Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Pizza and Gas
Not that kind.
We went out to a Pizzeria in Sjöbo last night and over heard some American sounding English from the guys at the table next to us. We said hi, and asked where they are from. They said they were Canadian, working in Sjöbo every other two weeks. Doing what we inquired? Drilling for gas for Shell.
I got curious about this. Apparently Shell has been exploring southern Sweden for gas drilling, doing the first exploration last November.
Scary.
One of the things I love most about my home here in Sweden is the water, it sooo good straight out of the tap. In Florida our water smelled like chlorine and we had to buy drinking water. The source of our water is Vombsjön, a large lake that provides drinking water to all of Malmö and most of southern Sweden. It is right where Shell is drilling.
Not that kind.
We went out to a Pizzeria in Sjöbo last night and over heard some American sounding English from the guys at the table next to us. We said hi, and asked where they are from. They said they were Canadian, working in Sjöbo every other two weeks. Doing what we inquired? Drilling for gas for Shell.
I got curious about this. Apparently Shell has been exploring southern Sweden for gas drilling, doing the first exploration last November.
Then my google reader caught my attention with this interview on NPR with Josh Fox on today's Fresh Air about his documentary GASLAND that just was recognized at The Sundance Film festival. It documents communities in the USA that have been heavily polluted by gas drilling. It shows water that can be lit on fire, and communities and environments becoming toxic in the wake of gas drilling.
Scary.
One of the things I love most about my home here in Sweden is the water, it sooo good straight out of the tap. In Florida our water smelled like chlorine and we had to buy drinking water. The source of our water is Vombsjön, a large lake that provides drinking water to all of Malmö and most of southern Sweden. It is right where Shell is drilling.
The gas is not just drilled up, it is released by a process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking, that breaks up bed rock and releases gas bubbles by injecting 5 to 7 million gallons of water into the earth in combination with diesel and numerous toxic chemicals that are industry secrets (as governments do not even have laws that require disclosure of what is being injected into the aquifer). The water in areas where fracking is practiced is effervescent, it bubbles, even in streams, and is full of toxic heavy metals like cadmium, as well as benzene, methane, propane. It does not take a mistake for these things to get into the water, it is not like an oil spill that may happen....these toxins are intrinsic to the normal process. It is guaranteed to happen. That is 5 to 7 million gallons of polluted water that has to go somewhere, and toxins directly injected into the water source. People report things like cats and horses losing all their hair after fracking starts in their areas.
From Gasland:
CAN YOU DO THIS WITH YOUR TAP WATER? from JOSHFOX on Vimeo.
I found the group Heaven or sHell is organized to oppose the drilling. Something to look into.Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Let There be Peace on Earth,
and Let it Begin with Me.
The level of public dialogue in the US is degrading. It's effecting people, too, I think. Folks on my old reliable email lists are starting to show the stress- people are getting defensive, disrespectful, even rude. Today people did not want to let their kids watch an address at school where President Obama told them to set goals and take personal responsibility (link). To me the level and tone of opposition to his intention to make the speech reveals the fear, racism, and absurdity of the right wing folks in the USA.
What Obama had to say was good advice we all can take. Change begins in yourself. What do you want to do to help yourself, and help the world ?
A friend says she thinks the tone of the right is like the overtired child who gives one last, loud tantrum before giving it all up and going to sleep. That they are mad it is no longer going their way. I hope she is right, and this is the last protest before a peaceful night. Still, I think our work is just beginning.
I just hope the love and inspiration that rallied people to elect Obama will triumph over the noise of all this fear. Just pass the health care reform, America. People are really dying, losing loved ones over this. Losing their homes over it. This MoveOn video made me cry.
If you did not have to worry so much about your health, or that of your family, or spend your money on the insurance (if you can get it), you could apply your creative thinking and resources to the rest of the problems that need our attention.
In Sweden, you can buy fair trade generic organic instant coffee. Fair Trade is that developed of a concept. Lund has declared itself a "Fair Trade City". There is talk and concern about human rights here, and the impact our choices make in the lives of others. There are more important things to talk about than the topics Americans like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are broaching.
This low level of public dialogue is making Americans to look like foolish brats. You are not the center of the universe. There is a whole world out there. There are more important things to think about.
And the USA has ignored the Geneva Convention and been torturing people(link).
But it's hard to think of all that with out vacation time, health insurance, or adequate higher education now isn't it? So you might as well shop, right? Your needing and searching might shield you from the pain. For a moment you can get lost in banality.
Because really, what else are we to do? Just as I believe the body is a projection of our inner world, I think the entire outer world is a projection of our inner world. So as part of my being 35, I am looking at ways to do simple nourishing things to have a strong body, clear mind, and good connection to my inner guidance that tells me how to proceed. It's just Maslow's hierarchy of needs- I know the USA can't get anywhere until they have some of these basic issues tackled, but then again, neither can I.
"Often people are motivated by feelings of pain, fear, and guilt into wanting to "do something to make it better". This is the ego, coming from a position of helplessness and fear, struggling vainly to eradicate these feelings. Unfortunately, this approach only perpetuates the problems it is trying to solve. The underlying cause of the world's problems is the pain, fear, and ignorance we experience from being disconnected from the power of the universe. If we continue to project the problems outside ourselves and fail to recognize the power we actually have, I believe we support the very evils we are fighting. On the other hand, if we are willing to take responsibility for our fears and deal with them, we will clear the way for being able to hear the voice of the universe with in us. If it tells us to take action, we can be sure the action will be powerful and truly effective." - Shakti Gawain in Living in the Light
and Let it Begin with Me.
The level of public dialogue in the US is degrading. It's effecting people, too, I think. Folks on my old reliable email lists are starting to show the stress- people are getting defensive, disrespectful, even rude. Today people did not want to let their kids watch an address at school where President Obama told them to set goals and take personal responsibility (link). To me the level and tone of opposition to his intention to make the speech reveals the fear, racism, and absurdity of the right wing folks in the USA.
What Obama had to say was good advice we all can take. Change begins in yourself. What do you want to do to help yourself, and help the world ?
A friend says she thinks the tone of the right is like the overtired child who gives one last, loud tantrum before giving it all up and going to sleep. That they are mad it is no longer going their way. I hope she is right, and this is the last protest before a peaceful night. Still, I think our work is just beginning.
