Long time, no blog

Well, it seems that it has gotten down to crunch time for everyone as we've had few blogs of late. For those of you in the working world, what's your excuse? It's lucky for you Ulli has been too busy of late to make threats about a blog schedule or some such. Just bought the Irish film "Intermission" starring Colin Farrell, et al. Great flick that I first saw in Ireland, and I've now watched it 3 times in the last week since buying it. Good for some laughs and reflection on the oft times lunacy of life. I'm on Thanksgiving Break right now...no classes this coming week. Then it's back to the grindstone for 2 weeks of classes, then final exams for another week. I feel the weight of presentations and papers bearing down on my back. And I've just found out that for my final presentation in one of my accounting courses, I will be presenting my findings on auditing derivatives to PwC's regional partner in charge of auditing derivatives. Perhaps they'll fire me before I ever start my internship, based solely on my performance in this presentation! Oddly enough, I've got to make a presentation on how to make presentations for my composition requirement. Only several weeks as a bank teller left, and I'll not miss the banking biz. Customers are shite. Had a crack whore in only just yesterday. Interesting lot, those crack whores. She had a mouthful of rotting black teeth that would make an Englishwoman proud (sorry A, but you lot do have a rep). Time to begin planning me activities to ring in the new year. What have you guys got planned? Maybe I'll take a page out of your books. I'm sure Adam's will involve some sharp Midlands hip-hop in the presence of his mates, Ulli will be off his face with everyone's mum, and Constance will be gettin down & dirty in N'awlins or NYC wit Walkie-Talk. If he's smart, the Talk will get down in NYC then jet off to Grand Cayman. Give my regards to Paris, will ya? Anyway, really should get some work done before I attempt to ease my pain with some Long Islands later on. Take care, all.

Tim

Church and State

Ulli's blog from the other day definitely hit home. Somehow, GW and his cronies have convinced Americans that if we want to protect our way of life, we have to legislate religion. GW and people like him forget that there are millions of people in America who are not Christian, and millions who aren't religious at all. But these people are ignored as religion is pushed into schools and rammed down people's throats. I'm a practicing Catholic and proud of it. I love my faith, and I'm proud to be a Christian. But by the same token I do not feel that the government should get mixed up in religious issues. For instance, take the gay marriage issue. I do not feel that homosexual couples should be allowed to married in a Catholic marriage ceremony. Other religions have to make their own decisions. But why shouldn't gay couples be given the right to a civil union? Who is hurt by this? I agree that government must legislate morality for the sake of protecting people, but they do not have to advocate the ultraconservative morality that the current government is throwing at us. The law must protect people from being hurt by other people, not from being exposed to diverse opinions and lifestyles. It is the job of the government to legislate morality to the point that people and their property are safe. It is up to each religion to teach its moral code to its followers. If the government must legislate that moral code, then obviously the religion has failed. The current regime (yes, I used the term regime) is going against the fabric of separation of church and state that this country was founded on. This country provided a haven from religious persecution for millions. These "huddled masses" included Catholics being persecuted in England and elsewhere, and also Protestants being persecuted in Catholic nations, and many other groups. Now GW is leading us back in time to a place where government does not tolerate a religion other than that practiced by the majority. We have launched a war against the Muslim "infidel," a new Crusade. This administration (and Fox News) has succeeded in convincing the American people that Islam and terrorism are one and the same. This administration has succeeded in making the world black and white, lumping everyone into categories and picking sides. After all, all Irish are car-bombers, all Muslims are terrorists, and all French are intense xenophobes, right? Let's just lump everyone together, so that all we have is "us" and "they." Let's make our schools bastions of Christianity. Let's keep all Muslims out, and all "foreigners," too. After all, we've all been in America since time out of mind, right? Let the government legislate morality, but let it be a morality for the good of all, not the morality of just one portion of the population.

I rest my case.
Tim

Strange days

Ok, I was reading this article in an Icelandic newspaper about this elections being decided in the churches of the US. I started wondering with that all the philosophy that these elections were about (Gay, Iraq and other less significant but important issues) that the thing that America was built on is changing. As I think we all know the foundation of this country is freedom and more than anything religious freedom. Even people from my country went all the way to Utah to get this basic human rights to practice their religion. Now I'm not so sure, I've always thought that your opinion is yours but you can't diss other people ones. I cant remember how this goes but something like that "I despise your opinion but I'm ready to die for you to be able to put them forward". Correct me if this is wrong. For example I know that Tim is against abortion at least to some extent I'm really not but that's just our opinion, so what. If some girl that I had made pregnant wants to get an abortion then it's not really Tims problem, right?

