15. desember 2002

Al Gore not running for presidency in 2004 Al Gore, by many held as the favourite to be nominated for the 2004 presidential race against George Bush in 2004, has decided not to run. Which will make it very interesting to see if the Democrats can get their act together and nominate a credible candidate before 2004. 11:58:42 PM    comment []

This just in: Pot calls kettle black Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz (picture), who is himself a Christian, denounced George Bush as a hypocrite, saying that "a true Christian would not be a war monger." Overlooking for a minute that Aziz, the long-time supporter of war monger par excellence Saddam Hussein, comes across as a hypocrite himself for this statement, he does have a point. Why is it that Christians, followers of a man who allegedly said "all who draw the sword will die by the sword" are so often the first to call for war and bloodshed? 7:59:49 PM    comment []

A letter from sis Rayne writes an eloquent and thoughtful reply to my article about free speech and the crossburning case, and I have not gotten around to replying yet. Don't miss the comments here, and also the comments to Rayne's piece. Rob at Emphasis Added has added his thoughts to the debate, too. On a totally different forum, I recently fell into heated a debate with an old acquintance who had sadly been suckered in by revisionist propaganda and was busy denying the gasing of Jews in the Holocaust. Some of you may be aware that in European countries that do not enjoy the strong freedom of speech protection of the US, in particular France and Germany, denying the Holocaust is a crime. I consider the opinions of these revisionists a disgraceful mockery to holocaust victims and an insult to  intelligence, but yet I strongly oppose using the methods of fascism against them. I recommend the article Giving the Devil His Due from Skeptic which very well expresses my opinions on the matter. I will try to get back to Rayne and Rob tomorrow. 9:38:01 AM    comment []

It's baaaack New issue of The Occoquan  Inquirer, containing highlights from this week in blogging, is out now. It includes the Secular Blasphemy's article Why confess when you are innocent but it does not at all stop there. As always, not to be missed. 9:22:23 AM    comment []

We need bigger guns There is a myth popular among American conservatives that Ronald Reagon plotted to overthrow Soviet by keeping the arms race going at a rate that bankrupted it, causing the fall of communism. Currently, the US defense budget is around $400 billion, an enormous sum even for the world's most powerful economy. Now, have the conservatives ever considered the idea that this is Bin Laden's plan, too: making the US overspend to break its economic back on the burden of its own enormous arsenal? 7:16:16 AM    comment []

Alternative medicine: back to the roots? A history of medicine: 2000 BC: Here, eat this root 1000 AD: That root is Heathen. Here, say this prayer 1850 AD: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion 1940 AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill 1985 AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic 2000 AD: That antibiotic is artifical. Here, eat this root 6:43:56 AM    comment []

Bush attacked from another angle "Barrett has harsh words for President Bush's Thursday rebuke of Lott. "Sen. Lott was right" in his original comments, Barrett says. "Integration is immoral and should also be illegal." Barrett thinks that whatever he's saying now, Lott still believes that in his "heart of hearts." What about Bush? "His heart of hearts has been addled by his drug-abused brain," Barrett says." (Salon)  Whether Bush moral leadership or just showed political sense in rebuking Lott is open for debate, I guess. I just can't honestly see how the Republican party can keep a Lott as majority leader. I guess Democracts should hope they keep him for at least two more years. 1:57:16 AM    comment []

Iran maintains nuclear programme is peaceful The discovery that commercial satellite photos (picture) shows Iran building new nuclear facilities raises serious concerns in the west. Iran insists that these are civilian power plants, and that the country has no plans to develop nuclear weapons. AEA will facilitate inspections at the locations in February. Intelligence experts in the west asks the questions: what does an oil-rich nation like Iran need nuclear power to produce electricity. The obvious answer is that it doesn't, and that the objective of having a civilian nuclear programme is to produce nuclear weapons at some stage. 12:23:39 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.01.03; 04:00:13.