I just hope the love and inspiration that rallied people to elect Obama will triumph over the noise of all this fear. Just pass the health care reform, America. People are really dying, losing loved ones over this. Losing their homes over it. This MoveOn video made me cry.
If you did not have to worry so much about your health, or that of your family, or spend your money on the insurance (if you can get it), you could apply your creative thinking and resources to the rest of the problems that need our attention.
In Sweden, you can buy fair trade generic organic instant coffee. Fair Trade is that developed of a concept. Lund has declared itself a "Fair Trade City". There is talk and concern about human rights here, and the impact our choices make in the lives of others. There are more important things to talk about than the topics Americans like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are broaching.
This low level of public dialogue is making Americans to look like foolish brats. You are not the center of the universe. There is a whole world out there. There are more important things to think about.
Check out "The Story of Stuff"
And the USA has ignored the Geneva Convention and been torturing people(link).
But it's hard to think of all that with out vacation time, health insurance, or adequate higher education now isn't it? So you might as well shop, right? Your needing and searching might shield you from the pain. For a moment you can get lost in banality.
However, you are the 'DREAM OPERATOR" and you can choose a new dream to dream.
Because really, what else are we to do? Just as I believe the body is a projection of our inner world, I think the entire outer world is a projection of our inner world. So as part of my being 35, I am looking at ways to do simple nourishing things to have a strong body, clear mind, and good connection to my inner guidance that tells me how to proceed. It's just Maslow's hierarchy of needs- I know the USA can't get anywhere until they have some of these basic issues tackled, but then again, neither can I.
"Often people are motivated by feelings of pain, fear, and guilt into wanting to "do something to make it better". This is the ego, coming from a position of helplessness and fear, struggling vainly to eradicate these feelings. Unfortunately, this approach only perpetuates the problems it is trying to solve. The underlying cause of the world's problems is the pain, fear, and ignorance we experience from being disconnected from the power of the universe. If we continue to project the problems outside ourselves and fail to recognize the power we actually have, I believe we support the very evils we are fighting. On the other hand, if we are willing to take responsibility for our fears and deal with them, we will clear the way for being able to hear the voice of the universe with in us. If it tells us to take action, we can be sure the action will be powerful and truly effective." - Shakti Gawain in Living in the Light
In the infinity of life where I am
all is perfect whole and complete
I now choose calmly and objectively to see old patterns,
and am willing to make changes.
I am teachable. I can learn. I am willing to change.
I choose to have fun doing this.
I choose to react as though I have a found a treasure
when I discover something else to release.
I see and feel myself changing moment by moment.
Thoughts no longer have any power over me.
I am the power in the world. I choose to be free.
All is well in my world.
-Louise Hay
Since MoveOn put me in an old REM mood....
I can change.
I can change.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Swedish Summer is Made of:
Colors, Smiles, and
Oh! The Places we Go
The idea that all the summer places close in a week when school starts again has us making the most of summer while it is still here. Swede girl does not start preschool/dagis until September, so in reality our summer is still going to last another month. But many Swedish parks, especially the pools and water attractions, will close August 15th. So we have been getting what we can out of the summer sun, having fun. This leaves little time to wax poetic on the blog, so you get photos instead. I'll write when the days are shorter, after the Swedegirl is not home all day, and the weather is not so wonderful. 
When we arrived last year, we suspected we could make a regular destination out of Malmö Folkets Park. This winter it was the site of SwedeGirl's circus school, her first go at ice skating, and now this summer her first bumper car driving and first little roller coaster ride. We went this weekend for a clown festival. There is still a big Malmö Festival next week, if you live in Sweden and want to check it out. 
Guardian of the Ferris wheel. Nice blouse, dude. 
The clown festival had circus music, face painting, balloons, circus tricks to try and see, and a very cool craft where you could make your own 'pin ball machine' with a wood board, nails, rubberbands, clothes pins, bottle tops, corks, bells, and marbles. 
These political stickers paste the walls of a bathroom near the park
Over the weekend we returned to Skåne Djurpark, since I heard there was a waterslide open in the summer. A WATERSLIDE!! This was new to Swedegirl, who got off and yelled 'AGAIN!' each time she surfaced and caught her breath. She would bound out of the pool, and run full speed up the hill to go again. That's my girl. Waterslides are my favorite. I had my 30th birthday party (18 weeks pregnant with Swedegirl) at the the same place I had my 8th birthday party- at Adventure Island, a waterpark in Florida. We all had a good time on the slides...just two, but plenty big enough for us. 
The diggers are a hit as well, for big and small.
It was cool to be watersliding and whatnot with this thatch roof project underway in view. Sweden. 
When we got the the animal park, Swedegirl proclaimed she intended to "Clap the Moose!" which is Swenglish for pet the moose. There was great petting zoo. My favorite thing there was this once thought extinct native Swedish chicken, since we hope to get chickens soon. It lays 150 eggs a year, and lays all year. I wanna get me a Gallus Gallus. Can you imagine the Swedish Chef routine I could do??? 
Cute kids.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Living the Socialist Nightmare
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| The Stockholm Syndrome | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| The Stockholm Syndrome Pt. 2 | ||||
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Earth Day
Buy the sky and
sell the sky and
ask the sky don't fall on me
- the band REM
Does anyone own the sky? When airplanes fly across the sky, they leave long white lines of exhaust, so much like clouds but too straight, too linear to be the work of mother nature. They are the work of man. Like scars across the clear blue. The exhaust clouds from airplanes insulate the earth so much they protect us from the greenhouse gas we create, so that when no planes flew for a few days after 9/11, there was a rise in the earths temperature of about one or two degrees Fahrenheit. Click here to read about this phenomenon.
So this is the problem. I love airplanes, they allow me to live across the world from my friends and family and still see them often. But they also guzzle fossil fuels and are changing the earth's climate.
It's Earth Day. And like most Earth days, I want to think of something nice to do for the planet. But I am also conflicted since it is all just so complex, since much of what I love is just bad for the world, like flying. I know I can just think of small ways to make things better and start there- compost, stop using plastic bags, bring my own cup....I know what to do. I could do more. But I also just want to acknowledge the weird feelings of overwhelm and conflict that come up for me on each Earth Day. Sure I can plant a tree, but I am likely going to drive somewhere to do it.
So Happy Earth Day- a day full of good intentions and weird conflicts, high hopes and hidden anxieties.
