a human hand-like radish

island

this blog is an island

free from bogrolling and the trepiditious stupidity of blogcasting

it is so existential. this soapbox in the sky

and it defies me even to think of existential thoughts on this space

reality defies me

here is a can of breakfast:

I do love a nice steamin demi-tasse in the morning

extra belgitude. nice new belt ringbo!

Lipstick Expressionism

Outlawed conformity in amorous pairs
Prison of the individual

What morning does not warrant
An arresting gaze from those blue eyes

Your kiss is a flight risk
Stolen from between two pursed lips
Frought with tears behind glass distances

Only lipstick expesses that bond
in this case, rested upon sweetest jowl
To recall the chains of singularity
The love I found courting

And now for sentencing:

I judge you most perfect


for tamara.

a letter of protest to the C-J

10:27 AM eastern star drive

walking by the eastern star daycare center
the jets are flying supersonic at 200 yards

  and babies are crying,
the same tears as in baghdad

because we're all human
and thunder is terror universally.

thunder over louisville-or ultimately why war is wrong

i am staying behind a huge daycare centre, in louisville kentucky

this morning, for the first time, i heard all the babies crying in unison, it is disturbing to see this. in the name of an airshow named "thunder over louisville". i am actually scared of thunder in general. this is too much. to see pilots practicing tactics in the name of entertainment.

and the reason why- USAF fighter jets doing low altitude manoeuvres, the types pilots train for in order to fly beneath the enenmy radar...at altitudes of 200 metres or less, a supersonic plane creates an extremely loud and powerful shockwave....a tactic which is generally only acceptable at higher altitudes.

and babies are crying because the noise scares them thoroughly. it made my ears hurt as i walked along eastern-star drive.


imagine the children in baghdad facing equivalent low altitude tactics, im sure they cried also.

it causes panic and fear in every human heart. war is terrifying, war is wrong. the machines of war are painful and hurtful not only to the enemy, but to every civilian in its presence.


i feel like im in a war zone...not only with all of the helicopters flying around at night, but now fighter jets, giving an aura of miltary might.

we must respect the military, while they respect the power they have to harm any number of people. gross negligence. and take its propaganda with box of iodized salt.

the USA in good company

Last Updated: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 13:09 GMT 14:09 UK













'20,000' on death row worldwide

from bbcnews.com. april 21, 2006.









At least 20,000 prisoners are awaiting execution worldwide and more than 2,000 were put to death last year, a leading human rights group has said.

In its annual survey on the death penalty, Amnesty International said 94% of the 2005 executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US.

The numbers are down from 2004 thanks to a "global tide" against the death penalty, the group said.

But it said the number may be higher as many countries do not release figures.

There were 2,148 known executions in 22 countries in 2005, Amnesty International said, down from a record level of 3,797 in the previous year.

At least 1,770 executions took place last year in China, where a person could be sentenced and executed for non-violent crimes including tax fraud, embezzlement and drug offences, the UK-based group said.

It was a worry that that high profits behind the country's organ transplants from executed prisoners may act as an incentive to maintain the death penalty, the group added.

'Glaring anomaly'

Last year, at least 94 people were executed in Iran, 86 in Saudi Arabia and 60 in the US. Overall, 5,186 people were sentenced to death in 53 countries, although the group said not all of them would be executed.

Amnesty said the trend toward abolishing the death penalty continued to grow, with the number of countries conducting executions halving over the past two decades.






iran, china, saudi arabia....................USA.

but whatever, americans wont even go metric. at least the other three countries on that list are metric compliant.







2005 EXECUTIONS






Executions carried out in 22 countries, including Bangladesh, Belarus, Iraq, Japan, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam




80% of executions in China




86 countries have abolished the death penalty, while 122 have abandoned executions in law or practice




74 countries retain and use the death penalty








Source: Amnesty International





"There is a global tide against the death penalty which has left us with just the hardened countries still using it," Amnesty researcher Piers Bannister said.

Mexico and Liberia are the most recent countries to abandon state execution.

