May 31, 2004
CIA stooge Allawi gets Iraqi presidency as reward for bogus WMD claim. Exiled Allawi was responsible for the claim that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could be operational in 45 minutes. The choice of Iyad Allawi, closely linked to the CIA and formerly to MI6, as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 30 June will make it difficult for the US and Britain to persuade the rest of the world that he is capable of leading an independent government. [Source: The Independent] The naming of Mr Allawi who spent three decades in exile came as a surprise, he was evidently...
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A handgun that Saddam Hussein was clutching when U.S. forces captured him in a hole in Iraq last December is now kept by President Bush at the White House, Time magazine has reported. [...] The magazine quoted a visitor who had been shown the gun, which is kept in a small study off the Oval Office where Bush displays memorabilia. It is the same room where former President Clinton had some of his encounters with former intern Monica Lewinsky. Bush shows Saddam's gun to select visitors, telling them it is unloaded, both now and when Saddam was captured, Time...
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This weekend our phone line went dead. For no reason, it just stopped working; no pulse, no anything. I really don't know why Tunisie Telecom seem to hate me! Anyway, I don't really care for the phone line that much, what I care about is that without it I don't have access to the internet, and so no access to my blog. Now that sucks like hell! I've been itching the whole weekend waiting for a chance to blog anything, lol. Damn this sweet addicition ;)...
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May 28, 2004
I've had this idea spinning around in my head for some time now. Would full-fledged democracy work for the countries in the Middle East or not? And would the US really want these countries to have a true democracy? Currently, these countries have different levels of democracy implemented or in some cases none, but how good would it be if they went the whole way?...
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Posted on May 28, 2004 11:05 AM under:
Books
Bill Clinton's book "My Life" is still a month away from hitting the bookshelves and it's already ranked 8th. It's virtually a bestseller before it's even released. That's the power of pre-ordering. The book description says: My Life is a "riveting personal drama as well as a fascinating look a the American political arena," chronicling Clinton's life through his White House years. Seems quite interesting. I wonder how much details he'll dig up though ;) Amazon are giving a sweet 40% off the price of the book if you order now. Maybe that's why it's becoming a bestseller quickly....
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Posted on May 28, 2004 10:38 AM under:
Cinema
We saw the Farrelly brothers' movie "Stuck On You" featuring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear last night. It was quite a nice movie. I actually rented it not knowing what to expect. All I knew was that it topped the US box office when it was released and the few lines I read from the back of the DVD cover. It's a nice sweet comedy movie. Not side-splitting like some of the other Farrelly brother movies, but still a pretty good movie. It's the story of conjoined twins who seek different careers and have rather different personalities. The actors did...
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May 27, 2004
An urgent investigation has been launched in Washington into whether Iran played a role in manipulating the US into the Iraq war by passing on bogus intelligence through Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. Some intelligence officials now believe that Iran used the hawks in the Pentagon and the White House to get rid of a hostile neighbour, and pave the way for a Shia-ruled Iraq. According to a US intelligence official, the CIA has hard evidence that Mr Chalabi and his intelligence chief, Aras Karim Habib, passed US secrets to Tehran, and that Mr Habib has been a paid...
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Posted on May 27, 2004 10:09 AM under:
Link Dump
Half Life 2 Case Mod: This simply rocks! I love it. Pixar's "The Incredibles" trailer: looks awesome. What do Macs and Islam have in common?: Hmmm. A point of view. 300 images from 1800 sites: A collmection of icons and images. Blog Software Breakdown: Features & attributes of different blogging softwares. 101 Ways to Save Wired...
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May 26, 2004
After the Southpark version of me, I bring you what I would look like if I were made in Lego: This certainly brings back a lot of childhood memories. I love Lego... To see what you would look like, go here. [Via AquaCool]...
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Washington's global anti-terror policies are "bankrupt of vision" as human rights become sacrificed in the blind pursuit of security, a leading human rights group charged on Wednesday. Amnesty International also rapped partners across the world in the United States' self-declared "war on terror" for jailing suspects unfairly, stamping on legitimate political and religious dissent, and squeezing asylum-seekers. "The global security agenda promoted by the U.S. administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle," Amnesty head Irene Khan said, launching its annual report. "Violating rights at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military force...
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Tony Blair jumped the gun yesterday when he unequivocally promised that the new government in Baghdad will be able to exercise a veto over controversial US-led military operations after the handover of sovereignty on June 30. The prime minister, trying to address widespread scepticism in the Arab world and Europe that the transfer of power will be genuine, said: "Let me make it 100% clear, after June 30 there will be the full transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi government. "If there is a political decision as to whether you go into a place like Falluja in a particular...
