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Magnificent Magician - Robert-Houdin

lovely1245 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:41:16 +0000

Robert-Houdin who was born in Blois is often credited as being “the father of modern magic”. Before him, magicians performed in marketplaces and at fairs, but Robert-Houdin performed magic in theatres and private parties. He wore formal clothes, like those of his audiences. Many magicians today mimic this by wearing tail-coats, though some magicians consider this as old-fashioned and prefer contemporary clothes. The stage name of Harry Houdini was taken in tribute to him, though Houdini later denounced Robert-Houdin. He is widely considered the pioneer in the modern performance art of illusion.

Robert-Houdin was a watchmaker, and he made mechanical toys and machines. From an early age he had been interested in sleight of hand and juggling, and in 1845 he began to exhibit his skill, soon becoming famous for his tricks.

The Arabs of Algeria were said to be excited to rebel against French colonialists by false miracles performed by their religious leaders. In 1856, led by Napoleon 3rd the French government sent Robert-Houdin there, hoping that he might perform tricks that were far more impressive, thereby dissolving the excitement of the rebels. It is said that Robert-Houdin’s tricks, succeeded in breaking up the influence of the priests. Moreover, the Arabs became afraid of Robert-Houdin.

For a trick, he asked an Arab to shoot him with a marked bullet, but instead of killing him, the bullet was found between his teeth. After that, they believed Robert-Houdin could do anything. Robert-Houdin was not the first illusionist to perform the bullet catch and many since him have adapted their own version of the effect.

He used another famous trick to prove that French magic was stronger then local shamanism techniques: he presented an empty box with an iron bottom that anyone could lift up. By turning on an electro-magnet hidden under the floor, he made it immovable, “proving” that through will power, he could make it impossible to lift for the strongest Algerian warriors. He then claimed he could make the strong man too weak to lift a trunk that could be lifted by a small child.

He openly admitted his tricks were ‘deceptions’ to authorities, in order to avoid prosecution for witchcraft. It is obvious he lived for magic, performing even on vacation and constantly conjuring new ideas. His wife was often involved in his extremely clever and innovative tricks. Robert-Houdin’s home in Blois is open to the public as a theatre and museum called Maison de la Magie, opposite Chateau Blois.

opirg — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:22:58 +0000

You can tune in to The ShakeUp here. Just look for the Wednesday noon time slot.

From the Real News Network: Paul Jay in conversation with William Engdahl:

Why is the USA in Afghanistan?

Bio:
F William Engdahl is an economist and author and the writer of the best selling book “A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order.” Mr Engdhahl has written on issues of energy, politics and economics for more than 30 years, beginning with the first oil shock in the early 1970s. Mr. Engdahl contributes regularly to a number of publications including Asia Times Online, Asia, Inc, Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Foresight magazine; Freitag and ZeitFragen newspapers in Germany and Switzerland respectively. He is based in Germany. View clip here.

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By Murray Dobbin

Stephen Harper is clearly not moved by Canada’s rapidly decaying reputation regarding its appalling position of climate change. In a Bloomberg story I have not seen reported anywhere in the Canadian media, Harper told the South Korean National Assembly that he will “…use Canada’s co-chairmanship of next year’s Group of 20 countries meeting to urge members to put economic recovery before efforts to protect the environment.”

This is a blatant violation of the role that Canada has been given to co-chair the first meeting of the G20 as a body acknowledged as the effective replacement of the G8. Canada is now not only a rogue country on climate change but is headed by a rogue prime minister — stating openly that he will abuse his power as a co-chair to do everything he can to derail climate change action and protect the deadly tar sands of Alberta from any effort to slow down its development.

Harper’s speech in South Korea’s happened the same day that a U.S. report, published in the prestigious, peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, claimed that Alberta’s monitoring of the tar sands was completely inadequate and vastly underestimated the pollution of the environment saying that “..estimated airborne emissions of PACs [polycyclic aromatic compounds] from the industry’s activities as amounting to a major oil spill each year if they were in a single place.”

