tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287148452024-03-07T20:05:22.524+01:00Norm Viss SchreefSchreef (pronounced "schrafe") is the simple past Dutch verb for "write".
The title means
"Norm Viss Wrote".Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-56915197988224904862009-04-26T20:53:00.002+02:002009-04-26T20:59:34.043+02:00100 DaysToday I happend to see the press conference from the White House about the swine flu.<br />It is so absolutely refreshing to hear people from the administration who speak clearly, use the English language well, seem to know what they are talking about, and are honest about the situations and complexities the face (as far as one can tell: I realise that not everyone is honest all the time, and government officials in general should not be considered honest until proven so. Don't send any responses along that line. I know what you are going to say and in general I agree with u. ;-).<br />That for me is one of the biggest positives of the last 100 days.<br />I am loving it.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-41927634338084376212009-04-12T07:46:00.002+02:002009-04-12T07:48:42.727+02:00Literally risen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SeGAmwIc8VI/AAAAAAAACDc/FL2fC6l7lLQ/s1600-h/Opstanding.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SeGAmwIc8VI/AAAAAAAACDc/FL2fC6l7lLQ/s320/Opstanding.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323677637772374354" /></a><br />Make no mistake: if He rose at all<br />it was as His body;<br />if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules<br />reknit, the amino acids rekindle,<br />the Church will fall.<br /><br />It was not as the flowers,<br />each soft Spring recurrent;<br />it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled<br />eyes of the eleven apostles;<br />it was as His Flesh: ours.<br /><br />The same hinged thumbs and toes,<br />the same valved heart<br />that — pierced — died, withered, paused, and then<br />regathered out of enduring Might<br />new strength to enclose.<br /><br />Let us not mock God with metaphor,<br />analogy, sidestepping transcendence;<br />making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the<br />faded credulity of earlier ages:<br />let us walk through the door.<br /><br />The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,<br />not a stone in a story,<br />but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow<br />grinding of time will eclipse for each of us<br />the wide light of day.<br /><br />And if we will have an angel at the tomb,<br />make it a real angel,<br />weighty with Max Planck's quanta, vivid with hair,<br />opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen<br />spun on a definite loom.<br /><br />Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,<br />for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,<br />lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are<br />embarrassed by the miracle,<br />and crushed by remonstrance. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Seven stanzas at Easter</span><br />John UpdikeNormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-70263172938777516592009-03-08T09:27:00.002+01:002009-03-08T09:29:08.881+01:00If you're going to apologize, do it right<p></p><br /><p><embed src="http://widgets.vodpod.com/w/video_embed/Groupvideo.2187394" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" AllowScriptAccess="never" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" wmode="transparent" flashvars="videoid=93645&slug=congressman_offers_preemptive&stub=http://www.theonion.com/content/&image_url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.theonion.com%252Fcontent%252Ffiles%252Fimages%252FPREEMPTIVE_APOLOGY_article.jpg" width="425" height="350" ></embed></p><br /><br /><span style="display:block;font-size: 10px">more about "<a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/1407824-congressman-offers-preemptive-apology-for-extramarital-affair-the-onion-americas-finest-news-source?pod=normviss">Congressman Offers Preemptive Apology...</a>", posted with <a href="http://vodpod.com/vpbutton/install">vodpod</a></span>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-51157164650224885102009-01-13T09:28:00.000+01:002009-01-13T09:38:33.221+01:00MisunderestimedThis is how GW characterized a part of the stress with the press he experienced during his terms as President.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Through it all, it's been -- I have respected you. Sometimes didn't like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you misunderestimated me. But always the relationship I have felt has been professional. And I appreciate it. </span><br /><br />Misunderestimed.<br /><br />Ah, I see.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-79227014526089995782009-01-09T13:11:00.002+01:002009-01-09T13:13:32.074+01:00100 ThingsPresident Bush has published a document outlining 100 accomplishments of his administration during the last eight years. Click <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/appendix_acc_for_web.pdf">here</a> to read the document.<br />Just one thing: he forgot to number the items, as Jon Stewart pointed out.<br />Consistent to the last day.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-84810314635820843862009-01-07T13:58:00.001+01:002009-01-07T14:00:38.294+01:00Just less than two weeks left<style type='text/css'>.