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POPSThe Despot of the North Once again, Prime Minister Harper tries to shut down the parliamentary process because he doesn't feel that he has tyrannical control over the government. Questions are being asked about the Afghani prisoner abuses and the opposition parties are blocking his heavy-handed bills in Parliament, so he's going to stack the Senate with Conservatives (a process he vocally condemned early in his despotic reign) to give him absolute control over the government. That's not the Canadian way; that's taking a page out of Bush's fascist book. If Governor General Michael Jean approves a prorogue, there is going to be a huge outcry, and hopefully, hell to pay.
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POPS2014 Winter Olympics | 2010, 2016 Summer Olympics 2014 Winter Olympics: The IOC is preparing to accept bids from network suitors looking to have exclusive coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as well as the ... 2014 winter olympics, 2010 winter olympics, 2016 summer olympics, sochi russia, 2012 summer olympics, 2016 olympics.
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POPSFree Speech to be Curtailed at Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver "The bylaw relaxes rules for Games-related events, limits free expression and speech in public and private spaces, and grants sweeping discretionary powers to Mayor Gregor Robertson and City Manager Penny Ballem to do whatever is "warranted," "necessary or desirable" to ensure the Olympics' "safety and security" and "protection of commercial rights."" This very open to abuse and should be examined cautiously by anyone planning to attend.
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POPSTop 10 John Williams Movie Tunes There is no doubt that John Williams has composed some of the most recognized movie scores of our lifetime. Moviegoers of the last four decades have only to hear a few notes of any of Williams' scores to know the movie. Some of us can even place the scene, characters and describe the action.
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POPS NATO Has Acquiesced To The Kremlin Writing in the Times of London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband even opposes expelling Russia from the G-8 -- a perfectly calibrated and long-overdue measure. And a German diplomat says the Georgia issue should not have been brought to NATO in the first place, but instead to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a completely toothless consultative body, and to the United Nations, where inaction is guaranteed by the Russian veto. To their credit, the French tried to do something. Unfortunately, President Nicolas Sarkozy was snookered by Moscow. Article V of the cease-fire agreement he brokered, allowing Russia the right to "implement additional security measures" within the borders of Georgia, is a blank check for Russian occupation. Eastern Europe understands the stakes in Georgia. It is the ultimate target. Russia's aims are clear: (1) sever South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia for incorporation into Russia;
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POPSHow To Stop Putin What we can do is alter Putin's cost-benefit calculations. We are not without resources. There are a range of measures to be deployed if Russia does not live up to its cease-fire commitments: 1. Suspend the NATO-Russia Council established in 2002 2. Bar Russian entry to the World Trade Organization. 3. Dissolve the G-8. Putin's dictatorship long made Russia's presence in this group of industrial democracies a farce, but no one wanted to upset the bear by expelling it. No need to. The seven democracies simply withdraw. (And if Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who has been sympathetic to Putin's Georgia adventure, wants to stay, he can have an annual G-2 dinner with Putin.) Then immediately announce the reconstitution of the original G-7. 4. Announce a U.S.-European boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi. The most crucial and unconditional measure, however, is this: Reaffirm support for the Saakashvili government:
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POPS Answering Russia 10. Announce the creation of a new information network, much larger and better funded than Voice of America or Radio Free Europe to deliver Internet, TV and radio broadcasts into neo-Soviet Russia so that Russians can learn the truth about their country.
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POPSWithdraw Sochi's Award of the 2014 Winter Games? However, in the context of the still ongoing discussion as to whether China should have been awarded the current Olympic Games or not, I also wonder if using the Olympics as a political football makes any sense. After all, every country, no matter its political and governmental situation, is invited to the Olympics. If no discrimination is made in the participants, why would political discrimination be made among the host? Is the Olympics supposed to be a League of Democracies, or something? Don't think so.
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POPSEvolution of the Olympic Torch The 2008 Beijing Olympic torch can reportedly withstand winds of up to 40 miles an hour (65 kilometers an hour), partly due to the flat top of its Chinese-scroll-based design, according to engineer Richard Kelso.The exterior of the torch is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy and is decorated with 56 swirling clouds, one for each of China's ethnic groups.<<