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So, what do you know, in a month from now, this blog will be 1 year old. Time flies by so quickly when you're doing something you enjoy. And well, for that occasion, I'm thinking of launching a new design for the blog. I've been thinking about this for a while and have occasionally played around with some concepts in my free time, but I still don't have anything ready yet. I'm currently influenced by a number of other cool blog designs, even though I think what I will eventually do won't look like any of them :P Anyway, as...
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Iraq's new government is starting to take shape, with U.S. officials leaking names of a prime minister and president, but it's still unclear what power, if any, they would have over the country with a vast U.S. army hanging around. Five weeks before the interim government is due to take over from the U.S. occupation authority on June 30, U.S. officials are hinting that the prime minister will be Hussain Shahristani, a nuclear scientist who paid for his defiance of Saddam Hussein with torture and years of imprisonment in Abu Ghraib and exile. The US thinks that it has to...
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This is a list of things you shouldn't say at job interviews: 1. "What does your company do?" 2. "My salary requirements are very flexible." 3. "It would be hella cool to get jiggy with this job." 4. "Bill Gates himself offered me a $100,000 bonus." 5. "In five years, I see myself on a boat in the Caribbean." 6. "Sorry, I don't know how to do that." 7. "You see, I just went through a painful divorce. . . ." 8. "What can your company do for me?" 9. "I left my last job because my boss was a...
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May 25, 2004
Homer's ancient Greek poem "The Iliad," the basis for Hollywood blockbuster "Troy" has been compressed for a new generation too lazy to see the film let alone read the 24-book epic that runs to over 15,000 lines. The first five books of the centuries-old tale, set in the final year of the Trojan War -- which began when Trojan Paris snatched Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships) from Greece -- are now available in the language people use when sending instant messages, Microsoft said on Monday. Book Two is reduced to just 24 words of 'messenger speak',...
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So, after it happened to George W. Bush a while back, it's the turn for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry to be Google-bombed. An effort by some conservative bloggers has pushed the candidate's campaign website to the top of the result list when the word "waffles" is typed into Google. But Kerry's campaign is smarter than Bush's and they're trying to capitalize on the prank. The campaign has purchased Google AdWords, sponsored links that come up beside results when certain words are searched. The short links also refer to Kerry's website, but suggest users "read about President Bush's Waffles." Google-bombing...
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Posted on May 25, 2004 08:36 AM under:
Cinema
People who have known this blog ever since it's beginnings might have realized that I write a lot less about movies than I used to. That's basically because I see less movies now than I used to last year. Last year, we were addicted to movies, we'd watch 2 to 3 movies a day, and believe me, I'm not overdoing it. Anyway, ever since we bought a receiver and have access to satellite channels, we've been renting less movies and watching more shows and news. But still being a cinema fanatic, I have to watch a minimum number of movies...
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May 24, 2004
How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to replace a lightbulb? The Answer is SEVEN: one to deny that a lightbulb needs to be replaced one to attack and question the patriotism of anyone who has questions about the lightbulb, one to blame the previous administration for the need of a new lightbulb, one to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of lightbulbs, one to get together with Vice President Cheney and figure out how to pay Halliburton Industries one million dollars for a lightbulb, one to arrange a photo-op session showing...
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Mobile phones fitted with digital cameras have been banned in US army installations in Iraq on orders from Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, The Business newspaper reported today. Quoting a Pentagon source, the paper said the US Defence Department believes that some of the damning photos of US soldiers abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were taken with camera phones. "Digital cameras, camcorders and cellphones with cameras have been prohibited in military compounds in Iraq," it said, adding that a "total ban throughout the US military" is in the works. Disturbing new photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse, which...
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May 23, 2004
Posted on May 23, 2004 10:43 PM under:
Cinema
U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a scathing indictment of White House actions after the September 11 attacks, won the top prize Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. With Moore's customary blend of humor and horror, "Fahrenheit 9/11" accuses the Bush camp of stealing the 2000 election, overlooking terrorism warnings before September 11 and fanning fears of more attacks to secure Americans' support for the Iraq war. Michael Moore said : "I can't begin to express my appreciation and my gratitude to the jury, the Festival, to Gilles Jacob, Thierry Frémaux, Bob and Harvey at Miramax, to all of the...
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May 22, 2004
Posted on May 22, 2004 11:34 PM under:
Music
Last weekend, the first Arabian Music Awards were held in Dubai, and from what I read online, they were one big technical disaster, with loads of problems kicking in. Anyway, today Future TV aired an edited version of the awards show, and here are the main awards and their winners: - Best Male Singer: Amr Diab - Best Female Singer: Nawal Zoghbi - Best New Male Singer: Ewan - Best New Female Singer: Carol Samaha - Best Arab video clip: Elissa (Agmal Ihsas) - Best Modern Act: MTM - Best Dance Act: Guy Manoukian - Best Duet: Kathem El Saher...
