The special baby

My mother said:

"You have to tell your husband to take photos of the baby and send them immediately to me".

I said:

"Of course he will. He realizes how eager you are to see photos of your granddaughter".

My mother replied:

"Well, it's not just me that is eager. The whole of the office is eager, as your baby is a bit special".

Me a bit confused:

"Special?"

My mother:

"Yes, as your baby will be brown..."

Sometimes you just don't know what to say. So I laughed. I know they mean well.

Just like my sister does when she proudly says that she's becoming an aunt to a chocolate baby.

Just like I did when I, about ten years old, said that I was going to have a mixed baby when I grew up.

My mother and her colleagues will be disappointed though, considering all babies, no matter color, come out looking a bit pink and odd (to everybody but the parents of course).

Because even though my husband claims that black babies are cuter than white babies, (as you can see he's not very pc either), I doubt that's true. I think all babies look adorable to their parents, while the look of a new born is a bit confusing to everybody else.

Dizzy anesthesiologist

Had the information meeting at the hospital today. The three hour meeting that I wrote about earlier.

The reason for the three hours was that we were not the only ones there. We were about seven couples that first got to watch a hilarious film about the procedure of the cesarian. Hilarious because the film was like a home movie.

And particularly funny was the scene showing the surgery. The camera was not filming the operation area of course, but was showing how the doctors were working behind the green screen. And to me as a viewer it looked more like the doctors were quickly trying to pack and close a very full suit case, than doing surgery and delivering a baby.

After the film we all, couple by couple, got to meet a doctor, a midwife and an anesthesiologist. Especially the anesthesiologist was very dizzy. So dizzy that it did not make me very happy when she said that I would be meeting her on Monday.

Her dizziness resulted in her forgetting what couples she had and hadn't met, forgetting to write certain things down, claiming that she had already spoken to couples that she hadn't spoken to, and so on.

And the meeting with her was really odd.

Anesthesiologist: Do you have any allergies?

Me: No.

A: Have you had surgery before?

Me: No

A: You are not supposed to eat after twelve the night before surgery. But your husband should have breakfast so that he doesn't faint. Hahahahaha. Well, see you on Monday.

That was about it.

After meeting the anesthesiologist we saw the midwife that just took a blood test and listened to the heart beat of the baby.

And after that we met the doctor that listened to MY heart and lungs.

And now we are supposed to be prepared for Monday...

Swedish Prime Minister on BBC's "Hard Talk"

The Swedish Prime minister, Fredrik Reingfeldt, was being interviewed at BBC's "Hard talk" this morning. And even though I most of the time do not agree with his policies and ideologies, I was pretty proud when he was pin pointing that the rest of the EU and the USA should welcome more refugees from Iraq.

He admitted that the huge amount of refugees from Iraq, that Sweden has welcomed, has strained the country, but that those problems don't mean that we should not welcome more refugees, only that we have to work on making it easier for refugees to get employment and to be integrated.

For the first time ever, I think, I was pretty proud of Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Desperation by the dispenser

Yesterday evening I went to a seminar about equality together with a friend. After the seminar my blood sugar was really low and I needed something to eat right that very moment.

I headed towards the dispenser of sweets and snacks in the tube station. I put the money in to it, I made my choice, and simultaneously I said jokingly to my friend that I would be really annoyed if the bag of nuts, that I had just chosen, would get stuck in the dispenser.

And just as I had said the above, the bag of nuts DID get stuck. I screamed out "NO!".

As I've many times seen young boys throw themselves against the dispensers to get some sweets, I did the same. But the bag of nuts did not move. I tried again. And again. Nothing happened.

My friend, who is also pregnant, tried to help me. So for a short while we must have been a pretty funny sight: Two pregnant women throwing themselves against a dispenser of snacks. We must have looked quite desperate.

The bag of nuts still didn't move. Then, my friend, who obviously had a bit of a clearer head than me, took a look at the small screen on the dispenser, and noticed that it said: "Make your choice again". She told me, and so I did.

Out came TWO bags of nuts, instead of one, and I've definitely never before been so happy about some nuts in a bag.

The date is set

Today we received a letter from the hospital.

On Thursday we're going there for a three hour appointment. They will show us a film, take some blood tests, and talk to us. Don't ask me how that adds up to three hours. They've probably calculated some extra time for me to break down crying or something.

And then, on Monday morning, at seven, the cesarean is scheduled.

I'm pretty scared, but have come to terms with the fact that there is not much I can do about the situation. Noam has decided that this is the way it's supposed to be, so I just have to go along with it.

