VideoFokus - Haakon Sengsvoll

As mentioned earlier on this blog, my brother Krist Jarle, is now in Sandefjord. He was transferred to Sandefjord Rehabiliteringssenter, Hauanskogen last week. Hauanskogen is an institution specialized in physical rehabilitation. We visited Krist Jarle last Thursday, a couple of days after he moved in to the rehab center. When I spoke with him on the phone today, he was optimistic about the physiotherapy that he receives there. It was also good to hear that he has not had any new seizures for the last five days. (more…)

Today, my family and I visited Moss for the commemoration of the Norwegian bark Dictator registered in Moss, which went down just a few hundred yards off the coast of Virginia Beach on March 27, 1891. The figurehead was washed ashore and erected as a landmark, facing the sea on the boardwalk of Virginia Beach. In 1953, during a hurricane, it disappeared. An idea of making another copy of “The Norwegian Lady” led to a commission by Norwegian sculptor Ørnulf Bast, who made 2 copies of brass. On September 22, 1962, the two statues were unveiled simultaneously in Moss and Virginia Beach. (more…)

The Swedish Christian Democrats’ Party voted against the proposed resolution that would recognize the genocide against Assyrians and Armenians by the Turks. By their stance, they betray their own voters. Also; by their position in this case, the Christian Democrats show a striking example of how they give in to the submissive position of the dhimmi. (more…)

The word Sabra in Israel has at least three meanings. It is the name of the cactus on the photos, a tank, and native born Israeli Jews. According to Wikipedia, we have that the word is derived from the Hebrew name for the prickly pear cactus, i.e. “tzabar”. The allusion to the native born Israelis is to a tenacious, thorny desert plant with a thick hide that conceals a sweet, softer interior, i.e., rough and masculine on the outside, but delicate and sensitive on the inside. (more…)

When I was in Israel recently, I experienced several Tzeva Adoms or Red Alerts. For me it was kind of a surrealistic experience to hear the loudspeaker voice announce Tzeva Adom! The first time it happened I was on May 29, at the Sderot Communitty Center, where my colleague Jostein Skevik and I were meeting with its director, Avi Sulimany. As people were running for the safe rooms inside, I was more concerned about having my video camera recording. We gathered in the new auditorium and waited for about a minute, but we could not hear any boom, so we went back to the meeting room. (more…)

According to Dagen.se the Swedish parliament, Riksdagen, will on Wednesday vote over resolutions that will make Sweden recognize the genocide of Armenians and Assyrians by the Muslim Turks of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Turkey has always denied these accusations, but substantial research concludes that genocides against theses people happened. The genocide killed between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Armenians. Also, large numbers of Assyrians were killed in a way that can only be described as genocide. (more…)

In Israel it is so easy to eat healthy food as there are so many restaurants that serve delicious salads. Not only is the food looking good, but the fruits and vegetables taste so much better as compared to vegetables bought in Norway. I guess that is because the vegetables are allowed to get ripe before the produce is harvested, compared to the imported fruits and vegetables up North in Norway and Scandinavia. Here, the imported produce is harvested before it is ripe, a practice which I believe reduces the richness of taste. (more…)

Sometimes I am really embarrassed by the Norwegian Government. This time it was because the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, ran the errand of the Palestinians in last OECD-meeting in Paris.

In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it says that: (more…)

Tonight, I will be at the FIRE Conference in Norway. I am looking forward to another service with Rodney Howard Browne at the Mjoendalen Sport and Cultural Center. It was a great experience and blessing to be there last night after a busy and exciting week of work in Israel. For those that are unable to attend the conference, don’t despair. (more…)

The South International Film Festival or Festival Kolnoa Darom, as it is named in Hebrew, was arranged in Sderot, June 1-5, 2008. In midst of my work around in the area, I had the pleasure to attend the festival. I watched two of the student films and Waltz with Bashir, a feature length animation movie. The film was also nominated to the Gold Palm in Cannes last month. Written and directed by Ari Folman, I found the artistic work extremely well done. (more…)