To observe the day, here is the perfect post modern tribute to Mama Earth. Below is a video of a famous speech usually attributed to 'Chief Seattle', a Suquamish leader that was in communication with the US government about the purchase of north western pacific lands in North America. It has since been learned that the actual response from Chief Seattle was quite different. Click here for the real text of Chief Seattle reply, that was printed in the Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887, in a column by Dr. Henry A. Smith, who was present for the delivery of the actual speech and based this version on notes he took on that occasion.
The words in the video below were actually written by Ted Perry in 1970 as part of the modern environmental movement. At the time Perry was a teacher at University of Texas, and was going to use the words as part of an environmental movie that was planned for the Southern Baptist Convention.
This speech hung as a poster in my house in college, and at the time I thought it was the words of the real Chief Seattle. The text is moving, regardless. The fact that it turns out it is not authentic, but is just a modern American's made up version makes it even more poignant for me. My modern world is full of copies, falsification, shams, and illusions. All the false representations that are part of our world are exactly why earth day is important to me. I have a sense you have to work to even know what is real in this world these days. I mean is that red coloring from delicious berries? Or is it from red #40, or E- some number or whatever?
The earth is real, alive, and responsive. In a plastic world, I appreciate the real live earth- her dirt and trees, plants and seas. Her berries, and the authentic sweet yummy red they offer.
Most of us long to connect to a piece of pure ancient wisdom, and to the natural world itself, but do not even know how to access it. I think we are right to suspect there has been earth wisdom lost that we can only imagine. So here it is a piece as it was imagined in 1970 by Ted Perry, and later pawned off to me as the words of Chief Seattle.
Even if things are weird, and climate change seems inevitable and unstoppable, I have a two little girls. They might grow up and have two little girls, who might have two little girls, who will want to go out and play. So you still gotta try, you still gotta do something. You still gotta think the planet is big, old, and resilient. I think she is able to absorb these anxieties of mine, and tolerate all of humanity's missteps, and still be there for us while we find our footing. So we will keep trying, no matter how hard it is to make changes in our lives, and no matter how small a difference it seems to make.
And we ask the sky, don't fall on me.
Buy the sky and
sell the sky and
ask the sky don't fall on me
- the band REM
Does anyone own the sky? When airplanes fly across the sky, they leave long white lines of exhaust, so much like clouds but too straight, too linear to be the work of mother nature. They are the work of man. Like scars across the clear blue. The exhaust clouds from airplanes insulate the earth so much they protect us from the greenhouse gas we create, so that when no planes flew for a few days after 9/11, there was a rise in the earths temperature of about one or two degrees Fahrenheit. Click here to read about this phenomenon.
So this is the problem. I love airplanes, they allow me to live across the world from my friends and family and still see them often. But they also guzzle fossil fuels and are changing the earth's climate.It's Earth Day. And like most Earth days, I want to think of something nice to do for the planet. But I am also conflicted since it is all just so complex, since much of what I love is just bad for the world, like flying. I know I can just think of small ways to make things better and start there- compost, stop using plastic bags, bring my own cup....I know what to do. I could do more. But I also just want to acknowledge the weird feelings of overwhelm and conflict that come up for me on each Earth Day. Sure I can plant a tree, but I am likely going to drive somewhere to do it.
So Happy Earth Day- a day full of good intentions and weird conflicts, high hopes and hidden anxieties.
To observe the day, here is the perfect post modern tribute to Mama Earth. Below is a video of a famous speech usually attributed to 'Chief Seattle', a Suquamish leader that was in communication with the US government about the purchase of north western pacific lands in North America. It has since been learned that the actual response from Chief Seattle was quite different. Click here for the real text of Chief Seattle reply, that was printed in the Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887, in a column by Dr. Henry A. Smith, who was present for the delivery of the actual speech and based this version on notes he took on that occasion.
The words in the video below were actually written by Ted Perry in 1970 as part of the modern environmental movement. At the time Perry was a teacher at University of Texas, and was going to use the words as part of an environmental movie that was planned for the Southern Baptist Convention.
This speech hung as a poster in my house in college, and at the time I thought it was the words of the real Chief Seattle. The text is moving, regardless. The fact that it turns out it is not authentic, but is just a modern American's made up version makes it even more poignant for me. My modern world is full of copies, falsification, shams, and illusions. All the false representations that are part of our world are exactly why earth day is important to me. I have a sense you have to work to even know what is real in this world these days. I mean is that red coloring from delicious berries? Or is it from red #40, or E- some number or whatever?
The earth is real, alive, and responsive. In a plastic world, I appreciate the real live earth- her dirt and trees, plants and seas. Her berries, and the authentic sweet yummy red they offer.
Most of us long to connect to a piece of pure ancient wisdom, and to the natural world itself, but do not even know how to access it. I think we are right to suspect there has been earth wisdom lost that we can only imagine. So here it is a piece as it was imagined in 1970 by Ted Perry, and later pawned off to me as the words of Chief Seattle.
Even if things are weird, and climate change seems inevitable and unstoppable, I have a two little girls. They might grow up and have two little girls, who might have two little girls, who will want to go out and play. So you still gotta try, you still gotta do something. You still gotta think the planet is big, old, and resilient. I think she is able to absorb these anxieties of mine, and tolerate all of humanity's missteps, and still be there for us while we find our footing. So we will keep trying, no matter how hard it is to make changes in our lives, and no matter how small a difference it seems to make.
And we ask the sky, don't fall on me.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Only in the USA, and Speaking of Obama and the US economic-political climate...
My favorite 'Only in the USA' moment of our trip came when rushing through the Atlanta airport, the SwedeGirl spied a news stand magazine rack, and of course Obama was everywhere on every cover- so she pointed and yelled -"OBAMA!". The southern black clerk working at the stand heard her, and she was just the type of woman you see working at the Atlanta airport, distinctly American- black, a few gold teeth, gregarious- and she caught the words from the Swedegirl and let out a knee slapping howl of laughter. We shared this funny moment and I called out "See, everyone is excited!"
Being in Atlanta, the many black southern workers are a notable subculture around the airport. There was a black woman with the most fantastic outfit- gold belt, done-up hair, and long ornate finger nails- and she was sweeping the floor in the food court. She was dressed like she was going out dancing in a club, but I watched her as we dined as and she gracefully moved around cleaning trays and floors. I kept thinking she was the manager just down to help out for a minute, but it seemed this was her work, and this was how she had come dressed for it.
