Bronwen Vogel, blog 1

International:
Summary- In the state of Manipur , India an epidemic of the bird flu was reported after about 30,ooo birds had already been killed by the disease. The disease was found in a chicken farm in the state's capital, Imphal and all chicken eggs within a 3 mile radius were destroyed. This is not India's first outbreak of the disease last year alone and it is suspected that the disease is not limited to Manipur. One hundred and twenty chickens were killed in Mizoram state, which neighbors Manipur. Over 192 people have died out of a reported 139 cases, and the epidemic is reportedly controlled, but not diminished.

Opinion- Stronger efforts to contain the disease need to be put forth. Carefully monitoring what goes into and out of a country is important in disease intervention and containment; and the Indian department of customs is not very good at screening the people who travel in and out of their country. Basic sanitation practices could greatly help reduce the rate of disease in India.

National:
Flooding in the Midwest leaves 22 people dead as of today. The rainfall is a result of the tropical storm Erin. Some towns were underwater and "slump pumps" gradually helped the towns resurface. In Wisconsin and Minnesota the total of damaged homes is 4,200. Firefighters are rescuing residents by boat, but towns are slowly rebuilding and returning to normal. Bush went to Minnesota near the flooding for a republican fund raiser.

Hearing stories such as this one makes a person all the more eager to invest in insurance. The faster the states receive national aid, the better.

International:
On Tuesday an Iranian-American was released from a prison in Tehran. The prisoner, Haleh Esfandiari, was charged with endangering Iran's national security. Esfandiari was detained by three men with knives while she was on her way to the airport, intending to return to the United States. Her captors claim Esfandiari was attempting to start a "soft revolution" in Iran. They took her Iran and American passports, and it is still unknown if she will be able to leave the country. She was released from prison after a $333,000 bail had been paid.

The article does not say what efforts were made for Esfandiari's earliest release, but since she is both and Iranian citizen, and American it would be more difficult to achieve what Americans feel just. Since she is Iranian, she must abide by the laws (or lack of laws) of that country- especially while she is in it. But this story should remind Americans of what we would hope to deliver to the middle east: a more peaceful, organized, and just government.

National:
On the 18th of August a murder arrest affidavit for two men was served. Paul Bryan Trucchio, and Robert Mackey are suspected of dismembering the body of Lorraine Hatzakorzian from New York. A human head was seen floating in a canal in Florida. The head was originally in a bag from a chain store in New York where Hatzakorzian picked up an order on April 16th. She was last seen in the company of the two men.

This should awake all to the reality that ghastly, unbelievable crimes are not only found on television shows. Hopefully enough direct evidence will be found to convict the men; although it seems fairly certain as of now that they are guilty. The men were probably not concerned about being caught; they were publicly seen with the woman and bragged about dismembering a woman to a friend. If convicted, the two should face the death penalty.