Explosions in Kampala

So far 74 people have been reported dead, and at least as many injured, in two bomb attacks last night in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The bombs targeted crowds in two locations where people had gathered to watch the World Cup finals Sunday night.

Somehow this feels closer than any attack in a neighbouring country ever could. I've lived in Kampala. I've been at the Kyadondo Rugby Club where two bombs went off, killing at least 60. It's a relatively small club, very cosy with a couple pool tables and an outdoor barbeque. And a big field where people tended to walk off hand in hand, seeing where their passion, and the eternal summer nights, would take them.

I can't help but think of the people I know there, people who were likely to have gone to watch the World Cup final. Hell, if I had been in Kampala I would probably have been there myself.


Somali militants are said to have placed the bombs, three in total. Uganda has African Union peacekeeping troops in Somalia, a country which has practically been taken over by extremists the past years. The statement from the Somali militants reads;

"We know Uganda is against Islam and so we are very happy at what has happened in Kampala. That is the best news we ever heard."

They obviously haven't been in Kampala; there are as many mosques as there are churches.


It doesn't make much sense, killing people who are gathered to watch a football match. Then again, extremists who aim at killing as many innocent people as possible never did make much sense.

I'm just waiting to hear from friends in Kampala. I know people who lost friends in the attacks... I have to say this is quite surreal. Africa sounds dangerous to most people, but I would never have thought anything like this could ever happen in Kampala.

US: Texas Republicans oppose Sex, Homosexuals, Sodomy, Freedom, History, Education... and Intelligence

The NY Daily News reported yesterday that the Texas Republicans wish to criminalize oral sex. This does not seem to have reached the European media yet, probably because no one would ever take it seriously. Well think again, fellow Europeans.

I've read through the entire final state platform for the Texas Republicans for the coming two years. It was 25 pages of sighs, eye rolling and flat out shock and open mouthed awe. The Texas Republicans do want to ban oral sex. Or at least "sodomy", which the dictionaries define as;

"Any of various forms of sexual acts held to be unnatural or abnormal, especially anal or oral copulation or bestiality."

Sodomy is only one item on a long list they want to ban or criminalize and is only mentioned once or twice. Their real mortal enemy? Homosexuality!

"We believe that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God"

There's clearly no arguing with God.

Homosexuality should not be presented as an acceptable lifestyle, "family" can never include a homosexual "couple" (their qoutation marks, not mine), and homosexuals should never be able to marry or form a partnership of any kind. Anyone who issues a marriage license to a same-sex couple would be facing a jail sentence.

Nor should homosexual ever be able to have custody of a child. In fact, the Texas Republicans group homosexuals and child molestors together, and preferrably such people should not even be allowed to see their own children (if they have any) at all;

"[...] visitation with minor children by such persons should be prohibited but if ordered by the court limited to supervised periods."

And that applies to homosexuals, not just molestors!

I could go on and on, but I think the position of the Texas Republicans comes across quite clearly: "We don't want no damn homos!" Or something like that.

Let's move on to more fun matters: Sex!

I already did mention the sodomy, and that deserves a second look. But wait - there's more!

•  "We oppose the legalization of sodomy."
• "We support raising the age of consent for consensual sex to 18 years."
• "We oppose sale and use of the dangerous “Morning After Pill.”"
• "We oppose any sex education other than abstinence until heterosexual marriage.".
• "We urge legislators to prohibit reproductive health care services, including counseling, referrals, and distribution of condoms and contraception through public schools."
• "We urge more stringent legislation to prohibit all pornography including virtual pornography and operation of sexually–oriented businesses." (ie. strip clubs etc.)
• "We urge the return to the requirement of blood testing in order to obtain a marriage license."
• "We are resolute regarding the reversal of Roe v. Wade." (legalization of abortion)

   --
Other than homosexuals, there is nothing the Texas Republicans hate more than abortion. If they have it their way it will be criminalized. If they don't get that, they have a number of other goals. For example should all public funding for abortion clinics and counseling be cut and schools should not be allowed to mention abortion as an option (makes sense since they want to remove all school clinics and nurses, and only teach abstinence).

But then it gets weirder. They want to pass a law stating that "abortion providers" have to "provide women full knowledge of the physical and psychological risks of abortion, the characteristics of the unborn child, and abortion alternatives" and "information about the nervous system development." Basically, you should not be allowed to have an abortion before you know the sex of the baby, if it's healthy, how far along in its development it is and so on.

If a woman "orders an abortion", the doctor must explain the pain the fetus will experience, and provide pain relief (for the fetus, the woman is not mentioned). A child should never be in pain, even before it is born (or can feel anything). A child is precious and innocent, and should not be harmed in any way.

Then comes this;

• "[We] oppose actions of social agencies to classify traditional methods of discipline (corporal punishment) as child abuse."
• "We support eliminating bureaucratic prohibitions on corporal discipline [in foster homes]."
• "We urge the Legislature [...] to remind administrators and school boards that corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas."

