18.12.2002

Freedom Road Socialist Organization: Military Matters
"The Freedom Road Socialist Organization is pleased to introduce an irregular series of columns by Stan Goff on military affairs. This obviously has considerable importance for everyone trying to build opposition as the Bush administration's generic "war on terror" escalates into a planned invasion and occupation of Iraq. Stan's expertise is derived from over two decades in Special Forces in the US military, from Viet Nam to Haiti. He is the author of Hideous Dream, a penetrating first-hand account of the 1994 US intervention in Haiti which contains rich lessons about the operation of US imperialism, the culture of the armed forces, questions of military doctrine, and the resistance of the Haitian people."

18.11.2002

Bhagat Singh vs. Bhagat Singh
I recently saw the movie "The legend of Bhagat Singh" here in Oslo. This is a very good article on all the Bhagat Singh movies made last year.

01.11.2002

Norwegian up finals
This sunday Vålerenga will play against Odd in the finals of the Norwegian championship in football. Communist rappers Gatas Parlament have made one of the tracks on the official Vålerenga CD, which you can download here [mp3].

25.10.2002

Wired News: Letter: Free Software Hurts U.S.
"An attack on the software license behind the Linux operating system has stirred up a free software controversy in Washington.

Earlier this week, three members of the House of Representatives, Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Jim Davis (D-Fla.), sent a note to 74 Democrats in Congress attacking Linux's GNU General Public License (GPL) as a threat to America's "innovation and security.""

23.10.2002

Military imprecision
Can't believe I missed this one by Brendan O'Neil: a top ten list of military blunders in the 'War on terror'.

03.10.2002

SSP News : News from the Scottish Socialist Party
Another party blog... Like this one.
The Onion | RIAA Sues Radio Stations For Giving Away Free Music
"LOS ANGELES—The Recording Industry Association of America filed a $7.1 billion lawsuit against the nation's radio stations Monday, accusing them of freely distributing copyrighted music."

29.09.2002

Kicking against the pricks
The Japanese never ceases to amaze...
"I recently asked my girlfriend if she'd kick me, but she looked at me as though I was some sort of weirdo,' he says. "All I can do is watch the videos. The more painful it looks, the more excited I get."

28.09.2002

Report: Iraq sees Saddam’s doubles
"A German television network says it has made a scientific study of 450 photographs of Saddam Hussein and concluded there are at least three doubles posing as the Iraqi president."
Story includes very cool pic of several Saddams in a speedboat on the Tigris.
Numbers game
Instapundit writes: "50,000 PEOPLE ARE DEMONSTRATING IN LONDON AGAINST WAR: Though the press accounts probably won't make a lot of this point, that's less than 1/8 as many as demonstrated against a ban on fox-hunting last weekend."
Well, The Independent does just that, but has a rather more favourable comparison than Glenn's:
"Up to 350,000 people marched in London yesterday against military action in Iraq. And they were not the 'usual suspects'"
"The Stop the War Coalition's aims were self-evident, and the demonstration was merely the latest in a series it has mounted since before the US went into Afghanistan. But it had never drawn support like this before, and the scenes along the Embankment, where the wait to get moving lasted up to three hours, could be compared only with last week's effort by the Countryside Alliance. September, it seems, has become the marching season."
UPDATE: Here is a Guardian article on the counting of demonstrators.
UPDATE II: Instapundit quotes me as saying: "Uh... the date was chosen because of the two year anniversary of the Al-Aqsa intifada." I have to say that I'm not absolutely sure that this is the case in the UK, but it was so for the demo in Oslo.
Brand Wars
I found this game via Remco. It's a good idea, but I didn't bother to finish my game...
Most disgusting fetish this week
I hope this story is as true as the rest of Weekly World News...
Google Voice Search Demo
Has anybody tried this? It sounds quite cool.

25.09.2002

The Sept. 11 Anniversary: Two Weeks Later
From the Onion: "WASHINGTON, DC—It seems hard to believe that a fortnight has already passed, but this Wednesday, the nation will come together to commemorate the two-week anniversary of the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks."

23.09.2002

21.09.2002

The Guardian | Feminism as imperialism
"George Bush is not the first empire-builder to wage war in the name of women ."
Space alien porn in Scotland?
Is this the best Weekly World News story ever?
Socialist bloggers
Alister Black has written an article on socialist blogging for the Scottish socialist magazine Frontline.

11.09.2002

US military bases attacked in Afghanistan
"Two US bases in Afghanistan came under attack on Wednesday, just hours before ceremonies to commemorate the attacks on the United States last September 11. No damage or casualties were reported from a rocket attack on an airfield used by US Special Forces in the eastern town of Khost nor from an attack by a gunman on Bagram air base, the US military headquarters in Afghanistan."
Via Remco Brink.

10.09.2002

Many dead in Indian train crash
Railway officials were quick to blame the naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War. However, the police and the Prime Minister say it was a result of a lack of maintenance of the bridge. The naxalite angle is of course perpetuated in Norwegian news...

03.09.2002

Bertelsmann to drop online books and music
"Bertelsmann, the privately owned German media group, is considering the outright sale or closure of its online books and music operations - the second largest in the world - in the latest phase of its restructuring."

29.08.2002

An Amish website???
Hey! they didn't have the Internet back in the 19th century!
Rosenborg tifo
Hehe. A joke for those who know a Scandinavian language...
Here's the original.

28.08.2002

Mumia will understand
Can a revolutionary take a vacation? Huey Freeman in the Boondocks must be convinced. Read more about the creator of the Boondocks, Aaron McGruder in Freedom Road Magazine.

24.08.2002

Lyn 1 - VIF 0
Aaargh. We were robbed. I'm not happy.

UPDATE: After a night to sleep on it, I've decided we weren't thje best team on the pitch. We were the best on the terraces, though:
Tifo pictures
Return to Sender -- 55,000 Times
Wried.com story on pro-Israeli email hacks.
U.S. soldiers exchange fire with allied Afghan troops

"The 10-minute firefight began Tuesday night when Afghan soldiers near Zormat district stopped the Americans and asked them for a password required for traveling on roads after a 9 p.m. curfew, Afghan commander Abul Matin Husainkhil said by satellite phone from nearby Gardez.

He said that the Americans did not know the password and that the two sides briefly fired at each other with automatic weapons."

23.08.2002

Google Quiz
A good idea, but I can't be arsed to search for the answers...
Christian's work goes down a bomb
"The schoolboy whose GCSE coursework was blown up in a terrorist alert which closed Birmingham's New Street station discovered today that he had still passed his exam."

Nobody believed me when I told an almost exact same story to my teacher...

Ford Testifies to Stop Ride Sharing
"Washington DC - William Ford Jr., CEO of the Ford Motor Company testified before Congress about the nationwide problem of ride sharing. Ford cited ride swapping as the number one reason for the the company's declining revenue. "These 'pool pirates are depriving Ford of rightful income. Three sometimes four people are sharing rides. Less wear and tear on the cars means fewer new car purchases. That's revenue that's being robbed from Ford."
Yes, it's satire, but a good one.
The Communist-Iraqi Fifth Column
This is a must-read! according to the author, the revolutionary left in the US managed to dissuade Bill Clinton from attacking Iraq... If only...

21.08.2002

No animal rights!
Brendan O'Neill has a good answer to all the animal rights people who have turned on him for admitting a bit of cruelty to animals in his youth.
"If I ever see sheep marching for their rights, I might support them. Until then I'll see them as nothing more than the source of woolly jumpers and tasty meat."
(scroll down for this piece)
Abu Sayyaf seizes 6 Christian preachers
What a fine job the US soldiers did...
Back from the dead: UK's new language
Cornish lives. Yay!
Wireless channel use sets up turf battle
One more reasn why I'm not looking forward to Starbucks coming to Oslo...

