24. november 2003

Prime Minister singled out for airport security check New Zealand's prime minister Helen Clark was singled out for a special security check at Sydney Airport en route to visit her country's troops in Afghanistan. Even when airport security staff was made aware of who she was, did they continue the scan for explosives. The prime minister took it in good spirits. "I understand countries taking strict security procedures. Having said that, it's most unusual to stop a head of government," she said. There are a lot of red faces in the Australia's government today. 9:48:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

Conservative for gay marriage David Brooks argues that conservatives should be pro-gay marriage. He makes a number of weird and absurd arguments, e.g. "anybody who has several sexual partners in a year is committing spiritual suicide", but I guess we should be happy if at least some social conservatives support gay marriage. I just wonder what planet people like Brooks are living on. When was not marriage in "a crisis"? When marriage was a de facto slave contract, just some decades ago (as it still is in many countries)? So when in history exactly was this sacred marriage conservatives talk about so wonderful? 9:11:52 PM    comment []  trackback []

Iraqi government closes Arab TV station The Iraqi governing council has ordered the police to close the Baghdad office of the Dubai-based satellite channel Al Arabiya, and take legal action against the channel. ''We're going to open a court case against Al Arabiya...because it...disseminates Saddam's propaganda,'' Jalal Talabani, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Governing Council, told reporters. ''Al Arabiya broadcast in Saddam's voice an invitation to kill members of the Governing Council. Saddam in our eyes is a criminal, a torturer, a war criminal, and whoever disseminates for him exposes himself to legal punishment,'' he added. If somebody had made a tape encouraging people to kill the president of the US, or the leader of any other western country for that matter, no responsible TV station would air it, and whoever did would find that there are limits of free speech even in democracies. 4:49:26 PM    comment []  trackback []

Kansas town requires residents to own gun Geuda Springs, a Kansas town of 210 people where the councilmen think they live in a "city", has passed an ordinance requiring households to own a gun and ammo. Noncomplying residents would be fined $10, but there are exceptions for the disabled, the poor and people who conscientiously oppose gun ownership. 2:08:48 PM    comment []  trackback []

Patriot Act criticism increases Critics of the US Patriot Act has found an example of the law being used in an investigation that is not at all related to terrorism: strip club owners have been investigated for money laundering, and the FBI used the new provisions in the anti-terror legislation to bypass the grand jury. "It would seem to me the fact that the FBI is wasting any time at all prosecuting strip club owners is good news for terrorists," said George Getz, national spokesman for the Libertarian Party, which is calling for the repeal of the Patriot Act, passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., who voted for the bill, but has since voiced his concerns of the law, said he wasn't surprised, but disappointed to hear reports earlier this month that FBI agents investigating two strip club owners in Las Vegas on bribery charges bypassed a grand jury and instead used the Patriot Act to subpoena the financial records of the bar owners as well as several prominent city and county officials. Law enforcement agencies will use whatever tools they have at their disposal. It would be naive to think they would hold back if there was at all a loophole in the law for non-terrorist-related investigations to use the new powers. This law doesn't contain loopholes, it is more like tunnels. 11:37:21 AM    comment []  trackback []

Random insult generators This is a good site to know for the occasional flamewar. A good battery of insult generators for some hot Sunday afternoon's fun on some wild message board. Or, for what I know, it may be useful for some bloggers. 9:12:30 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.12.2003; 12:14:23.