Based on its own independent monitoring of rivers, the study’s authors openly contradict the Alberta government’s claims that the pollution in the Athabasca and other rivers is due to naturally occurring hydrocarbon compounds. The study states: “At sites in the oil sands area where nearby land has not been disturbed, PAC levels in rivers are similar to what is found in remote Canadian Arctic waterways, but in areas most affected by extraction activity, they rise by 10 to nearly 50-fold, reaching amounts within the range of harm to aquatic life.”

None of this will phase Harper or the Alberta government (which has already dismissed the report) given that they inhabit what one of George Bush’s advisors called the “faith-based world” as opposed to the “reality-based” world of the scientists they detest.

But perhaps we could persuade Harper to stay home from Copenhagen where he can only do more damage. If we invited him to something he would actually like to attend, maybe he would cancel his trip. Something like:

“You are formally invited to attend a Memorial Dinner honouring Milton Friedman to be held on December 14. The gathering will include your friends and allies from the National Citizens Coalition, the Fraser Institute, and the oil industry. We would like you to address the assembled guests on the remarks you made in 1997 (quoted in the Toronto Star, April 6 1997) that conservatives “work to dismantle the remaining elements of the interventionist state…” If you could link this to your views on obstructing government action on climate change, this would be of particular interest to our audience.”

Or:

“We would like you to attend the formal opening of a private health care clinic on December 15. We would appreciate it if you could cut the ribbon opening this private, for-profit clinic and make a few remarks on how it fulfills the dream of the organization you once headed up – the National Citizens’ Coalition, that was founded by Colin M. Brown to turn back public Medicare.”

Murray Dobbin is a guest senior contributing editor for rabble.ca. Murray has been a journalist, broadcaster, author and social activist for 40 years. A board member and researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, he has written five studies for the centre including examinations of charter schools, and “Ten Tax Myths.” Murray has been a columnist for the Financial Post and Winnipeg Free Press and contributes guest editorials to the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and other Canadian dailies. He writes a regular “State of the Nation” column for the on-line journal theTyee.ca which is published simultaneously on rabble.ca. His blog is murraydobbin.ca.

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The Real News Network Exclusive: Honduran elections exposed

Honduran coup regime’s claims of more than 60% participation in free and fair election revealed as fraud

“There is wide agreement that last week’s presidential election in Honduras…” begins an editorial in Saturday’s New York Times, “…was clean and fair.” The editorial gives no hint as to whom all these people are that are in agreement, except for the ‘official’ data from the same regime that overthrew the elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, at gunpoint. The Times joins governments, commentators and editorial pages around the world that have fallen victim to the ‘official’ coup data. But, as this video shows, the proof of the fraud was sitting out in the open the whole time.

Produced by Jesse Freeston, on location in Honduras.

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Mexican Activist Murdered for Opposing Canadian Mining Company – Killing Sparks Protest at Canadian Embassy in Mexico City

Dec 03 2009

The night of November 27th, Mariano Abarca Roblero, an activist against mining in Chicomuselo, Chiapas, was murdered. Mr. Abarca was an important member of the community who had suffered threats, prison and violence due to his opposition to the mining activities of Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration.

At 10 am EST on Thursday December 3, four busloads of community members from Chiapas will arrive at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City to protest the murder of the local activist. The 130 people will travel more than 1000 km overnight from Chiapas to protest the Canadian government’s failure to regulate the international operations Canadian-based mining companies. The protest is being endorsed by the Council of Canadians and MiningWatch.

“We know that it is truly necessary to do something. If it is possible to give our life, we must. We must demonstrate we are willing to defend our mother earth with our actions and we will continue to do it,” said Abarca before his death. “If anything happens to me I blame the Canadian mining company Blackfire.”

The protesters and supporting organizations are calling on the governments of Chiapas and Mexico to take urgent measures to investigate this assassination, protect the rights of all other community activists who have opposed the mining practices of Blackfire Exploration, and suspend the company’s mining permits in Chiapas. The protest and supporting organizations are also calling on the Canadian government to enact legislation to hold Canadian extractive companies accountable for human rights and environmental impacts of their mining practices around the world.

