In 1954..

Joseph R. McCarthy (1908-1957) is best known as a communist-hating senator. At a period McCarthy was one of the most powerful men in Washington. He developed a personal and political view that has been called McCarthyism. It included bullying attacks and accusations, branding anyone who disagreed with him as disloyal, un-American or a communist symphatizer. In 1954 McCarthy accused public figures of being communists and reportet that the Army was trying to keep him from digging out more communists.

In the 1950s, racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Oliver Brown who was the father of a black third-grader was tired of seeing his little girl walk such a long way too school. He wanted to challenge segregation in public schools and in 1951, the NAACP, recuested an injuction that would forbid the segregation of Topeka's public schools. Eventually the proposal came through and in 1954 supreme court decided that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional.

Lions for lambs

Three different stories with three separate time zones are told simultaneously in the film Lions for lambs. Republican Senator Jasper Irving gives a one-on-one interview to a cynical veteran television reporter named Janine Roth. Irving details a strategy for victory in Afghanistan while Roth asks skeptical questions. Meanwhile professor Dr. Stephen Malley invites a promising student named Todd Hayes to his office for a talk. Hayes has been skipping class and Malley tries to re-engage him. Concurrently, a platoon of United States soldiers is airlifted to a location in the Afghan mountains to head off the Taliban.

These three separate events are linked at the very beginning of the film. Irving tells Roth that small groups have been sent into Afghanistan to resolve the deadlock. Meanwhile Malley tells his student a story about two former students he had. His former students both enlisted in the military. The mission they were sent on is the mission Senator Irving is telling Roth about. In this way all three stories are connected.

But why did Malley’s former students join the military? They both grew up in poor families and faced many challenges growing up. They had to work hard to get good grades so they could get a scholarship and attend college. They were the part of the American society that no one really cared about. They wanted to make USA a better place for everyone to live. But to do so they first had to engage people in their country’s foreign problems. They did not want to just sit back and do nothing.

Irving and Roth end their interview, Malley and Hayes end their talk and the soldiers end their lives. Roth wants to publish the story with a negative perception to Irving’s mission but is told to do the exact opposite by her boss. Hayes has clearly been affected by his teacher’s story and goes home thinking about it. The reporter, the student and the soldiers all have to make an important decision but we only get to see what the soldier’s decision is.

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I thought the film was okay entertainment. If you ask me I would probably recommend a different film. However, it does make you think about doing something special with your life. And that is not such a bad thing is it?

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Lions for lambs, trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_V6ulwA0KE

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that is very popular in Norway. If you were to ski (or to snowboard) down our slopes half of the people there would be snowboarding. It is mostly young people who do it but older people are beginning to join the popular wave as well. But snowboarding can bee dangerous and it is important to use a helmet. The snowboard is attached to the riders' feet using a special boot set into a binding that does not come off if the rider were to fall.

To be able to ride a snowboard you have to have good balance, technique and stamina. I have snowboarded since i was a little girl and I can go pretty fast and controlled down the slopes. However, where I am at compared to where professional snowboarders are at are two very different levels. The pictures to the left are all pictures of good snowboarders.

Since snowboarding became a Winter Olympic Sport (in 1998) it has developed various styles each with its own specialized equipment and technique. In USA there is an annual sports event called X Games. Click on the link below to see some insane snowboarding from this American competition.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSQgld2RPIA

9/11

Last Tuesday my class watched a documentary made in 2002 called 9/11. I have seen many movies made about this date but I had never even heard about this documentary. I thought it was extremely exciting to see real footage from that day. It was filmed and directed by two brothers named Jules and Gedeon Naudet who was in the middle of the chaos when the two plains crashed into the towers. Originally the two brothers were making a documentary on a probationary firefighter on the New York City Fire Department (Battalion 1).

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On the morning on September 11th Battalion 1 was called to check out a gas leak near the towers. Jules Naudet filmed the first plain crashing into tower one. Battalion 1 was the first responders to the scene. Jules and Gedeon get separated during most of the day. The film continues to show 9/11 through the cameras of the two brothers who are in different places in New York. I definitely recommend this film to everybody! But I have to warn you; it is a very strong film.

I think most of us remember where we were and what we were doing on September 11. It was (and still is) the biggest terrorist attack in history and it shocked the whole world. How did the people in USA react to this attack? First of all people got scared. They no longer felt secure going to their jobs or leaving their kids in kinder garden. The fear of another attack was very real. One of the definitions of terrorism is that it is violent acts that are intended to create fear. And 9/11 really created fear throughout the world.

People in Europe also got scared. They got scared that their country was next on the terrorists list. But above all the Europeans sympathized with USA. USA declared a global fight against terrorism and Europe was not late to enter. Europe wanted to help and to stop terrorism. USA also reached out to the states for allies in the fight and this brought the country together. But the Americans were not only sad. They were also very angry and wanted revenge for their loss. It is still an ongoing conflict today; should the American soldiers in Afghanistan be taken out or not?

After 9/11 airport security have become very strict in both USA and Europe. People are afraid of another similar attack and are trying to prevent it from happening. 9/11 was a day that shocked both USA and Europe. Americans have sworn that the lives lost on that day will never be forgotten.

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Jules Naudet's film of the first plain craching into tower one can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys41jnL2Elk

Weather today

Hi everybody!

When I woke up today it was cold and grey outside. But the grey has gone away and the sun is shining :) It's still really cold though, but that is just because the autumn has arrived! Autumn in Norway is a beautiful season. The leaves turn orange and yellow and eventually fall of the threes. Spring is the total opposite. Everything turns green and flowers blossom.

My favourite season is summer. I love Norwegian winter as well but it is to long for me. The snow is lovely but the darkness can be very tireing at times. The winter is mostly spent at home but also at my winter cabin in Sjusjøen. I have been snowboarding since I was about six years old and I think it is a lot of fun. I am also trying out down hill skiing now. In the summer vacation I spend my time at my summer cabin which is about an hour drive from my house. I love it there! I have many girlfriends who stay there as well and we have a lot of fun. We bathe, waterski or wakeboard all day long and in the evening we drive down town and attend a movie or to shop at the mall. What do you guys do in your holidays and which season is your favourite one?