11. desember 2002

Carter Nobel Peace Prize I have written about the decision to award the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize to former US president Jimmy Carter earlier in this blog. Regarding Carter's public comments and his speech, I have noticed a tendency in the press to overstate an alleged conflict between him and the Bush administration over Iraq. True, Carter has voiced for restraint. He has also expressed concerns about the idea of a preemptive war. However, the press have tried to make it look like Carter is a sharp critic of Bush on the Iraq question, and that is simply not true. Carter was asked if Baghdad's compliance with the weapons inspections programme diminished the chance for war, and replied: "Yes, I think that if Iraq does continue to comply completely then I see no reason for the war and I think it's a good step forward," he said. "But nobody knows what to expect." Headlines the next day here in Norway, where the press is very critical towards Bush's policy on Iraq, was something along the line "Carter: No reason for war with Iraq." Now that is very creative use of quotations. Naturally, even Bush agrees that full compliance with the UN resolution means there is no reason for war. Carter is, on the other hand, a very sharp critic of current Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and the continued illegal occupation. Of course, this is quite underreported in the American press. You can find only a few sentences about it on the end of this news report. 8:50:27 PM    comment []

Crocodile survival guide: bite its nose! A man in Malawi can thank his sharp teeth for his survival after successfully fighting off an aggressive crocodile. Mac Bosco Chawinga (43) was attacked while swimming, and both his arms were caught in the mouth of the ferocious beast. His only option was to bite the crocodile's soft nose, and thus he managed to force it to let go. He was brought to hospital with severe bite wounds, but will recover. A police officer said "he was a very lucky man." Lucky, and tough. 8:13:18 PM    comment []

Yemen: We want our scuds back! Yemen is protesting the seizure of a North Korean ship bringing a cargo of scud-like missiles. US authorities have agreed to give the missiles back to the country, considering it is for legitimate defense purposes. Question: if this was a legitimate arms deal, why were the missiles hidden in a shipment of concrete? I understand the US administration does not want to alienate a shaky ally now, but I don't think I like the idea of North Korea financing its weapons of mass destruction programme by selling missile systems around the world. 7:51:36 PM    comment []

Buzz Lightyear catches thief The Toy Story action figure Buzz Lightyear fights Evil Emperor Zurg for a living. In his spare time he catches thieves. One unlucky bastard had stolen the toy from a store and was hiding near a bridge when the battery-operated toy sounded the alarm: "Buzz Lightyear. Permission to engage." The thief was rounded up by nearby police officers. 4:01:33 PM    comment []

Don't whine for me, please "Norway's Foreign Minister Jan Petersen objected to being treated as " a second-class country"". (BBC News) Get real, Petersen. 1) Norway is a small country. We have to get used to it. 2) If all Security Council countries get the report, so will Syria. Do you really want them to get "Nukes for dummies"? 6:54:33 AM    comment []

Musing and Blogging Looking around Salon blogland, I find myself thinking it's been a good day here. No, scratch that. It's been a great day. Obviously whoever Muse is responsible for bloggers have been particularly generous. Susannah the reverse cowgirl has been in the TV studio. I guess all of us are very excited to have a real celebrity in our midst. If you wonder why she has, like, a zillion hits every day while the rest of us are exstatic at triple figures, you just have to read today's tale including dental hygiene, pseudo-sexpertise and the lack of reality in reality shows (d'oh). If anyone ever even hints at suggesting the mere thought that her blog attracts eyeballs simply for being a "sex blog" for jerkoff fantasies, they can't possibly have read it. One secret, that just now ceased to be one: I blog partially to teach myself to write in English, which is a foreign language to me. If you read my blog, so much will be obvious. And when I read many blogs, including Susannah's, I of course realise I can never become such a good writer. I don't want to write like any of our master (or mistress!) bloggers, the world can only take the existence of one reverse cowgirl without collapsing into chaos, but I'd sell my soul to whoever would want such a tainted piece of etheral confusion to be able to write half as well. Speaking of which... writing that is, not souls. Raven today blogs about some of the same issues I do, like the scary Aussie court decision to allow people to sue in a down-under court over material published on the other side of the planet. Being generous, he also gives free health advice. Miguel in Venezuela is following the crises at closer range than I suspect he'd like to right now. As the country crumbles further into chaos, even the supreme court seems to go on strike, and the Chavez government seems busy making more and more enemies. Forget the national and international media; the hottest journalism can be found here in Salon blogs. As on a cue, Rayne keeps warning us that her so-called slow blogging continues. If this is slow, I can't hope to ever keep up with her when she speeds up. At any rate, she ponders again why CNN keep ignoring the Venezualan crisis. The Americas' largest oil exporter is about to blow up, and USians aren't even made aware of it. She also gives Lott a few well-deserved kicks. My comment: is it only me, or have the Democrats been acting like scared rats in this case (Gore excepted)? How can they hope to retake power without some backbone? Xtian at Radio Free Blogistan covers, perhaps not surprisngly, some of the same issues: Lott and Venezuela. And there is some similarities there. These are big questions, and very underreported in the media. Mark at Fried Green Al-Quadas does more metablogging. Read on. Or, really, you should just read all the updated blogs. (Picture:'Hesiod Listening to the Inspiration of the Muse' by Edmond Aman-Jean) 5:21:57 AM    comment []

School censorware filters health information What is believed to be the first study of anti-pornography filters published in a peer-reviewed journal finds that the filtering software prevents young people from accessing information about subjects like "safe sex," "condoms," "gay" and "lesbian." Ironically, the highly respected Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that is publishing the study, found its own site for information on women's health blocked. Schools, who are required by federal law to have such filters or risk losing funding, generally set up the filters at the highest rating. This hardly has any effect on filtering of pornography, but seriously restricts access to medical information and a large number of other subjects. On the highest settings, half of all health sites devoted to safe sex were blocked. 4:38:38 AM    comment []

Ship carrying missiles to Yemen intercepted Two Spanish warships patrolling the Indian ocean has intercepted a vessel carrying Scud-type missiles. The ship apparently originated in North Korea, heading for Yemen. Who is the end buyer? It just doesn't sound very credible to me that Yemen is in the market for ballistic missiles. 12:39:16 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.01.03; 04:00:04.