Current Events

Note to readers: The direct link to the article is and has always been in the title of the article. I've placed another link on the news site below the date that the article was published.
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Obama, McCain campaign through swing states

The U.S. elections are just two days away the the candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are neck and neck in the polls. Just yesterday, both candidates spent the whole day holding campaign rallies on the battleground states, which are the states that have an almost even number of votes on both sides or the majority of the state supports the other candidate.
As both side attack each other in order to persuade the citizen of America, all trying to convince everyone that they would be a better president than the other.
Now it all comes down on the Americans themselves to pick who will be the better president after the disappointing 8 years.

November 2, 2008
CNN.com

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Saddam Hussein Reportedly Stabbed 6 Times After Execution

The body of dictator Saddam Hussein, who was executed in 2006 for crimes against humanity, was found stabbed six times after being hanged.The chief guard at Hussein's tomb said that there were stab wounds all over the dictator's body and another injury to the face. 300 other people also saw these injuries when the body was being buried, but yet the world only knows 3 years later? Officials are still investigating how the body came to these injuries because it might have been a soldier or guard who did this because according Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s security advisor, Saddam Hussein wasn't harmed before and after his execution.

November 1, 2008
TheLondonTimesonline.co.uk

Current Events

Obama Heckled By Protesters


The African American protesters that showed up at Obama's recent rally. ^


Protesters being escorted out of the University of Miami's hall by the Secret Service.
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This has not been the only speech that Sen. Barack Obama has been interupted by protesters. In one of his other rally (in the beginning of August in St Petersburg, FL) Obama was similarly interrupted by a smaller group of protestors with signs saying, "What about the black community, Obama?"
On his recent rally, just after he did his introduction, Obama was heckled by a group of 20+ blacks holding signs like "Blacks against Obama" or "Obama edorsed by the KKK".
Obama, instead of ignoring his protesters at first, handled the situation that should be greatly coveted. Once noticing the interruption, Obama stopped and allowed his crowd to try and drown out the chants from the protesters with "Yes we can".

"Hey young people out there – it's no problem for you to put your signs up," Obama says to the protesters, "but let everybody – let me finish what I have to say, alright? Come on guys."

After this, Obama headed straight back into his pre-written speech about everyday jobs and watching the prices go up...

As the group of African American protesters were being escorted out of the hall of the University of Miami, Obama says, "Alright guys, see ya" and waves along with the crowd to the leaving protestors. He continues with a, "Alright, let's get back to work."

September 19, 2008. www.abcnews.com

Current Events

Rove: McCain went 'too far' in ads - CNN.com

This year's Presidential Elections in the United States has been in the top news globally. This fierce battle with Barack Obama against John McCain is what most of the world is talking about. After Sen. McCain announced his pick, and took the world by surprise, as Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, and after her speech that included many attacks against Obama, it's been a full out debate between the two parties.
Sen. McCain has had the experience, being in Congress, but many think that he may lead America to another four years of disappointment. Obama has very little experience, but he has fresh ideas from this very "young" mind of his. I think it's almost even ground here. It's like a playground fight where two kids are trying to claim the swings and the slide but to persuade the other kids they have to give them jellybeans. Both kid leaders have the same amount of jellybeans. Would American want another "Bush" as President? Or someone that doesn't have that much experience?
How are those two parties get so much votes when they are about even? To beat out the opponent, one has to persuade the citizens of America what they can do and what the opponent can't. Former Bush advisory, Karl Rove says that McCain has gone "one step too far" with the attacks against Obama in his ads. After this comment from Rove to Fox News, the Democratic party "leaped on the quote" [CNN.com].
Rove then said that both parties need to be careful what they say to each other.

On another hand, Former nominee from the Democratic party, Hilary Clinton, says, "Barack and I may have started out on two separate paths, but we are on one journey now." This, to me, shows that even though they were opponents, Clinton still remains on the Democratic side.

CNN.com September 14, 2008.

Current Events

"Bhutto Widower With Clouded Past Is Set to Lead" - NYTimes.com
Last year, the world was taken by shock when Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto, who was leading a rally for her Pakistan People's Party in the parliamentary campaign was killed in a suicide attack.
Many people then questioned, "Who will lead us now?" Her son was one of those people that others thought would carry his mother's legacy. However, he was still too young.
But now, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, is expected to become the president of Pakistan on Saturday. He has never been know as a leader in anything yet, but he said, "[He] wll learn on the job."Mr Zardari has "shown canny political skills" [NYTimes.com]
Hopefully, he will be able to lead this scarred country.

Article written by Jane Perlez of the NYTimes.com. Published on September 4, 2008
PHOTO: NYTimes.com "Asif Ali Zardari"

Current Events: Elections and Wikipedia

Taken from CNN student news.

The election in America with Obama, Hilary, and McCain is one of the biggest stories all over the internet.
The three competitors use the internet to promote their side but others too can do it.
Many people go on wikipedia and add good information to the competitor they support and bad information to the person they do not support. Sometimes these information isn't even true. But it's just a way to get others to support their candidate too.
Luckily, editors working for wikipedia regurally check the sites and try to neutralize it so it doesn't seem that the person who wrote the article is supporting the candidate.

Current Events: Election

I couldn't get on my blog this week and I wanted to wait for the elections.

So about everybody knows that 馬英九 (i think thats how you write it) Ma Ying Jiu won the election. Many people are very happy about it and they say that Taiwan "has been saved" and there is new hope for a better future for Taiwan.

Ma Ying Jiu won by a margin of more than 2 million votes, a record after more than 8 years.

Even in the counties that Ma Ying Jiu lost by, the margins they lost by were very narrow.

In other words, it was clean sweep for Ma and his party.