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August 26, 2003

Sigh, something is up with my page again.  For some reason, the column titled Really Bizarre Stuff is not showing up.  I will try and get it figured out as soon as I can.

August 24, 2003

Has the other show dropped yet?  I'm waiting.  Can't you feel the tension in the air?

August 23, 2003

Just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

August 22, 2003

Still no eggs.  The younger chicks are  roosting in the trees.

There is a cricket behind my fridge. Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp day and night!

I am in barnyard anarchy!!!

August 21, 2003

Ok this new Hen I have is supposed to lay eggs but hasn't laid a one in an entire week.  I think I was duped.

But at least I was just duped about a Hen and not duped into going to war or anything!

August 20, 2003

The following quotes are all by Ghandi

It is my firm conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence.

With God as witness, I want to proclaim this truth that the way of violence cannot bring freedom, it can only lead to disaster

Violence is a concession to human weakness

Violence always thrived on counter violence .

To answer brutality with brutality is to admit one's moral and intellectual bankruptcy, and it can only start a vicious circle

Pure motives can never justify impure or violent action

By using violence to subjugate one another we are using violence against our own souls.

What senseless violence does is to prolong the lease of life of British or any foreign rule

India's freedom will not be won by violence but  only by the purest suffering without retaliation.

The bomb-throwers have discredited the cause of freedom, in whose name they threw the bombs.

The moral to be legitimately drawn from the supreme tragedy of the bomb is that it will not be destroyed by counter bombs even as violence cannot be by counter-violence.

Nonviolence of the strong is infinitely braver than their violence.

True nonviolence is mightier than the mightiest violence.

The Koran says that there can be no heaven for one who sheds the blood of an innocent neighbour.

Is it not possible for us all to realize that the masses will never mount to freedom through murder?

August 18, 2003

The saga of the chicken coop continues...

I had 12 chickens but now I have 14.  I picked up a hen and her bossy mate, a great big rooster.  Now I am torn.  I thought I was bonding with one of my younger roosters but now I have to choose between him and this big red brute.

I think I may become a vegetarian.

August 16, 2003

Recently I have been thinking about the 60’s and 70’s and the pop culture of the day.  All those Hippies preaching peace and love and more peace and getting back to the land.  What happened to those guys?  Now they are finally running the show and what is it they want? War, war, dead Muslims, oil, more war.  Now I think I would rather have the parents the Hippies were rebelling against than the Hippies themselves.  It is all very disillusioning.

August 15, 2003

Is the light on yet?  If you are reading this you probably not living in some sort of nightmare martial law place in the dark.  Ok maybe I exaggerate but the anchorman just reported widespread looting somewhere in Toronto.

No subways, no buses, no trains, no lights, no air conditioning, no shopping, no traffic lights...

Oh the humanity!!!

By morning there may be widespread cannibalism! Remember Lord of the Flies?

Honest though, nothing smacks more of conspiracy than all this "not knowing the reason" why the power is out.  I am sure they know the reason.

Tonight I got a phone call from Ontario.  Apparently the local radio there was reporting a power plant had exploded and there was billowing black smoke rising from the ruins.

Chrétien says that a Niagara power plant was hit by lightening.

There are all kinds of news items claiming there was no lightening.

I just hope it wasn't a cruise missile accidentally (yeah right) gone astray.

My fave part of all of this is when the Mayor of New York got on TV to give instructions to his citizens.  "you all turn off your air conditioners now but don't touch that dial."

August 14, 2003

Rabbit/human hybrid eh?

How about human/bird to ease up on traffic?

Human/deer, we could all trot to work in the morning.

Human/snake, just for an excuse to lie down all day.

Human/giraffe to improve basketball.

Human/elephant, that trunk would be like a 3rd arm!

Human/human.  I don't know what the scientists these days are mixed with but they could use an additional dose of humanity.

August 13, 2003

I swear this is a true story.

Bucky Hill was a Down Homer.  He came from the sort of family that had their reunions in the prison visitor's lounge.

One Autumn Bucky came up with a plan.  He broke into a ScotiaBank and tied a chain to their safe, he then proceeded to drag the safe into the parking lot with his pick up truck.  Once he achieved this task and setting off very loud sirens, Bucky planted himself on the safe and waited for the RCMP to arrive.

3 hours later the police finally arrived.  Bucky complained; "I damn near froze my ass off waitin' for you!

But why did Bucky do all this you ask?  Well it turns out he needed dental work.

Yay prison :-)

August 11, 2003

When I arrived home from my weekend away, I fully expected a casualty in the chicken coop.

You see I fed them on Friday before I left. Saturday they were left alone and I fed them on Sunday night when I returned.

Don't worry I didn't just allow them to starve! You see I put a giant dish of food out for them so they would have enough during the day I was away.  Of course they are also free range and there is ample bugs and worms to eat as well. 

I stressed over whether the chickens would just eat when they felt like it or if they would eat and eat and eat till they exploded.

I still don't know the answer. I arrived home to 12 healthy chickens and a big empty dish.  I have no clue how they divided the food amongst themselves but I know they didn't explode.

August 8, 2003

Seed bank destroyed by fire

The nonprofit group works to protect the genetic diversity of seeds through education and research. The organization had amassed 2,000 rare varieties of seed, some of which were 1,500 years old and many of which were the only known examples in the world.

August 7, 2003

Why is it that weeds grow so abundantly in dry soil yet I have to water my vegetables every day or they will die?

I have 12 chickens.  4 of them are roosters but I can only keep one rooster.  I guess that means 3 will go into the stew pot.  Can I do that?  Can I rip the flesh from the bones of a small bird that comes running up to me everyday, begging for food?

I'm torn.

Soon these chickens will be full grown and I will have to do the terrible deed.  Will I have the guts?  Will the surviving chickens hate me?  Will I be able to eat them?

Stay tuned for Survivor 7: The Chicken Coop

August 5, 2003

Ever heard of the Mars Effect?  Some scientists have actually studied how being born under Mars influence will effect one's sports performance.  It is a shaky hypothesis but interesting enough I suppose.  In a couple of weeks, Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been in the last 60,000 years.  What does it mean?  What will become of us?  Should we stockpile food?  Can we expect nuclear Armageddon?

I seem to remember they hyped us up about this a few years ago with that planetary alignment thing that caused nothing.

here are some links;

CELESTIAL INFLUENCES

Is There Really a Mars Effect?

August 2, 2003

Terrordaq?  We are so close to hell, the handbasket has burned

August 1, 2003

I posted lots of war and military links that I think are pretty interesting. Perhaps the amount of mainstream news links now criticizing the war means the media is finally starting to use it's brains.

