I started writing a reflected entry about the American election but the more I read, the angrier I got. So instead I wrote a short, not so reflected angry version of that entry.

Let me ask straight out? How can an civilized, well educated country have a presidental candidate pair that isn't ridiculed by people for being opposed to equal right for homosexuals? We look down on people that discriminate people based on their skin color or sex. Why don't more people point out that it is equally stupid and last century to discriminate people based on their sexual orientation?

How can rich people with all the privileges in the world think they have a right to tell other people whether abortion is right or wrong? A couple with estimated net worth of $100 million and an Alaskan govenor with estimated assets over 1 million dollar are too well off to be able to put themselves in the shoes of other less fortunate people and tell them they should have no problem with raising a baby.

Those are the same people that think it is absurd to have national health care to take care of these same people and these same babies. It is not them that are likely to be denied coverage by the profit hungry insurance companies. They are also the same people that are against giving people proper sex education because they think teaching sex abstinence is so much better... And why do we think people get pregnant and need abortion? Why is it not obvious that the best here is to educate people so that there are less abortions?

Oh and those people are probably thinking it is not smart to encourage too much thinking. Lets teach people about creationism and intelligent design to water out that science education that might get people to think and see that we are just two monkeys from the stone age. Or do they really believe that stuff... not sure what is more worrying?

I am happy to be born in a country and live in another where this kind of thinking is considered ignorant and stupid! Ahhh... it was good to blow off some steam. Now crossing my finger for the more civilized and human candiates :)

Haven't we all wished for a beauty queen that didn't just want world peace?

Well it looks like we just got one and it is just scary!

I generally just criticize religion but today I want to actually commend the English church for apologizing to Charles Darwin.

I guess we all know that it sucks being wrong and that it is extremely difficult to admit that you were. Hence, the applauce.

Are you being tolerant if watch someone being treated badly just because you want to be tolerant towards religion?One of the best indicators that something should be criticized is when you risk being beaten or killed by doing so. This usually means that there is something fundamentally wrong. We have seen countless incidences of this nature throughout history and in recent times. It is easier to look back and at other countries and criticize them than to see what is happening right before our noses. Most people chose the easy way out and keep quiet while few brave people stick their head up and take the fight we all should be taking part of.

Kadra Yusuf is one of those brave people that we all should be supporting. Last week she went out into the media and asked for a re-interpretation on the Qur'an's view on women. The reaction from various Muslim organizations here in Norway were rather bland and pretty much summed up to being that it was none of her business and that there wasn't a problem. One went as low as saying "that she was probably good looking with a nice body but that they couldn't change the Qur'an based on what a woman meant".

The general reaction discussing this with people was that they believed she was in danger. That proved to be true and Thursday night she was beaten up by a gang of Somalians shouting that it was in the name of Allah.

Friday's reaction by the Muslim leaders and community wasn't too comforting; at least one of them doubting this attack was true. There were even sexists statements made about what a young woman was doing out this late.

We consider ourselves to live in an advanced society with freedom of speech but for some reason religious groups are exempt from any kind of criticism. This now going as far as being passed as UN resolution. There are laws in place guaranteeing equality but for some odd reason religious groups are exempt from that law. Thanks to the naive left-wing which shouts racism every time somebody dares to point out that maybe something isn't right, people don't dare to say anything. People generally want to be good people and treat everyone well and hearing that you are a racist doesn't feel good. The result of this is that we turn a blind eye to the fact that there are women that aren't treated as equal to men, that small girls are being mutilated by circumcision, and that people risk their life speaking freely about certain things. Please keep in mind that I do not want to remove religion but rather that some parts are reformed to fit today’s society.

There is this big misconception that you are being tolerant by never criticizing religion. What about the people that are being mistreated in the name of religion? Are you being tolerant against them? I think Kadra is doing a very important job and I really wish that there was something I could do to help her. Since I am just a nobody I can only hope this little entry of mine opens a least one person's eyes.

You aren't being tolerant by tolerating discrimination in the name of religion!

Lets keep destroying the planet because that means Jesus will return quicker...We here in Scandinavia would sometimes like to believe we are a lot smarter than for example the people I mentioned in my previous blog post. Unfortunately, we have our fair share of stupid people like the Danish bishop Steen Skovsgaard who states that "Climate changes in the last few years are a sign of Jesus' return".

He states that the enormous climate changes, hurricanes, tsunamis, melting of the Antarctic, and the war between religions can indicate that we find ourselves at the end of our times and that doomsday is approaching. As a Christian he claims it would be wrong to deny those signs of Jesus' return.

No mention that these climate changes could be caused by us humans or that we might want to do something to try to stop them. It borders on being an encouragments to destroy the planet. You would hope that his fellow Christians would express disapproval, but I actually found this through a blog of a Norwegian priest Torp who simply says "Come Jesus" (thanks Tiram for pointing out his blog).

Skovsgaard might be right about one thing though. Doomsday is probably near if we don't smarten up!

