30. april 2007

Gideon Bibles replaced by Al Gore's book Finally, a hotel for rich ecofreaks: Visitors to the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won't find the Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' former Vice President Al Gore's book about global warming. Still anyone insisting that the eco-movement is not a religion? 3:23:56 PM    comment []  trackback []

A pill to boost women's sex drive and make them slimmer, too It's true. Soon there is a pill for everything. Scientists are developing a pill which could boost women's libido and reduce their appetite. The hormone-releasing pill has so far only been given to female monkeys and shrews who displayed more mating behaviour and ate less. The team from the Medical Research Council's Human Reproduction Unit in Edinburgh believe a human version could be available within a decade. I suspect men are the most excited about one of these supposed effects, women about the other. 3:17:54 PM    comment []  trackback []

British court convicts five terrorists Terrorists convicted: Five Britons were found guilty on Monday of plotting to carry out al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain that could have killed hundreds at targets ranging from nightclubs to trains and a shopping centre. The gang planned to use 600 kg (1,300 lb) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to make explosives to be used in bombings in revenge for Britain's support for the United States in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, prosecutors said. Court papers, which could only be detailed after the trial, showed police observing the gang had established links between them and two of four British Islamists who later carried out suicide bombings in London on July 7, 2005, killing 52 people. Spies had seen Mohammed Sidique Khan, the suspected ringleader of the July 7 bombings, and accomplice Shehzad Tanweer with the men in the days leading up to their arrest but discounted them because they were not involved in the plot. Very important. 3:12:47 PM    comment []  trackback []

Anbar province showing improvement In troubled Anbar, the Iraqis are striking back against the terrorists. Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat. “Many people are challenging the insurgents,” said the governor of Anbar, Maamoon S. Rahid, though he quickly added, “We know we haven’t eliminated the threat 100 percent.” Many Sunni tribal leaders, once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. With the tribal leaders’ encouragement, thousands of local residents have joined the police force. About 10,000 police officers are now in Anbar, up from several thousand a year ago. During the same period, the police force here in Ramadi, the provincial capital, has grown from fewer than 200 to about 4,500, American military officials say. At the same time, American and Iraqi forces have been conducting sweeps of insurgent strongholds, particularly in and around Ramadi, leaving behind a network of police stations and military garrisons, a strategy that is also being used in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, as part of its new security plan. It has been quite obvious for a long time that the only ones who can win the Iraqi war is the Iraqis. Once the Iraqi powers recognize that the US really just wants a level of stability that will somewhat justify some declaration of victory and a hasty withdrawal, it is in their clear interest to cooperate. Those who are not interested in such a resolution, the Salafists and the Iranians, no doubt will do anything to stop any positive developments. Anbar will now, after the NYT of all places wrote about it, become a target of extreme importance. 1:16:45 AM    comment []  trackback []

Berlusconi cleared over corruption charges An Italian court acquits Berlusconi: An Italian court has cleared former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over corruption charges in a case concerning a 1980s privatisation deal. Mr Berlusconi had been accused of bribing judges to block the sale of food group SME to a rival. But the Milan appeals court confirmed a 2004 acquittal of the media mogul, who now leads the centre-right opposition. The court obviously found that Berlusconi was no more guilty than any other Italian politician, and they could either acquit him or imprison the entire cabinet and parliament. 1:09:23 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2007; 04:54:44.