I mean, I can't decide to just keep her in there. She has to come out sooner or later.

So I will put my head phones on and get through the whole thing with some lovely music in my ears.

All abortions forbidden in Nicaragua

Watched a documentary yesterday, made by Channel Four in the UK, about abortion, or rather the law against abortion, in Nicaragua.

All abortions are forbidden in Nicaragua. Not even when the mothers life is in danger or when the pregnancy is a result from a rape, is abortion allowed.

The force behind the law is, according to the documentary, the Catholic Church. When the reporter asked one of the front figures in the Catholic Church in Nicaragua about how they can justify women dying because of the law against abortion, his answer was in line with:

"Women do not need to die. Claiming that women are dying is just something being used by the pro abortion side. Medicine and technology is so advanced today that no women should be dying from pregnancy."

Easy for him to say. He is not the one dying in labour or while carrying a child. And he is not the one getting very ill or dying from being forced to illegal abortion.

According to the documentary, many of the unwanted pregnancies is a result of the so called macho culture and the fact that men refuses to use a condom. And women are the ones being hurt. Left with a pregnancy even though it could danger their lives, even though they can not afford having a child.

The documentary really saddened me. And disgusted me.

Why are people watching the Eurovision Song Contest?

The Eurovision song contest is a big thing in this country. I can't, for the life of me, understand why.

Yesterday one of many competitions leading up to the final was held. And while my husband and I were making dinner we watched it for fun.

But that's the thing. It's not even fun to watch as a goof. It really sucks!

So I do not understand why it's such a big deal in this country. I know lots of people that watch it, and it's all over TV and newspapers for months. Even established artists participate.

If anyone could tell me what it is that makes the Eurovision song contest such a big thing in Sweden, I would very much appreciate it. Maybe getting tipsy before the show starts is the trick?

Politeness and funny bus drivers - a rarity in Sweden

This morning, when I had breakfast with a friend (who is also pregnant), we mentioned the fact that even though we're heavy as busses, no one offers us a seat on the tube.

My conclusion is that it must be the Swedish mentality. Us Swedes are just not very polite.

Example 1: If I hold the door for someone, there is always someone else charging through before the person I was holding the door for.

Example 2: Swedes rarely say "sorry" when they bump in to you.

We're not nasty people. We're just not very polite when it comes to those kind of things.

But today, when I took the tube after seeing my friend, someone actually offered me a seat. And even though I said "no thank you, I'm getting off two stops from now", it still made me very happy.

Just like it made me happy when I took the bus two days ago and the bus driver joked with every passenger that got on the bus. Because that is also a rare thing in this country.

Need a soda streamer

I have to by a soda streamer!

I've been planning on doing it for so long, and still I haven't gotten round to do it. Buying bottled fizzy water is such a stupid thing, if you're trying to be considerate to the environment. And I do buy a lot of bottled fizzy water.

So, those of you that visit me from time to time, if I haven't bought a soda streamer the next time you come for a visit, give me a kick in the ass, pull my hair, scream at me, or end our friendship. Because this can't go on! How difficult can it be to buy a bloody soda streamer?

Did buy one for a friend last week. So it shouldn't be that difficult getting one for myself.

A friend made my day

A friend made my day today.

She wrote the sweetest thing about me on her blog. It almost made me cry. For those of you that know me well, you know that me crying doesn't mean much, as I cry to most things. But the point is, it made me really happy and moved.

We often forget how easy it is to make friends happy. Or at least I do. I think I pretty much suck at telling friends how much I appreciate them, what wonderful human beings I think they are, and how much I love them.

This friend, who wrote the thing on her blog about me, is much better at that. I guess I have to learn from her. So, from now on, I will try to be better at telling and showing my friends that I appreciate them.

Finally I want to send a huge hug and a thanks to Cosmo girl for making my day. I think you're the greatest!

And for those of you that read Swedish, check out her blog at papegojkex.blogspot.com.

A report

Well, the turning of the baby yesterday did not succeed. And it was one of the worst experiences in my life.

The drug I was given made me feel like my heart was a fast beating drum placed in my head and my throat. I probably panicked, and hyper ventilated, because I couldn't feel my arms and my whole body cramped up.

I was shivering and my legs were moving and kicking constantly. And I was sweating.

All this from the drug and from the inconvenience when they tried to turn the baby. And from the pain. It hurt a bit, and then a lot in certain areas.

Two different doctors was struggling with the task, but Noam refused to turn around. Finally they gave up.

