tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post840582840862372778..comments2024-03-16T09:24:45.474+01:00Comments on 22 Billion Energy Slaves: Denmark goes NuclearJason Heppenstallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-13539612453697209042013-02-05T20:16:57.878+01:002013-02-05T20:16:57.878+01:00Jeanette - what you have written resonates 100%. W...Jeanette - what you have written resonates 100%. When I think about it, spending the last 12 years here (with 3 years 'break' in Spain) makes me very sad and depressed. It's not culture shock or lack of assimilation, it's something far more profound than that. I have to tell myself that the experience has taught me a lot - which it has.<br /><br />I could go on for 100,000 words but I'd only make myself suicidally depressed, and I'm trying to focus on more positive things. <br /><br />As for the feed not working - argh! I have had endless problems with the feed, but I thought it was now fixed. I'll have another look.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-83213220352888666422013-02-05T18:34:12.833+01:002013-02-05T18:34:12.833+01:00Well, something has gone wrong with my feeders aga...Well, something has gone wrong with my feeders again, for I had not seen this and the other posts until now. Strange.<br />Still, I hope you will read this eventually.<br />Like Leo said earlier, in this post you seem to come up with your real arguments for choosing the UK instead of Denmark. You express disgust for hypocrisy, and I feel you, for similar experiences. <br />At one point in our life, my husband was offered a job in Stockholm. The new company organized an apartment for us. We left our own country (Netherlands), sold our house, took all the furniture with us, and started our new adventure with high expectations. But from day one, life seemed to have turned itself against us, and I hated just about everything in Sweden, except the one thing that had scared me in advance, the new school of my eldest daughter. That, and the beautiful coastline, were the only good elements. The rest was a nightmare. The job was a nightmare, my husband's boss was a jealous creature, the apartment, the neighbourhood, with rivaling gangs of Middle-Eastern and South-American youths around us, the supermarkets, the parking regulations, the city roads (totally seventies with new millennium traffic on them), the woods (creepy troll country), the people, the waiting list for forskola for our youngest (bye bye, Swedish child care reputation), the bureaucracy, the inertia, the frozen emotions, I can go on and on. <br />At one point, our new car got vandalized (and another car in the same parking). The police refused to come and when I started shouting through the phone, the guy simply hung up. Then, we called the firefighters, for the situation was dangerous. After waiting for more than two hours in that parking lot, unable to move because of the risk of a major explosion that would have destroyed all the parked cars, the firefighters came. They did not do much, only took away the open fuel tanks and powdered the remaining fuel on the ground. And we had to call a garage to have our car towed away. Again, we waited for hours in the Scandinavian cold before a guy with a truck came. The first thing he asked for, was to be paid. We were not near our home, did not have that amount of cash on us, but he did not care. I had to call the International Road Assistance from our Dutch insurance to get this guy to do what he had to do. <br />After our car was taken to a nearby garage, and we had recovered a bit, we went to the garage ourselves. Again, they immediately asked for money. Well, to make a long story short, I finally called Toyota Main Imports to get things going. And thank heaven: this man was not a Swede, but an Englishman! And he fully understood the problem, and felt for us, and immediately started pushing the right buttons, so that in the end, the car was fixed, the insurance paid, Toyota Europe was on our side, and the Swedes were left grumbling to themselves.<br />When I read your post, these memories came back to me: that nice Englishman on the phone, those frozen Swedes who only thought of getting their money and showed no empathy at all, my horror of the Swedish behaviour.<br />Instead of staying three years, which was originally the plan, we stayed three months. When we left, I felt like escaping from prison. For years, I refused to buy anything Swedish, and walked out of Swedish people when I met them. Now, I am over that, but the memories are still there. <br />It has been nearly six years now that we live in the States, and like Onething said, it would be unthinkable to leave someone bleeding on American ground. Yes, Americans are idiots in many ways, but at least they are friendly idiots. And a time will come when the people of the world will come to understand what it means to have friendly idiots as the imperial power. The next ones may be more like the Swedes were for me, or the Danes were for you. <br />Jeannette<br />Jeannette Sagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13154993610211487845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-23782977166274981772013-02-04T18:24:20.867+01:002013-02-04T18:24:20.867+01:00I