Otherwise, as The SwedeGirl and I enjoyed an ice cream cone from Ben and Jerry's, we sat and watched the crowds go by. Its fun to go to the USA after being in Europe and have new eyes for the Americans style. First- the biggest thing that strikes me always, is how FAT Americans are. We were doing nothing to remedy this, sitting with our ice cream, but watching people go by, there is no question Americans are more likely to have paunchy bellies and chub going on than the Swedes. Especially the men, there are way more 'fat' men in America than there are in Sweden. The business traveling set is a bit plump in America, and here in Sweden they are more streamlined in their figures, and more likely to be wearing glasses with hip looking frames than golf shirts in XXL.
It was also interesting to note how in the airport and in grocery stores, I could identify subcultures easier in the USA. In the USA, I can tell farmer/ trailer park retiree/ red neck that hardly ever comes into town/ business traveler/ southern belle/ student from the North East/ back packer/ musician/ baby carrying new mother from one another. In Sweden, people more or less just look 'Swedish' to me.
We also had a funny 'my kid looks like she's a genius' moment in the airport. After eating the ice cream, we returned to the gate to find our departure location had been changed. We had to run-run-run and get to another terminal QUICK. When we arrived to catch our connecting flight to Florida, I handed SwedeGirl the tickets and asked her to give them to the lady at the gate while I wrangled our carry on luggage into something I could manage down an airplane aisle. My girl looked at the tickets and said "This is not mine, it does not have my name on it...oh wait- There it is!!! " and handed them over. The ticket checker responded by saying "You can READ? How old are you, 5?" She said, no, three and a half. The lady asked what her name was, and my girl replied by finger spelling it in sign language, and saying it out loud. This really got the lady, and we boarded the plane with all the people at the gate thinking she was a reading, spelling, signing, certifiable three year old genius ....if only she had said good bye in swedish we could have really had 'em!
It was great to be back in the USA under the new presidency and feel out how it is going. I have found that even if I read the news in Sweden, there is a collective national mood that is palpable when you are actually in the USA that is impossible to sense from afar. I found this when I was in Florida in October, and got to watch the Palin-Biden debate and read the papers the day afterwards, and see the Obama- McCain debate. It was also the same week the bailout was being planned, so the economic anxiety was peeking. It was a very different thing to BE THERE, and sense it, than hear about it from abroad.
This time, the general sense of economic anxiety was running high. When discussing going to a shop or restaurant, I was often told "call first to make sure they are still open!" due to the large numbers of store closings going on. Similarly, most of my friends made at least one mention of tight times, less income, and fewer clients in all their varied professions. And the housing values in our region of Florida are down 30-75% in some cases, and still falling... The sense of hard times is much more prevalent in the USA than in Sweden. Here in Sweden it is almost theoretical- like do you think this will reach you? In the USA, there is no doubt it has reached everyone.
It was also the first week Obama was naming cabinet members and seeking to set policy priorities. It was interesting to note how the Republicans were blocking his efforts, despite attempts and calls for partisanship. While there, there was much hulla ba loo made over Tom Daschle, who was set to over see the health care imitative, for not paying all his taxes. He subsequently stepped down from his nomination, and Obama apologized for nominating someone who was not of highest integrity and standards. To me this was just stupid. Tom Daschle is the right guy to overhaul the US healthcare system, it has been his focus and priority- he is the expert in the system. The unpaid taxes were just that he had borrowed a friend's car/ limo/ shuttle car while in DC many times, and he failed to report the use of the car as income and pay taxes on it. I think that speaks more to the complexity and stupidity of the American tax code than of Tom Daschle's lack of integrity. Hopefully his stepping down will not doom the efforts to improve American health care.
Overall, the sense I got about the Obama adminsitration was a bit 'back to reality' that politics as usual will resume, but that the aim and goals will be more aligned with what Americans want to see happen. There is a still a relief and ease that comes from knowing the priorties are less about torture/ authoritarian war monging that came from the Cheney set, and more focused on overall integrity/ domestic crisis solving from the Obama crew. The news the Gitmo will be closed came as a very welcome relief....
My favorite 'Only in the USA' moment of our trip came when rushing through the Atlanta airport, the SwedeGirl spied a news stand magazine rack, and of course Obama was everywhere on every cover- so she pointed and yelled -"OBAMA!". The southern black clerk working at the stand heard her, and she was just the type of woman you see working at the Atlanta airport, distinctly American- black, a few gold teeth, gregarious- and she caught the words from the Swedegirl and let out a knee slapping howl of laughter. We shared this funny moment and I called out "See, everyone is excited!"
Being in Atlanta, the many black southern workers are a notable subculture around the airport. There was a black woman with the most fantastic outfit- gold belt, done-up hair, and long ornate finger nails- and she was sweeping the floor in the food court. She was dressed like she was going out dancing in a club, but I watched her as we dined as and she gracefully moved around cleaning trays and floors. I kept thinking she was the manager just down to help out for a minute, but it seemed this was her work, and this was how she had come dressed for it.
Otherwise, as The SwedeGirl and I enjoyed an ice cream cone from Ben and Jerry's, we sat and watched the crowds go by. Its fun to go to the USA after being in Europe and have new eyes for the Americans style. First- the biggest thing that strikes me always, is how FAT Americans are. We were doing nothing to remedy this, sitting with our ice cream, but watching people go by, there is no question Americans are more likely to have paunchy bellies and chub going on than the Swedes. Especially the men, there are way more 'fat' men in America than there are in Sweden. The business traveling set is a bit plump in America, and here in Sweden they are more streamlined in their figures, and more likely to be wearing glasses with hip looking frames than golf shirts in XXL.
It was also interesting to note how in the airport and in grocery stores, I could identify subcultures easier in the USA. In the USA, I can tell farmer/ trailer park retiree/ red neck that hardly ever comes into town/ business traveler/ southern belle/ student from the North East/ back packer/ musician/ baby carrying new mother from one another. In Sweden, people more or less just look 'Swedish' to me.
We also had a funny 'my kid looks like she's a genius' moment in the airport. After eating the ice cream, we returned to the gate to find our departure location had been changed. We had to run-run-run and get to another terminal QUICK. When we arrived to catch our connecting flight to Florida, I handed SwedeGirl the tickets and asked her to give them to the lady at the gate while I wrangled our carry on luggage into something I could manage down an airplane aisle. My girl looked at the tickets and said "This is not mine, it does not have my name on it...oh wait- There it is!!! " and handed them over. The ticket checker responded by saying "You can READ? How old are you, 5?" She said, no, three and a half. The lady asked what her name was, and my girl replied by finger spelling it in sign language, and saying it out loud. This really got the lady, and we boarded the plane with all the people at the gate thinking she was a reading, spelling, signing, certifiable three year old genius ....if only she had said good bye in swedish we could have really had 'em!
