16. september 2004

Syrian chemical weapons story discredited Spartacus has dug up some followup on the Syria/Sudan chemical weapons story from Germany. Both the German and the US government says it's BS (using different words). While not disproving it, surely, it raises strong doubts. 11:55:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

Norway terror alert, sort of In April, some suspicious looking characters were observed photographing the railway system near Oslo. I don't know what scares me the most, terrorist surveilance or the rather lax response from our security services. 11:42:32 PM    comment []  trackback []

Kofi Annan used the word "Illegal" about Iraq war UN General Secretary Kofi Annan created headlines and got an enthusiastic response from war opponents today when he allowed the word "illegal" to be dragged out of him by the BBC's clever interviewer Owen Bennett-Jones. Q: I wanted to ask you that - do you think that the resolution that was passed on Iraq before the war did actually give legal authority to do what was done? A: Well, I'm one of those who believe that there should have been a second resolution because the Security Council indicated that if Iraq did not comply there will be consequences. But then it was up to the Security Council to approve or determine what those consequences should be. Q: So you don't think there was legal authority for the war? A: I have stated clearly that it was not in conformity with the Security Council - with the UN Charter. Q: It was illegal? A: Yes, if you wish. Q: It was illegal? A: Yes, I have indicated it is not in conformity with the UN Charter, from our point of view and from the Charter point of view it was illegal. The statement has inspired some heated debate today, along the usual fault lines. Kofi Annan has expressed the exact same sentiment earlier, using different words, but knew just too well how important it was to avoid saying "illegal" if he didn't want to open up old wounds. This is demonstrated when the interviewer asks him whether the atrocities in Darfur in Sudan can be called a 'genocide.' Q: The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has said that what's going on in Sudan is genocide, do you agree with him? A:...I've talked about the atrocious and systematic and grave... gross violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law... There he is getting evasive and avoids saying anything that would commit the Secretary General's office to actually do anything to stop the murders, rapes and the horrible refugee situation in Darfur. Kofi Annan knew just too well that calling the war "illegal" would encourage the anti-democratic elements in Iraq and their explicit supporters abroad as well as the useful fools who hopes a total failure in Iraq will put the Americans in their places. His choice of words shows what outcome he would like to see. 7:53:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

Barmaid of the year? Pictures of naked women sell Playboy magazines. Pictures of naked women with beer sell out all the magazines. Yes, the link goes to a picture with the most discreet censoring of a pair of women's breasts imaginable. You have been warned, or is that encouraged? In some cases I don't care if the scoop is fake. 5:17:23 PM    comment []  trackback []

CBS' slow retreat CBS News' probable source to the fake memos has been known for some time, and that has been further confirmed. Documents allegedly written by a deceased officer that raised questions about President Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard bore markings showing they had been faxed to CBS News from a Kinko's copy shop in Abilene, Tex., according to another former Guard officer who was shown the records by the network. The markings provide one piece of evidence suggesting a source for the documents, whose authenticity has been hotly disputed since CBS aired them in a "60 Minutes" broadcast Sept. 8. The network has declined to name the person who provided them, saying the source was confidential, or to explain how the documents came to light after more than three decades. There is only one Kinko's in Abilene, and it is 21 miles from the Baird, Tex., home of retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, who has been named by several news outlets as a possible source for the documents. And he's not the most credible source a news organisation could have. Dan Rather is now breaking all sensible rules of PR and making a slow retreat. "If the documents are not what we were led to believe, I'd like to break that story," Rather said in an interview last night. "Any time I'm wrong, I want to be right out front and say, 'Folks, this is what went wrong and how it went wrong.' " You're way too late to "break" that story, Dan. 2:54:27 PM    comment []  trackback []

CBS continues the cover-up I was wrong, and Michele can keep her pyrjamas. CBS is digging in. So much for believeing in human nature. This is just ridiculous. 7:22:34 AM    comment []  trackback []

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