Shooting the Messenger
The real issue in the Eason Jordan controversy is the US military's killing of journalists in Iraq
Quote:
The US military has yet to discipline a single soldier for the killing of a journalist in Iraq. While some incidents are classified as "ongoing investigation[s]," most have been labeled self-defense or mistakes. Some are even classified as "justified," like the killing of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana, shot near Abu Ghraib prison when his camera was allegedly mistaken for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Also "justified" was the killing of Al Arabiya TV's Mazen al-Tumeizi, blown apart by a US missile as he reported on a burning US armored vehicle on Baghdad's Haifa Street. There have also been several questionable killings of journalists at US military checkpoints, such as the March 2004 shooting deaths of Ali Abdel-Aziz and Ali al-Khatib of Al Arabiya. The Pentagon said the soldiers who shot the journalists acted within the "rules of engagement." And Reuters freelancer Dhia Najim was killed by US fire while filming resistance fighters in November 2004. "We did kill him," an unnamed military official told the New York Times. "He was out with the bad guys. He was there with them, they attacked, and we fired back and hit him."
Imagine if the US government propagandists, for example from Fox, would be killed in the same way. The White House would declare that their deaths would be avenged etc.
The fact is, that the US government, intelligent agencies and the US armed forces are just a bunch of criminal thugs.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
The BBC story tells also the right distance from which the starquake on the magnetar could have harmed Earth, 10 lightyears. A supernova, the end of a massive star in an explosion - the kind of which the magnetar, a type of pulsar, was itself born - could sterilize Earth from a distance of at least 30 lightyears and could cause a mass extinction at least from a distance of a 100 lightyears. A gamma-ray burst could sterilize planets thousands of lightyears away.
Huge 'star-quake' rocks Milky Way
Quote:
If the explosion had been just 10,000 light-years away, Earth could have suffered a mass extinction, it is said. "We figure that it's probably the biggest explosion observed by humans within our galaxy since Johannes Kepler saw his supernova in 1604," Dr Rob Fender, of Southampton University, UK, told the BBC News website.
Put probably wouldn´t have; it would have to have been a lot closer than that.
Quote:
If the explosion had been just 10,000 light-years away, Earth could have suffered a mass extinction, it is said. "We figure that it's probably the biggest explosion observed by humans within our galaxy since Johannes Kepler saw his supernova in 1604," Dr Rob Fender, of Southampton University, UK, told the BBC News website.
Put probably wouldn´t have; it would have to have been a lot closer than that.
Dams in Iran: reprieve for some, no time left for others
Quote:
The contrasting progress of two major archaeological salvage operations in Iran, where an ambitious programme of dam building has created a continuing threat to heritage sites, has highlighted the problems faced as this country attempts to reconcile necessary development and modernisation with the conservation and research of the rich remains of its historical past.
Quote:
The contrasting progress of two major archaeological salvage operations in Iran, where an ambitious programme of dam building has created a continuing threat to heritage sites, has highlighted the problems faced as this country attempts to reconcile necessary development and modernisation with the conservation and research of the rich remains of its historical past.
A Dozen New Planets Discovered
Quote:
The past four weeks have been heady ones in the planet-finding world: Three teams of astronomers announced the discovery of 12 previously unknown worlds, bringing the total count of planets outside our solar system to 145.
Quote:
The past four weeks have been heady ones in the planet-finding world: Three teams of astronomers announced the discovery of 12 previously unknown worlds, bringing the total count of planets outside our solar system to 145.
Fishing boats 'kill 2,000 dolphins a year'
Quote:
British and French fishing boats could be killing more than 2,000 dolphins a year, environmental scientists have warned.
Quote:
British and French fishing boats could be killing more than 2,000 dolphins a year, environmental scientists have warned.
How Israel Is Once Again Redefining the Terms of Peace
Quote:
Israeli governments have mastered the technique of pushing Palestinians to the brink, through collective punishment, brutal military policies, house-destruction and so on. However, the implicit objective of the Israeli policy has not been exclusively aimed at subduing Palestinians. Its ultimate aim has been the expropriation of Palestinian land in the Occupied Territories of the 1967 border... One must also remember that even in the most radicalized and revolutionary phases of their modern history, Palestinians demanded barely 22 percent of the total size of historic Palestine as was defined prior to the creation of Israel. These demands frustrated Israel, who continued to infuse false and outlandish claims throughout the Western media that the lightly armed Palestinian uprisings (the 1987 Intifada’s most universal weapons were slingshots hurling rocks at Israeli attack-helicopters) posed a threat to the very existence of the state of Israel... Nonetheless, reality on the ground still serves the same set of beliefs carried by past Israeli governments as reflected in their policies. For example, despite the frequent utilization of the term “peace” by Israeli officials, on both sides of the political spectrum, especially after the signing of the Oslo accord in 1993, there was an intensive Israeli campaign to drive Palestinians out of their land, to expand the settlements, to expropriate large chunks of the West Bank as “security zones” and to further alienate and completely fence off occupied East Jerusalem. According to the records of Israel’s Peace Now movement, the number of illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories has at least doubled since the signing of the “historic” Oslo agreement.Israel has never changed it’s ultimate objective. We know this because Israel’s illegal practices on the ground have continued unabated. Granting Palestinians long-denied rights, cohesive territorial sovereignty and honoring international law was never on the Israeli agenda. Most likely these issues will continue to be disregarded until the political imbalances (read the US government’s dishonest role in the conflict) are rectified.
Quote:
Israeli governments have mastered the technique of pushing Palestinians to the brink, through collective punishment, brutal military policies, house-destruction and so on. However, the implicit objective of the Israeli policy has not been exclusively aimed at subduing Palestinians. Its ultimate aim has been the expropriation of Palestinian land in the Occupied Territories of the 1967 border... One must also remember that even in the most radicalized and revolutionary phases of their modern history, Palestinians demanded barely 22 percent of the total size of historic Palestine as was defined prior to the creation of Israel. These demands frustrated Israel, who continued to infuse false and outlandish claims throughout the Western media that the lightly armed Palestinian uprisings (the 1987 Intifada’s most universal weapons were slingshots hurling rocks at Israeli attack-helicopters) posed a threat to the very existence of the state of Israel... Nonetheless, reality on the ground still serves the same set of beliefs carried by past Israeli governments as reflected in their policies. For example, despite the frequent utilization of the term “peace” by Israeli officials, on both sides of the political spectrum, especially after the signing of the Oslo accord in 1993, there was an intensive Israeli campaign to drive Palestinians out of their land, to expand the settlements, to expropriate large chunks of the West Bank as “security zones” and to further alienate and completely fence off occupied East Jerusalem. According to the records of Israel’s Peace Now movement, the number of illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories has at least doubled since the signing of the “historic” Oslo agreement.Israel has never changed it’s ultimate objective. We know this because Israel’s illegal practices on the ground have continued unabated. Granting Palestinians long-denied rights, cohesive territorial sovereignty and honoring international law was never on the Israeli agenda. Most likely these issues will continue to be disregarded until the political imbalances (read the US government’s dishonest role in the conflict) are rectified.
Coptic literature trove from Luxor.
Sadly the article is more about the Dag Hammadi writings than the new findings.
Sadly the article is more about the Dag Hammadi writings than the new findings.
Pneumonic plague has killed 60 miners in DR of Congo.
It´s the deadliest form of the plague, killing without proper care about 90% of those infected, when the bubonic plague kills about 60%. When the Black Death ravaged Europe in 1346-53 - and North Africa, Middle East, India and China from maybe 1330s to 1350s, which is often forgotten fact - both the bubonic plague and the pneumonic plague were involved. In Europe, about 33-70% of the population died - the number varied, possibly because bubonic plague was more common in some areas and the pneumonic plague on other areas - except in the most northern parts, but maybe the hardest hitten was North Africa. Some scholars have claimed that the area, important culturally, politically and economically from the Antique to the late Middle Age, has never recovered from the ravages of the plague.