Would you accept it if I started encouraging men to beat their family if they disobeyed them?It didn't take many days (from me writing my last entry) before the first news of a religious group gone wild made the headlines.

Channel 4 in Britain went undercover into some of Britain's leading mosques and Muslim institutions. What they uncovered was among other things that they encourage beating women (that don't wear a hijab) and even children. There is more, but please refer to the article for details.

The most scary part is that Channel 4 is being criticized for doing this story. Apparently they are being inconsiderate and causing problems. What is wrong here?

I have been unable to find if these institutions actually receive Government support, but I would at least expect that the British Government strongly criticizes them if there is no funding to be cut. Nobody should get away with encouraging violence against certain groups. Not me, not you, and not religious groups!

I caught myself doing it again... This time I was wondering if I could practice some kind of voodoo to make the people at Kiss feel the pain I felt today when trying to use their player. What piece of shit!



I rarely actually wonder if I can get voodoo magic to work but lately I have been noticing how horribly superstitious I am. So I pride myself of not believing in God, but I still blindly believe in various other things that make even less sense. I have started tracking myself a little bit in the hope I will be able to drop this silliness. Few of the things that I do or feel superstitious about:

• I make a wish upon all eyelashes that fall off.
• I knock on wood and say 7, 9, 13 every time I state that something bad has never happened to me. This is supposed to prevent it from happening right after you say something like that.
• I feel bad if I open an umbrella inside.
• I don't start a new job on a Monday (I actually asked to start the job at Opera on a Tuesday instead of a Monday).
• I feel uneasy on Friday the 13th.
• I feel uneasy if a black cat runs in front of me.
• I get upset every time I dream about water (always been told it is bad and means death or sickness).

Then I own two sets of Tarot cards... and the other day I just _had_ to rotate one of my coffee cups three times over my head, blow into with a cross like movement, and put it upside down on my heater. Why? Well of course, to read the future from the pictures formed by the dried coffee...



The question is how dangerous are these? I have lectured myself that blind faith is dangerous but can I excuse these weirdnesses of mine as being harmless? I am hoping that by exposing my superstitious behavior that I will be ashamed enough of myself to I stop doing these things. So now flog me, make me embarrassed:-)!

The world is a bleak place these days with all kinds of conflicts and wars. While I think most people wish to make the world a better place and that we all got along, others seem to want to stir up things and cause problems. These are probably the biggest threat we have against living in some kind of harmony right now.



The story about target="_blank">Muslims being upset by the new Apple building in New York has been circling the online newspapers. Apparently they were furious that the building bore some resemblance to the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca and though it was an insult to Islam.



I blew my anger fuse when I read that. Thought it was idiotic and way out of line to get offended by a building that had nothing to do with them.



Luckily I started researching a bit more and found out that this story wasn't based on a very strong foundation. It was reported by an organization called the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) which translates Arab speaking web sites and online newspapers. In short, it seems like they found a statement on a web site (they do not say which web site) urging people to react against this insult to Islam. This has since been blown out of proportion.



Reading a bit more and you find that this organization has been accused of trying to stir up things to cause trouble in the past. So now Muslims have been wrongly colored because maybe one idiot wrote something on their web site. Hey, they should be allowed their fair share of insignificant idiots like any other religion without anyone assuming their words are the beliefs of the majority.



So that blew my second fuse and I got angry and irritated at this MEMRI organization. I have been blowing more fuses all day just thinking about this.



This strengthens my suspicion that the media cannot be trusted and that you need to do some checking before getting upset or starting to judge people. The problem is that we cannot use all out time double checking every story we read. Shouldn't the media have some kind of obligations to check their sources? I can promise you that not many will print an update to this story admitting they were wrong since that isn't as juicy as the original story.



Maybe the solution is to only start reading "quality" Norwegian journalism which only put idiotic stories on their front page such as about a dog loosing 30 kilos...

I am not sure what is worse. The Popes idiot statement that only evil has come from Islam or the fact that some Muslims are using violence to show their disapproval for his statement by for example attacking churches. How can the Pope which is the head representative of a religion that has done so many horrendous things in the past make such statement about another religion? How in the world does anyone think it is the correct way to respond to an utterly ignorant statement with attacking churches? Both sides are being major hypocrites!



Arg! Civilized countries are uniting and trying to agree on common ground when it comes to laws and human rights. Why aren't religions heading in the same direction?

For some unexplained reason I started talking about the fact that I was a member of the Icelandic church on my way back from the post office yesterday. Since I am quite obviously an atheist that conversation ended in me claiming that I need to resign as a member.



When I came home I found something in my mail box that I have never received before and that gave me a slightly creepy feeling. A invitation to masses of the Icelandic congregation here in Oslo I couldn't stop my silly head from wondering whether this was some kind of sign.



This morning I managed to sleep through the church bells that have woken me up every Sunday morning at 10 o'clock since I moved here. I happily ceased the opportunity to decide that this was a sign that yesterdays letter meant nothing.



I have freed my head from believing in things like religion. Next on list has to be superstition!