13. oktober 2002

Human Rights Fighter Sentenced in Absentia A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Taslima Nasrin, a well renowed author and humanist, to one year in prison for making 'derogatory comments' about Islam. After threats on her life in 1994, Nasreen had to flee the country and has been living in the west since, except for a short visit to see her sick mother. Her books make explicit the horrible conditions women live under in Bangladesh and other Muslim countries. As a gynecologist, she saw first hand how young girls and adult women alike were subject to horrible abuse, including rape, by men who needed to answer to nobody. Making these facts public made her a target for islamic fundamentalists, who wanted her dead for demanding human rights for women. The New Yorker quotes her saying: "I said that Shariat law should be revised. I want a modern, civilized law, where women are given equal rights. I want no religious law that discriminates, none, period-no Hindu law, no Christian law, no Islamic Law. Why should a man be entitled to have four wives? "Why should a son get two-thirds of his parents' property when a daughter can inherit only a third? Should I be killed for saying this?" To fundamentalists, the answer is obviously yes. And the courts in Bangladesh prosecute the victim on behalf of the criminals. 10:18:27 PM    comment []

Is the US ready for Baghdad? The Russians learned the hard way that urban warfare is a serious challenge for a modern army. Sophisticated weaponry and massive numerical superiourity did not prevent an initial humiliating defeat for the Russian armed forces in Grozny, Chechnya . An interesting article on the Global Security site outlines the challenge ahead if coalition ground forces will need to engage Iraqi forces inside Baghdad. It strongly hints that the US army is not currently up to the task. Already the 500BC strategist Sun Tzu stated that hostile cities should be avoided by armies whenever possible. If the Gulf War part II really happens, it may not be possible to avoid that. 5:21:00 PM    comment []

Stupidity Illegal A Norwegian businessman who was actually stupid enough to fall for an infamous Nigerian scam risks 3.5 years prison. The man managed to lose more than $100,000 to a scam that, let's face it, a three year old should be expected to see through. He now faces the possibility of a serious prison sentence on top of that. The reason is not really that Norway has outlawed stupidity as such (we don't have that much room in our prisons) but that the scam involves a promise of an absurd percentage of a huge sum of money, obviously illegal money, and that is money laundering. Lessons to be learned: there is no such thing as free money. If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Also: no scam is too stupid to succeed with some people. From a number of Norwegian articles in Aftenposten. 2:18:25 PM    comment []

I Want my 30 Minutes of War I just checked my taxes for 2001 online. According to a newspaper, my tax money could have paid for approximately 30 minutes of war for the Norwegian forces in Afghanistan (special forces, an F16 squadron, and support personnel). I just wondered, over a pint or two of Guinness, what I'd do with my 30 minutes of war, if I could decide? I think the ugly city hall here in Bergen would have to go. I am sure an F16 could accomplish that pretty easily. If there was any time left, the local tax office would be an obvious candidate. And perhaps our special forces could also accomplish a quick regime change in this country? Oh well, I can dream! 2:45:30 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2002 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.02; 00:16:38.