I wanted them to continue. "Go on!", I said. "As long as Noam is fine and not hurting, it doesn't matter if I'm hurting. It's ok, you can continue."

The doctors looked at me and said: "The problem is that we can't ask Noam if she's hurting, as we are sure you understand."

I felt a bit stupid.

The doctors also explained that the procedure is not supposed to hurt a lot, and that they feared that they would harm the placenta, that the placenta would be placed in the areas where I felt pain.

Then they told me that they recommend a cesarian as that is statistically safer for the baby, especially for first time mothers.

I'm glad that they gave me a recommendation. It made the choice easy.

So Noam will be arriving next week, or Monday the week after, by a planned cesarian.

I'm a bit disappointed of course. Was really looking forward to the process of giving birth. And surgery does scare me a bit.

But, I'm sure Noam has very good reason for not turning. And life never happens the way you plan it. So I'm coming to terms with the fact that this is case and I'm looking forward to meeting my daughter.

It's so soon now. Just about a week. Can't believe that I'm becoming a mother.

Been living in a bubble

It's so strange, the feeling you get from working on a production/shoot.

Even though it was only two days this time, yesterday evening, when I got home, it felt like I had been away forever. It felt like I had been abroad. Or lived in a bubble for a while.

This from getting up at five, go to the set, spend the whole day and evening at the set. Then getting home late and crash in to bed. Next morning, same procedure.

This means no news. No talking to family or friends. No actual connection with reality basically.

So, as I said, when I got home last night, I felt like I had been away from home forever.

Today I'm so tired. Which I think is a good thing, as I'm even too tired to be nervous about the visit at the hospital today.

Right now I'm just sitting at home, waiting for the hospital to call, to say that I can come in. I was supposed to call them at seven this morning, which I did, just to get the information that they were full at the moment and that I should wait for them to call, some time during the day, as soon as they had a space for me.

Boring to just sit and wait. But as I'm so tired I wouldn't have been able to do much with this day anyway.

Wish me luck!

Breach birth or Cesarian

As Noam still hasn't turned we had an appointment with a doctor on Friday.

After making sure that Noam still has her butt down and head up he explained the procedure of trying to force her to turn. Even though the doctor said that it shouldn't hurt, it sounded quite terrifying to me. An injection that makes the womb relax with the side effect that the heart starts beating faster. Then trying to turn the baby from the outside by simply "massaging" it. Certain risks, which is why observation for an hour afterwards will be needed. Also a risk that the procedure starts the labour process.

The doctor wanted to do the turning on Monday, as my pregnancy is so far gone. But the doctor found it even more important that my husband could be there, which is why it was scheduled for Wednesday instead, as my husband is totally tied up Monday and Tuesday.

There is a 50 % chance of success. And 50 % chance of failure. If the turning doesn't succeed the doctor said that he assumed I was then willing to schedule a cesarian. I said that I had heard that a breach birth is also an alternative if they find, by scanning/measuring my hips, that I am big enough. He said that yes, that is a possibility if I am very motivated and determined to do it. He said that it would probably make the midwives very exited. At the same time it was obvious that he felt that a cesarian was a better choice.

I asked him about the risks in a breach birth. He said that it is slightly more risky than a cesarian, but that they would of course support me if I chose a birth like that.

I wish she would just turn so that I do not have to make the choice. Not really happy about any of the two alternatives.

So keep your fingers crossed on Wednesday!

She's got hair!

"She's got hair" the midwife said when looking at the screen while doing the ultrasound yesterday.

"Of course she does, considering how hairy my wife is" my husband said.

"She didn't mean hair on the body, you idiot" I said. "Our daughter will not arrive bold in to this world."

"Bitterfittan" about equality

Reading the book "Bitterfittan" at the moment. Not sure how to properly translate the title in to English, so I will not bother. I will just say that the word "bitter" is exactly the same thing in English - "bitter". "Fitta" means "pussy".

Many great points are made in that book. Nothing new, but well worth mentioning, over and over again, is:

How are we supposed to get to an equal society, when we can't even live equally with the ones that we love?

In todays Swedish society, most women do double work. They do paid work and then they go home and do the unpaid house work. This results in many women being tired, stressed, overworked, depressed. If we lived equally, and men took as much responsibility for the children and the housework, then women wouldn't be all that.

Varicose veins freaks me out

I've never considered myself vain, but now I'm starting to wonder. Yesterday, when I discovered that varicose veins now had appeared on three places, on my legs, I started crying.