This is only one of the many contradictions on these 25 pages. Every quote I've posted can be found in the platform document.

I am amazed. 

This isn't some crackpot's ramblings, but the final and official programme and platform for the biggest, most popular and influential party in the second largest American state. They even explain their embargo on Cuba simply by stating that it will last "until democracy is restored". Hello? Saudi Arabia? Your best bud? Ever heard of it?

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, this comes form a state where the Board of Education recently voted to stop referring to the US as a "democracy", but rather as a "constitutional republic", to make it mandatory for students to find reasons why (not "if") global organizations such as the UN are trying to "undermine U.S. sovereignty". They want to rename slavery "Atlantic triangular trade" in textbooks, and any mention of important Hispanics in American history has been denied. Even Thomas Jefferson has been replaced in the books by Christian thinkers, as examples of a an important political philosophers in US history.

One of the board members explained that; "There seems to be a denial that this was a nation founded under God. We had to go back and make some corrections".

Again - there is no arguing with God.


I have barely touched upon education in this post, unfortunately there are plenty of reasons why I should.

On the brighter side - 

- the Texas Republicans do worry about more than banning homosexuality and sodomy, preventing abortion and sex before marriage, and changing the curriculum to please God. They also care about traffic lights and cameras.

On page three, before any of the other nasty stuff, under the headline "Preserving American Freedom" - "Limiting the Expanse of Government Power";

"Banning the Use of Red Light Cameras – We oppose the manner in which alleged vehicle violations are documented and fines levied against individuals without proof of their having been the driver of the offending vehicle and we call for a ban on Red Light Cameras in the State of Texas."

I say bring on the cameras!
Maybe they'll get so preoccupied they'll decide to keep out of people's bedrooms.


Let the sodomy begin!

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Earthquakes: Baby, I could feel the earth move!

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You know how people are in bed having the time of time their life, and after they exclaim they could actually feel the earth move? No? I'm sure you've seen it in a movie some time.
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If you were in bed on Saturday when the earthquake in Chile hit, you may actually have felt the earth move. More than it usually does. Which is thousands and thousands of miles a day. And you don't have to be in bed to feel it. But that's beside the point.

According to NASA scientists;

“The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second). “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters or 3 inches).”

According to VG this simply means the earth is now spinning faster than it used to. When earthquakes of this magnitude hit, they change the distribution of the mass on earth, which changes the speed at which it rotates. So the continents move, and the earth itself spins faster as a result of it.

An earthquake in Asia in 2004 brought on even bigger changes which shortened the day by 6.8 microseconds. No reason for concern though - we'd need more than 100.000 of these huge earthquakes to see a change of one second in the earth's rotation. Still, it is quite fascinating.


Can you feel the earth move?

Do you believe in global warming?

Changing Perceptions of Normality

It's a happy day for Norwegian transvestites.

The Directorate of Health has decided to remove transvestism, sexual fetishism and sadomasochism from its list of disorders and diagnoses.

The Director of Health says their goal is to change the idea that certain sexual preferences and identities can be seen as illnesses. Homosexuality was a diagnosis in Norway until 1979 and changing perceptions is a very slow process.


A simple search on google reveals a lot of people seem to mix the terms transvestite and hermaphrodite (recently replaced by the term intersexual). This can possibly be done deliberately by some to sell access to their sites, or it could simply be ignorance. It never ceases to amaze me how those who are the most hateful are often the most ignorant among us..


Either way, I admire those who are different and dare express it - I may not understand half the fetishes out there, I may not want wish to be a transvestite and I may never have tried out S&M.. but that certainly doesn't mean anyone should be labeled as having a disorder simply because they like lace panties or enjoy a good spanking once in a while.

Norway's changed, who's next?

Two Newborns

This Indonesian biggest-baby-ever weighed in at 8.7 kilos (19.2 lbs) when he was born Monday. Fortunately he was delivered by c-section, I don't even want to think about what it would have done to the poor mother otherwise..

I am never ever ever having kids!!

Swine Flu : 3 ways to avoid it

Malaysia - masturbation
Avoiding masturbation and homosexual activities reduces the risk of contracting the virus, according to a Dr. Palaniappan. This because these activities cause friction, which in the body becomes an acid. According to news agency Bernama, the doctor emphasised that "normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe."

Israel - flying rabbis
Contrary to Malaysia, various forms of blowing is encouraged in Israel. Rabbis engage in praying, blowing in ram horns and flying across Israel to prevent deaths in the country. The rabbis are convinced this will have stopped the epidemic and that the danger is over.

Egypt - slaughter all pigs
It's as simple as it sounds. Slaughter all pigs in the country and the virus will stop spreading between people. It might seem to have worked though - the only confirmed death from swine flu among Egyptian citizens is a 25 year old woman - in Saudia Arabia. I doubt if they have many pigs there.