It was great to be back in the USA under the new presidency and feel out how it is going. I have found that even if I read the news in Sweden, there is a collective national mood that is palpable when you are actually in the USA that is impossible to sense from afar. I found this when I was in Florida in October, and got to watch the Palin-Biden debate and read the papers the day afterwards, and see the Obama- McCain debate. It was also the same week the bailout was being planned, so the economic anxiety was peeking. It was a very different thing to BE THERE, and sense it, than hear about it from abroad.
This time, the general sense of economic anxiety was running high. When discussing going to a shop or restaurant, I was often told "call first to make sure they are still open!" due to the large numbers of store closings going on. Similarly, most of my friends made at least one mention of tight times, less income, and fewer clients in all their varied professions. And the housing values in our region of Florida are down 30-75% in some cases, and still falling... The sense of hard times is much more prevalent in the USA than in Sweden. Here in Sweden it is almost theoretical- like do you think this will reach you? In the USA, there is no doubt it has reached everyone.
It was also the first week Obama was naming cabinet members and seeking to set policy priorities. It was interesting to note how the Republicans were blocking his efforts, despite attempts and calls for partisanship. While there, there was much hulla ba loo made over Tom Daschle, who was set to over see the health care imitative, for not paying all his taxes. He subsequently stepped down from his nomination, and Obama apologized for nominating someone who was not of highest integrity and standards. To me this was just stupid. Tom Daschle is the right guy to overhaul the US healthcare system, it has been his focus and priority- he is the expert in the system. The unpaid taxes were just that he had borrowed a friend's car/ limo/ shuttle car while in DC many times, and he failed to report the use of the car as income and pay taxes on it. I think that speaks more to the complexity and stupidity of the American tax code than of Tom Daschle's lack of integrity. Hopefully his stepping down will not doom the efforts to improve American health care.
Overall, the sense I got about the Obama adminsitration was a bit 'back to reality' that politics as usual will resume, but that the aim and goals will be more aligned with what Americans want to see happen. There is a still a relief and ease that comes from knowing the priorties are less about torture/ authoritarian war monging that came from the Cheney set, and more focused on overall integrity/ domestic crisis solving from the Obama crew. The news the Gitmo will be closed came as a very welcome relief....
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A New Day !!!
'What I Want for You — and Every Child in America'
By President-elect Barack Obama
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.
I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other. Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.
She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.
I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, Dad
Do a Happy Dance, a New Day has come!
The only good thing about the last 8 years is it got so bad, we were courageous enough to elect:Of Torture in America's Name.
Of 'Preemptive Strikes' in War that bring Terror and Destruction to the homelands of Children and Families far away.
Of Domestic Policies that lead to homelessness, sickness, and poverty in the USA.
Of International Policies that mean 1:16 African Women die in birth while we with hold family planning money to teach them about 'abstinence'.
Of the Denial of Global Climate Change.
Let it be the beginning of energy Independence for the USA- let there be windmills in Iowa, and solar panels on the roof tops of Florida, instead of drilling in the Arctic Wild Life Refuge.
Let Real Scientists return to the Federal Agencies and replace the political pawns and their pseudoscience and policies based on lies for the benefits of special interests.
Let it be the restoration of integrity and true pride in my country.
Let us work together to be a country that is actually a compassionate, smart leader that is worthy of world wide respect.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Dream....
Until 1965, black people in many parts of America could not use the same restroom, drink from the same water fountain, eat at the same restaurants, gather in the same public places, sit anywhere they like on public transportation, or attend the same schools as white people. It was just 1965, and black people could not get into colleges, get jobs in many organizations, or obtain home loans like white people did. This is the era my father graduated from college.
What would his life have been like if he was black? He was the son of a machinist and farmer who went to college on an aviation scholarship from Civil Air Patrol. If he was a young black boy would he have been able to fly a plane? And get college paid for because he could? Would he have gotten his first job building crafts for space exploration? What would my life be like if my father had not been college educated, and made enough money to send me to college?
At the same time my parents were meeting and soon marrying, my dads eyes were looking to the moon and dreaming of traveling there, and Martin Luther King was dreaming of a day of not having to drink from a seperate water fountain.
And the Day Would Come...
Until 1965, black people in many parts of America could not use the same restroom, drink from the same water fountain, eat at the same restaurants, gather in the same public places, sit anywhere they like on public transportation, or attend the same schools as white people. It was just 1965, and black people could not get into colleges, get jobs in many organizations, or obtain home loans like white people did. This is the era my father graduated from college.
What would his life have been like if he was black? He was the son of a machinist and farmer who went to college on an aviation scholarship from Civil Air Patrol. If he was a young black boy would he have been able to fly a plane? And get college paid for because he could? Would he have gotten his first job building crafts for space exploration? What would my life be like if my father had not been college educated, and made enough money to send me to college?
At the same time my parents were meeting and soon marrying, my dads eyes were looking to the moon and dreaming of traveling there, and Martin Luther King was dreaming of a day of not having to drink from a seperate water fountain.
And the Day Would Come...
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Ten Reasons why I am glad I will be in Sweden and not in the USA in 2009
I have really enjoyed the last week with my husband home on paid vacation leave from his job at a major international corporation based in Sweden. He does not go back to work until next Wednesday the 6th.
This has me feeling grateful for our new life Sweden, so I wanted to write up a little list of why we are glad we are here for this New Year. So here is a count down, late- night-show style, from 10 on down ...
I have really enjoyed the last week with my husband home on paid vacation leave from his job at a major international corporation based in Sweden. He does not go back to work until next Wednesday the 6th.
This has me feeling grateful for our new life Sweden, so I wanted to write up a little list of why we are glad we are here for this New Year. So here is a count down, late- night-show style, from 10 on down ...
"The Top Ten Reasons We are Glad to Be in Sweden in 2009."
10) You can drink the water. We had stinky chlorinated water in Florida and had to spend money to keep drinking water on hand. It is wonderful thing to turn on the tap and have fresh clean water.
