2. april 2003

Battle of Baghdad starting Defense analysts are saying the battle of Baghdad is about to begin, but it's likely to be a patient affair. Elite republican guard units are dug in around the city, and these appear to be the prime target for massive bombing. The objective is to soften up these troops before the final battle. Paul Beaver, former publisher of Jane's Defense Weekly, is not too optimistic about how soon this can be over: All the headlines in the papers today are hilarious. This war could go on until the autumn. The Bush administration is unlikely to be too happy about that perspective, not to mention the civilian population in Iraq. 3:06:10 PM    comment []

Time traveller The story about "time traveller" Andrew Carlssin keeps attracting lots of readers through google. Here it is! 2:04:59 PM    comment []

Travel warnings over SARS virus The WHO has now warned people against travelling to Hong Kong and parts of China as the pneumonia-like disease SARS is spreading. So far, 1,800 people have been affected and 75 have died in outbreaks across the world. The WHO estimates a 4 % fatality. A massive outbreak can thus prove disastrous. 2:03:18 PM    comment []

Happy birthday Hans Christian Andersen The Danish writer H C Andersen, famous worldwide for fairy tales like The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Suit and The Ugly Duckling was born April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His imaginative tales has not only brought comfort and countless hours of entertainment for children through more than a century, the deep moral lessons of his stories still inspire us to reflection. If there is a common theme to them, perhaps it is to inspire courage to look past what we have been told, daring to be one out of the crowd. Ironically, it is also the birthday of the famous Italian womanizer Casanova. 11:10:48 AM    comment []

Life goes on... ...for fired news anchor Peter Arnett, who now writes for the British tabloid The Mirror, which incidentally has been (and is) one of the most outspoken anti-war newspapers in Britain. His first dispatches are of course coloured by his recent firing from NBC, and he's highly critical on the US networks' desire to not give the people any inconvenient bad news, no dissenting voice. I suspect the headline, "the war is not working," was added by the newspaper not Arnett. The piece itself is more about asking questions than providing answers. 10:38:15 AM    comment []

No retreat, only surrender "There will be no outcome to this war that leaves Saddam Hussein and his regime in power. Let there be no doubt, his time will end, and soon. The only thing that the coalition will discuss with this regime is their unconditional surrender." (Donald Rumsfeld quoted in the Guardian) 8:37:21 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2003; 02:58:50.