Jugend in Riga

I spent the weekend in Riga, capital of Latvia, on a conference with my job. I really like the people I work with and we have now settled how we will work with the new layout we will present during the Social Democratic Party’s congress in a few weeks time. Riga was an interesting city well worth a visit; did you know that around 40 percent of the buildings in city center are modeled on the famous jugend architecture? And if you happens to go there, don’t miss the amazing resort Jurmala.

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And guess what: The Reverend Al Sharpton, prominent civil rights activist, is descended from a slave owned by relatives of the late senator and one-time segregationist Strom Thurmond. More about this historical irony here.

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They don’t write about us all that often, but this week The Economist has a long article about Sweden and our ”growing worries about Russia fuel a love-in with Norway”.

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There is nothing left to be said about the Oscars: I am glad Scorsese and Gore won, “The life of others” is great, but Babel could have won something more.

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If you are in doubt: a pan-European movement exists, and it is called the Party of European Socialists (PES). Latest campaign, about shutting the gender pay gap, here.

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And the most difficult article I have ever been involved in writing can be read here.

Go sister go!

A new poll brings great news from France; Royal is ahead of Sarkozy (29 against 28)! Read more chez Helena.

All work and no play

Last week was very busy. Our managing editor, who helps me to put the three newspapers I am editor in chief of together, was on a holiday. He has been a journalist for maaaany years and to cover up for him took quite a few extra hours. But I learnt loads and I am proud of the people I work with cause we made three really good papers, despite being a few people short.

So, I did not blog that much, but I must underline one thing: The foreign policy debate last Wednesday showed how the Social Democratic party should act in opposition. The party was not simply against the foreign policy declaration presented by the Conservative government, an alternative, progressive declaration was presented, and an open seminar about Social Democratic foreign policy was organized in the center of Stockholm. I wrote my editorial about this [Swedish], cause we cannot only be against things...

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After congratulating Dixie Chicks, I got an e-mail asking if I listen to Joe Ely. I didn’t, but I have started now. Here is YouTube-clip from Tribeca Rock’n’Roll Club in NYC, and here is Joe Ely’s website. [Thanks for your e-mail, Bo]

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I just cannot stop praising The Sopranos, saw the two first episodes of season four yesterday. If you live in Stockholm, they have a dvd-boxes sales at Buylando, Kungsholmen (S:t Eriksgatan 34). 499 kronor for two seasons/boxes…

“We’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

The 49th Grammy Awards have been handed out, and one of my absolute favorite bands won in all the five categories where they were nominated. The New York Times reports:

The Dixie Chicks took home Grammys for the top three awards: record, song and album of the year. Their “Taking the Long Way” (Open Wide/Columbia) won best country album and “Not Ready to Make Nice” also captured best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. That song is an unapologetic response to the furor set off in 2003 when the band’s lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an off-the-cuff antiwar remark to London concertgoers: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Since I love this kind of music and the state of Texas, but not the President of the United States, a few worlds collide in a great way when I listen to the Dixie Chicks. “Not ready to make nice” is a great song, but I think “The long way around” is even better [listen to them both, those were YouTube links for ya].

Big congrats, Dixie Chicks!

Sopranos? A lot better than Bush’s budget...

There are loads of things to read in Aktuellt i Politiken this week, don’t you miss Jens Henriksson’s essay about the economics of conservatives. And my editorial is here.

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And then we have Bush’s new budget (also known as the war on poor people). A good way to start reading about this is the Progress Report. And don’t miss this additional info: Only 13 percent of congressional Republicans say they believe that human activity is causing global warming, compared to 95 percent of congressional Democrats.

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One question we nerds should ask ourselves: Is Hillary Clinton’s victory inevitable?

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I am now watching the third season of Sopranos and it is still brilliant. Don’t miss out for as long as I did, folks.

Time to meet expectations, Royal

The election heat is going up in France, good article in The Economist today. Needless to say I want Ségolène Royal to win, and I am hoping she can meet expectations when her political platform will be presented later in February.

Before that, some 5 000 debates will be held where the members of the French Socialist Party can come up with conclusions and proposals that will be submitted to Royal. Even the Swedish section of the French PS will have meetings like this (in Stockholm); something we will write about in Aktuellt i Politiken.

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As Jonas Morian writes, we are about to change the layout (and some other things) of Aktuellt i Politiken (and Stockholms Tidningen and Ny Tid). I can reveal that the editorial will grow from one to two pages, and that we will increase our reporting of international and EU politics... More to come, and the ”new AiP” will be presented at the SAP congress in March.

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Social Europe (“the journal of the European left”) has a new website, and don’t miss the video with Tony Blair’s speech at the Policy Network Conference ”Britain and Europe in the Global Age: Common Challenges, New Opportunities”, including remarks by Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Andre Sapir and Will Hutton.

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Finally, I hope y’all have read the PPI Trade Fact of the Week (yes, I am quoted). And don’t forget to have a nice weekend!

”White people love to believe they’re fair”

Can Barack Obama become president in 2008, although he is black? It is possible, writes Peter Beinart in The New Republic, because ”white people love to believe they’re fair”. An interesting article well worth reading.

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My review of the film ”Days of glory” (Indigènes) can now be read online. And here is my editorial this week.

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Lucinda William’s new album ”West” gets great reviews; you can hear some tracks online.

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For Liverpool-fans: Paddy is back, and he is now a Swede… [Thanks, Örn]