitude had been noted and he was to consider himself warned. The note was signed ‘al qaeda’.
edited to add this observation on social violence in Europe:
BBC: Bad behaviour, worst in Europe.
---
The government is proposing a new licensing law today where by all homes, whether they own a TV or not, must pay a TV license if they own a computer. Their argument rests on the possibility that people can now see TV online and whether or not they choose to do so they must cough up a few thousand kroner to help pay for Denmarks state media service (called Danmarks Radio).
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According to an article in JP today, Danmarks Statistik has released figures which show the level of immigration into Denmark. According to these figures, immigrants now make up 8.6% of the Danish population, that is to say, 467,371 people, about 200,00 of these are Muslims, predominantly from Turkey and Iraq. These two groups also dominate the numbers of second and third generation children born to immigrants, who are not considered immigrants if they are born in Denmark.
The trend of immigration shows that currently there are more Poles than any other group entering Denmark (something the Europhiles said wouldn’t happen) but the numbers of immigrants from India, the Philipines and Ukrania are also rising considerably. For the first time since the early 90’s the number of Somali’s is in decline.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Freja
Pipski has had a long and interesting week with various trips about the city and some nice time on the terrace with the kids from downstairs. The high point though was yesterdays visit to Mark and Malena’s place out in the countryside. Freja is wild about Malena’s little cat Sofili and the poor moggy couldn't get a moments peace once Pip caught sight of her. She was crawling about the lawn and the yard like a little tiger.
Most of the week end has been one long lazy time and I've not been by the computer as a result.The summer seems to have arrived and I can see the beginnings of some colour returning to my skin. Freja has a new sun hat, which she doesn't really like and we all sat out on the terrace today until the roof ventilator starting making a terrible noise and I came in doors.
Pip har haft en langt og interessant week end med forskellige by tur, tid ud på terrassen sammen med de andre børn fra opgangen og en besøge ved Mark og Malena ud på landet. Det var det bedst for Freja musen for hun er vildt med Sofili, Malena’s kat og jagede den over det hele som om hun selv var en bitte tiger.
Det mest af weekenden har været ret afslappet og jeg har ikke været ved computeren så meget. Sommered er vist begyndt (for håbenligt) og jeg er begyndt at for lidt farven på armene. Vi var allesammen ud på terrassen i dag og Freja havde sin ny sol hat på (hun hader den) men larmen fra ventilatoren hos pizzamanden drev mig inden dørs igen.
Det er vist det hel for ny. Vi glæder os til at se Onkle Krikke i næste weekend!
Victory in Europe!
Today is the 61st anniversary of the formal surrender of Germany to the Allied Powers and as such is the subsequent date for the liberation of Western Europe by the American, British and Commonwealth forces.I shall be interested to see how the European media chooses to remember the day we were freed by the Allies.
I have not forgotten.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Much as the book was, the film was light, easy to follow and slightly nauseating. When I was a child I enjoyed CS Lewis’s books as fantasy stories and nothing more, but after I learned the connection with his religious beliefs his stories have taken on a more sinister feel to them. There is something about the imagery of talking animals and children all living in harmonious green pastures that reminds me of the magazines Jehovah’s Witness try to give away on doorsteps.
I know CS Lewis wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness, but in my agonistic agnosticism, such differences as are said to exist between religious beliefs matter little. When watching the film, I was found myself sneering at Aslan’s death.
Mette on the other hand, ignorant of who CS Lewis was and having never read the book, was completely taken aback by the lions self sacrifice and shed a tear or two, so I guess I’m just jaded and old.
The film was a decent adaptation and the only detail I thought they’d gotten wrong was the casting of Jadis. Tilda Swinton is a good actress and I’ve enjoyed her performances since I first saw her in ‘Orlando’, but she doesn’t have the stature and over powering beauty of the White Witch. Jadis, when she is first described in ‘The Magicians Nephew’ as “very tall (but every figure in that room was taller than the people of our world), with a look of such fierceness and pride that it took your breath away. Yet she was beautiful too. Digory said he had never in all his life known a woman so beautiful.”
