thinglets: some bizarre overseas outsourcing

I received a letter from the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas (two weeks after my trip mind you) confirming my credit line had been approved. Perhaps what some would consider a bit late, but stranger than the timelines was the return address. I never thought of Malmo, Sweden (or anywhere in Sweden mind you) as a clearinghouse of bulk mailings. Is there a burgeoning cottage industry in Vegas mail coming out of Northern Europe? I hesitate to think of the distances this paper would have traveled had I not been at this address anymore.

Just some quick facts:

Las Vegas to Hamilton, Ontario - 3107km, 
Hamilton, Ontario to Malmo, Sweden - 6354km, 
Las Vegas to Malmo, Sweden - 8713km

thinlgets: the Swedish Pirate Party

So politics in Sweden has come down to the big question: just because someone treats politics a bit tongue-in-cheek, does that mean they can't do an effective job of representing a population in government?

The Pirate Party of Sweden has a membership that is outgrowing that of the Green Party, has 50% of all males under 30 ready to vote for them, and needs a 100,000 votes in total to get a seat in parliament. Swedens proportional system of government allows for the popular vote to dictate representation. That, as is common in North America, we are often restricted to a single choice, left-side/right-side conundrum may be traditional to us, but is hardly effective representation.

In Canada, for many years, we had the Rhino Party who proposed ludicrous ideas to maintaining the country, but, upon reflection, I sometimes wonder if the ludicrous is not what's often needed.

So here's to the Pirate Party. Avast ye scurvy dogs! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! If I lived in Sweden, they'd have my vote just on the name alone.

pirate party of sweden