July 31, 2003

Saving Tomato Seeds
Be sure to pick tomatoes when they are ripe on the vine. Pick from the most flavorful and colorful tomato plant.

Once you select a juicy hopeful:

Cut the tomato open and spoon out the seeds along with the pulp.

Place the pulp and seeds in a jar and add 1/4 cup of water.

Place the lid on the jar, but don't screw it on tightly. (This will ensure adequate air circulation.)

Store at approximately 70-75 degrees F.

Within a few days, the mixture will start to "ripen" or ferment, and a moldy film may form.

Stirring the mixture occasionally will help prevent the mold from forming. (The fermentation process is important because it improves chances of future germination by dissolving the gelatinous membrane surrounding each seed, which contains germination inhibitors in many plants. Also, this process seems to control seed-borne diseases.)

After about four days, pour off the pulp and the infertile seeds floating on the top. The viable seeds will have sunk to the bottom.

Rinse the viable seeds thoroughly and let them dry on sheets of newspaper for a good week or two. It's important that they are allowed to dry completely before they are stored. (When the seeds no longer stick to the paper, they are dry and ready for storage.)

Package the seeds in an airtight container (such as a baby food jar) and label them with the date and the name of the plant. The seeds may also be stored in packets and placed in a jar with silica gel to keep them dry. Store in the refrigerator or other cool area.

July 30, 2003

I posted up lots of news for you tonight. Enjoy.  Well ok... cry.

July 29, 2003

Last night I heard a sad story.  A friend of mine is a Volunteer for the Canadian Red Cross.  On 911, 800 people came to town for 3 days and she was responsible for taking care of them. There were quite a few famous people here as well as people who had little cash and only a carry-on bag.  They were all from different backgrounds, yet all equally needy.  The people were housed in a military camp on the west coast of Nova Scotia. As the Red Cross is not allowed to stockpile supplies, my friend had to go about finding towels, food and toiletries for these people.  An important item required was a telephone.  A major telecommunications company was called in to provide telephones for the "refugees" as the camp had only a few lines. Despite the extra phones, there were line ups and sometimes a person could not even get through once his turn had come.  Other people had trouble with phone cards that no longer worked and home phones that no one answered.  Food was easily provided in the mess hall facilities around the clock and apparently all 800 people took well advantage of this fact.  One of the biggest hardships was the shortage of towels.  You see we live in a rural community and there are few stores.  Every available towel in town, plus some other towns were purchased.  Rich and poor alike had to share these towels in communal bathrooms.  They had to share the same bars of soap, the same bottles of shampoo and the same tubes of toothpaste.  A lot of people had trouble with that.

More than anything else, the lack of towels and the problems with the phones was the most trying experience for these people.

This was a life changing experience for my friend.  She had been well trained to run a refugee camp and had even had prior experience when Kosovar refugees had been airlifted to our shores.  Yet even the Kosovo's were better prepared for shelter living than the passengers who were caught unawares on 911.

My friend reflected a great deal on what happened over those 3 days and when Christmas came that year she decided to do something a little different.  Something that had meant an awful lot to her was something she wanted to share with the members of her extended family. Perhaps she intended it as a sort of sympathetic magic.

 She wrote a letter recounting the experiences of the refugee shelter.  Sharing with them, that god forbid, if they ever have the misfortune to be caught up in a similar disaster, that they will have what she knew would make their ordeal a little more comfortable. She had learned that most of the grief had come from lack of a towel and an inability to call loved ones.  With this letter she included a small hand towel and a quarter to use the phone.  She was symbolically giving all her family what she knew they would need and desire if the time ever came.

Her family enjoyed the gift and thanked her for it.  There were tears and discussion of life lessons.

Her husband's family was a different story.  3 of the packages came back unopened.  One came back from my friend's sister in law, opened with a nasty letter stating they were returning the gift and were disgusted at her for using 911 as a vehicle to avoid buying real presents.  The letter also stated the hope my friend had purchased better quality towels for the refugees than the ones she chose to give to her family, because those were not even fit for wiping one's nose.

There was also a request that my friend and her husband no longer contact his sister and her family.  To this day, the sister in law does not speak to them, even at weddings, even at funerals.

July 28, 2003

I am still weeding.  Plus I am building a chicken coop! Tonight I am going to a cooking class with a friend.  I may watch a little tv...hey yeah Queer as Folk is on tonight.  Yep the lazy hazy days of summer.

July 23, 2003

Uday and Qusay.  Why is everyone so fucking stupid?

July 15,2003

All my stuff isn't working and I don't know why.  Nor do I have time to figure it out these days.  I'm so busy busy busy.  The weeds in my garden are as tall as me. 

I finished Gone With The Wind on Sunday.  You know it was actually a really good book!  Did you know it won the Pulitzer Prize?  I can never watch the movie in the same way again.  The movie is completely sanitized of what the book is really about.  Margaret Mitchell was a feminist decades ahead of her time!  Too feminist for 1939 when the movie came out and thus they washed the script clean of all the good stuff.  The book is also an interesting study in the evolution of American politics.  Yep back in the day when being a Democrat meant you were a racist, card carrying Klansman.  If you only read 5 books in your lifetime, GWTW should be one of them.  And READ the book, don't just watch the movie.  Don't worry, its a page turner.

Another book I read recently is The Shipping News.  Last night I rented the DVD and I had to say I was disappointed.  The book was fabulous, the movie was flat, disjointed and lacked everything the book was.  Read the book.  It won the Pulitzer Prize too.

Nothing sucks the life out of literature like a movie deal does.  Ugh.

July 12, 2003

Well I would say it was an interesting News day.  Lots of scandal, strife and really crappy bad revelations.

My fave story of the day I think is the bit about Sars and the US blaming it on Toronto.  My conspiracy dipstick is plenty dirty on this btw.   I was in Toronto airport last week and didn't see a single SARS victim nor did I catch Sars myself.  Some poor guy did leap away from me when I coughed though,  Heehee.

But back to conspiracy.  Blend Sars, Toronto, Mad Cow, Alberta, stumpage fees, West Nile Virus, more Sars, Beef bans, Chilly comments between Bush and Chrétien and heat all summer long.  Serves up a ruined tourist season and a slowing economy.

July 10, 2003

So did ya miss me?  I have been busy moving house and I also had to travel for a couple of weeks.

The news is still horrific.  Nothing ever changes.

Oh yeah I almost forgot.  They finally turned on my cable and all of a sudden I could watch the news again.  Well that was a big mistake because now I think I have woken up in some alternate universe...uh huh.

 Anyway it turns out the Canadian Government has been secretly growing their own stash of Mary Jane and now has a vast supply.  Medicinal pot is now legal AND the Gov't will sell it to you for 5 bucks a gram.  20 bucks for a packet of seeds. 

