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Stoned archer banned from Beijing
Czech archer Milan Andreas has had his Olympic dreams shattered after testing positive to marijuana.
The Czech Olympic Committee has confirmed Andreas will not be included in the national squad.
"We have not had this officially, but Milan Andreas had a positive test for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active chemical in marijuana). It appears he will not be nominated for Beijing," committee spokesman Jan Martinek told the CTK news agency.
The 19-year-old insists he smoked the drug in September last year without a thought for the consequences.
"The Olympics should have been the height of my career and instead it has turned into the greatest upset," Andreas said of his Olympic participation. Czech archer Milan Andreas has had his Olympic dreams shattered after testing positive to marijuana. ... more -
McCain defends Czechoslovakia, a non-existent country
At a press availability today, John McCain expressed concern about relations between Russia and a country that hasn't existed for quite some time. According to a rough pool report transcript, he said:
"I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech's agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern."
Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.
It isn't the first time McCain has made this mistake, as TPM's Greg Sargent points out:
Around three months ago, McCain told Don Imus that he would "work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries" to install the European Missile Defense System in Poland, according to the Democratic National Committee. (The slip-up was referenced elsewhere, too.)
And during a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said: "The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don't care what his objections are to it."
There are more: in 1994, McCain suggested NATO be expanded to include Czechoslovakia. At a dinner in 1999, he "twice thanked the ambassador from 'Czechoslovakia' for his efforts," according to the Washington Post.
In fact, George Bush himself dinged McCain for this blunder back in the 2000 primary. Steve Clemons writes:
Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let's not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: "A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] ... but John McCain says something about the 'ambassador to Czechoslovakia.' Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there's a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn't make the nightly national news."
This longstanding confusion persists despite McCain's numerous visits to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia (he described his 2001 meeting with Czech President Vaclav Havel as "an experience . . . I can tell my Grandchildren about.") In fact, the former U.S. ambassador to Slovakia endorsed McCain's At a press availability today, John McCain expressed concern about relations between Russia and a country that hasn't existed for... more -
Russia issue's military warning to US
Russia has said it will be forced to react with military means if the US and Czech Republic go ahead with plans for a missile shield.
,,,,,,Could it be we see the end of the first cold war and the start of the second in our lifetimes. Russia has said it will be forced to react with military means if the US and Czech Republic go ahead with plans for a missile shield. ... more -
Czech pranksters punished for art project.
Members of Ztohoven, a Czech art collective, hacked into a television network to superimpose a mushroom cloud over a weather report. Each has has been fined $3,210 each. They were acquitted of greater charges. The artists were trying to show that the network fails to carry out its mission of public broadcasting.
This is the video of their prank. Members of Ztohoven, a Czech art collective, hacked into a television network to superimpose a mushroom cloud over a weather report. ... more -
Czech hunger strike to US radar base
Opposition to the proposed U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic has grown from a few individual hunger protests to a chain of people - each willing to fast for twenty four hours in turn. First to take up the baton in the hunger strike relay is Petr Uhl. Opposition to the proposed U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic has grown from a few individual hunger protests to a chain of people ... more
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