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Entries Tagged as 'politics'

calls to strip russia of 2014 olympics

August 26th, 2008 · No Comments

You likely know that just before the Beijing Olympics, Russia invaded the neighbouring Republic of Georgia. The move earned widespread international condemnation, and the resulting war of words with the West has been making headlines for weeks.

You may not know that last July the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2014 Winter […]

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Tags: europe · government · news · olympics · politics · russia · sport · usa · war

russia calls nato a poo-face, doesn’t want to be friends anymore

August 21st, 2008 · No Comments

In response to international condemnation of its unilateral invasion of Georgia, Russia has given notice that it will suspend all military cooperation with NATO and its 26 member states. Standing up for nations’ rights everywhere, Russia has taken the position that the world has no business interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation […]

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Tags: europe · news · politics · russia · scary · war

iraq banned from 2008 olympics

July 29th, 2008 · 2 Comments

The CBC reports that the International Olympic Committee has blocked Iraq from participating in the Beijing Olympics two weeks from now because “the country’s government dismissed officials in favour of its own appointees, who weren’t recognized by the IOC.”
A similar ban was imposed in May — and then repealed — by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, […]

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Tags: dumb · iraq · middle east · news · olympics · politics · sad · sport

obama addresses 200,000 people — in berlin

July 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment

When politicians throw a party, their organizers work long and hard in the shadows to make sure people come. Usually this is easier said than done, and a good speech’s impact can be quickly deflated by a TV cameraman’s pan shot of a skimpy, scattered, ragtag-looking crowd. So for organizers, there are a […]

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Tags: election · europe · news · obama · politics · usa

thailand and cambodia on brink of war over 1.8 sq. miles of land

July 23rd, 2008 · No Comments

Having apparently addressed their citizens’ crushing poverty, inadequate access to education and constant battles with malaria, dengue fever, typhoid and hepatitis A, Cambodian and Thai officials spent the last week threatening each other with all-out war over a newly dedicated UN World Heritage site that both countries insist is theirs.
From the International Herald Tribune:

Calling a […]

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Tags: asia · crazy · news · politics · scary · war

torture, beatings and murders finally pay off

June 23rd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, announced yesterday that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party is pulling out of the presidential run-off election, even though he won the main election held a few weeks ago. He says President Robert Mugabe’s widespread use of rape, torture, beatings and murder to intimidate opposition voters has made […]

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Tags: africa · election · news · politics · sad · zimbabwe

zimbabwe launches operation “where did you put your vote,” promises “bullets for each of you”

June 13th, 2008 · No Comments

Human Rights Watch has just released its report on the ongoing violence in Zimbabwe, entitled “Bullets for Each of You.” The title is taken from a Zimbabwean army address to villagers in Karoi, a small city in the province of Mashonaland West:

“If you vote for MDC in the presidential runoff election, you have seen […]

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Tags: africa · election · news · politics · sad · torture · zimbabwe

world war one christmas truce and soccer match

June 8th, 2008 · 1 Comment

In the winter of 1914, German and British soldiers spent Christmas Eve in the trenches, wading through mud, supplies and the corpses of their fallen friends. Their main activity was dodging the bullets from the enemy bunkers that were sometimes just 60 yards away.
To raise their sinking morale, both armies’ governments sent their troops […]

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Tags: beautiful · books · curio · darn tootin' · europe · history · neato · politics · religion · war

i want to believe in the u.n., really i do.

June 6th, 2008 · 9 Comments

But it’s hard.
Three days ago, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which aims to “defeat hunger” around the world, was addressed by Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, who has singlehandedly turned his country from Africa’s wealthy breadbasket into a violent, starving, terrifying place. He also built Zimbabwe’s infamous “rape camps,” routinely kills, tortures and/or imprisons […]

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Tags: law and order · opinion · politics · sad · writing

canada may welcome u.s. army deserters

June 4th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Canada, already home to many thousands of former U.S. soldiers who wanted no part of the Vietnam War, may continue its tradition of harbouring conscientious objectors by allowing Iraq War opponents to settle north of the border. The three opposition parties in Canada’s four-party minority government joined forces today to pass a non-binding motion […]

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Tags: canada · iraq · law and order · news · politics · usa · war