20.08.2002

Australian postal service is up sheet street
"Toilet paper rationing in the workplace is the latest curious directive from the Australian postal service. Union leader Jim Metcher said a New South Wales manager on a cost-cutting drive shot off a "one sheet is enough" directive to sorting office staff."

Workers of the world, wipe!
Norwegian No-parties to improve Brussels network

The EU-critical parties are for opening a parliamentary office at the European Parliament in Brussels. The yes-saying parties are against...

18.08.2002

Harry Steele
A new blog by Harry Steele, "For those of you who haven't come across me in various far-left online forums, let me introduce myself. I am a communist. The proper sort mind, not a trendy 'eurocommunist' not some career-minded 'reform communist', not a former communist turned government or World Bank adviser (you know who you are!).
Yep, I am a good old fashioned commie. Give me a bottle of rum, a Cuban beach and a hammer and sickle and I'm your man."

15.08.2002

US Maoists
Dave Stitt has reorganised his page on US Maoists, a part of his tremendously cool Little Red Café.
New Paris track
From his upcoming 'Sonic Jihad' album, here is a new track by my favourite rapper ever:
Download 'What would you do? MP3 here

Here's the lyrics.

Officials Downplay Terror Suspect
"An American touted by Attorney General John Ashcroft as a significant terrorism figure with plans to detonate a radioactive bomb is probably a "small fish" with no ties to al-Qaida cell members in the United States, law enforcement officials say.
The FBI's investigation has produced no evidence that Jose Padilla had begun preparations for an attack and little reason to believe he had any support from al-Qaida to direct such a plot, said one of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity."

How come I'm not surprised?

14.08.2002

Downloads Did Not Cause The Music Slump
"Contrary to protests from record labels, piracy is not responsible for the 15 percent drop in music sales in the past two years. According to a new report from Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR), labels can restore industry growth by making it easier for people to find, copy, and pay for music on their own terms. By 2007, digital music revenues will reach more than $2 billion."
Open with caution
Shrinkwrapped books...
"This book arrived wrapped in plastic with a shrinkwrap license on the front," the doctor wrote. "It plainly says that by breaking the seal you agree to the terms of the license and if you don't agree you should return the book unopened. Is this what software licensing has led us to? This license says the book remains the property of Omnicare. Will they come up with a way to remotely disable the book if someone else reads it?"

11.08.2002

Nordlendingen
A new Norwegian blog made by a friend and comrade-in-arms in the struggle for the nynorsk language, Eva Marie Mathisen.

10.08.2002

Foreign Minister Petersen negative to immunity agreement with the US
Yay! I've got no love for neither the ICC nor Petersen, but it's good to see Norway stand up to the US just once.
Free the Mouse
Let Mickey Mouse into the public domain!

09.08.2002

08.08.2002

The PowerPoint That Rocked the Pentagon
"Diplomatic china rattled in Washington and cracked in Riyadh yesterday when the Washington Post published a story about a briefing given to a Pentagon advisory group last month. The briefing declared Saudi Arabia an enemy of the United States and advocated that the United States invade the country, seize its oil fields, and confiscate its financial assets unless the Saudis stop supporting the anti-Western terror network.

The Page One story, by Thomas E. Ricks ("Briefing Depicted Saudis as Enemies: Ultimatum Urged To Pentagon Board," Aug. 6), described a 24-slide presentation given by Rand Corp. analyst Laurent Murawiec on July 10, 2002, to the Defense Policy Board, a committee of foreign policy wonks and former government officials that advises the Pentagon on defense issues. Murawiec's PowerPoint scenario, which is reproduced for the first time below, makes him sound like an aspiring Dr. Strangelove."
Marc Herold: Counting the dead
"Attempts to hide the number of Afghan civilians killed by US bombs are an affront to justice."
Google Watch
How is this for a conspiracy?
Women who put babies up for adoption required to publish sexual pasts
Bomb Florida for women's liberation!

05.08.2002

Bjørn Stærk blog
Bjørn Stærk is back and blogging. I disagree with him about everything except the EU (and even in that question he's against it for all the wrong reasons), but he's worth reading.

03.08.2002

Deaf boy arrested for rude sign language
"Dozy cops nicked a deaf and dumb lad — because they thought his sign language was a rude gesture."

02.08.2002

Tensions over war plans for Iraq
John Edmundson writes in The Workers Party of New Zealands 'Spark:
"Rumours have been rife for months on the left that the United States is preparing for a new war on Iraq. Many commentators have suggested that this new war could take place as early as this October, pointing to the mid-term elections in the United States as the motivation for a new round of fighting. The call has been going out to leftists and the peace movement to prepare now for this eventuality.

But is it really that certain that there will be a war? Is Bush about to go to war just to rally support for the Republican electoral campaign? Many would say yes, he will do just that. Increasingly though, evidence suggests that there are deep divisions within the US ruling class over the wisdom of a new war in the Gulf. It just might be that the smart minds in the US elite don’t want a war at all."

"Whether or not George W Bush goes to war against Iraq, the killing and dying will go on. But if we are to be taken seriously, and are to be effective in building anti-imperialism, we must not fall into the trap of crying ‘wolf’ every time another leaked report emerges from Washington. There is a path that we can take, which enables us to respond quickly and intelligently in the event that war does become inevitable. We need to keep campaigning against the UN’s sanctions policy. We need to keep campaigning against the ongoing ‘no fly zones’ and the regular bombing raids that are occurring right now in Iraq. We need to be informed and armed with the best information we can get so that we are ready to act in the event that an escalation of the war does take place. Ultimately, the best way to prepare for building opposition to a possible new war on Iraq is to oppose the one that’s already happening."

01.08.2002

Patriot missiles stationed in Turkey
Slaskrad reports via die Tageszeitung that Patriot missiles are placed in Turkey in preparation of an imminent war on Iraq.
What should the west do about Iraq?
Brendan O'Neill says 'nothing'. I agree.
The Lefty Directory
A good initiative, a directory of left blogs. I wouldn't really call all of the blogs leftist, though.

31.07.2002

Antiimperialisme - Palestina - Solidaritet
Lars Akerhaug has finally come around to actually updating his blog (Norwegian only).

26.07.2002

'I have in my hands a list'
Justin Raimondo from Antiwar.com claims to have found documentary evidence for an Israeli connection to the WTC and pentagon attacks.

25.07.2002

WorldCom blew internet bubble
"IT WAS an essential ingredient of dotcom business plans and conference slide-shows: Internet traffic, went the industry's favourite statistic, doubles every 100 days. The claim assumed unimpeachable status when it appeared in a report published by America's Department of Commerce in April 1998. Unfortunately for the telecoms firms that rushed to build networks to carry the reported surge in traffic, it wasn't true.

So where did the claim come from? According to Andrew Odlyzko, a former researcher at AT&T who is now at the University of Minnesota, the short answer is WorldCom."
Eat the rich
"The controversial vessel known as The World sailed back into Oslo on Tuesday, only to be met by rain and a small band of protesters. The vessel hasn't been getting the warmest of welcomes at Norwegian ports."

24.07.2002

Hunt for bin Laden goes online
With all the stories about Bin Laden hiding messages on porn sites, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if someone faked an Al Quaida message on pictures of nude girls. What I don't get is why they should use porn sites. Why not pictures birds or dinosaurs or locomotives?

23.07.2002

Palestinian teams in Norway Cup
Search by country for "Palestina" to get a list of these Palestinian teams, and their match programs:
GAZA PEACE
JENIN JUNIORS
SABRA & SHATILA SURVIVORS
WESTBANK DEFENDERS

Norway Cup is the largest football tournament in the world.

22.07.2002

Google art
Creating art with the color in the word highlighting in Google searches...