However, Secretary-General Irene Khan said in a statement that the death penalty remained the "ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights".

It contravened the "essence of human values", and was often applied in a discriminatory manner, followed unfair trials or was applied for political reasons, she said.

"As the world continues to turn away from the use of the death penalty, it is a glaring anomaly that China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the US stand out for their extreme use of this form of punishment," she added.

Ms Khan also called on Iran to ban the practice of executing juvenile offenders.

The country is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which include a promise not execute anyone under the age of 18.

However, Amnesty said it executed at least eight people last year for crimes committed when they were children, including two who were still under 18 at the time of their deaths.

La maree

La lune d'antan
M'envoit ses reflets intimes
Sa service solitaire
Porter nos ames
plus proches



Au bout de chaque voyage
cette contemplation
Engendree d'etinceles, larmes lacerantes
Cascadant parmi la soiree

L'humanite
soit le triste peuple de la terre
Joignit; rejouit au rythme familier

Envahi de votre narcose; ensemble
une treve avec la journee brusque

Je mens,
mes reves se font distinguees par votre esprit
Je m'envole a votre cote
Dos contre dos, la lune m'empare

Je me sacrifie dans la maree du destin
Guide celestin

the irony

from philip morris USA's website
www.philipmorrisusa.com



"We are also introducing two new Marlboro anniversary packs – Marlboro Reds and Marlboro Lights in the 72s style I mentioned earlier – a short cigarette for a short break adapted for today's fast paced lifestyle.



This product is now making its way through the retail distribution channel and will be in retail stores in February.



There's more, much more, but I'm sure you understand we don't have time today but, I hope I've given you a snapshot of how we bring all of the elements of our marketing programs together to effectively, and profitably connect with adult smokers of our brands while acting in a responsible way.



When it comes to adult smokers, we also understand that there is another important connection we think we should make.



Many adult smokers enjoy using our products and interacting with our brands. But we also understand that there are many adult smokers who have decided to quit.



As a manufacturer of an addictive product that has serious health risks, we believe we have a responsibility to help adult smokers who have decided to quit be more successful.



The public health community recommends, and we agree, that to reduce the health effects of smoking, the best thing to do is to quit.



So, last year, Philip Morris USA launched a section on our website to help connect smokers who have decided to quit to public health authorities and other quitting resources.



And in September, we launched QuitAssist™ an information resource designed to help connect smokers who want to quit with resources that can help. "




we are manufacturers of an addictive product, and it is our goal to make new more appealing products for todays fast paced lifestyle as well helping those who want to quit by placing lame ads durring the evening news with a generic serious female voice-over.



we connect with our adult smokers by placing ads for the new seventy-twos product in "seventeen" magazine. eighteen is the legal smoking age.....duh?

we place special emphasis on heavy marketing of our menthol products, which are significantly more dangerous to health and generally even more addictive. whatever, marlboro is already flavored, with american flavor (ammonia, raises the pH, freebases the nicotine delivery, like crack).

meanwhile nicotine patches/gum are three times as expensive as in canada for identitical product, while cigarettes cost 1/3 the price here in KY.

at least the government should be helping the people to quit; not companies who MAKE MONEY BY SELLING AS MANY CIGARETTES AS POSSIBLE through an oligopoly.

Deux videos pour denoncer Yahoo!

DOCUMENTS • RSF a montré aux dirigeants de l'entreprise américaine des vidéos tournés par les proches de deux dissidents chinois arrêtés pour avoir utilisé la version chinoise du logiciel de Yahoo! mail.




par LB
LIBERATION.FR : vendredi 14 avril 2006 - 16:35



Grosse pression sur Yahoo!, dix jours avant la visite du président chinois Hu Jintao aux Etats-Unis. Dans deux vidéos tournées en Chine, le frère d'un ancien fonctionnaire et l'avocat d'un journaliste emprisonnés dénoncent la collaboration de la société américaine avec la police chinoise qui a conduit à leur interpellation. Li Zhi, l'ancien fonctionnaire, a été condamné à huit ans de prison; le journaliste, Shi Tao, a lui été condamné à dix ans. Le jugement indique que Yahoo ! a transmis à la police des informations compromettantes à l'encontre de ces deux hommes qui utilisaient la version chinoise du service d'e-mail du géant américain.