But it wasn't just the fact that I thought it looked ugly. It was the feeling of my body breaking. And it probably was also the feeling of something happening to me, that I wasn't ready to identify as me, the person I used to be.

Pregnancy can be overwhelming sometimes.

Gudrun Schyman at BBC

Guess if I was surprised this morning, when Gudryn Schyman showed up on BBC.

All Swedes knows who good old Gudrun is. But for those of you that are not Swedes: She's the front person of Feministiskt Initiativ (a feministic political party in Sweden's previous election). She's also the former leader of Vänsterpartiet (a left wing political party).

Do not ask me what the news were about, because it made no sense. The reporter was talking about that Sweden is one of the most gender equal societies in the world, but that many feel that there is still a long way to go. Then there was Gudrun talking a bit about the patriarchal structures, saying that they exists everywhere, all over the world. After that some Swedes on the streets were asked wether or not they would ever vote for a feminist party. And that's it.

I would have understood this being shown during the election in 2006. But I have no clue why it was shown now.

Anyway, I guess Feministiskt Initiativ could do with some good media for once, as most of the media that they got here in Sweden, during the election in 2006, was crap. Still upsets me how they were ignored, misunderstood, and often made a joke about. One of the big newspapers here in Sweden made paper dolls looking like the women in the party. Accessories for the dolls were things like breasts and fish smelling arm pits. Honestly, what is that?!

So I was happy seeing Gudrun on BBC news this morning. Even if it wasn't really news.

Again: What's wrong with people?

Yesterday, when I was sitting, in the tube station, waiting for the tube, a couple came up to where I was sitting. They were both smoking, even though smoking is not allowed in tube stations in Sweden, as in many other countries.

The girl/woman asked me and the person sitting next to me, if we could move a bit, so that she could sit down.

"Yes sure, if you can please put that cigarette out first, I said to her very nicely.

She looked at me and asked "Why?".

I didn't believe that she asked that. Of course I understand that she was trying to provoke me, but still. What's wrong with people? Why not just say, "sure, no problem", if someone asks you something like that in a polite way.

"Because first of all it's not allowed to smoke in here", I replied. "Second, cigarette smoke makes me feel sick, and third I'm pregnant and do not want to inhale cigarette smoke".

She just turned her back to me and repeated to her boyfriend, with a silly voice, what I had said.

Just then lots of seats got available behind me, so they sat down, still poisoning my air with smoke. I had to get up and move. They didn't care at all.

I know kids can be stupid. I remember myself smoking in the tube when I was around 20. Something I feel embarrassed by today. But even at that age, it only happened when I had been out partying, and was on my way home, late at night, when there were practically no people in the tube. Yesterdays event happened in rush hour. And on top of that this couple was not 20. They must have been at least 25.

The fact is that someone smoking next to me, once in a while, probably doesn't do Noam any harm. But it's a good excuse to use at the moment, as cigarette smoke makes ME feel sick. The fact is also that it didn't hurt me to get up and move. But the whole situations really annoyed me, which is why I had to write it down. To then be able to let it go.

Homosexuals and puppies

A lesbian couple was not allowed to buy a puppy. Just because they were homosexual.

The newspaper SvD writes about it. Read the article in Swedish: http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_860309.svd

When the kennel owner found out that the woman was lesbian, she said that she didn't trust homosexuals and that she had heard that transvestites were linked to pornography with animals.

People never stop to amaze!

Anyway, the lesbian couple won the lawsuit about discrimination. Good for them.

This is getting ridiculous!

This is getting ridiculous!

I do not know if Noam is stealing everything that I eat these days, or if it's me that has created a food addiction or expansion of my stomach, during the time that I've been stuffing myself to get Noam to gain weight.

No matter what the reason is I am now hungry all the time! I finish eating something and 20 minutes later I'm starving again. It's crazy!

I'm telling you, the money we spend on food will increase quite a bit if this is going to be the case for another three to four weeks.

Well, at least it keeps me busy.

Leaving Facebook

Have been thinking about leaving Facebook for a while now. Facebook doesn't do much for me anymore.

Today I stopped thinking about it and took action. This after watching a documentary about it on BBC. The amount of money that is being made, based on information on Facebook, is ridiculous.

It's okay, if I also gain. But as I, as mentioned, don't feel like Facebook does anything for me anymore, I do not see the point of being a target for marketing either.

So I sent mass messages to my Facebook friends about me leaving soon. I deleted all photos (as I've heard that you have to delete them one by one for them to REALLY be deleted). I kept on deleting all wall posts, took away all applications, made my profile as slim as possible.

