Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Norway Spending More Than Eritrea's GDP On 18,500 Immigrants
According to articles in Dagbladet and VG today, Norway's filthy oil rich government will spend 2 billion USD next year on "integrating" an estimated 18,500 asylum seekers. That is roughly $100,000 per immigrant. Ironically, it is also more than Eritrea's entire GDP, where many of the immigrants come from.
The average GDP per capita in Eritrea is $295, while over $100,000 is spent in one year on the average immigrant arriving in Norway. Could the money be better spent somewhere else?
The average GDP per capita in Eritrea is $295, while over $100,000 is spent in one year on the average immigrant arriving in Norway. Could the money be better spent somewhere else?
Labels: eritrea, gdp, immigration, norway, spending
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Visiting San Francisco
When visiting New York for a conference last month, I was lucky to get upgraded to business class both ways. Considering the nightmare it is to fly from Tokyo to New York, an upgrade can prove the difference between heaven and hell. When flying to San Francisco two days ago, I unfortunately did not have any luck getting upgraded, but it is hard to be lucky every time.
Leaving Tokyo at 4 PM and arriving in San Francisco at 9 AM, the only goal for the day is to stay awake until at least 9 PM. While not very easy, it is the best way to get over a jet lag. Luckily, San Francisco provides plenty of sightseeing opportunities for anyone trying to stay awake. After checking in at Le Meridien, we strolled over to Chinatown and quickly found a Vietnamese restaurant serving fantastic pho. There was hardly a Caucasian person in sight, and the restaurant was filled with Asian faces. If you want to feel like you're somewhere in Asia without actually having to fly the 15 hours to get there, Chinatown in SF is a good choice.
Afterward we walked down to the Ferry Building, which these days serves as the most popular market in town. It is a fantastic place to go shopping for organic products. With all the cheese, chocolate, and other temptations available, eating yourself to death seems like a tempting proposal. Oddly enough I bumped into Didi, a friend of mine from New York, whom I had not expected to meet in SF. This yet again proves that the world is a pretty small place.
Exploring the waterfront attractions in SF can keep you occupied for an entire day. We especially enjoyed watching the seals sunbathe at the Fisherman's Wharf.
Leaving Tokyo at 4 PM and arriving in San Francisco at 9 AM, the only goal for the day is to stay awake until at least 9 PM. While not very easy, it is the best way to get over a jet lag. Luckily, San Francisco provides plenty of sightseeing opportunities for anyone trying to stay awake. After checking in at Le Meridien, we strolled over to Chinatown and quickly found a Vietnamese restaurant serving fantastic pho. There was hardly a Caucasian person in sight, and the restaurant was filled with Asian faces. If you want to feel like you're somewhere in Asia without actually having to fly the 15 hours to get there, Chinatown in SF is a good choice.
Afterward we walked down to the Ferry Building, which these days serves as the most popular market in town. It is a fantastic place to go shopping for organic products. With all the cheese, chocolate, and other temptations available, eating yourself to death seems like a tempting proposal. Oddly enough I bumped into Didi, a friend of mine from New York, whom I had not expected to meet in SF. This yet again proves that the world is a pretty small place.
Exploring the waterfront attractions in SF can keep you occupied for an entire day. We especially enjoyed watching the seals sunbathe at the Fisherman's Wharf.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Conman in NYC Nearby Central Park
The following was written on August 9, but I never got around to posting it:
This morning, I decided to walk from my hotel to the Whole Foods Market at The Time Warner Center for breakfast. On my way there, I was stopped by a young man who claimed to have dropped his car keys in the sewer grate. As a result, he needed money to take a bus back to his university (USD $7.50), and in short this was his story.
He provided more details to make it all sound very convincing, though the story in itself seems rather implausible. Rather poorly dressed, why would a student own a car and drive it from a school located over 1.5 hours away? Why would you leave your car without your wallet? Finally I asked him what was his license plate number, and he plainly told me that he had no idea. I walked away, and he apparently gave up.
While clearly not particularly educated, the young man showed signs of emotional intelligence. He shook my hand and introduced himself, also asking for my name, thus ensuring that we were no longer strangers. Additionally he made some references to not being a weirdo or a black criminal (his skin color was black), so by refusing him I would feel prejudiced or perhaps even racist. In hindsight it is easier to see that the guy was simply a conman, and it will likely seem obvious to anyone reading this blog. However, when meeting a conman in real life, it is much easier to get fooled.
This morning, I decided to walk from my hotel to the Whole Foods Market at The Time Warner Center for breakfast. On my way there, I was stopped by a young man who claimed to have dropped his car keys in the sewer grate. As a result, he needed money to take a bus back to his university (USD $7.50), and in short this was his story.