They also have this scheme to distribute the weed directly to Doctor's offices to be dispensed at their discretion.  Uh huh I see strife, misery and some nice relaxed moods on the horizon.

June 8, 2003

Well I see we are back to horrific news again. I think the news goes in cycles and has nothing to do with what is actually happening. On dull days they seem to recycle old stories as though they happened just today. Other days there is no news. Just almost news which is more like gossip. Then there are great big stellar news days where we are deluged with the most awful disgusting news we couldn't think up ourselves even in our worst nightmares.

Ever wonder if the TV News Networks wait for May and November sweeps to break bombshell news?

Do they sit on news till prime time to break it then?

Have you ever known firsthand about something in the news yet the news has it wrong and you know damn well it is wrong ?

Why is there never any good news?

What They Don't Want You to Know

In order to understand The World Bank you need to realize that everything is controlled by a white anglo saxon cabal made up of aliens with help from Mothers against Freedom.

The conspiracy first started during The Moon Landing in Brazil. They have been responsible for many events throughout history, including The Spanish Civil War.

Today, members of the conspiracy are everywhere. They can be identified by picking the lint from their belly buttons.

They want to Kill Jerry Falwell and imprison resisters in Cuba using Hercules Transport Planes.

In order to prepare for this, we all must scream. Since the media is controlled by Clinton we should get our information from Bush.

Make up your own conspiracy at Make Your Own Conspiracy Theory

June 6, 2003

I thought I would make a list of all the idiots I think are idiots. Not in any particular order.

Ann Coulter

Joseph Farah

Mike Rivero

Ariel Sharon

Bush...all of them

Jerry Falwell

Gordon Campbell

I will add more as they pop into my head.

June 1, 2003

I was right! It was the calm before the storm. I can't imagine anything more disgusting then the news I have read today. How sick are these Portuguese Politicians ? How demented are these sexually abusive UK troops? I want to see some justice this time. It makes me want to retire from the human race. That's it...I am no longer human! From now on I am a Martian!

May 29th, 2003

In case you were wondering? This is a Rivero Free Zone!

May 28,2003

Things seem unnaturally quiet. Do you notice that? Is it the calm before the storm? Perhaps it is just news burnout.

May 22,2003

Ok I am so disillusioned. Mark Wahlburg was on Conan tonight to promote his new movie. Sadly, he discussed the epiphany scene in Boogie Nights...you know the one with the firecrackers. Well Marky divulges to the world he was just "thinking about golf". (sigh) I wish he had kept that to himself. With all the crap in the world I was actually impressed with Nicole Kidman's "Art is important" line. Umm thanks Mark for letting us know that even "art" is crap too.

Oh one more thing...its obviously time to become neo-hippies and start growing our own food again!

May 20, 2003

I had an awesome long weekend! Well except for the two grueling days I spent working...but hey we have to pay our dues.

I was so busy this weekend I had no time to check in and check out all the horrible evil stuff that happened all weekend. I was in shock to learn there were 5 suicide bombings in Israel over only three days! There have been bombs going off everywhere around the globe and scores are dead! We are no closer to Peace despite all the attempts of the war mongers to provide it through a heavy handed show of force. War + War = Peace...umm yeah that was the popular equation a month or so a go wasn't it?

Everything we read about or see on TV is so depressing and harmful to our spirits. I often hear advice that sensitive people should avoid the news of current events all together to keep their sanity. However the plain truth is that even if people do not notice the horror unfolding in the world, it still happens. Ignoring it does not make the suffering go away. And frankly, not reading about the hardships of others is disrespectful to the too many who have died and suffered.

May 15, 2003

Another day and another dose of bad news.

I have also added a link to my favourite all time site about the Moon Conspiracy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and that maybe it will take your mind off all the death, destruction, war, evil, starvation and political corruption in the world right now. Hmm ok well maybe it won't either. :-)

May 13, 2003.

Hey there! You might have noticed that I am under major construction here. Over the next little while, I will be moving the furniture around and trying to unpack my boxes. Let me know if you like my new look or if you think I should make some changes.

What do you think of this font? Too hard to read perhaps?

Books I am reading!

New Column! updated on weekends when I read at work!

We The Living; part 6

Cough cough cough. That is the sound of sexy, abusive Leo hacking up his lungs.  It turns out he has Tuberculosis and will probably die.  Kira has just seen her Aunt, Uncle Vasili's wife, die of the same disease in an awful scene where she chokes up blood and screams out that she wants to live. Beauty.

Leo seems content to die but Kira has other thoughts.  She drags him to every hospital she can but he still isn't  a union member.  Communists get first dibs on hospital beds it seems and proud members of the Bourgeois come dead last. Emphases on dead.  Kira is not out of ideas though and she racks her brains to try and come up with the money to send Leo to the Crimea where hopefully his lungs will dry out. 

After being purged from the Institute for being Bourgeois, Kira takes a Soviet job.  She is now a mundane office worker, pushing paper for the benefit of worthless peasants.  She asks her boss for a 6 month advance on her salary to send Leo off to the Crimea. No luck.  She asks Vasili for the money and he offers her his wife's old coat.  Kira doesn't take it.  She writes to Leo's Aunt in Germany begging for the cash but they are insulted beyond belief that Leo's harlot would have the audacity to write to them.  Leo coughs some more and this provokes Kira to ask a wealthy looking stranger for the cash, apparently in return for sex.  The stranger laughs at her and tells her he can get it cheaper.

Poor Kira.  For once she is thinking of someone other than herself and it still gets her nowhere.  Finally she gets a brain wave and runs to Andrei to ask him for the money.  Funny thing is he has been avoiding her like the plague.  He even stood her up on their last date!

Determined, Kira tracks Andrei down at his apartment.  In a scene which illustrates the incredible immaturity of the characters in this novel, Andrei admits he has been avoiding Kira because he is in love with her.  Well finally Kira has an in!  She becomes Andrei's mistress making him promise  never to come to her home or telephone her there.  The whole affair must be their secret because her family "would never understand".  In return for Kira's (ahem) devotion, Andrei starts handing his entire monthly paycheck over to Kira.  You see she lied to him and told him that her family is starving and that is why she needs the money.  Mistress poor, Andrei moves into a closet or something at the Winter Palace which now houses the Communist Clubhouse.  But it's all for Kira.  He even asks her to marry him.  Gee I can't recall Leo, the man she is living with, asking Kira to marry him. She doesn't marry him of course, because her family just wouldn't understand.

So with her ill gotten gains, Kira sends Leo off to the hospital in the Crimea for 8 months.

But the plot was thicker than that. 