Abarca, a member of the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA) maintained a constant struggle against the Canadian transnational Blackfire Exploration, which focuses on mining barite, gold and antimony. From June, Abarca had an encampment in the municipal capital with other members of REMA demanding the departure of the Canadian mining company.

“A man deeply involved in the protest against the Canadian mining company Blackfire has been murdered outside his home,” said Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “This tragic outcome can be traced directly to the Harper government’s refusal to end the impunity currently enjoyed by Canadian mining companies.”

-30-

For more information:

* Claudia Campero (in México), Blue Planet Project: 52 55 3015 6366, claucampero(at)yahoo.com
* Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada: (613) 569-3439, jamie(at)miningwatch.ca
* Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians: (613) 795-8685, dpenner(at)canadians.org

ACTION BY Mining Watch Canada:
Bill C-300 – Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas Corporations in Developing Countries

Aug 18 2009

Bill C-300, An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas Corporations in Developing Countries, represents the best chance we have as Canadians to assure that Canadian extractive companies follow human rights and environmental best practices when they operate overseas. It also represents our best chance to assure the accountability of our government to us, as taxpayers and citizens, by assuring that government financial and political support will not be provided to companies that breach human rights and environmental standards.

Show your support for Bill C-300.

Write to your MP and ask your MP to support Bill C-300. Sample letters below.
Background

Bill C-300 is a private members bill introduced by Liberal MP John McKay on February 9, 2009. Bill C-300 implements a number of key recommendations from the March 2007 Final Report of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Roundtables.The recommendations reflect the consensus of a multi-stakeholder advisory group that had representatives from industry and civil society groups including MiningWatch Canada.

In March 2009 the Canadian Government announced their response to the Roundtables’ final report. The Government’s response is woefully inadequate as it contains no effective complaints mechanism and no possibility of sanctions for companies not complying with voluntary guidelines.

Bill C-300 remedies these flaws. On April 22, 2009 Bill C-300 narrowly passed a vote in the House of Commons and is now being debated in the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. The voting record can be viewed here.
Bill C-300

* Would regulate the relationship between Canadian government agencies (Export Development Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Canadian Pension Plan) and Canadian extractive companies operating in developing countries.
* Would create eligibility criteria (“guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards”) for political and financial support that is provided to Canadian extractive companies by Export Development Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Canadian Pension Plan.
* Would require that “guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards” include the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards, related guidance notes, and Environmental Health and Safety General Guidelines; the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights; “human rights provisions that ensure corporations operate in a manner that is consistent with international human rights standards; and any other standard consistent with international human rights standards.”
* Would create a complaints mechanism where complaints are filed with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. If accepted, the complaint would lead to an investigation of a company’s compliance with the guidelines and a public report on findings within eight months of receipt of the complaint. A company may become ineligible for government support for as long as it is out of compliance with the guidelines.

WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT!

1. Follow this link to find your local MPs riding office and contact info (you can send your letter by e-mail).

2. See sample letter below. Add your own personal experiences, concerns, comments or observations to the letter if you like.

3. Mail, fax or email the letter to your MP

It is very important that you copy Kevin Sorenson, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, John McKay, who tabled Bill C-300, and Angela Crandall, the clerk of the committee, so that all committee members will receive a copy of your letter and know your opinion.

Because of his influential position within the Liberal Party and his poor track record on C-300 we think that MP Bob Rae deserves some special attention. If you are in his riding please see the second sample letter specific to him.

Date

Name of your local MP

Address of your local MP

Dear Mr./Ms. ____________:

SUPPORT BILL C-300 ON CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY

As a Canadian, I am appalled by regular reports that Canadian mining, oil and gas companies are involved in human rights and environmental violations around the world and by the fact that these companies often receive the direct support of the Canadian Government. The current government’s response to these concerns, which have been raised by many Canadians, is its “Building the Canadian Advantage” strategy. This voluntary approach is inadequate.

