Word: magic
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...head," says Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and an assistant to the Speaker. As Pelosi, 69, nears the most important vote of her career, she'll need to draw upon all her experience as a leader (and parent) in doling out sticks and carrots to reach the magic number of 216 votes to pass health care reform. (See 10 players in health care reform...
...theater, it was both effective and mysterious: clips of the blood curse led international news broadcasts, with viewers and analysts bewildered as to what the protesters were trying to achieve. But in Thailand, it was anything but an aberration. Curses, dark rituals and black magic have long been part of the political culture of the country and some of its neighbors. And to some Thai analysts, the strange rite was a rare public revelation of a more covert aspect of the ongoing conflict between the country's political movements - a war of the supernatural. (See pictures of the 2008 protests...
...fact, according to Wassana Namnuan, a Bangkok Post reporter, Thaksin and his opponents have been deeply engaged in black magic battles for dominance of the country for several years. "Both sides have been casting curses and spells upon each other," says Wassana who has written a book on the subject in Thai called Secrets, Trickery and Camouflage: The Improbable Phenomena. According to Wassana, Thaksin believes he is the reincarnation of a Burmese king who killed many Thais, and so has engaged in elaborate cleansing rituals to wash away the sins of his past lives. While in power, Wassana says Thaksin...
...Shirts are not the only ones to perform blood rites. Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirt movement and the owner of ASTV satellite news network, spread menstrual blood at the base of a statue in a black magic ritual meant to neutralize Thaksin's supernatural weapons. It was just one of several acts staged by Sondhi with black magic overtones...
...something of a kingmaker, having been a loyal aide to Thaksin before switching camps so the Democrat party could govern. Newin's real value, however, may be his knowledge of the occult, and in particular Cambodian curses. "Newin's nickname in Thai politics is 'the Wizard of Khmer Black Magic','' Wassana says. Newin's knowledge of Cambodian occult practices may be useful for Abhisit. Because of Thailand's conflict with Cambodia over an ancient border temple, the current PM has also been cursed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who proclaimed last year, "Let magic objects break your neck...