Wednesday 16 January 2002

Pic of the day: Once more into the breaches of Camelot! But is that really the most memorable thing that happens around now?

What to remember today?

I wonder - if I live on for some more years, will I remember anything of these last couple days? If so, what?

Let me see what I remember now. Somewhat randomly but generally from the most personal to the least.

***

My digestion acted up again, with running guts and spasms, as well as acid reflux. Should help keep me from gaining weight, I guess. But it is certainly not a one-of-a-kind experience.

Yesterday, I did not get to the shop to complain over my computer that is not compatible with EverQuest even though I particularly ordered it for that. (Yesterday's entry.) I had to stay at work until way after the shops were closed, so decided I would go back today instead. But last night, I fiddled randomly with my address, and suddenly Mythic accepted one of my VISA cards. So now I am back in Dark Age of Camelot. Goodbye cruel real world! I emigrate!

I went to the shop anyway and told them, but I did not yell, just informed them that the S3 chip set was not compatible with EQ. I told them I had switched to Dark Age of Camelot instead. The two youngish guys there readily agreed: DAoC is so much better, they claimed. Well, I guess I shall never know.

***

In national politics, there has been a struggle for leadership in the Labor party, still usually the largest political party in Norway but smaller than it used to be. The former prime minister and the party leader both wish to be both party leader and PM candidate, it seems. The current party leader and chief ideologist, Mr. Jagland, suddenly fell ill this week and was rushed to hospital. But that is not all.

There are two main competitors in television here in Norway, the state owned NRK and the private TV2. Now when TV2 sent a live interview with the hospital spokeswoman about the condition of Mr. Jagland, an employee from NRK ran around in front of camera clad in a chicken suit, making loud cackling noises. I kid you not. Several agencies described the interruption as tasteless. I'm not so sure ... tastes like chicken?

Before we close this dossier on the Chicken episode, it is worth mentioning that the leader for NRK apologized in public for the episode and called those responsible for the act in to a meeting at his office. According to local sources, which were quoted on NRK(!), howls of laughter were heard from the office during that meeting.

***

In international news, the American government has refused to admit that their Afghan prisoners of war are prisoners of war, choosing instead to refer to them as lawless warriors. The reason for this is probably that the treatment of the prisoners is slightly at odds with the Geneve convention. The prisoners are brought to a military base at Cuba, where they are said to be kept in small cages under open sky. They have also been subject to various humiliations. Several countries have criticized this, but Norway has so far not. I think we should continue that way.

After the WW2, Norway blatantly ignored human rights and its own principles of justice during the revenge on those who had aligned with the German occupation forces. Laws were changed to make membership in certain organizations illegal: Not just from then on, or even during the war, but before the war. The treatment of Norwegian women who had fallen in love with German soldiers was bad enough; but their children continued to be treated as sub-humans for decades to come, simply for being who they were. When I grew up in the 1960es, there were still people who were outcasts because of the war.

When a country feels violated, you cannot expect its people to act rationally or adhere to human rights. They will write their own books about these days, 50 years from now. Because some things are so unreal right now, that they can only be understood when remembered.