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3. september 2003
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That doesn't necessearily take a lot of effort
"Taking 'Intelligence' Out Of 'CIA'" (CBS headline)
7:18:25 PM 
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Possible Abu Mazen ultimatum
The Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, will reportedly demand support for his work with the "road map" from the PA parliament, or he threatens to resign.
Arafat and Mazen have for some time been locked in a power struggle, and they each control separate parts of the security forces of the PA.
7:03:51 PM
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Church of Scientology demands full control
Scientology, the sect known for its wacky scifi teachings, malicious litigation and celebrity members, is demanding its members sign a draconian contract set up to protect the church against the odd wrong death lawsuit. The sect considers psychiatry "barbaric, harmful, and fraudulent" and works hard to keep its members away from medical professionals in case of mental disorders.
The Spiritual Assistance agreement reads in part: "I understand that the Introspection Rundown is an intensive, rigorous Religious Service that includes being isolated from all sources of potential spiritual upset, including but not limited to family members, friends or others with whom I might normally interact."
"As part of the Introspection Rundown, I specifically consent to Church members being with me 24 hours a day at the direction of my Case Supervisor, in accordance with the tenets and custom of the Scientology religion. The Case Supervisor will determine the time period in which I will remain isolated, according to the beliefs and practices of the Scientology religion."
"I further specifically acknowledge that the duration of any such isolation is uncertain, determined only by my spiritual condition, but that such duration will be completely at the discretion of the Case Supervisor. I also specifically consent to the presence of Church members around the clock for whatever length of time is necessary to perform the Introspection Rundown's processes and to achieve the spiritual results of the Introspection Rundown."
More about one of the world's most malicious sects at Operation Clambake.
4:24:02 PM
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How do they define honour?
A Pakistani family, eight people ranging in age from 80 to two weeks, were brutally killed in a suspected "honour killing."
In the latest incident, police believe the killers may have been seeking revenge after a girl from their family allegedly eloped with the son of one of those killed.
Nobody has been arrested.
3:15:14 PM
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Arafat: "Road map is dead"
Palestinian president Yasser Arafat has stated that the road map is dead, but he places the blame on Israel.
Arafat said there was no prospect of Palestinian groups such as Hamas resuming a declared cease-fire with Israel.
"The road map is dead, but only because of Israeli military aggression in recent weeks," he said.
Since Hamas "cease-fires" include daily low-level violence and occasional suicide attacks on women and children, explain why Israel or anyone else should have any interest in such a thing. I can understand Arafat blaming the Israelis (it is, in a sense, his job), but it would show some moderation if he at least let Hamas and the other terrorist groups share that blame.
1:45:06 PM
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Shots at Britain's embassy in Tehran
The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United Kingdom over the arrest of former Iranian diplomat Hade Soleimanpour has escalated further, with shots being fired at the British embassy in Tehran. Nobody was injured.
Earlier, Iran has recalled its embassador for 'consultations,' and demands an apology and Soleimanpour's release, pretending not to understand that in real democracies, the judiciary is independent from the government.
Soleimanpour is suspected for involvment in a bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in 1994, and Argentina has demanded his extradiction.
The Iranian hardliners are not known for respecting the diplomatic status of embassies in its country. In 1979, the US embassy staff was taken hostage for more than a year by Islamic forces disguised as students, allowing the Ayatollah's government to pretend to not be involved. This looks like more of the same.
The case with Soleimanpour obviously provides Tehran with a welcome distraction from the nuclear standoff, and its willingness to alienate one of the most friendly western governments in this row speaks volumes about the stakes involved.
11:08:45 AM
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Abu Zubaydah implicates Saudi leaders in terrorism
A new book by Gerald Posner, based on sources in US intelligence and military, gives more evidence against the Saudis. It reveals what al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah, taken by US and Pakistani forces in March 2002, revealed when exposed to hard interrogation. Posner reveals that the US interrogators used drugs, painkiller and Sodium Pentothal, to break down the terrorist and make him reveal facts.
When questioning stalled, according to Posner, CIA men flew Zubaydah to an Afghan complex fitted out as a fake Saudi jail chamber, where "two Arab-Americans, now with Special Forces," pretending to be Saudi inquisitors, used drugs and threats to scare him into more confessions.
Yet when Zubaydah was confronted by the false Saudis, writes Posner, "his reaction was not fear, but utter relief." Happy to see them, he reeled off telephone numbers for a senior member of the royal family who would, said Zubaydah, "tell you what to do." The man at the other end would be Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, a Westernized nephew of King Fahd's and a publisher better known as a racehorse owner. His horse War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby in 2002. To the amazement of the U.S., the numbers proved valid. When the fake inquisitors accused Zubaydah of lying, he responded with a 10-minute monologue laying out the Saudi-Pakistani-bin Laden triangle.
Read the whole thing for more detail.
Assuming this is true, it surely raises questions about what the 28 censored pages in the 9/11 report was about. It also raises the question why the Bush administration avoids taking the Saudis head on. The answer may well be that the US can ill afford to take on more enemies than it already has, and this information will surely provide some leverage for US pressure against the Kingdom. Which again underscores how crucual Iraq is the the Bush administration large anti-terror war plan. The Saudis are surely not interested in the US succeeding in tranforming Iraq into a viable Arab democracy.
10:47:12 AM
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Carpet vs lenoleum
While women in the west generally want to remove at least some of their pubic hair, women in Korea can't get enough of it. There it is considered a sign of fertility instead of a hair in the soup, so to say, and some Korean women are willing to pay good money to tranplant hair from their heads to present a pubic jungle to their men.
9:15:27 AM
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— Doctor led girl to make false sex-abuse accusations
Read about British child psychiatrist John Eastgate, who is charged with misleading a 13 year old girl to believe she had been sexually abused by a doctor, and also three other men, including her father. The young teenager was what you would call a troubled child, and Eastgate immediately concluded she had been sexually abused.
During a number of counselling sessions in June and July [1996], he allegedly prompted the girl through leading questions and suggestions into believing she had been sexually abused by a doctor who had treated her when she was nine.
Luckily, her mother or grandmother had been present during all visits to this doctor, so the serious charges were quickly dropped. The girl, convinced she was a victim of abuse, made similar accusations against her father and two other men, charges that "pulled the family asunder for years." She later dropped the charges, and she is now reconciled with the family and going to college.
Eastgate risks having his license revoked or suspended. He should risk far more.
12:13:11 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.10.2003; 02:23:52.
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This is my blogchalk:
Norway, Bergen, Norwegian, English, Jan, Male, 31-35.
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