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}</style><div class='cc_box' style='position:relative'><a href='http://www.comedycentral.com' target='_blank' style='display:inline; float:left; width:60px; height:31px;'><div class='cc_home' style='float:left; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-width:1px 0px 0px 1px; width:60px; height:31px; background:url("http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-out.png");'></div></a><div style='font:bold 10px Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; float:left; width:299px; height:31px; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-width:1px 1px 0px 0px; overflow:hidden; color:#707070;'><div class='cc_show' style='position:relative; background-color:#e5e5e5;padding-left:3px; height:14px; padding-top:2px; overflow:hidden;'><a href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/' target='_blank'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a><span style='position:absolute; top:2px; right:3px;'>M - Th 11p / 10c</span></div><div class='cc_title' style='font-size:11px; color:#868686; background-color:#f5f5f5; padding:3px; padding-top:1px; line-height:14px; height:21px; overflow:hidden;'><a href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=215261&title=the-bush-years-farewell,-mr.' target='_blank'>The Bush Years: Farewell, Mr. President</a></div></div><embed style='float:left; clear:left;' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:215261' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed><div class='cc_links' style='float:left; clear:left; width:358px; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-top:0px; font:10px Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; color:#b9b9b9; background-color:#f5f5f5;'><div style='width:177px; float:left; padding-left:3px;'><a target='_blank' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=166515&title=Barack-Obama-Pt.-1'>Barack Obama Interview</a><br /><a target='_blank' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167938&title=John-McCain-Pt.-1'>John McCain Interview</a></div><div style='width:177px; float:left;'><a target='_blank' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?searchterm=Sarah+Palin&searchtype=site&x=0&y=0'>Sarah Palin Video</a><br /><a target='_blank' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?searchterm=indecision+2008&searchtype=site&x=0&y=0'>Funny Election Video</a></div><div style='clear:both'></div></div><div style='clear:both'></div></div>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-7748455695961423402008-12-22T21:53:00.002+01:002008-12-22T22:00:12.194+01:00George Will doesn't like it eitherGeorge Will is not known as a flaming leftist liberal.<br />But he has often been a harsh crisitc of GW Bush.<br /><br />And he thinks very little of the administration's use of TARP funds for the auto industry. At least the fact that the administration has made Congress moot:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The president is dispensing money from the $700 billion Congress provided for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The unfounded assertion of a right to do this is notably brazen, given the indisputable fact that if Congress had known that TARP -- supposedly a measure for scouring "toxic" assets from financial institutions -- was to become an instrument for unconstrained industrial policy, it would not have been passed...<br /><br />The administration has not confined its aggrandizement of executive power to national security matters....<br /><br />Most of the administration's executive truculence has pertained to national security, where the case for broad prerogatives, although not as powerful as the administration supposes, is at least arguable. With the automakers, however, executive branch overreaching now extends to the essence of domestic policy -- spending -- and traduces a core constitutional principle, the separation of powers...</span><br /><br />Read the whole article <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121902929.html?hpid=opinionsbox1">here</a>.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-63102795525280513772008-12-14T22:07:00.002+01:002008-12-14T22:10:58.841+01:00Blunders everywhere<span style="font-style:italic;">An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.<br /></span><br /><br />This report was written by a Republican, and contains many quotes attributed to men like Rumsfeld and Powell. The accuracy of those quotes is not denied. They are shocking.<br /><br />Click here for the article and to read the actual report.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-88321411099279467852008-12-09T17:37:00.004+01:002008-12-09T17:46:30.861+01:00The hangingPresident Bush is almost gone.<br />On Saturday a painting of him was unveiled in the White House.<br />He began his <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081206-3.html">remarks</a> like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Welcome to my hanging. (Laughter and applause.)</span><br /><br />Finally.<br /><br />(Note: please do not think I want the President dead. That is not the intention of this blog post. I repeat: I DO NOT want the President dead. I prefer he serve out his sentence as <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/111838/Obama-Bush-Contrast-Popularity.aspx">most impopulair president ever</a> while remaining alive.)Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-11110547235923252402008-10-21T07:43:00.004+02:002008-12-09T17:47:28.054+01:00UnthawOur President continues to amaze with his ability to torture the English language.<br />In a rountable meeting on the economy <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081020-8.html">yesterday</a> he said the following:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">As I said Friday, this thaw -- took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw. But it's -- but the attitude here is a little different than it might have been a week ago. </span><br /><br />First of all - I think he meant "freeze". Our economy is freezing up, not thawing out. Freezing is a longer process than thawing.