No matter how much I suspend my disbelief; I simply can’t reconcile that description with Tilda Swinton who has a much more ephemeral quality about her. Jadis is proud, magnificently so, arrogant and overwhelming. Swinton just about manages to be 'pantomime creepy'. Sort of like Bowie in 'Labyrinth'.
I loved the minotaur’s though. They were very well done.
I know CS Lewis wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness, but in my agonistic agnosticism, such differences as are said to exist between religious beliefs matter little. When watching the film, I was found myself sneering at Aslan’s death.
Mette on the other hand, ignorant of who CS Lewis was and having never read the book, was completely taken aback by the lions self sacrifice and shed a tear or two, so I guess I’m just jaded and old.
The film was a decent adaptation and the only detail I thought they’d gotten wrong was the casting of Jadis. Tilda Swinton is a good actress and I’ve enjoyed her performances since I first saw her in ‘Orlando’, but she doesn’t have the stature and over powering beauty of the White Witch. Jadis, when she is first described in ‘The Magicians Nephew’ as “very tall (but every figure in that room was taller than the people of our world), with a look of such fierceness and pride that it took your breath away. Yet she was beautiful too. Digory said he had never in all his life known a woman so beautiful.”
No matter how much I suspend my disbelief; I simply can’t reconcile that description with Tilda Swinton who has a much more ephemeral quality about her. Jadis is proud, magnificently so, arrogant and overwhelming. Swinton just about manages to be 'pantomime creepy'. Sort of like Bowie in 'Labyrinth'.
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I loved the minotaur’s though. They were very well done.
Friday, May 05, 2006
News from Scandinavia
Helle Thorning Schmidt has grounds to be pleased as the latest poll results show her recent losses to the Radikal Venstre being regained over the 1st May period (Mette foresaw this happening) .
Chairperson of the Radikal Venstre, Marianne Jelved has seen her party lose a third of its projected seats in less than a month but rejects the notion that her attempt to put herself forward as a possible candidate for the job of PM has cost her party its gains in popularity (it is widely believed that the recent upturn in popularity for the RV came about due to its Syrian/Danish member Naser Khader and his maturity in dealing with the recent Mohammed cartoon crisis)
Chair person of the Socialist People's Party; Villy Søvndal, strengthened no doubt his party's 1 percent rise in popularity has now come out stronger than ever against the conservative government. SF has opened its national congress today and Søvndal (who's name translates to 'sleep valley') has proposed a 'different Denmark'.
"SF is the only party which has consistently shown growth in the opinion polls since last years election" he said (moif: I don't know how thats anything to applaud though, given they've only risen 1%). He went on to lambast Marianne Jelved, calling her a 'political nymphomaniac' and he accused Jelved and Thorning-Schmidt of extending the political life of the Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his non governmental ally, the nationalist party leader, Pia Kjærsgaard.
Søvndal continued by announcing his party (the smallest of the mainstream opposition parties) would move forwards by a clear opposition to governments policies, the enviroment and the war in Iraq.
There was however a new tone amongst the socialists. Søvndal urged democratically minded immigrants to get politically engaged , whilst vowing to bring the fight to the 'religious dark-men' (a reference to their minds, not their skin).
Several prominent SF members have recently come out with a harder than usual line in the 'foreigners debate' (Danish is not as PC as contemporary English) which they see as having been monopolised by the conservative parties who have used the socialists own silence to sow seeds of doubt as to their stance. To correct this perception, the SF integration spokesperson, Kamal Qureshi (the other member of Parliment from a Muslim family) put forward a proposal that parents and spouses caught arranging a forced marriage should be punished with a prison sentence.
moif: thats the sort of thing DF might propose, and which SF would denounce as racism. Its amusing to see that even Socialistiske folkeparti (formerly known as the Communist Party) has also been effected by the mass shift to the right in the population. I can't imagine SF advocating such a policy a few years ago.
