Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

While I applaud this initiative, it saddens me that it is necessary. Hating others simply because of who they are, what they believe or who their family is, makes absolutely no sense to me. I oppose discrimination and senseless hatred, no matter what. We are all human, all equal, all one big family, all inhabitants of planet earth. We may look different, think different things, speak different languages, read different holy books and believe different truths, however we are all human and whether we like it or not, we are all stuck on this planet together. The Facebook page for the event has mostly Norwegian posts however I've read several English-language posts from those who applaud the idea and wish they could join in themselves. Personally, I believe that this is a good idea, it reminds me of the " I'll Ride With You " campaign in Australia after the Sydney Siege. Hatred is not the answer, intolerance is not the solution. Oslo Muslims to form 'peace ring...

Two days ago, there was the horrible attack on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Yesterday there were reports of another attack in France and a policewoman killed. Today I'm watching live images of a small village north of Paris on television, I understand I'm watching a possible hostage situation. New reports are now coming in that there's been a shooting, at least one injured, possibly as much as five or six people held hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, likely linked to the other attacks. Two hostage situations going on relatively close to each other in France. The latest reports indicate two hostages at the kosher supermarket may have died already. How many more will be killed today? Will there be another terrorist attack tomorrow and if so, where will it be? How many more lives will be disrupted and torn apart by terror?  "The goal of the attack on the office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was not to frighten newspap...

Burka en Blahniks by Ebru Umar My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wat een heerlijk boek om te lezen! En wat een heerlijk oprechte schrijfster zonder blad voor de mond of politiek correcte non-mening! Zo lang mogelijk uitgerekt maar nu toch echt (twee keer!) uitgelezen. Een ding weet ik zeker: Ik haal dit boekje over een paar maanden met heel veel plezier weer uit de kast. View all my reviews

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a book. What a story. What a journey. What a woman. I once wrote that I hoped that reading this book would help me meet the real Ayaan Hirsi Ali, not just the woman I read about in the media and saw on television. The book did not disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. WOW! View all my reviews

I am looking forward to reading Reza Aslan's newest book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth , a book exploring the life and teachings of the historical Jesus. Although I am not a Christian and do not believe that Jesus is or was the son of God, I am interested in world religions, Biblical history and Israel, which makes Jesus a very interesting person to learn about. If time travel existed (and my time machine had a Tardis-like translation circuit...) I would love to head to the Galilee or (how awesome would that be: ) to the Jerusalem of Jesus' time to experience for myself what life was like back then and to find out in what kind of a world he lived. I would love to be just a face in the crowd, one of the many who congregated to hear Jesus speak or see for myself if what people were saying about him was true. How amazing would it be to actually meet the man behind the legend, to see the expression on his face as he talks, explains and teaches, to listen to word...

There's always lots going on in the world, and thus also lots of things being reported about in the media. The President of the US, Barack Obama, announcing that Osama bin Laden had been killed, well, that was definitely a biggie. I'm still not sure I believe it, to be honest.

Today it is exactly eight years ago that Pim Fortuijn (Fortuyn) was murdered. I wasn't in The Netherlands when it happened. I heard about it, read about it, was completely dumbfounded by it. The Netherlands is not usually a violent country (well, apart from when it comes to football, perhaps!), we are not usually a violent people. We are competitive, we are easily annoyed, we often grumble about anything from weather to sports to the economy - but we are not a people who assasinate politicians or our royal family or people we don't agree with. Or so I thought. The first time I came across Pim Fortuijn was when I saw him on TV, commenting on the happening of September 11th. I was 17 then, and really not interested in politics. This TV appearance was the first time I heard Pim Fortuyn's name, the first time I saw his face. The first time I can remember anyway. I didn't agree with what he had to say then - something along the lines of how Muslims are bad, Isl...

Watched the news earlier and saw the report on the bombings in the Moscow subway. Or well, bombings - suicide missions actually. Thirty-eight people killed and many wounded because two women felt the need to make a point. And what was the point about? It seems about the exact same thing so many bombings and attacks around the world have been about: terrorists trying to what, prove a point, scare the world, get support for their cause? The one thing I just really don't get here is WHY people, human beings just like you and I, feel the need to kill other human beings, innocent ones at that, to help further their cause. From what I've read on newspaper websites so far no-one has claimed responsibility for this latest attack yet, however apparently Russian authorities believe there is evidence that these attacks were commited by people from the North Caucasus region. According to CNN.com, "Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terroris...

People of the Book by Geraldine  Brooks My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book, and loved learning about what goes into making and restoring books. The story definitely intrigued me, but I found it hard to 'get into' the book completely due to the chapters being as they were. Lovely book however, and great for reading a bit out of every day. View all my reviews