<br />And of course the opposite of "thaw" is "freeze". Not "unthaw".<br /><br />But who cares?<br />Nobody is listening to him anymore.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-46919386523143063742008-10-17T12:55:00.001+02:002008-10-17T12:55:55.105+02:00Michael Palin for PresidentAfter all, anyone can become President of the US!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jf1y9s73Nos&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jf1y9s73Nos&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-37137212349683640252008-09-24T09:04:00.006+02:002008-09-24T09:58:50.429+02:00Absolute disasterHopefully I won´t have to write (or think!) about the disaster of the Bush presidency very much longer.<br />The absence of GW from the presidential campaign of McCain and Palin says more than enough.<br />And now the disaster with the banks and Wall Street: the same kind of incompetence that characterizes the war in Iraq, combined with the lack of leadership that shows an understanding of the facts and a capability to deal with them properly. Just read this incoherent answer of GW to a question from a reporter (<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080920-4.html">here</a> is the whole press conference):<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">At first I thought we could deal with this -- deal with the problem one issue at a time. We made the decision on Fannie and Freddie because there was systemic risk to our mortgage markets. And then obviously AIG came along -- and Lehman came along and it was -- it declared bankruptcy; then AIG came along and it -- the house of cards was much bigger, beyond -- started to stretch beyond just Wall Street, in the sense of the effects of failure. And so when one card started to go, we were worried about the whole deck going down, and so therefore moved, and moved hard. </span><br />And now the proposed solution: abandon the principles of a free capitalistic society and put the financial power in the hands of the government, and, in reality, one man: the Secretary of the Treasury.<br />Fortunately it seems that some Senators - Republican and Democrat - are desiring to think twice about this plan.<br /><br />"This is what I love about this whole thing. This is what Congress said today. 'The days of getting money just for the asking are over.' And then they asked for $700 billion. See, you know the way a bailout works? Here's the way a bailout works. A failed president and a failed Congress invest $700 billion of your money in failed businesses. Believe me, this can't fail." --Jay Leno<br /><br />"As if all this news is not bad enough, today, President Bush announced he's on the case. Because if there's one name that comes to mind when you're in a no-room-for-error crisis, it's George Bush." --Bill Maher<br /><br />"Oh, and he is pissed about the trillion dollar thing. Usually, when he spends that kind of money on a country, he gets to bomb the shit out of it, too." --Bill MaherNormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-36884828742621862512008-08-12T15:00:00.000+02:002008-08-12T15:02:40.833+02:00John, George and their girls<embed FlashVars='videoId=178983' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-48111502770462590772008-07-07T07:57:00.003+02:002008-07-07T08:14:41.769+02:00Well, it has started...Started is probably not the best word, because it has been going on for a while.<br /><br />I think I have in this weblog predicted that McCain will win the presidency (I am not saying I want him to win, I don't know who I would vote for). He will win it the same way GW won it - by scaring the (the shit out of the) American people (to death) about Muslims and terrorism (take your pick of expressions).<br />Yesterday I got my first forwarded email with the "facts" about Barak Obama. Its one of those mails whose content you can't verify, because most of the sources are not mentioned, and those links you can click on lead you to expired pages or super-conservative websites that sell T-shirts to young tight-breasted teenage girls with the slogan "Up your arsenal" on them.<br />Just a few of them, because I don't want to promote this stuff, but you get the idea:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Obama's cousin Odinga in ran for president and tried to get Sharia Muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians' homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started.<br />My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention,<br />Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.<br />My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.<br />I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school,<br />where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until<br />your wife made you change, so you could run for office.<br /></span><br />I guess it was too much to hope this could wait until after the summer....Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-63889214753448547072008-06-12T06:48:00.003+02:002008-06-12T07:04:44.311+02:00Toning downMr. Bush is toning his rhetoric down, even to the point of admitting that he regrets some of his rhetoric in the past. See <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4107327.ece">this </a>article in The Times, and also <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4107525.ece">this</a> one.