Despite all the bickering and name calling between the various left wing opposition parties, they are still united in their opposition to the war in Iraq and both Socialdemokraterne and the Radikal Venstre have announced they will follow Socialistiske Folkeparti and oppose the extension of Danish troops inIraq beyond the deadline which is set for 2007. In their stead, the Danish opposition parties (sans DF) propose to give Iraq 250 million kroner per year, until 2010, for reconstruction. "Our troops are needed more in Afghanistan (where two Italian soldiers were killed today), Darfur or Liberia" Said Mogens Lykketoft (who is one of the old guard powers-behind-the-Thorning-Schmidt-throne). Together with former Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, he has pointed out that, aside Britain, Denmark is rapidly becoming the only European nation to stand beside the USA.
moif: Yeah... how awful!
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Meanwhile, the Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Peterson told the media, whilst he was in Finland, that Sweden, like the rest of the EU, would not issue visas to members of Hamas. On the very same day, a Swedish diplomat told deputy directors-general of EU foreign ministries meeting in Brussels that Stockholm had issued a visa to Atef Adwan who is to speak as a guest of honour at an immigration conference in Malmø’s People Park.
Helle Thorning Schmidt has grounds to be pleased as the latest poll results show her recent losses to the Radikal Venstre being regained over the 1st May period (Mette foresaw this happening) .
Chairperson of the Radikal Venstre, Marianne Jelved has seen her party lose a third of its projected seats in less than a month but rejects the notion that her attempt to put herself forward as a possible candidate for the job of PM has cost her party its gains in popularity (it is widely believed that the recent upturn in popularity for the RV came about due to its Syrian/Danish member Naser Khader and his maturity in dealing with the recent Mohammed cartoon crisis)
Chair person of the Socialist People's Party; Villy Søvndal, strengthened no doubt his party's 1 percent rise in popularity has now come out stronger than ever against the conservative government. SF has opened its national congress today and Søvndal (who's name translates to 'sleep valley') has proposed a 'different Denmark'.
"SF is the only party which has consistently shown growth in the opinion polls since last years election" he said (moif: I don't know how thats anything to applaud though, given they've only risen 1%). He went on to lambast Marianne Jelved, calling her a 'political nymphomaniac' and he accused Jelved and Thorning-Schmidt of extending the political life of the Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his non governmental ally, the nationalist party leader, Pia Kjærsgaard.
Søvndal continued by announcing his party (the smallest of the mainstream opposition parties) would move forwards by a clear opposition to governments policies, the enviroment and the war in Iraq.
There was however a new tone amongst the socialists. Søvndal urged democratically minded immigrants to get politically engaged , whilst vowing to bring the fight to the 'religious dark-men' (a reference to their minds, not their skin).
Several prominent SF members have recently come out with a harder than usual line in the 'foreigners debate' (Danish is not as PC as contemporary English) which they see as having been monopolised by the conservative parties who have used the socialists own silence to sow seeds of doubt as to their stance. To correct this perception, the SF integration spokesperson, Kamal Qureshi (the other member of Parliment from a Muslim family) put forward a proposal that parents and spouses caught arranging a forced marriage should be punished with a prison sentence.
moif: thats the sort of thing DF might propose, and which SF would denounce as racism. Its amusing to see that even Socialistiske folkeparti (formerly known as the Communist Party) has also been effected by the mass shift to the right in the population. I can't imagine SF advocating such a policy a few years ago.
Despite all the bickering and name calling between the various left wing opposition parties, they are still united in their opposition to the war in Iraq and both Socialdemokraterne and the Radikal Venstre have announced they will follow Socialistiske Folkeparti and oppose the extension of Danish troops inIraq beyond the deadline which is set for 2007. In their stead, the Danish opposition parties (sans DF) propose to give Iraq 250 million kroner per year, until 2010, for reconstruction. "Our troops are needed more in Afghanistan (where two Italian soldiers were killed today), Darfur or Liberia" Said Mogens Lykketoft (who is one of the old guard powers-behind-the-Thorning-Schmidt-throne). Together with former Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, he has pointed out that, aside Britain, Denmark is rapidly becoming the only European nation to stand beside the USA.
moif: Yeah... how awful!
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Meanwhile, the Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Peterson told the media, whilst he was in Finland, that Sweden, like the rest of the EU, would not issue visas to members of Hamas. On the very same day, a Swedish diplomat told deputy directors-general of EU foreign ministries meeting in Brussels that Stockholm had issued a visa to Atef Adwan who is to speak as a guest of honour at an immigration conference in Malmø’s People Park.