Now all I have to do, the day I decided will be THE day, is to do a simple click, and I will have left the world of Facebook for good.

Somehow it feels good. Don't ask me why.

450 grams fatter!

Noam has gained 450 grams during the last two weeks. Not bad, right?

She will not arrive as the biggest baby in this world, but as it's now determined that she's growing well, we do not have to worry about that anymore.

She hasn't turned though. Still being stubborn keeping her head up and her butt down. But that's a problem I will deal with next week. Now I'm just celebrating!

Integration problems in Sweden can not be solved by threats

On the morning news I watched Tobias Billström (Sweden's Minister of Immigration) defending the governments new suggestion about demanding that refugees in Sweden has a job and an apartment before they are allowed to bring family over.

Critic from the opposition was of course that it will not be easier to find a job or an apartment just because you are threatened by the fact that you will not be allowed to reunite with you're family if you don't.

Also, a suggestion like this puts the responsibility on individuals instead of recognizing the problems Sweden has with discrimination against immigrants on the job market.

Another critic was that the governments real reason for this suggestion is that they want to decrease the amount of immigrants.

Tobias Billström denied this, but in the next sentence he says that the reunion of family should not necessarily have to happen in Sweden. It could just as well happen in e.g. Syria.

What???

No, Tobias Billström, I doubt that this suggestion is the answer to the integration problems in Sweden.

Few smokers in Sweden

According to WHO Sweden is the country in the World with the fewest smokers (16 %).

Go Sweden!

Ghana didn't make it

Ghana unfortunately didn't make it to the final in the African Cup of Nations. Lost against Cameroon (0-1) in the semi final.

I'm a bit disappointed. But life goes on.

Starting to feel pregnant with four weeks left to go

Four and a half weeks left till due date. Actually starting to feel pregnant now.

I've had such an easy pregnancy, physically. In the beginning it was a bit difficult to, mentally, accept the way my body started to change. I didn't like that my energy level was a bit lower than normally. I did not like the feeling of not being in total control over my own body.

But those things above are more of a emotional and mental sort, not physical. When it comes to the physical part I've been able to do the same things as always. I've been able to work out, and would probably still be doing that if I was allowed to. And the further my pregnancy has been going, and as a result I've gotten more and more used to it, the easier it's been.

In the beginning I felt tired and a little bit sick. But as long as I got a lot of sleep and managed to keep my blood sugar level from not dropping, I was fine. I've also had a tiny bit of pelvic pain, on and off. But that's it!

But, as I said in the beginning of this post, now I'm starting to actually feel pregnant. Sleeping is becoming difficult. I wake up constantly from hunger, pain or need to go to the toilet. The pain is in my hips from the way I'm forced to spend the nights (on my side, not on back or belly).

I'm starting to feel heavy and on top of that Noam is making lots of huge movements inside of me, which sometimes is very uncomfortable and at times painful.

But, as I started this post, it's now only four and a half weeks left to go!

Soap made out of breast milk = bad idea!

The website "Allt om barn" (All about Children) has published recipes for making soap and bread out of left over breast milk.

Might be a funny article, but it's pretty stupid when there's a constant shortage in the hospitals for breast milk, which is needed for e.g. prematurely born children.

The article should at least take the responsibility and end the article by saying that, even if the recipes are provided and seems fun, the best thing still would be to give the milk to the hospitals, of course.

"The Life of David Gale" and the death penalty

Watched "The Life of David Gale". Good film! Although I guess I'm a bit bias, as I both love Kate Winslet AND films about the death penalty.

Not sure why I love films about the death penalty so much, but it probably has something to do with that they make me very emotional. Angry, sad, frustrated. Or maybe I just love to cry. They always make me cry. So did this one.

In the film the statistics "66 percent of the American people support the death penalty" was mentioned. That can't be true I thought. But I googled it, and it seems to be fairly true.

Then I decided to google the same thing, but this time about the Swedish people. I found that the newspaper Aftonbladet had done a survey asking their readers if the death penalty was right or wrong. 40 % said it was right, and 60 % answered that it was wrong.

As I'm not a big fan of Aftonbladet, and as I do not understand why people read it or consider it news, I kept on checking.

I found that another survey had asked if there was any crime that should be possible to be punished by death. Almost half of all Swedes said yes. When the question was changed to "Should Sweden's strongest penalty, life in prison, be changed to death penalty" about 20 % answered that it should.

So, I'm not sure exactly how many of the Swedish population that are pro death penalty. But whether it's 20 %, 40 % or 50 %, it's way too many.