am absolutely gobsmacked. Americans may be idiot...I am absolutely gobsmacked. Americans may be idiots in many ways, but no way would they fail to help someone lying bleeding in the road. I could give example after example. Five minutes would be the max.onethinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14535034825090836447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-38911169272967938562013-02-02T18:03:31.745+01:002013-02-02T18:03:31.745+01:00Well, I don't really want to get into a discus...Well, I don't really want to get into a discussion of national stereotypes, the real point of this post was to point out the stunning hypocrisy of a nation that is regarded by many as somehow possessing the 'solutions' to our collective predicaments.<br /><br />I think it's very sad that people then try to emulate what is effectively a nation-level PR stunt designed to attract international investment so that a high consumption lifestyle can be maintained. Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-33317933989587168192013-02-02T17:49:13.608+01:002013-02-02T17:49:13.608+01:00Today's headline: Denmark praised by The Econo...Today's headline: Denmark praised by The Economist as a glowing example of perfection that everyone else should emulate (kind of)<br /><br /><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=da&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpolitiken.dk%2Fudland%2FECE1886346%2Foekonomi-ministeren-soler-sig-i-ros-fra-the-economist%2F" rel="nofollow">Here's a link that's been Gargoyle translated</a> <br /><br />Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-15526248611377653472013-02-02T17:47:18.170+01:002013-02-02T17:47:18.170+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-16270515067624914632013-02-01T13:51:00.159+01:002013-02-01T13:51:00.159+01:00The point is, Sweden and Swedish people are someho...The point is, Sweden and Swedish people are somehow warmest of the three. Norway and Norwegians have a bit of a cold, rough edge, though all northern people tend to be cold externally and warm personally once you get to know them. And Finns, well, being sort of related to them through a common ancestor people, they're even closer to me in a way. Still, there's much to be said for common sense and straightforward ways of a Scandinavian society, as long as said common sense isn't cruel or ignorant, of course...Aenn Seidhe Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280534330965945826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-19765141169206416632013-02-01T13:36:18.333+01:002013-02-01T13:36:18.333+01:00Got a couple friends in Sweden too, and you know, ...Got a couple friends in Sweden too, and you know, in spite of a touch of insanity (the dull, quiet kind) and our typical Nordic depressionism and perfectionism, they're actually straightforward and sober people. Mostly. Not sure they'd leave you alone, bleeding after a bike accident. As a matter of fact, "janteloven" was something a Swedish friend first told about, but in his typical depressive fashion, about Swedish society. It might apply less though, on the other hand all former vikings are alike (and to be honest it's Russians who can be like the Danes in their pursuit of dumb propaganda-induced happiness, crowd behaviour, and indifference, though leaving a bleeding man after an accident unconscious is a bit weird for, say, St. Petersburg also, although I've seen a drunken man lying unconscious with nobody caring there too).<br /><br />As for Norway... Well the only acquaintance was a Norwegian diplomat woman, and she was quite cold and dull and rather dumb (but then career politics do that to anyone to some extent). It might not be such a bad place, especially if farming is possible and there's good land to be had not so far away from a city.Aenn Seidhe Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280534330965945826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-56939632347636591952013-02-01T13:29:05.452+01:002013-02-01T13:29:05.452+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Aenn Seidhe Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280534330965945826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-3884670661247798382013-02-01T13:01:02.271+01:002013-02-01T13:01:02.271+01:00I work with several Swedes and have yet more as fr...I work with several Swedes and have yet more as friends and I'm not sure they are cut from the same cloth as the Danes. In my experience of Swedes and Norwegians they are more 'on the same wavelength' as other foreigners I know.<br /><br />Thanks for the link (Norwegian is very similar to Danish, so I can understand most of it) - I know Norway is all about oil at the moment, but that's gonna change. It has to. Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-50070473637047912272013-01-31T22:33:02.163+01:002013-01-31T22:33:02.163+01:00To bad you can't move there then. Norway sound...To bad you can't move there then. Norway sounds like a great place to live as Overshoot appears. Hope the part of Uk your going to is nice and stable. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07113030328290684028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-20807900860104563252013-01-31T21:22:23.161+01:002013-01-31T21:22:23.161+01:00And you are also dead right - on all counts - just...And you are also dead right - on all counts - just didn't know whether you grokked that. I've found that building - and then later - turning two or three compost piles provides much thought/meditation-time, as does washing the dishes, for example.<br />Looking forward to your future postings.<br />Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04410439088299142773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-77529945440667254582013-01-31T21:18:23.887+01:002013-01-31T21:18:23.887+01:00I happen to live in Scandinavia too, some 600 kms ...I happen to live in Scandinavia too, some 600 kms to the north of Copenhagen in a different country named Sweden and a different capital named Stockholm.<br /><br />Sweden is of course a large country compared to small Denmark, but then Sweden did conquer provinces that used to belong to Denmark/Norway and also encouraged settlers to inhabit the wilderness to the north so I'd say that the "core" Sweden is just as large as Denmark is (many Swedes won't recognize Scania, a province conquered in 17th century from Denmark and the land you must've gazed upon across Öresund so many times, as a part of "real Sweden" for instance but as a sort of creol). But some other political-geographical differences aside, what you've written about Denmark here is true for all Scandinavian countries in a larger context. <br /><br /><br />I recognize all this talk about "eco friendly" "modern" "progressive society" Scandinavia as well as a tendency towards believing that English is The One And Only Language for conducting buisness and be "accepted" by everyone else "because English is the Only Language in International-Land" ("for whom?" you may ask. Beat's me. I'm not that surprised many Londoners regard the ex-pat Swedish colony as some of the most rude, unhumorous and dull people they've ever encountered, given that these people have been brought up to master grammar and speech in school as well as on their free time but don't know anything about the finer sublteties of culture. Instead of acknowledging these weaknesses, I assume that Swedish companies in total lose contracts worth billions of SEK every year because Swedish business men are by the prestige the English language holds over them inclined to believe they can make a deal in English with British/American people. Also keep in mind that Scandinavians in general only master English plus their mother tongue). <br /><br />The talk about progressive Scandinavia should be taken for what it is, commercial geared towards those who won't be visiting Scandinavia at any time longer than a tourists' stay. If you're there on vacation then it is a lot easier to project that this must be a fantastic society. All you have a talk with are service people paid to cater for you in either way. What you don't know or what you won't experience by interacting with the natives you can always project onto imagination what it must be like. Of course as you've stated so many times standards of living are among the highest in the world but in unsustainable ways when looking from all aspects. <br /><br />I've lived in Norway as well and there the government equals oil industry (even though Norway peaked in oil extraction around 10 yrs ago and that new fields doesn't replace the production value the old ones have/had, Oil Ministry always claims that future 5-10 years on looks promising in their forecasts even if they've been wrong for the last five years with a large margin for every year once it came). By the way, their "Leftist" and therefore supposedly peaceful government in place now decided to send troops in the Libyan war in 2011 (which a country like Germany didn't) based on an unconstitutional decision, but leading ministers don't care because "it was worth it". Good governance?<br />http://psteigan.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/halvorsen-bekrefter-grunnlovsbruddet-men-beklager-ingenting/ (Sry the article is in Norwegian only, but this isn't exactly on nine o'clock news either.)<br /><br />Anyways, I've followed and found your writings interesting and I wish you well in Cornwall. Conrad Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-90947637814726657542013-01-31T20:16:57.541+01:002013-01-31T20:16:57.541+01:00Stop it, you're embarrassing me! No, really, t...Stop it, you're embarrassing me! No, really, there are some excellent blogs out there. I'd recommend following up to about 10. Those ones that focus exclusively on market data and economics can get a bit tiresome though ... that's why I wanted to make mine a 'big picture' one.<br /><br />It's funny you should mention a book. I've thinking along those lines too ... I regard the US as being ahead of the UK and Europe in terms of thinking about peak oil and my guess is that there might be a few people over here willing to hear more about it. At present nearly everyone seems fixated on blaming their governments and banks for all the problems, and not looking at the wider issues, so I'm not sure how well my message would go down.