Bronwen Vogel

International:

A wedding caravan passing near Baghdad seemed nervous and ill composed. The recently set up army check point in the Taji area, about 12 miles north of Baghdad noticed the wedding party was comprised entirely of men, so they asked the groom to lift his bride's veil. Abbas al-Dobbi and al-Bahadli, the bride and groom, were found and arrested. They were wanted terrorists. Two other men suspected of terror were found as well.

The war on terror is not going as badly as the media claims it is, but most people do not seem to see how set in their ways terrorists are. Cross dressing is a major act of desperation, I'm glad we caught these guys- it would be a joke of a check point if we had not. At least they didn't mistake a really ugly mail order bride for a man.

National:
Rafael Robb, a former ivy league economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania plead guilty to killing his wife with an exercise bar. Robb (57) had been married to his wife Ellen (49) since 1990, but the couple had not been close for years. On December 22 of last year the two began to argue about a trip their one and only daughter would be taking when Robb became so enraged that he beat his wife to death. Detectives thought the house had been set up to look like a burglary had taken place. Robb apologised to his family and daughter saying "I know she liked her mother. ... And now she doesn't have a mother," Robb faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.

That's ridiculous! Robb should be getting life in prison, or death. Maybe not death since it was not premeditated, although that is only according to Robb. For all the jury knows he could have been planning the murder for months. Life in prison would be ideal, or at least 30 years, which would be basically the same thing for a 57 year old man. I don't understand why a murderer gets off so easily. The least that could be done would be keeping his daughter free from him once he is let out.

International:
Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican running for president has changed his mind on the right for a woman to chose. During his campaign for mayor, Giuliani said he was in favor of a woman's right and believed denying a woman her abortion was unconstitutional. The Catholic raised mayor was also in favor of free abortions for financially struggling women and pro-gay rights. Now, as he is campaigning to become President, Giuliani says "I'm against abortion -- I hate it." He claims that his extreme change is not because of political pressure, but because of life experience.

Anyone who has been educated about abortion cannot change flip-flop opinions. It is a good vs. evil topic and only a major epiphany could persuade a person to switch sides. Giuliani has not had an epiphany. If he had, his views on other topics would have changed. Political pressure is the most likely reason for his sudden change in opinion. There is no room for moderate politicians in this country. A candidate needs to be a strong liberal, or a strong conservative and be convicted of what he or she believes. I would not vote for someone who flip-flops; they would be to likely to change sides while in office.

International:
It is the third day of fighting for army forces in the Congo. About 200,000 people have been displaced since the rebel fighting started several months ago. Maj. Viveck Goyal, a spokesman for the peacekeeping force, said fights between those loyal to the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and army forces started Friday. Goyal said "The initial information we have is that the Nkunda elements are being pushed away from Rugari." At this point the soldiers seem to be making the most headway.

It is to bad that acts of terror like this are happening all over the world. It's more than America can handle- only God could restore order to this sort of chaos because it is a lack of Christ that causes such behavior. I sincerely hope the Congo is soon restored to order and Laurent Nkunda is caught, although I know peace on earth is a far fetched dream that will not happen until God returns.