Showing posts with label Stockholm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stockholm. Show all posts

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Russians Are Here - Again!

Throughout the centuries my country, Sweden, has - due to it's precarious geopolitical position - had an eternally suspicious attitude towards our immense neighbor to the east.

This situation was aggravated after Sweden lost it's position as one of the major powers in Europe in the 18th century and especially after the Swedish-Russian war ended in 1809, with Sweden proper losing a third of the realm (Finland) to Russia.

King Charles XII (1682-1718) pointing to
the East to tell us from where the enemy
will come.
Depending on who the rulers in Russia have been the situation has been better or worse, but the suspicion has always been there. Whenever we think of the risk of war or aggression, we look to the East.

Since the cold war the official defense policy of Sweden can be summed up in the phrase "non-alignment in peace aiming at neutrality in war".

That policy has served us well for half a century, but it seems to be losing support as we see the Russians, under the present president Vladimir "Little Father" Putin, becoming increasingly aggressive and militant towards it's neighbors.

During the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's Sweden has had it's territorial borders violated repeatedly by Soviet Union/Russian submarines or or other submersibles.

Once one of them even ran aground in the archipelago of Karlskrona in the south of Sweden and created an international incident.
The "Whiskey on the rocks"-incident. 
"Soviet submarine S-363 was a Soviet Navy Whiskey-class submarine of the Baltic Fleet, which became famous under the designation U 137 when it ran aground on October 27, 1981 on the south coast of Sweden, approximately 10 km from Karlskrona, one of the larger Swedish naval bases. U137 was the unofficial Swedish name for the vessel, as the Soviets considered names of most of their submarines to be classified at the time and did not disclose them. The ensuing international incident is often referred to as the Whiskey on the rocks incident." Wikipedia
At this very moment a search is yet again going on, this time in the Stockholm archipelago, for what is suspected to be another Russian submersible.
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I am sad to admit that, like many other Swedes, I am increasingly leaning towards a change of our present defense policy and I am starting to believe in the necessity for us to apply for membership in NATO in the immediate future.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Detention Order for Assange Remains in Place

Do you remember Julian Assange, the co-founder of Wikileaks, who after a visit to Sweden during the summer of 2010 is suspected of one count of rape, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of unlawful coercion?
Julian Assange;Photography Anthony Devlin/PA
The Stockholm District Court at the time decided to detain Assange in absentia for the suspected crimes.

Assange, who denies the allegations, has refused to come to Sweden for the investigation into the crimes and has, after the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom decided that he should be extradited from the United Kingdom to Sweden, sought refuge at the embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in Britain since June 19, 2012.

Assange's Swedish lawyer had now asked the court to repeal the order of detention arguing that Swedish prosecutors have dragged out the case for an unreasonably long period by not interviewing him at the embassy and that it has entailed an undue infringement and adverse effect on Assange's liberty (citing his two year long voluntary "house arrest" at the embassy).

The Swedish prosecution had asked that the detention order should be upheld.

The Stockholm District Court today decided that the detention order should remain in place as the reasons for it offset the infringement and any adverse effects the measure entails for Julian Assange. The court also maintained that Assange's self sought and voluntary residency at the Ecuadorian Embassy cannot be regarded as a deprivation of liberty.

Assange's lawyer has informed that the district courts decision will be appealed.

Friday, January 31, 2014

#liveandletlove


(via J.M.G.)

About the clip
2,000 people of the city of Stockholm gathered at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium to show their support to the LGBT people of Russia and to sing the most beautiful national anthem in the world.

You can do the same, make your own rainbow version of the song and upload under the hashtag #liveandletlove. You'll find sheet music and lyrics on www.liveandletlove.se.

...

Watch, like on YouTube and share! Show Little Father Putin, the Olympic Committee that we will not forget their homophobia and the Russian LGBT community that we support them in their struggles against the horrendous and discriminating "Gay Propaganda" laws. Gay Rights are Human Rights!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Eddi Haskell Is A Meanie

According to that rascal Eddi Haskell, previously my dear friend and mentor in blogging, this is how I was looking today when I visited Stockholm - in disguise - to greet President Barack Obama despite having a case of "political flu".

He tried to butter me up by telling me "You are much prettier than Princess Madeleine btw lol!". Eddi's flattery was of course not sincere so it did not help alleviate my enormous pain by being ridiculed in this fashion. (*joke*)

Eddi Haskell hereby wins the trophy as "The Meanest Man in The Western Hemisphere", it would have been the whole world but Vladimir "Little Father" Putin, President of Russia, saved him from that disgrace by snatching the title as "The Meanest Man in The Eastern Hemisphere".

Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Swedish Hijab-Rebellion

A pregnant Muslim woman was recently knocked down on a street in Stockholm and had her headscarf ("hijab") pulled off by the assailant. Following the assault women who wear the veil testified that they are often subjected to name-calling and harassment of the most vile kind, both Islamophobic and misogynistic.

The incident lead to the so called "hijab-rebellion", in which women from all walks of Swedish society, wishing to show solidarity and "normalize" the wearing of hijab, started posting pictures of themselves in veils on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You name it, it was everywhere.

This "rebellion" lead to a counteraction from a combination of strange bedfellows, militant feminists and xenophobic ultranationalists on the far right of the political spectrum. They claim that the hijab is a sign of a patriarchal cultural and religious tradition of male oppression and control of women and is a tool to curtail women's freedom to dress as they chose and to express their sexuality. They also claim that it is counterproductive to integration as it creates barriers against the surrounding majority culture. Some even go so far as to say, that by wearing the veil in a Western culture the women are doing exactly the opposite of what they claim they wish to achieve, i.e not to draw attention to themselves.

Throughout Europe we are also receiving reports that young Muslim women are starting to don the veil for various reasons, some as a political statement or as a protest against the exploitation of female nudity in the Western cultures. There may be even more reasons.

I find myself a bit lost in all the rhetoric. As far as I am concerned the hijab in itself is most definitely a powerful symbol of male oppression and control and of a traditional chastity culture. However, I wouldn't dream of ever trying to regulate what a woman may or may not wear, just as I would not wish to regulate the length of her skirts or infringe on her complete right to her own body and sexuality.

Any woman should be allowed to dress as she chooses, for whatever reason. Just live with it and accept it!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Love Stockholm


(via Qx.se)

Stockholm is trying to target the gay tourists with this commercial, not a bad one actually and not untrue.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Stockholm is Calling



This is Nat King Cole¨s "Taking My Baby Back Home" sung in Swedish by the legendary Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund. Her memory will never fade, as long as her voice is heard!

I will be in Stockholm overnight tomorrow and back home on Wednesday evening. 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I'm Outta Here...

Well, only temporarily because I am logging into first life and flying to Stockholm this evening for a meeting there tomorrow. I will be back with ya´ll tomorrow evening!

Take care, be safe and always remember that I love you!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Away til Tuesday

Dear readers,
This just to let you all know I am logging into real life for a trip to Stockholm lasting two days. There will only be a planned post or two...

You should especially look in here sometime around 12 pm (noon) SLT today Monday! I am hoping that the uproar that special posting may cause will have settled until I am back home on Tuesday evening.

I will miss you!
Bock

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Beware Stockholm...

...the Bockmonster is coming to your town on Monday!

All women, children and pets are safe, but men between the ages 25 - 50 should take special care of themselves so they look stunning, hunky and hawt!

If you didn´t fall in love with me before 18:30 local time on Tuesday, you are safe again - for a while at least!