19. mai 2003

Nightmare interview I've been a fan of Lou Reed for years, bought his albums, seen him in concert, and I was quite saddened by how he treated Simon Hattenstone, who came to interview him for the Guardian. Reed makes me feel like an amoeba. I want to cry. Look, I was a huge fan of yours, I say. "Was?" he sneers. I still am, I say, but I'm less sure by the second. Oh well, the man may be an asshole, but he's made some great music over the years. Can't say I'm too impressed with the latest records, though. 11:20:34 PM    comment []

Metallica breaks down Saddam's men Question: How do you make Saddam Hussein's men talk? We're talking mass murderers here, so they will be hard nuts to crack. Answer: You play heavy metal for them. To someone who has not grown up with that kind of music, it is total torture, if we are to believe recent reports (and seeing how most people over 60 react to it, I concur). Newsweek reports the U.S. military is exposing uncooperative Iraqis to long doses of heavy metal music. Sgt. Mark Hadsell said it breaks down their resistance through sleep deprivation and annoyance. A favourite is Metallica's Enter Saddam. Eh, Sandman. Sorry. Oh, and kids songs. His other two favorites to make the resistance crumble are 24 hours straight of Barney the purple dinosaur and the "Sesame Street" theme. Sweet mercy! That has to be a violation of the Geneva convention. 10:14:46 PM    comment []

Terror attacks in Arab press An interesting overview of what newspapers around the Arab world are saying about the latest round of terrorist attacks. 9:45:43 PM    comment []

How neo-cons took over the White House Well-renowed BBC Panorama recently aired a documentary about how the neo-conservatives took over the US after 9/11-01. Panorama investigates the "neo-conservatives", the small and unelected group of right-wingers, who critics claim have hijacked the White House. Of course the US President is free to choose who he will listen to, within law. The neo-cons deserves credit for at least having a plan and a vision for how to deal with the post-cold-war world. As far as I know, everybody else just wanted to play by ear. What is worrying, is that just a small part of the electororate has any clue what the plan is about, or that it even exists. The plan is not openly acknowledged as being the de facto US foreign policy, but neither is it a very well guarded secret. Bush has not come out and said, "this is our plan for dominance of the world." I suspect many citizens would have objected to it if it was put to them in honest terms, while others, I am sure, would think it was a good plan. The problem is they are not told, and certainly not asked. Obviously, to the neocons, the common citizen is just a sheep who has to be deceived into voting for the Republicans, not knowing what is best for him or her. PS: I think Tony Blair has mixed feelings about being considered a neocon. 8:33:08 PM    comment []

Black ink in Saudi Arabia Brian Whitaker describes the crazy country that is Saudi Arabia, where you can only read two year old cached versions of news sites, as all pages are manually (!) censored before you can see it. If you want to read foreign newspapers while in the Kingdom, you will see that every copy has been censored with a marker pen. The point of these elaborate measures is not to stop people reading "unsuitable" things, but to maintain a pretence that they can't read them. This attitude, a Saudi journalist explained, is derived partly from the Hanbali school of Islamic law - the strictest of the four legal systems. The basic idea is that if harm might result from something, the way should be blocked. The same argument prevents women from driving, in case they encounter a man along the way - a police officer or petrol station attendant, perhaps - who rapes them. The same rule is not applied to the bedouin of the desert, he added. There, women not only drive but sometimes carry guns. No surprise, then, that the security services in this make-believe country has been unable to and unwilling to tackle the terror threat. Reality doesn't conform very well to the world-view of religious fanatics, not even when they are dealing with other religious fanatics. 5:42:43 PM    comment []

Thousands of Iraqis demonstrate against US occupation Up to 10,000 Sunni and Shia muslims marched in protest against the US occupation today. In a display of unity between Sunnis and Shiites, they marched from a Sunni mosque to a Shia holy shrine.They demanded a say in the Iraqi government. The march was a protest not only against the US occupation, but also at the large role exiles are expected to get in the interim government. US forces watched, but did not interfere. At least, now they can march in protest. 4:29:35 PM    comment []