It´s the deadliest form of the plague, killing without proper care about 90% of those infected, when the bubonic plague kills about 60%. When the Black Death ravaged Europe in 1346-53 - and North Africa, Middle East, India and China from maybe 1330s to 1350s, which is often forgotten fact - both the bubonic plague and the pneumonic plague were involved. In Europe, about 33-70% of the population died - the number varied, possibly because bubonic plague was more common in some areas and the pneumonic plague on other areas - except in the most northern parts, but maybe the hardest hitten was North Africa. Some scholars have claimed that the area, important culturally, politically and economically from the Antique to the late Middle Age, has never recovered from the ravages of the plague.
Abbas should get a letter from Bush, too
Quote:
These promises meant a great deal to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as he faced domestic political challenges. What is needed now is a similar letter from President Bush to Abbas. The president should spell out the U.S. commitment to a viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with compensation provided by Israel wherever territorial adjustments are agreed to. The U.S. would also commit itself to providing resources to help construct a modern society and economy. Help would also be extended to settle the Palestinian refugees, be it in Palestine or other Arab countries or, in those special instances where Israel agreed to it for humanitarian reasons, in Israel itself.
Quote:
These promises meant a great deal to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as he faced domestic political challenges. What is needed now is a similar letter from President Bush to Abbas. The president should spell out the U.S. commitment to a viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with compensation provided by Israel wherever territorial adjustments are agreed to. The U.S. would also commit itself to providing resources to help construct a modern society and economy. Help would also be extended to settle the Palestinian refugees, be it in Palestine or other Arab countries or, in those special instances where Israel agreed to it for humanitarian reasons, in Israel itself.
 | ||
| Why 'separationism' won't work |
Quote:
The conclusions are inescapable: If Israel proceeds with construction of the Jerusalem security envelope, it will undermine attempts to consolidate a cease-fire, entangle the country in the international arena, and most important, it will likely deliver less rather than more security to the Israeli public. Freezing construction of the Jerusalem security envelope should soon be on the negotiating table. In lieu of an effective cease-fire, Israel should offer to suspend construction of the wall in Jerusalem and its environs. This would offer the Israeli public the prospect of more security than can ever be provided by a highly problematic physical barrier in and around Jerusalem.
Convicted Russia agents 'missing
Quote:
A Russian official has said that the whereabouts of two Russian agents convicted in Qatar of assassinating a former Chechen president are unclear. Yuri Kalinin, an official with Russia's prisons authority admitted the men were not being held in any of his jails. The two men were given a life sentence in Doha last year, for planting the car bomb that killed Zelimkhan Yanderbiyev. Mr Kalinin suggested the two intelligence agents may be undergoing medical treatment, but had no further information. And, in perhaps his most telling comment, he added that a sentence handed down in Qatar was irrelevant here in Russia.
Quote:
A Russian official has said that the whereabouts of two Russian agents convicted in Qatar of assassinating a former Chechen president are unclear. Yuri Kalinin, an official with Russia's prisons authority admitted the men were not being held in any of his jails. The two men were given a life sentence in Doha last year, for planting the car bomb that killed Zelimkhan Yanderbiyev. Mr Kalinin suggested the two intelligence agents may be undergoing medical treatment, but had no further information. And, in perhaps his most telling comment, he added that a sentence handed down in Qatar was irrelevant here in Russia.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Shia majority for Iraq parliament
Quote:
The Shia United Iraqi Alliance party has won a majority of seats in Iraq's new transitional parliament. The party, which won the 30 January election with 48% of the vote, was allocated 140 seats. The Kurdish parties, which came second in the poll, have 75 seats and interim PM Iyad Allawi's party gets 40 seats.
United Iraqi Alliance is not a party; these all three "parties" consist of several parties and groups that allied themselves for the elections and the differences of opinion and goals of the member parties of the alliances are often significant.
Quote:
The Shia United Iraqi Alliance party has won a majority of seats in Iraq's new transitional parliament. The party, which won the 30 January election with 48% of the vote, was allocated 140 seats. The Kurdish parties, which came second in the poll, have 75 seats and interim PM Iyad Allawi's party gets 40 seats.
United Iraqi Alliance is not a party; these all three "parties" consist of several parties and groups that allied themselves for the elections and the differences of opinion and goals of the member parties of the alliances are often significant.
Cassini has found the first impact crater on Titan and it´s big, which was only to be expected, as the dense atmosphere destroyes small impactors before they reach the surface of the moon and the geologically active surface erodes quickly the craters that are made by those smaller impactors that do reach the surface.
Ethiopia is top choice for cradle of Homo sapiens
Nature article with a map of the Omo river area from where the fossils were found.
Nature article with a map of the Omo river area from where the fossils were found.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
BBC report of the new dating of the Homo sapiens fossils from Omo river in Ethiopia. It has comments from the members of the team that made the new dating (and found more remains from the first individual as the team re-excavated the original digging site).
Spectrometer onboard the Mars Express probe may have found formaldehyde in the atmosphere of Mars. This would mean that there are far more methane in Mars than the earlier findings suggest.
New dating implies that Homo sapiens remains found 38 years ago in Omo in Ethiopia are 195 000 years old . These remains were found in 1967 and then dated to 130 000 years. New dating with two different methods would make them 35 000 years older than the oldest known Homo sapiens remains that were found from Herto in Ethiopia. More and more.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Yesterday I went to a movie theather and saw the French movie Un long dimanche de fiancailles, directed by Jeunet and starring Audrey Tatou. It was without a question the best movie I have seen in a theater for the last year. Moving work which combines gritty realism and tragedy with comedy and stubborn love and makes these different kind of elements work as a whole. A superb movie!
There were few problems with the movie; the former soldier having the "Spanish flu" at the beginning was in a curiously good condition if he was dying of the influenza, and Mathilde would have been in a real danger of contracting the disease herself. The battlefield in Somme in 1920 wouldn´t have been in as a good condition as it showed to be in the movie; there would still have been remains of trenches and bomb craters and likely no standing forest so close to the battlefield. And the Zeppelin scene was rather odd. But these are little problems and don´t take anything away from the emotional power of the movie.
There were few problems with the movie; the former soldier having the "Spanish flu" at the beginning was in a curiously good condition if he was dying of the influenza, and Mathilde would have been in a real danger of contracting the disease herself. The battlefield in Somme in 1920 wouldn´t have been in as a good condition as it showed to be in the movie; there would still have been remains of trenches and bomb craters and likely no standing forest so close to the battlefield. And the Zeppelin scene was rather odd. But these are little problems and don´t take anything away from the emotional power of the movie.
US accused of plan to muzzle al-Jazeera through privatisation
Quote:
America and its key ally Saudi Arabia are being accused of quietly seeking to muzzle al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news station that has often incurred Washington's ire for its coverage of Iraq and President George Bush's "war on terror". According to reports in the US and the Gulf, the Qatari government, owner of al-Jazeera since its foundation in 1996, has ordered privatisation plans for the station to be speeded up. Many al-Jazeera employees fear this could lead to a loss of editorial freedom. A set of proposals is already said to have been presented to al-Jazeera's board of directors.
Quote:
America and its key ally Saudi Arabia are being accused of quietly seeking to muzzle al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news station that has often incurred Washington's ire for its coverage of Iraq and President George Bush's "war on terror". According to reports in the US and the Gulf, the Qatari government, owner of al-Jazeera since its foundation in 1996, has ordered privatisation plans for the station to be speeded up. Many al-Jazeera employees fear this could lead to a loss of editorial freedom. A set of proposals is already said to have been presented to al-Jazeera's board of directors.
Barrier 'harms West Bank health'
Quote:
Israel's West Bank barrier is blocking 10,000 chronically ill Palestinians from access to essential treatment, say three leading medical organisations. Medicins du Monde, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel made the charges at a Ramallah press conference on Tuesday. The organisations also said that over 100,000 pregnant women could suffer from the lack of access to healthcare.