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"Look, if Americans can be convinced that the President of the United States is even barely literate, they can be convinced of anything. You know, the fact that every American isn’t embarrassed by the fact that there’s an imbecile in the White House is already a problem." - Norman Finkelstein [Via: Letter From Bahrain]...
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A US army sergeant who refuses to return to Iraq because, he says, the war is illegal has been convicted of desertion by a court martial. Camilo Mejia, 28, born in Nicaragua and raised in Miami, was given a bad conduct discharge and sentenced to a year in jail on Friday. He was convicted by a special court martial at Fort Stewart army base near Savannah, Georgia. Last October, while on a two-week home leave, Mejia refused to return to his outfit in Iraq, saying the war was "illegal." He asked the military for conscientious objector status, was refused, and...
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May 21, 2004
"The demolitions are part of an ongoing war against Palestinian civilians that goes far beyond terrorist attacks. So disproportionate is the Israeli response, so indiscriminate in its attacks upon an innocent civilian population -- some 1,200 houses have been demolished in Gaza the past three years -- that Israeli actions can only be described as state terrorism. Attacks on non-combatant populations, collective punishment and the demolition of homes are all illegal under international law and constitute war crimes..." Jeff Halper, the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions...
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The Israeli Chief of Staff, Moshe Ya'alon, was quoted as saying on Saturday Israel will continue to demolish homes in Rafah, irrespective of what the rest of the world thinks. "In the past, we destroyed many homes, and apparently we will destroy many more homes in the future." As for Dan Gaillerman, Israel's UN ambassador, he says: "The resolution did not call on Israel to stop its activity and did not call on Israel to stop the demolition of houses" In addition to that, two senior Israeli officials say the number of homes destroyed by occupation forces in the southern...
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FINE This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. FIVE MINUTES If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. NOTHING This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in "Fine" GO AHEAD This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it. LOUD SIGH This is not...
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So Chalabi, the favourite US toy in Iraq for the past few years, who had all the support of the pentagon and US government and was expected to be installed as the next Iraqi president has now simply burned out. A few days ago, the US announced they'd be stopping secret payments to the Iraqi National Congress (INC), headed by Ahmad Chalabi. And yesterday his home and office were raided by the Iraqi police and American troops seeking evidence of fraud, embezzlement and kidnapping by members of his Iraqi National Congress - and perhaps an explanation of his dealings with...
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Posted on May 21, 2004 09:11 AM under:
Tunisia
So, the Arab Summit will be taking place this weekend in Tunis. Tunis is looking ever so beautiful. The flags of the Arab countries are flapping on every major street, trees have been trimmed, grass has been cut, beautiful flowers are everywhere, and all is perfect. Security is high and tight already and a big part of downtown Tunis around the location of the summit will be totally sealed off starting this afternoon. I'm curious to see what Arab leaders will come out with after this summit. There's a lot of talk about reform of the Arab league and of...
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May 20, 2004
Scenes of grief and desolation in Rafah. Rafah and Gaza continue to experience ongoing Israeli military operations at this very moment ! Israel has killed more than 30 Palestinians this week, demolished buildings and homes, purposely targeted peaceful protesters (most of them children) and terrorized people. The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the killing of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza and calling on Israel to stop demolishing homes there. Incredibly the US did not veto this resolution and simply abstained. But what difference does all this make on the ground? Words and useless resolutions don't do anything for...
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Posted on May 20, 2004 10:14 AM under:
Cinema
So, I finally got to see Kill Bill 2. And well, no need for me to say how good it was and all, you already know that by default. This movie doesn't have as much gore and violence as the first one and focuses more on the characters, which I thought was good. But even though it cuts down the violence, the movie still moves on at the same pace and keeps you at the same level of excitement. It only slows down towards the end and stops short of giving you the big ending you'd expect, which kind of...
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A German couple who went to a fertility clinic after eight years of marriage have found out why they are still childless - they weren't having sex. The University Clinic of Lubek said they had never heard of a case like it after examining the couple who went to see them last month for fertility tests. Doctors subjected them to a series of examinations and found they were both apparently fertile, and should have had no trouble conceiving. A clinic spokesman said: "When we asked them how often they had had sex, they looked blank, and said: "What do you...
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May 19, 2004
The United States is stopping secret payments to the Iraqi National Congress (INC), headed by Ahmad Chalabi, finding that the information it has provided is useless. The monthly payments of $335,000 dollars made through the Defence Intelligence Agency began in 2002. They will end 30 June, when the scheduled "transfer of power" from US-led occupying forces to an Iraqi government takes place, an official with Chalabi's group told the New York Times on Tuesday. Totalling at least $27 million, the classified programme helped the INC gather intelligence in Iraq, but internal reviews by the US government have found that much...