He provided more details to make it all sound very convincing, though the story in itself seems rather implausible. Rather poorly dressed, why would a student own a car and drive it from a school located over 1.5 hours away? Why would you leave your car without your wallet? Finally I asked him what was his license plate number, and he plainly told me that he had no idea. I walked away, and he apparently gave up.
While clearly not particularly educated, the young man showed signs of emotional intelligence. He shook my hand and introduced himself, also asking for my name, thus ensuring that we were no longer strangers. Additionally he made some references to not being a weirdo or a black criminal (his skin color was black), so by refusing him I would feel prejudiced or perhaps even racist. In hindsight it is easier to see that the guy was simply a conman, and it will likely seem obvious to anyone reading this blog. However, when meeting a conman in real life, it is much easier to get fooled.
Labels: conman, conmen, new york, scams
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Emails From Crazy People
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Help Shut Down Ahmadinejad's Website
I am currently supporting the efforts to shut down Ahmadinejad's website. The efforts are currently proving successful, and I have not been able to load Iran’s state-run media web site so far today.
To help, simply visit pagereboot.com. Then type in the Ahmadinejad's website http://www.irib.ir/ and set it to reload once per second. Personally I am leaving a browser window open to reload this page 24 hours a day (that is 86,400 loads per day!).
According to CNN.com, Iran is doing is best to shut down pagereboot.com, but hopefully Ahmadinejad and his thugs will not be successful.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, additional websites to shut down include President Ahmadinejad's blog ahmadinejad.ir, the Justice Ministry's justice.ir, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' mfa.gov.ir. I have opened separate reload tabs for these websites, and currently all of them seem to be down.
I also want to applaud the efforts of several netizens to allow Iranians free access to the Internet through proxies.
VG1, VG2, VG3, VG4, Dagbladet1, Dagbladet2.
To help, simply visit pagereboot.com. Then type in the Ahmadinejad's website http://www.irib.ir/ and set it to reload once per second. Personally I am leaving a browser window open to reload this page 24 hours a day (that is 86,400 loads per day!).
According to CNN.com, Iran is doing is best to shut down pagereboot.com, but hopefully Ahmadinejad and his thugs will not be successful.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, additional websites to shut down include President Ahmadinejad's blog ahmadinejad.ir, the Justice Ministry's justice.ir, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' mfa.gov.ir. I have opened separate reload tabs for these websites, and currently all of them seem to be down.
I also want to applaud the efforts of several netizens to allow Iranians free access to the Internet through proxies.
VG1, VG2, VG3, VG4, Dagbladet1, Dagbladet2.
Labels: Ahmadinejad, iran
Monday, June 15, 2009
Is Erik Solheim Naive?
Erik Solheim, a Norwegian Government minister, is currently featured on the BBC program HARDtalk. Since BBC normally has a very obvious leftist slant, one would expect Erik Solheim to have a relatively easy time. On the other hand, it is always more difficult to answer questions in English when it is not your native language. In either event, I am looking forward to seeing the interview on BBC.
According to the Norwegian leftist newspaper Dagbladet, BBC decided to interview Mr. Solheim after reading a translated version of an opinion piece that he wrote Dagbladet on Mars 27 this year. In the article, Solheim stated that: "I am proud that one of the hallmarks of Norway today is that we are nearly always willing to talk to everyone. This has given us a special role in a number of conflicts. Because we could talk to Hamas and were thus among the first to establish contact with the Palestinian National Unity Government, we have had unique access to the negotiations in the Middle East conflict. In Sri Lanka we were among the few who had contact with both the Tamil Tigers and the authorities. We met with the Nepalese Maoists before anyone else. Now the Maoists are represented in the national assembly and the Prime Minister is from their party. We talk to communist guerrillas in the Philippines, and have contact with rebel groups in Burundi and Sudan. When the parties in strife-torn Zimbabwe decide to establish a Government of National Unity we start a dialogue with all of them. The fact that we talk to someone doesn't mean that we agree with them on all issues. We take the opportunity to present our views".
In the BBC interview, Erik Solheim was asked whether his willingness to talk with all kinds of dictators and terrorists makes him a little naive, to which Erik Solheim responded that boycotts generally just make conditions worse.
To this statement, I would like to ask Mr. Solheim why he has singled out Israel as the only country in the world that he wishes to boycott. For some odd reason, Erik Solheim's political party (The Socialist Left Party) is willing to talk and trade with all terrorists and tyrants, but does not wish to have anything to do with the Jewish state of Israel.