Quote:
Israel's West Bank barrier is blocking 10,000 chronically ill Palestinians from access to essential treatment, say three leading medical organisations. Medicins du Monde, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel made the charges at a Ramallah press conference on Tuesday. The organisations also said that over 100,000 pregnant women could suffer from the lack of access to healthcare.
The disenchanted kingdom
Despite King Gyanendra's strong-arm tactics, it is Nepal's monarchy rather than its Maoists that is under threat.
Despite King Gyanendra's strong-arm tactics, it is Nepal's monarchy rather than its Maoists that is under threat.
Lebanon´s former prime ministeri al-Hariri has been murdered in a bomb attack - along with some 14 other people - and the US is using his murder as a weapon to attack Syria - rather convenient incident for the US, by the way. Neither Syria nor Israel(blamed for the attack by Iran&Syria), which has made several car bomb attacks in Lebanon and Syria during the past few years, could in reality gain anything from the murder. The attack seems to have been a suicide attack, and it would be a first for the intelligence services of both countries. More and More.
Born to be a slave in Niger
Quote:
Niger is one of those places. It is a country that you can drive through for hours without seeing a soul. A nation of vast, barren and windswept landscapes, a country of people who live almost entirely off cattle, and off the labour of human slaves. Slavery in Niger is not an obscure thing, nor a curious relic of the past, it is an intrinsic part of society today. A Nigerian study has found that almost 8% of the population are slaves.
Quote:
Niger is one of those places. It is a country that you can drive through for hours without seeing a soul. A nation of vast, barren and windswept landscapes, a country of people who live almost entirely off cattle, and off the labour of human slaves. Slavery in Niger is not an obscure thing, nor a curious relic of the past, it is an intrinsic part of society today. A Nigerian study has found that almost 8% of the population are slaves.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
List of leading parties in Iraqi elections.
What should be remembered of course is that the three biggest lists are formed from many parties and that they may not work as groups in the parlament.
What should be remembered of course is that the three biggest lists are formed from many parties and that they may not work as groups in the parlament.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Mari: The Climax of Political Terror
Russification of Mari has been going on for several years now; the hopeful early 1990s with the possibilities of revival have changed to a battle of survival against the Republic´s Russian leadership.
Russification of Mari has been going on for several years now; the hopeful early 1990s with the possibilities of revival have changed to a battle of survival against the Republic´s Russian leadership.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Mideast: No Peace Without Justice
Quote:
So, the Palestinians will end their occupation of Israel. No more will Palestinian tanks smash their way into Haifa and Tel Aviv. No more will Palestinian F-18s bomb Israeli population centers. No more will Palestinian Apache helicopters carry out "targeted killings" -- i.e., murders -- of Israeli military leaders. The Palestinians have promised to end all "acts of violence" against Israelis while Israel has promised to end all "military activity" against Palestinians. So that's it, then. Peace in our time.
Quote:
So, the Palestinians will end their occupation of Israel. No more will Palestinian tanks smash their way into Haifa and Tel Aviv. No more will Palestinian F-18s bomb Israeli population centers. No more will Palestinian Apache helicopters carry out "targeted killings" -- i.e., murders -- of Israeli military leaders. The Palestinians have promised to end all "acts of violence" against Israelis while Israel has promised to end all "military activity" against Palestinians. So that's it, then. Peace in our time.
Of course, one can claim that Tennessee Williams was as important a writer as O´Neill and Miller. I forgot all about him, but frankly, he´s a playwright whose plays are remembered more often in their (sometimes watered down) film versions than as stage plays, which isn´t usual, and that can´t be said of the plays of O´Neill and Arthur Miller. Comments about his passing, Harold Pinter´s tribute and collected tributes to him.
The best known US playwright of the last century after Eugene O´Neill, , Arthur Miller, author of "Death of a Salesman"(1949) and "The Crucible"(1952), has died at the age of 89. More.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Elliot Abrams: defender of death squads to direct US “democracy” crusade
Quote:Perhaps more than any other political figure, Abrams personifies the criminal, deceitful and thuggish character of the current US administration. He has been tapped to serve as Bush’s principal advisor on democracy and human rights. A senior State Department official during the Reagan administration, Abrams was infamous for his lying on behalf of US-backed military dictatorships and his zealotry in attacking any regime that failed to submit to Washington dictates, as well as in defaming any individual who dared question the administration’s policies.
Did stardust trigger snowball Earth?
Quote:Our planet may have frozen over in the past as it drifted though giant dust clouds in space. The result of the dust-bath would have been an almost complete overcoat of ice for the world, according to a new theory.
Elliott Abrams: The Neocon’s Neocon
Quotes:
Elliott Abrams embodies neoconservatism. Perhaps more than any other neoconservative, Abrams has integrated the various influences that have shaped today’s neoconservative agenda. A creature of the neoconservative incubator, Abrams is a political intellectual and operative who has advanced the neoconservative agenda with chutzpah and considerable success. As a government official, Abrams organized front groups to provide private and clandestine official support for the Nicaraguan Contras; served as the president of an ethics institute despite his own record of lying to Congress and managing illegal operations; rose to high positions in the National Security Council to oversee U.S. foreign policy in regions where he had no professional experience, only ideological positions; proved himself as a political intellectual in books and essays that explore the interface between orthodox Judaism, American culture, and political philosophy; and demonstrated his considerable talents in public diplomacy as a political art in the use of misinformation and propaganda to ensure public and policy support for foreign relations agendas that would otherwise be soundly rejected... The U.S.-backed and organized Contras were spearheading a counterrevolution against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Congress had prohibited U.S. government military support for the Contras because of their pattern of human rights abuses. Abrams pleaded guilty to two lesser offenses (including withholding information from Congress) to avoid a trial and a possible jail term. Abrams and five other Iran-Contra figures were pardoned by President George H.W. Bush on Christmas Eve 1992, shortly before the senior Bush left office. By pardoning Abrams, John Poindexter, and other former Reagan officials, Bush was in effect protecting himself. At that time media and congressional investigations of Iran-Contra scandal were threatening to expose the role of Bush himself, who was Reagan’s vice president during the executive branch’s program of illegal support to the Nicaraguan Contras... Regarding Abrams’s biased stance on Middle East affairs, Dr. Laila al-Marayati, a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, wrote: “From the vantage point of the [U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom], as an American and as a Muslim, I had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessingclearly and unequivocallythe deep bias that Abrams brings to his new position. …As chairman of the commission at the time, Abrams led the delegation to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but did not go to Jerusalem with three of us as he was of the opinion that there are no problems with religious freedom in Israel that would warrant the attention of the commission. …Bypassing Israel was not the only way Abrams undermined the Commission’s visit to the Middle East. …Abrams managed to snub the leading Islamic cleric in Egypt… which nearly created a diplomatic nightmare that was only narrowly averted by the intervention of the U.S. ambassador.” ...Since Bush’s reelection in early November, Abrams has become one of the administration’s most high-profile officials. He has acted as Bush’s envoy to Europe and Israel as part of the administration’s new attention to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Abrams participated in an hour-plus meeting in the Oval Office with the president and Natan Sharansky, Israel’s minister for Jerusalem and diaspora affairs. Sharansky, the author of The Case for Democracy, subsequently met with Rice. Both Bush and Rice have repeatedly referred to Sharansky’s book in their pronouncements about the U.S. government’s new commitment to ending tyranny and spreading democracy, frequently using the same phrasing as Abransky. Also in November, Abrams arranged conference calls with the leaders of the major national Jewish American organizations in advance of formal meetings with Rice. Last week, Abrams traveled to Israel and met with Ariel Sharon’s top adviser Dov Weisglass to smooth the way for Secretary of State’s visit with Prime Minister Sharon. After the scandals involving neoconservatives in the late 1980s and the end of the cold war, many foreign policy observers wrote off the neoconservatives as a spent force. The same dismissal of the enduring influence of the neoconservative camp became widespread among pundits and analysts when the Iraq invasion proved a quagmire rather than a liberation “cakewalk.” It’s likely that Elliott Abrams, who has established a close working relationship with Condoleezza Rice, will become the leading administration architect of Middle East policy during the second Bush administration. Like the Middle East policy of the first administration, the regional initiatives of the new administration will continue to be guided by neocon notions about the centrality of Israel, the U.S. mission to restructure the Arab world, and the use of public diplomacy gloss of spreading freedom and democracy to advance U.S. national security strategy.
