10. februar 2004

Occoquan Inquirer Congrats to Mark for his 50th issue of Virtual Occoquan! Give it a look. I'm glad he found space for my words on Europeans and the UN. 10:01:47 PM    comment []  trackback []

There is some sad irony here "Dr. Robert Atkins, whose popular diet stresses protein-rich meat and cheese over carbohydrates, weighed 258 pounds at his death and had a history of heart disease, a newspaper reported Tuesday." (CBS) I have written from different perspectives about the Atkins diet earlier. 8:18:01 PM    comment []  trackback []

Missing Russian candidate turns up in Kiev Remember the Russian presidential candidate Ivan Rybkin who disappeared? His coworkers, his wife, everybody said he had diseappeared, and there was a lot of vague accusations that Vladimir Putin somehow had him killed. Today he turned up healthy and fine in Ukraine's capital Kiev, wondering what the fuss was all about. Rybkin, the former speaker of Parliament and strong critic of President Vladimir Putin, told the Interfax News Agency he was staying with friends and was puzzled about all the fuss. "I didn't disappear anywhere. I bought a newspaper today and was stunned," Ekho Moskvy radio quoted him as saying. Rybkin, who disappeared last Thursday, told Interfax news agency he was entitled to go on a short break. Sure. But normally, you tell at least your wife that you are going away, you dimwit! No wonder he scores only 1% in the opinion polls. Why should Putin need to have this guy killed when he nukes his own candidacy more effectievly than even Howard Dean. PS: Didin't Rybkin's old collegue Jeltsin do something similar once, and didn't that have something to do with way too much Vodka? 6:57:45 PM    comment []  trackback []

Haiti collapsing One of the primary threats to international security is so-called failed states, like Afghanistan under the Taliban. If Bush is looking for examples of failed states, he just have to look to an island off his coast: Haiti. Jean- Bertrand Aristide, the country's first democratically elected leader, has obviously not been able to deliver. Yet, with armed gangs going crazy across the country, it is unlikely that it would be constructive for him to resign. At least 42 dead so far, as rebels took control of a number of cities. Interestingly, it is partly members of Aristide's own old militias, who used to support him, who now show their displeasure through violent rampages. 3:53:24 PM    comment []  trackback []

Round and round we always go  The Broad Band: Internet Killed the Video Star (flash; req. some bandwidth or patience). 3:21:38 PM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2004 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.03.2004; 14:41:48.