9) We have 25 hours of preschool a week at the school of our choice for our three year old daughter, for just a tiny amount of money that equals what the government sends us monthly for raising her, and less than what I would spend on two partial days of care per week in the USA. The care is good too, it's no plastic toy hell with screaming kids that smells like unchanged diapers, like some American day cares. It is a Waldorf school, the teacher ratio is 1 teacher to 4 kids, and they serve meals and snacks with only organic food.
10) You can drink the water. We had stinky chlorinated water in Florida and had to spend money to keep drinking water on hand. It is wonderful thing to turn on the tap and have fresh clean water.
9) We have 25 hours of preschool a week at the school of our choice for our three year old daughter, for just a tiny amount of money that equals what the government sends us monthly for raising her, and less than what I would spend on two partial days of care per week in the USA. The care is good too, it's no plastic toy hell with screaming kids that smells like unchanged diapers, like some American day cares. It is a Waldorf school, the teacher ratio is 1 teacher to 4 kids, and they serve meals and snacks with only organic food.
Access to daycare means there are fewer insane, stressed parents here- it is good to be able to get out with out your child a bit. There are things grown ups need to do with out kids. Childcare is a luxury many can not afford in the US. In my town, before I left there were several stories about single mothers working at low paying jobs who got in trouble for leaving their small children at home unsupervised. Well, when its work to eat, and show up at work or lose the job, and the job pays less than childcare costs, its no wonder these things happen not too infrequently. So sad, how little children and families are valued in the USA.
8) There is a stay at home dad culture. I was recently at a mall with a fellow American, and we were admiring the dad that wheeled his stroller up to a table and took a seat, at 1pm on a Wednesday. He started fussing with baby food for his infant, and soon he was joined by a male friend. The guy friend greeted him and scooped up the baby and started flying him around, making airplane noises, and generally loving up the baby in a very connected, male way. My thought was, wow, that guy friend of his actually knows how to BE WITH A BABY, probably because he spent time caring for his own at some point as well. Where else can you see two dudes in a shopping mall mid-workday hanging out and ogling the baby? Gotta love Sweden.
This really is a reflection not only of sane work practices, a culture that values children and family, but also gender equity. In Sweden there is a sense of gender equity needing to be extended both ways- that women should be included in the public sphere, and men included in the domestic sphere. This country has the largest percentage of women in government, and from what I can tell, also has the largest percentage of men in cafes with babies in strollers.
7) Kids ride their bikes to school, and all around the neighborhood. Kids are safe in Sweden. There is very little crime here, and very little concern over children's freedom to be out in the world alone. In my Florida hometown in the last two years, there were two child murders of children under 10, and a stay at home mom that was dragged from her home while her two toddlers napped, and was raped and murdered. There were no children on the streets in my Florida hometown. Since children can not ride bikes to school, the drop off lines for cars taking children to school can be an hour long, as the road infrastructure as not built to support one car per child each morning.
In all the criminal cases I mentioned in Florida, the perpetrator had a history of mental illness, addiction, and of recent suspect behavior. In Sweden, there is health care care for people who have problems. The man who abducted the stay at home mom had a head injury as a child his family could not afford to treat, and had never gotten any services, even though everyone who knew him knew he was "off". One of the men who kidnapped, assaulted and killed a ten year old was addicted to cocaine and depressed, but again, no services. Who pays when we do not take care of the people in our society? Ask the moms who have to wait in line an hour each day to drop off their kid at school in the USA, who have obese kids that never get to go outside, and they probably do not know the answer.
6) Work/Life balance is valued. 5 weeks paid vacation leave is the norm in Sweden for all jobs, in addition to the national holidays. Sane work hours make for sane workers. Overworked people are not more productive. My husband has six weeks vacation, since he has a cushier white collar job. This is in contrast to the 10 days off he had annually in the USA at a similar job. And if he was sick, it counted against his time off. We usually juggled these days to get a short break around Christmas, then were left with a long weekend or two. We did not get to visit Sweden much, as three days is not much time to travel! Though I did once actually visit Sweden over a five day break, when I was at my first job. That was that was all I could get- I spent two days traveling and three days in daze meeting his family. Here in Sweden, we can live away from my family, but perhaps go spend a month with them on our time off. And since we do not have to pay for childcare and health care, we might even be able to have enough money to pay for some plane tickets!
5) Separation of church and state is for real here. I do not care what people believe in their personal religions, but I think we can all look to Iran and say it's not a good idea when a government imposes it's religion on it's people. From this standpoint, I can not even begin to understand the 'Sarah Palin' phenomenon, of Christians who hoped to see the American government become more christian. Swedes are for human rights, and respect individuals to determine what is best for them. The government helps makes sure everyone has access to good education, health care, and needed services in jobs, language, and housing so people can freely do in their lives what they see fit. They are not there to make moral judgments, but to create a system that allows individuals to flourish by having their basic needs met.
There was recently a debate on Swedish radio here about a lesbian couple who had artificial insemination for one partner to become pregnant, and then they discovered she was infertile. The debate was that the law was written so only one partner can undergo fertility treatment in the national medical system. Their situation brought to light the need for both partners to have access to insemination services. Can you even imagine the US having this discussion?? National health care covering fertility treatments, for lesbians, and no one even trying to get moralistic about it?!! In Sweden, that is their business, not the government's.
4) Sweden is a good global citizen. Sweden makes peace, not war. Unlike the US, which destroyed the Iraqi health care system first with sanctions that caused hundreds of deaths in innocent children who had no access to needed medicines under the sanctions. Then we destroyed the whole infrastructure of the country- healthcare, transportation, power, and communications in a war to go after fictional weapons of mass destruction. We left a whole country feeling too unsafe to leave the house. By contrast, the think tank 'The Centre for Global Development' in Washington DC just named Swedish foreign aid the best in the world. "The Swedish foreign aid programme is the best in the world in terms of quantity, weighted for country size, as well as its quality,” said the report, and "in assessing Sweden’s ranking in the category of Security, CGD praised Sweden’s contributions to international peacekeeping missions" according to this article in the Swedish paper The Local. Sweden helps its people at home, and extends an actually useful helping hand to other countries as well.