Quotes:
Elliott Abrams embodies neoconservatism. Perhaps more than any other neoconservative, Abrams has integrated the various influences that have shaped today’s neoconservative agenda. A creature of the neoconservative incubator, Abrams is a political intellectual and operative who has advanced the neoconservative agenda with chutzpah and considerable success. As a government official, Abrams organized front groups to provide private and clandestine official support for the Nicaraguan Contras; served as the president of an ethics institute despite his own record of lying to Congress and managing illegal operations; rose to high positions in the National Security Council to oversee U.S. foreign policy in regions where he had no professional experience, only ideological positions; proved himself as a political intellectual in books and essays that explore the interface between orthodox Judaism, American culture, and political philosophy; and demonstrated his considerable talents in public diplomacy as a political art in the use of misinformation and propaganda to ensure public and policy support for foreign relations agendas that would otherwise be soundly rejected... The U.S.-backed and organized Contras were spearheading a counterrevolution against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Congress had prohibited U.S. government military support for the Contras because of their pattern of human rights abuses. Abrams pleaded guilty to two lesser offenses (including withholding information from Congress) to avoid a trial and a possible jail term. Abrams and five other Iran-Contra figures were pardoned by President George H.W. Bush on Christmas Eve 1992, shortly before the senior Bush left office. By pardoning Abrams, John Poindexter, and other former Reagan officials, Bush was in effect protecting himself. At that time media and congressional investigations of Iran-Contra scandal were threatening to expose the role of Bush himself, who was Reagan’s vice president during the executive branch’s program of illegal support to the Nicaraguan Contras... Regarding Abrams’s biased stance on Middle East affairs, Dr. Laila al-Marayati, a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, wrote: “From the vantage point of the [U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom], as an American and as a Muslim, I had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessingclearly and unequivocallythe deep bias that Abrams brings to his new position. …As chairman of the commission at the time, Abrams led the delegation to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but did not go to Jerusalem with three of us as he was of the opinion that there are no problems with religious freedom in Israel that would warrant the attention of the commission. …Bypassing Israel was not the only way Abrams undermined the Commission’s visit to the Middle East. …Abrams managed to snub the leading Islamic cleric in Egypt… which nearly created a diplomatic nightmare that was only narrowly averted by the intervention of the U.S. ambassador.” ...Since Bush’s reelection in early November, Abrams has become one of the administration’s most high-profile officials. He has acted as Bush’s envoy to Europe and Israel as part of the administration’s new attention to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Abrams participated in an hour-plus meeting in the Oval Office with the president and Natan Sharansky, Israel’s minister for Jerusalem and diaspora affairs. Sharansky, the author of The Case for Democracy, subsequently met with Rice. Both Bush and Rice have repeatedly referred to Sharansky’s book in their pronouncements about the U.S. government’s new commitment to ending tyranny and spreading democracy, frequently using the same phrasing as Abransky. Also in November, Abrams arranged conference calls with the leaders of the major national Jewish American organizations in advance of formal meetings with Rice. Last week, Abrams traveled to Israel and met with Ariel Sharon’s top adviser Dov Weisglass to smooth the way for Secretary of State’s visit with Prime Minister Sharon. After the scandals involving neoconservatives in the late 1980s and the end of the cold war, many foreign policy observers wrote off the neoconservatives as a spent force. The same dismissal of the enduring influence of the neoconservative camp became widespread among pundits and analysts when the Iraq invasion proved a quagmire rather than a liberation “cakewalk.” It’s likely that Elliott Abrams, who has established a close working relationship with Condoleezza Rice, will become the leading administration architect of Middle East policy during the second Bush administration. Like the Middle East policy of the first administration, the regional initiatives of the new administration will continue to be guided by neocon notions about the centrality of Israel, the U.S. mission to restructure the Arab world, and the use of public diplomacy gloss of spreading freedom and democracy to advance U.S. national security strategy.
Example of bad archaeological news. Mixing facts with myths and making nonsensical claims. It just seems that the news have to be hyped, as facts doesn´t seem to be enough. When in Greece, like now, one has to find some tortuous way to link the news to the Greek myths and when in Palestine, the Bible has to be somehow brought in.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Stubborn on Sudan
The International Criminal Court is ready to act -- if the Bush administration will get out of its way.
The US government is the "last, best hope" of the Sudanese war criminals.
The International Criminal Court is ready to act -- if the Bush administration will get out of its way.
The US government is the "last, best hope" of the Sudanese war criminals.
Haaretz has many interesting columns today:
What's in it for Egypt?
The blood of Iman al-Hamas
'Jew' or 'Israeli'?
The cost of the alternatives
Democracy versus demography
What's in it for Egypt?
The blood of Iman al-Hamas
'Jew' or 'Israeli'?
The cost of the alternatives
Democracy versus demography
The day that peace broke out?
Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas have declared an end to all hostilities after their first summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh. So, after four years of bloodshed, is the Palestinian uprising over? There is cause for optimism, though we have been here before.
Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas have declared an end to all hostilities after their first summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh. So, after four years of bloodshed, is the Palestinian uprising over? There is cause for optimism, though we have been here before.
As a continuation of an earlier theme, more useless statistics: The French kings between 987 and 1848. Co-rulers who died before ruling alone are omitted.
1. Hugo Capet(940-996) 987-996.
2. Robert II the Pious(c.970-1031) 996-1031.
3. Henry I(1008-1060) 1030-1060.
4. Philip I(1053-1108) 1060-1108.
5. Louis VI(1080-1137) 1108-1137.
6. Louis VII(1120-1180) 1137-1180.
7. Philip II Augustus(1165-1223) 1180-1223.
8. Louis VIII(1187-1226) 1223-1226.
9. Louis IX the Holy(1215-1270) 1226-1270.
10. Philip III the Brave(1245-1285) 1270-1285.
11. Philip IV the Fair(1268-1314) 1285-1314.
12. Louis X the Angry(1289-1316) 1314-1316.
13. John I the Posthumous(born and died in 1316) 1316.
14. Philip V the Tall(1294-1322) 1316-1322.
15. Charles IV the Fair(1295-1328) 1322-1328.
16. Philip VI Valois(1293-1350) 1328-1350.
17. John II the Good(1319-1364) 1350-1364.
18. Charles V the Wise(1338-1380) 1364-1380.
19. Charles VI the Mad(1368-1422) 1380-1422.
20. Charles VII the Victorious(1403-1461) 1422-1461.
21. Louis XI(1422-1483) 1461-1483.
22. Charles VIII(1470-1498) 1483-1498.
23. Louis XII(1462-1515) 1498-1515.
24. Francis I(1494-1547) 1515-1547.
25. Henry II(1519-1559) 1547-1559.
26. Francis II(1544-1560) 1559-1560.
27. Charles IX(1550-1574) 1560-1574.
28. Henry III(1551-1589) 1574-1589. King of Poland 1573-1574. Murdered.
29. Henry IV(1553-1610) 1589-1610. Murdered.
30. Louis XIII(1601-1643) 1610-1643.
31. Louis XIV the Great(1638-1715) 1643-1715.
32. Louis XV(1710-1774) 1715-1774.
33. Louis XVI(1754-1793) 1774-1792. Executed.
(Louis "XVII"(1785-1795). Died in prison.)
