Then there is China: not allowing the Nobel Prize winner to come and collect his own prize! What are they so afraid of? What do they have to hide/safeguard?
Then we had "elections" in Egypt. What? Was that a joke? No that's what they call it when the sitting President Mubarak, old and sick and his party continues their ridiculous "status quo" that the Egyptians are so tired off, they have to joke about it, it's so insane. The writer Alaa el-Aswany (Jaquoubian's building), one of the founding members of the opposition movement Kifaya (Enough!), is one of the voices speaking up for democracy in Egypt. In vain it seems... at least so far! Presidential elections are coming in November 2011.
Website for this image
strandreleasing.com
| India: then I went to get my visa for one of the biggest democracy in the world and after filling out several forms, indicating even my father's name (!) and of course my job... I had to pay 147 € as a punishment for stating that I was a journalist (although not going as an assignment) and a Swede living in France, hence the high prize I was told... and I will only get a single visa for ONE entry for three months. If I want to go back I'll have to pay the same horrendous amount once more... Where is the freedom and democracy here I wondered? It sounds more like discrimination to me. |
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| Finally, I attended a very interesting press-conference about the situation of handicapped people in Sweden verses in France: Stockholm wants to show off as the most handicapped friendly capital in the world and France has voted a law of quotas to force medium and larger sized companies to employ handicapped. A good thing. Maybe they should do the same with women because on that level, France is lagging behind (after Kazaksthan)... |
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| Still, I want to believe the world is moving foreward because however hard some try to musel us, we'll always find ways to speak up and denounce tyranny on whatever level. |
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