Thursday & Freja
Yesterday was games day, but unusually people started turning up at 11am rather than the usual 5pm. The idea was to play during the day and finish earlier, but this didn’t really work too well. The main problem for me was fatigue. Freja’s whining and complaining has reached epic proportions now and she woke us up numerous times, both last night and the night before. By the time my friends began arriving on Thursday I was already pretty tired and truth be told, not really in the mood for so much company. I get grouchy with a lack of sleep.
The day was not a total loss though for we had some interesting debate regarding ship types for skirmish games and my friend Oleg dropped a bomb on me by suggesting I build a galley model next. This sort of threw me for six at first since I was leaning more and more towards the Caravella Latina, but during the night, as I lay listening to Pipski’s eternal crying I mulled the idea in my head and now I’m quite interested in the idea. It would after all be a very different ship type to the Nao but a natural foe.
Freja had a pretty good day. We were all at the botanical gardens with Mette’s Aunt Lillian. It was my first time in the park with my daughter and I enjoyed it mightily. Most of the trees don’t yet have any leaves, but the weather was good. It was sunny and bright with only the slightest breeze. Pipski was supposed to be wearing a hat but she pulled it off every time.
Freja har haft en ret god dag idag. Vi var alle sammen i botanisk hav sammen med Lillian, og det var første gang jeg har været ud i ’naturen’ sammen med Pip, så det var rigtig hyggeligt. Jeg havde en ret så kraftig hovedpine (og har den stådigvæk) så jeg blev ikke så længe, bare en halv time måske. Freja havde en hat med, men den gad hun bestemt ikke at har på. Hun er bleven ret bestemt her på det sidst par uger og kan godt være hidsig hvis ikke hun for sin vilje. Vi er begyndte at sige ’Nej!’ til hende når hun går hen til fjernsynet eller andre farlig/dyr ting og nogen gang gider hun godt hør efter. Hvis man fjerner hende fra det hun er interesseret i, kan hun godt flip ud.
The day was not a total loss though for we had some interesting debate regarding ship types for skirmish games and my friend Oleg dropped a bomb on me by suggesting I build a galley model next. This sort of threw me for six at first since I was leaning more and more towards the Caravella Latina, but during the night, as I lay listening to Pipski’s eternal crying I mulled the idea in my head and now I’m quite interested in the idea. It would after all be a very different ship type to the Nao but a natural foe.
Freja had a pretty good day. We were all at the botanical gardens with Mette’s Aunt Lillian. It was my first time in the park with my daughter and I enjoyed it mightily. Most of the trees don’t yet have any leaves, but the weather was good. It was sunny and bright with only the slightest breeze. Pipski was supposed to be wearing a hat but she pulled it off every time.
Freja har haft en ret god dag idag. Vi var alle sammen i botanisk hav sammen med Lillian, og det var første gang jeg har været ud i ’naturen’ sammen med Pip, så det var rigtig hyggeligt. Jeg havde en ret så kraftig hovedpine (og har den stådigvæk) så jeg blev ikke så længe, bare en halv time måske. Freja havde en hat med, men den gad hun bestemt ikke at har på. Hun er bleven ret bestemt her på det sidst par uger og kan godt være hidsig hvis ikke hun for sin vilje. Vi er begyndte at sige ’Nej!’ til hende når hun går hen til fjernsynet eller andre farlig/dyr ting og nogen gang gider hun godt hør efter. Hvis man fjerner hende fra det hun er interesseret i, kan hun godt flip ud.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Freja and Ludvig
The whining and drooling continued today as Pipski suffered under the pain of her emerging teeth. Finally Mette went down to the chemist and picked up a medicine called Dolodent that numbs the gums. She tried on her tongue first and sure enough it works. I wondered what would happen if I rinsed my mouth out with it…? Better not try that… it’s a small bottle anyway and there wouldn’t be any left for the Pip.
