Uppslutningen när vi möts i det offentliga är viktig, och glädjen som är bärande för en rörelse. När vi i helgen var en grupp som möttes för att utvärdera European Social Forum som helhet lyser demonstrationen fram som en av de viktigaste positiva erfarenheterna. ldquo;Göteborgstraumat är överrdquo;, som någon uttryckte det.

När jag kom hem igår och läste att Cyklopen i lördags brändes ner var det därför väldigt skönt att höra hur positiv uppslutningen hade varit i Lund igår mot nazistmarschen.  1 500 personer enligt yelah. En så stor samling innebär att många har slutit upp som inte hör till den snävare kärnan av aktivister. Med den typen av uppslutning i ryggen kan vi säga ldquo;vi bygger ett nytt husrdquo;. Efter att ha följt kulturkampanjens arbete för ett fritt kulturhus under flera år är jag full av beundran för kontinuiteten och förmågan att återuppstå. Det här är inte den första motgången. Hoppets stjärna ska nog bli vår.

A few months ago me and a friend met some american girls. We where going on a train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki and they had just arrived from Israel. As they told us about their trip I became more and more sad. Nothing about the ocupation or the terrible situation in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. Nothing about the wall or the IDF presens. They only talked about partying and having fun.

And today I walk out in the city to get an answer to the question how much you feel about the tensions in Tel Aviv, around one hours drive from the West Bank. And the answer is, as I thought, not much.

The security are pretty tight, but not by far as I imagine before. No army at the airport, no extra screening of my luggage. I´ve been uncomfeble with the situation two times today, the first one where at the airport when a security guart spotted me and asked questions about why I was in Israel. So after 10 seconds on Israeli soil, I had to lie to a guard. The second time was when the station manager at a small subway-station searched my bags.

Walking along the shore in the sunset, I could be in Barcelona, Cape Town or Thessaloniki. And you can´t feel anything of the pressent situation. It´s only about party and having fun. Very strange.

I think it will change tomorrow when I go to Jerusalem and into the West Bank.

Otherwise I have a nice time, I´m at a café, drinking mint lemonade. In two hours I will meet up with Israeli journalist and activist Ido Liven. More on that tonight.

We talked about the views in the European media, the middle east are so much more then a conflict, but it´s rarely showed in the newspapers, tv and radio.

I got inspiration talking to him, and maybe we´re going to meet up again in Amman, Jordan in a few weeks time.

Read more about Ido at his website.

During this week I will meet some people, visit two NGOs and try to make a plan for my trip. I´ll get back to you soon.

I början av året pendlade jag upp och ner till Stockholm för att vara med i planeringen av Röda Korsets Ungdomsförbunds nationella fokusområde 2008, hiv amp; aids. Fascinerande att se idéer förverkligas som jag bara i ett inledningsskede var med och diskuterade. Minst tre idéer har blivit verklighet! Ett festivalkitt, en vykortskampanj för sex i skolan och den här digitala musiksatsningen inför World Aids Day 1 december.

The goals are to learn more about the region and collect stories from articles and lectures when I´m back. The Swedish aid organization Diakonia have ordered three articles from their projects in the region and I´ve got some more contacts of other travels.

And, I will tell stories here at the blog, I will bring equitment for text, images, radio and video. See you soon!

Miljögifter i tryck

Läs sammanfattningen i Naturskyddsföreningens rapport!

Imorgon ska jag plocka upp Otto von Busch:s avhandling ldquo;Fashion-able : hacktivism and engaged fashion designrdquo; i Lund och hoppas på ny inspiration för tankekraft.

City Helsingborg 5 november 2008

The work for a better America, and a better world starts today.

Good night George W Bush and good morning Barack Obama.

The US will face new challenges and can´t respond with more wars, they need to start talking to the rest of the world and be a part of building something better for all people. And I think this is one of the few opportunities in our time to get a US president that can make this happened.

So my hopes will be on Obama, it´s 19 hours and 45 minutes left until the voting begins.

Here´s some examples:

Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

MCCAIN: I believe that many nations will not reach their true potential without outside help to combat the entrenched problem of HIV/AIDS, which afflicts poorer nations more severely. Itrsquo;s critical that we face this crisis head-on, which is why I was a co-sponsor of the reauthorization of PEPFAR that will provide $48 billion for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria funding by 2013.

OBAMA: Irsquo;ll double annual foreign assistance from $25b to $50b by 2012. I was a co-sponsor of the Lantos-Hyde Act that authorized $48 billion by 2013 for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB. I support lifting the 33% cap on US contributions to the Global Fund, ensuring at least 4.5 million people are on ARV treatment by 2013, and preventing 12 million new infections.

Achieving Universal Primary Education

MCCAIN: Among the most important determinants of economic well-being is educational attainment. The statistics are undeniable; if you can get a decent education, you can free yourself from the threat of poverty. This is why we all should agree that a quality education is the right of every child.

OBAMA: Worldwide, an estimated 100 million children - including nearly 60 million girls - are not attending school. By 2010, getting these children into school could cost $10b annually. To meet our share of that sum, I look forward to signing the Education for All Act and will request the funding levels needed to carry it out.

Additional commitments for the worldrsquo;s poor

MCCAIN: I would pursue policies that enable entrepreneurs in the developing world to increase their access to international markets - which is critical to lifting nations out of poverty. The US should lift trade restrictions and phase out agricultural subsidies that choke off opportunities for poor farmers abroad. The US should also be at the forefront of a Green Revolution in Africa. These and other efforts would assist poorer nations in enabling their citizens to achieve their potential. I would also press nations on the critical importance on good governance and economic and legal reform, because no amount of assistance can succeed when governments fail their people. Finally, America must lead an effort to prevent disease and developmental disabilities among children by providing nutrients and food security.

