June 16, 2010

In Höngg you can still get the feeling that you live in a little village even though it is indeed a part of the city.

A lot of good things have happened lately. I am not only talking about the incredibly unlikely event that happened today when Switzerland beat Spain in the FIFA world cup but also about some other things that is going on in the world. Among other things it looks as if Obama is going to use the disastrous oil spill to push through some harder, greener politics. In general it is not very well seen to exploit these kind of events for you political agenda but this time he is really right to do so.

The Swiss hostage in Libya, Max Göldi, was finally released this week! This poor guy who got stuck in a conflict between two countries that doesn't concern him at all and were held prisoner in various places in Libya for about two years is now back in Switzerland. It was an incredibly silly conflict to start with and it has taken so much diplomatic efforts and international collaborations to solve it. All because Khadaffi's son decided to beat up his personnel while in Geneva. Many political and economical concessions were necessary from the Swiss side to get Göldi free. In one sense it is really crazy to negotiate with a lunatic like Khadaffi but on the other hand I think it is great to live in a country where a citizens freedom is worth all this sacrifice. So even though this solution might have been a political failure it is at least a human victory.

In this conflict that Switzerland couldn't have done anything against Khadaffi if they didn't get help from the other European countries. Switzerland often like to see itself as being totally independent but it is just a tiny little country with very little to say in the big world. This time we will have to thank Spain (who we just beat in football), Germany (who we fight against to protect their tax-fraudsters) and Berslusconi (the closest thing there is to a democratically elected dictator).

In Sweden only one thing is covered in the media nowadays, the crown-princess wedding to a man of the people on Saturday. The celebrations have already started and just as in the fairy-tale they will last for days. Even though the Swedes can never really make up their minds about what they think of the monarchy we all wish them to live happily ever after.

June 9, 2010

Werdinsel, kreis 11, nice and peaceful in the morning and very crowded in the afternoon, especially by mothers with children as there is a nice pool for very small children to play in. Today it was 30°C warm but still only 17°C in the water.

June 2, 2010

Today it has been raining the whole day and I hardly left the house so here are two pictures from Saturday showing the street life at Kalanderplatz in the middle of the new built, industrial chic, shopping center Sihlcity.

On Monday Israel stopped a ship convoy going with food and medicine to Gaza in the most brutal way. The ships were boarded while still on international water by armed and masked troopers killing nine unarmed people. The people on board the ships were no terrorists or criminals but well respected people like doctors and politicians. A famous Swedish author, Henning Mankell, was there and also an Irish Nobel prize winner.

It is unbelievable how Israel doesn't give a damn about anyone but themselves. They totally take the law in there own hands and show no respect what so ever to human rights. This has been going on for so long against the Palestinians but we in the west have somehow continued shutting our eyes plagued with guilt for what happened to the Jews during the second world war. Now when they are treating Europeans the same way as they treat the Palestinians daily we can no longer pretend as if it is not happening or in any way justify their actions. It's really time to remove them from under the protective wings of the west and make them face international charges. We should shut them out from all international trading until they start complying to international law and human rights, just as we did against South Africa until they abolished apartheid.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is very complex and it is difficult to know who was originally right but to continuously violate human rights and to build protective walls and turning the Palestinian territories into ghettos is morally detestable and wrong. It is impossible to understand what the long term goal is for the Israeli. Nothing they do is going towards a stable and sustainable solution. You really have the impression that they just want to erase the Palestinians from the map. Even if the Israeli think that they are right in this conflict, how can they want to live like this? Every Muslim country in the world, even the moderate ones, hate their guts and soon also all the western countries. In every relation, if it is between two people or between countries, you sometimes have to take a step back from what you are convinced to be right and make a compromise that in the end will make your life easier and happier. You have to stop being so damn stubborn to make the world a better place.

Well, now to a completely different matter. I heard the official song for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa on the radio the other day and it is sung by Shakira. I really love Shakira and the song is not bad but I can't for the world understand why a Colombian artist is selected to represent South Africa? When I tried to find an official reason by googling I didn't find one but at least the South Africans seems to be quite upset about it as well and also a blogger that had some other concerns about the song.