Bill C-300 responds to the need for a stronger regulatory framework to hold Canadian mining, oil and gas companies accountable, in Canada, for human rights and environmental violations overseas. Bill C-300 has garnered a huge amount of support across the country. It is supported by Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA), an organization which includes Amnesty International Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Friends of the Earth, the Steelworkers Humanity Fund, the Canadian Labour Congress, KAIROS Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, MiningWatch Canada and many other organizations. Bill C-300 has my support as well.

As my elected MP, I urge you to stand firm for environmental and human rights by supporting Bill C-300.

I would like to thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you regarding your support for Bill C-300.

Yours truly,

Your name

Your address, telephone or email address

cc:
Kevin Sorenson, Chair, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, SorenK@parl.gc.ca
John MacKay, MP. Liberal Party of Canada, MckayJ@parl.gc.ca
Angela Crandall, Clerk, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, faae@parl.gc.ca
Bob Rae

Bob Rae has a very disappointing record on Bill C-300!

* He abstained when Bill C-300 came up for a vote in the house on April 22, 2009.
* He was cynical and unsupportive during the first committee hearing on Bill C-300 on May 25, 2009,

If you are a constituent in Bob Rae’s riding, let Bob Rae know you support Bill C-300 and will be listening to his statements in committee and watching how he votes on the Bill.

See sample letter below.

Date

Bob Rae, MP
514 Parliament Street
Toronto, Ontario
M4X 1P4

Dear Mr. Rae:

SUPPORT BILL C-300 ON CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY

As your constituent, I am writing to let you know that I strongly support Bill C-300, an Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries, which will be taken up again when parliament resumes in the fall. I am writing to urge you to cast your vote in favour of this bill. I have been very disappointed to find that you did not vote in favour of Bill C-300 when it came up for a vote in the house on April 22nd and I was also disturbed by your lack of support for of the Bill in the committee hearing of May 25th.

You cannot sit on the fence on this one.

I want to see your active support for Bill C-300.

The current government’s response to these concerns, which have been raised by many Canadians, is its “Building the Canadian Advantage” strategy. This voluntary approach is inadequate.

Bill C-300 responds to the need for a stronger regulatory framework to hold Canadian mining, oil and gas companies accountable, in Canada, for human rights and environmental violations overseas. Bill C-300 has garnered a huge amount of support across the country. It is supported by Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA), an organization which includes Amnesty International Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Friends of the Earth, the Steelworkers Humanity Fund, the Canadian Labour Congress, KAIROS/Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, MiningWatch Canada and many other organizations. Bill C-300 has my support as well.

As my elected MP, I urge you to stand firm for environmental and human rights by supporting Bill C-300.I would like to thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you regarding your support for Bill C-300.

Yours truly,

Your name

Your address, telephone or email address

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The B u l l e t

Socialist Project • E-Bulletin No. 281
December 2, 2009

Canadian Government Rocked by Accusations of
Abuse, Torture of Afghan Prisoners

Roger Annis

The Canadian government’s war effort in Afghanistan has been shaken by new accusations that Afghans detained by Canadian forces were tortured and abused. The charges were made by Richard Colvin, a highly placed diplomat in the Canadian embassy in Kabul during 2005-07, the years when Canada escalated its military role in Afghanistan.

Colvin testified on November 18 before the Canadian Parliament’s Standing Committee on National Defense that he had sent more than 15 reports to his political superiors and the military high command warning that Canadian forces were complicit in the abuse and torture of Afghans it had detained. He said the practice of handing detainees over to Afghan authorities and then turning a blind eye to their treatment not only violated international law, but would also do incalculable damage to Canada’s role in the Afghan war and its reputation among the Afghan people.

“Instead of winning hearts and minds, we caused Kandaharis to fear foreigners,” he said. “Canada’s detainee practices alienated us from the population and strengthened the insurgency.” Colvin told the committee that virtually all of the scores of Afghans detained by Canadians from 2005-07 were ending up in torture dungeons. Many were not even connected to fighters resisting the foreign military occupation.

“Many were just local people – farmers, truck drivers, tailors, peasants – random human beings in the wrong place at the wrong time. In other words, we detained and handed over for severe torture a lot of innocent people.”