C'est donc muni de ces deux vidéos — à visionner sur Liberation.fr — qu'une équipe de Reporters sans frontières s'est présentée, le 7 avril 2006, au siège californien de l'entreprise. Objectif de cette opération coup de poing façon Michael Moore: que la question de la liberté d'expression soit abordée par les officiels américains et l'espoir que cette rencontre diplomatique soit marquée par la libération de journalistes et de cyberdissidents. Mais il faudra pour cela que l'opinion publique américaine soit plus réceptive que les boss de Yahoo!. Après avoir envoyé des vigiles bloquer l'accès aux représentant de RSF, un rendez-vous avec des responsables de l'entreprise fixé trois jours plus tard n'a débouché sur rien de concret.

Pire, les dirigeants de Yahoo! expliquent que désormais, c'est sa filière chinoise Alibaba qui traitera avec Pékin. «Un argument de voyou», réplique RSF qui demande à l'un des premiers sites mondiaux de ne plus opérer de service de courrier électronique sur le territoire chinois et par conséquent de rapatrier ses serveurs sur le sol américain. Objectif: que toute demande d'information émise par la police chinoise concernant l'un de ses clients soit approuvée par la justice américaine.

cafe nervosa

so today i want to open a new coffeeshop

night's coffee, too far way
basse-terre coffee, too hip n young
heinous brothers , no comfy. bad cafe du jour.

ahab's. why is my corporate money going to the northwest?

so my new enterprise...cafe nervosa. i promise higher belgitude and a square of ghirardelli chocolate with every espresso beverage.


yummy, pue caffe lavazza, no BS local roasting stuff, i want venerable delightful italian coffee.

imagine nation

growth of instability
in turn humanity

oh the humanity!

whichever is left. kindness without glory.

jesus washing his apostles feet

or pope benedict doing likewise tonight in San Giovanni Laterano

who is the truly noble one?

oh the humanities, legalities, trivialities, burdens of proof on the believer.
You speak blind caution into my eyes
Consider the love fulfilled in distance

the places, the ones whom you know you haven't fucked up by your actions.
still pure in your eyes.
Fiji of the heart.

to save what is not ours. to reckon our own troubled soul.

Glory fleeting, travesty of the way our fingers decide to graze the page. this is the page of deceit.





we are governed by our vulnerability
It is the shadow of the night that concludes every moment

sands of uncertainty cast themselves
and i walk beside them through this world i love

Frittata

Always on picnics at my Italian grandparents farm, my nona would bring a huge frittata served cold with pepsi or seven up and thinck Pugliese bread from Margherita Pizza. It is sublime in is delectable simplicity.

For two people

Ingredients:
4-5 jumbo eggs
1-2 Dry Italian cacciatore sausage in oil (optional)
8 mushrooms
a large onion, sliced
a large green pepper julienned
a medium zucchini sliced into thin discs
EVOO
S&P, dried chillies
Romano cheese grated

Tools:
Very large wide shallow skillet (non stick)
Spatula
A plate for flipping
Bowl for beating eggs.

First beat your eggs well, don’t add any water or milk please. Do put salt and pepper.

Heat you pan to medium high, cover the bottom with a good bit of olive oil and fry the sausage and vegetables (chilies optional) until all has browned. Now add the eggs. Spread the ingredients in the pan until all of the runny eggs are cooked. Check the bottom of the omelet, when it is vvery browned, flip over by sliding onto a plate. Add more oil if the pan is dry. and then using gravity to dump it back into the pan. Top with a delicious amount of fresh Romano cheese and cook until the bottom is browned well. Check the doneness by cutting inside with a fork.



This dish is best served cold with some pinot grigio or seven-up and tons of bread.

