Site Presented By
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
arcite
Published Letters: 9 Editor's Choice: 3
Although right-wingers slam socialism and national health care, Norway is a great example of how national wealth can be used for the benefit of the people, and not just for the benefit of plutocrats. Norway has a high standard of living, and, despite the fears about the effects of overregulation common in the neo-liberal crowd, Norway has the highest number of millionaires per capita than any other country in the world.
Not to mention that in Oslo, you can take the subway and get to cross-country ski trails!
But keep in mind, though, that everything in Norway isn't necessarily roses. The idea that Norway is building its fortune on fossil fuels is a little distressing. They still have right-wing parties like Fremskrittspartiet that advocate free market economic policies and stoke xenophobic fears about foreigners and immigrants for their own political advantage. And, as much as they're trying to keep their population in the hinterlands, there is net immigration towards the big cities, mainly Oslo.
But still, I would live there in a heartbeat.
And don't forget to see the Lutefisk museum in Drøbak!
Oh dear lord this letter writer is a complete prat.
Honestly? Get over it, man. You'd be much more convincing if you knew what *you* were talking about. "Carbon-neutral" doesn't refer to elemental carbon in this case, but carbon compounds. Carbon "fixed" by plants doesn't tend to be in the form of carbon dioxide, but as part of glucose, starch, cellulose, etc. The carbon that we pump out of the ground isn't in the form of carbon dioxide either, but instead in long hydrocarbon chains. To examine how carbon dioxide (and methane!) gets into and out of the atmosphere, you need to look at the *entire* process, and all of the carbon compounds involved.
And on top of that, what does it matter if the term is slightly inaccurate in your mind? There is a need for short and catchy terms to define simple concepts in the public sphere. Marketing is important in this case to get action on this issue, whether we like it or not. And while to assume that it involves "indulgences" and obedience is, unfortunately, a lot closer to reality than people would like to believe, at least the public is motivated in this situation out of some kind of desire to help the environment, as opposed to some misguided quest for revenge.
Stop being a self-righteous snob, and try to do something worthwhile, 'kay? And Cary? If this is the best you can do, both for a letter and for your advice, you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
...while I was in a foreign country. I didn't know the medical system, I didn't know the language well, I thought that I was having a stroke, and I had the worst ear infection of my life at the same time. It took about two to three weeks to recover, and it was one of the most miserable times of my life.
I'm sorry about having a lack of sympathy about your situation, LW, especially since it seems like this is just a "straw that broke the camel's back" situation. But look, no one "deserves" a disease. Just grit your teeth, deal with it, and get through it. And look long and hard at the way that you deal with stress, because if something small like this pushes you over the edge, you're going to have some severe problems if anything major were to ever come up.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