One day Kira came home to Leo, and in between coughs he was making out with Vava.  If you don't recall, she is cousin Victor's girlfriend.  Leo is drunk so of course Kira forgives him readily.  But why is Vava in their room, making out with Leo?  Vava was letting Leo indulge in her because she had just barged in on Victor and that insufferable new neighbour girl Marisha The Communist.

Yes cousin Victor is the one who had told Marisha about the fancy extra room occupied by a couple of snobbish bourgeois.  What a blade you are Victor.  The implication is that he did it out of revenge to Kira because he is not over her spurning him a few months ago.  Uh huh.  Kira is awfully conceited and I think this multilayered triangle love affair stuff is a giant hole in the plot...but we will get to that later.  Well okay one more note: have you noticed that almost every principle character (other than the parents) is screwing more than one person?  Well maybe you haven't noticed from this summary, but read the book and you will see.  Love triangles are a major theme!  More on that later too.

Marisha isn't just making out with Victor.  She seems to have a couple of different beaus.  One day she corners Kira and asks her how she avoids getting pregnant.  Kira has no idea!!  That's right!  Kira doesn't know how to avoid pregnancy nor does she care. hmmm. How has she avoided pregnancy I wonder?

Anyway, even if Kira did know, it is too late for Marisha because she actually is pregnant.  It is by her least favorite beau who convinced her to spread her legs by telling her if she didn't, then she was bourgeois.  Uh huh.  Well we have learned to expect that all communists in this novel are more stupid than Kira and that is no small feat.

So Marisha has an abortion.  A very bad abortion where she is incredibly ill and hemorrhages everywhere.  Kira tells her to clean up the blood in the bathroom.  Sometimes I wonder if Kira has some sort of anti-social behavior problem.  Maybe she has Narcissistic personality disorder.  Whatever she has, it is the one where you have no compassion for anything or anyone but yourself.

Meanwhile, Leo is off to the Crimea and Kira and Andrei can finally be alone to screw like rabbits...which they do for 8 short months.  Then Leo returns! The tuberculosis has gone and he has a new lease on life, excepting the fact he has lost the will to live...but more on that later.  Now Kira has to screw them both, while keeping both of them in the dark.  So many lies.

Kira has to make up excuses to get away from Leo to see Andrei.  She tells Leo that she has to go to the social club meeting for work.  You see Andrei got her another job but those cushy Soviet jobs mean social responsibility.  Anyone who does not conform is in danger of being purged.  Leo still isn't working so being purged isn't the best of ideas.  Usually she would tell Leo she had a meeting when she didn't or she would see Andrei after the meeting ended.

One night Kira made the excuse that she had to see her family.  Leo wanted to come too but she lied again and said they were uncomfortable about him still.  As she is about to leave there is a knock on the door.  It is her family!! Surprise! There to see Kira and Leo, the man they have accepted as their own son.  Wowza, lucky Kira hadn't already left.  Doesn't Leo suspect anything?? Especially after that son bit?  Poor Andrei gets stood up again.

Leo probably doesn't suspect anything because he is drunk all the time.  There are all sorts of questionable people coming and going from their room these days, notably a floozy woman from the Crimean Sanitarium and her louse of a boyfriend.  You see they have cooked up a plan.  With the help of Pavel who works in the ministry of food now, they are going to steal food from the ministry and then sell it to the people in their private store.  Ok you got that right?  Food is scarce.  People are lining up to claim their food rations.  Pavel, Leo and this cruddy black market guy are going to steal some of that scarce food and then sell it for profit.

Even Kira is appalled at this! Although her concern is not some starving baby somewhere but rather that Leo will go to the firing squad.  After a heated argument where Leo verbally abuses Kira in front of their guests, Leo admits he doesn't care if he dies but rather he is going to LIVE until he does.  Serious psychological issues here you know.

Well the money starts rolling in.  Leo owns the private store and everything is in his name.  Pavel and the cruddy guy plan to pin everything on Leo in case things go south.  Leo knows this but I think it is part of the fun for him.  Suddenly Kira has a ton of new dresses and a maid!  That's right, a maid!  They live in a crummy one room flop house with no kitchen and a shared bathroom and they have a maid.  Well the room can't be helped but gee a maid? 

Kira wears her old patched clothes to work.  She only goes to work to keep her status as a Soviet employee.  When she gets home her maid dresses her in a pretty dress and silk stockings.  Yep, times are good.

Leo on the other hand flaunts his wealth whenever he can.  He doesn't even work in the store, there is a clerk for that.  Instead he dresses up in fancy clothes and spends money all over town, especially at nightclubs and casinos.  He doesn't care if he calls attention to himself.

One day he visits his store and dips into the cash register.  He does this often apparently and the clerk has been told by Pavel and the cruddy guy to tell Leo to stop it.  Leo doesn't care and empties the register. 

Leo is off to buy a wedding present for Victor and Marisha. That's right! Marisha and Victor are getting married.  Of course the family is scandalized that he is marrying a piece of proletariat trash like her, but hey it's all due to the revolution.

It turns out that Victor is really just marrying her because of her prominent position in the Party.  You see he has become a Communist himself, perhaps on the theory; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Leo chooses the most expensive vase he can find for the newlyweds and brings it home to show Kira who is aghast.  Kira feels they should give them something modest and not call attention to their wealth.  Leo takes the vase and throws it on the floor, shattering it.  Kira is angry and says it was a waste of money and they should be saving the money to escape abroad but Leo still fails to care for their future.

The wedding is a bizarre affair.  Marisha's peasant relatives fail to impress Kira and Victor's relatives.  Although everyone must know that Leo and Kira are living together, ESPECIALLY MARISHA AND VICTOR, Andrei is invited.

Now Andrei must be so sex deprived these days that he is too horny to think because he doesn't suspect a thing.  Why is it that Victor or Marisha has not told Andrei that Kira lives with Leo.  Even if they don't know that Kira is Andrei's mistress, why hasn't it slipped out that she lives with Leo.  Poor Andrei still thinks that Kira lives with her parents.

Kira and Andrei spend their time at the party together while Leo gets drunk and lords it over Kira.  He seems to be jealous of Andrei.  It is like he knows, but he doesn't know it all.  Andrei seems confused about why Leo is territorial with Kira.

Once Andrei asked Kira if that Leo guy was in love with her and she denied it.  Poor Andrei.

Anyway, in his drunken rage Leo almost shouts out the truth to Andrei but Irina stops him.  Instead he paws up a couple of girls and Kira and Andrei leave together...off to screw.

The highlight of the party is when Marisha's father gives a toast.  It turns out he is a red blooded commie but he ain't in with the way they have been running things of late.  He claims they have less freedom under the party than they did under the Tsar.

Victor is livid!!  He calls his bride a fool and demands to know why she didn't tell him about her father being a counter-counter-counter revolutionary.  The honeymoon is over.