Ringbo deZwanseur encourages literacy

Oranges

can anybody describe the flavour of oranges in one word? i meditate by peeling one most days, just to totally enjoy the fragrance, as it lingers on my fingers.

i know mangoes taste like heaven, passionfruit tastes like the tropics. but what of oranges?

chocolate also is the mystery of deliciousness.
a far greater one.

Montreal Submarines

Ok, this is a total local specialty, which i've only seen in quebec and eastern Ontario , I guess it is our local variety of the cheese steak sandwich, hawked by the dozens of greek/italian-owned pizzerias and several of the (also mainly greek-owned) hot dog restaurants of montreal; it is a delicacy which my father got me into. In town the quintessential sub chains are Vincents (especially on Rue Laurier Est) and the now famous Mikes restaurant. I suggest you go to the oldest most venerable locales to get this monster sandwich, personally I am Intensely partial to a little place calle the Jadrin Grec in the Cartierville (rue de salaberry near O'brien) neighbourhood or to Momesso’s in NDG.

Here’s how I make it at home, it ought to drip a bit if done correctly.

Ingredients:
2 pieces of sandwich steak
1 small onion or half a Spanish onion
half a green pepper
4-5 mushrooms
10 pieces of montreal pepperoni or kosher beef salami (no exceptions)
4 pieces of spicy capicollo
4 pieces of sweet ham (prosciutto cotto or Parisian ham please)
2 big pieces of provolone or a half cup grated mozzarella cheese
garlic
S&P, cayenne pepper
Oregano
Iceberg lettuce
Tomatoes
Thousand Island dressing or italian dressing

Tools:
Griddle or Electric dutch oven or very large wide skillet
Several plates
A nice long metal spatula


Heat up the Electric dutch oven to med/high heat

I take either baguette or long crusty rolls, cut into 7 inch sections in Montreal tradition. Preferably warm toasted in the oven.

Each section requires 1 small onion (a Spanish white for 2 sandwiches is best) as well as half of a green pepper, and a few mushrooms fried to death in the griddle (do not add salt until all is browned) with chili pepper. Salt lightly afterwards.
Put aside

Then you take some thin sandwich steak, fry it until it is brown on one side with tabasco, lea and perrins and garlic as well as salt and pepper. When you flip the steak, start frying the pepperoni, capicollo and ham until they become brown.



Now for the assembly: put the fried meat on top of your steak, then the cold cuts by the fried vegetables. Top it with 2 pieces of provolone (or some grated mozzarella) and let it cook until it melts. At this point squeeze the open bread onto the stack and carefully flip with a very long metal spatula (you could use two smaller ones, but who will hold your plate then? Who? I don’t know.) I like to put sliced pickled red peppers and Sicilian olives on this as well

Top this all with some shredded iceberg lettuce and a few pieces of tomato. Top with oregano and thousand island dressing (or Italian if you don’t like delcious orange glowing things). Serve with homecut fries and you have a montreal delicacy

Variation
You may also put Italian sausage on this sub, split down the middle and fried fully, just stack it in the place of the cold cuts in the assembly process

Goin for a dip with my toobers

Oui, mais moi je ne sais pas

Dumas-Je ne sais pas

Tes yeux ravivent le jour
Au coeur
Au coeur des mes nuits
J'ai gardé secret mon désir
Et pourtant comme l'aurore
T'arrives sans avertir

Je sais que les jours sont parfois
Longs parmi les hommes
Mais tu dois t'y faire pour t'y plaire
Je sais tu trouveras

Oui mais moi, je ne sais pas(x2)

Ne perds pas ton independance
Elle justifie tes absences
T'arrives sans avertir
Et jusqu'a  l'aurore
Tu restes sans rien dire

Je sais que les jours sont parfois
Longs parmi les hommes
Mais tu dois t'y faire pour t'y plaire
Je sais tu trouveras
(x2)

Oui mais moi, je ne sais pas(x2)

J'ai comme l'envie de te dire
J'ai plus envie de fuir
Tu n'as plus envie de fuir
Mais jusqu'a  l'aurore
On restes sans rien dire

Je sais que les jours sont parfois
Longs parmi les hommes
Mais tu dois t'y faire pour t'y plaire
Je sais tu trouveras
(x2)

Oui mais moi, je ne sais pas(x2)


c'est inncroyable, mais les accents francais (ainsi que la cedille et le tremas, et tous les symboles non-anglophones) n'existent pas sur ce mac.

dommage. on ne peut meme pas utiliser les codes alt+130 etc.

