patrick.net

My last picture was a comment on how you should have rotated the picture before posting it.

Oh right, my mistake.

Back in Dublin now. Compared to Belfast, Dublin is much more touristy and expensive, but there is also a happiness and lack of sectarian tension here, which is nice.

Diversity is not necessarily a good thing. Diversity harms social trust and cohesion.

If you want a change of food and are in the central Dublin area, this place was good(though I was there in 2012..five years is a long time)

https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cedar-tree-dublin-3?osq=lebanese

One of the "peace walls" in Belfast. Tour guide said they have been effective in greatly reducing violence in areas where Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods border each other. You can go around them if you're willing to go out of your way. The locals on both sides still want to keep them because there is still tension and fear of renewed violence.

So walls can work.

Arrived in Norway. Oslo has the most beautiful airport I have ever seen.

And I'm not all that into tall blonde women, but damn.

First impression is that the country is extremely clean and orderly. No graffiti or trash that I can see yet.

Most people look pretty Nordic, like the nazis wished that they looked. A few Somali-looking men really stand out.

rando says

So walls can work.

Don't be ignorant. It's not like walls keep out bank robbers, murderers and pedophiles, so why use walls to keep out illegal aliens. In fact, houses, banks and prisons shouldn't have walls because they don't do any good, and we can use that wall money to treat victims of robbery, murder and molestation.

rando says

First impression....

In some ways, Mrs. Patrick might have advantages in learning what's hidden. For example, I heard Oslo females don't want to call taxis at night, because the male Muslim drivers rape female passengers. Oslo is now 10% Muslim, and the most common baby name is Mohamed. The government has recently reduced immigration, but even among Norwegians who might have objected in the past, Anders Breivik and Donald Trump have caused a reaction in favor of Muslims. Most Norwegians feel good about helping, and that has been hijacked to serve hijrah in the guise of multiculturalism, and the oil money has enabled indulging that. If you, as a male, say something that reminds Norwegians of either Breivik or Trump, then Norwegians might mentally assign you to the same category. If Mrs. Patrick, as a mother with daughters, were to ask the same questions and use the same words, she might get more candid answers.

Patrick,
You better focus on this site & forget the partying & playing
before these assholes destroy Patrick .net.

Not sure what this bygg fag is selling.

(OK, Translates as "building subject" and clearly just some kind of construction company.)

On a boat in the fjords now. It's an ad on the boat's TV.

You still giggled when you saw the ad.

rando says

Not sure what this bygg fag is selling.

Obviously industrial lubricant.

If anyone goes to Balestrand in the fjords of Norway, you must eat at the Ciderhuset and try this cider too:

Both the food and the cider were really top-notch, and the restaurant itself is pleasantly informal and airy, with stunning views.

No, the northern lights seem to be something that happens only in winter.

There is an excess of light though, with it never really getting dark at all. It's kind of nighttime between about midnight and 4am, but still not really dark. Makes it hard to sleep. The places I have been in don't have good enough shades to keep out the light. So that's somewhat disorienting.

rando says

Not sure what this bygg fag is

You live near San Francisco, and you don't know what a big fag is?

Found the website for the Ciderhuset mentioned above:

http://www.ciderhuset.no/home

Thoughts on Norway:

* Extremely clean and safe, maybe too much so.
* So blonde it almost hurts the eyes. Probably more than half of all people are blonde. Many of them look very similar to each other.
* Crazy numbers of hot women, more than any other country I've seen, and I've seen a lot of the globe.
* It's almost weird to see good-looking blonde people doing manual or menial jobs, but there they are. Bus drivers, garbage collectors, construction, etc.
* There are a lot of Muslims in Oslo, just going by women with head coverings. Officially about 5% of the population and that looks correct. They are more prevalent in certain neighborhoods than in others.
* Saw many more Norwegian women with swarthy immigrant men than the reverse. So maybe Norwegian women are actually importing them for dating purposes. It's possible.

