18. april 2003

Bush plays hardball on tax To bully moderate Republicans into accepting the $350bn tax cut, Bush loyalists are using the worst insult in the American vocaubulary: French! 10:06:11 PM    comment []

North Korea raises the nuclear stakes Again raising the stakes and demonstrating its unpredictable nature, North Korea has announced that it has started reprocessing used fuel rods, which will enable it to extract plutonium for a number of nuclear bombs. This move clearly endangers the planned talks that were due in Beijing next month. An NK foreign minister spokesman was quoted saying: The Iraqi war teaches a lesson that in order to prevent a war and defend the security of a country... it is necessary to have a powerful physical deterrent force. US officials say they now consider cancelling the Beijing talks. 9:51:47 PM    comment []

The differential equation for love Slate's Jordan Ellenberg writes an interesting article on the idea that the success of love and marriage can be described by differential equations. 8:39:53 PM    comment []

Since it's Easter... Since it's good Friday and everything, I am getting all soft and mushy and rabidly areligious. Lee Strobel is an apologist popular with believers who want to preach to non-believers without ever thinking the objections properly through. His previous book The Case for Christ was so successful (with those who already believed) that he wrote a followup in the same style: The Case for Faith. It contains mock-critical interviews with a number of theologists and apologists, to answer a number of objections to Christianity. Paul Doland has written a great Critique of Lee Strobel's The Case for Faith that has been recently updated and revised. 7:23:08 PM    comment []

Five per cent drop in North American pollution Environmental pollution in North America dropped by 5 per cent between 1995 and 2000, a new study shows. I am glad that press outlets finally report the good news about environmental issues. The environmentalists sure as hell will not. 10:06:28 AM    comment []

Bush advisor quits over Baghdad looting Martin Sullivan, who chaired George Bush' Advisory Committee on Cultural Property, has resigned in protest over the failure of US forces to prevent the looting of priceless cultural artifacts from the Iraqi National Museum. Two other panel members have also resigned. They said the looting did not need to happen, and blames the administration being blind to non-military concerns. Sadly, I don't think Bush was even aware he had a cultural advisor before now. 9:38:44 AM    comment []

Why older women likes chocolate even more A group of researchers in Turkey has found that women are less able to taste sweet foods after menopause, and thus are more likely to eat more and sweeter food to satisfy their taste buds. The researchers, publishing their findings in British Dental Journal, warns that this change may put women at higher risks of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. If it's bad now, it's bound to get worse later. 9:32:51 AM    comment []

Al-Sahaf was Embassador to Norway How is this for a local angle: The Iraqi information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who has recently enjoyed great success in comedy and as an internet celebrity, was the Iraqi embassador to Norway and Sweden between 1985 and 87. The embassy was located in Sweden. Apparently he has developed his talent for entertainment since, because nobody who was in the foreign service at the time can remember him. It is quite likely, however, that he met the late king of Norway, His Majesty Olav V, who traditionally welcomes all new embassadors. A tangent: the much beloved King Olav V actually died on the very night the bombing started during Desert Storm, January 17, 1991. (From a Norwegian article in Dagbladet) 5:22:30 AM    comment []

New York in withdrawals Almost a month after New York City banned smoking in bars and restaurants, there are mixed reports of its success. Most notoriously, a bouncer was killed last week when he tried to upheld the ban, a death blamed on the 'draconian' law. One bartender is quoted saying she has lost "up to half" her income due to the ban; her customers are staying at home since they can't smoke on the town. 2:41:39 AM    comment []

UN human rights body criticises Cuba, sort of The UN Human Rights Commission again demonstrated its utter irrelevance by failing to pass any serious criticism of Cuba, only a resolution urging Cuba to accept a visit from French law expert Christine Chanet as a human rights investigator. Cuba has declined to accept her. Costa Rica had earlier proposed an amandment expressing "deep concern" over Cuba sentencing 75 political opponents to long prison terms and its summary executions of three hijackers. The proposal was rejected. The commission is a highly politicised body where a large number of countries try to pass off condemnations of their enemies, with little regard for human rights. 12:44:58 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2003; 02:59:20.