His account echoes concerns expressed at the time by Human Rights Watch, the Independent Afghanistan Human Rights Commission, and others. Even the U.S. State Department in 2006 described continuing evidence of “torture, extrajudicial killings, poor prison conditions, official impunity, prolonged pretrial detention” and other human rights violations at Afghan prisons and detention centers.

Afghan Member of Parliament Malalai Joya confirms Colvin’s account. During a speaking tour across Canada to promote her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, Joya told CBC news on November 24, “What he has been saying is what I’ve heard from my people.” She says that many of the victims are women and children, and many of those suffered sexual assault. “It’s not new for our people.”
Denial and Cover-Up

Torture allegations against Canadian forces first surfaced in early 2007 in the national daily Globe and Mail and elsewhere. At the time, the Canadian government and military denied the accusations, but local and international human rights organizations confirmed them. Even the International Committee of the Red Cross, always reluctant to enter into political controversy, denied Ottawa’s claim that Red Cross officials were watching over the conditions of prisoners and could protect them from abuse.

So the government tried a new tack: in May 2007 it announced a deal with Afghan authorities to prevent future torture and abuse, and promising to monitor prisoner treatment closely. (Of note, Canada’s expressed concern about prisoner abuse only applied to detainees turned over by Canadian soldiers).

Colvin’s testimony challenges the effectiveness of that deal. He says Canadian military record keeping was notoriously bad and that a regime of “internal censorship” was imposed on the diplomatic and military mission. Following the 2007 revelations, his superiors discouraged written correspondence as well as any public statements on the deteriorating political and military situation in Afghanistan.
Government, Generals Hit Back

The response of the government and military to Colvin’s testimony has deepened the crisis. In brief, their strategy has been to deny and attack. Defense Minister Peter MacKay, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and other government representatives flooded Parliament and the press with the message that Colvin’s testimony is unreliable and unsubstantiated.

Three of Canada’s top generals who were in command in Afghanistan from 2005-07 also challenged Colvin’s credibility when they appeared before the Standing Committee on November 25. Former chief of defense staff Rick Hillier called Colvin’s accusations “ludicrous.”

Hillier led the Canadian military when it expanded its military role in Afghanistan in November 2005, famously declaring that Canada’s role would be to “kill detestable murderers and scumbags.” In 2006, he described the mission: “We are the Canadian forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.”

The general’s testimony implicitly acknowledged Colvin’s claim that innocent Afghans were being rounded up. He said it was near to impossible for Canadian troops to distinguish Afghans who are “farmers by day and Taliban by night.”
Lawsuit Challenges Government

Colvin’s testimony might never have taken place if not for a lawsuit initiated by Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association in February 2007. The suit argued that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms must apply to Canada’s prisoner and detainee policy in Afghanistan.

Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada in May, 2009, rejected the suit but the courts did note that Canadian forces in Afghanistan are obliged to obey international law, including the Geneva Conventions on warfare.

The suit succeeded in exposing many documents pertaining to military and diplomatic operations.

The two litigants also initiated a formal complaint to the Military Police Complaints Commission. That process also has pried loose more information, but the government and military have successfully stalled the MPCC’s work, including recently firing its head when his term expired.

There are now calls, including from the opposition New Democratic Party, for a public judicial inquiry into Colvin’s revelations and other torture allegations. The government has resisted, citing concerns over “national security” and the confidentiality of information. The government has also refused to give the Standing Committee such documentation as e-mail and written reports from Colvin that would corroborate or disprove his testimony and the government’s and military’s rebuttals.
A Public Inquiry?

The main opposition party in the Parliament, the Liberals, would probably find a public inquiry very uncomfortable and even damaging. After all, it was a Liberal Party government that led Canada into an escalation of the war in Afghanistan in November 2005, and its support for the war has not wavered since it was voted out of office in January 2006. The Liberals’ leader, Michael Ignatieff, not only supports the war in Afghanistan, but has also supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq and defended the use of torture against enemies of the U.S. empire.

In 2003 Ignatieff, then teaching at Harvard University, published Empire Lite: Nation-Building in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, in which he argued that the United States was a “humanitarian empire” dedicated to human rights and democracy. The book provided intellectual justification for the Bush administration’s use of torture and targeted assassination.