...and finally, an explanation of how and why the virus came about in the first place;

The Netherlands - the Jews?
According to a Israeli newspaper (ahem...), Dutch journalist Desiree Rover claimed that the bird flu, which is related to the swine flu, is a conspiracy dating back to when the Khazars in the Caucasus converted to Judaism 1200 years ago. These days the descendants are "praying to another god; Lucifer, Satan", and the goal of the conspiracy is to reduce to world's population.


Who knows - maybe they're all right. The one from Malaysia does seem to solve the problem with the one from the Netherlands though...

Suu Kyi in House Arrest

The media reports that Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Price laureate and opposition leader in Burma, has been sentenced to 18 months of house arrest after helping an American man who swam two miles across a lake to her house in the beginning of May.

Sui Kyi was supposed to be set free May 27th, having spent 14 of the past 20 years imprisoned, being considered an enemy of the military junta in the country. Now she has been found guilty in violating the terms of her house arrest.

64 year old Suu Kyi was first sentenced to three years of hard labour. Suddenly reporters were invited into the court room to witness the greatness of Than Shwe, the leader of the junta, who had changed the sentence of three years into 18 months of house arrest.

This, of course, conveniently prevents Suu Kyi from participating in the Burmese elections in 2010.


Rarely has the line been drawn so clearly between good and evil, right and wrong in politics. Unlike Iran where they recently held elections and imprisoned the opposition after the votes had been cast, Burma avoids arguments over the results by simply imprisoning the opposition before the election takes place.

Maybe we should do the same in Norway in preparation for the election next month - if nothing else it would cut the lies in half...

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson appears to be dead.

It all depends on which newspaper you read.. they say different things.
[English: CNN.com, BBC.com, Foxnews.com]
[Norwegian: VG.no, DB.no, Nettavisen.no]

One of Jackson's biggest hits, Thriller, was out in 1982, two years before I was born. So he's always kinda been, to quote BBC, "an odd-looking middle aged man". And, according to CNN; "the most famous person in the world".

Michael Jackson was one of very few people who were truly huge while I grew up. Someone the whole world knew. And no matter how I personally felt about him... it feels strange to let him go.


"Michael Jackson".

How long will people remember that name? Will he become a legend, like Elvis? Or will he simply become "that strange guy"?

I guess I'm just too young to have seen the good times.

And knowing the way the world works... I'll definitely go with the first.

Creeepy!

Norwegian football (soccer) player Kristian Sørlie (32) has been convicted of using his status as a footballer to have sex with a 14 year old girl.

[Hmm.... 32 ... 14...]

The guy got 6 months in prison. And a fine to pay the girl.


Jeez... come on. You're a successful athlete, why on earth would you need to hit on a girl more than half your age, feeling her up, before two two weeks later sleeping with her?

You know it's illegal. You know she idolizes you. It was voluntary. Maybe she said she was older.

But still... Whatever reasons the guy may have had
- this is just creepy!

Danish Car Sex

It's not only Norwegians who have sex while driving.

Last night a Danish couple was seen having sex in the driveway. Shortly afterwards, their car was found on the side of a road, having crashed into various obstacles.


Sex in strange places comes with summer. And the warmer it gets, the less couples seem to care about being seen.

But come on people - try and wait until you're done to start the car, alright?

Topless is Out

According to Norwegian fashion experts it is "not trendy, cheap and very 90s" to sunbathe topless this year.

A survey from Denmark, typically a country with very relaxed attitudes towards nudity, shows that more than 50% of Danish women feel the bikini top should stay on this summer. Of course, the majority of Danish men (surprise surprise) still want the bikini top off.

Now, I can understand that some people might be offended by others not wearing bikini tops (...well actually I don't understand that at all, but for the sake of the argument let's say I do), but are we really supposed to be so concerned with fashion that we should be worry that our lack of bikini top says we're "cheap"?

Does our perception of morals, ethics, right and wrong vary with trends and fashion this way? If so, I can only feel very sorry for the lil fashion girls - must be exhausting to worry so much about what your bikini says about you!


Plus, I really can't imagine the fashionistas being in a rush to declare tan lines like those fashionable...

Exhibitionism done wrong

In Tønsberg, Norway a couple has been spotted having sex outdoors several times the past two weeks. Yesterday they were seen near a beach, completely naked, surrounded by 10-12-year-old children watching.


Sex outside may be fun, and being watched might turn you on... but children? That's a little weird even for me. This couple was in their 40s and should definitely know better.

That said, I just loved the reactions from the people in the neighbourhood. Nothing wrong with sex outdoors, just sex in public like that. As one woman said - "just find a bush or something!"

Personally, I'd be way too worried about being spotted...