15.07.2002

Message from a wannabe murderer
This was posted at the guestbook at skrewdriver.net saturday:

Name: Maxime
From: Paris
Sent: 13:01 GMT on 13 July

Watch the Tv This Sunday, i will be the star... Death to zog,88!
----

Chilling...
Norwegian gov ditches contract with Microsoft
Yay! Although I'll have to see it before I believe they actually will switch from Microsoft...

13.07.2002

11.07.2002

Health for all or riches for some?
"Can we still rely on the World Health Organisation? It has not openly opposed the greed of the major global pharmaceutical companies and its director-general, Gro Harlem Brundtland, has deferred to them."

09.07.2002

Anthrax and Mr. Z
Was the man responsbile for the Anthrax letters in the US also involved in the mass spread of Anthrax in Zimbabwe during the liberation war?
10 of the best...revolutions... ever
Thanks to Alister Black for pointing out this top ten list by SSP MP Tommy Sheridan. My list would include the Chinese revolution, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. And the Mao quote Tommy mentions is really from Chou En Lai.

The Democratic Fascist : Citizens For A Morally Pure America
This is of course a spoof site, but it's very believable to anyone who's seen Sean Hannity on Fox News, I guess.
SC rules: Earnings protected as 'Art'
Washington, D.C. (SatireWire.com) — In a surprise decision that exonerates dozens of major companies, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that corporate earnings statements should be protected as works of art, as they "create something from nothing."
A strange kind of freedom
"We all know about the perils of Islamic fanaticism. But, says Robert Fisk, the biggest threat to liberty in the US may come from other kinds of fundamentalism: Jewish and Christian"

06.07.2002

USAnians believe constitution is communist
At least the 35% percent who believe the phrase “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” is in it...
This is illegal in Denmark
In a tremendously stupid verdict, Danish courts have ruled socalled 'deep linking illegal. To read about this story in Danish, go to Computerworld Denmark and you'll find it there, somewhere.

04.07.2002

Me Frodo, you Jane
Aidan Hartley makes the point that if apes should have 'rights' they should also be punished for killing human children.
The Blogger International (Hyper Text Marxist-Leninists)?
Nice plug from Martin Wisse, who's got a blog far superior to mine. It seems he's setting up a socialist blogger international all by himself... Now that's something for the Leftist Trainspotters list...
He could add
Bjarke på nett
Alister Black
Rödvinsvänster
and
slaskrad
as well.

03.07.2002

Man wearing 'Fugitive' t-shirt arrested
This means I'll have to ditch several of my own t-shirts, I guess. 'Public Enemy', 'Millions of dead cops' etc.

02.07.2002

Palestinian bomb cat picture shocks civilised world
Has it come to this?
Big noises at odds over the sound of silence
This is one of the funniest battles over copyright/plagiarism I've ever seen!

"Mike Batt, the man behind the Wombles and Vanessa Mae, has put a silent 60-second track on the album of his latest classical chart-topping protégés, the Planets. This has enraged representatives of the avant-garde, experimentalist composer John Cage, who died in 1992. The silence on his group's album clearly sounds uncannily like 4'33", the silence composed by Cage in his prime.

Batt said last night: "I've received a letter on behalf of John Cage's music publishers. I was in hysterics when I read their letter."

"[...] my silence is original silence, not a quotation from his silence."

29.06.2002

FAIR: Euphemisms for Israeli Settlements Confuse Coverage
"The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported last month (5/31/02) that at the behest of a Likud party minister, the Israel Broadcasting Authority has banned its editorial departments from using the terms "settlers" or "settlements" on radio and TV. According to Ha'aretz, "it is not clear if the editors will obey the order," which was seen as an attempt by the new IBA director to curry favor with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. What does seem clear is that settlements-- housing built on land illegally seized by Israel after the 1967 war-- are such a contentious issue within Israel that the Israeli government would like to stop reporters from even saying the word."

28.06.2002

Take It as Red
A new leftist blog. Mission statement:
"Don't expect well-balanced opinions here. I don't give a shit about showing both sides of the story: there's enough woolly liberals out there to do that. That's how the right wing nutters win. This is an unashamedly pinko commie blog."

25.06.2002

where can i get avice on how to deal with people that I hate?
I wonder what the guy who searched for this and ended up here got out of his visit...
Does the emperor of wine have any clothes?
Globalizing wine.
Aftenposten Peace, not problems, from protest march
"Over 10,000 demonstrators marched in downtown Oslo's streets on Monday evening as part of a massive protest against the World Bank's research conference.

The colorful demonstration set off from Oslo's central train station at 6:30pm, half an hour later than planned, and defied public fears by proceeding peacefully. Police forces were massed at a nearby quay ready to move in case of violence.
Despite elaborate preparations for rioting, the uniformed police presence was muted, and remained in the background."

Ann Coulter: Left Is 'out to Destroy the Country'
This is such a good parody. Newsmax must be the new "Onion" or something.

21.06.2002

John Galt is a communist
He runs the financial operations of the Communist Party of Great Britain...
‘Combatants’ lack rights, U.S. argues
"June 20 — Prisoners declared enemy combatants do not have the right to a lawyer and the American judiciary cannot second-guess the military’s classification of such detainees, the Justice Department argued yesterday in a brief to an appeals court."

20.06.2002

Satpal Ram is free
"This is a Victory but not Vindication
At 7.00pm on Tuesday 18th June 2002, Satpal Ram walked through the prison gate of HMP Blantyre House, for the last time.
Satpal's conviction has not been quashed and though he is now out on licence, Satpal will continue to fight the conviction, that has kept him in prison since 1987."

19.06.2002

Perugia dump Korean hero
"Perugia president Luciano Gaucci said his club's decision to sack South Korea's Ahn Jung-Hwan was not for dumping Italy out of the World Cup but for his offensive remarks afterwards."
...
"It has nothing to do with the goal he scored against Italy," said Gaucci.
"He could have scored 10 and I wouldn't have felt offended. It was simply the comments he made."
"He said Korean football was superior to Italian football, when Italy is a footballing nation.
"We have treated him well with all our love, but his comments were offensive to me and to the whole Italian nation.
"I feel offended by what he said. He should respect other nations as well as his own."
Gaucci earlier told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport: "That gentleman will never set foot in Perugia again.
"I am a nationalist and I regard such behaviour not only as an affront to Italian pride but also an offence to a country which two years ago opened its doors to him. "

Sore losers...
Hysteria
Read more about the 'security' overkill in Oslo in advance of the demonstrations against the World Bank ABCDE-conference.

18.06.2002

Linguistic convergence finally laid to rest

"Cultural Affairs Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (Chr.Dem) has quietly laid to rest the policy designed to achieve the convergence of Norway’s two official versions of the Norwegian language. Last Friday a bill to repeal the so-called convergence clause in the Norwegian Language Council Act was approved by the Council of State. A long and difficult chapter in the at times acrimonious debate over the Norwegian language has now been formally brought to a close, more than 30 years after the convergence policy had been abandoned in practice."

Finally! This report is somewhat flawed though: the nynorsk language has been forcefully 'converged' towards Danish-Norwegian (or bokmål) during the last thirty years.
Again 1966
The Korean supporters came prepared: they made a display to remind everybody of the 1966 World Cup when North Korea sent Italy out of the World Cup.
Oslo 2002
Bjørn Stærk doesn't believe the protests against the World bank the coming week will be non-violent. In this regard he's in disagreement with Kjetil Wiedswang in Dagens Næringsliv(The Norwegian Financial Times). He writes, among other things:
"The French use bricks to get their political views across. The Norwegians seldom do. The coming demonstrations in Oslo will probably be more peaceful than the Police Chief fears."
"The indignation of the large majority of peaceful Norwegian protesters will most likely passivize the bullies."