Canada’s military and political leaders are also concerned. A public inquiry could expose them to charges of war crimes. Retired Lieutenant-General Michel Gauthier, who headed oversees deployment for the Canadian military in 2006 and 2007, voiced this concern when he told the Standing Committee on November 25:

“As we were sitting at home watching television, my wife and I were mortified to hear a member of this committee appear on a national news network, name me and three others by name, and state as fact that we had either been negligent or that we had lied – effectively branding us war criminals.”

Two war crimes experts – Payan Akhavan, a professor of international law at McGill University and former prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal at the World Court in The Hague, and Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Ottawa – told CBC Radio’s The Current on November 24 that Canada’s political and military leaders have good reason to be concerned.

There is a precedent for a public inquiry into the Afghanistan war, and it does not bode well for its success or utility. In 1993, the elite paratroop regiment of the Canadian military was accused of human rights atrocities in Somalia, including torture and summary execution of ordinary citizens. The regiment was ultimately disbanded. A public inquiry into its conduct, established in 1994, was summarily cancelled by Liberal Party Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1997.

One of the commissioners of that inquiry was Peter Desbarats, a former Dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario. He wrote a book on his experience, Somalia Cover-up: A Commissioner’s Journal. Commenting on the Colvin revelations and fallout on The Current on November 20, Desbarats said, “We haven’t learned anything from Somalia … this is another Somalia-style cover-up.”

Desbarats says he doesn’t have a lot of confidence that a public inquiry will end up any differently than the one that he was part of, and pointed to the only appropriate solution to this political scandal: “We should get out of Afghanistan as soon as possible before it does some real damage to us.”

That’s also the view of Graeme Smith, a correspondent with the Globe and Mail and Canada’s most experienced journalist in Afghanistan. Writing on the news website The Mark on November 12, he said:

“Making the country better doesn’t necessarily require fighting the insurgents – in many cases, it requires working with them.

“Our soldiers have bravely followed orders in Kandahar. But they’re being swept aside by a tidal wave of U.S. forces, and this surge is likely doomed to bring the same results as previous surges. Canada should withdraw its battle group, and push its allies toward peace talks.”

Richard Colvin’s testimony adds a layer of complication onto an Afghanistan situation that is already difficult for the Canadian government. Its U.S. ally is poised for a significant escalation of the war, including as many as 40,000 additional troops, and an expansion of the war into Pakistan.

The Harper government, meanwhile, is saddled with a 2008 parliamentary resolution, adopted for domestic political purposes, that calls for an end to Canada’s military role in Kandahar by 2011, though it implicitly leaves open the possibility of military deployment to elsewhere in the country. The resolution also commits Canada to “a policy of greater transparency with respect to its policy on the taking of and transferring of detainees including a commitment to report on the results of reviews or inspections of Afghan prisons undertaken by Canadian officials.” (For background, see Escalation of Afghanistan War: Canada Faces a Fateful Decision, November 18, 2009.)

The latest torture revelations will make it all the more difficult for the Conservative Party government, or a Liberal Party government that might replace it, to sell the Canadian public on any delay or reversal of the 2011 withdrawal commitment.

While a public inquiry into the latest revelations may expose more scandal, it is no substitute for building a sustained anti-war movement that fights for an end to the interlocked wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine. Only such a movement can end these reckless and predatory wars and help create the political conditions needed to end the regimes of permanent war that now rule in all the major capitalist countries of the world. •

Roger Annis is an aerospace worker in Vancouver. He can be reached at rogerannis[at]hotmail.com. For ongoing news and reports of the situation in Afghanistan, follow the blog of the Vancouver anti-war coalition, Stopwar.ca. This article originally published by Socialist Voice.

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Announcements

Obama Receives his Nobel Peace Prize December 10

Demonstrate December 10 to say WAR IS NOT PEACE!
On December 10, just days after announcing his decision to escalate the war of aggression against Afghanistan and Pakistan by sending 30,000 more troops on top of the 21,000 he already added since taking office, U.S. War President Barack Obama will be in Oslo, Norway to receive the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Windsor Peace Coalition will be demonstrating on Thursday December 10 across from the entrance to Ambassador Bridge (Wyandotte St. West) to protest the conferring of the Nobel Peace Prize on the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military.