Englebert

a belgian auto magazine from 1924

acquired at Ma maison en papier, mont des arts, bruxelles, BE.

the proprietor is Marie Laurence-Bernard

Promotional Film About Belgium

the heart of europe

http://video.belgium.be/en/belgium.en.small.wmv

urville

http://www.urville.com

c'est tout a fait incredule, il y a quelqu'un en france qui cree des villes imaginaires immenses

j'aimerais aussi avoir une documentaire sur ARTE TV.

meanwhile, everyone should try Cafe Trung Nguyen Coffee...mindblowing rich perfect french roast flavour (very close second to lou mitchells gold medal coffee i had in chicago).

with that crack caffeine feeling. the red bull of coffees.

this explains why vietnamese men are the heaviest smokers on earth.

Kashmir

this is not a post about soft wool or a great Led Zep song.

watching a nbc video clip, i noticed that the map of india used to show the state of Punjab was missing entirely the state of Kashmir.

what is this? is it pakistani favoritism? is it tacit recognition of anm independent state of Kashmir?

is it a move to appease china, and its claim for askai chin (Ladakh in india, a primarily tibetan region, unlike the sunni muslim kashmir).



kashmir is part of india, and the borders have not yet been formerly recignized, the people of indian kashmir live in a true democracy, unlike the islamic dictatorship of pakistan (and its azad kashmir region).


Jai Hind!