What happens to counter-counter-counter revolutionaries?

Will Andrei ever figure out about Leo and vice versa?

Will Kira and Leo earn enough to escape abroad?

Will Kira get pregnant and not know why?

Stay tuned and I will see if these questions are ever answered.

We the Living; Part 5

Leo is just so virile!! Before the revolution, he used to hang out in sparkly drawing rooms, enjoying the seduction of bored rich ladies.  He could have anyone it appears, even the Tsar's mistress.  He had to cut that short, however because it would have cost Leo's father his posh job in the military.  Hmm yes, the fabulous Russia of old.

Nowadays, Leo merely wants Kira although he is not above casting a lusty glance towards any woman who desires him. And they all seem to desire him.

Kira and Leo set up house in his luxurious 3 room apartment.  They have a bedroom, a drawing room and a dining room...oh and a bathroom too it seems.  They are snug as two bugs in a rug.  Kira cooks all the meals but makes up a rule that Leo can't be in the same room as her when she cooks.  They have plenty of money and plenty of food.  Times are good.

Vava calls and invites Kira and Leo to a party she is giving.  She has also invited Kira's sister Lydia who seems to be the only girl left in Russia who can play the piano.  Even Lydia realizes her popularity is due to her piano playing and Vava tells Kira to bring a date for Lydia.  Is Lydia so dull she can't find her own date? Is Ayn revealing a touch of sibling rivalry in this "autobiographical account of her thoughts and feelings"?

Inexplicably, due to her happiness with Leo, Kira continues to date Andrei.  Leo knows all about this and calls Andrei, "Your communist boyfriend".  Kira is willing to share however and invites Andrei to the party as Lydia's date.  Well actually, she doesn't exactly say that to Andrei.  She tells him that she is inviting him to a party and that she needs to bring two men, one for her sister Lydia.  She then states she has also invited Leo.  Now poor Andrei could easily assume that Leo is Lydia's date, especially after she has been stepping out so often with him to attend the Opera. Kira has also made a point of making sure Andrei never comes to her house anymore "because her family is not comfortable".  She has neglected to inform him, and purposefully so, that she has left her family and is now shacked up with Leo.  I have to conclude that there is not a single reason for Andrei not to conclude that he is invited to the party as Kira's date. Kira hopes that he will figure out the truth about her and Leo on his own.  Gee place yourself in this situation and think how potentially humiliating and hurtful this situation could turn out.

The party seems to be fun enough.  As expected Andrei hangs off Kira.  Leo flirts with other women but is actually quite territorial with Kira.  When Andrei and Kira steal off to be alone for a few romantic moments on the patio, Leo barges in on them and reminds Leo that Kira is not state property.  Andrei replies that it would be better for Kira if she was state property.  What does this mean??  I have no clue what Andrei is getting at here.  Perhaps Andrei is telling Leo that Kira would be better off with himself than Leo.  All I can say is that is probably true.

After the evening is ended, Andrei still doesn't know she is living with Leo and Kira declines to tell him.  She actually scolds him because yet again he has failed to notice her best dress.  He claims he did notice and that it is very nice.  I can see that Kira is the type of girl who needs a great deal of compliments to feel secure.  Maybe that is why she prefers Leo to Andrei.  Leo is obviously adept at sweet talking.

The only member of Kira's family, still willing to talk to her is her cousin Irina.  Well I think Lydia will speak to her but the only mention about it is that Lydia seems attracted to Leo.

Irina corners Kira in the street and tells her how everyone is starving now that they kicked their meal ticket out.  Kira gives Irina a loaf of bread and tells her to lie about where she got it, thinking that if her family knows it was from her, they won't eat it.

Well Kira was wrong.  Mother came running over to Kira's the next day, begging forgiveness and probably another loaf of bread.

It turns out mother has also taken a job!  She is now teaching young proletariat children to sew.  Good for you Mom! Way to support your family!  Even Scarlett would approve.  Unfortunately, there seems to be disapproval about how Mom seems to be believing in the worth of educating the young guttersnipes.

Leo and Kira live the high life.  They purchase black market food and attend the cinema. Many afternoons are spent in the countryside. The cinema is quite a disappointment because the censors have chopped up the movies and inserted  Communist propaganda.  The countryside was a disappointment because they could not stay overnight without first filling out a bunch of forms and asking permission to stay in a hotel for the night.  Kira and Leo sleep at home due to this.

But the bliss comes to an end.

One day a worker shows up on their doorstep and announces he has been assigned to their dining room.  They have to move their crap out and give the man the room.  He isn't much trouble but it is only the first of their troubles.

Next, Leo loses his job.  He refuses to use his skills teaching foreign languages in his spare time, and he is soon unloaded.  The loss of this job means their spending money and their food supply dries up.  Leo pounds the pavement looking for another job but comes up empty.  Both go hungry and lie about it to feed the other.

Whatever food Kira does manage to cook, she does so in the drawing room.  Leo has to hide in the bedroom now anytime she cooks.

Evil comes knocking on the door in the form of a young female communist with an order to occupy their drawing room.  Of course this is beyond what they can tolerate.  Even the housing manager threatens to throw the woman out until he reads her papers and discovers that she is from a powerful Communist Union.  Leo and Kira go to court and finally loose all rights to the room because they are bourgeoisie and because they are just as good as married and are only entitled to one room anyway.

Now Kira and Leo are crammed into one room.  Not only is there no place for Leo to hide while she cooks but the new tenant is horrible.  She walks around with an open robe and doesn't knock when she has to walk through their bedroom to use the bathroom.

Kira is suspicious about why this nightmare is happening to them.  How did the girl find out about this particular room anyway?

Will Kira ever cook again? Or will Leo have to hide in the Bathroom.

Will Leo get a job  or will they starve?

Would you drive over Kira's aluminum bridge despite the fact she hardly attends lectures at engineering school?

Will they find out who told the communists about their posh digs?

Stay tuned...

We the Living; Part 4

The white soldiers non existent legs finally give out on him and Andrei decides to carry him.  In fact he carries him right into the red zone!  Realizing he lost his last chance, the soldier begs Andrei to kill him.  Andrei can't do it but leaves the guy his gun so he can off himself.

I assume this whole scene has been some sort of metaphorical comment.  Maybe Ayn is suggesting that Andrei is only Andrei because of chance and could easily have fought for the white team.  Or maybe she is saying that Andrei really wants to love the Bourgeoisie and include them in his new world order but unfortunately the Bourgeoisie would rather be dead than red.  I don't know.  Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Back from the past, Andrei shows up at the door and they scandalize everyone by going to chat alone in her bedroom.  They agree they are friends and Andrei vows to protect her but warns her not to get too involved with whatever crap Leo is into.  Kira asks Andrei who Leo really is but Andrei won't tell her.