Militant feminists don't like Heidi Klum Posters advertising for Hennes & Mauritz bikinis can be seen everywhere in Norway these days, and nothing enrages militant marxist feminists more than a beautiful woman. The previous H&M model, Iman, was argued to be "too thin," but since she was black the radical feminists were in a quandry. This time, model Heidi Klum is sufficiently white (if curvy, in response to earlier criticism), so the fanatics can get out the spray paint to protest the "commercialisation" of the female body.  The poster above is spray painted with the text "shitty advertising" and "what now, little girl?" Radical feminists openly support the vandalism. Such vandalism has been a recurring theme for at least a decade. H&M gets free advertising, and the feminists get rid of some of the testosterone they obviously have in abundance. (From a Norwegian article in Nettavisen) 3:13:41 PM    comment []

Virtual Occoquan #30 A shiny new edition of the Occoquan Inquirer, giving you some of the best of last week in Salon blogging, is fresh on the stands. You absolutely should not miss this! If you missed my rant on drums, spoiled brats and the Norwegian constitution day, here's a second chance. 1:49:48 PM    comment []

Maroccan suicide bombers may have started as Islamist gang The investigation of the deadly Casablanca terror attacks has revealed links to what was previously believed to be nothing more than an extremist neighbourhood gang. The gang had harassed women and mixed-sex couples seen in public. In February 2002 members of the gang stoned a man to death in a poor neighbourhood, causing some gang members to be arrested and jailed. Earlier this month, the new Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq warned in a press interview against exaggerating the importance of the country's Salafists. Moroccan authorities have always insisted that the Moroccan tradition of Islamic observance is tolerant and immune to fanaticism. But in deprived areas like Sidi Moumen or shanty-towns on the outskirts of Rabat, Fes, or Tangiers, literalist interpretation of Islam, which the authorities dismiss as a foreign import, has gained adherents in recent years. Another case of secularized societies, Islamic or otherwise, turning a blind eye to violent Islamist groups. As sociologists of religion have often pointed out, in the religious marketplace extremists group thrive. Deep commitment and zeal are often considered much more satisfying to deeply religious people than Sunday (or, Friday, as it may be) religiousity. These groups tend to spread, gain adherents, and when they are violent, things turn ugly and dangerous fast. How to deal with it? Confrontation, infiltation, intimidation, arrests, deportations, stiff penalties, and do it early. Such tactics are not easy to harmonise with a humane secularised society. But then again, extremists don't play by those rules. Such groups thrive on the tolerance of others, but show none to outsiders. Appeasement to extremists just reveals a weakness, and that is precisely what the Muslim countries have continued doing up until now. 12:54:40 PM    comment []

China's massive Internet censorship system By requiring Chinese ISPs to sign a "self-discipline pact" to monitor its users, the Net has become a massive online trap for dissenters. The organisation Reporters Without Borders tested a number of chat rooms, and found that messages critical of the regime just disappeared without trace. It is estimated that in China, 30,000 people are employed in the massive censorship system. As well as messages critical of the authorities, net firms are also required to control discussions about human rights, Taiwan independence, pornography, oral sex, Sars, the BBC and the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement. More people are in jail over expressing online dissent in China than any other place. 12:39:25 PM    comment []

Zoloft for everything! "Zoloft is most commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders, but it would be ridiculous to limit such a multi-functional drug to these few uses," Pfizer spokesman Jon Pugh said. "We feel doctors need to stop asking their patients if anything is wrong and start asking if anything could be more right." [Read it all in The Onion] 12:46:51 AM    comment []

You googled me Somebody wanted sexually potent food but found an article about the sex life of the prophet Muhammad (or rather, the perils of writing about it). Not edible, sorry. 12:01:04 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.06.2003; 03:30:10.