34. Louis XVII(1755-1824) 1814-1815, 1815-1824.
35. Charles X(1757-1836) 1824-1830.
36. Louis Philip(1773-1850) 1830-1848.
1. Hugo Capet(940-996) 987-996.
2. Robert II the Pious(c.970-1031) 996-1031.
3. Henry I(1008-1060) 1030-1060.
4. Philip I(1053-1108) 1060-1108.
5. Louis VI(1080-1137) 1108-1137.
6. Louis VII(1120-1180) 1137-1180.
7. Philip II Augustus(1165-1223) 1180-1223.
8. Louis VIII(1187-1226) 1223-1226.
9. Louis IX the Holy(1215-1270) 1226-1270.
10. Philip III the Brave(1245-1285) 1270-1285.
11. Philip IV the Fair(1268-1314) 1285-1314.
12. Louis X the Angry(1289-1316) 1314-1316.
13. John I the Posthumous(born and died in 1316) 1316.
14. Philip V the Tall(1294-1322) 1316-1322.
15. Charles IV the Fair(1295-1328) 1322-1328.
16. Philip VI Valois(1293-1350) 1328-1350.
17. John II the Good(1319-1364) 1350-1364.
18. Charles V the Wise(1338-1380) 1364-1380.
19. Charles VI the Mad(1368-1422) 1380-1422.
20. Charles VII the Victorious(1403-1461) 1422-1461.
21. Louis XI(1422-1483) 1461-1483.
22. Charles VIII(1470-1498) 1483-1498.
23. Louis XII(1462-1515) 1498-1515.
24. Francis I(1494-1547) 1515-1547.
25. Henry II(1519-1559) 1547-1559.
26. Francis II(1544-1560) 1559-1560.
27. Charles IX(1550-1574) 1560-1574.
28. Henry III(1551-1589) 1574-1589. King of Poland 1573-1574. Murdered.
29. Henry IV(1553-1610) 1589-1610. Murdered.
30. Louis XIII(1601-1643) 1610-1643.
31. Louis XIV the Great(1638-1715) 1643-1715.
32. Louis XV(1710-1774) 1715-1774.
33. Louis XVI(1754-1793) 1774-1792. Executed.
(Louis "XVII"(1785-1795). Died in prison.)
34. Louis XVII(1755-1824) 1814-1815, 1815-1824.
35. Charles X(1757-1836) 1824-1830.
36. Louis Philip(1773-1850) 1830-1848.
Astronomers find first star from Milky Way that´s no longer gravitationally bound to our galaxy and is heading for the intergalactic space.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
NASA plans quick coup de grâce for the Hubble space telescope. Hubble is of course not irreplaceable, but the problem is, that there isn´t a successor in sight. The James Webb space telescope, which will be launched in the early next decade, will operate mostly in the infrared wavelenghts.
Truce in Palestine, but the problem is that one person can destroy this truce - and likely there will plenty of candidates and too little good will in both sides to accept the fact that the attacks - and other violent incidences - against their side will not cease immediately or totally. More, more and more.
Fraud and corruption
Forget the UN. The US occupation regime helped itself to $8.8 bn of mostly Iraqi money in just 14 months
Quote:
Four days before Volcker reported his findings about Saddam Hussein, the US inspector general for Iraq reconstruction published a report about the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) - the US agency which governed Iraq between April 2003 and June 2004. The inspector general's job is to make sure that the money the authority spent was properly accounted for. It wasn't. In just 14 months, $8.8bn went absent without leave. This is more than Mobutu Sese Seko managed to steal in 32 years of looting Zaire. It is 55,000 times as much as Mr Sevan is alleged to have been paid.
Forget the UN. The US occupation regime helped itself to $8.8 bn of mostly Iraqi money in just 14 months
Quote:
Four days before Volcker reported his findings about Saddam Hussein, the US inspector general for Iraq reconstruction published a report about the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) - the US agency which governed Iraq between April 2003 and June 2004. The inspector general's job is to make sure that the money the authority spent was properly accounted for. It wasn't. In just 14 months, $8.8bn went absent without leave. This is more than Mobutu Sese Seko managed to steal in 32 years of looting Zaire. It is 55,000 times as much as Mr Sevan is alleged to have been paid.
Monday, February 07, 2005
A nuclear Iran is not the problem
Whatever happened to the theory of mutually assured destruction?
Quote:
No, the prevailing theory of nuclear deterrence today is far different. It sits snugly alongside George W's lectures on democracy rampant. It says that the only real superpower alone can be trusted to upgrade and hone its nuclear arsenal; that true safety means leaving everything to the White House. But why on earth should such arguments run in countries like Iran, which have no reason to hail American hegemony? Iran has nuclear enemies all around, as we've seen. Iran may well hunger after the respect now accorded to Pakistan. In theory - old theory - a Tehran bomb would only complete the regional balancing act. In theory - old theory - it would have stopped Saddam launching his hideous war. What's so worrying here There's an answer to that, naturally; a Tom Clancy-style spiel featuring terror groups, greedy scientists, berserk mullahs and the rest (basically cold war porridge re-heated for a new audience). Yet, in truth, it's a thin little theme. Is civil nuclear power fading from use? To the contrary, nuclear power is a continuing fact of 21st-century life that many poorer nations in search of development feel obliged to fund and acknowledge In sum, the current international block on nuclear proliferation isn't going to endure. It didn't stop Islamabad or Delhi. It won't, over time, stop central Asian republics from growing uneasy in their nuclear isolation, ringed by bomb-toting countries - or Damascus and Tehran from feeling permanently threatened by Israel's bomb. The critical difficulty, of course, is perspective. If you even write about Israel's bomb in public, you're deluged with emails saying it can never be given up. Never? Not even in the tranquil Middle East of Condoleezza Rice's present imaginings? No, never. It is the final seal on Israel's security. Why don't you Brits give up your bomb first, those Israelis ask angrily. And there's the rub. We could do exactly that. Like Germany, Japan, Australia, South Africa, we could walk away. But no British government has the guts. We like to be part of this club of safety's sturdy children. It gives us a certain muzzy status.
Whatever happened to the theory of mutually assured destruction?
Quote:
No, the prevailing theory of nuclear deterrence today is far different. It sits snugly alongside George W's lectures on democracy rampant. It says that the only real superpower alone can be trusted to upgrade and hone its nuclear arsenal; that true safety means leaving everything to the White House. But why on earth should such arguments run in countries like Iran, which have no reason to hail American hegemony? Iran has nuclear enemies all around, as we've seen. Iran may well hunger after the respect now accorded to Pakistan. In theory - old theory - a Tehran bomb would only complete the regional balancing act. In theory - old theory - it would have stopped Saddam launching his hideous war. What's so worrying here There's an answer to that, naturally; a Tom Clancy-style spiel featuring terror groups, greedy scientists, berserk mullahs and the rest (basically cold war porridge re-heated for a new audience). Yet, in truth, it's a thin little theme. Is civil nuclear power fading from use? To the contrary, nuclear power is a continuing fact of 21st-century life that many poorer nations in search of development feel obliged to fund and acknowledge In sum, the current international block on nuclear proliferation isn't going to endure. It didn't stop Islamabad or Delhi. It won't, over time, stop central Asian republics from growing uneasy in their nuclear isolation, ringed by bomb-toting countries - or Damascus and Tehran from feeling permanently threatened by Israel's bomb. The critical difficulty, of course, is perspective. If you even write about Israel's bomb in public, you're deluged with emails saying it can never be given up. Never? Not even in the tranquil Middle East of Condoleezza Rice's present imaginings? No, never. It is the final seal on Israel's security. Why don't you Brits give up your bomb first, those Israelis ask angrily. And there's the rub. We could do exactly that. Like Germany, Japan, Australia, South Africa, we could walk away. But no British government has the guts. We like to be part of this club of safety's sturdy children. It gives us a certain muzzy status.