Demonstrators gag Vigeland statues
"The demonstrations against next week's World Bank meeting in Oslo got off to an early start on Tuesday. A group of activists tied white cloths around the mouths of all the statues in the Frogner Park, calling it a symbolic protest against World Bank politics."

Artist sells his soul for £11.61
Life's cheap.

17.06.2002

Police prepare for World Bank meeting

"Four armoured trucks are among the measures taken to protect Oslo police units against possible attacks by violent demonstrators during the World Bank meeting in Oslo next week."

The police and press are building up hysteria around this event, which most likely will be very peaceful. Read about the organizing coalition here.

11.06.2002

Only rebels left are old!
Remco Brink found this cool comment on slashdot.org.

Let's prove the poster wrong!

10.06.2002

Music Industry Unveils Piracy-Proof Format
"Music bosses have unveiled a revolutionary new recording format that they hope will help win the war on illegal file sharing which is thought to be costing the industry millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Nicknamed the 'Record', the new format takes the form of a black, vinyl disc measuring 12 inches in diameter, which must be played on a specially designed 'turntable'. "
Turkish state mobilises against Kurdish names
"When Tufan Akcan, a Turkish father from Ardahan in north-eastern Turkey, named his baby after his favorite singer, little did he expect that he could be charged with attempting sabotage against the state. What Akcan, a 26-year-old construction worker, had done wrong in the eyes of the state was to choose a Kurdish name for his daughter: Berivan, which means milkmaid."

08.06.2002

Obvious
I loved the ending on this piece about the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) May Day celebration:
"Next year’s London May Day rally will take place on 1 May 2003."
The French parliamentary elections
My trotskyite friend Bjarke has collected some links to stories on tomorrow's French elections.
With or without me
A collection of bootleg remixes of Eminem's 'Without me'.
philly da kid - this charming booty is very cool: The Smiths vs Eminem

Ann Coulter: Build them back!
Now, I like skyscrapers. And I can't see anything wrong in building up the World Trade Center again. But Coulter is a genocidal maniac:

"A little grassy park where people go to weep does lack something in the way of defiance. Instead of us crying, evidently many Americans feel there should be a lot of Arabs crying."

"Moreover, this argument neglects to consider that by the time a new World Trade Center is built, Arabs will be about as threatening as the Japanese. Who would have imagined after Pearl Harbor that the Japanese were governable? Yet Japan hasn't shown a disposition to fight in 60 years. It is the rare individual who does not succumb to horrendous physical pain. Muslims feel humiliated now? We'll show them humiliated."

07.06.2002

British troops could police Kashmir
This can hardly be the New Imperialism that New Labour speaks about. I mean, British troops in India and Pakistan?

British troops in Estonia or Switzerland - that would be new!
England 1 - Argentina 0
Nestor Gorojovsky from Buenos Aires writes:

"Such is life.

England won the Argentine-England match on the World Soccer Cup.

Penalty by Pochettino, 1-0, the whole English team ran back to their field and made access to the goal line impossible. The right thing to do.

England deserved the victory. I send my homage to that great lion Seaman (a goalkeeper of 39 who gallantly became a youthful Gallahad against Argentinean attackers), my warm salute to the British working
class who offered her best children to the team, and another -less warm- one to the former colonial subjects who make their old slaveowning and opium-introducing masters the present of their talents.

But I want to add a domestic, Argentinean, political comment.

During the whole week before the match, the Argentinean media were hammering in our heads the wishy-washy and false idea that this was "just another match". Demalvinisation is still full gear. They were trying to make us forget the obvious symbolism of the situation: "if we can at least be better than them on soccer, then we can expect to be better than them on any field of human life"

The English fans gave them the answer: when they realized (say, around the 35/40 minutes of the second part) that they were winning the match, a brass band that was with them began to play "Rule Britannia".

They don't forget. Neither do we. Only the commercial media in Argentina look elsewhere.
Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky"
My Escape from Maxim
Great story by former editor at the US-edition of Maxim.

06.06.2002

I took the bait
A polar bear called NZ asked people to send in lefty and liberal sites. So I did.
Microsoft to charge for e-mail forwarding
Bad news for hormail.com-users, some good news for mailinglist moderators:
"In an e-mail notice to Hotmail users, MSN announced that for $19.95 a year, MSN Extra Storage would allow them to continue to use POP Mail Retrieval. The POP service allows customers to access various e-mail accounts through one Hotmail account.

In addition, the paid service provides 10MB of Hotmail storage, allowing people to send and receive larger attachments, and ensures that unused accounts will not expire. Hotmail requires its free users to log on every 30 days to keep an account active."

Ahh... to get rid of all those dead hotmail-adresses.

05.06.2002

Jesus of Siberia
"Sergei Torop was a traffic cop in the small Russian town of Minusinsk until 1989, when he announced that he was the son of God. Now he commands a following of thousands and rules over a large swath of the Siberian mountains."
Antiimperialisme - Palestina - Solidaritet
This is the blog of a comrade of mine, Lars Akerhaug - only in Norwegian, and not updated very often. Still worth a visit, though.

The Long March Goes On
Interesting review of a book on the women who took part in The Long March.
The Royal Sims of Norway
Here you can download playable "The Sims-versions" of the Norwegian royal family and their hang-arounds...
This Is Only a Test...
The 'defense' alluded to in this section of TCS must be 'in defense of racism'. I found this via Remco, who also reminds us of another US test.

04.06.2002

The Spanish state moves to ban Batasuna
"The lower house of the Spanish parliament has voted to outlaw the political arm of the Basque separatist organisation ETA.
Deputies voted by 304 to 16 in favour of the bill to ban the Batasuna party, which the Justice Minister, Angel Acebes, described as being part of a terrorist movement. "
G8 murder squad
Dawn from Canada writes: "Brig.-Gen. Ivan Fenton has publically covered his ass for deaths of unarmed civilians and peaceful protesters at the upcoming Greed8 summit in Kananaskis.

In an interview with the calgary herald, Fenton said "terrorists could very easily use the "peaceful" protesters as a cover to slip into Kananaskis" and that "his soldiers might mistake a protester for a terrorist if there's a confrontation in the dark, forested environment of Kananaskis."

This is so frustrating. How many problems today can be attributed to terror or terrorism? How easy is it for the people in power to do so? I fear attending the Greed8 in Kananaskis, I am too scared to excercise my democratic right to protest."

Here in Oslo there has been a lot of fear-inducing statements from the police in the run up to the Worldbank ABCDE-conference in june, but none as bad as this.

I hope the mobilistations are large and defiant, to counter such propaganda of fear.

03.06.2002

Australian indigenous languages suffer in budget
"Indigenous languages and the stolen generations were another casualty of the 2002-03 federal budget. The $7.2 million previously allocated to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) for preserving and maintaining Indigenous languages was almost halved under the new federal budget.

ATSIC invests around $4.2 million annually in the preservation and revitalisation of Indigenous languages. During the last three years, it has received an extra $9 million to help reunite members of the stolen generations with their Indigenous languages."
Terror war must target 60 nations, says Bush

"The United States must be prepared to take the War on Terror to up to 60 countries if weapons of mass destruction are to be kept out of terrorists’ hands, President Bush said at the weekend"
The absence of World Cup tickets
Here in Norway no national, public channel show the World Cup. It's available through Danish or Swedish TV, and via pay-per-view.

In South Korea and Japan, tens of thousands of seats are empty but the fans are without tickets...

The game is being taken away from the fans. Just see what Norwegian capitalists are doing to Wimbledon.
Lincoln Brigade Memorial
As my great-grandfather fought in the International Brigades, Thälmann batttalion, I'm very happy to see the Abraham Lincoln Brigade-fighters honoured.

30.05.2002

One Nation, Overseas
Good story on Filipino OFWs.
Startled marines find Afghan men all made up to see them
""It was hell," said Corporal Paul Richard, 20. "Every village we went into we got a group of men wearing make-up coming up, stroking our hair and cheeks and making kissing noises."

