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21. mars 2007
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Fighting has broken out in the Taliban-ruled enclave of Pakistan.
In the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, fierce fighting between pro-Taliban tribesmen and Al-Qaeda-linked Uzbek militants has left at least 58 dead.
The Pakistani newspaper DAWN writes that fighting broke out Monday near the town of Wana, sparked by last week's murder of an Arab reportedly linked to Al Qaeda.
Maulavi Nazir, a top pro-Taliban militant commander in Wana region, suspected Uzbeks for their involvement in the murder. ...
Maulvai Nazir had strained relations with Uzbek militants due to their alleged involvement in local crimes, decided to take them on, banking largely on popular support for his action, government and security officials said.
DAWN reports that as of Tuesday, 42 Uzbek militants and 16 members of local tribes died in the fighting between the two groups.
I'm not entirely certain, as the reports are not exactly clear, but this sounds like red-on-red, which is always good news.
The Pakistan Times reports that military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad called the tribesmen's efforts "a success of the government strategy ... the tribesmen are fed up with them because they and their activities adversely affect their lives and business."
I think I would call it at best a very lucky break.
PS: More on Pakistan's defeat to the Taliban and the establishment of the independent emirate of Talibanistan.
11:28:28 PM 
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You may find the increased security on airports annoying. Norwegian pilots and crew are absolutely furious, and accuse security personnel of harassment and sexual groping of female crew. A union spokesman even argued the "amateurs" conducting the checks are more of a security threat than any aircraft crew.
"I believe that the security company employees are a greater security risk that passengers or flight personnel. If there is a terrorist attack on Gardermoen I will eat my hat if security isn't involved. I have 37 years experience with SAS and will not be checked by amateurs straight off the street," said Hans Jacob Opsahl, chief elected representative for 600 SAS ground crew workers.
Opsahl also accuses security personnel of amateurish groping, particularly of female employees.
"I have had at least a dozen complaints from female employees who have had their breasts grabbed and had metal detectors rubbed against their crotch. Several women have also had guards pull out their waistbands and stick their hands in deeply," Opsahl said.
"I have had several reports that, especially attractive women, have been thoroughly checked by men and have been refused requests to have women do this job," Opsahl said, and called the behavior deeply offensive.
Union representatives in Norway are not known for holding back.
11:14:32 PM
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A diplomatic crisis has developed between Cuba and, of all countries, Sweden.
The row began when Foreign Minister Carl Bildt gave a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, in which he criticized Cuba's human rights record.
Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez, Cuba's delegate to the Human Rights Council, is quoted as having said that "Cuba, unlike Sweden, does not persecute migrants or carry out ethnic cleansing that only allows those whose skin and hair color fit with the racial patterns of former Viking conquerors to remain in the country".
That is a statement that will undoubtedly surprise quite a few Swedes.
Bildt issued a swift condemnation of Rodriguez' comments on Wednesday.
"It is completely unacceptable language."
The foreign ministry called in Cuba's ambassador in Stockholm to explain the comments and apologize on his country's behalf. Some time later the foreign ministry discovered that its diplomatic post had been opened by the Cubans. This too Bildt described as entirely unacceptable.
"The Cuban ambassador is going to be called in again," he said.
And, undoubtedly, even once more if the situation requires firm, but polite condemnations. The Swedes are very good at those.
Maybe this will open a few eyes among the normally very Castrophile Swedes.
5:43:47 PM
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Italy and the Afghan government released five Taliban terrorists in exchange for an Italian journalist.
An international dispute was developing last night after an Italian journalist kidnapped by the Taleban was released, apparently in exchange for five senior Taleban insurgents who had been held in an Afghan jail.
His release was negotiated by Emergency, an Italy aid charity, which confirmed that five Taleban prisoners had been freed. In Kabul, Muham-mad Karim Rahimi, a spokesman for President Karzai, said that the exchange “was an exceptional measure taken because we value our relations and friendship with Italy”.
But there was strong condemnation of the agreement, with critics accusing the Afghan and Italian governments of negotiating with terrorists.
After two weeks in captivity the Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, gave an extraordinary account of how his Afghan driver, Sayed Agha, had died in the poppy fields of Helmand province.
Just what Afghanistan needs: more butchers on the loose. Stupid.
7:04:26 AM
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Software pioneer dies:
John W. Backus, who assembled and led the I.B.M. team that created Fortran, the first widely used programming language, which helped open the door to modern computing, died on Saturday at his home in Ashland, Ore. He was 82.
His daughter Karen Backus announced the death, saying the family did not know the cause, other than age.
Fortran, released in 1957, was “the turning point” in computer software, much as the microprocessor was a giant step forward in hardware, according to J.A.N. Lee, a leading computer historian.
Fortran changed the terms of communication between humans and computers, moving up a level to a language that was more comprehensible by humans. So Fortran, in computing vernacular, is considered the first successful higher-level language.
More about Fortran. This is a classic old quotation:
"The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change." —Early FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers
Just in case!
6:17:50 AM
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© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.04.2007; 03:27:16.
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