| |
|
18. november 2003
|
|
US court supports gay marriage
Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that barring same-sex couples from the benefits of civil marriage is unconstitutional.
I'm all for that, but I fear such decisions can inspire the dreaded gay marriage ban constitutional amandment, a stupid idea that seems to enjoy a frightening support among US lawmakers. Maybe a civil union would be more politically acceptable, at least sufficiently so to avoid a homophobic backlash.
7:16:55 PM 
|
|
Saudi cleric withdraws support from a-Qaeda
Sheikh Ali al-Khudair, who has been in conflict with Saudi authorites for his public support of extremists, has publicly condemned the latest Riyadh bombing and withdrawn some earlier fatwas that supported militant attacks on the Saudi government.
But in a TV interview on Monday, the sheikh withdrew the fatwas and urged militants who are still on the run to give themselves up.
He also condemned the bomb attack against a residential compound in Riyadh ten days ago, in which at least 18 people were killed and over a 100 wounded - most of them Arabs from outside the country.
What is amazing is we have three level of extremism here, all of them really beyond medieval. We have "mainstream" Saudi wahabism, which refuses women to drive cars and are generally unpleasant fanatics, then we have people like this guy, who thinks the mainstream are wimps and yet al-Qaeda is now too extreme, and we have al-Qaeda itself. Bin Laden is an extremist to extremists who consider lesser extremists lame.
6:30:09 PM
|
|
Iran recognices the Iraqi Governing Council
Iran's President Mohammad Khatami has expressly recognised the US-appointed interim government of Iraq, after a meeting with Jalal Talabani, the Kurd who currently chairs the council.
“We recognise the Iraqi Governing Council and we believe it is capable, with the Iraqi people, of managing the affairs of the country and taking measures leading toward independence,” Khatami said in a statement carried by the student ISNA news agency. Previously, the Islamic republic has been content to officially consider the council a “step” toward putting power back in the hands of Iraqis and refused to recognise an authority installed by a foreign occupation.
While Iran is hardly on the US' good side, it will be important for the new government of Iraq to have a good relationship to its most important neighbour from the start. It will be interesting to see if the Arab neighbours follow suit.
The moderate Khatami is democractically elected by the Iranian people, but the real power is still residing with the unelected clerical hardliners who hold the judiciary, effectively having veto power over the other branches of government. He may believe that a real democracy in Iraq, demonstrating that it extends full freedom to the Shiite majority for the first time, would strengthen Iran's reformists.
5:04:44 PM
|
|
Educating the next generation of terrorists
Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority has approved and started reprinting the 1994 textbook "Islamic Culture" for use in schools in the Palestinain territories. The book praises holy war and martyrdom.
The book, intended for 17-year-olds, explains: "Jihad is an Islamic term that equates to the term war in other nations. The difference is that jihad has noble goals and lofty aims, and is carried out only for the sake of Allah and for His glory." It also refers to shahada, or martyrdom. A suicide bomber sent to kill civilians in Israel is celebrated as a shaheed in the Israeli-occupied territories.
One passage in the book states that if a Muslim is "blessed with shahada and honour, his soul returns to its Creator to live a different life, content with the rewards and honour bestowed upon it, a life of grace thanks to Allah."
Political science professor Ali Jarwabi in Ramallah claims that the quotations are taken out of context, and points out the double meaning of 'jihad' in Islam, referring to both 'holy war' and 'striving' in a more personal way. This double meaning has been most convenient for Islamist apologists, but when we have had 121 Palestinian suicide bombers in three years, it's pretty obvious how the young students understand what they learn.
12:32:21 PM
|
|
Bin Laden - Saddam link established
I have been meaning to link to the article in The Weekly Standard about a leaked CIA memo outlining extensive links between al-Qaeda and Saddam's regime for some time, but for some reason the site has been unstable at best.
It looks pretty definite to me, and you'd have to argue that either the Standard or the CIA just made up the whole thing to reject this evidence. Which, of course, some people will do. I'm not one of them, but I am still quite convinced that the headline "case closed" is somewhat premature.
11:33:49 AM
|
|
School dance ban lifted after 143 years
Wheaton College in Illinois is slowly easing its old, strict rules. Until the 1960s, the school banned students from going to the movies. Not before the 1990s were students permitted to dance with their spouses or relatives at family events like weddings. And some months ago, the school finally lifted the dance ban. Now the first time in the school's 143 year old history, it will arrange a real school dance. With a lot of people who have never danced, and can't dance.
9:35:38 AM
|
|
Headline of the day
"Southern drawls don't compute" (CNN)
9:19:26 AM
|
|
Poll: Majority of British are pro-American
The British hostility towards the visiting Bush and the US generally has been headline news for weeks, but a new poll today reveals that a majority of the British actually welcome the president, and so does a majority of Blair's own Labour party members. Most of those polled rejected anti-Americanism.
A majority of Labour voters welcome President George Bush's state visit to Britain which starts today, according to November's Guardian/ICM opinion poll.
The survey shows that public opinion in Britain is overwhelmingly pro-American with 62% of voters believing that the US is "generally speaking a force for good, not evil, in the world". It explodes the conventional political wisdom at Westminster that Mr Bush's visit will prove damaging to Tony Blair. Only 15% of British voters agree with the idea that America is the "evil empire" in the world.
The majority of Brits, who will not be out marching, now welcomes President Bush.
Suicide attacks on coalition forces has not raised opposition to the war in Britian, quite the opposite. During the Dr Kelly hearings, the support for the Iraq war fell, but recently there has been a surge of support. Since September, the anti-war group has fallen 12 points to 41% of all voters, and 47% of the British now believes the war was justified. Fully two thirds believe the troops should stay until the situation is improved. And also, Tony Blair's personal popularity has started to rise again from an all-time low.
Perhaps the most astonishing is that this was reported in the leftist newspaper Guardian.
4:49:48 AM
|
|
Let them sing it
A rather, eh, interesting site that lets you type in lyrics and hear it being sung by "some of the world's greatest stars."
Recommendation: Don't have the volume up too high.
4:30:15 AM
|
|
Serbia presidential election farce, part III
The Serbian presidential election has for the third time in a row failed to gather the necessary 50 % of voters, and the republic remains without a head of state.
Which may be just as well, since of the 38.8% turnout, the ultra-nationalist Tomislav Nikolic received more than 47 % of the vote and is the 'winner.' He is a stand-in for the party leader who stands trial in the Hague.
This does not bode well for the coming parliamentary elections. I hope, but am not optimistic, that the threat of fascism returning will mobilise more people to vote against it. If this can't break voter apathy, nothing can.
3:42:10 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.12.2003; 12:12:28.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is my blogchalk:
Norway, Bergen, Norwegian, English, Jan, Male, 31-35.
|
|
|
