Brooke Bellah (Make up)

International:

Mugabe Rival Denies Having Talks to Transfer Power in Zimbabwe:

Recently, an election was held in Zimbabwe for a new President, and Morgan Tsvangirai has claimed to have won the election. President Robert Mugabe has ruled over Zimbabwe for 28 years, so it is questionable whether he will give up his power for the sake of his country. "If Mr. Mugabe continues, there will be a coup d'etat," said Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitri Rupel. Tsvangirai says he will not meet with Mugabe before the election results are confirmed. However, rumors of such a meeting are still circling. At this point, election results have not been confirmed, but polling indicates that the opposition had won the election.

Opinion: I hope for the people of Zimbabwe's sake that Mugabe will step down peacefully. But history shows that a political change doesn't necessarily mean a change for the better (the French Revolution and Russian Revolution are two examples). But this Tsvangirai guy seems to be sincere in trying to create a better Zimbabwe. I hope that it will improve life for Zimbabweans.

Justice Department Declassifies 2003 'Torture Memo'

The Justice Department has just released previously withheld files containing the Bush Administration's justification for detaining enemy combatants and questioning them.The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman said the memo "reflects the expansive view of executive power that has been the hallmark of this administration" and that it "seeks to find ways to avoid legal restrictions and accountability on torture and threatens our country's status as a beacon of human rights around the world." He said he had been trying to get the memos from the White House for four months now, and that the release of these files was an important step forward, but complained that the White House was still withholding other files, even from members of Congress.

Opinion:

Of course it's going to be like pulling teeth to get these kinds of files released, and it should be this way. Releasing top secret interrogation techniques would endanger American lives. War is ugly, and torture is sometimes necessary to get information that could save lives. Since 9/11 there has not been another terrorist attack in the United States. Whatever the Bush Administration did to help prevent this I believe was the right thing to do, and I applaud the President for protecting our country--even if this means being in favor of torture as a means of extracting information. Remember these people's main goal is to kill Americans and treating them with respect should not be our main concern.