Contradictions and confusions…

Some thoughts on the bike to work, threw those words down quickly on paper when I came to work, before the first student. I write them down here almost as I wrote them down this morning:

Limit setting for children are hotter than ever again, but letting the market totally free is ok, absolutely nothing wrong with or anything to worry about. Children, on the contrary, need restrictions, restrictions for instance the market doesn’t need. How would it be if children didn't get restrictions? Where would it end? Or it's for "their own good" and the world's good? Those children will grow up to good citizens, capable of handling and managing a free market or something?

Liberals are talking about freedom in one circumstance, but discipline in another.

Integrity – what about?

Respect – what about?

True, genuine respect and capacity to that sort of respect…

Freedom for who? And whose freedom?

Confused (and confusing) liberals here at least can’t really point to proofs or explain where they have got things from. Relying on their feelings?? At the same time as they can be depreciating and belittling other peoples’ feelings! And claiming other peoples’ lack of proofs.

Came to think about integrity violations…

You (the people on the bottom and children) need to earn your freedom?? I wonder if all are entitled or worth freedom in a liberal’s world actually if you scratch on the surface?

The same confusing messages many of us got early??

When I was student at a folk high school here in Sweden after quitting the gymnasium we spoke about let-go (låt-gå in Swedish, or laissez-faire), authoritarian and democratic leadership (in teachers in this case I think). More than thirty years ago we were learned that the democratic leadership was the best.

Have some (many) liberals misunderstood what "freedom" is? Confused it with laissez-faire combined with authoritarianism? I wonder quite ironically.

More about the need for power and control – and the ruling classes paranoia…

Marianne Mikko.

It stood on the Swedish Radio site that registration of bloggers is on its way in Europe – The European Union wants to control bloggers.

The parliament is voting about a draft law this fall that EU shall register and control bloggers on the net.

The Estonian European parliamentarian Marianne Mikko (belonging to the socialist group!??) the initiative taker to the law, says that if we see name and picture on the one writing this promotes the freedom of speech. She thinks the anonymity on the net is a problem. And wants that bloggers legal status shall be clarified and categorized from their opinion and agenda.

This new law has been lively discussed among bloggers on the net the last days and many are upset. One of them are Emma Marie Andersson *who blogs about politics and integrity questions.

“For most bloggers I should in fact think that anonymity is a prerequisite, because all employers for example don’t think it’s so good if one sits and writes and has opinions.”

Marianne Mikko means that the possibility replying in charge to a blogposting has to be strengthened for the sake of democracy!! One needs to be able to reply in the same manner as to articles in for example newspapers she says!! She says:

“I don’t believe in one-way-communication!”

But Emma Marie Andersson thinks the blogs rather are more open than traditional media. And now in the aftermaths of the FRA-law politicians need to really think over what one can and shall regulate she thinks. So true.

“Precisely this, with replying, is extremely strange, for this only proves that she has obviously never visited a blog./…/ The fact is that you as blogger and person discussed on a blog has more opportunities answering in a blog than in a newspaper actually.

Now people have got the taste for airing their opinions and therefore more and more people are interested in how things like these turn out. So it’s in all people’s interest trying to become friend with the Internet and realize that Internet isn’t a thing lying somewhere far away, but Internet is actually a part of the society, and it’s we, the people, who find ourselves there.”

Yes, it was this with the need for power and control… And the ruling classes paranoia??

A female Swedish blogger I appreciate a lot also writes about this new law. She writes that everything is obviously going to become controlled! Where does the boundary go? If one want to stop a blogger there are already possibilities. And now comes extra controls or demands the bloggers shall display their photos and names. Postings are already possible to report and stop. And that's fully enough. She also wonders how one shall be able to control if people use their own names or photos, and not others...

"By the way - photo??"

she writes.

"Maybe one has to be both beautiful and photogenic to be allowed to blog? And soon we have the entire control-society."

Another female Swedish blogger writes that "Perhaps it's time for the European Union to register our private diaries too..." She thinks one of the worst things is that politicians prove they don't know what they are talking about or what Internet is! And thinks this is like the pure Soviet-state! And we have a right government in Sweden!!! And it's a right wind in Europe!!! Many have written about a big-brother society!

And here an article "The Economics for Nice People" concerning incitements for people, that they are all and only economic? And selfish?? I.e. that we never do anything without expecting something in return...

* "Vissa lagar som syftar till att bekämpa kriminaliteten är ännu mera kriminella " — Friedrich Engels

“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the Crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake, the wind may blow through it; the storms may enter, the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter; all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.” — William Pitt

We live in a political world...

Människorna är grymma mitt barn
och storhetsvansinniga
hela mänskligheten är storhetsvansinnig
vart vi än ser
ser vi storhetsvansinnig mänsklighet
vi är mitt
i en katastrofal fördumningsprocess
(Thomas Bernhard, his official home-site)

my amateur-translation:
The human beings are cruel my child
and megalomaniac
the whole of mankind is megalomaniac
wherever we see
we see megalomaniac mankind
we are in the middle
of a catastrophic dulling-of-the-intellect-process [so true!!! Does the power think people are stupid?? Arrogantly acting over our heads?]
---
We live in a political world
Love don’t have any place
We’re living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don’t have a face
We live in a political world
Where courage is a thing of the past
Houses are haunted, children are unwanted
The next day could be your last
(Bob Dylan)

I have had a book (among many!) lying here and started to read it yesterday. It’s by the Swedish author Bodil Malmsten (living in France since six years). Her blog (in Swedish) here. I used to be fonder of her earlier. Laughed a lot when I read her former book three years ago. She is in denial about the severity of childhood experiences I think. But that’s another question, and another posting?

