1. september 2003

Bar code clock Scott Blake is obviously fascinated by bar codes, and has made a very cool JavaScipt-based Bar code clock. 11:52:21 PM    comment []  trackback []

Polite guest, naive host John Ashcroft has been in Norway, and besides finding his roots on a little island in the west, he has been in Oslo and had talks with foreign minister Jan Petersen (conservatives). Ashcroft was not able to hide that he was deeply concerned that Mullah Krekar, the (former?) leader of the Islamist terror organisation Ansar al-Islam, can enjoy his life in freedom here in Norway. There has been attempts to get him detained or expelled, but the prosecutors have not been successful, and obviously they lack the legal tools to protect the country against such dangerous immigrants. Ashcroft, at a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart late Friday, Justice Minister Odd Einar Doerum, diplomatically tried to gloss over the differences between the two countries, saying he was grateful for Norway's cooperation in the war on terrorism. "Norway is one of the most valuable partners the US has," Ashcroft claimed, before he left to spend the weekend with Norwegian relatives on the west coast. Back in Washington, I am sure Ashcroft will be shaking his head in disbelief at the extreme naivety of its valuable ally, who is playing host to an extremist leader who has expressed support for the 9/11 terror, and who has been conducting a terror campaign to convert Iraq from a Baathist dictature to an Islamist dictature modelled on the Taliban. I am sadly convinced that my country will keep believing that nothing bad can happen to nice, peaceful little Norway until, well, until it suddenly does. There is a sad precedent for this in Norway's policies prior to 1940. History repeating. 10:57:04 PM    comment []  trackback []

Fear of flying Scared and angry passengers in Brazil are suing Gol airlines over the captian's odd sense of humour, after a domestic flight (which never reached its destination) developed into a nightmare. Passenger Ari Vieira Augusto told Terra Noticias Populares: "When he announced we couldn't land in Vitoria due to bad weather, he said he had some good news and some bad news. "The good news was that he had made a good take off and the bad was that no airplanes were being successful in landing at our destination, and he didn't explain anything else. "He was crazy, irresponsible and a joker. He said we were 10,000 feet above ground, 46 celsius degrees below zero and that he wouldn't advise anyone to get out of the airplane without a heavy coat." Sounds like a responsible advice to me. 10:19:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

Not necessarily a DaVinci I was a bit surprised to find that the stolen Leonardo DaVinci painting Madonna of the Yarnwinder is not necessarily a product from the master's hand. Art experts seems to agree that the original painting, that DaVinci made in 1501, is probably lost. There are a few copies, though, and the stolen painting is one of them. It is possible, but just possible, that Leonardo is the hand behind this particular copy, but it may also have been one of his talented students. It is also speculated it was completed by one of them after his death. In those days, whatever was created in the studio carried the name of the master. At any rate, the work is the product of his composition, style and watchful eye. Whoever originally painted the stolen piece, it remains a very old and very rare artwork, and it would be a tragedy if it was lost forever. 8:31:33 PM    comment []  trackback []

Blackmail works The French have reportedly reached a deal with Libya, opening up for finalising the Lockerbie deal and the UN Security Council lifting the sanctions against the country. 7:08:34 PM    comment []  trackback []

Virtual Occoquan #39 Finally a new edition of the Occoquan Inquirer, with some of the best in the past week or so of Salon blogging. This issue's topic is spam, and the deconstruction thereof, and it adds some of Susan's (or is that Pesky's) cartoons. Maybe that is the reason Mark chose my article about endangered cartoonists for this edition. Jan Haugland writes obsessively at Secular Blasphemy Heh. 4:35:21 PM    comment []  trackback []

Saddam: It wasn't me! Al Jazeera has aired an audio tape allegedly from Saddam Hussein where he denies involvment in the Najaf bombing. Addressing the "great and strong people of Iraq", the speaker on the tape referred to the bombing as "an accident," adding: "They [the Americans] rushed to accuse the so-called Saddam supporters with no evidence." I wonder if the translation "accident" is an accurate one. It seems clearly like the wrong word for a murderous terrorist attack, and would rather indicate the target was a mistake. At any rate, the Shiah population of Iraq is very unlikely to take Saddam's word for anything. 2:12:46 PM    comment []  trackback []

Ashcroft finds his roots It's always funny to read the local press jawdropping when someone important from the big world comes visiting. To my surprise (initially anyway), I learned that US Attorney General John Ashcroft descends from a small island outside Bergen, Radøy, and this weekend he and his wife Janet visited his relatives along with a large retinue of security guards. Around 80 relatives had gone to church (yes, they apparently do that on the countryside) to see the big man, and he made a good impression on the natives. They were very proud that anybody from little Radøy (his grandfather had emigrated at age 14) could rise to the top "over there." I think they were too polite to tell Mr Ashcroft that Radøy is the butt of a lot of local jokes here. (From a Norwegian article in Bergensavisen) 10:45:08 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.10.2003; 02:23:45.