What I'm trying to say that it's ok to talk to disagree and talk about it eventually you may end up deciding to disagree on it. But when you say your opinion is without any doubt right that's just wrong. I know that not all people in America are that way but I feel that this a growing consensus (Nota bene I haven't been to the states in 4 years and in total I've spent a month in that country). Of course I understand that people are scared of terrorism in these days but some facts I read from the outgoing polls are ridicules (I'll discuss that later).

The point I was trying to make was that right of an opinion in America isn't still there, when you start teaching one religion in schools you aren't true to that point. Also there are so many small subjects that I feel are strange. punto y aparte.

Ok in the outgoing polls people were asked about if the war in Iraq was part of the war against terrorism. A majority said yes. I don't want to go into it but that's simply wrong, maybe not wrong as an opinion but as a fact Saddam wasn't part of Al Qaida. Also he count have had any nuclear weapons because first you can't make I'm the time from inspectors coming into the country until they were invited and second it would have been seen (at least I don't know a gym big enough to fly a plain back and forth in).

The last point on these elections my friend was telling me that there was this guy elected to the senate who was against gay people and abortion, ok fair enough. Also he was against gay people teaching kids (ok wait a minute), not only that but he also thought that only married people should be teachers (that one is beyond me). I'm not throwing any shit but how did this guy get 50% of any group of people.

Tim spoke about the stroke from under glacier and it's pretty cool (not bigger news than the election as it was on Tuesday morning but...). There is black snow now all over west and north west Iceland and they haven't been able to fly to those parts (and all the way to north Norway) because the ash does some bad things to planes engines. This has a mayor affect on all flights from Europe to America because I understand most planes go on their way through Icelandic air space and some through where the stroke is (I for example did when I came from Hungary). Tim also was worrying about Pussy Harbour (Raufarhöfn) if you see a picture of Iceland with the stroke on it you can see that by the coast right in the middle there it is our beloved Pussy Harbour.

Other news, I just spoke to Manolo and he hasn't found a job and is currently looking down in Miami. He didn't tell me much more but i guess he's doing fine, hopefully he will find something soon.

Edgar is back to school and is going directly to get his masters degree afterwards most likley in Germany if my memory serves me correctly.

I haven´t heard from Texas in a while but I'll send you all and update when i bother to send them mail.

Thats far too long for now, I have alot to say so I guess I'll blog soon,
Úlli

It's the end of the world as we know it....

Well, that song about sums up how I feel right now. I watched the elections all night last night instead of studying for an exam in a class that I'm doing really poorly in. I kept hoping Kerry was going to pull it off, and now it's virtually a sealed deal (barring some miracle in the courts or the appearance of millions of uncounted ballots). Ulli, I can't be blamed for this one. I voted Kerry, and the county that I vote in while at school (Champaign Co.) voted Kerry. My home county voted Bush, but that doesn't really matter because the state as a whole voted Kerry, so he got all 21 electoral votes from the state of Illinois. You need to take your beef up with Florida and Ohio (especially with Jen and Donate from our time in Barca). They're Ohio residents (or Jen was until recently). My vote actually matters little in the electoral system because I'm from such a heavily Democratic state (thanks to the city of Chicago, which votes hugely Democratic). Take a look at the Chicago and Cook County numbers, Ulli.

Well, utter dejection. I'm wondering where all these idiots come from. Do they live under a rock for 4 years, then come out to vote?? I should warn France and Germany that we will soon be invading you for suspected WMD (aka "not supporting the US in Iraq"). If Tony Blair flip-flops, the UK will be invaded, too. Hell, we might as well just take over the whole world and make it just like Texas, where they like everything big, including their bigots. Kasia's nephew is in kindergarten in Texas, and his school took a vote. 98 votes for Bush, 3 for Kerry. Brainwashed already!!

Glad to see Ulli is still alive and Iceland is still on the map. We were getting lots of images of 8 mile high plumes of smoke from the eastern part of Iceland yesterday. I'm just wondering if Pussy Harbour has survived--perhaps Ulli can confirm.

Went to an info session last week for students interested in studying abroad, where I was on a student panel. Mike Brown and Lauren Dippel (?) were they, and it was weird to hear them talk about Adam and Edgar. They said they'd heard all about me from Adam and Edgar, which is odd because they knew me not from the uni we attend together, but rather through a Paki-Brit and Captain Europe who they studied with in Spain. Unfortunately, Adam, Daniela did not make an appearance ;) The meeting only served to get me in the mood for a big piss-up, Barcelona style. Drinking some wine from Supermercado Aurora at Adam's, then maybe Mas i Mas and Universal. Anybody up for it? I'll leave you pondering those sweet plans.

Tim