<br /><br />In his "<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080611-1.html">joint press availability</a>" with Angela Merkel of Germany yesterday, he said this:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Q Mr. President, on the way to Europe, you gave a very interesting interview for The Times newspaper in which you basically said that you regret your war rhetoric. Now I'm wondering, do you actually just regret your war rhetoric, or do you regret having gone to war with Iraq?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">PRESIDENT BUSH: I don't regret it at all. Removing Saddam Hussein made the world a safer place. And yes, I told the guy -- the guy said, now what could you do over? First of all, you don't get to do things over in my line of work. But I could have used better rhetoric to indicate that one, we tried to exhaust the diplomacy in Iraq; two, that I don't like war. But, no, the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision. </span><br /><br />Yeah, what can one say?<br />Good direction.<br />Too late.<br /><br />P.S. Language remains a problem with him. The word <span style="font-style: italic;">rhetoric </span>has a negative connotation (think <span style="font-style: italic;">propaganda</span>). I would think a president would want to avoid all rhetoric if he (or she) could, not wish for better rhetoric.<br />It's like saying you want better torture.Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-36839822581476052082008-05-26T09:31:00.004+02:002008-05-26T09:41:10.929+02:00Hillary and JuneThere's a lot of nonsense and idiocy that goes around in Christian circles about Bill and Hillary. <a href="http://centuri0n.blogspot.com/2008/05/perfectly-relaxed.html">This</a>, for example. <br />And now the criticism about her remarks about the history of presidential primary contests that were not resolved until June. Any reasonable reading of her comments (see them below) cannot lead to any other conclusion than that she was making a very legitimate historical reference. <br />I still don't understand the Christian vitriol against a woman who remained married, and, as far as we know, faithful to her husband. If you want to attribute sinful motives to that, then you should provide substantial background for your argument. Or you should be one of her elders who can help her. <br />Otherwise it is gossip. <br />And gossip is not very Christian.<br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x79oO-bOv0s&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x79oO-bOv0s&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-27703061278451174142008-05-20T17:23:00.001+02:002008-05-20T17:25:40.116+02:00W.T.H.?What is <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/fossella-admits-to-extramarital-affair/">it</a> with these <a href="http://www.house.gov/fossella/">Republicans</a>?Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-44219436067213937882008-05-16T05:55:00.002+02:002008-05-16T05:59:44.182+02:00Golf courtThis is making the rounds big time on internet these days, but if you haven't seen it: Bush shows solidarity with the families of those killed in Iraq.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZSRxNPqqUH4&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZSRxNPqqUH4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />And Keith Olberman's comments:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_cbFsHErMB8&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_cbFsHErMB8&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-86096502633282681362008-05-15T11:42:00.002+02:002008-05-15T11:58:27.222+02:00QualifiedBoy,the last 8 years have sure proved the truth of this quote. <br />Aren't you worried about the future?<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."</span><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams">Douglas Adams</a>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-34111563916892439622008-05-06T08:23:00.001+02:002008-05-06T08:25:24.690+02:00O.M.G.As of today only 258 more days.<br /><br /><embed FlashVars='videoId=167524' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-26201733811345997482008-05-02T10:11:00.000+02:002008-05-02T10:12:22.779+02:00Quit Complainin'<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" lang="EN-GB">Most expensive places to buy gas <o:p></o:p></span></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rank<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Country<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price/gal<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sierra Leone<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$18.42<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aruba<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$12.03<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bosnia-Herzegovina<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$10.86<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eritrea<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$9.58<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Norway<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.73<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">6.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">United Kingdom<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.38<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">7.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Netherlands<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.37<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">8.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Monaco<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.31<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">9.