Kira asks Andrei if he believes in God which he does not. This pleases Kira because she believes that those who believe in God do not believe in life.  She explains to Andrei that believing in any sort of concept higher than the self, shows one has little regard for one's own life.

Andrei remarks that Kira is a strange girl.

" You see, you and I, we believe in life.  But you want to fight for it, to kill for it, even to die-for life.  I only want to live it."   Umm ok Kira, Andrei was born a serf.  Everything he now enjoys in life is because he fought, killed and was willing to die for it.  Everything you used to enjoy in life was handed to you free on a silver platter....but I digress.

Lets get back to the real meat of this story; the epic love affair between Kira and Leo. 

They meet each other at that same time, same place locale and start to make out.  Leo confesses that he is defecting to Berlin now that his Aunt has sent him some money to do so. After all he is a counter -revolutionary and a wanted man. Kira proclaims she is going with him even though it is a risk to her life.  Leo is pleased but tells her she will have to leave with nothing and cannot even telephone home to say goodbye.  She claims she has no one to say goodbye to anyway.  Gee what will her dependant family do without her rations card!  They run off together discussing the luxuries they will enjoy once they get to Berlin.

In some sort of foreshadowing, Leo admits that if it wasn't for Kira he would have already left for Germany a few days ago.  However that ship never arrived at it's destination and is presumed lost.  Kira has saved his life!

They make it to the boat and retire to their stateroom where they spend the night screwing.

Morning comes too early though because a Red barges in.  The ship has been caught and everyone is going to jail...or worse!  All Kira can do is spit something out about how dare he interrupt their "first time!"

Lucky for Kira, it turns out that this particular Red respected Leo's father.  Leo begs him to let Kira go, proclaiming he kidnapped her.  Stupid as usual, Kira keeps shouting Leo is lying.  Perhaps she wants to go in front of a firing squad...I don't know.

Anyway, Kira gets sent home and Leo gets sent to jail.  The Red says she should wait patiently for 3 days and he will be released.  After all, the Reds have cooled down over whatever Leo was involved in and now had better fish to fry.

While Leo languishes in jail, Kira goes back to supporting her family.  She tells them nothing of her escapade and claims she spent the night at cousin Irina's.  Her days are spent filling tubes of saccharin which claim 100 tablets with only 87 tablets.  You would think her family would be happy enough with her rations card and not subject her to menial labour as well.

Believe it or not, Leo is purged from jail a free man.  He gets his house, his job, and his place at the university back.  He goes to the Institute and they give him Kira's address.  Obviously they have no qualms about giving out the address of their 18 year old students to any ex-con who walks in off the street.

Leo arrives at Kira's home and wisks her away from her shocked family.  They return to his home and screw all night again. 

In the morning, Kira decides she should break the news to her parents.  Leo questions why she would return there at all.  For once Kira thinks of others and decides she must at least tell them what happened to her.

Kira returns to a family who stayed up all night worrying about her.  They assume she stayed with Leo and Kira proclaims she has indeed slept with him.  As Kira predicted, they throw her out on the street.  Well they would have thrown her out on the street but unfortunately for them, she was now living with Leo and had a way better place now.

Kira returns to Leo and they happily play house.  Everything is coming up roses...so far.

Will Leo continue to love Kira?

Will Kira's family ever forgive her?

What will Kira's family eat now their meal ticket is shacked up with Leo?

Stay tuned for these answers and more!

We the Living; Part 3

Ok is this a PRO Soviet novel or an anti- Soviet novel?  I am not sure anymore.

Back in the day, when Uncle Vasili used to be powerful and influential, he could buy anything he wanted. One of those "things" he wanted happened to be a clock from a museum.  Taking a fancy to it, he pestered the curator and managed to get a special Imperial Order to allow the piece to be sold to him.  Hmm next time I see something I like in a museum, I am going to ask how much to take that item home.  Maybe I will get lucky.

ANNNYWAAAY, Now Uncle Vasili is sitting at the flea market trying to unload his treasure for a fraction of what it is worth.  With the help of the eternally clever Kira, he gets a decent sum for the clock.

As Uncle Vasili walks home, he comes across a crippled veteran selling newspapers. Overcome, he gives him a million rubles.  Vasili may be dumb as a stick but at least he has a heart.

Kira on the other hand, seems to have every despicable quality known to humanity.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Kira meets Leo at that same time, same place that they had agreed to.  Turns out he neither died, nor forgot.  They spend their short time together discussing how jaded he is and how fabulous she is. 2 peas in a pod.  They agree to meet yet again.

Back at school, Kira runs into the Red, Andrei.  It turns out he quite likes her.  He manages to convince her to go out on a date...to the Opera!  But first, Kira tells us how she really feels about the world and her place in it.  Turns out Kira is one of those people who thinks that rich people deserve the finer things in life because they are superior to poor people.  She feels the poor people deserve nothing because obviously they are unable to pull themselves up by their bootstraps enough to get anything for themselves.  Even Andrei admits the  revolution is being wasted on people who don't really deserve it.

You know it wasn't lost on me that Kira was speaking to a guy who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and overturned the ruling elite so that he could enjoy some of the finer things in life that he figured he deserved.  I think it was lost on Kira however.

Just as an aside, here are some links about Imperial Russia, (the Russia Kira and her family is pining for).

Imperial Russia, 1815-1917 It is often argued that the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 was the single most important act in the history of Russia, although, it can also be said that it was not worth the paper that it was written on. Alexander II felt that this was a reform that was needed ... From the declaration, serfs were said to have legal liberty, they were no longer private property of their masters, were free to trade, marry, litigate, and to acquire property. All of these changes would appear to greatly benefit the serfs, however, that was not always the case. The serfs had to pay a series of 'redemption payments' to the government for the land allotments which had been assigned to them from their previous owner's estate. These 'redemption dues' were set at high levels and were to be paid off over forty-nine years. This meant that the peasants were forced to pay far in excess of the market value for the land, and this was a hidden benefit for the landed nobility that was to replace the loss of their servile labor.

The plight of the Serfs

Russia in the 19th Century

Chronology of Russian History: Imperial Period

 Description of Nobles and Serfs in Pre-Emancipation Russia Wealth was measured in those times by the number of "souls" that a landed proprietor owned. So many "souls" meant so many male serfs , women did not count...The flogging of the serfs was a regular part of the duties of the police and of the fire brigade.