OBAMA: Irsquo;ll make the Millennium Development Goals American policy. By the end of my first term I expect to see progress to meeting the MDGs, including reducing by half the number of people living on less than a dollar a day and suffering from hunger, and reversing the number of new HIV infections and malaria cases.

Read the whole report at One.org.

Min bristande tyska är ett hinder men det ser ut som att de tyska attacarna överraskar reportern?

Hur vi svarar på och använder finanskrisen är det som nu sysselsätter allt fler. Casino Crash tar precis den utgångspunkten.

Se: The global economic crisis: An historic opportunity for transformation

Sofia Kjellén presenterade nyligen Attac Sveriges tänk i ETC.

I fear we will see more of this towards the Swedish election two years from now. I think that racist parties will get into the parliament. And I think that the neo nazi activist will grow stronger if we don´t do anything.

The good news are that these forces can be pushed back, we did it in the mid-90s and we can do it again now. But we need to work together for make it. The struggle need to make some changes:

* No platform for racist groups

* Show who they are, make the racist leaders visible

* Stand up against racism every time, everywhere

Sweden can do it, just like we did 15 year ago, the time is now.

Lite krasslig har jag istället ägnat tid åt mailboxen, protestbrev och upprop. Flera tecken finns på att mobilisering på nätet går en kreativ vinter till mötes och tar nya former!

För hyresrätten samlas det till virtuellt demonstrationståg, just nu med över 10 799 medborgare tågande fram.  Fler än 1 000 från Malmö.

Handels har utformat en sida i medlemsvärvandet som också prövar nya former. Handelscity samlar många inskickade historier på Storyplace-sektionen och nyheter från värvandet blandas med intervjuer.

En mer traditionell email-aktion: Via Maquila Solidarity Network fick jag ett blixtupprop som International Labor Rights Forum driver just nu till stöd för en jurist på Filippinerna.  De har ett kompletternade perspektiv på kampen för global arbetsrätt med material som jag inte har tagit del av på svenska. Läs till exempel om villkoren på ananasodlingar i nya rapporten The Sour Taste of Pineapple.

Det är frestande att vara webaktivist. Jag undrar om jag undviker svårare situationer i verkligheten? Men kreativiteten som verkar börja frigöras även hos gamla folkrörelser är avgörande viktig. Varför har det tagit sån tid? Vad gör vi härnäst?

Today it´s 63 years ago the 50 member countries ratified the charter and formed the United Nations. The world had just been in the worst war in history with around 20 million people dead and many more suffering. Two cities in Japan where completely gone, and many parts of Europe where in ruins.

And on October 24th 1945 the countries joined together and said, never again!

It´s a beautiful idea, and since then they´ve worked for a better world for all. It´s hard, it should be hard. But sometimes I wonder if all the members want justice, peace and sustainability after all. We live in an enlightened world, full of opportunities. And still half of the worlds population live on under 2,50 dollars per day. It´s a shame and a crime against humanity!

My vision are that you and me can stand together 37 years from now and celebrate the 100th birthday of UN, with the knowledge that we made it. That the world are equal, sustainable and peaceful. Maybe it´s naive, but I think we can to it!

Then I would be a very glad 63 year old man.

So happy birthday! And I hope you have many good years ahead.

The British House of Lords - the countryrsquo;s highest judicial body - has ruled that the exiled inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean may not return to their homeland. The ruling is the latest in a case which has already lasted 40 years.

Two years ago, the High Court ruled that the islanders had the right to return to 65 of the Chagos Islands, with the exception of the main island of Diego Garcia where the United States has an air force base. The US leases the island from the United Kingdom.

Between 1968 and 1973, around 2,000 islanders were moved to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The US did not want any civilians near its airforce base. The Chagossians, who now number around 5,000, will now probably take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

That 2 000 people can be moved just because that the US want to have a military base there are a clear violation of the human rights and one of the ugly faces of the US foreign policy with the help of the British.

If you would like to know more about, watch John Pilgers film about the issue.

The ideas behind this blog are several fold. In one sense it’s a way for, friends, family and colleagues to follow my adventures off-grid which are essentially experiments in ‘sustainable’ living. On another level it’s a way for me to publish and write about ideas and concepts that are important to me now in my life. It’s also a way for me to offer, web- links, social-networks and useful resources to those interested in ‘off-grid’ living or alternative life-style choices. Finally, I think that this is also about wanting my individual friends, family and colleagues to see the diversity of both my established friendships and those new friendships which seem to grow daily. I suppose in more ways than one it’s also my way of using technology positively to widen the community circle for myself and others in my life. Thus, ‘the-circle-is-open-but-un-broken’. Please enjoy this blog. Check out the various web-links on the site by hovering over bold or high-lighted texts. Please report any broken links or unavailable resources so that I can mend or re-link them. Here’s my email address: electric-gypsy@fsmail.net "

Haltande medielogik

ldquo;Mediebilden av forumet följde en annan logik. Medan P1-lyssnarna och läsarna till regionens största dagstidningar också fick höra röster från forumdeltagarnas diskussioner, nämnde andra medier ESF nästan enbart i samband med en urspårad gatufest – som inte ens var del av forumet.rdquo;