I'm glad though that it seems unlikely that the death penalty will ever be reinstated in Sweden.

I smell racism

People in the Swedish government is researching/suggesting the possibilities for state financed education of imams in Sweden. Yes, obviously this government does have a few good ideas. Who would have guessed.

The suggestion is that the education will not be on a University level, but rather on a so called high school level. Many muslim organizations in Sweden are positive to this, as long as the terms of the education is to be put together by both the Muslim organizations and the state, and that the state doesn't interfere in the religious parts of the education. In England this kind of education already exists.

One reason mentioned for this kind of education is that imams are not only religious leaders, but also mentors. If the mentor is not knowledgeable about Swedish society, e.g., his/hers advice as a mentor for young people, e.g., could sometimes become misguiding. Also there's a shortage of imams in Sweden, according to an article in the newspaper DN, which forces muslim organizations to ask for help from abroad. This could also lead to misguidance and other problems, according to the article.

The people responsible for this suggestion also, according to the article, mention that this could avoid radical paths of islam. That, as a reason for the education, I'm sceptic about. It suggests things that I do not agree with. But apart from that, I think the education is a great idea.

The same newspaper has a survey online, asking its readers if this is right or wrong. 30 % think it's right. 70 % think it's wrong.

What's wrong with it? We already educate Christian priests on a University level, financed by the state. Why not imams?

I doubt that the results would be 30 to 70 if the same question had been asked about the education of Christian priests,

I smell racism.

When political correctness becomes prejudice and racist

We've had another so called honor killing in Sweden. A young girl was killed by two of her male relatives.

It angers me that idiots like that exist. And it angers me that Sweden is so useless in dealing with these kind of issues.

In Sweden, where everything is supposed to be politically correct, we sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot. In the urge to give people the right to their own culture, we instead become prejudice and racist. And we leave women that are victims to violence in the name of honor, to fend for themselves. They are put in another category than women born as Swedes.

Examples of how political correctness becomes racism:

1. The head master at a school decided that the kids were not allowed to wear Swedish football shirts, as it could offend people from other countries. Who is the one doing the offending? The head master of course, by assuming that people from other countries and/or cultures would have a problem with something like that. That is prejudice and racist to me.

2. Or the university class that said that they did not like calling themselves Swedes as that could offend and was excluding towards none Swedes. Calling yourself a Swede, or a woman, or a Northerner, or a student, or white is not a problem, if you ask me. That's one way we use to make sense of the world. The problems is rather what you do, say, think and how you act. That's were the problem in the exclusion process steps in.

3. Or, to get back to the subject, when Swedish politicians are assuming that honor violence and killing is a part of another culture and should therefore be more or less ignored.

The women being victims of this, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that it's just a few people claiming that it is. Men that do not participate in this kind of behavior, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that certain people just takes certain parts of the culture to the extreme, making it what it's not and never was.

Something needs to be done here.

Thanks Mr. Bush

There's not a lot to be grateful to George Bush about. But yesterday it hit me that I am very grateful to him about one thing (and I'm not even American).

I'm grateful that he has screwed up so badly that the American people will probably vote for someone as "far away as possible" from the typical candidate, and from Bush.

Therefore I am pretty sure that there will be either a woman or a black man in the White House soon.

Because I am not sure that that would have happened otherwise.

I could be wrong. Not an expert. But the theory seems reasonable.

"Blood diamond"

Watched "Blood Diamond" yesterday. Has wanted to watch it for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got round to do it. DiCaprio is just great. That guy is an amazing actor. And Djimon Hounsou is also great, as usual.

Brilliant film set in Sierra Leone during the 90's. Very scary, as you know that many of the things, about the situation in Sierra Leone at that time, is based on reality. Recognized certain things from what I've read and heard. Horrible. Just glad that it's over.

What is not over though, is how the West affect and often manipulate situations in the rest of the world. Thinking about the cutting down of rain forest for the production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia. Or the nasty fur markets in China. That's just two of many horrible examples.

Poor Swedish men

On the tube the other day, a guy said to his friend, after a woman had gotten off the train while telling her partner something:

"So typical Swedish women! They always have to be right!"

The friend answers:

"Yes, I know. Their poor husbands!"

I felt like smacking them both.

Ghana in the semi final!

The African Cup of Nations is getting existing now. Ghana did just beat Nigeria in the quarter final and is now on to the semi final. Felt a bit nervous all through the game, but now it's over and the whole family is breathing again.