Russia.Net - History: Revolutionary Times

I remember learning about "the beard tax" in school.  One of the Czars was embarrassed about the fashion challenged serfs who wore long beards.  Wanting Russian serfs to look more like Western European serfs, he ordered them to shave.  However the Russian serfs rebelled and the czar had to come up with a new approach.  The beard tax then came on the scene.  Any serf wishing to wear a beard not only had to pay for the privilege but also had to wear the metal Imperial seal embedded into his whiskers.  It was crap like this that led to the revolution.

But back to Kira and her desire to live well and to hell with starving peasants.

Excited about the opera, Kira's mom and sister sew over an old dress for her to wear.  She confesses to her family that she is going on a date with a communist and they faint and whine and make various comments about how she is betraying them all.

Andrei arrives on time to pick her up and is unfailingly polite.  Even polite when Kira's mother points out to him that if it wasn't for superior people such as herself, there would be no opera for riffraff like him to attend.

Andrei finds he doesn't care for opera but he enjoys being with Kira and enjoys watching her enjoy the opera.  Kira is disappointed he didn't mention her new dress.

Leo must have noticed Kira stepping out on him because the dangerous counter-revolutionary decides to RISK HER LIFE by hanging around the engineering school to wait for her.  They run off somewhere and proclaim their undying love to one another.

The next day Kira is dragged into the communist cell office to spill the beans on the dangerous counter-revolutionary that was hanging around the engineering school to wait for her.  She is interrogated by Pavel but she lies and says she was only giving some stranger directions.  Andrei comes in and saves the day.  If not for Andrei I think they would have thrown Kira in jail by now.

It is time for some background on Andrei and Pavel.  Turns out Andrei does all the work and Pavel gets all the credit.  The heroism attributed to Andrei makes you wonder if he didn't win the revolution single handedly.  What is this guy doing spying on some stupid engineering students?  You would think he would be hanging out at the Kremlin.  The Kremlin seems to be the goal of Pavel however.

It turns out that Andrei risked his life walking across no mans land to preach to the white soldiers.  He only wanted to give them bread, land and a chance to live the life they were born to as opposed to living as a rich man's slave.  The white officer shot Andrei.  Then the whites shot the officer dead and joined the red team. ( Isn't there a black team too?  I know there is a drink named after it).  Anyway, Pavel, Andrei's cowering shadow jumps up and indoctrinates the new reds.

Next we jump to another scene where a battle has just ended and Andrei wakes up in a sea of corpses.  He steals water from a dead man and tries to wander off but is noticed by a white soldier with missing body parts. Thirsty and disorientated, the white wants to follow Andrei.  Andrei responds that they are on opposite teams and where ever they go, one of them is going to end up dead.  The white is willing to take the chance and off they walk, together into the sunset.

Where is Andrei and the white soldier going?

Will Leo risk Kira's life again?

Will Andrei take Kira on more dates to the Opera?

Will Pavel get that posh job at the Kremlin?

Stay tuned and I will try to answer all these questions, next time I crack open the book.

We the Living; Part 2

Another day, another few chapters.

Oh my.  Kira must go and get her "papers" so that she may enter society as a functioning member.  We are treated to a parallel  of the mundane questions the official asks about Kira for the papers and how incredible and individual Kira really is and not to be defined by medium height, gray eyes, brown hair.  Well yes Kira is an individual all right.  We learn how incredibly spoiled and how people catered to her, her entire life.  If she didn't like something she would merely throw a temper tantrum and never be faced with the experience again.  No questions asked it would seem.

Hmm I am imagining my driver's license reading; Conspiracy Girl Friend, chubby, blonde, enjoys swimming with sharks.

Kira starts engineering school and gets her hands on that ration card her family was dreaming about.  Too bad for her dependants that she rarely thinks of food and forgets to pick up the bread.  All her dependants go to bed without dinner. She is terribly sorry but she was busy thinking how to make a bridge out of aluminum. Of course nobody else in the family considers working for a living to at least get their own ration card.  Well I am being a bit to hard on them maybe because Dad opens up a textiles shop and now trades cloth for lard. That must be so tasty with out Kira's bread to smear it on.

The family, owing to a bribe now lives in a squalid 3 room apartment without plumbing.  They have to carry buckets of water up four flights of stairs if they want a bath or a drink of water.  It wasn't mentioned but I assume there is no heat and perhaps a few rats.  Well there would be rats if they had anything to eat.  Anyway, Mom managed to show her face over at their old mansion which is now being lived in by a lowly sign painter who has so little respect for the finer things that he stores his paint cans on her precious Venetian glass shelves.  Ok I am no Soviet historian but the emphasis here is that this mansion is serving as the abode for this one paint flecked guy.  I would assume that in actuality, fancy Petrograd mansions were housing dozens of Proletariat families and their livestock.  I digress.  So Mom gets over to the mansion and the sign painter guy says she can have whatever of her furniture he isn't using.  She manages to get a couple of beds, some broken china and a grand piano.  Maybe they can burn it for heat.

Kira goes on a date with her cousin Victor who tries to kiss her.  He gets all sappy and talks about love but she will have none of it.  She ditches him in the middle of the night in some dark alley.  He tries to walk her home but she freaks on him and says she will tell the police he is harassing her unless he bugs off.  He actually does run off when she actually does stop a cop to chat.

So off Miss Prude goes into the dark night, populated by hookers and God knows who else.  She sees some stranger she is obviously attracted to and makes eyes at him from under a lamp post.  This stranger assumes she is a hooker and she readily agrees to go with him and charge him for sex!  He is obviously a novice at this too and he awkwardly fumbles with her clothes.  Apparently she is going to do him right then and there on some slimy cold steps but he was really hoping she would take him home to her apartment or whatever hovel it is prostitutes live in.  You see he claims he can't be seen in polite society or even darken the door of any decent home.  I SUPPOSE he is some sort of counter revolutionary that Kira will stalk for the rest of the novel.  Kira finally admits that she is not a prostitute...although she was willing...and he seems relieved. They chat about themselves and share their names.  His is Leo. They agree to meet in the same darkened doorway in a months time, unless of course he is dead or he just plain forgets.  Uh huh...he sounds so deliciously abusive.

Back at school, Kira meets up with some chick running for student council.  She convinces her to go to the election and choose someone to vote for, after all it is the duty of all emancipated women to use the vote now they have it.  During this meeting, Kira makes rude political comments, especially when everyone sings "Internationale".  Some people tell her to shhh because spies are everywhere.  Some Red comes up to her and threatens her and she mocks him and dares him to come to her house to arrest her.  I think she is feeling pretty confident. All the "Reds" are portrayed as being dumber and less sophisticated than Kira for some odd reason. Oh yes this is an anti-Soviet novel!  I forgot for a moment.

