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4. september 2007
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Terrorism is itching ever closer to the Scandinavian paradise.
Danish police have arrested eight people with alleged links to al-Qaeda on suspicion of planning a bomb attack.
The suspects, aged between 19 and 29, were arrested in Copenhagen and formed part of a terror cell with links to a senior al-Qaeda figure, police said.
They were of Afghan, Pakistani, Somali and Turkish origin and six were Danish citizens, police said.
Apparently, the police had to respond quickly, as surveillance of the group indicated its stock of unstable explosives might have blown up at any time.
9:46:39 PM 
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You have to love irony:
The ex-newspaper editor, now a columnist for The Mail on Sunday's Live magazine, took great delight in making fun of President Bush for falling off a Segway - the two-wheeled, motorised, gyroscopically balanced scooter that, its makers promise, will never fall over.
His paper, the Daily Mirror, ran the headline in 2003: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off, wouldn't you Mr President." It added: "If anyone can make a pig's ear of riding a sophisticated, self-balancing machine like this, Dubya can." So, it seems, can Mr Morgan.
He broke three ribs after falling off the Segway at 12mph in California - just three days before he was due to make his biggest TV appearance to date, as a judge on the grand final of reality show America's Got Talent.
The Daily Mail's total lack of sympathy with their colleague is, well, not at all unexpected.
Best blog comment: "Rove Still Weaving His Magic."
7:50:42 AM
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A study of men's and women's preferrences in mates confirms what everybody pretty much knows: You can absolutely not trust who people say they go for, and men go almost exclusively on looks.
In the study, participants were asked before the session to fill out a questionnaire about what they were looking for in a mate, listing such categories as wealth and status, family commitment, physical appearance, healthiness and attractiveness.
After the session, the researchers compared what the participants said they were looking for with the people they actually chose to ask for another date.
Men's choices did not reflect their stated preferences, the researchers concluded. Instead, men appeared to base their decisions mostly on the women's physical attractiveness.
The men also appeared to be much less choosy. Men tended to select nearly every woman above a certain minimum attractiveness threshold, Todd said.
Women's actual choices, like men's, did not reflect their stated preferences, but they made more discriminating choices, the researchers found.
The scientists said women were aware of the importance of their own attractiveness to men, and adjusted their expectations to select the more desirable guys.
"Women made offers to men who had overall qualities that were on a par with the women's self-rated attractiveness. They didn't greatly overshoot their attractiveness," Todd said, "because part of the goal for women is to choose men who would stay with them"
But, he added, "they didn't go lower. They knew what they could get and aimed for that level."
So, it turns out, the women's attractiveness influenced the choices of the men and the women.
Men smart, women smarter.
7:35:39 AM
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Brand new Chinese weapons have ended up in the Taleban's arsenal.
Afghan officials have also privately confirmed to the BBC that sophisticated Chinese weapons are now in the hands of the Taleban.
They said these included Chinese-made surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft guns, landmines, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs.
A senior Afghan official told the BBC: "Chinese HN-5 anti-aircraft missiles are with the Taleban, we know this... and we are worried where do the Taleban get them, some of these weapons have been made recently in Chinese factories."
Another Afghan official who deals with counter-terrorism said: "Serial numbers and other information from most of the Chinese weapons have been removed in most cases and it's almost impossible for us to find out where they come from but we have shared our concerns with the Chinese and the Americans also."
Chinese authorities say they are investigating. I doubt China officially has any interest in helping the Taleban, as much as it would like the US and Britain suffering a black eye in Afghanistan, but the recent food contamination scandals have revealed the epidemic level of corruption in China.
7:21:05 AM
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© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.10.2007; 17:25:25.
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