26. oktober 2003

Nigerian fundamentalist clerics oppose polio vaccines Polio is set for worldwide extermination, and the weapon of choice is mass vaccinations. A recent outbreak in Nigeria has intensified the work, but now fundamentalist Muslims in the north are using conspiracy theories to stop the programme. Leading clerics are arguing that the US has infected the vaccination with AIDS and are using it to make Muslims infertile, an idea not unusual Africa south of Sahara. "The Western world has never wished Muslims well," said Yakubu Husseini, a 20-year-old teacher coming out of Friday prayers in the northern city of Kano. "Why should they expect us to believe that vaccines they make these days are not another frontier to wage war against Muslims?" Three predominantly Muslim states in northern Nigeria - Kano, Kaduna and Zamfara - have either delayed or refused permission for the vaccination drive with Zamfara demanding proof the vaccine is safe, which U.N. officials say has been repeatedly supplied. Vaccinations depend on "herd protection," where those who are vaccinated defend not only themselves but other people, who may not be vaccinated, as well. It requires a critical percentage of the populations being protected. The 'hole' in Northern Nigeria is not only a threat to the population there; it is already speading polio to neighbouring areas in Ghana, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso. It is just a question of time before this opposition from religious fanatics causes a major, devastating epidemic. 10:57:51 PM    comment []  trackback []

You have to start early... Not often you see anything but hateful state propaganda from North Korea, but Rob Pongi has found this very cute video of a three (!) year old North Korean girl playing the xylophone. This is a truly amazing amazing music video of Mo Kin, a cute , three-year-old North Korean girl performing a very complicated and interesting song on the xylophone. I hope she gets a chance to keep developing her talent. 10:14:17 PM    comment []  trackback []

One year ago today The Moscow theatre siege ended in tragedy. Here's a follow-up a few days later. 6:25:51 PM    comment []  trackback []

Pumpkin Head Jesus This is really in the "real or parody" series, but from what I've seen it appears to be genuine. A Jesus O'Lantern, apparently for helloween, and one that is very symbolic no less. The inside of the pumpkin represents the sin in our life. When we ask Christ to forgive our sins, HE "cleans us out" - removes the sin. Then as Christ changes our lives, the story suggests that we designate this by carving a happy face that shines for the entire world to see. Here is the short form: Jesus eats your brain. 5:48:19 PM    comment []  trackback []

Are you a neocon? The Christian Science Monitor has a good quiz to find out if you are a neoconservative or, if not, what. Now, I am not American, but I gave it my best shot. The result: I am a realist. Well, I always thought so myself. Realists… Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy - and vice versa Don't want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations Believe strong alliances are important to US interests Weigh the political costs of foreign action Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell Hmm, close enough. I have been put in worse company. Found this link on Sgt.Stryker's, another "realist." 5:53:25 AM    comment []  trackback []

Farting toy dog set off security alert A stupid toy dog which farts (or 'breaks wind' as the polite media says) set off the security alert at Norfolk Airport in Virginia, USA. Apparently, the mechanism for farting registered as an high explosive on the monitoring equipment. The toy's owner, Dave Rogerson, managed to keep all the silly jokes to himself and waited for the FBI to check out the dog, and could thus catch a later plane. Now we know the eqipment works for silly toys and whatever makes farts. I'd be more relieved if it was confirmed that it works for real bombs, too. 3:30:23 AM    comment []  trackback []

Krekar case continues Mullah Krekar, the (former?) leader of the Iraqi extremist organisation Ansar al-Islam, is living in Norway as a refugee, where he enjoys being the pet of our extremely naive media. To read the recent developments in this case, check out Bjørn Stærk's blog. 1:58:16 AM    comment []  trackback []

Eurocrat and Coca-Cola imperialist An interesting interview with Robert Cooper (picture), a British foreign policy expert who supports an aggressive war on terrorism, but also favours greater integration in the EU. Tony Blair is known to listen to him attentively. Cooper warned against the danger of terrorists exploiting the power vacuum in Afghanistan well before 9/11, and he thinks that it's just a question of time before Europe experiences its own 9/11. "Individuals will have a potential destructive capacity which they have not had since the Middle Ages. The risk is that the liberation that we have all experienced over the past 200 years - from the state, the Church and so on - is going to turn out to be a very nasty joke." This is a frightening vision, particularly coming from a mild-mannered civil servant who was astute enough to see the danger that the power vacuum in Afghanistan posed to the wider world. The point now, Mr Cooper says, is to work out what can be done to stop the unthinkable from happening. "You stop it by spreading civilisation, by creating good government. We have to try to put ourselves into the situation where there has been another major terrorist incident - using biological weapons in a European city, for example. Imagine what you might do, then do it in advance." Very controversially in Europe, Cooper relies on "cultural emperialism" to win over the hostile part of the world. When the war on terrorism began, he was made Britain's special representative on Afghanistan. Later, with military action against Iraq looming, he argued for a new form of imperialism, based not on territory but on western values such as human rights, democracy and Coca-Cola. Cooper rejects being compared to the neocons in Washington, even though he obviously shares some of their views. A diplomat, he tries to walk the line between the US and the EU, seeing both as having strengths and weaknesses in their approaches. The transatlantic tensions over Iraq, Mr Cooper argues, can be explained by the fact that, as a post-modern concept, the EU is based on multi-national negotiations and the rule of law, while the US, a modern state in his definition, sees the world in terms of power. That is why the Americans have less time for the United Nations than does Europe. While the US would benefit from taking the rule of law, symbolised by the UN, more seriously, the EU also "needs to think a bit more in terms of power," he says. "We cannot just sit back and leave the rest of the world to America." Cooper is posted as the right-hand man to Javier Solana. Maybe there is hope for the EU still. Hopefully before Europe experiences its own massive terror attack. 1:44:24 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.2003; 03:23:29.