It is by his deeds that Obama, like anyone else, must be judged, regardless of his words.

You are invited to join us December 10 – Human Rights Day – from 4 to 5 pm. on Wyandotte Street across from the Ambassador Bridge entrance, to say:

No to disinformation!

War is not Peace!

U.S. and all foreign occupiers and mercenaries, out of Iraq and Afghanistan now!

Hands off Pakistan!

video copilot The bullet advanced training

pcstudiomaster — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:59:20 +0000

video copilot The bullet advanced training

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The Bullet!

Meatlove — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:02:58 +0000

Wie vesprochen gibt es nun von mir die erste Episode von “The Bullet” exklusiv auf Blogonese!

Eure Kritik ist mir wichtig, also schreibt doch bitte kurz eure Meinung in Form eines Kommentars dazu

– von Meatlove

Magnificent Magician - Robert-Houdin

kisscan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:08:31 +0000

Magnificent Magician - Robert-Houdin

teacher1207 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:30:23 +0000

Reference: Cooking games

If James Bond...

whatwomendontwant — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:35:39 +0000

We’d argue that Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever. Some might say Sean Connery deserves that title. However, times have changed and women don’t favour the hairy guy anymore. Back in the 60’s and 70’s chest hair was deemed very sexy indeed, nowadays it’s not just metro-sexuals that are ridding themselves of excess body hair and for good reason! While a hairy back is the biggest turn off for women, nose and ear hair certainly cools the ardour. So here’s some tips it’s well worth following.
You don’t have to be perfect but don’t sabotage your success with the ladies by ignoring vital grooming habits. Sooner or later your luck will run out and you’ll be dateless depending upon a few friends to stay in touch with the social scene.

Believe me, bad grooming habits can be your one way ticket to Lonely Ville. These days’ women expect more from men. With all the beauty rituals, lotions and potions and convenient accessories there is no excuse to smell good and look great.

It seems we concentrate on those appearance flaws like pimples and other skin afflictions but completely ignore the more hygienic issues that are simple to resolve. A small pimple can be camouflaged; a bad hair day can be concealed with a hat. But what’s your excuse for strands of hair growing from your nostrils? And what about that bush of overgrowth sticking out of your shirt; let’s not forget the ear hair. You had to have known it was there? What are you a caveman?

You might think nose and ear hair is no big deal, but these are by no way superficial flaws and you’ll lose a date fast as soon as she figures out you don’t pay enough attention to your hygiene. There are two things you can invest in to resolve your issues; a nose trimmer and some body wax strips.

A nose trimmer is one of the best accessories for men and definitely a must-have. It should be apart of every grooming ritual; shower, shave, trim. Yeah, I left out the other one because it goes without saying. Believe me, the ones I did mention guys actually forget to accomplish.

Nose hair can be seen by everyone and it annoys women. You almost want to walk over and yank the nose hair out.

Imagine dining with someone who has nose hair growing from a nostril. Can you think of what’s going on in your dates mind? Staring at the hair wondering why in the hell you left the house for all to laugh? And what about the ear hair that sits like a patch of pansies growing without a cause? Sure, that’s a bit more intricate to see in your ear, but can’t you feel that bush sitting there? Get a nose trimmer and you wouldn’t have these problems.

Those were the smaller issues with hair playing peek-a-boo with your emotions but what about the werewolf syndrome? That surely will sabotage your success with the ladies. No woman wants to feel on a man with an overgrowth of hair on his body. You’ve got to tame that with wax. Either you can initiate an appointment for a spa treatment that wax men or purchase economical wax strips. Most require heating in a microwave and lying onto the hair, then pulling off. But you need to get this done, quickly.

Believe me, when men have hair overgrowth issues they translate into hygiene issues that women will not have the patience to entertain. A few simple investments like a nose hair trimmer and body wax strips will ensure you remain a socially viable inhabitant of the dating scene. Take the advice and don’t sabotage your success with the ladies. Lonely is not a happy world.