<br /><br />I'll probably give it a shot this summer ... after all wood coppicing only takes place during the winter months!Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-55298251637854944212013-01-31T20:04:43.035+01:002013-01-31T20:04:43.035+01:00I agree with Triple G..almost. I'd have to thr...I agree with Triple G..almost. I'd have to throw Orlov and JHK into the mix. But I'd stop reading Clusterfucknation before I'd stop reading your blog and that's the truth. <br /><br />I started Epiphany Now three years ago and I'm just over 10,000 hits for the history of my blog. I'd bet that you could make some descent money just self publishing your books and selling them to your followership. You should consider it. I know it's sort of chic to act like it would be egotistical to self publish, but I think that's bullshit. You gotta put bread on the table and you're an excellent writer.Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-76673382459518481142013-01-31T18:54:14.229+01:002013-01-31T18:54:14.229+01:00Partly. Like I said, I don't really want to go...Partly. Like I said, I don't really want to go into it here. I'll get in too much trouble.<br /><br />Norway is a great country. Mountains. Space. Good governance. A favourable outlook with a changed climate. Secure. What's not to like?Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-35227305878288775552013-01-31T18:49:16.391+01:002013-01-31T18:49:16.391+01:00Thanks TripleG - that's probably the nicest co...Thanks TripleG - that's probably the nicest comment anyone has ever paid me!Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-43875098887352039392013-01-31T18:42:20.298+01:002013-01-31T18:42:20.298+01:00If I absolutely had to pare my "favorites&quo...If I absolutely had to pare my "favorites" list down to just you and Mr. JMG, it would be all right. Literally can't wait to hear about your cross-Channel adventure.TripleGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057036500299186500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-14244999831704654502013-01-31T16:01:42.553+01:002013-01-31T16:01:42.553+01:00"Economy based on death"? Is this a refe..."Economy based on death"? Is this a reference to meat?<br /><br />And what's so great about Norway?Aenn Seidhe Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280534330965945826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-5609965040695980402013-01-31T15:06:19.658+01:002013-01-31T15:06:19.658+01:00Well ... they complement one another. If Denmark w...Well ... they complement one another. If Denmark was Norway, I'd stay. But it isn't.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-82327729157036175912013-01-31T15:05:18.926+01:002013-01-31T15:05:18.926+01:00Too true. I am reading Theodore Roszak's '...Too true. I am reading Theodore Roszak's 'Where the wasteland ends' at the moment (which I would highly recommend, btw) and the depressing conclusion that this book has led me to is that human aspirations have shrunk so much in just a few generations that it is entirely possible to convince entire countries that their particular brand of middle class materialism IS the epitome of human happiness and potential.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-8235651462381629272013-01-31T15:01:17.115+01:002013-01-31T15:01:17.115+01:00Martin - of, course, you are dead right! Still, at...Martin - of, course, you are dead right! Still, at least I will have flexibility as to when I can work - plus - physical work gives you plenty of time to think about things when you are on the job.<br /><br />The blog will keep going ... I have plenty of new ideas.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-23376937303933016882013-01-31T14:59:49.655+01:002013-01-31T14:59:49.655+01:00Yeah ... I didn't want to get into that. It...Yeah ... I didn't want to get into that. It's too depressing.Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-19022767884551280812013-01-31T12:12:08.159+01:002013-01-31T12:12:08.159+01:00A very different view than your last post, i can s...A very different view than your last post, i can see why you've chosen to move. The last post seemed to show the UK and Denmark as about equal, this is a much clearer picture.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07113030328290684028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584699251999622098.post-37341820631787214352013-01-31T04:22:32.519+01:002013-01-31T04:22:32.519+01:00Ah yes, Denmark. I have an on-going debate with a...Ah yes, Denmark. I have an on-going debate with a commenter on another site that is always extolling the greatness of a country that is mostly under water, or will be in the coming decades. He is always bragging about how great it is and how wonderful it's renewable energy system is. Their arrogance is even higher than that of my native country, the US, and that is saying something. The higher they are, the harder they fall. I live in the Philippines and I would bet that the GDH here is higher than that of Denmark anytime. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com