27. august 2003

Ten commandments moved Alabama Judge Roy Moore's controversial stone monument over the Ten Commandments has been removed from public view in the Montgomery court house, amid protests from supporters of the right-wing judge. 11:53:05 PM    comment []  trackback []

Astronomy picture of the day This is the astronomy picture of the day, showing the planet Mars rising behind Elephant Rock, Nevada, especially fitting since today, Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been in almost 60,000 years. The last time a human being looked up in the sky and possibly noticed that Mars was clearer than ever before, there was no agriculture, no domestic animals, no writing, no cities and the entire human race was probably just a few million individuals, living as hunterers and gatherers scattered across the planet. If one of our ancestors noticed the red planet on that day, that person was almost certainly an ancestor to a large part of all human beings living today, very possibly yours and mine. That ancestor could not imagine that the next time Mars came this close, space craft designed by his or her descendants would be hurling towards the red planet at breathtaking speed, to pry some of its secrets away from it. 2:49:36 PM    comment []  trackback []

Dean surges forward "Though polls taken this early in the race can be unreliable predictors, there are statistical signs to back up Dr. Dean's surge in popularity on the street. Zogby International, an independent firm, is scheduled to release Wednesday a poll showing Dr. Dean leading in New Hampshire with 38 percent of the vote to 17 percent for Senator John Kerry; in early July Senator Kerry had 25 percent to Dr. Dean's 22 percent. The poll has a margin of sampling error of 4.5 percentage points." (New York Times) Whatever you think about Howard Dean's chances to beat Bush in more than a year, changing 22-25 to 38-17 in a month's campaigning in NH is a rather amazing accomplishment. I know it's too early, but Kerry looks dead in the water. It just has me wondering if Dean burns his energy too early. No, I am not referring to him or his staff exhausting their energy or money (because momentum brings both), but the media reaction. Dean is the new, exciting man. He's newsworthy. In fact, the main story about him is precisely his unespected early success. If he keeps up growing his support, he will no longer be the underdog but the candidate to beat. Remember McCain in the '99 primaries? Also, the media has a nasty tendency to turn on its favourite after a while. When the good stories are all used up, they will bring in the scandals to tear down what thet built up, even if they have to make some themselves. Now, if Dean stands tall even after facing the coming storm, then we can talk serious challenge in '04. 11:10:39 AM    comment []  trackback []

Matrix Revolutions Here you will find the new international trailer for Matrix Revolutions. Soon all of us who have been discussing whether there is a "Matrix within the Matrix" will find out. I went on record saying there isn't. We'll see. 8:02:55 AM    comment []  trackback []

And this is August? We had a hot summer here (hottest July ever recorded), but I don't think August will break any records. It's now 8:00 in the morning here, and the temperature is 6C (~43F). That is what we typically have in January! 6:35:16 AM    comment []  trackback []

Possible religious rights defense in child death case Ray Hemphill, the church minister who killed a autistic boy during an exorcism ceremony, is being charged with physical abuse of a child causing great bodily harm, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison. Unfortunately, since the death occurred in a religious service, he may have a good defence. This case could get complicated when and if it goes trial. Wisconsin is one of the most protective states when it comes to religious freedom. "The minister or someone else involved could allege that their religious freedom could be infringed by a criminal prosecution," Marquette Law School professor Scott Idleman said. Atrocious! What is there about religious freedom that should permit a crackpot to have a boy killed? Religions hardly need legal protection. People need legal protection against religions. 5:22:07 AM    comment []  trackback []

France argues Hamas, Islamic Jihad are not terrorists France has reportedly objected to placing Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the EU list of terror organisations, which would mean their European funds could be frozen. French authorities argue there is no evidence they are terror groups. France, according to Gordo, is opposed to placing both Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the EU list, and believes Israel should deal with its "terror threats" through political, rather than military, channels. If these groups are not terrorists, who is? They deliberately target and blow up innocent civilians, including children, for the sole reason they are Jewish. Hamas is most explicit in its aim of totally destroying, by violence, the state of Israel. France's approach to the Middle East is getting harder and harder to understand every day, except if we draw the conclusion that when the US takes one side, France will automatically take the opposing stand. It appears France is in a haze of national delusion, putting itself up in the place of the Soviet Union as a counterbalance to the US, but neither having the military, political nor economic power to do so. The French government also seems to forget that as a western, liberal democracy, France will be hated by Islamists, no matter how they try to appease them. Even if the extremists may hate the French less than they hate the US (a dubious idea), they will despise them even more for being weak and cowardly. 2:02:28 AM    comment []  trackback []

Capture of a Slaver There are a lot of interesting historical books, and excerpts of books, available online. Wood, J. Taylor's Capture of a Slaver is a fascinating account written in 1900, about events 50 years earlier, when British and American warships patrolled the coast of Africa to try to put an end to the shipping of slaves to America. Taylor's ship appears to be one of the first to succeed to capture a slave ship and free its captives. 1:34:25 AM    comment []  trackback []

Traces of enriched uranium found in Iran IAEA has found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian nuclear site. Enriched uranium is a crucial and necessery component of nuclear weapons, but is not necessary for a civil nuclear programme. Iranian authorities claim the traces come from equipment imported from another country. Obviously, Iran doesn't need a nuclear power system. The land is extremely rich on oil. They certainly don't need an enrichment capacity for a civil programme, yet they build one. Now if this proves that Iran has already enriched uranium, the country may be close to developing a nuclear arsenal. 12:06:17 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.09.2003; 14:10:52.