Saturday, 1 February

SEND-UP: The Spinal Tap crew is back with a mock-documentary of folk music groups this time instead of heavy metal. It's called A Mighty Wind and is expected to debut in mid-April.

Saturday, 1 February

ON THE COLUMBIA TRAGEDY: While surfing around the net today, I came across this fairly brief weblog entry worth reading, 'When will the ghouls come out?' in One Hand Clapping by Rev. Donald Sensing.

Saturday, 1 February

DEJA VU SORTIES: The [no-fly zone] patrols have served as a practice run for American pilots if they do go to war.'We've been here now for a long, long time. We're flying over Iraq every day.' During the Gulf War in 1991, it was all unfamiliar territory; this time, they would know the landscape, its bridges, cities and air defence installations. From The Gulf News.

Friday, 31 January

THE IRAQ SITUATION SEEMS TO BE HEATING UP: According to a story on the Fox News website: 'Al Qaeda is not just in northern parts of Iraq outside of Saddam Hussein's control, but is actually operating in Baghdad, the deputy secretary of state told a Senate panel Thursday. Offering a startling and cryptic preview of some of the intelligence information the Bush administration is expected to provide to the U.N. Security Council next week...' And in a precautionary measure, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has decided to pull its staff of sixty out of Iraq within three weeks, according to the AP via Al Bawaba.

From across the pond over at the BBC we learn: '...the US moved to reduce its diplomatic presence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia by offering to fly out all non-essential personnel and families. The State Department issued warnings which, while not saying war was coming, suggested US citizens avoid travelling to the two countries while saying Americans already there should consider leaving. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to meet President George W Bush on 31 January [today] to discuss the Iraq crisis.

Thursday, 30 January

SPOTTED ON A MAPLE LEAF: ***If any of you Blogspot guys have a message for mainland China, I'd be happy to, y'know, pass it along. I've got my own domain and so far I've been able to fly right under the radar. Maybe I should take over Damian Penny's old "Not yet banned in China" colophon. Of course it's all over as soon as they find out I have a red belt in deadly secret Falun Gong fighting techniques. Come on, you didn't really believe the Chinese were executing people for redirecting their qi in a freaking city park, did you? Falun Gong taught me thirty-seven different ways to kill an adult male using only my eyelids.*** From Colby Cosh's weblog up in Alberta, Canada via Instapundit.

Thursday, 30 January

THE OLD PHONE-IN-THE-SHOE TRICK? According to a story in The Guardian from U.S. sources: the United States has evidence of an orchestrated Iraqi attempt to spy on UN weapons inspectors using hidden microphones and agents, allowing Baghdad to stay one step ahead of the search for banned weapons.

Thursday, 30 January

WATCH THAT SPACE: The Zayed Centre has announced that former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter will be hosted there next week. Ritter will speak on 'the current American campaign against Iraq and the truth about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction.'

Thursday, 30 January


AN EXCLUSIVE ONION EXPOSE:

UNITED NATIONS—Responding to pressure from the international community, the U.N. ordered enigmatic candy maker William "Willy" Wonka to submit to chocolate-factory inspections Monday. [snip] The chocolate-making capabilities of Wonka's heavily fortified compound have long been a source of speculation.

Who else would tell you these things? Only The Onion [satire].

Wednesday, 29 January

CARNIVAL OF VANITIES #19: C.D.Harris is hosting this week's festival of op-ed clippings. A preliminary glimpse late last night yielded some lively selections. Acid Man is at the top of his rant and he's very sorry (/not!); Skippy the Bush Kangeroo does an impression of The Piano Man; Michele recounts a very bad trip in more ways than one; Jarl is already missing bananas in anticipation of nostalgia; and there are some about current events. The diversity of topics in itself can be refreshing, so give it a try when you have a spare moment. Yes, we're in there, too, this week.

Tuesday, 28 January

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: This evening, after the President's speech, I logged online and started surfing some of my Asian news links for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. When I started my sub-folder for the Pakistan links I decided to give The Frontier Post a go although it has been down and offline for some time. At first it seemed like it had undergone a face lift with another style template, but at least it was back online. As I surveyed the page, I was stunned to see a photo portrait in the upper right side of the page of Rehmat Shah Afridi, identified as the Chief Editor of the publication, with a notice below his name: 'Prisoner of Conscious,' Amnesty International. This is the first I have heard about this.

Monday, 27 January

GETTING AWAY WITH HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Ben Edelman has written a wonderful op-ed piece which was published in the South China Morning Post and also can be read on his website called Blocked sites will return, but with limited access. An excerpt follows.

China's traditional filtering methods were bound provoke outrage since they led to over-blocking of popular web sites. But China's more focused blocking may not elicit indignation or even notice. 'China blocks 100 dissident web sites' is a far less incendiary headline than 'China blocks one million blogs.'

Does it matter if a thief has elegant manners? What if he kisses you while picking your pocket? How about charming? Could you accept having your Rolex watch and Cherokee lifted as long as thief is charming while he robs you? And when the News interviews you about your loss, would you tell them: 'I didn't mind being robbed because he was so nice about it.'

Monday, 27 January

CENTCOM READY: According to a story in The Qatar Peninsula by Moiz Mannan, the US Central Command’s mobile headquarters in Qatar, which would be the nerve centre of possible operations in Iraq, will be fully operational in less than a week’s time when more than 1,000 military personnel arrive from Florida.

Monday, 27 January

MENA REPORT WORRIES: Iraq is booby-trapping its oilfields, planning to set ablaze some 1,500 oil wells if the country is invaded, according to US military intelligence reports. [snip] US authorities have already contacted Wild Well Control, Cudd Well Control and Boots & Coots International Well Control according to the Houston Chronicle.

Sunday, 26 January

TOURIA TIOULI UPDATE: A Special Communication from her support group based in Limoges:



***We have learned with relief the Court’s decision in Dubai, in effect dropping all charges against Touria. Even without deciding the fate of the case, this gives back to Touria her honour and her status as a victim. The legal saga is not closed though; the prosecution has 15 days to appeal the decision or to seize another court of the matter of Touria’s aggression. It is feared that she will not get back her passport before this delay.***



A (benefit) musical concert will be held in Paris in the near future to help defray the large costs of this ordeal; details will be announced. This is a link to the Main Page of Touria's Support Group.

Sunday, 26 January

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE: Want to learn Arabic from a weblog? A Canadian weblogger who is learning Arabic is sharing his class notes with anyone who wants to give it a try. This seems like a novel idea. Check out Umair's weblog (it's on tripod).

Sunday, 26 January

SLEEPERS? In a story by David Bamber, we learn . . . Almost 1,200 British Muslims trained with Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terrorist network in Afghanistan . . . Their names and personal information were found in a search of the bin Laden cave complex at Tora Bora in Afghanistan . . . Special Branch detectives fear that some of the men who cannot be traced could be plotting terrorist attacks in Britain. Linked via Joseph Farah's news weblog.

Sunday, 26 January

FROM THE 'WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO' DEPT: In an article datelined Peshawar, Rahimullah Yusufzai writes . . . In an interview conducted at a secret location on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, former Taliban military commander Ghazi Mulla said that the Al Qaida had 3,501 members spread out around the world. [snip] He explained that the 'jihad' would continue until the liberation of Bait Al Maqdas (Jerusalem), withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East and Afghanistan, and an end to Indian 'occupation' of Kashmir. --Oh, is that all?