Regarding his unsuccessful attempts to secure a peace deal in Sri Lanka, it would also be interesting to ask whether his efforts indirectly lead to the destruction of the Tamil Tigers. Finally, I would like to ask what efforts he is making to maintain a dialogue with the independence movements in occupied Kurdistan and Tibet.
According to the Norwegian leftist newspaper Dagbladet, BBC decided to interview Mr. Solheim after reading a translated version of an opinion piece that he wrote Dagbladet on Mars 27 this year. In the article, Solheim stated that: "I am proud that one of the hallmarks of Norway today is that we are nearly always willing to talk to everyone. This has given us a special role in a number of conflicts. Because we could talk to Hamas and were thus among the first to establish contact with the Palestinian National Unity Government, we have had unique access to the negotiations in the Middle East conflict. In Sri Lanka we were among the few who had contact with both the Tamil Tigers and the authorities. We met with the Nepalese Maoists before anyone else. Now the Maoists are represented in the national assembly and the Prime Minister is from their party. We talk to communist guerrillas in the Philippines, and have contact with rebel groups in Burundi and Sudan. When the parties in strife-torn Zimbabwe decide to establish a Government of National Unity we start a dialogue with all of them. The fact that we talk to someone doesn't mean that we agree with them on all issues. We take the opportunity to present our views".
In the BBC interview, Erik Solheim was asked whether his willingness to talk with all kinds of dictators and terrorists makes him a little naive, to which Erik Solheim responded that boycotts generally just make conditions worse.
To this statement, I would like to ask Mr. Solheim why he has singled out Israel as the only country in the world that he wishes to boycott. For some odd reason, Erik Solheim's political party (The Socialist Left Party) is willing to talk and trade with all terrorists and tyrants, but does not wish to have anything to do with the Jewish state of Israel.
Regarding his unsuccessful attempts to secure a peace deal in Sri Lanka, it would also be interesting to ask whether his efforts indirectly lead to the destruction of the Tamil Tigers. Finally, I would like to ask what efforts he is making to maintain a dialogue with the independence movements in occupied Kurdistan and Tibet.
Labels: erik solheim, foreign policy, norway, the socialist left party
Monday, June 08, 2009
Bali's Population Density Much Higher Than Japan's
Believe it or not, but Bali's population density is 1,448 /sq mi while Japan's is 872.8/sq mi (check it for yourself on Wikipedia). Not exactly a place I would call paradise on earth. Remember that Japan's population is concentrated in a few extremely dense areas, for instance Osaka's population density is 30,803 /sq mi. The problem in Bali is that people are spread out all over the place, leaving very little space for the wildlife and beauty that once dominated the island. For example, the biggest (and perhaps the only real) national park in Bali covers just 10% of the island's total area. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Bali more if I had visited a few decades ago, when there were people still alive to tell tales of the now extinct Balinese tiger. It should also be mentioned that people in Bali don't smile any more than they do in Thailand.
Perhaps I am being a bit harsh, but I have not been impressed by Bali so far. Staying in Nusa Dua, an area developed just for tourists, may not have been the best choice in the world. From what I know, this place used to be a fishing village. The international resort we are staying in could easily be in Thailand or the Philippines, it does not really matter anywhere what South-Eastern country you are in. Not to mention that a coral reef was destroyed to build this place.
Yesterday we spent a day mainly relaxing on the beach, and in the evening we enjoyed dinner in Kuta, famous for being bombed by terrorists in 2002. Today we took a tour of the island, but did not see much of the natural beauty that I had hoped for. Our guide was capable of speaking some Japanese and some English, but not sufficient to tell us anything interesting about the sights we visited. We should perhaps have forked out the money and arranged a tour through our hotel, though that would have cost me a liver + a couple of additional body parts. In total our tour today cost just $50, so at least we are not bankrupted.
Perhaps I am being a bit harsh, but I have not been impressed by Bali so far. Staying in Nusa Dua, an area developed just for tourists, may not have been the best choice in the world. From what I know, this place used to be a fishing village. The international resort we are staying in could easily be in Thailand or the Philippines, it does not really matter anywhere what South-Eastern country you are in. Not to mention that a coral reef was destroyed to build this place.
Yesterday we spent a day mainly relaxing on the beach, and in the evening we enjoyed dinner in Kuta, famous for being bombed by terrorists in 2002. Today we took a tour of the island, but did not see much of the natural beauty that I had hoped for. Our guide was capable of speaking some Japanese and some English, but not sufficient to tell us anything interesting about the sights we visited. We should perhaps have forked out the money and arranged a tour through our hotel, though that would have cost me a liver + a couple of additional body parts. In total our tour today cost just $50, so at least we are not bankrupted.
Labels: Bali, Indonesia, sights, sightseeing, tourism
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