Leatherheads

Mystery Man — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:20:51 +0000

PLOT: Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, captain of a struggling professional American Football team

Bite the Bullet

wannabetvchef — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:32:12 +0000

Originally Posted by Cook Smarter (cooksmarter.net) on May 1, 2007.

Anyone with a TV has seen the deluge of infomercials that air in the wee small hours. Most people have, at one time or another, bought one of the items offered. Some have been happy with their purchase, many are not. I can remember the scores of “As Seen on TV” items that my family gave each other for presents back in the 1970’s and how each of them almost worked as advertised.

With today’s lightening fast communication avenues, it is much harder for a bunk invention to survive very long without the world (at least the informed world who surf the Internet) finding out. Sites like Epinions are valuable resources when purchasing items of any sort especially those that are only available via mail order.

I am generally a cynic when it comes to infomercial products, but every now and then I run across one that surprises me. Now I have a way of trying these items that is virtually risk free – I have a friend who loves gadgets and has a lot of disposable income. I simply show him the item and the Pavlov effect generally follows, as was the case with the Magic Bullet Blender.

I first tried the Bullet over a year ago and I have to admit it has done everything I have asked of it. I have used it to make protein shakes for a post-workout boost, as well as for making vinaigrettes for salads. I have placed cubes of raw meat in it only to find finely ground meat in its place after just a few pulses. Hello, meatballs! Clean up is a breeze as everything is dishwasher safe and the plethora of attachments and supporting hardware are great.

Most of the reviews I have read about the Magic Bullet agree with me. Of those opposing opinions most have to do with the motor over heating after a minute or so of use (the directions clearly state not to blend for more than 10 seconds) and of moving parts that break. One negative reviewer stated that, “The wheel at the base of the bullet broke into pieces.” The reviewer then went on to state how just prior to breaking he heard the machine make a funny noise. He ignored it and crammed more fruit inside while simultaneously increasing the pressure on it. Apparently the Bullet’s major flaw is that it is not idiot proof.

I have not tried everything they show the Magic Bullet doing in the infomercial but I have little doubt it can perform them. After all, the technology is nothing new. It is simply a blender. The genius comes from making it practical to use. Kudos to the folks at Homeland Housewares for coming up with a true innovation. The Magic Bullet is available online from the manufacturer as well as eBay and many other web based merchants. It is also available at many tangible retailers like Walmart.

Tip: If you see an infomercial item at Walmart, you can bet that it works. Walmart carries “As Seen on TV” items only after the market declares them a success.

Eine Investition

samuelschuermann — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:02:51 +0000

Gesternabend habe ich nach ein wenig Nachdenken die Entscheidung getroffen mit meinem restlichen Gel

Human cannonball

Galen Schultz — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:28:02 +0000

Guinness World Record holder David Smith’s son – David (The Bullet) Smith Jr. blasts himself out of

Parlamentul Tinerilor implică studenţii în protejarea democraţiei

Gabriela — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:32:55 +0000

The Bullet - mai 2007 Parlamentul Tinerilor implică studenţii în protejarea democraţiei Razvan Pop

PNL: Afara cu observatorii!

Gabriela — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:42:41 +0000

Membrii PNL au încercat să scoată observatorii dintr-un centru electoral din sectorul 6. În cursul d

The Bullet la referendum!

Gabriela — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:20:38 +0000

Reporterii The Bullet vor fi pe teren in Bucuresti, in locurile unde studentii merg la vot. Reportaj

Studenţilor români le place în ţară

Gabriela — Wed, 16 May 2007 17:48:32 +0000

November 2006 - The Bullet This is an article I forgot to post… Studenţilor români le place

April Bullet is online!

Gabriela — Wed, 02 May 2007 19:29:20 +0000

http://campus.cji.ro/

The Bullet

Gabriela — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:54:32 +0000

A aparut varianta online a ziarului The Bullet varianta PDF – The Bullet - March

The Bullet este online!

Gabriela — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:29:37 +0000

Ziarul The Bullet este online! campus.cji.ro