By Nick Winnie *Presidential Primaries*: The whirlwind, frenzied 22-state presidential primary contest known as “Super Tuesday” has come and gone, leaving Republicans with a clearer picture of their November candidate and Democrats with a long primary battle ahead. The highly prized California vote went to Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who also both [...]
By Daniel Zarchy Democracy is a funny thing. From the early days of the Roman Senate to the modern days of Capitol Hill, there has always been a constant battle between the idealism and cynicism that people associate with the political process. Early 20th-century essayist Agnes Repplier said it best: “Democracy forever teases us with [...]
By Sheli DeNola The battle for the Philippines rages on as negotiations between the Philippine government and Islamic fundamentalist forces have faltered in past weeks. Since it received independence from the United States in 1946, the Philippines has been a divided nation. Communist insurgents have been ruling the north, the middle of the country by [...]
By Daniel Zarchy *Primary*: Heading into Super Tuesday, the Democratic primary is still anyone’s game, with only Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Mike Gravel still in the race. Obama received some key endorsements from Sens. Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry, and the New York Times endorsed Clinton and John McCain. On the GOP side, the [...]
By John Harley Delivering an earnest speech from the pulpit on U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Iran to a packed church of Santa Cruz’s most ardent anti-war activists, Republican Scott Ritter found his audience enraptured and largely in agreement with his message—despite his political affiliation. Ritter’s political trajectory has been an interesting one. Working [...]
By John Harley The recent Kenyan riots have proven to be yet another distraction in peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Juba, Sudan, as the two sides enter their 18th month of negotiations. With the deadline looming for President Musevini’s Jan. 31 promise for peace, hope for the [...]
By Sheli DeNola According to a recent UN report, 2007 was one of Afghanistan’s deadliest years since the war broke-out in 2001. The continuing military difficulties faced by U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan are partly the result of what has been regarded as a change in the nature of the Afghan insurgency. “We saw [...]
By Nick Winnie *U.S. Presidential Primaries* The strong victories of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses signaled what many see as a fundamental shift in the direction of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Both candidates triumphed by a margin of at least seven percentage points and owed their success [...]
By Melinda Szell Who is the Bhutto family? Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the fourth president and 10th prime minister of Pakistan. His wife Nusrat Bhutto took over his role after his execution. Their daughter, Benazir Bhutto, succeeded her mother as leader of the PPP. *What is Benazir Bhutto known for?* At 35, she was the [...]
By Sheli DeNola Sarah Vowell’s latest book “Assassination Vacation” delves into the dark world of the first three American presidents to be assassinated. Vowell, best known for her work on “This American Life,” uses her biting sarcasm to peel away the layers of history and reveal the core of inherent fables present in American history. [...]