Pulse, March 8

1. The Kurdish muslim general and sultan Saladin is one of the most important figures in the history of the Middle East. In the 12th century, he won Jerusalem back from the Crusaders and, rather than take revenge on the Christians, decreed that in his Jerusalem no religion -- Jewish, Christian or Muslim -- should be discriminated or persecuted. Can Saladin serve as a symbol and inspiration for peace and tolerance in the Middle East?

During the last week, Litteraturhuset has arranged a number of events to explore this theme and you can catch one of the last events on monday: A lecture by Israeli officer David Zonsheim, who is one of the founders of the movement "Courage to refuse" that is critical of the Israeli army's role in the occupied Palestinian territories. David Zonsheim will talk about his experiences from the conflict, and with a topic so controversial the lecture is guaranteed to be thought-provoking.

The event takes place at Litteraturhuset on monday 6PM and is free of charge.

2. If your thirst for controversy is not stilled by this first event, put down Parkteatret, wednesday, 6PM in your calendar. First a movie by American filmmaker Lisa Jackson is shown, afterwards the floor will be open for discussion of the movie's grim topic. The title of the event "Rape as a strategy of War. How to stop it.; not your usual movie and probably not for the squeamish.

Again, the movie is shown at Parkteatret on wednesday at 6PM and tickets cost 70NOK.

3. Not all grim events in the world need to be made subject to panel discussions. You can alsoo just have a party! Next friday, "Norsk Klassisk Studenterforening" -- in other words, the people who think speaking Latin and wearing a toga is cool -- arrange a party to commemorate ... the assasination of Julius Caesar.

The motto is "I came, I saw, I partied". the dress code is casual to excessive and the folk 'n roll band "Lady Moscow" will try to keep the party going until the wee small hours of the morning. The place is Klubbscenen on Chateau Neuf, doors open friday at 6.30PM and the entrance is 50NOK (30NOK if you are a member of Studentersamfundet).

4. And finally, an event for all you geeks out there: The "Resident Evil 5" release party. For all you non-geeks "resident evil" is probably just slang fro your annoying next-door neighbour, but for the true geek "Resident Evil" is one of the coolest (and most goriest) computer game franchises ever. On the night between thursday and friday, the fifth installment of this popular series will be released on XBox and Playstation 3.

Celebrate with fellow geeks at the release party at Beton on Chateau Neuf. Doors open at 8PM, and there will both be a bar, a band and -- yes, you got that right -- a virtual shooting range to pass the time until midnight. Do well on the shooting range and you might even walk away with a "Resident Evil" themed goodie.

Entrance is free of charge, and the only requirement is that you are eighteen or older.