Israelis Act to Encircle East Jerusalem
Enclaves in Arab Areas, Illegal Building Projects Seen Intended to Consolidate Control
Quote:
The Israeli government has sometimes violated its own laws and regulations to advance the encircling effort, the Post investigation found. Critics of the plan charge that the government is subsidizing and protecting Jewish groups that are deliberately scuttling peace efforts by establishing Jewish enclaves in overwhelmingly Palestinian neighborhoods. As part of the effort, the Israeli government began work on expanding the West Bank's largest settlement, Maleh Adumim, without required building permits and in violation of the settlement's master development plan. The work was ordered stopped in September after Post inquires about the project. In addition, Israeli security forces seized a Palestinian-owned hotel on the border of eastern Jerusalem after expelling its owners and declaring them absentee. Nearby, a private Jewish organization has bought and occupied two illegal houses that the Israeli government is paying private security guards to protect. "There's a dovetailing of government actions and settlement activity," said Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli lawyer who has fought numerous court battles against Jewish takeovers of Arab-owned houses and land. The government, he said, has adapted its pro-settlement policies "to service messianic groups" that are moving into Arab neighborhoods. .. A report by the State Attorney's Office that has not yet been released concluded that almost every major ministry in the Israeli government assisted in the construction, expansion and maintenance of illegal settlement outposts, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth. The report found that "every echelon, from minister to low-level clerks, ignored settlers' violations of the law . . . bypassing the zoning laws and master plans" and improperly funneling state money to settlement expansions, even after being ordered not to by Israel's attorney general, according to the newspaper.
Enclaves in Arab Areas, Illegal Building Projects Seen Intended to Consolidate Control
Quote:
Former WMD search team leader David Kay begs the US government not to make the same mistakes in Iran.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Schools in US, the Promised Land of religious troglodytes, are trying to make the next generation even more ignorant than those now making the decisions. All you need is faith and God will save if you mess up...
Why Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews
Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and the state of Israel is its political expression. Israel used to be a symbol of freedom and a source of pride for the Jews of the Diaspora. Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinians, however, has turned it into a liability and a moral burden for the liberal segment of the Jewish community. Some Jews, especially on the left, would go even further by linking Israel's behavior to the upsurge of the new anti-Semitism throughout the world.
This is a claim that usually gets rather heated responses - often from people to whom every word of criticism against the actions of Israeli leaders, soldiers or the US Jewish lobby is antisemitism. These people are fanatics, which clouds their reason. To them the world is black and white and if you support Israel and praise it´s actions, you are a good guy, whatever your own reasons for doing it (á la the Christian Zionists), and if you criticize Israel and it´s actions against the Palestinians, you are an antisemitistic Holocaust denier, like one reporter of my local leading newspaper wrote couple of years ago. A sad example is the often heard cry from Israeli leaders, Jewish organizations and individual Jews that the European countries are not neutral in their dealings with Israel and the Palestinians - when in fact the European countries truly are not neutral, but not in the way these poor souls think they are: If the European countries would favor the Palestinians, INSTEAD of Israel, things would be quite different. (Why they favour Israel is then a sad case of cowardice, laziness and wrong way of expressing guilt.)
Does then Israel´s actions create antisemitism? Of course they do. Like Russia´s actions in Chechnya create hate against the Russians, USA´s in Iraq and Palestine creates hate towards the Americans etc. I can confess that I myself have little sympathy towards the Serbs, whom I came to loath during the Yugoslav wars. Of course it´s racist to blame all Serbs for the crimes, and I try not to, but frankly the less I heard of them, the better. They have this martyr complex, much like the Jews, but unlike the Jews, they have little to back up their whining. Of course the Serbs have suffered during their history, but not more than people usually have. And then in the 1990s the Serbs started - once again - to create Greater Serbia, to kill and ethnically cleanse other people and then they expected to be seen as the REAL victims... And the Russians and the Greeks fell for it - like the Americans have fallen for Israel´s lies in Palestine - just like the leaders of UK and France did. Their traditional weakness for Serbs paralyzed Europe and made the horrors of the Yugoslav wars possible.
Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and the state of Israel is its political expression. Israel used to be a symbol of freedom and a source of pride for the Jews of the Diaspora. Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinians, however, has turned it into a liability and a moral burden for the liberal segment of the Jewish community. Some Jews, especially on the left, would go even further by linking Israel's behavior to the upsurge of the new anti-Semitism throughout the world.
This is a claim that usually gets rather heated responses - often from people to whom every word of criticism against the actions of Israeli leaders, soldiers or the US Jewish lobby is antisemitism. These people are fanatics, which clouds their reason. To them the world is black and white and if you support Israel and praise it´s actions, you are a good guy, whatever your own reasons for doing it (á la the Christian Zionists), and if you criticize Israel and it´s actions against the Palestinians, you are an antisemitistic Holocaust denier, like one reporter of my local leading newspaper wrote couple of years ago. A sad example is the often heard cry from Israeli leaders, Jewish organizations and individual Jews that the European countries are not neutral in their dealings with Israel and the Palestinians - when in fact the European countries truly are not neutral, but not in the way these poor souls think they are: If the European countries would favor the Palestinians, INSTEAD of Israel, things would be quite different. (Why they favour Israel is then a sad case of cowardice, laziness and wrong way of expressing guilt.)
Does then Israel´s actions create antisemitism? Of course they do. Like Russia´s actions in Chechnya create hate against the Russians, USA´s in Iraq and Palestine creates hate towards the Americans etc. I can confess that I myself have little sympathy towards the Serbs, whom I came to loath during the Yugoslav wars. Of course it´s racist to blame all Serbs for the crimes, and I try not to, but frankly the less I heard of them, the better. They have this martyr complex, much like the Jews, but unlike the Jews, they have little to back up their whining. Of course the Serbs have suffered during their history, but not more than people usually have. And then in the 1990s the Serbs started - once again - to create Greater Serbia, to kill and ethnically cleanse other people and then they expected to be seen as the REAL victims... And the Russians and the Greeks fell for it - like the Americans have fallen for Israel´s lies in Palestine - just like the leaders of UK and France did. Their traditional weakness for Serbs paralyzed Europe and made the horrors of the Yugoslav wars possible.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Could the frail pope John Paul II abdicate?
The last one who did so, Celestine V, who abdicated after a reign of few months in 1294, got arrested by his successor Boniface VIII(1294-1303) and died imprisoned in 1296. Of course there were later several popes during the Great Schism of 1378-1417 who were deposed by Church councils and not all of them fared badly afterwards, as a cardinal etc. For a pope that abdicated by his own free will and remained a free man we must go to the 11th century.
There has been popes that have lasted to their nineties and have had little to do with the actual running of the Church, but that was in the past when the heavy-weights of the Papal court could run things in the pope´s name. Nowadays the pope is truly a public figure in a way unimagined in those days and it would be hard for the Catholic Church to have a totally incapacitated leader who could linger on for several years or maybe even a decade.
One reason for the pope to not to abdicate would be the question of a successor. Celestine III, who became a pope in the age of 85 in 1191 and reigned until 1198 wanted to abdicate, but could not get the cardinals to accept his choice of successor and so remained on the papal throne until his death - afterwards which the cardinals elected the great (and like many great men and women, a creator of much suffering) Innocent III(1198-1216) as pope. Who was then a relatively young man of 36-38 years.
But the medieval age was a time when the rulers were usually relatively young men, who died in their middle-age; for example, the age of death of the kings of England between 1035 and 1547:
- Canute the Great 39 years.
- Harold I 24 years.
- Hardecanute 23 years.
- Edward the Confessor 63 years.
- Harold II Godwinsson 46 years. Died in battle.
- William I the Conqueror 60 years.
- William II Rufus 44 years. Murdered.
- Henry I 67 years.
- Stephen 57 years.
