16. april 2003

Sony drops 'shock and awe' After receiving a lot of bad publicity about its attempt to cash in on the Iraq war, Sony decided to withdraw its application for registering the term shock and awe for commercial use. Sony says it will not use the phrase in any videogame. 10:38:26 PM    comment []

Omar Studdif the dictator I should know better than totally ignoring the big fat bait Yahoo! put out for bloggers everywhere: a story that Saddam Hussein starred in gay porn in the 1960s. Saddam appeared in as many as 85 of these films under a variety of stage names, most frequently Omar Studdif. Sheesh. Can't do better than that? We have "chemical" Ali, "comical" Ali so obviously we must have "big jock" Ali, too! Saddam's acting in the picture is actually quite good. One scene, in which he buries his face in a pillow and cries, is so touching you almost can forget you're watching a low-budget sexploitation film You have to love the imagination of the guys who come up with this crazy stuff. It's easy to be caught unaware by these items, as Yahoo! is normally about serious, real news that has some resemblance to the real world. But these made-up stories from the tabloid Weekly World News is run under Yahoo! Eentertainment, not news, a fact that many readers (and bloggers!) easily miss. I doubt Saddam Hussein is currently in any position to sue for libel. And who knows, he might get an idea for a new carreer. 9:51:30 PM    comment []

Hong Kong will take temperature As the SARS epidemic is still not under control oin Hong Kong, the city will impose mandatory temperature checks on both inbound and outbound air travellers, said Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa. 9:32:35 PM    comment []

Jessica Lynch rescue "a staged operation" Doctors and other staff at al-Nasiriyah general hospital, including Dr Harith al-Houssona who says he saved her life when she was brought to the hospital wounded, throws serious doubts on the official story about the "rescue" of Private Jessica, according to an article in the London Times. Dr Harith says: What the Americans say is like the story of Sinbad the Sailor — it’s a myth. The day before US special forces stormed the hospital, all bathists and Iraqi military had fled the area, and there were only hospital staff and patients left for the US soldiers to handcuff and harass. Amazingly, hospital staff says they had even made an attempt to deliver Jessica Lynch to US forces, but the ambulance was shot at when it approached a US checkpoint and had to return. At the time of Jessica's rescue coalition forces had met unexpectedly stiff resistance from irregulars, and the weather had shut down the progress temporarily. They really needed a media victory. Interestingly, Private Jessica herself has not said much about her rescue. 7:27:32 PM    comment []

Term watch: mastermind Am I the only one thinking that the expression "mastermind" is a tad overused in the media these days? Dictionary.com defines the term as A highly intelligent person, especially one who plans and directs a complex or difficult project: the mastermind of a robbery. It seems the term has become very fashionable for terrorists, and it's used for everybody malicious and ruthless enough to gather a bunch of armed thugs and spread death and fear among a group of innocent and unarmed civilians. Right now almost every media outlet on the planet is speaking about the capture of Abu Abbas, mastermind of the Achille Lauro hijacking. Now, I don't doubt that Mr Abbas has some organisational talent, but it hardly takes a "highly intelligent person" to hijack an unarmed cruise ship. What it takes is brute force and a total lack of respect for human life, as Abu Abbas demonstrated by shooting an old man in a wheel chair. Abu Abbas is certainly not the only "mastermind" in the terrorist league. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Al Qaeda leader who was captured in Pakistan recently, is apparently thought to be "the man who masterminded the attacks on 11 September" (but I guess he has to share that credit with e.g. Bin Laden). His "collegue" Imam Samudra is accused of "masterminding" the Bali attacks. Surely you've heard this term a million times over the last year. Whoever planned a terror attack or a crime, sometimes just a petty crime like video piracy, is a "mastermind" to the press these days. There is very little "highly intelligent" about terrorism. Unleashing death and destruction on innocent civilians simply does not work as a means to accomplish political goals. It certainly has not brought the Palestinians closer to their own state; the whole project has been a blind alley from the start. Extreme leftists launching a series of terror attacks in Europe in the 70s and 80s did not bring western Europe closer to any workers paradise; on the contrary they alienated people from their fantasies and brought on themselves the wrath of civil society in the form of extensive police powers and tactics. And the attacks on 9/11-01 has certainly not brought the US any closer to withdrawing its bases in the Muslim holy land Saudi Arabia, the disgrace that apparently prompted Bin Laden to start his holy war against everything American in the first place. I would like to see the term "mastermind" used for constructive, brilliant people who set out to reach noble goals and accomplish them, instead of primitive armed thugs who gets themselves nowhere. I fear this is really a lost philological battle, but it doesn't prevent me from complaining. 6:28:52 PM    comment []

