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4. februar 2004
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Ice hockey
Ice hockey is sheer poetry. Like ballet for stormtroopers. Like gymnastics for sumo wrestlers. Combining the elegance of a McDonald's eat-a-thlon with the brilliance of a chess tournament for Alzheimer patients. Pure beauty!
11:49:31 PM 
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Pakistan's dark nuclear secrets and how something good can come of this
 Make no mistake about it: Abdul Qadeer Khan's (picture) crime is one of the most serious that can be committed by anyone. Proliferation of nuclear secrets to rogue states endangers everybody on this planet. Nobody can reasonably know in whose hands these terrible weapons can end up, or what the ruthless dictators in countries like North Korea may one day end up doing.
Yet, it looks likely that Pakistan's nuclear hero AQKhan, who made a frank and open confession to his countrymen on TV, will indeed get the clemency and mercy he asked for. Even if not formally pardoned, it is hard to imagine him being put on trial. First, he is a national hero. Second, he knows too much, can imply too many, and hardly anyone believes that Pakistan's military was in the dark about Khan's activities anyway. In fact, many Pakistanis consider him even more of a hero for dodging the bullet for Musharraf to protect his country.
When Khan takes the full blame, and somewhat improbably (heh) argues that nobody else in the government knew, it is hard to imagine some deal is not already being made. The friend of Khan's implication of Musharraf was a clear warning shot, and a message, and the top brass took the cue.
And how about the Bush administration, and its allies, that have been forced to build its anti-terror strategy on a close alliance with Musharraf? Well, as much as everyone hates the idea of a crminal of that magnitued getting away, they are unlikely to upset the balance by protesting too loudly. Very importantly, all this is in the past. If AQKhan gets away with this, he better sing like a canary and do it well, and in that case this can become a real boost for anti-proliferation work. He can let the west know, from an authoritative source, exactly how far North Korea has gotten on its nuclear programme. He can prove that Iran's denials are a fraud. And perhaps most importantly, he can give real insight into the mafia that trades in nuclear secrets and (possibly) in material worldwide.
And if he does that, then AQKhan can go a long way in making good again all the damage he has caused.
11:00:18 PM
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They all went back to Roswell, presumably
Lots of stuff going on in the world, and even a few events of interest in Norway, but the Norwegian press has other interests. For example, you'd be extremely hard pressed to even know about the nuclear row in Pakistan these days from the Norwegian press (minimal US bashing value in that, you see).
But some funny news surface instead of serious articles. For example, there is a growing concern among the local UFO nuts that the number of observations in Northern Norway is down.
A number of unexplainable sightings have been made on the northern sky. There were 26 observations of UFOs in northern Norway in 2002, but last year the number decreased to 13.
“Unexplainable,” said Leif-Norman Solhaug, leader of UFO Nord-Norge.
Bad mushroom season last year.
9:24:16 PM
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This headline does not mean what you think
"Alien invaders wreak natural havoc" (CNN)
3:48:41 PM
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To boldly sit
"I'm a bit of a wet blanket when it comes to the whole business of space travel." (Patrick Stewart, best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek)
8:15:57 AM
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Lieberman drops out
After a very poor performance in the Tuesday primaries, Joseph Lieberman has done the only sane thing: drop out of the race. When he could not win more than 11% of Delaware's democrats after a herculian campaign effort, it is obvious he doesn't have what it takes.
Try the Republican party next time, Joe.
3:35:56 AM
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Kerry on top, but Edwards is still in the race
According to the exit polls and early results, John Kerry has convincingly won the primaries in Delaware and Missouri, and Edwards has as predicted won his birth state South Carolina. It appears Clark is in the race for Oklahoma, but he's losing badly everywhere else.
Dean appears to be totally out of the race now, even though there are still many states to go though.
This looks very good for Kerry, who surprisingly has avoided taking a lot of heat normally dedicated for the front runner. Outside the blogsphere, that is.
Edwards is establishing himself as the runner-up who still retains a little hope if the frontrunner should stumble.
Here's the results as they come in.
2:41:43 AM
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Die, puny sheep!
If you are in a bad mood, or have a God complex, here is the site for you.
I admit a few ligting bolts would come in handy from time to time. But as the thing shows, it is sooo tempting to overdo it.
2:00:38 AM
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© Copyright 2004 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.03.2004; 14:41:30.
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This is my blogchalk:
Norway, Bergen, Norwegian, English, Jan, Male, 31-35.
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