At one stage, troops were invited into a house and asked to dance. Citing the need to keep momentum in their search and destroy mission, the marines made their excuses and left. "They put some music on and ask us to dance. I told them where to go," said Cpl Richard. "Some of the guys turned tail and fled. It was hideous.""
SquidLink
I gave a kinda crass review of this blog for the Peer-2-Peer blog review project. Well, the reviewee liked my blog quite a lot... Thanks!
The Shetland Islands: Bilingual signs to attract Scandinavian tourists?
Strange story:
"The Shetland Islands Council has asked the Scottish Executive for funding to put up bilingual signs - in English and the ancient Viking language of Norse. The initiative is an attempt to encourage tourism from Scandinavia."

29.04.2002

I'm off!
... to a sunny country far away. For three weeks. I may check in on the Internet somewhere and possibly even post something. But it's unlikely.
See you!

25.04.2002

Potato Chips and Snacking: Taquitos.net
I lnked this site linked in defiance of this Swedish study:
Bread, potatoes may be cancer risk
"Acrylamide is formed during the preparation of food and occurs in many foodstuffs ... Many of the analyzed foodstuffs are consumed in large quantities, e.g. potato crisps, French fries, fried potatoes, biscuits and bread."

24.04.2002

South Africa's spaceman set for blast-off
"The internet tycoon will become the world's second space tourist to take off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan."
"Mr Shuttleworth has reportedly paid £20m (£14m) for a ticket into space."

Comment from Gil-Scott Heron:
Whitey on the Moon - Gil-Scott Heron (1972)

A rat done bit my sister Nell with Whitey on the moon.
Her face and arms began to swell and Whitey's on the moon.
I can't pay no doctor bills but Whitey's on the moon.
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still while Whitey's on the moon.

The man just upped my rent last night cuz Whitey's on the moon.
No hot water, no toilets, no lights but Whitey's on the moon.
I wonder why he's uppin me. Cuz Whitey's on the moon?
I was already givin' him fifty a week but now Whitey's on the moon.

Taxes takin' my whole damn check,
The junkies makin' me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin' up,
And as if all that shit wasn't enough:

A rat done bit my sister Nell with Whitey on the moon.
Her face and arms began to swell but Whitey's on the moon.
Was all that money I made last year for Whitey on the moon?
How come there ain't no money here? Hmm! Whitey's on the moon.

Ya know, I just about had my fill of Whitey on the moon.
I think I'll send these doctor bills
airmail special....
to Whitey on the moon.
Venezuelan coup plotter 'in Miami'

"In the aftermath of Venezuela’s failed coup, the United States faces further potential embarrassment after the discovery that several alleged coup leaders fled to Miami."

23.04.2002

Lingual minorities in Norway
This site opened recently. It's run by Læringssenteret, which is a state institution for developing textbooks and software for schools. They've made a site for lingual minorities in Norway, but should have done some more fact- and spellchecking, I think:
"The website is currently available in four languages: Norwegian, English, Spanish and Albanian. The plan is to gradually translate the site into more languages when it becomes possible to be able to read other fonts than alphabetic language on the Internet. This is difficult at the present time, but we are working on the problem so that we can translate the website into more languages"

"At the moment some parts of translations are not available in English, Spanish and Albanian."

"Choose who you want to be: pupil, parent/guardian, school employee
In the left panel under the title ”Skolenettet” you can choose to receive information especially designed for those who want to use the pages."

"On these pages you will find information on colleges and universities, and their course, in Norway."

This site reminds me of engrish.com...
Petition: A salute to the people of Jenin
"We thank the people of Jenin for having reminded us what freedom is, and what it is worth. We know that you have paid a terrible price and therefore send you our small contribution to the rebuilding of what today lies in ruins: A free Palestine."

22.04.2002

Anarchist blogs
Not many yet, but I liked this one: Anarchist Librarians
Vincent's Glossblog
A very cool blog on language. Found through Metafilter.
Good point on France
Emmanuel Goldstein writes: "[This] has a big lesson for the liberal minded pro-Europeans (most pro-Europeans tend to fall into that category). If Britain is to embed every important governmental function within Brussels, what’s to stop the machinery falling into the wrong hands? Precious little.

Austria (junior coalition partner), Italy (two junior coalition partners) and now France – that’s a pretty bad track record for Far Right breakthroughs. I know that none of these guys could be judged to be down the line fascists, especially in Austria, but these are not marginal countries but in at least two cases are more in the heart of Europe than we are.

This may very well be a high watermark for the European right – for in the EU where are extreme nationalists going to make more gains. Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland are the only three countries where extreme nationalists have the electoral machinery necessary for a breakthrough – and none of these countries is particularly large.

However, this may be the high water mark for this particular tide, ten or fifteen years hence there may be another tide like this. What can we do then? Nothing if we’re in Europe."

The argument usually goes that the EU stems the rise of "far right nationalism", or fascism. I agree with self-confessed reactionary E. Goldstein: the EU fosters this sort of nationalist baclash, and with the left being either antinational or weak (or both...) the swing goes towards parties like FN or Fremskrittspartiet here in Norway.
Mid-East conflict plays out in Oslo
"Supporters of both Israelis and Palestinians demonstrated in Oslo over the weekend, with Norwegian politicians speaking on behalf of both sides. Meanwhile, UN envoy Terje Rød-Larsen, who's long been involved in Middle East peace efforts, won full support from the UN for his criticism of Israel's "inhumane" actions in a Palestinian refugee camp."

Boycott news: Defense Minister calls Israeli ammo deal a 'mistake'
"Norway's defense minister was on the defensive herself on Monday, blaming a recent controversial purchase of ammunition from Israel on a breakdown in internal routines. She said no one wants to buy military equipment from Israel right now."

21.04.2002

If you want a free vote, ask nicely
"Since its ground-breaking experiments in vote-counting in Florida two years ago, the United States has been universally recognised as the chief innovator in the field of democratic principles. Therefore, one of the factors that must surely confer legitimacy on any democracy would be approval by the United States."

Snigger your way throught this piece by Terry Jones in The Observer.
Shock 'success' for French far right
Scary... It seems the second round of the French presidential election will be between Chirac and Le Pen. The turn-out is a record low, with about 28% abstention.

20.04.2002

Pro-Palestinian Protest, Oslo, April 20th
Pro-Israel blogger Bjørn Stærk provides us with several pics from the pro-Palestine demo today. It's at least a demo a week these days. Bjørn managed to catch the back of my mother's head in there too...
Stabæk-Vålerenga 0-0
Check out pictures of the VIF support on this away game! 0-0 is a boring, and therefore satisfactory result. I can't handle the suspense with all these goals, it's more healthy for me with goalless draws.
Boycott News
The Danish union SID cancelled a €9000 order with Israeil Software company Radix in protest at the Israeli war on Palestine. This led to 2000+ emails to the union, several of which can be read here (if you use MS Outlook, which I don't...).

19.04.2002

Footnotes to History
"The nations you didn't learn about in high school geography"

A large overview over small nations and states. Via Antijoe.com
Quote of the day
"I write English like a dead language. This is probably will-power."
(Why I Write in Welsh, Bobi Jones)
Got this from Nick Davies Morfablog, they were about the only words I understood on this welsh-language blog.

UPDATE: Cool. Stationmaster is meistr yr orsaf in welsh. By the way, the name of this blog is just a nickname I got at the Leftist Trainspotters list.
CIA Gets Huge Rise in Anti-Terrorism Funds-Senator
They had such success in Venezuela...
Feds might use Microsoft product for online ID
"Forget about a national ID card. Instead, the federal government might use Microsoft's Passport technology to verify the online identity of America's citizens, federal employees and businesses, according to the White House technology czar."