Iranian Election II

Mohammad Asgari, the man who leaked the true results of the Iranian election last week (where Ahmadinejad claims to have won) has just been killed in a "suspicious" car accident.

Eight protesters were killed Monday. Iran is not the kind of place where you just state your opinion and expect it not to have any consequences.

There are constantly more protests. Reporters have been banned from the country and photographers are risking their lives being out in the streets.


Are we witnessing the beginning of a revolution.... or will it all pass? Will the opposition win after all, or will the feared Revolutionary Guard be violent enough to convince Iranians it's better to be alive than to be free?

Drop and Drag

A young girl is hit by a truck, but when the police comes to the scene they can only find a bike and the girl's shoe.

A woman drives home from work, parks the car in the driveway and finds a young girl underneath it.

The girl who was hit must have been in the road until the second car came. The car then drove right over her, pulling her with it for three kilometers.


--- How is this even possible?!

How do you drag someone under your car for two miles without noticing?
It wasn't even that big a car!
Wouldn't the driver hear something? Feel something?


edit (in Norwegian): Etter litt forskjellige kommentarer vil jeg bare understreke at jeg aldri har antydet at noen av de involverte har opptrådt uansvarlig, det er opp til politiet å avgjøre. Selvsagt ville sjåføren av personbilen stoppet opp dersom hun merket noe unormalt, eller mistenkte at noe som helst var galt.

Det jeg ikke skjønner (og det noen av dere som kjører bil (i motsetning til meg) muligens kan forklare) er hvordan - om i det hele tatt - det er mulig å 'plukke opp' en 13-åring som ligger i veien, og kjøre i 2,8 kilometer uten å vite at noe er galt?


edit 2 (in English): It appears the woman driving the car did not speak English. According to the police she therefore called her husband to inform him of the situation. The husband then drove home from work, only to discover what had actually happened. The police has as of yet not been able to find out how this situation could have taken place, although the woman has told her side of the story.

The girl has been flown to hospital here in Bergen and her condition has been worsened the past 24 hours. We can only hope she will make it through. I think everyone reading the news and the stories about this case will all feel the same way.

Forest Fire

I'd been wondering why the city looked so blurry from my window today when I could smell smoke. With summer, heat and dry days comes forest fires and there's one not far from the city.

Fire fighters say it's out of control and they can only hope it won't spread down the mountain to the houses below. Luckily we don't have the big fires they have in Australia and California so it probably won't do much damage to anything other than the woods.

The air seems a lot clearer now, the wind must be blowing the other way but the fire is still spreading. Good thing the dry days are over for now - it's supposed to start raining today and keep doing so for a few days. Perfect timing.

Touched by Space

Girl: "How did you get that big scar on your arm?"
Boy: "This one? A meteorite grazed my hand when I was 14."


14 year old Gerrit Blank from Essen, Germany was on his way to school when he saw a ball of light on the sky coming straight towards him.

He heard a loud bang, felt a searing pain in his arm and saw the object bury itself into the ground.The meteorite was the size of a pea and left a big scar on his hand.


Now that's the way to get a girl's attention!

Cuts off Penis to Avoid Marriage

An Egyptian man cut off his own penis, protesting the bride his parents had chosen for him.

The 25 year old worker from the village Sheikh Eissa in southern Egypt was brought to hospital Sunday evening, and his condition is stable.

- He was in love with a woman, but his parents did now allow him to marry her. Instead they demanded he marry someone else, which he did not wish to do. The man went to his room and cut off his penis in order to avoid the marriage, a police officer says.

The hospital was unable to reattach the penis.


I wonder if the other girl wants to marry him when he doesn't have a dick, or if he's really been screwed for the first and only time...

Hedgehog Sex

Apparently it is close to impossible to see, let along catch on tape, two hedgehogs having sex. But last week a man in Leikanger, Norway came home to find two of them go at it on his freshly mowed lawn.

Having sex with another hedgehog is supposed to be painful but the man said the male did not seem to mind (though he did have to take a few breaks), while the female seemed to experience some discomfort.

There is a saying which seems very appropriate in this case...

"Etter den søte kløe kommer den sure svie."

...which I'm not sure exists in English (at least I haven't been able to find it), but would be something like "after the sweet itch comes the nasty burning [sensation]".

Something like that (I suck at translating), but it seemed to fit for two hedgehogs going at it.

Check out the video at vg.no

Håkon Lie's Obituary

One week ago Norwegian newspaper BA wrote an article about a video-obituary of former politician Håkon Lie, a giant within the Labour party, which was published on the web pages of TV-company NRK.

The problem was that the man was 103 years old - and still alive!

After having been made aware of the mistake, NRK quickly removed the video, marked "DO NOT PUBLISH" from their web page. They did not know how long it had been there, or how it got there.


Today, one week later, Håkon Lie died.

Weird coincidence or creepy conspiracy?