Had a strange experience on the tram on my way from the Bergen airport to meet my wife downtown: Saw two young Muslim women out the window, and they saw me. They came in and sat next to me, which was the first odd thing. They chatted with each other in a language I could not identify, then the younger one started crying. The older one laughed at the younger one for crying, apparently. Another odd thing. Silence. I asked what language that was, and the older one said Pashto. I asked if they were from Afghanistan and they were surprised I knew that and we talked for about 10 minutes, the rest of the ride. They were sisters, and coming from an end-of-Ramadan Eid celebration (it was late at night). The younger one didn't know much English, but the older one said they had been in Norway for 3 months, granted asylum there after the US turned them down. They would have preferred to go to America. We talked about hair coverings for a bit. When they left, they stopped and turned around and both shook my hand. Also odd.

Arrived in Sweden today. First impression is that there are more Muslims and fewer native blonde people here.

rando says

Officially about...of the population....

According to the Norwegian government statistics, Oslo had a population of 660k at the beginning of 2016. Of those, 60k were Muslims for whom government subsidy was received. That works out to 9% on government subsidy. If you assume at least some Muslims are not on government subsidies, then the total is around 10% or higher.

rando says

They would have preferred to go to America.

Did they say why? They might have family connections or friends in America.

rando says

We talked about hair coverings for a bit.

Actions can say more than words, e.g. what type of hair covering they wear and how they wear it. Many submit to Islam due to fear or simply wanting to belong to a community, and say what they must say, but rebel in subtle ways.

curious2 says

Of those, 60k were Muslims for whom government subsidy is sreceived. That works out to 9% on government subsidy. If you assume at least some Muslims are not on government subsidies, then the total is around 10% or higher.

Wow. I would not have guessed quite that high. But I was mostly in tourist areas where they were not.

curious2 says

Did they say why? They might have family connections or friends in America.

No, but the older sister said their brother was already in Norway, and that was how they got asylum.

The older sister was more covered, not a hair visible, and said it was because she was more devoted to "her" religion. The younger one was clearly just covering the minimum possible. So there seemed to be a variation in religiosity there. At first I asked if it was because the older one was married, and she laughed and said definitely not, she was only 22. Seemed old enough to be married in a very Muslim community, but I didn't say that.

Overall, I had the impression that they were very aware of being stigmatized for being obviously Muslim and wanted to show me that they were "normal". Or maybe that they just wanted to make contact with an American. Kind of spooked me to be honest.

Some other differences between Norway and Sweden:

* Sweden is clearly richer and bigger than Norway, with more of a "colonial" history of running Norway and Finland. Bigger older buildings than in Oslo. Norway is a bit more earthy and Sweden a bit more elite. Internet seems to work better in Sweden.
* English is extremely common in Norway, with most signs also in English. People very quickly switch to perfect English when you don't understand Norwegian. Sweden is slightly less English-oriented with fewer signs in English, though most people seem to speak it well.
* There are an amazing number of commercials for casinos in Sweden. I guess they are legal here.
* Wine is similarly hard to get and expensive in Sweden just like Norway, with a state monopoly on all alcohol above 4% or so. A Bogle petit syrah that I like is about $24 in Norway, vs $8 in the US. You can buy weak beer in ordinary stores.

Stockholm definitely has tons of clearly not-ethnically-Swedish people, more than Norway does. Here's a photo I took in downtown Stockholm today at a mime performance in the central square:

You watched a mime?

I watched the people watching the mime.

rando says

Some other differences between Norway and Sweden:

* Sweden is clearly richer and bigger than Norway, with more of a "colonial" history of running Norway and Finland. Bigger older buildings than in Oslo. Norway is a bit more earthy and Sweden a bit more elite. Internet seems to work better in Sweden.

* English is extremely common in Norway, with most signs also in English. People very quickly switch to perfect English when you don't understand Norwegian. Sweden is slightly less English-oriented with fewer signs in English, though most people seem to speak it well.