18.04.2002

LO calls for Israeli boycott
"Norway's largest labour organization, the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions (LO), is calling for a boycott of all Israeli products. LO is a long-time supporter of Israel, but now has clearly lost patience with the Israeli government's ongoing aggression in Palestinian areas.", Aftenposten reports.

"The action by LO is significant, because LO is a traditional supporter of Israel with longtime ties to Israel's Labour party and labour movement. Norway in general has spent years trying to help bring peace to the region, and has spent millions of taxpayer funds on peace initiatives and aid to both sides."

Warbloggers will be pleased to note the last paragraph:
"With its call for a boycott, LO now risks being hit with a flood of hate mail like that aimed recently at Norway's embassy in the US and Norwegian media outlets, from Israeli supporters who won't tolerate criticism of or opposition to Israeli policies."

The rest of us can be pleased at this: Sale of Israeli vegetables are down 30%, as are the sale of Israeli wines from the Vinmonopolet, the state monopoly on wines and liqour.
Cancer claims explorer Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl was an extraordinary man. I remember reading his fascinating books about the seafaring expeditions he undertook.
Not always in accordance with science, neither in theory nor practice, but always exciting.

Even though I often disagreed with him, especially about his latest works, he got people curious about anthropology and history. And he could tell a story...

UPDATE: Obituary from The Independent.
Jesus Online buys Google-ad for poll
If you search for Israel on Google in Norwegian, you get a sponsored link to the above poll.
Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, asks after reading this piece by Fredrik Norman: "Are there any anti-Israeli leaders in Norway who aren't former Communists, or Nazi sympathizers, or both?"

The main speaker at this saturday's demo in Oslo for peace in the Middle East will be Jens Stoltenberg, chairman of the Labour Party.

Also, veteran Conservative leader and former PM Kåre Willoch is outspoken on Israel and Palestine. In this Dagbladet interview he says: "Yassir Arafat is criticized for not getting paople to reconcile with the occupation. The Americans doesn't know what occupation is, not having suffered it themselves recently. It seems some Norwegians also does'nt understand what it is. It's sad seeing Norwegian politicians appeal to both sides for peace. they should have seen long ago that doesn't help. Israel must pull out of the occupied territories. The Palestinians must get their own state. The border to Israel must be approximately the ones from before 1967. First then can there be a lasting peace."
The IE back-button attack
"Swedish security researcher Andreas Sandblad has discovered that the MS Internet Explorer history list allows JavaScript in the URLs. The code will execute in the same zone as the last URL visited. The error page generated by IE functions in the local computer zone. Thus when an error page is generated, JavaScript can be injected in the history and executed by using the back button."

17.04.2002

Move to Protect World's Only Women's Language
This is fascinating... In Hunan, China, there still exists an ancient language only used by women. The Chinese are now trying to preserve it.
The spiritual journey of a Sami lesbian
Came across this blog by accident. Whenever I lament the fact that I'm past 25 and wish for the good old teenage years, pages like this sets me straight (no pun intended)...

"But every time you speak those words I lose a little more of my belief in my family, and the holidays are not so fun and the family gatherings are not so fun and I wish you would stop telling me these things. I do not wish to become older and wiser, sometimes childhood faith is worth keeping."

No worries, Snowy Grrr, it gets better.
Strange stuff in the referral log
How on earth did I get hits on my site from this page???
404 page not found
Finally, some good avice in a 404 message.
EU demand to get the whole world privatised dismays yes-sayers
Charlie Stross, an EU-voter, comments on the Guardian-article on EU demands for privatising the rest of the world.

16.04.2002

Operation Anaconda Leaves Bitterness in Its Wake
"Nearly a month has passed since American-led Operation Anaconda ended here in the silver-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Now the Americans are targets of residual hate and resentment in a province where support for the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist network remains strong."

15.04.2002

Oxfam: EU protectionist against poor countries
"A report by Oxfam finds that the EU has higher barriers than any other large industrialised economy to imports from developing countries, despite its move last year to open its market to products from the very poorest nations. Oxfam claims that by preaching free trade while protecting their own markets, the world's poorest countries are being robbed off billions of dollars each year."

"Oxfam says developing countries lose 100billion a year
Oxfam ranks Europe first according to an index, which measures protectionism by the world's biggest trading powers, followed by the US, Canada and Japan. Oxfam estimated that high tariffs and subsidies cost poor countries 100billion dollars a year, which is twice as much as they receive in aid, the Guardian writes."

This story came as no surprise. This one, however, shook me a bit:
Norway: Majority now backs EU membership
French presidential elections
Bjarke Friborg links to several articles on the far left candidates in the April 21st presidential election in France.

14.04.2002

Finally! Football season has started!
Tonight I went to watch Vålerenga play Bodø/Glimt in the opening match of the Norwegian Football League. We only managed 1-1, but the sheer joy of the season opening made up for that.
UPDATE: Check out pictures of the Tifo here.
Viva Chavez!
Soldiers on Miraflores Palace, Caracas

This is written by Chris Brady for the Marxism mailing list:

Fracas in Caracas
For your files and forwards:
Let us not forget these important and telling gringo gaffs:

“…on Thursday, the military installed Carmona, a development that the
United States later
greeted as a step toward 'democracy'.”
—DPA (German press agency) Sun, 14 Apr 2002:
"Chavez set to return to Venezuelan presidency"


“The United States, which disliked Chavez for his friendship
with Cuban President Fidel Castro and fretted about his
populist leadership, was clearly pleased to see the back of
him. U.S. officials said they considered there had been no
coup.”
—By Jason Webb (Reuters) CARACAS, Venezuela, April 14 2002

[USA supports democracy by cheering something that walked like a coup,
swam like a coup, flew like a coup...]:

“The Bush administration laid the blame for Mr. Chávez's overthrow
firmly with the ousted leader. Officials portrayed the ouster as a
victory for democracy, even though Mr. Chávez was a legitimately elected
president.

“"We know that the action encouraged by the Chávez government provoked
this crisis," said Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman. The Chávez
government, he added, suppressed a peaceful demonstration and fired on
unarmed protesters.

[snip]

“Among Mr. Carmona's most pressing tasks now will be to assuage concerns
in other countries about how Mr. Chávez's reign ended and deal with the
polarization between rich and poor that divides this country, analysts
familiar with Venezuela said.

“ "The goal for his successors is to effectively tackle the pressing
socio-economic issues that brought Chávez to power with so much popular
support," said Russell Crandall, a Latin America specialist at Davidson
College in North Carolina. "Chávez was right about the problems he saw
in Venezuela. He was wrong about the solutions and the Venezuelan people
made that very clear." ”
[what have those Venezuelan people made very clear lately?]
—By JUAN FORERO New York Times, April 13, 2002
Venezuela's Chief Forced to Resign; Civilian Installed
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/international/americas/13VENE.html


Perhaps most amusing is JUAN FORERO’s fawning portrait of Pedro Carmona
Estanga.
Here are some quips, oops, sorry, I mean “quotes”:

