30. Januar 2004
The ultimate gender bender!
"I was never a lesbian"
During the last year, Norwegian handball star Mia Hundvin broke off her marriage with her lesbian team mate and now she and her boyfriend, snowboard star Terje HÃ¥konsen, are expecting their first child in April.
"I have been sure all the time; I'm not lesbian", stated Hundvin to the women's magazine KK.
In the next issue of KK, Hundvin tells her story about the break-up with Camilla Andersen and her pregnancy.
"Generally speaking, I don't think I could be with a girl again, but I have learned one thing; you never get any guarantees", Hundvin stated in the interview.
Via Nettavisen News in English.
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29. Januar 2004
Is it life out there?
The first direct detection of oxygen and carbon in the atmosphere of a planet outside our Solar System has been made using the Hubble Telescope. Astronomers say the planet - called HD 209458b - orbits a yellow, Sun-like star and is situated 150 light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus.
It is a gas-giant world like Jupiter and scientists can see that it is being slowly destroyed by its parent star.
An international team has sent its results to the Astrophysical Journal.
The Hubble observations were made in October and November 2003.
They were carried out by astronomers from the University of Arizona and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US; York University in Canada; and the Paris Observatory and the Geneva Observatory in Europe.
Read the article in BBC News - Science/Nature. |
28. Januar 2004
'DVD-Jon' demands compensation
Jon Lech Johansen, who spent four years fending off computer piracy charges, now wants some compensation. He's demanding nearly NOK 150,000 from the white collar crime unit that prosecuted him.
It's a modest claim by international standards, amounting to around USD 20,000. But that will apparently satisfy Johansen, who was a teenager when all the fuss around him started.
There was no immediate reaction from the prosecutors (Oekokrim), who lost their effort to prove that the young computer expert made it possible to copy DVDs and then spread his decoding information for DVDs via the Internet.
Last January, the so-called "DVD Jon" was acquitted on all counts by an Oslo city court. An appeals court upheld his acquittal just before Christmas and prosecutors decided not to pursue the case any further.
Halvor Manshaus, who served as Johansen's lead defense counsel during the long legal battle, has earlier said the charges were a heavy burden for his client.
Via Aftenposten News in English. |
26. Januar 2004
Why, why?
Another half-meter of snow on the way
Those tired of shoveling snow had better just get used to it. State meteorologists predicted lots more snow later in the week, maybe up to a half-meter.
Oslo residents were among those told to brace for more heavy snow.
Parking places on city streets in Oslo are already at an even greater premium than normal, because of the piles of earlier snow that still haven't been cleared away. City crews made some progress over the weekend in removing snow in some areas, but not enough.
Now forecasters are calling for more snow to start falling by mid-week, with temperatures due to stay well below the freezing point for a change.
Since New Year, unstable weather patterns all over the country have led to wide variations in temperature. Unseasonably warm weather suddenly gave way to Arctic chills and then back to milder temperatures.
Thermometers were due to settle around -8 to -10C (14-18 F) Thursday and Friday.
Via Aftenposten News in English. |
23. Januar 2004
Oh dear!
Being a hard core republican (not to be mistaken for a political party in the US), I live thru hard days. The monarchy, Norway, has recently added a princess to the line of succession to the norwegian throne. And everybody rejoice. And media is wallowing in it. I'm happy for the Crown Prince and Princess, but sad for the republican cause. But what the heck! Monarchy is probably like so much else: If it works, don't touch it! |
13. Januar 2004
Parents face teen sex dilemma
A public quarrel has broken out in Norway over when parents should allow their teenage children to spend the night in the same bed at home with their boy- or girlfriends. The debate may take the country's sexual permissiveness to a new level.
The average age for a Norwegian girl's sexual debut has fallen by a year since 1992, to 16.7 years of age.
Oral sex is now as common as sexual intercourse among teenagers.
Norway's age limit on sex (lov om seksuell lavalder) was designed to protect youngsters from doing something they may not want to do. No country in Europe has a higher age limit than Norway. In Austria, it's 14 for heterosexuals and lesbians and 18 for homosexuals.
Psychologists remind both sides that Norway has a law actually forbidding sexual relations for those under 16 years of age. Parents, meanwhile, recommend talking with other parents to resolve the sometimes awkward situation.
Nurses who deal with teenagers, meanwhile, think the parents are much too naive.
"Many parents should better monitor where their sons or daughters are actually spending the night, when they say they're staying with a friend," advises Turid Sandvold of a youth health station in Oslo's Nordre Aker neighborhood. "Why not call the parents of that 'friend' and ask what you should send along with your son or daughter? That way it won't seem so much like you're trying to control the situation."
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12. Januar 2004
Norwegians pay the highest EU fee
And we aren't even a member of the European Union!
Twice, in referendums held in 1972 and 1994, norwegians voted no to become a member of EU. In spite of the norwegian reluctance to membership, most of our export goes to the EU anyway. And to keep the EU market open, we have to pay! How much has not been common knowledge until now, and the price for staying outside is high.