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Iceland<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.28<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">10.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Belgium<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$8.22<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">111.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">United States</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">$3.45</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-19477215033909618572008-04-25T11:45:00.000+02:002008-04-25T11:46:08.136+02:00They will get a candidate....."The primary race is dragging on and on and on.<br />But the Democrats are trying to put a good face on it, they're confident, they say now, absolutely they will have a nominee for president by McCain's second year in office.<br />So there.<br />They're ready to go."<br /><br />--David LettermanNormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-35542689193839661352008-04-21T09:46:00.006+02:002008-04-22T13:21:27.088+02:00WoodcarvingMy wife asked me to get a woodcarving for our mantel while I was in Ghana.<br />It was not an easy thing to do, because we did not want a tacky souvenir wooden evil-looking mask.<br />I finally found these. We like them very much.<br />They are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiwara">Chiwara</a> carvings, from Mali. Male and female antelopes, who according to the legends advised the Bambara people about agriculture and social values at the beginning of the world. The sun and the moon meet and unite, and peace and prosperity reigns.<br />We hope that peace and prosperity also reign in our house.<br />And we will keep on praying for that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxGv_3kBFI/AAAAAAAAA80/5MghOOdyYFI/s1600-h/Ghana+066.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxGv_3kBFI/AAAAAAAAA80/5MghOOdyYFI/s320/Ghana+066.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191602260863616082" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxHFf3kBHI/AAAAAAAAA9E/JzZWdofUCyo/s1600-h/Ghana+068.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxHFf3kBHI/AAAAAAAAA9E/JzZWdofUCyo/s320/Ghana+068.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191602630230803570" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxG9_3kBGI/AAAAAAAAA88/gh2MvDBeB9c/s1600-h/Ghana+069.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5VALcA7_giM/SAxG9_3kBGI/AAAAAAAAA88/gh2MvDBeB9c/s320/Ghana+069.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191602501381784674" border="0" /></a>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-32257175056021518692008-04-18T09:19:00.002+02:002008-04-18T09:21:38.254+02:00A new wallIs <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/world/middleeast/18sadrcity.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin">this</a> the only thing the Bush administration can think of to create and ensure security in in Sadr City?Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28714845.post-46779963195736180982008-04-15T13:44:00.003+02:002008-04-15T14:01:37.852+02:00America's weaponsOn Sunday evening I saw the film "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_We_Fight_(2005_film)">Why we fight</a>", a documentary about America's military-industrial complex.<div><br /></div><div>I was sitting on a bed in resort hotel 25 miles to the west of Accra, with my friends Alan and Sally Lee. We were watching the film on a laptop, each person with his own set of headphones. This is how the family Lee watches movies when traveling, or at home and when they don't want the neighbors to hear the film's dialogue or soundtrack (apparently the neighbors can hear through the walls).</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway: pretty good film. Not at all Micheal Moore. A serious documentary, to be taken seriously.</div><div><br /></div><div>It begins with an articulate and passionate speech by President Dwight Eisenhower: his farewell speech given in January 1961. In the speech he warns America about building up an industrial military complex, in which, for the first time in history, weapons will be produced just to have them, and not because of a specific war threat. He warns about the moral and spiritual implications of that for the country, as well as its impact on economics and peace issues. Great speech.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, as you can guess, America didn't listen, and the weapons industry has become big business. And the film asks the question what kind of influence these big businesses had on the decisions surrounding the Iraq war.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could easily connect this film with what I had experienced that Sunday morning, in an international church in Accra. It was "International Sunday", in which the congregation was paying respect to all the countries represented in the church. At the beginning of the service (which lasted 3 hours, including a good sermon by a Nigerian), the representatives of each country paraded into the church, while a woman gave facts about the country.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the American group paraded in (I didn't join them, as I was traveling on my Dutch passport), it seemed the clapping was a little less. And I felt shame when the lady read the list of primary exports of the United States, and weapons was prominent on the list. The only country to have that on the list.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is really too bad. What can a simple citizen do about it?</div>Normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925468051256880789noreply@blogger.com0