CARACAS, Venezuela, April12 — In one day, the man in charge in the
presidential palace went from a strong-willed populist known for his
rambling speeches to a mild-mannered businessman who chooses every word
carefully.
[snip]
Mr. Carmona promised "freedom, pluralism and respect for the state of
law" and said general elections would be called within a year.
[snip]
Mr. Carmona could not be more different from Mr. Chávez. Although Mr.
Chávez cherished attention from the news media and world leaders, Mr.
Carmona has never been comfortable in the limelight. Mr. Chávez sought
power, even starting a failed coup in 1992, when he was an army colonel,
before winning office in an election in 1998.
"This has never been his aspiration," said Rafael Sandrea, a
friend who is in Mr. Carmona's business group. "He fell into it because
of the circumstances."
[this is so Malvolio!]
Mr. Carmona, experts said, is a level-headed manager who is also known
as a conciliator.
[snip]
"He's a guy who's looking for compromises and solutions that everyone
can work with," said Robert Bottome, editor of Veneconomía, a business
newsletter here. "He has the style of personality that is exactly right
for this moment."
[snip]
Slight and meek, he often appeared sitting behind a desk, reading a
statement or giving a precise response to the reporters' microphones
that surrounded his baldish head.
He would sometimes seem overwhelmed, but he always managed to
remain calm.
[snip]
worked hard to get where he is.
[snip]
[end]
—By JUAN FORERO New York Times, April 13, 2002
MAN IN THE NEWS
“Manager and Conciliator Pedro Carmona Estanga”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/international/americas/13CARM.html

Tim Weiner might be the NYT’s bromo for Forero:
“When is a coup not a coup? When the United States says so, it seems –”
—By TIM WEINER, New York Times, April 14, 2002
“A Coup by Any Other Name”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/weekinreview/14WEIN.html?ex=1019751292&ei=1&en=3a9d8434418b4814

"Grrr..." and "Yay!"
There has been something wrong with Blogger this weekend, so my most recent posts on the Venezuela didn't show up until the coup was over. But hurray for that!

13.04.2002

News on Venezuela coup
Chavez did NOT resign:
Election pledge for Venezuela
"Chavez's version

Military leaders said Mr Chavez resigned at their insistence after he ordered troops and civilian gunmen to fire on a crowd of more than 150,000. At least 13 people died and more than 240 were injured. But Mr Chavez's daughter insisted he was the victim of a coup. "It is a lie, all lies. He said he never resigned, that a group of military took him away and he is being held incommunicado," she said. Mr Chavez won a landslide victory in 1998, six years after he led an abortive coup as a young paratroop officer. Following events of the last few days, oil production and distribution are beginning to return to normal for the world's fourth-largest oil producer after workers abandoned their action."

[NB!] But PDVSA has suspended oil exports to Cuba in protest at Havana's support for Mr Chavez who agreed cheap rates with President Fidel Castro.

U.S. gasoline prices tumble as Chavez exits
"U.S. oil prices fell heavily for the second straight day on Friday as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' resignation eased disruptions at the key U.S. supplier and brightened drivers' hopes for cheaper gasoline at the pump this summer."
The Axis of "Libertarian" Evil
Justin Raimondo on pro-Israel libertarians and randians, like fellow Norwegian Fredrik K.R. Norman.

12.04.2002

Report from Colombia/Venezuela
Insightful report from Colombia on the recent events in Venezuela.
Businessman to head Venezuelan transitional government
This is a sad development. Viva Chavez! Viva la revolucion bolivariano!
Norwegian state backs off on tough anti-terrorism measures
"Criticism from Norway's top public prosecutor has prompted the Justice Minister to reject proposals for use of untraditional methods to fight terrorism. Nor will there be any general prohibition against planning or preparing terrorist acts."

But still no definition of terrorism, or what terrorist acts which would not be covered by ordinary criminal law...
Call me middle-class and I'll punch you
Hard-hitting class analysis from Julie Burchill.
Palestine Militias Rising
Very interesting article on the Palestinian resistance in The Nation.

10.04.2002

A quarter of US bombs missed target in Afghan conflict
"One in four bombs and missiles dropped by the US on Afghanistan may have missed its target, but the 75% success rate was higher than those achieved during the Kosovo and Gulf wars, according to the first assessments made by the American military."

09.04.2002

My review of Squidlink

This review is part of the Peer-to-Peer Review project.

Squidlink is a typical personal blog. It mostly revolves around what Canadian Marc Kelsey does everyday.

He states that "I decided to set up this website because it combines my interests in writing, left-wing politics, arguing and computers.", and I would've enjoyed the blog more if these interests took up more of the blog.

I guess if you know Marc, you'll enjoy the blog, and it's quite well written. It's a fairly well designed too, although the coulour scheme is hard to read.

There is a webcam there, but on the whole there aren't many extras.
Philippine army kills rights group leader, members
"The deputy secretary general of human rights group Karapatan in Southern Mindanao and three of her companions were killed in what her colleagues described as a massacre perpetrated by military and paramilitary elements in Arakan, Cotabato on Saturday."
In related news:
More than 2,600 US troops due in Philippines this month
Bjarke på nett
My friend Bjarke Friborg has set up his own blog.
Demo for Palestine
These are pictures from 2500-strong pro-Palestine demo in Oslo April 6th.

05.04.2002

The USA can't help
"Like all US foreign policy, the USA's latest intervention into the Middle East is self-serving. It has less to do with what is happening in Israel or the occupied territories than with boosting America's standing on the world stage. The USA's role in the Middle East was always instrumental to its broader foreign policy concerns - and that remains the case today." writes Brendan O'Neill. A refreshing counterpoint to the many calls for *more* US intervention - as if the US hasn't had their hands in this situation from the start.
Majority of Norwegians support palestinians
"A fresh poll shows a large majority of Norwegians now support the Palestinians in the Middle East crisis."

03.04.2002

News from Nepal
The Maoist Information Bulletin 3 is out.
FreeTranslation.com
Here is an online English-to-Norwegian translation service. I'd be thrilled to find a service doing Norwegian-to-[Any language]. Are there any out there?
More news from Palestine etc.
Tom Kristensen does a swell job collecting newsstories from the war on Palestine. Several stories in Norwegian too, for those not scandinavically challenged.
Jaks daily Palestine death toll
Jak from Vancouver publishes a daily update on the casualties in the second intifada. It's a great service, so check it out.

01.04.2002

Slow blogging during easter
Spent my time eating and watching TV, without an Internet connection for miles around. So no blogging during the easter holidays.

The People's Blog - Countdown to the Revolution
Bjørn Stærk does an April's Fools Day version of his site. It's far better than the original, Bjørn!

27.03.2002

NPA declare Good Friday ceasefire
Congratulations on the NPA 33rd anniversary!
Abe Lincoln and the internet pirates
Disney CEO Michael Eisner namedrops Abraham Lincoln and Vaclav Havel to show us how evil P2P-filesharing is. The Havel-bit is a real gem:
"Mr Havel, president of post-cold-war Czech Republic, wrote in 1995: "The separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, the universal right to vote, the rule of law, freedom of expression, the inviolability of private ownership ... enable man to live in dignity, freedom, and responsibility.""
What president of a capitalist country hasn't said something like this?

26.03.2002

Food drops found to do little good
An obvious story.
Missing Manic: Feet found
Have they found Richey Edwards' feet?
Poto passed in joint session of Parliament
Draconian anti-terrorist laws passed in India.
The Social Props of Bush's Terrorist War
A good article from the Ray O. Light group.
Liisas Skanlog
Wow. It's a German blog on a Swiss domain devoted to Scandinavia, and mostly Norway, it seems. Thanks for the permalink, Liisa!
The great game email list
For those of you who are interested in the the oil-and-gas-pipelines approach to the war in Afghanistan, like mentioned here, a good email list to join would be The great game.

25.03.2002


"Tribal Leaders in Pakistan Warn the U.S. to Keep Out
Tribal leaders from the treacherous mountainous areas along the border with Afghanistan have an unambiguous message for American commanders who have suggested that they might enter the region in pursuit of Al Qaeda fighters: Don't"

23.03.2002

The strange battle of Shah-i-Kot
I've looked for this kind of article! Brendan O'Neill goes through all the stories on the Shah-I-Kot battle. This is a must-read.

UPDATE: Comment from Jak.