According to numbers from the European Union commission, Norway gives three times more money per inhabitant to EU’s new member countries than the member countries themselves.
The ten new EU members will as of this year receive EUR 205.8 million annually in subsidies from Norway during the next five years.
Of the other nordic countries (that are members), Sweden is transferring between EUR 64 and 84 million annually, while Denmark gives between EUR 19 and 25 million, and Finland about EUR 1.5 million annually during the next five years, according to the norwegian newspaper Nationen.
The numbers are based on calculations made on data presented by the EU commission’s budget directorate.
Divided per inhabitants, every Norwegian pays EUR 137.2 over a period of three years. The most densely populated country in the Union, Germany, will in the same period give EUR 18.60 per inhabitant. |
7. Januar 2004
7 days into the new year
As the picture shows, there was heavy snowfall here in Oslo last night. Summer seems so far away! (Photo stolen from: Aftenposten.)
Five days after the toll at the tollgate surrounding the Norwegian capital increased, two unidentified men threw a fire bomb at one of the booths at Alnabru, Oslo. It may appear as some people are very upset with the toll increase from NOK 15 (USD 2.30) to NOK 20 (USD 3) as two unidentified men went as far as throwing a fire bomb on one of the booths Monday night. (Via Nettavisen.)
Around 300 Norwegian children will be among those taking part in a memorial service on Thursday for Keiko, the loveable killer whale who died in a local bay just before Christmas. Some mourners are coming from as far away as California. (Via Aftenposten.)
In case you missed the event, here is NASA's Mars Photojournal.
Apple's new iPod Mini have made some people ask why you should by one? When the new iPod Mini sells for US$250 and offers 4 gigabytes of storage and the old iPod still sells for US$300 but has been upgraded to 15 gigs of storage. Coolness maybe?
The man suspected of killing Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh has admitted committing the crime. Mijailo Mijailovic was arrested following the death of Ms Lindh, who was stabbed in a Stockholm department store last September. Mr Mijailovic's lawyer, Peter Althin, said his client had confessed to the crime during interrogation.
And this is for all you (male) football fans! |
4. Januar 2004
It's over!
Yes, it's over. What? My christmas holiday! After 14 lazy days with good food, good booze, family, friends, late evenings and late mornings, it's over. At least for this holiday season. I had planned to read much this christmas, but I haven't actually opened a book!
My son, Thomas, went back to Dublin 1. january. He's coming back in february to attend a friend's marriage, so it won't be long this time.
But tomorrow the daily chores starts again. It's been snowing today, so there will most probably be totally chaos on the roads tomorrow. I'm glad that I can walk to work.
I managed at last to get to the ophthalmologist to get the necessary medicine for my iridocyclitis. It was difficult to find a doctor during the holidays, seems like they take all days off! (Like the rest of us?) |
2. Januar 2004
Norwegian plumber is World Idol
Bergen plumber turned pop singer Kurt Nilsen repeated his national success on a global scale, becoming the convincing winner of the first "World Idol" competition on Thursday night. Nilsen's unconventional looks were supposed to rule him out of pop stardom, but the power of his voice overcame all obstacles.
Kurt Nilsen raises the World Idol trophy, one of the few clear memories he had in the dizzying finish of the competition.
Nilsen, 25, was reportedly the favorite with the majority of his competitors, and bookmakers began slashing his odds as the final voting approached, but American Kelly Clarkson and Briton Will Young remained top favorites.
But on the night the juries in nine of the 11 participating countries gave Kurt top votes and a crushing victory in the competition. What he actually won, besides a massive trophy, remains to be seen, but the former plumber is now close to gaining an international recording contract.
Nilsen was one of the few artists to impress the ordinarily vicious panel of judges, and the only criticism the toughest of them could find was with the Norwegian's tousled, gap-toothed appearance.
But being told by the UK's Simon Cowell (acting as US judge) that "If this competition had been on radio you'd walk it", and having the Australian judge say he had the voice of an angel but the looks of a hobbit, probably only boosted the Norwegian's popularity with the public.
"I wasn't taunted (by the judges) so badly. None of them got me for the song. And it seems that those who voted for me ignored the jokes about my looks. People are beginning to understand that it isn't just glamour that sells any more, but the opposite. People listen to the music, the song, and that was lucky for me," Nilsen said.
Nilsen was stunned by his victory and was looking forward to continuing to pursue his music career on a larger scale, and agreed that his plumbing days were now behind him.
"And that means that I need to have a think. But I still have my plumbing tools and had to use them at home last week, when a pipe sprung a leak," Nilsen said.
Nilsen, a father of two, is due to release his cover version of Tal Bachman's "She's So High", which was a big hit in Norway, in the UK shortly, according to newspaper The Sun.
Via Aftenposten News in English. |
1. Januar 2004
2004!
Happy New Year, everybody!
My best wishes for all of you in the year to come! |
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