3) The Swedish Economy is more stable than the US economy. I just moved fro man area where we luckily got rid of two houses that had declined 50% in value since they were appraised in 2005. In my hometown the foreclosures epidemic is plaguing neighborhoods, families are suffering from job loss, and there is little relief to be had. The whole system, even the little back up available in terms of medicaid for health care or other assistance, is going broke. The Swedes went through a market crisis in 1991 and 1992, and bailed out banks and had a swift recovery. In September, as the US market collapsed, there was talk about how the US should emulate Sweden, who managed a successful bailout and recovery in the 90's , and about looking to Japan for what not to do -who had a bail out that was too little too late that they have never recovered from. The Swedish bail out plan of the 90's included several key points the Oct US bail out sadly did not include, like safe guards to make sure citizens did not get stuck with the bill in the end. The Swedes did not participate in the Euro currency, but maintained control over their own currency. They are poised to have shorter recession with less negative societal impact than almost anywhere else in the world. The Swedes learned a thing or two from their crisis, and while everyone in the world is hurt by the collapse of the credit market, Sweden is braced and more stable than many places.
2) We have health care coverage and so does everyone else. We just need to call the clinic with our person number, and we can get what ever care we need. My husband worked for a company that had a group policy in the USA, so we had coverage. It cost us more than we pay in taxes here, though, and our swedish taxes also go for other useful things, like free college for everyone. Not to mention that in the US there were limits on coverage, so even if you are insured, if you get cancer or your medical tragedy gets to expensive you may reach 'the ceiling' or life time limits of your coverage. So even if you are insured, if there is a catastrophe, there is no guarantee you will not be stuck with huge bills.
8) There is a stay at home dad culture. I was recently at a mall with a fellow American, and we were admiring the dad that wheeled his stroller up to a table and took a seat, at 1pm on a Wednesday. He started fussing with baby food for his infant, and soon he was joined by a male friend. The guy friend greeted him and scooped up the baby and started flying him around, making airplane noises, and generally loving up the baby in a very connected, male way. My thought was, wow, that guy friend of his actually knows how to BE WITH A BABY, probably because he spent time caring for his own at some point as well. Where else can you see two dudes in a shopping mall mid-workday hanging out and ogling the baby? Gotta love Sweden.
This really is a reflection not only of sane work practices, a culture that values children and family, but also gender equity. In Sweden there is a sense of gender equity needing to be extended both ways- that women should be included in the public sphere, and men included in the domestic sphere. This country has the largest percentage of women in government, and from what I can tell, also has the largest percentage of men in cafes with babies in strollers.
7) Kids ride their bikes to school, and all around the neighborhood. Kids are safe in Sweden. There is very little crime here, and very little concern over children's freedom to be out in the world alone. In my Florida hometown in the last two years, there were two child murders of children under 10, and a stay at home mom that was dragged from her home while her two toddlers napped, and was raped and murdered. There were no children on the streets in my Florida hometown. Since children can not ride bikes to school, the drop off lines for cars taking children to school can be an hour long, as the road infrastructure as not built to support one car per child each morning.
In all the criminal cases I mentioned in Florida, the perpetrator had a history of mental illness, addiction, and of recent suspect behavior. In Sweden, there is health care care for people who have problems. The man who abducted the stay at home mom had a head injury as a child his family could not afford to treat, and had never gotten any services, even though everyone who knew him knew he was "off". One of the men who kidnapped, assaulted and killed a ten year old was addicted to cocaine and depressed, but again, no services. Who pays when we do not take care of the people in our society? Ask the moms who have to wait in line an hour each day to drop off their kid at school in the USA, who have obese kids that never get to go outside, and they probably do not know the answer.
6) Work/Life balance is valued. 5 weeks paid vacation leave is the norm in Sweden for all jobs, in addition to the national holidays. Sane work hours make for sane workers. Overworked people are not more productive. My husband has six weeks vacation, since he has a cushier white collar job. This is in contrast to the 10 days off he had annually in the USA at a similar job. And if he was sick, it counted against his time off. We usually juggled these days to get a short break around Christmas, then were left with a long weekend or two. We did not get to visit Sweden much, as three days is not much time to travel! Though I did once actually visit Sweden over a five day break, when I was at my first job. That was that was all I could get- I spent two days traveling and three days in daze meeting his family. Here in Sweden, we can live away from my family, but perhaps go spend a month with them on our time off. And since we do not have to pay for childcare and health care, we might even be able to have enough money to pay for some plane tickets!
5) Separation of church and state is for real here. I do not care what people believe in their personal religions, but I think we can all look to Iran and say it's not a good idea when a government imposes it's religion on it's people. From this standpoint, I can not even begin to understand the 'Sarah Palin' phenomenon, of Christians who hoped to see the American government become more christian. Swedes are for human rights, and respect individuals to determine what is best for them. The government helps makes sure everyone has access to good education, health care, and needed services in jobs, language, and housing so people can freely do in their lives what they see fit. They are not there to make moral judgments, but to create a system that allows individuals to flourish by having their basic needs met.
There was recently a debate on Swedish radio here about a lesbian couple who had artificial insemination for one partner to become pregnant, and then they discovered she was infertile. The debate was that the law was written so only one partner can undergo fertility treatment in the national medical system. Their situation brought to light the need for both partners to have access to insemination services. Can you even imagine the US having this discussion?? National health care covering fertility treatments, for lesbians, and no one even trying to get moralistic about it?!! In Sweden, that is their business, not the government's.
4) Sweden is a good global citizen. Sweden makes peace, not war. Unlike the US, which destroyed the Iraqi health care system first with sanctions that caused hundreds of deaths in innocent children who had no access to needed medicines under the sanctions. Then we destroyed the whole infrastructure of the country- healthcare, transportation, power, and communications in a war to go after fictional weapons of mass destruction. We left a whole country feeling too unsafe to leave the house. By contrast, the think tank 'The Centre for Global Development' in Washington DC just named Swedish foreign aid the best in the world. "The Swedish foreign aid programme is the best in the world in terms of quantity, weighted for country size, as well as its quality,” said the report, and "in assessing Sweden’s ranking in the category of Security, CGD praised Sweden’s contributions to international peacekeeping missions" according to this article in the Swedish paper The Local. Sweden helps its people at home, and extends an actually useful helping hand to other countries as well.