Actually Pip had quite a busy day. Mette had an appointment with a friend early on so Pipski and I played on the floor. She is finally starting to curb her destructive tendencies and now tries to stack bricks as well as knocking them down. I was impressed at her self-control actually, though not with her coordination. She would pause, consider, move her whole arm with a jerk, pause again, brick in hand and then crash, the whole lot would come down as she tried to put the top brick on the pile. She still has big problems with letting go of stuff, though I’ve noted she is become extremely adept with her pacifier. Aye well… all good things to those who wait.
After Mette came home again, the girls went out and about and apparently Pip sang and chortled the whole time. When they got back we all went out onto the roof top terrace and played in the sun. I was so taken up with pushing a plastic car around that I poured my coffee all over my lap.
Towards evening Thunderpants decided to liven up proceedings and began to bop and bounce about. Granted she still needs to hold onto something to maintain her balance, but she is almost on the verge of being able to jump! Naturally this meant getting her to fall asleep was quite difficult and I actually fell asleep twice whilst trying to get her to settle down!
It’s been a great day and right now I’m listening to Beethoven’s fifth symphony. My Dad reckons this is the finest piece of music ever written, and although I love it also, I have to disagree. Beethoven’s Ninth is clearly superior to all other music ever yet composed.
Actually Pip had quite a busy day. Mette had an appointment with a friend early on so Pipski and I played on the floor. She is finally starting to curb her destructive tendencies and now tries to stack bricks as well as knocking them down. I was impressed at her self-control actually, though not with her coordination. She would pause, consider, move her whole arm with a jerk, pause again, brick in hand and then crash, the whole lot would come down as she tried to put the top brick on the pile. She still has big problems with letting go of stuff, though I’ve noted she is become extremely adept with her pacifier. Aye well… all good things to those who wait.
After Mette came home again, the girls went out and about and apparently Pip sang and chortled the whole time. When they got back we all went out onto the roof top terrace and played in the sun. I was so taken up with pushing a plastic car around that I poured my coffee all over my lap.
Towards evening Thunderpants decided to liven up proceedings and began to bop and bounce about. Granted she still needs to hold onto something to maintain her balance, but she is almost on the verge of being able to jump! Naturally this meant getting her to fall asleep was quite difficult and I actually fell asleep twice whilst trying to get her to settle down!
It’s been a great day and right now I’m listening to Beethoven’s fifth symphony. My Dad reckons this is the finest piece of music ever written, and although I love it also, I have to disagree. Beethoven’s Ninth is clearly superior to all other music ever yet composed.
Når… nu skal jeg prove at oversat alt det! Jeg håber i ikke griner af mit dårligt Dansk. Grundet til det er så dårligt er nok fordi jeg har aldrig haft brug for det.
Pipsen’s gnotten pyleri forsat i dag da hendes tænder volder stadig en del smerter. Til sidst var moifen ned og hent en lille flask af Dolodent som gør at man kan ikke mærk tankødet. Alison har brugte det før i tiden men var ikke just begejstret så Metter prøvet det på sig selv og kunne meddel at det virrkede i hvertfald på hende.
Faktisk har Pipski haft en ret så travlt dag i dag, Mette havde en aftale med en veninde (og fandt ud af endnu en veninde er på til at stifte familie!) så Pip og jeg sad på gulvet, så fjernsyn og byggede tårne for det mest af morgen. Freja er endeligt begyndte at byg i stedet for kun at ødlægge men hun er ikke særlig god til det endnu. Jeg er ret imponerede over hendes selv-kontrol men ikke med hendes koordinations evne. Hun er meget forsigtig nå hun prøver at læg en brik oven på en anden, men hun har stor besvær med at slippe ting så hun ødlæg alt hvad vi startede på. Det kun en spørsmål om tid. Jeg er så stolt af hende. Hun har været så ’levende’ i dag. Helt op at køre med mange smil og latter og lej.
Efter Mette kom hjemvar pigerne ud i byen og Freja var i hendes es. Hun sad i barnevogn og sang og skreg med glæde af alt ting så folk kunne ikke lad være med at bemærk hende i hendes bobbel-hat med blomst.
Da de var vendt hjemme igen var vi alle tre ud på terracen hvor i mit iver kom jeg til at vælte mit kaffe på mit skod!
