24. april 2003

Iraqi dinar reflects optimism One indication that the average Iraqi is getting cautiously optimistic: The Iraqi dinar is back at pre-war levels against the dollar. 8:45:23 PM    comment []

— Saddam tried to cover Galloway The Telegraph sticks to its story about British MP George Galloway receiving money from Saddam Hussein's regime, and elaborates on how Saddam's regime tried to cover up the relationship. 7:37:59 PM    comment []

Wars and myths: Hitler's library Parts of Adolf Hitler's personal library ended up in a rare-book collection in the US Library of Congress. What does a genocidal despot read? Apparently, many things. Quite prominent were books about wars and battles, and theology and mysticism. 6:13:33 PM    comment []

Oxymoron of the day: military intelligence The intelligence dossiers made before the Iraq war to justify military action have been found to be seriously flawed. We can say this even before we know whether Iraq had (or has) weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps the most serious question coming out of this: who will trust British or US intelligence reports about dangerous developments the the future? 5:19:34 PM    comment []

Toronto's mayor off his rocker The news that WHO has issued a travel advisory against visiting Toronto has angered many Canadian politicians. Toronto's mayor Mel Lastman is probably the most rabid. He fumed at the decision and attacked the WHO furiously: They sit somewhere, I understand Geneva, I don't even know where the hell they came from, and they make decisions. Let me be clear. If it's safe to live in Toronto, it's safe to come to Toronto. I dare them to be here tomorrow. Of course he's totally clueless, and misses the point entirely. The travel advisory is not to protect Toronto. It's to protect the rest of the world from a disease that has started spreading inside Toronto. Surely it's pretty safe to live in Toronto. Statistically, the chance of dying from Sars is very low everywhere, even in Hong Kong. But if this disease keeps spreading, thousands of people worldwide will die. Which is why WHO puts Toronto in a virtual quarantaine: not to protect people there, but to protect others. And this is what Canadian politicians are working to prevent. The consequences of not being paranoid can be disastrous; millions of deaths. The bad consequences of over-reacting are by comparison rather small. So we err at the side of caution. 3:48:16 PM    comment []

TypePad: Next generation blogging tool? The Guardian reports rather enthusiastically about TypePad, the new and upcoming hosted blog service from SixApart, the creators of Movable Type. Technically, Typepad has embraced all the new things that have appeared or been requested in the blogging world in the past year. There is a built-in photo album creation tool, for instance, as well as a built-in Blogroll - a list of all your favourite sites, or lists of books and music you are reading and listening to. Wonder if Radio Userland has a good comeback? 12:52:58 PM    comment []

Iraqi information minister in advertising for RyanAir The Irish budget airline RyanAir has been using an image of the famous Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Said al-Sahaf in a targeted ad directed aginst competitor EasyJet. In the ad, the minister, called "Comical Ali" by some, is making the statements "We're winning the war, We're beating the Americans, EasyJet have the Lowest Fares". The competitor Easyjet says the advertising campaign is in "bad taste." 11:33:15 AM    comment []

Acid psychedelia at 60 It is 60 years ago today that the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann inadvertedly discovered the hallicugenic drug LSD, and by accidentally inhaling the substance he probably had the most fascinating bike ride so far in history. Hofmann, now 97, is not that proud of his discovery, but he still recalls that hallucinating bike ride as "a beautiful and pleasant trip." 9:03:48 AM    comment []

Arafat and Abbas reach last-minute cabinet deal Palestinian President Yasir Arafat and prime minister Mahmoud Abbas (also called Abu Mazen) reached a last-minute deal to approve a cabinet within the deadline they had set. Arafat was under intense international pressure to reach a deal, as a functioning cabinet and a real prime minister was the prerequisite set by the US to publish a "roadmap" for a new peace plan. Abbas appeared the winner of the cabinet discussion, but the power struggle is set to remain. Of particular concern is the fact that Abbas now will appear to be a candidate forced in place by outside interests, in particular the US which is widely disliked by Palestinians. This morning, a suicide bomber attacked a train station in Israel, killing one victim and injuring several. 8:26:35 AM    comment []

Canada blasts Toronto travel warning Canadian authorities have reacted angrily to WHO's travel warning listing Toronto as places people should avoid. They have written a letter to protest calling it "inappropriate." Amazing. 8:08:59 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2003; 02:59:33.