3) The Swedish Economy is more stable than the US economy. I just moved fro man area where we luckily got rid of two houses that had declined 50% in value since they were appraised in 2005. In my hometown the foreclosures epidemic is plaguing neighborhoods, families are suffering from job loss, and there is little relief to be had. The whole system, even the little back up available in terms of medicaid for health care or other assistance, is going broke. The Swedes went through a market crisis in 1991 and 1992, and bailed out banks and had a swift recovery. In September, as the US market collapsed, there was talk about how the US should emulate Sweden, who managed a successful bailout and recovery in the 90's , and about looking to Japan for what not to do -who had a bail out that was too little too late that they have never recovered from. The Swedish bail out plan of the 90's included several key points the Oct US bail out sadly did not include, like safe guards to make sure citizens did not get stuck with the bill in the end. The Swedes did not participate in the Euro currency, but maintained control over their own currency. They are poised to have shorter recession with less negative societal impact than almost anywhere else in the world. The Swedes learned a thing or two from their crisis, and while everyone in the world is hurt by the collapse of the credit market, Sweden is braced and more stable than many places.
2) We have health care coverage and so does everyone else. We just need to call the clinic with our person number, and we can get what ever care we need. My husband worked for a company that had a group policy in the USA, so we had coverage. It cost us more than we pay in taxes here, though, and our swedish taxes also go for other useful things, like free college for everyone. Not to mention that in the US there were limits on coverage, so even if you are insured, if you get cancer or your medical tragedy gets to expensive you may reach 'the ceiling' or life time limits of your coverage. So even if you are insured, if there is a catastrophe, there is no guarantee you will not be stuck with huge bills.
Until May of last year, when we got group coverage through my husbands work, I could not get maternity insurance since I have had a c-section. If we were self employed as we were then and having this baby, there would be no way I could buy a plan to cover me and the baby. Insurers can pick and choose who they cover, and since c-sections put you at risk for future problems, insurance companies will not cover women who have ever had c-sections unless they are forced to by law as they are in group plans. This would mean we would pay thousands of dollars out of our pocket if everything went well for birth, but could easily owe $30,000 if I had no have c-section and had a baby with any special care needs.
I saw this many times in my midwife practice- women who had c-section before who were hoping and praying they would not need one again, since they were still paying off the $20, 000 bill from the last one. No wonder #1 cause of bankruptcy in the US is medical bills. Think you are not paying for someone else's health care? You are right, you are paying for other people's disaster care that comes from lack of health care.
1) I am having a baby. This number 1 reason we are glad we are here all the way, and can easily explain the other million reasons I am glad I am here. In Sweden 2.8 babies per thousand die in the first year of life, in USA it is 6.4 per thousand, and for non-white people in the county I lived in in Florida it was 14. The USA ranks 48th the world in infant mortality, which is an indicator of overall societal well being. Here is a May 2008 article about the USA having the second worst infant death rate in the developed world. The only way your baby is less safe than in the US, is if you are in Lativia. In my town, the hospital had a 39% c-section rate, the local Swedish hospital has a 14% rate and they are working to lower it as they see that as too high. In the US, I was bullied for no medical reason into a c-section, here I have no worries that will happen. When our baby is born we will be given appropriate medical care, have plenty of time off to adjust to life as a family of four, and we will have childcare for our older one so I am not burdened by taking care of two kids with no break. My husband will get two weeks off after the birth, and will have 9 months paternity leave if he wishes. We will get a monthly check from the government to cover basic costs. There is a place in the village called 'open forskola' or open preschool where I can go any day of the week to meet other parents at home with small children.
I am grateful for our life here, and hope that things can improve in my homeland as well. Bill Maher's take on this is worth considering....
I saw this many times in my midwife practice- women who had c-section before who were hoping and praying they would not need one again, since they were still paying off the $20, 000 bill from the last one. No wonder #1 cause of bankruptcy in the US is medical bills. Think you are not paying for someone else's health care? You are right, you are paying for other people's disaster care that comes from lack of health care.
1) I am having a baby. This number 1 reason we are glad we are here all the way, and can easily explain the other million reasons I am glad I am here. In Sweden 2.8 babies per thousand die in the first year of life, in USA it is 6.4 per thousand, and for non-white people in the county I lived in in Florida it was 14. The USA ranks 48th the world in infant mortality, which is an indicator of overall societal well being. Here is a May 2008 article about the USA having the second worst infant death rate in the developed world. The only way your baby is less safe than in the US, is if you are in Lativia. In my town, the hospital had a 39% c-section rate, the local Swedish hospital has a 14% rate and they are working to lower it as they see that as too high. In the US, I was bullied for no medical reason into a c-section, here I have no worries that will happen. When our baby is born we will be given appropriate medical care, have plenty of time off to adjust to life as a family of four, and we will have childcare for our older one so I am not burdened by taking care of two kids with no break. My husband will get two weeks off after the birth, and will have 9 months paternity leave if he wishes. We will get a monthly check from the government to cover basic costs. There is a place in the village called 'open forskola' or open preschool where I can go any day of the week to meet other parents at home with small children.
I am grateful for our life here, and hope that things can improve in my homeland as well. Bill Maher's take on this is worth considering....
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Barack Obama Wins Presidency
I am not the "we" Alice Walker speaks of here, a black southerner, but I love her advice to a leader with heart about the importance of keeping it intact.
An Open Letter to Barack Obama
By Alice Walker TheRoot.com
Alice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality that is almost more than the heart can bear.
Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker
© 2008, Alice Walker
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Visit from Uncle Geologist....
Halloween weekend we had our first out of town guest- Uncle John in from the UK. He's been doing some fun trips to Iceland lately, and had to come to Copenhagen for a planning meeting. We got a good slide show of the Icelandic landscape. Swedegirl was most interested in seeing the pictures of the fox that lives in his neighborhood back home. The girl warmed right up to him, calling him "Johnny" all weekend long, for some reason.... perhaps channeling his mother?????
We spent a good weekend in anticipation of the election results. As americans living abroad, we were in agreement of about our feeling of- shall we call it embarassment before the world-about having Bush as the American leader. We also agreed on how much better the quality of life is for many europeans when compared to their american counterparts, in regards to healthcare, education, and basic life style. If only they knew what they were missing. Here in Sweden there are no concert fundraisers to pay for children's chemo here, or people with 3 jobs and no healthcare, and kids ride bikes freely and have nature all around them. It seems strange from afar that so many people vote against their own interests when it comes to some of the basic issues of life quality, like healthcare.Strolling in the woods in our neighborhood. 
Cows at the end of the path..... 
Cows at the end of the path..... Picking flowers along the road
Heeere's JOHNNY! (He is posing in front of the bed and breakfast that is with in walking distance, if anyone wants to come visit, but have their own space!) 
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