brian's

National – So it looks like it happened. Clinton found a way to be rude to Obama, accusing him of plagiarizing his speeches, during tonight’s debate between the two Democrat front-runners. The two candidates differed in their views during the debate primarily on health-care and how they would approach future negotiations with Cuba. Clinton said she would refuse to negotiate until Raul Castro made reforms, while Obama said he would be willing to sit down with the leader with a human rights agenda in mind. Anyhow, the audience wasn’t too happy (they booed) when Hilary criticized Obama’s use of words previously spoken by his friend Deval Patrick, Massachusetts’ governor.

Opinion – It looks like this might be it for Hilary. My parents and I were betting that she was going to say something tonight that take a jab at Barack and would upset the audience. He’s been running a positive campaign, while she has been nothing short of nasty. It doesn’t bother me much, because I like Obama a whole lot more than I like her, and even though I don’t agree with many of his policies, I feel (considering the gap between what he’ll actually be able to do and what’s on his agenda) he might be good for the nation. But I still wouldn’t vote for him. I like his stance on Cuba though, and I think that’s the stance the leader of the country ought to take – not this “holier than though” bull. Just because you meet with the guy doesn’t mean you approve of all his actions or policies.

National - The other hot political story is the possible scandal that John McCain had a scandal with a lobbyist. According to the New York Times, McCain was romantically involved with this woman and showed favoritism to her clients. Today he appeared in a press conference with his wife and stated this claim was bogus. He said he was disappointed in the press for fostering such a lie.

Opinion – It seems fairly likely this is a just someone trying to smear McCain, and didn’t really happen. But whatever. While it’d be a little upsetting if it were true I’d still vote for him. People are people. They do really dumb things. They hurt others. And anyhow, this scandal probably won’t last too long anyways. Then again, maybe it will. But something else even more scandalous is bound to replace it. And it’s not like there isn’t a power-hungry woman in the race who stayed married to her unfaithful husband just so she could run for president.

International - In Serbia, protestors burned the US Embassy in that country for recognizing the country of Kosovo and its newly proclaimed independence. One person was found dead inside. The Serbian Ambassador to the United Nations and the country’s president have expressed their outrage and concern over the attacks. Other embassies were similarly attacked. There has also been border violence between Serbia and Kosovo.

Opinion – While this is scary, I don’t know enough of the history of these nations to understand why everyone over there is so upset. Though the article seems to spell it out plainly enough that it has to do with ethnic divisions and the Serbians wishing to keep Kosovo part of the same nation. But I suppose I will be finding out more about it as things over there continue to make headlines.

International - a plane carrying 46 people went missing over Venezuela today. The plane belonged to Santa Barbara, a small Venezuelan airline, and contact was lost with it in the mountains over western Venezuela. The plane has been found, but there is currently no word as to what condition it or its passengers are in.

Opinion – The odd part of this article is that the plane has been found, but there is still no report on the passengers. It doesn’t sound too promising, but you never know. Tonight I was watching the new episode of LOST on Abc, and it’s weird to read a story about an actual commercial airline flight that went missing, even if it was for only a little while.