Anyway, I want to quote her.

She reacted a lot against Nicolas Sarkozy who said fall 2005 during the revolts in France that if certain immigrants don’t like France there is no reason for them to stay!!! Something that became a law spring 2006 as she writes!

She writes that if a foreigner is judged for rebellious behaviour – rebellion - the one in question looses his/her long-term residence permission (uppehållstillstånd) and is given – if the person is lucky – a temporary residence permission which has to be reconsidered (omprövat) yearly (årligen)!

The same destiny befalls those immigrants who don’t show due (tillbörlig) respect (!!!) for the French flag and national-hymn!!

How is this possible? How come this is opportune today?? How can one say such things? Why don’t people react? And react MUCH MORE? And much louder!

Malmsten says she is stricken by how invisible Sarkozy succeeded being then (before he was elected president 2007), especially when things were burning, then he managed to look as if he didn’t belong to the unpopular government! But usually, or in all other occasions he succeeded in being nearest all cameras and microphones she writes (quite ironical, and yes, she watches French TV-news? So she must see more than we do)!!!

A radio-reporter Anne Sinclair with a lot of routine makes comparisons between today’s demonstrations and the demonstrations 1968. 1968 the youth demonstrated with a hope for the future. The students rebelled against the old, reactionary and hardened (förstockade), while the youth of today rebels of fear for their future. Doesn’t sound good!! This is horrible I think.

I will quote more when I come back from work later today. Really want to write more about this.

After work, continuation (sidetrack: maybe I could learn something from her: namely writing much more briefly!? Or?):

She writes more about the demonstrations in France: The school-minister (Sarkozy then?He was both minister of interior and for the education 2005-2007?) in France was forced to say that the government was open for dialogue about CPE (contrat première embauche or First Employment Contract), the minister said it was still time for dialogue (!!!).

“That’s what’s so good with murmurs of discontent (missnöjesyttringar) as yesterday’s demonstrations.

For if all these students, employees, people connected with the trade-unions and people not connected with them, younger and older who demonstrated in Paris yesterday, had stayed at home and got out burnt each one of them, then the government hadn’t become forced to take the time for dialogue as is necessary in a democracy, before the changes which affects a whole people are carried through .”

She writes about her sister’s cat lying at a hospital in Stockholm with drop. So what? The Avian flu is ravaging in the world just now (written a couple of years ago?). In this devastated world with its starvation, its epidemics, its increasing gaps between poor and rich. Its wars, its middle-east, its Rwanda, its Darfour.

One chapter has the title “Why are you so angry, Bodil Malmsten?”

And she answers for instance (my a little free translation and interpretation):

“Why I am angry?

I am not angry.

I am exhilarated and grateful for living in a world more complicated than I myself am./…/

I fear all groups more than everything else and all sorts of grouping.

I am against the family as a power factor but for the individuals in it; I love my family – the whole humanity – but I have difficulties with a lot of people.

But not all, not all the time, not at all.

I love all respecting the security-distance /…/

I hate hierarchies.

A woman at the top or not – it’s the power structure I am against. /…/

I am against Nicolas Sarkozy /…/ and everything he stands for – harder grips and bang! at the weaker.”

PS. In the evening: it stands that Sarkozy's father was immigrant from Hungary and his mother has Greek ancestors; from the aristocracy ("hypocrisy"??) in both cases!!! And the radio-reporter Anne Sinclair is daughter of a rich industry-man, but she seems to stand on the "weak's" side despite HER background!! She is 7 years older than Sarkozy? Her grandfather owned art-galleries (if I understood the French right?? :-) It's 35 years since I read French).

We live in a political world

We live in a political world,
Love don't have any place.
We're living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don't have a face

We live in a political world,
Icicles hanging down,
Wedding bells ring and angels sing,
clouds cover up the ground.

We live in a political world,
Wisdom is thrown into jail,
It rots in a cell, is misguided as hell
Leaving no one to pick up a trail.

We live in a political world
Where mercy walks the plank,
Life is in mirrors, death disappears
Up the steps into the nearest bank.

We live in a political world
Where courage is a thing of the past
Houses are haunted, children are unwanted
The next day could be your last.

We live in a political world.
The one we can see and can feel
But there's no one to check, it's all a stacked deck,
We all know for sure that it's real.

We live in a political world
In the cities of lonesome fear,
Little by little you turn in the middle
But you're never why you're here.

We live in a political world
Under the microscope,
You can travel anywhere and hang yourself there
You always got more than enough rope.

We live in a political world
Turning and a'thrashing about,
As soon as you're awake, you're trained to take
What looks like the easy way out.

We live in a political world
Where peace is not welcome at all,
It's turned away from the door to wander some more
Or put up against the wall.

We live in a political world
Everything is hers or his,
Climb into the frame and shout God's name
But you're never sure what it is.

Respekt...

”Emil och Alfred tar ett kvällsdopp i Katthultsjön efter en sommardag full av lek och hyss. Solen börjar sänka sig över skogarna när Emil säger till Alfred:

– Du och jag, Alfred.

– Ja, du och jag Emil, svarar Alfred.”

About Emil at Wikipedia. And earlier postings about integrity violations and effects of integrity violations.