- Henry II FitzEmpress 56 years.
- Richard I Coeur de Lion 42 years. Mortally wounded in a battle.
- John the Landless 49 years.
- Henry III 65 or 66 years.
- Edvard I 68 years.
- Edward II 43 years. Murdered.
- Edward III 65 years.
- Richard II 33 years. Murdered.
- Henry IV 46 years.
- Henry V 35 years.
- Henry VI 50 years. Murdered.
- Edward IV 41 years.
- Edward V 13 years. Murdered.
- Richard III 33 years. Died in battle.
- Henry VII 52 years.
- Henry VIII 56 years.
The last one who did so, Celestine V, who abdicated after a reign of few months in 1294, got arrested by his successor Boniface VIII(1294-1303) and died imprisoned in 1296. Of course there were later several popes during the Great Schism of 1378-1417 who were deposed by Church councils and not all of them fared badly afterwards, as a cardinal etc. For a pope that abdicated by his own free will and remained a free man we must go to the 11th century.
There has been popes that have lasted to their nineties and have had little to do with the actual running of the Church, but that was in the past when the heavy-weights of the Papal court could run things in the pope´s name. Nowadays the pope is truly a public figure in a way unimagined in those days and it would be hard for the Catholic Church to have a totally incapacitated leader who could linger on for several years or maybe even a decade.
One reason for the pope to not to abdicate would be the question of a successor. Celestine III, who became a pope in the age of 85 in 1191 and reigned until 1198 wanted to abdicate, but could not get the cardinals to accept his choice of successor and so remained on the papal throne until his death - afterwards which the cardinals elected the great (and like many great men and women, a creator of much suffering) Innocent III(1198-1216) as pope. Who was then a relatively young man of 36-38 years.
But the medieval age was a time when the rulers were usually relatively young men, who died in their middle-age; for example, the age of death of the kings of England between 1035 and 1547:
- Canute the Great 39 years.
- Harold I 24 years.
- Hardecanute 23 years.
- Edward the Confessor 63 years.
- Harold II Godwinsson 46 years. Died in battle.
- William I the Conqueror 60 years.
- William II Rufus 44 years. Murdered.
- Henry I 67 years.
- Stephen 57 years.
- Henry II FitzEmpress 56 years.
- Richard I Coeur de Lion 42 years. Mortally wounded in a battle.
- John the Landless 49 years.
- Henry III 65 or 66 years.
- Edvard I 68 years.
- Edward II 43 years. Murdered.
- Edward III 65 years.
- Richard II 33 years. Murdered.
- Henry IV 46 years.
- Henry V 35 years.
- Henry VI 50 years. Murdered.
- Edward IV 41 years.
- Edward V 13 years. Murdered.
- Richard III 33 years. Died in battle.
- Henry VII 52 years.
- Henry VIII 56 years.
The great evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr, whose scientific career started in the 1920s and continued on to this century, has died at the age of 100. His article, 80 Years of Watching the Evolutionary Scenery, which he wrote for his 100th birthday last year, is available on the webpage of Science magazine. More.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
US team lead by experienced planet finders Butler&Marcy (or, like they are more usually known, Marcy&Butler) have found five new planets, four of them on very Jupiter-like orbits and distances from their stars. Short article from the Planet Quest, facts from the Extrasolar Encyclopaedia (and links to the authors page for each planet).
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
In Nepal, the country´s king Gyanendra has committed a coup and made himself a kind of latter day Louis XIV. In doing so, he may have doomed his dynasty, the world last ruling Hindu monarchy. Now the interesting question is, will there soon be a third side, the democratic parties, in the country´s civil war?
Several foreign countries have condemned the coup, many - like the country´s neighbouring giant India - of them backers of the government of Nepal in the country´s bloody civil war, that have cost the lives of some 8000-15 000 people. More.
Several foreign countries have condemned the coup, many - like the country´s neighbouring giant India - of them backers of the government of Nepal in the country´s bloody civil war, that have cost the lives of some 8000-15 000 people. More.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Hundreds of people have died in the new attacks made by the Sudanese military against towns and villages in southern Darfur.
Occupation Army Kills Mother, 4 Children Among 11 Palestinians
Quote:
Continued Israeli extra-judicial killing of Palestinians would have a similar effect. IOF wanton killing has claimed the lives of eleven Palestinians since January 17. Early Wednesday, an IOF mortar shell killed a 3-year-old Palestinian girl in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Deir Al-Balah, and injured four others. On Tuesday, more than 40 IOF military vehicles have stormed into and imposed curfew on the Palestinian village of Saida, near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, detaining scores of Palestinians. On Monday, IOF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who allegedly was “in a no-go zone” near the Karni crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. His body was handed over to Palestinian authorities Tuesday night but his identity was still unknown on Wednesday. The same day Yaser Jabarin, 30, succumbed to wounds he received when IOF troops opened fire on his car in the southern West Bank town of Thahyria on December 26. During the Muslim festivity of Eid Al Adha, IOF shot dead three Palestinian children: Salah Abuleish, 13, Salahudddin Iqab Daraghmah, 12, Mohammad Hosni Abu Errub, 15, and 19-year old Fata Eddin Mohammad Al-Khouri, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Earlier, the IOF killed Nidal Abdul Hakim Sadeq, 19, and Ahmad Mahmoud Ashoor, 20, on a bypass road (Kissufim) leading from Israel to the illegal Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Katif. The latest killings raised the Palestinian death toll to 3,818 since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (uprising) against the 37-year old Israeli occupation on September 28, 2000.
Quote:
Continued Israeli extra-judicial killing of Palestinians would have a similar effect. IOF wanton killing has claimed the lives of eleven Palestinians since January 17. Early Wednesday, an IOF mortar shell killed a 3-year-old Palestinian girl in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Deir Al-Balah, and injured four others. On Tuesday, more than 40 IOF military vehicles have stormed into and imposed curfew on the Palestinian village of Saida, near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, detaining scores of Palestinians. On Monday, IOF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who allegedly was “in a no-go zone” near the Karni crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. His body was handed over to Palestinian authorities Tuesday night but his identity was still unknown on Wednesday. The same day Yaser Jabarin, 30, succumbed to wounds he received when IOF troops opened fire on his car in the southern West Bank town of Thahyria on December 26. During the Muslim festivity of Eid Al Adha, IOF shot dead three Palestinian children: Salah Abuleish, 13, Salahudddin Iqab Daraghmah, 12, Mohammad Hosni Abu Errub, 15, and 19-year old Fata Eddin Mohammad Al-Khouri, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Earlier, the IOF killed Nidal Abdul Hakim Sadeq, 19, and Ahmad Mahmoud Ashoor, 20, on a bypass road (Kissufim) leading from Israel to the illegal Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Katif. The latest killings raised the Palestinian death toll to 3,818 since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (uprising) against the 37-year old Israeli occupation on September 28, 2000.
The end of days: a self-fulfilling prophecy
I wonder how a specialist of the Reformation can in the end hope that the United Kingdom could be a bridge between the "real old Europe" of the US Christian fundamentalists and Europe. He of all people should know that there can´t be any bridge building until the religious fervor has been exhausted by wars and spilled blood. In the pre-modern Europe the Reformation unleashed wars that raged 130 years before people confessing different branches of Christianity were weary enough to live side by side. And now the US must be defeated, maybe several times, so that it´s foreign policy goals don´t succeed - and then they maybe weary enough to embrace a more secular worldview.
I wonder how a specialist of the Reformation can in the end hope that the United Kingdom could be a bridge between the "real old Europe" of the US Christian fundamentalists and Europe. He of all people should know that there can´t be any bridge building until the religious fervor has been exhausted by wars and spilled blood. In the pre-modern Europe the Reformation unleashed wars that raged 130 years before people confessing different branches of Christianity were weary enough to live side by side. And now the US must be defeated, maybe several times, so that it´s foreign policy goals don´t succeed - and then they maybe weary enough to embrace a more secular worldview.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Greenhouse effect may raise the Earth´s average temperature as much as 11,5 degrees Celsius. More and more. Inaction endangeres the future of whole humanity.