Beyond the Circle

May 7, 2001
Mark Sabourin


Beyond the Circle


The circle is a place and a state of mind.
Every 4 minutes, a routemaster bus goes the half-mile around the park. Poor civic planning caused this anomaly.
Beside the mailbox lives a poor soul. He has spent his entire life at 22b Victoria Circle.
The ladder came down. Winston Jones went up, dragging his tall thin body, rung by rung, this middle aged man was in very sorry shape. A clump of thin hair on his head, wearing his father’s old suit, shoes and ties.
His attic was full of interesting objects, rare antiques, jewels and momentos.
The transients came to the circle in search of peace, stability and escape. Most left after a few days, Winston’s parents were quite jet set. They were so worn out and stressed that they became trapped in the doldrums of life here. In this surreal hamlet, they bore their sole child, they schooled him at home and told him tales of deceit and sorrow. Winston learned only of the evils outside, never of the beauties. He has never left the roundabout.
Winton was feverishly looking for the most important thing in the attic, his sole living companion, Fluffy the cat. He was dismayed to not find the cat (who was given to Winston as a kitten) in his box. He searched through cardboard boxes, only to find albums of photos of his parents long ago. When they were younger, they skied in the “Alps”, where Winston senior broke his leg.
He lost his parents 5 years ago. They had been on the way to a doctor “A terrible person, who heals your wounds by hurting your pocketbook” as his parents had called them. His father’s heart was going and his mom was having dizzy spells. No one knows what happened to them. No one told Winston what happened outside the circle. They never returned. It devastated him incredibly.
After meticulously searching under the carpet, Winston concluded that his 7-room flat did not contain a cat. He could not call for help. There were no means of communications anywhere in the flat (no corrupt media in this house).
Time was measured in passing busses. It had little meaning to Mr. Jones. There were endless days without significant events.
Passing the front window brought back torrential memories.
As a child, Winston gazed out upon the frontier. He saw hordes of people. They were all terrible, hateful people. He saw a tower, it was dark and ominous. Was it the castle of a witch? He was afraid to find out. After that moment, he vowed never to step out of his surreal comforting dome.
The people and the spire were still there. In the distance, he could see a tail, it was the cat leaving the park, and heading right for the road.
It was a cold November day, 4 years ago. Winston was taking Fluffy out for his daily walk. It was quite an ordinary day, wet and foggy. Thankfully there wasn’t a typhoon (it has never before happened within the circle, but is quite common, he knew, in the tropical regions outside of it). There was a young woman sitting on the bench in the center of the park. She was sketching birds and trees in these peaceful surroundings.
Sandra came to visit the circle every day for several weeks. She was the first Winston ever met that gave him hope. She spoke not of terror and pain, as did the other transients, but rather of the joy and wonder to be seen outside and within this round prison.
Fluffy crossed the road; he snaked by a lorry. He was luckier than Sandra.
A royal mail truck hit Sandra while she was leaving the circle to buy some canvas. She was taken to a hospital, and was never to return.
Winston’s cat was the last thing on earth that he could trust. Winston lived on the only green patch of this dark planet, he knew this to be true from past experiences. He went to the attic, grabbed skis, jewels, a bathing suit, and a change of undergarments. He put on his parka (in case of a blizzard), a life jacket (in case a monsoon washed out the road) and plenty of disinfectant (fearing disease and pestilence). He went down the stairs, and began walking around Victoria Circle.
At a fast gait, he passed the antique shop, where he sold shiny objects for large sums of money, the small market, where he bought nearly everything, and finally the bus stop. He hopped on the double-decker, skis under his armpit, paid his fare and rode around the park. It was lush with trees and shrubs, covered in paths and it had but one bench.
In the park, three years ago, Winston gazed into the trees. How, he asked, could the birds that have flown in from outside be so cheerful? Their world was one of misery, yet they chirped continuously.
He met a great variety of people on that lone bench, all seeking tranquility. Some didn’t talk, yet others aroused his suspicion. They spoke of terrible things: robberies and murders, abuse and drunkenness, politics and insanity. That was why so many people came to the circle.
He never wanted to experience such things; he became locked into his hole, doomed to stay.
That day, for the first time, Winston did not ride around in a circle, he gathered the courage to get off at the unknown road. He had to cross 4 lined lanes, on a yellow path, he hoped to be as lucky as the cat. He walked slowly and stopped in the middle of the third lane, a red car running towards him. Courteously, it stopped and waited for the pedestrian. Winston traversed the street. He had fallen out of orbit and entered reality.
The birds were chirpier on this grand avenue, the clouds rolled away, the people were cheerful and friendly. “Fluffy”, he cried out, as he searched for his misplaced feline. In a corner, beside someone’s picket fence, Fluffy had found a partner, a stray, collarless cat. The world wasn’t all bad. He continued down the street, at the end of the block, he paused and stared into the vast, vibrant expanse.
Beyond the Circle lay a Square.

Epilogue

Winston loves to explore the world that he no longer fears. He continues to live at 22b Victoria circle, St. Peter’s church in the distance. He is no longer imprisoned. His space is shared with his parent’s old furniture, his 2 cats, 3 kittens and lovely wife (all healthy).
He enjoys spending days watching people on the terrace of an Oxford Square café. Winston sits and writes poems about the interesting folk, and Sandra makes sketches of them.

Belgian Lullaby

Goodnight my darling
May you dream of chocolate
And beer and eating mayonaise with frites
On the Grand place

Think of delicious mitraillettes
And succultent boulettes
And rolling rustic belgian hills
Where koalas and smurfs roam

Strangely Delicious

yummm-o capicollo and cabbage on a jewish onion roll. brilliant!

