1. mai 2003

Top ten Germans The German broadcaster ZDF is to use the format of the BBC 'Greatest Briton' poll, but the name at the tip of your lips will not enter the competition. Adolf Hitler and other war criminals will be disallowed from the contest to select the Greatest German of all times.. The British finally selected Winston Churchill as the greatest Briton of all ages, perhaps a bit near-sighted. A pretty open interpretation of "German" will however allow voters to select famous Austrians with some relationship to Germany, as well as German-born people who did their greatest work outside the country. So not only famous Germans like Bismarck, Bach, Beethoven and Göthe will be in the poll, it will also be open for Einstein, Marx and Mozart. 11:23:07 PM    comment []

Quarrel over one word postpones Northern Ireland election The British government has announced a delay of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections over what it says is a lack of clarity in a statement from Sinn Fein over the IRA's intentions when it comes to paramilitary activities. Tony Blair said the statement saying "there should be no activities inconsistent" (emphasis added) with the Good Friday did not go far enough. The word "should" must be replaced with "will", London insisted. 10:02:05 PM    comment []

Study: fiber is good for you "Two studies provide evidence that a high-fibre diet contributes to a substantial lowering in the risk of colon cancer. This has previously been a controversial area of research, as some recent studies have suggested no association between increased fibre intake and a reduced risk of colorectal cancer." (The Lancet, from email) 9:21:03 PM    comment []

Saddam goes Osama Saddam Hussein has allegedly written a letter to a London based Arab newspaper, where he urges Iraqis to rise up against US occupation. 8:24:33 PM    comment []

Science, the Sars edition The well-renowed journal Science, normally only available to $ubscribers, has put a special Sars edition online for free.This special edition includes the first peer-reviewed studies of the genomic sequences of the two Sars virus strains. Hopefully, these studies will aid the development of treatment and diagnistication of the disease. 7:11:08 PM    comment []

Praising capitalism Anatole Kaletsky writes an interesting opinion piece in the London Times, arguing that capitalism is humanity's most benign creation. While I would take issue with some of his arguments, it remains a fact that no other economic system has come even close to producing the standard of living made possible by the combination of capitalist economy and technological and scientific developments. May 1st is the International Day of Labour, a public holiday in many countries (including mine) and a day where anti-globalists and other left wingers demonstrate against capitalism. So also at OECDs recent forum in Paris. But leftists have failed to propose a serious alternative to global capitalism. Kaletsky writes: As I listened to the politicians, international officials and “civil society” pressure groups represented in Paris, it struck me that, while opposition to the global capitalist system is widespread, nobody has anything remotely resembling a constructive alternative to propose. He is markedly optmisitic about the prospect of economic growth starting to pick up again after soem time of stagnation. But he also warned that if this does not happen, the world economy could face a "long period of stagnation." That about covers all possibilities. 1:32:43 PM    comment []

Worms survived shuttle crash Some tiny worms that was used in scientific experiments on the space shuttle Columbia survived the crash. Researchers are surprised to find anything but a "molten mass", and are investigating whether they still have any scientific value. 12:52:36 PM    comment []

Comments to Middle East "road map" It is interesting to see the different comments to the "road map" to peace which was presented to the new Palestinian government today, and also to the Sharon's government. The Palestinians were notably positive about the plan. Sharon saw it as a draft that he would make changes to. US President George Bush said, when reminded about earlier plans that had failed: I'm an optimist. I will seize the opportunity. Whatever else you can say about Bush, he is a man with a vision who works hard to have that vision implemented. It will be very interesting to see how he reacts when the plan is sabotaged from the Israelis side. Assuming Abu Mazen is actually capable of hampering the terrorist groups, this can be an interesting development. 2:58:14 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.06.2003; 03:29:12.