60 years from the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Lots of stuff about this in the web, but I am bothered by the ease by how world leaders, who themselves many have started bloody conflicts and have done little to stop other conflicts, can come to Auschwitz and start preaching how awful the Holocaust was and how we must never again allow such things to happen and how sorry they are and how they and their countries are ready to accept their guilt etc. Inaction for today´s victims, praise for those that have lain dead for 60 years. As they say, words are cheap.
They should start by ending the many conflicts that are raging around the world today. I couldn´t imagine a better way to commemorate the memory of the people killed in Auschwitz than saving the lives of people that can still be saved. In Aceh, in Chechnya, in the DR of Congo, in Darfur, in Iraq, in Palestine etc. These world leaders could bring justice and peace to places like Western Sahara and Palestine tomorrow if they would want to, and could do much to promote peace in such messy places like DR of Congo, where maybe over 6 million people have died in the last 7 years of fighting. Imagine that - 6 million people. And the world is obsessed with terrorists, that have killed thousands of people... But no.
It´s easier to be apolegetic and speak poetically about crimes that happened 60 years ago than to do something to help the victims of today. Certainly the victims of Auschwitz deserve to be remembered, but the thing is, there is nothing we can do to help those that are dead. We can only help those that are still alive and can be saved. In a world where there is an ongoing genocide - not an industrial genocide which the Holocaust is usually seen to be, somewhat wrongly when it comes to parts of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union - that claims more and more lives, it´s something of a travesty to speak those noble words in Oswieczim and then to do nothing in Darfur.
They should start by ending the many conflicts that are raging around the world today. I couldn´t imagine a better way to commemorate the memory of the people killed in Auschwitz than saving the lives of people that can still be saved. In Aceh, in Chechnya, in the DR of Congo, in Darfur, in Iraq, in Palestine etc. These world leaders could bring justice and peace to places like Western Sahara and Palestine tomorrow if they would want to, and could do much to promote peace in such messy places like DR of Congo, where maybe over 6 million people have died in the last 7 years of fighting. Imagine that - 6 million people. And the world is obsessed with terrorists, that have killed thousands of people... But no.
It´s easier to be apolegetic and speak poetically about crimes that happened 60 years ago than to do something to help the victims of today. Certainly the victims of Auschwitz deserve to be remembered, but the thing is, there is nothing we can do to help those that are dead. We can only help those that are still alive and can be saved. In a world where there is an ongoing genocide - not an industrial genocide which the Holocaust is usually seen to be, somewhat wrongly when it comes to parts of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union - that claims more and more lives, it´s something of a travesty to speak those noble words in Oswieczim and then to do nothing in Darfur.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Bloodiest day yet for US troops in Iraq, as 35 US marines and one army soldier die. This is the way to go. More.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Monday I went after a lecture and a visit to the library to a cinema to see the BBC´s nature movie "Deep Blue", which is based on the material of BBC´s "Blue Planet" -series, which was made for the TV. I had watched some of the episodes in the serie, and the movie had the same good and bad points as those episodes.
First, it´s a beautiful movie and the views of marine animals are beautiful on the big screen. Especially the animals of the deep ocean are just amazing. Secondly, there are disturbing scenes of violence. Well, nature is cruel and violence is of course part of the life in the seas, but some of the scenes felt a little bit sensational and especially the drowning of the baby whale seemed to be made as cruel as possible by the script. And I felt that the makers were putting human emotions to animals, describing the killer whales just as "killers" and trying to make the scene as weepy as possible. Anyway, in the series it was made clear what kind of role dead whales have in the ecosystem of the seas and here it lacked. I first was thinking the actions of animals in the movie too much in human terms, but then I thought the awful things that humans do to other humans all the time and even if that didn´t make the suffering of the unfortunate sea lions less sad, it certainly made me feel better. Even if the killer whales were playing with the dying sea lion, it was necessary practice for their future. One can´t say the same when one reads from the day´s newspaper about the recent violent crimes.
It was a good movie, but it ended abruptly. I would give it four stars.
First, it´s a beautiful movie and the views of marine animals are beautiful on the big screen. Especially the animals of the deep ocean are just amazing. Secondly, there are disturbing scenes of violence. Well, nature is cruel and violence is of course part of the life in the seas, but some of the scenes felt a little bit sensational and especially the drowning of the baby whale seemed to be made as cruel as possible by the script. And I felt that the makers were putting human emotions to animals, describing the killer whales just as "killers" and trying to make the scene as weepy as possible. Anyway, in the series it was made clear what kind of role dead whales have in the ecosystem of the seas and here it lacked. I first was thinking the actions of animals in the movie too much in human terms, but then I thought the awful things that humans do to other humans all the time and even if that didn´t make the suffering of the unfortunate sea lions less sad, it certainly made me feel better. Even if the killer whales were playing with the dying sea lion, it was necessary practice for their future. One can´t say the same when one reads from the day´s newspaper about the recent violent crimes.
It was a good movie, but it ended abruptly. I would give it four stars.
Friday, January 21, 2005
New bombings against Shiites in Baghdad area. Thanks to the aggression and incompetence of the US government, Iraq seems to be settling as the new Lebanon of Middle East.
Injustice and stupidity in Jerusalem.
Quote:
In July 2004, Israel's cabinet adopted a decision that was neither made public nor even published in the official government gazette, Reshumot: to apply the Absentee Property Law to East Jerusalem, and thereby to confiscate thousands of dunams of land from owners who live in the West Bank. The reason for the decision was security-related: Since in practice, West Bank residents are barred from entering East Jerusalem because of the intifada, the cabinet decided to enact an official measure that would prevent any use of these lands by their owners in the future as well, and would explicitly state that henceforth their property belongs to the State of Israel... The decision to once again apply this law has caused thousands of Palestinians, including many who live right next to their confiscated lands, to lose property overnight worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and for which no one intends to compensate them... It is impossible not to deem the cabinet's decision theft, as well as an act of state stupidity of the highest order.
Quote:
In July 2004, Israel's cabinet adopted a decision that was neither made public nor even published in the official government gazette, Reshumot: to apply the Absentee Property Law to East Jerusalem, and thereby to confiscate thousands of dunams of land from owners who live in the West Bank. The reason for the decision was security-related: Since in practice, West Bank residents are barred from entering East Jerusalem because of the intifada, the cabinet decided to enact an official measure that would prevent any use of these lands by their owners in the future as well, and would explicitly state that henceforth their property belongs to the State of Israel... The decision to once again apply this law has caused thousands of Palestinians, including many who live right next to their confiscated lands, to lose property overnight worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and for which no one intends to compensate them... It is impossible not to deem the cabinet's decision theft, as well as an act of state stupidity of the highest order.
Methane rain feeds Titan's rivers. More.
Latest images released by ESA. More (of the same) from ESA.
Latest images released by ESA. More (of the same) from ESA.
Mummy scan furore.
The CT scan carried out last week on Tutankhamun's mummy has triggered a fierce debate among archaeologists.
The CT scan carried out last week on Tutankhamun's mummy has triggered a fierce debate among archaeologists.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Indonesia has been claiming that GAM is going to attack relief workers in Aceh, whereas it will honour the truce. And today Indonesian army claims that it has killed 120 GAM fighters during the last two weeks. Of course, according to neutral sources, large part of those that Indonesian army kills claiming them to be members of GAM are just civilians that are killed to fill the quota.
Israeli army - according to it´s commander, "The most moral army in the world" - kills 2 13-year old boys in Gaza.
US strategy in the Iraq: No exit, stay forever. One wonders how they think they can achieve this and wage war against Iran at the same time. But nothing probably seems impossible to people that have God on their side - except confronting Ariel Sharon...
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