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U.S. forces beat three Iraqi reporters working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January in a military camp near Falluja, the three said on Tuesday. The three first told Reuters of the ordeal after their release but only decided to make it public when the U.S. military said there was no evidence they had been abused, and following the exposure of similar mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. An Iraqi journalist working for U.S. network NBC, who was arrested with the Reuters staff, also said he had...
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May 18, 2004
So, in the ever growing madness of reality tv, Lebanese TV station LBC has gone on to reinvent the Miss Lebanon competition as a reality tv show allowing people to watch the contestants living together, eating breakfast, talking, fighting and all the reality tv blah blah. This started last year and they're doing it again this year. I only caught it this year because last year we didn't have satellite channels at home and so were disconnected from all the nice bullshit they offer. I haven't taken the time to watch the girls living together because that doesn't really interest...
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Al Hurra, the Pentagon funded US propaganda channel targeted at Arabs will broadcast photos and video of Saddam-era atrocities! These should make all Americans feel better about their torture chambers, and the Arabs should realize once and for all that they have no claim to human rights. They should realize that if it weren't for the Americans coming to free them, their tortures would be these heavy-duty Saddam tortures, not that frat hazing the Americans do. [Via Je Blog, Unfair Witness]...
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May 17, 2004
Terek Dergoul, one of the five British prisoners released from Guantanamo last March, said American guards digitally recorded the beatings and abuses. He told the Observer newspaper of one assault by a five-man team of Extreme Reaction Force (ERF), saying "they pepper-sprayed me in the face and I started vomiting." "They pinned me down and attacked me, poking their fingers in my eyes and forced my head down the toilet pan and flushed," he said, speaking for the first time about his ordeal in Guantanamo Bay. "They tied me up like a beast and then they were kneeling on me,...
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So there's a big fuss over what Yasser Arafat said on Saturday calling on his people to "terrorize your enemy" as he bitterly marked the 56-year anniversary of Israel's establishment. Media are saying that he ended the speech with a quote from the Quran. "Find what strength you have to terrorize your enemy and the enemy of God" But what that verse from the Quran essentially says is: "When your enemies come up against you, show them you are prepared to fight with absolutely everything you can muster, in the hope that this will frighten them off. But if they're...
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So, Six Apart have heard blogger's problems with their new licensing plans and have responded by sweetening them, changing them a bit and clarifying some points. I personally think that now the licensing terms for MT 3.0 are better, more reasonable and more suitable for most MT bloggers....
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Massachusetts becomes the first state in the U.S. to make it legal for same-sex couples to marry. It follows a highly controversial decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, striking down the heterosexuals-only restriction in the state's marriage law. At the stroke of midnight, thousands of people broke into cheers as city clerks in Cambridge issued the first marriage license applications to to gay and lesbian couples. Several dozen couples lined up outside City Hall in the rain early Sunday to be called into a basement corridor to declare their intention to marry. As I said before, no one and...
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May 15, 2004
An article in The New Yorker Magazine says that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and one of his top aides authorized the expansion of a secret program that permitted harsh interrogations of detained members of Al Qaeda to be used against prisoners in Iraq, including detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. The article, to be published in the May 24 edition of The New Yorker, said that the expansion of the "special access program" allowed authorities in charge of Abu Ghraib to engage in degrading and humiliating practices. The article said, "According to interviews with several past and...
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So, it seems like the UK prisoner abuse photos were a hoax. UK armed forces minister Adam Ingram said an inquiry by military police found a truck seen in the Mirror's photos "was never in Iraq." The tabloid newspaper issued a statement on Friday afternoon apologizing for printing the pictures, saying it believed it had been "the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax." The paper, which has consistently opposed the war in Iraq, also said it "deeply regrets the reputational damage" done to British forces. Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan has stepped down after admitting the error. Still,...
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So South Africa was awarded the honour of hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the first time the tournament has gone to an African nation. South Africa, which narrowly lost out to Germany in the race to host the 2006 World Cup, was chosen ahead of a trio of north African bids from Morocco, Egypt and Libya. Former president Nelson Mandela, who had made an emotive case for South Africa's bid on Friday, climbed on to the stage and joyfully lifted the World Cup trophy. Tunisia already pulled out it's bid for the 2010 World Cup a few days...
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May 14, 2004
At a time when the Western world worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, a more basic device has emerged as the weapon of choice - a life itself. Data shows that the incidence of suicide attacks has increased from 31 in the 1980s to 98 in 2003 alone. The war in Iraq and escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have led to such an increase. Also, US foreign policy may be contributing to an acceleration of this trend. In a ground-breaking study, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Papp has shown that there is little connection between religious...
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