US and North Korea will talk After North Korea opened for talks in other formats than the bilateral discussions it previously demanded, there is now an opening for a solution to the nuclear standoff with the United States. As a compromise between the wide forum the US demanded and the bilateral discussions desired by North Korea, the countries will meet next week in Beijing and hold talks between China, the US and North Korea. 10:07:03 AM    comment []

CIA handbook on information release is secret "The Central Intelligence Agency confirmed on April 7, 2003, that it is withholding in full the CIA Headquarters Handbook on the subject of release of information to the public." (The Memory Hole) ...which may or may not be in accordance with the guidelines of the handbook. We will never know, of course, since it's secret. 7:16:11 AM    comment []

The fall of France A very amusing piece of satire in the London Times. France posed a clear and immediate threat. The coalition acted in pre-emptive self-defence. It was a pity about the Louvre. Go get them, Rummy. 6:40:02 AM    comment []

— Mobile labs not used for bioweapons The buried labs suspected of being used to create biological or chemical weapons, "does not appear" to have been used for that purpose, an expert team concludes. Two words: Deja vu! 3:31:34 AM    comment []

Achille Lauro hijacker captured in Iraq The Palestinian terrorist Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) which hijacked an Iralian cruise ship in 1985, has been captured by American forces in Iraq. During the hijacking, a 69 year old disabled Jewish American, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot dead and thrown overboard in his wheel chair. The rest of the hijackers were caught when their escape plane was intercepted by US Navy jets, but unbelievably Italian authorities released Abu Abbas, who has spent the last 17 years in Iraq. He was sentenced to five life terms in absentia. His capture is claimed to vindicate US claims that Iraq has been harbouring terrorists, however it has not been established as a link to al Qaeda. PS: Do not confuse Abu Abbas with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas (also called Abu Mazen). 2:24:38 AM    comment []

Moderate exercise not good enough for your heart Supposedly debunking a popular myth about exercise, researchers at Queens' university in Belfast finds that only vigorous exercise has any impact on risks for heart disease. Light to moderate exercise, like the 30 minutes' walk often recommended, has not been found to have any effect. The study followed almost 2,000 men initially aged 45-59 in Wales over a period of 10 years. "Light" exercise was defined as walking, bowling or sailing, golf or dancing was called "moderate", and to qualify as a heavy exerciser, and thus aid your heart, you have to do things like climb stairs, swim or jog. In another news report about the same research, other experts throw some doubt on the claim that moderate exercise is not benefital. Cardiologist David Hare, while stating the research was consistent with earlier results, said: the most important thing is that [people] exercise regularly, and they do exercise that they enjoy, and that they keep going long-term. The study may be a good reason to exercise more, but it's surely not a valid excuse to abandon the little exercise you do. 1:47:12 AM    comment []

Exit Hitler, exit Saddam In May 1945, when Germany was decisively defeated but the whereabouts of Hitler was still unknown, Time magazine printed a front page with a picture of Hitler crossed out. The April 21 issue of Time copies that design and substitutes Saddam Hussein for Hitler. While it seems Saddam was not second to anybody in cruelty, and he certainly brought suffering to many in his own country and neighbouring areas, the comparison stops there. Germany anno 1939 was the world's most formidable war machine. It took on practically the rest of the world and held it at bay for six long, brutal years, fighting tooth and nail, never collapsing on any front. Saddam Hussein's regime fell for a coaltion that only used a fraction of its military powers in just three weeks. 12:15:31 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2003; 02:59:17.