Hen mod aften blev Freja endnu mere livlig og hun begyndte at hop op og ned. Det er lige før hun kan let men båd Mette og jeg kun se at hun var næsten på samme sted i udvikling som Josefina (Rikke og Lars’s datter) den gang de sidts var på besøge. Det var meget svært at for hend til at fald til ro igen bagefter og jeg faldt i sovn to gang mens jeg prøvede at for hende til at sov.
Sikken en dejlig dag det har været!
Lige nu runder jeg dagen af med Beethoven’s femte symphoni. Min Far syntes af dette er det bedst stykke musik der er nogensiden lavet, men jeg er uenig. Selv om jeg elseker den femte, syntes jeg at Beethovens symphoni Nr 9 er langt bedre.
Den er sandelig det smukkeste stykke musik jeg kender!
News from Denmark
Today was the day Denmark audio tested the national defence system so at mid day the city was subjected to the ghostly tones of the air warning system. I’ve heard it before, but it never fails to send shiver down my spine. The Danish system uses a very soft warbling noise that lifts itself above the city like a spectre of the past… or things to come? A short while later they ran the all clear siren as well, which isn’t much better.
Whenever I hear the air raid warnings I have the mental image of the cartoon sequence of ‘Goodbye blue sky’ by Pink Floyd in my head.
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The opposition parties, from the far left to the Radikal Venstre have reached agreement in wishing to withdraw Denmark’s troops from Iraq for possible future redeployment in Darfur.
“It is despairing to see genocide played out before our very eyes” said the Radikal Ventre’s defence spokesperson, Morten Helveg Petersen (son of the former foreign minister Niels Helveg Petersen).
Jeppe Kofod, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Social Democrats agreed with him; he said “Compared to stopping a genocide in Darfur, a military solution in Iraq seems less important”.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, (Kons) has responded that Denmark is willing and able to provide troops for both missions, but will only send troops to Darfur if asked to do so by the UN. Møller declared that there was no reason to pull out of Iraq for as long as the people there wished the Danish troops to stay (by this he is referring to the wishes of the Iraqi government).
No party has as yet expressed any support for joining another coalition of the willing against Iran and most have poured scorn on the idea of an attack against Iran.
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A recent poll on the Euro has shown a majority of Danes are currently in favour of adopting the European currency. 36.7% said no and 43.4% say yes. Since all the rest are as yet undecided though, it is impossible to tell if the Danes would adopt the Euro if a new referendum were to be held this year.
Today was the day Denmark audio tested the national defence system so at mid day the city was subjected to the ghostly tones of the air warning system. I’ve heard it before, but it never fails to send shiver down my spine. The Danish system uses a very soft warbling noise that lifts itself above the city like a spectre of the past… or things to come? A short while later they ran the all clear siren as well, which isn’t much better.
Whenever I hear the air raid warnings I have the mental image of the cartoon sequence of ‘Goodbye blue sky’ by Pink Floyd in my head.
---
The opposition parties, from the far left to the Radikal Venstre have reached agreement in wishing to withdraw Denmark’s troops from Iraq for possible future redeployment in Darfur.
“It is despairing to see genocide played out before our very eyes” said the Radikal Ventre’s defence spokesperson, Morten Helveg Petersen (son of the former foreign minister Niels Helveg Petersen).
Jeppe Kofod, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Social Democrats agreed with him; he said “Compared to stopping a genocide in Darfur, a military solution in Iraq seems less important”.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, (Kons) has responded that Denmark is willing and able to provide troops for both missions, but will only send troops to Darfur if asked to do so by the UN. Møller declared that there was no reason to pull out of Iraq for as long as the people there wished the Danish troops to stay (by this he is referring to the wishes of the Iraqi government).
No party has as yet expressed any support for joining another coalition of the willing against Iran and most have poured scorn on the idea of an attack against Iran.
---
A recent poll on the Euro has shown a majority of Danes are currently in favour of adopting the European currency. 36.7% said no and 43.4% say yes. Since all the rest are as yet undecided though, it is impossible to tell if the Danes would adopt the Euro if a new referendum were to be held this year.
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