Jonathan Francis Sterner Lemnitzer

National: Former President Bush will endorse McCain

Summary: Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse John McCain on Monday according to Republican Party officials. McCain has already received the endorsement of his former rival Mitt Romney and this nomination will be seen as McCain further tightening his grip on the Republican presidential nomination. An endorsement by the former President Bush will most likely help convince conservatives to accept McCain as the parties eventual nominee and could quell talk within the party that he is not conservative enough and could ruin the party.

Opinion: McCain will be the Republican Party nominee for President and the sooner conservatives except that the better it will be. The endorsement by Mitt Romney and the upcoming endorsement by former President Bush will definitely help McCain in the long run but the question remains whether he will be able to assure his parties right wing that he is conservative enough. The last few weeks have seen McCain being hammered by conservative pundits such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter for not being conservative enough but I think the majority of the Republican party are realizing that it is time move past the Reagan Era its over.

International: Increased warming threatens Antarctic Ocean

Summary: The oceans around Antarctica have begun to warm at a rate twice as fast as the rest of the world's ocean, a move that could eventually spell an end to the regions unique undersea life. As the ocean warms predators that haven't existed in region for millions of years will begin to come back these predators include sharks and fast-moving shell-crushing animals. The lack of these predators has allowed the evolution of some of the strangest creatures on Earth and has led to the prevalence of soft-bodied, slow-moving invertebrates similar to those found in ancient oceans prior to the evolution of shell-crushing predators.

Opinion: Mr Hjort I know you love reading about Global Warming so I chose this story specifically for you. Global Warming is real and its impact is real. You can choose to ignore the scientific community and say its not real its not a threat, you can say its just a naturally occurring warming period, and that several have occurred in the Earth's 6,000 year history or however old you guys believe the Earth has been around. Truth is the Earth is billions of years old evolution is real and the Earth is warming as a result of human activity. You can choose to ignore it disprove it or whatever but we were given charge by God to be stewards of the Earth not to exploit it and destroy it.

National: Obama gets backing of SEIU

Summary: Sen. Barrack Obama has won the support of the 1.9 million member Service Employees International Union, which comes as his second endorsement in as many days from large labor organizations and a gives him a jolt of momentum as last weeks primary victories fade. The politically active union represents workers in health-care, building services, and other industries and has donated more than $25 million to political campaigns over the past 2 decades, mostly to democrats. This news comes on the heels of Thursday announcement of endorsement by the United Food and Commercial Workers, which has 1.3 million members including several thousand in states with upcoming primaries.

Opinion: These major endorsement effectively, I believe, certify Obama as the candidate who has the backing of labor. These are two major unions and the backing of Obama is no small deal and no short of a major blow to the Clinton campaign which is supposed to be demographically favored by working class blue-collar American workers. Maybe these endorsements will also widen Obama's appeal to the working class as well as recent voting trends have showed he is favored by environmentalist and well educated people as well as younger people. While union endorsements mean money it does not mean all the union members will automatically vote for Obama especially as many remember the economic stability and prosperity of the Clinton years and long to return to that.

International: UN troops trapped in Eritrea

Summary: The UN had ordered it's regional force to withdraw from Eritrea after the government cut off fuel supplies. However the UN says only 6 vehicles have been allowed to leave and that some troops have been threatened at gunpoint and now their rations have been stopped. Eritrea has denied blocking their departure saying its supplies has simply run out. UN peace-keepers have been in the region for 8 years to monitor a border security zone after a war between Eritrea and Ethiopia killed tens of thousands of people in the late 1990s.

Opinion: The UN can not catch a break in Africa as it is being bullied by Eritrea and denied entrance by Sudan. I think the principle of UN peace-keeping is good but too often the soldiers end up being proved ineffective on the ground. They have learned somethings since soldiers stood by as genocide occurred in Rwanda and Bosnia. But UN forces often end up being a burden and are often disliked by the local population. However the UN is a necessary world body and Eritrea is definitely in the wrong so it will be interesting to see how this will be resolved.