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6. mars 2003
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Brazil's da Silva would be elected in Argentina
"The Brazilian president would win the Argentine presidential election if he were allowed to stand, according to a new poll." (Ananova)
The grass is greener. If he was in Argentina, he'd be so damaged by scandal that he'd not be elected anyway.
Besides, give us a year or two, and we'll see if da Silva is still popular at all in Brazil. Populists have a tendency to do better before the elections than after.
9:02:35 PM 
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The best British company to work for
The Sunday Times has published its great annual survey of the British workforce, and the verdict is that Microsoft's 1,600 British workers are the happiest employees in the country.
How do Microsoft get satisfied employees? The article says:
"Microsoft’s caring attitude to employees, who enjoy high salaries and great benefits, inspires slavish devotion to the company culture."
Many factors contribute to worker satisfaction, but the survey points to allowing employees flexible working hours as a major contributor.
Contrary to the popular idea that women are dissatisfied and discriminated against in the work place, the study finds women being on the whole more happy than men.
7:15:48 PM
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Compromise on Iraq in the works
A number of sources today report that the British government is working on a compromise UN resolution to try to unite the split Security Council.
As the positions are becoming more and more entrenched, it is hard to see how a compromise that satisfied all sides would look like. No doubt, China and Russia could back down. Germany doesn't really matter. But it's hard to see how France could back down and support a war on Iraq, even down the road, and it's likewise difficult to see Bush backing down and allowing the arms inspections significantly more time.
5:47:18 PM
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Captive: Bin Laden dead and alive
CNN fronts right now with the news that the captured al Qaeda chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has given conflicting information to interrogators about the status of Osama bin Laden. In interviews, he stated both that he was dead and that he was alive.
Somewhat surprising that CNN did not pick up this before now. I reported about it two days ago.
4:29:03 PM
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Israel denies revenge murder
Israeli officials deny that they killed eleven civilians as a revenge for the Palestinian bomb attack on a bus in Haifa.According to Palestinian sources, partly collaborated by western journalists, four of the victims were children under the age of 12 and five were aged above 55.
Israeli sources say that only "Palestinian killers" would be out after midnight, while Palestinian sources say the killed were in a crowd of people watching firefighters trying to put out a fire.
There is just no doubt that Israel has a primitive "eye for an eye" policy of retaliation. They do indeed indescriminately kill a number of more or less random Palestinians, civilians if necessary, any time they are targeted by a terror attack. As a deterrant it is ineffective. Ethically, it is an atrocity from an alleged democratic state. That Palestinian groups are no better is simply no valid excuse.
4:23:28 PM
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Hans Blix' son
PunditWatch keeps an eye on the pundits on American TV, so I don't have to. Today's quote:
Brit Hume, on Fox: “If I die, I’d like to come back as Hans Blix’s son. You’d never be in any trouble. Any effort would be good enough. Grades would never be bad enough to get you in any trouble. It would be great.”
Introspection: I seem to blog a lot about Swedes today.
1:43:03 PM
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Today's Swedish scandal: MP was prostitute
In the 1970s, police raids on a Swedish brothel ignited a political scandal when it was discovered that a number of VIPs, including one member of the cabinet and a chief of police, were among the customers.
Fast forward to today. Swedish TV3 reveals that a woman who was an exclusive prostitute at the raided establishment back then, in fact one of those who took money for having sex with the minister, is now a member of the Swedish Parliament.
(from a Swedish article in Aftonbladet)
And the guessing games can start...
1:15:26 PM
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We've all wanted to do that!
George Doughty, a bar and restaurant owner in Lafayette, Colorado, had enough of his Dell laptop computer crashing on him. He placed the machine in the middle of his bar, and shot four bullets into it. Thereafter, he hung the dead machine on the wall like a trophy.
Police Lieutenant Rick Bashor certainly saw the humour in the situation, but still insists Doughty endangered his customers by firing his gun with them present. Minutes afterwards, his own PC froze on him.
Nobody, apart from the PC, was injured in the incident.
1:03:27 PM
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Alternative treatments for cancer increase mortality
A study just published in the Journal for the Norwegian Medical Association concludes that patients who seek alternative treatment in addition to traditional medicine have a greater mortality than those who only accept the prescribed treatment. The study by Terje Risberg et al investigated 515 cancer patients with a follow-up of 8 years. 22% of these patients sought alternative treatment. 79 % of these died in the period, as compared to 65 % of non-users.
The study concludes it is unlikely that the treatment is dangerous in itself. Rather, it points to a number of possible reasons for this effect. One may be that cancer patients who seek alternative treatment are slower in contacting medical professionals if the cancer returns. Another may be that patients who seek alternative treatment are really worse off, even though this has not yet been established by the doctors.
12:51:06 PM
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Swedish author refused entry to the US
 The Swedish author and journalist Jan Guillou (picture), widely known in Scandinavia for a number of bestselling books about a 007-like character, is not permitted to enter the USA.
When he made an intermediate stop in Los Angeles en route to Tahiti, and he was told in clear terms he was not allowed to set his foot in the US. In fact, they did not even like him to sit in a plane flying over the country.
The reason is, according to Guillou, that the Swedish security police (Säpo) has fed western security services very negative information about him. There is no love lost between Säpo and Guillou, after he was arrested for espionage when exposing Swedish secrets as a left-wing journalist in the 70s. His bestselling books about the eccentric, 007-like radical spy Hamilton contains a lot of jabs at the security police, for example the heroes consistently call the Säpo headquarters "the monkey house."
In effect, Guillou is being targeted for his leftist opinions. Nobody in his right mind would argue that the author really is a terrorist or a security risk. The powers that be have their methods to punish those who do not toe the line.
You're next, Martin Sheen.
(from a Swedish article in Aftonbladet)
10:13:15 AM
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What do actors know about politics anyway?
"What an actor thinks of [war on Iraq] is as relevant as what Tony Blair thinks of a film" (Reader comment to BBC News from "John B, UK")
8:52:21 AM
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Happy birthday Michelangelo!
I just love those Google art logos.
8:41:59 AM
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Arrested for wearing "peace" t-shirt
 Stephen Downs, a lawyer, was arrested for wearing a t-shirt with the text "give peace a chance" and refusing to leave the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York. According to Downs, he had just purchased the t-shirt right outside the mall.
Security guards had first ordered him to take off the t-shirt or leave the mall. When he refused, they called the police. Police officers argued that a mall was like a private house. When he still refused to take off his t-shirt or leave, he was taken away in handcuffs.
Downs is due in court on March 17 and risks a year in prison if convicted.
7:16:02 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.04.2003; 01:32:52.
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