* There are an amazing number of commercials for casinos in Sweden. I guess they are legal here.

* Wine is similarly hard to get and expensive in Sweden just like Norway, with a state monopoly on all alcohol above 4% or so. A Bogle petit syrah that I like is about $24 in Norway, vs $8 in the US. You can buy weak beer in ordinary stores.

Stockholm definitely has tons of clearly not-ethnically-Swedis...

get the alcohol in denmark

a fun thing to do in this area is take a cruise from Sweden to Riga. They cost very little as these trips make their money on gambling and drinks. So you can get a boatride including a bed for as little as $100.

rando says

* It's almost weird to see good-looking blonde people doing manual or menial jobs, but there they are. Bus drivers, garbage collectors, construction, etc.

This was my impression during my trip to Denmark a few weeks ago. You see a really good looking blond white woman cleaning hotel rooms and you think, wow, they aren't as valued here as they are in the USA... supply just too high in Denmark for anyone to give a shit about preferential treatment.

I am guessing that there is noticeably more litter in Sweden as well.

BayArea says

rando says

* It's almost weird to see good-looking blonde people doing manual or menial jobs, but there they are. Bus drivers, garbage collectors, construction, etc.

This was my impression during my trip to Denmark a few weeks ago. You see a really good looking blond white woman cleaning hotel rooms and you think, wow, they aren't as valued here as they are in the USA... supply just too high in Denmark for anyone to give a shit about preferential treatment.

OK, I'm convinced. I'm moving to Denmark.

rando says

The places I have been in don't have good enough shades to keep out the light.

Always pack XL black garbage bags & push pens to make custom shades.
Almost as useful as duct tape?

Kind of spooked me to be honest.

--------------
I lol'd at this. What was it that spooked you?

Just weird that two young religious Muslim women wanted to sit by me and talk to me.

rando says

two young religious Muslim women wanted to sit by me and talk to me

Perhaps the religious part is forced onto them by family. Where I work, many (if not most) Iranian and Arabic women are dressed much more provocatively than American women and are not shy about chatting up men. Before Islamic revolution, Tehran was known as the city where women showed more skin than in Paris.

http://www.boredpanda.com/iranian-women-fashion-1970-before-islamic-revolution-iran/

drBu says

Iranian and Arabic

Many fled Iran or Arab countries because they were either not Muslim at all or didn't agree with the increasingly Islamic governments. I've met several, nice and really smart. I don't ask directly about religion because if either parent was Muslim, then they are either Muslims or apostates who could end up on an online kill list if the Islamic State finds their names and addresses. Some speak about how their home countries 'changed', but I have not yet heard them openly blame Islam itself.

Also, the phrase "my religion" can sometimes mean a lot of wishful thinking and ego extension, or taqiyya. Islam says what it says, but has many (abrogated) provisions that can sound deceptively tolerable until you learn the chronological code.

www.youtube.com/embed/b_wK67XM37k

www.youtube.com/embed/K7mGqj-BTII

Seen any prostitutes in Europe yet?

Too bad your not in Poland...Could have seen Trumps speech in person!

Booger says

Seen any prostitutes in Europe yet?

Did not notice any of that, but was probably not hanging out in the right places for it.

Tons of gypsies in Oslo and Stockholm though. They seemed to be at every subway exit begging.

BTW, back in the home of the free and land of the brave now. It was good to go, and good to come back.

curious2 says

could end up on an online kill list if the Islamic State finds their names and addresses

I do not ask about religion either, but they often tell me about their faith.

I do not think any of them are afraid of any kill lists - most are wary of older relatives who, while living in US already for decades think that they are still in Egypt (Syria, Iraq, etc) and try to make their children behave correspondingly. When away from home (at university in another town) the top usually is blown off.

rando says

Just weird that two young religious Muslim women wanted to sit by me and talk to me.

Do you consider that a healthy fear, or an irrational fear?