Kira escapes the election unscathed and runs over to visit her uncle Vasili.  You will remember he is the one who swore he would die before getting a job. Turns out that he used to own a fur shop and he has been pounding the sidewalks every day looking for his shop furnishings.  He has found the chairs over here and the shelves over there and someone is even using the back of his sign over their own shop now.  He figures once this Soviet nonsense is over with, he will get the crap back.  He has also spent his entire day standing in line to sell the chandelier from the dining room.  He is so incredibly pleased with himself for the excellent price he received for it.  Does he buy food for his family with this money?  Nope he has been wandering around town again, trading Soviet money for Czar money...cause you know it is only a matter of time before things get back to normal.  Even Kira thinks this is ill advised but she keeps this tidbit to herself as she praises her uncle over how clever he is.

Suddenly there is a knock at the door and in walks a smartly dressed young girl with a diamond bracelet.  She is a friend of Victor's.

 Is Victor already over Kira?

How is it this girl can afford a new dress?

Will Kira's loud mouth get her in real trouble?

Can bridges be made from Aluminum?

Will Leo show up in that slimy doorway next month?  Or will he be dead or simply forget?

Will this Soviet nonsense soon be over?

Stay tuned for the answers to these questions plus more!

We the Living; Part 1

Ok, so like I have this job on the weekends where I am lucky enough to read whatever I want between crisis's.  I think this is the only job I will ever have where I can pretend that I am getting paid to read. Yeehaw!  All this, plus the books are even provided, shelves and shelves of them!

Sunday, I started Ayn Rand's, " We The Living".

The book is prefaced by a forward of the author;  she confesses how proud she is of her own work, even though she had written it so many years ago.  She claims it is her autobiography, (except all the names, characters, situations and in fact the entire story has been changed).  The main character of the book is not actually herself but an embodiment of her values and ideologies.  Ok I am not sure that actually counts as an autobiography but...whatever.

 The story opens with a wealthy family traveling back from exile in the Crimea to the now Soviet Petrograd.  The successful revolution is in full swing, and not just poor people are cold and hungry anymore.  Being a wealthy aristocratic Bourgeoisie is not longer any protection from the horrors of life.  Oh the indignity of it all!

Kira's (pseudo Ayn's) father is now so poor that he has to wear a shirt made from an old potato sack. Despite his pathetic costume, he still wears a real gold pince-net.  (anyone know what a pince-net is?).  Couldn't he sell that for a decent shirt?  Ahhh but they need to blend in with the working people now.

Speaking of working people, cut to the family safely arrived and housed in the home of their relatives.  Once an incredibly opulent abode, the walls are nearly stripped bare of their treasures.  Everything is being sold for food.  You see the whole family is living off of two student rations cards.  Uh huh.  It's sort of like taking the food out of your own children's mouths isn't it? Now they could all get ration cards all right and perhaps eat a little better but Kira's uncle claims his wife will be a widow before he lowers himself to actually work for his bread.  After all, they have a few more trinkets around the home they could still sell.  As a working person myself, I have minimal sympathy.  Scarlett O'Hara would be disgusted!

Ok let's chat about Kira.  Under the soviets, she can pursue any line of work she desires.  Her Aunt suggests she becomes a doctor for the sole purpose of the attractive rations card. Uh huh.  Kira has other ideas and wants to become an engineer for the sole purpose of building things.  The family is of course shocked and scandalized as engineering is such an inappropriate profession for a woman.  Don't worry, Kira will go off to engineering school despite the snarky comments of her loved ones who really only see her as a potential meal ticket.

But what will happen to Kira's dependants?  Will they starve? Will they finally break down and get jobs?  Will the Soviets be overturned and they can go back to their posh lives?  What will Kira build?

Stay tuned and see after I get through another chapter or so. ◌

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Q&A: Daily life in postwar Baghdad

Australian government "sexed up" Iraq intelligence, claims former analyst

 The spectre of Operation Ajax Britain and the US crushed Iran's first democratic government. They didn't learn from that mistake
 

13,600 KILLED BY HEATWAVE

 Heat wave death toll 'probably' 10,000

Heat wave turned Paris homes into ovens for elderly

 Chrétien says Canada committed to Iraqi relief

 Canadians begin patrol in Kabul

Guerillas ensuring US pleas for help fall on deaf ears

US approves Turkish Command in Iraq

Spain under pressure to withdraw forces after first casualty in Iraq

 UN won't quit Iraq, second Canadian dies

 US seeks wider help in Iraq

Poland to withdraw troops from high risk area near capital

Suddenly the US finds the UN not so irrelevant anymore!!

 Japan may delay Iraq force

UN to evacuate Iraq employees to Jordan

 Who's sabotaging Iraq?

In Iraq, UN blurs with US

 U.S. wastes health-care funds: Study Thirty-one cents of every dollar spent on health care in the United States goes to pay administrative costs — nearly double the rate in Canada

 Fish oil a balm for depression: studies

 Humans related to humble mud worm

 India clears US colas

 Sobig is biggest virus of all

Virus That Infects E-Mails Expanding Its Reach

Hardline Israeli minister wants Arafat's headquarters "obliterated"'

 Palestinian fury after Gaza strike Hamas' military wing urged its "fighters in Palestine to strike in every corner of the Jewish state"

 Palestinian militants call off truce after an Israeli missile strike killed a Hamas leader in Gaza City.

 Israel hits back, Hamas buries truce

 Israeli missiles kill Hamas leader, 2 guards

 Abbas threatens to resign over crackdown on militants

Abbas may quit unless Arafat helps him

 Hamas, Islamic Jihad Scrap Israel Truce

 'Chemical Ali' captured, U.S. says Again??

 Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' in U.S. custody

 Woman Hurt as Cellphone Bursts Into Flames

 Liberian foes choose leader

 Liberia: Nation starving

 Children swap silk work for school

 Profile: Rwanda's strongman

 African slum unites to fight disease

 Hostages tell of desert emotions Some of the Europeans freed from a five-month hostage ordeal in the Sahara desert have spoken for the first time about their experiences

 Fears of Cuban 'infiltration' in Venezuela Mr Chavez may not have bargained that the rows of lettuce, cucumber and mint now thriving amidst the traffic and high-rises of downtown Caracas would also produce a harvest of controversy.

The Exile Files

Kabul Bomb meant for Canadian troops

 Troops wounded in action not listed among casualties

Terror's Gains : opinion

Ex-Prisoners Allege Rights Abuses by U.S. Military

Israeli human rights group slams Hebron Settlers

  Israel makes West Bank raids

Ontario Nuclear Reactors having trouble

Blackout raises price of gas

 UN to stick by Iraq mission despite Tuesday's devastating attack on its headquarters in Baghdad

Iraq Governing Council warned of attack

 Iraq's Governing Council received warning of truck bombing a week ago

 Israel blast suspends talks

Taliban strikes again

Stretched too thin