Giulia

Giulia - Gianni Togni


Genre/Lang. : Italian

Giulia oh mia cara
ti prego salvami tu
tu che sei l'unica
mio amore
non lasciarmi da solo in questa
notte gelida per favore
non vedi dentro ai miei occhi
la tristezza che mi fulmina
non scherzare
sto in mare aperto e mi perdo e tu
sei la mia ancora
ti prego sali in macchina
come faccio a respirare
cosa faccio di me senza te

Giulia oh mia cara
non riesco a mangiare
non dormo ormai da un secolo
non mi credi
senti la mia voce e' con questa
che ti supplico
tu che sei il mio angelo
non lasciarmi in mano agli avvoltoi
fai quel che vuoi
ma dammi il tuo amore

most fat laden fries

where: double pizza. de maisonneuve and guy streets.

reason: they make these fries (mccain invisicoat im certain) in the same oil as their fried chicken and wings. marvelous, doesn't even need mayo!

from wikipedia:
"McCain foods has 20,000 employees and 55 production facilities in 12 countries spanning six continents. It processes 1 million pounds of potato products each hour and sells one-third of the world's frozen French fries products, in over 110 countries."

mccain also owns the american ORE-IDA frozen french fry line.

yes canada has cornered the world potato market!

This is my life

from: Life magazine. Dec 28, 1936.

acquired in the Hawthorne District of Portland OR.

VITACIG

holy shit. for the first time ever, ive seen japanese style cigarettes for sale in montreal.

"odorless" and "vitamin enriched", i didnt buy them, but they are most definitely blog worthy, as you know that smoking is harmful to your health, and this beautiful vita-pack (king size) comes with 50% full colour health warning!

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Twenty open boxes
In the world of infinite coffee and RAM
Screened reality
Epic Solitude
In the name of interaction
Four track mind
In an 8-track body


Our human consciousness must rise to the level of our technology

read ye everyone, thee blog of nicole

http://nekole.livejournal.com/

i certainly like it.

Advert

Sending the right message?

Israeli missiles hit PA compound
from: www.bbcnews.com

Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the strike on his Gaza offices
Israeli aircraft have fired missiles into the Palestinian Authority's Gaza City compound, near the offices of President Mahmoud Abbas.
The two missile attacks wounded two Palestinians and left deep craters near the Palestinian Authority offices.

Mr Abbas, who was reportedly at his offices in the West Bank at the time, has condemned the attacks.

Israel said it hit Mr Abbas' office and another site in north Gaza in response to Palestinian missile attacks.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said they wanted to "send a message" to the Palestinians that such attacks would not be tolerated, the AFP news agency reported.

Mr Abbas' spokesman condemned the attacks and called on the US and the West to intervene.

"This escalation will lead the area to more violence and instability," Nabil Abu Rdeneh said.

Gaza strike

Israeli military said they also struck an open area of northern Gaza used by militants to fire crude rockets into Israel.

Palestinian security sources said a man standing in a field in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza had been killed by Israeli fire.

Seven people in a nearby house were injured in the same attack, Palestinian sources said.

One of the injured was reportedly a six-month-old baby.

It is not clear if the Israelis and Palestinians were referring to the same incident.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency: "There was no intent to hit any homes and we have no knowledge that we struck any."

The true north strong and free!

these are things which are legal in canada, but illegal in the United States

*absinthe, real absinthe
*drinking at 18
*downloading music (but not sharing it), theres a levy on every CD-R and DVD-R to repay the industry.
*cuban cigars: there is no way you will smoke another kind after (even cohibas dominican or davidoff seem sickly compared to the havana leaf, but thats my taste)
*pornography on late night television
*bawdy houses, orgies, live sex shows, lap dances.
*OTC codeine
*imported spirits are cheaper than they are in the US.


things that are legal in the states but not in canada
*betel nut (grey area in canada)
*handguns
*cigarettes in pharmacies, yay, they are cheap and no huge warning!
*OTC sleeping pills
*widespread ritelyn abuse in college.
*there is almost nil duty on domestic spirits. so get fucked up.
* you can buy a litre of coffee in one cup.

both countries are lotsa fun, just pick your poison.

North London Hasidic Blog

here is an intersting blogger from stamford hill, north london. his verbal humour is quite amusing, his articles are quite substantial.