21.03.2002

Paris returns
My all time favourite rapper Paris returns after several years out of the spotlight and some not so good records. He has returned to the more poltiticised lyrics of the earliest albums too... this looks very promising indeed.
EFF: Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism
The Electronic Frontier Foundation tracks attacks on free speech, and lists website shutdowns and information removals.
Marines to face guerrilla war as Taleban fighters change tactics
As I've said all the time, the war is just beginning. And as I've also said a lot: the basic ideas of protracted people's war are still valid - the US hasn't beat the Afghan resistance despite their enourmous armory.

20.03.2002

Norwegian weblogs
Remco Brink has made a good directory to Norwegian weblogs, so I changed my link to his site in the bar to the left.
Only three Norwegian blogs are listed in the Pepys directory...
The Wild growth of the weblog
An article in Norwegian on weblogging.

19.03.2002

War on terror: Burma next?
"The United States has declared the Wa drug dealers are important targets in the war on terrorism, a significant policy change that could put the Burma-based narcotics cartel in the US bullseye.

Diplomatic sources in Bangkok said it was clear US policy in the region is quickly evolving, and will put pressure on Burma to strike fast and hard against drug kingpin Wei Hsueh-kang or risk intervention from outside."

18.03.2002

Hidden Buddha may have survived
Good. A buddha statue the Taliban disn't get round to destroying!

17.03.2002

St. Patrick's day special
Brendan O'Neill: Paddywhackery goes global

"Thanks, but no thanks. If Irishness is nothing more than an attitude, a football top or the right colour hair dye from a bottle, you can keep it. I'll pretend to enjoy a few pints of the black stuff on Sunday - but I won't pretend to be Irish."


15.03.2002

So what happened to the anthrax investigation?
Jak from Vancouver looks at what happened to the anthrax investigation on her very fine blog.

UPDATE: BBC has a story on the anthrax mailings being a CIA experiment gone bad.

14.03.2002

Mohammed Atta's visa application
The Smoking Gun has scans of Atta's approved visa application. One thing this story did for me was to give some reassurance: however bad the backlog at the office is, someone is always worse.

UPDATE: WSWS has a very good article article on the Atta visas, pointing out that many of the post-11/9-detainees may have done nothing more than the crime of being among the unprocessed files at INS's private subcrontractors.
The commodification of Britney Spears
Need an example of commodification and alienation for a study circle in Marxism? The editor of fansite worldofbritney.com has closed the site down, and explains why.

13.03.2002

Israel attacks the international press

"Any PR is good PR" they must think...

Israeli Army Fires on Journalists
"Israeli forces fired for 10 to 15 minutes from tank-mounted machine guns on a hotel where journalists were photographing armor targeting the al-Amari refugee camp early Tuesday."

Italian journalist killed by Israeli tank fire in West Bank town, doctors say
"An Italian photographer was killed by machine gun fire from an Israeli tank in Ramallah early Wednesday, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said. A French photographer was injured by shrapnel and an Egyptian journalist was shot at, also in the West Bank town."
The battle that was over

The claims that the fighting in Gardez is over doesn't all much water...

Allies split over peace plan to let fighters escape


US making tall claims on fighting: French military

Afghan governmentt fears uprising in east

U.S, Allies Seize Shah-e-Kot Valley
"I think we got a lot of them but we're not really sure," one U.S. special forces soldier said, refusing to give his name. He said there were apparently hundreds of caves in the area, many of which were believed to have collapsed in the bombing."
Blogspot down...
Blogspot.com has been down all day, therefore no updates. I'm thinking of migrating here. But I do love the"blog this" bookmarklet.

12.03.2002

Arafat Accuses Israel of Tattooing Numbers on Prisoners' Arms
"Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday accused Israeli troops of tattooing numbers on the arms of dozens of Palestinian prisoners in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank."
'Inadequate' US troops pulled out of battleground
"HUNDREDS of American troops were pulled out of the ground battle with al-Qaeda forces because they failed to adapt to the guerrilla tactics required for fighting in the mountains, according to their Afghan allies.
More than 1,000 Afghan troops rushed to the front line yesterday to take up the slack after the withdrawal of 400 US troops from the mountains of eastern Afghanistan."
Indian rebels shoot exam cheats
"At least seven people have been shot and injured in the past few days in what appears to be a draconian attempt to clean up the state's education system. "
"The outlawed Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) has said it carried out the attacks, saying it believed in quality education and would not allow anyone to get through exams by cheating. "
Jihad in Afghanistan
Read the spin from the other side:
SECRET MESSAGE SENT TO MUJAHIDEEN FOR NEGOTIATIONS OF CAPTURED US SOLDIERS
50 SOLDIERS KILLED IN DESTRUCTION OF 6 US HELICOPTERS IN GARDEZ
"THE MUJAHIDEEN HAVE AN UPPER HAND OVER THE US TROOPS ", US SOLDIERS ACCEPT
Afghan battle 'over'
Any bets on how many times we will here this over the next months?
UPDATE: It's not over, Pentagon says.

11.03.2002

Norwegian poodle is the King of Crufts
First we beat Canada in curling, and now the British in poodling.
Norwegian ambulance drivers protest against Israeli attacks
This happened the 9th of March. It was a very impressive action, sadly I haven't found pictures of it on the web.

06.03.2002

Dismiss the Killer Government of Gujarat!
The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation on the events in Gujarat.
Zim Watch
Emmanuel Goldstein's continues providing interesting links on the Zimbabwe elections.
Hunters up in arms after EU game proposal
"EU bureaucrats in Brussels are preparing legislation so shocking for Norwegian hunters that they don't know whether to laugh or cry. The EU wants all game butchered at approved plants and immediately frozen. A trained specialist must be in the vicinity to assess the suitability of the game as food. Further, the EU wants to ban giving game to family or friends."

Now, my hope is this: the Norwegian government finally shows some guts and ardently refuses this. If the Eu still pressurizes Norway into this, we'll never, ever vote 'Yes', and most likely the demand to ditch the undemocratic European Economic Agreement will rise. So, for once I say: Go Brussels, don't back down now!

UPDATE: Fellow Norwegian and not-so-fellow Ayn RandianFredrik Norman also comments on this. A right-left convergence if I ever saw one.
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05.03.2002

"We were soldiers - Green Beret II
Brendan Miniter: "Mr. Gibson's film, which he might have named "We Were Soldiers, Not Baby Killers," is an argument for honoring the Americans who fought in Vietnam--and what they fought for. John Wayne's 1967 film "The Green Beret" made the same argument, and leftists have despised it since the day it was released. In that film Wayne dared to show the cruelty meted out by the communists and be unabashedly patriotic."

Sunday quake might have been caused by bombing
Can this really be true?
Women Rebels in Nepal
In the run-up to the International Women's Day 8th March, here's a Li Onesto story from Nepal.
Kostunica attacks Milosevic trial
"There has been little legality but much shallow, superficial... and often forged quasi-history."
German government angry at U.S. Military
"German officials on Monday expressed their extreme displeasure about the U.S. military announcement that elite German forces had joined the largest ground offensive launched in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the Defense Ministry, Franz Borkenhagen, said officials considered the American "contribution" to be unhelpful. "I am speaking in a reserved manner. I would have preferred that the information about the German deployment in this operation had not been released in this form," Mr. Borkenhagen said."

04.03.2002

Closed disinformation agency can't convince staff it's closed
"Washington, D.C. (SatireWire.com) — Following Tuesday's announcement that the Pentagon had closed the controversial Office of Strategic Influence, which allegedly was created to spread false information abroad, the agency said it has been unable to convince OSI employees to stop reporting for work."
CPI (ML) Liberation to organise rally against Gujarat riots - The Times of India
Good to see revolutionary forces organise against this awful communalism.
Afghans aghast as US military chiefs blunder into ambush
Not so tough on the ground, eh?
Norway out of Afghanistan!
An unlikely slogan if I ever heard one. Sadly, it needs to be shouted out.