US forgives Pakistani debt.

THE United States wrote off $US1 billion ($1.67 bn) in Pakistani debt in a ceremony in the capital today, one of the rewards for President General Pervez Musharraf's decision to support Washington's war on terrorism.
The debt relief represents nearly one third of what Pakistan owes the United States. The rest of the money was rescheduled on more favourable terms last year, after the US Congress approved the package.
"Today's signing represents a promise kept and another milestone in our expanding partnership," US Ambassador Nancy Powell said in a statement. "The forgiveness of $1 billion in bilateral debt is just one piece of a multifaceted, multibillion dollar assistance package."

Of course it is. The cynical, like me, might also say it's an at least semi-transparent way of keeping a known nuclear-capable Muslim nation on the US' side at a time when the Muslim world is understandably tense. Not sure if I liked the sound of this bit, though:

Powell added that "the United States is in Pakistan for the long term."

What, you mean like Afghanistan and Iraq?

posted by James Russell | 9:30 PM

Mark Steel unimpressed with the quality of lying in war reporting.

You expect lies, but usually they're found out once a war is over. But in this war the lying is so inept that it gets rumbled the next day. So the news starts "Oh, apparently that uprising we yelled about all through yesterday didn't happen" or "Ah, yes, that chemical weapons factory turned out to be an all-night petrol garage".
The military briefings must be given by one of those pathological liars you get in pubs. One day the press conference from Washington will begin: "Guess what, I won an Olympic swimming medal once. I had to swim underwater so no one could see me because I was in the secret service."
The presenters who front this bilge should say: "We're here to bring you 24-hour rolling cack that's been made up. The minute it's made up, you'll hear about it. And there's some breaking cack being made up right now, apparently Saddam has filled some clouds with anthrax and he's forcing giants in the Republican Guard to blow them towards Bournemouth. We'll bring you more as soon as it's made up."

posted by James Russell | 9:23 PM

British Poet Laureate attacks war the only way he knows how. Actually, insofar as I am able to judge poetry, it's quite good. I like the regular rhyme with the irregular division of lines, and given the pompous tripe that could've been written on the subject, Motion did a pretty decent and restrained job.

posted by James Russell | 9:20 PM

Friendly fire episode VI: attack of the Kurds.

An American warplane has bombed a Kurdish convoy in northern Iraq which included members of US special forces.
The BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson, who was travelling with the convoy, says he counted at least 10 bodies and others wounded.
It is the latest in a series of "friendly fire" incidents involving coalition forces during the Iraq war.

This gets better and better, doesn't it? What the hell is wrong with the US military? Have they got so bored targeting the actual enemy they feel a need to not only attack soldiers on their own side but also the very people they're supposed to be saving from Saddam?

posted by James Russell | 9:02 PM

The battle for Souths officially turns ugly.

The battle for control of South Sydney football club degenerated into a series of personal insults and physical threats between chairman George Piggins and television personality Andrew Denton yesterday.
During a farcical radio slanging match, the combatants accused each other of lying. Piggins called Denton a wimp and told him he would put him on his backside. [...]
"You've been happy to take my free help for 13 years. Publicly, I've done everything to support this club. Privately, you and I have disagreed," Denton said.
Piggins concurred: "Privately we've extremely disagreed." He then continued to threaten Denton. "I'm not going to cop a wimp like you standing over me. I'm telling you you're a wimp and that's all you'll ever be," Piggins said.
Denton said: "Frankly, George, if your way of resolving a disagreement is to punch me in the face ... I'm not a fighter, you could whip me with one hand tied behind your back, and if that's the way you want it then let that be an example of how South Sydney is run."

posted by James Russell | 7:34 PM

Gary S-T is clearly vexed by something said by Wog Blog. So much so that he posted his responses at all three of his blogs (here, here and here). Each one is angled in a slightly different way, though I'm left puzzling again over Gary's choice to operate three different blogs. I can understand why, for example, Scott Wickstein operates two, his main blog (Eye of the Beholder) and Ubersportingpundit. The latter is devoted to sport in order to keep the sporting stuff separate from the rest of the stuff on the main blog, which makes sense to me... but Gary's three blogs seem to have enough of an overlap between them that keeping them separate seems kind of pointless. Maybe it's just me and maybe there's some subtle differences I'm missing, but I don't get it...

posted by James Russell | 6:32 PM

Oh, before I forget, there was a sure sign last night that the war is winding down: Channel 2 actually showed the scheduled late-night program, which in this case was, of course, Rage, as guest-programmed by Wil Anderson. Not a bad show, as you'll see by the playlist. And just as well I read the newspaper today, cos the TV guide is still insisting the Bruce Lee documentary on SBS tonight will be on at 10.30 because of the one-hour war news special at 9.30, but the late TV schedule corrections printed in the paper itself tells me it's actually on at 10... so there you go, Channel 2 didn't cut to the BBC last night and SBS is only doing a half-hour news instead of one hour. Clearly, therefore, the war is nearly over...

posted by James Russell | 5:43 PM

posted by James Russell | 5:14 PM

Tex advises that he will be spending the rest of the month posting chez Castel-Dodge while he's in the US.

posted by James Russell | 5:07 PM

Looking back at Three Kings. Not a bad film, and undeniably timely viewing, but methinks the gentleman doth protest too much about its greatness. It's not that brilliant, and in the end it's not that subversive either...

posted by James Russell | 4:58 PM

Jon Pareles appears to be less than convinced by the White Stripes.

posted by James Russell | 4:33 PM

Howard: we don't need Saddam's head to win the war.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard says coalition forces will be able to claim victory in Iraq, with or without the capture of President Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi leader has appeared again on state television, and has issued a statement urging Iraqi citizens to rise up against the US-led invaders.
But Mr Howard says the fate of the Iraqi leader is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
The Prime Minister says although it would be good to see the Iraqi leader brought to justice, getting rid of the regime is the true aim.
He says he doesn't know what will symbolise a victory for the coalition.
"You claim victory when the circumstances warrant it. They don't at the moment" he said.

That's very encouraging, isn't it. We know that what we want is regime change but we don't know exactly what will constitute that... all we know is that we don't have it yet. You can't imagine what confidence those words give me in our ability to conduct this war. Are we just going to make it up as we go along like we did in Afghanistan where we went in supposedly to capture and/or kill that Bin Laden character and then settled for ousting the Taliban?

posted by James Russell | 4:29 PM

Pauline Hanson's political hopes not dead after all?

posted by James Russell | 4:19 PM

In praise of Astro Boy.

posted by James Russell | 4:18 PM

Showing signs of SARS to become a hanging offence. Actually no it isn't, I tell a slight fib, though the government is planning to declare it a quarantinable disease.

posted by James Russell | 4:06 PM