McCain vs. Obama: War vs. Peace? Come now, It Can’t Be That Simple (and more)

By Ccandysuzie

It’s time for the news with Kandy Korrespondent!

Well as the national presidential race gets into full swing it seems that the Iraq war will once again take center stage. (suprise suprise right?) Both candidates have been skipping around the issue in recent months– hinting that they would do things differently, would have to respond to the situation, make calculated decisions, etc.

Tuesday was no exception.

Barack Obama told a group at the International Trade Center in Washington, DC that the US government’s preoccupation with Iraq must come to an end.

Obama: “This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century.”

This is a great statement. It speaks of the challenges of the 21st century as more important that our petty war. Peace and Prosperity Baby!

But can he really deliver or is this just a sound bite?

Does this mean that he will end it a long the lines of Vietnam?– Full pull out and to hell with the country? Or is he planning on changing it somehow so that it doesn’t diminish security, world standing, etc.? Or is he going to build a giant time machine to go back before Bush took office and ummm do something to stop the war from starting?

At the same time, John McCain told supporters in New Mexico that the current US effort in Afghanistan is “no way to run a war”.

McCain: “I won’t bluster and I won’t make idle threats – but understand this, when I am commander-in-chief, there will be nowhere the terrorists can run and nowhere they can hide”

McCain has said that the surge in Iraq has been successful. As president he says that he would like to see a similar surge in Afghanistan against the Taleban.

So McCain’s stance is pretty clear– WAR! BLOOD! KILL! Sounds like he’s taking a page out of Call of Duty 4.

(I am already so incredibly sick of this election)

In Other News:

Isreal and Hezbollah exchanged prisoners this morning in a ground-breaking swap thanks to a UN-mediated deal. In 2006, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were seized in a cross-border raid setting off a 33-day war of catastrophic proportions. Under the highly controversial deal, Isreal released five Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the bodies of Regev and Goldwasser.

Progress in Darfur?

On Monday the International Criminal Court charged President Omar al-Bashir of Sunday for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Since 2003, 250,000 people have died in the conflict and an estimated two million have fled their homes. Bashir has consistently minimized the immensity of the conflict. In 2004 he shrugged it off as a conflict over resources and marginalization.

Following the ICC’s announcement, the United Nations announced the withdrawal of all non-essential staff from the region as a precaution against retaliation by the Sudanese government. On Tuesday, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged Sunday to ‘fully co-operate’ and ensure the security of peacekeepers and humanitarian workers currently in Darfur.

On Tuesday, thousands of Sudanese reportedly flooded the country’s capital in a show of support for Mr. Bashir. The ICC has yet to decide if it will issue an arrest warrant.

And Now For Something Completely Different:

The late (quite late) British Queen Victoria left some very large shoes to fill—what with the gigantic empire and pre-World War I tensions and all. But it turns out that she also left some rather large pants to fill—and they can be yours for the very small price of $1,000.

On July 20th, a British Auctioneer house will offer Queen Victoria’s underwear for sale. The handmade panties (more like boxers) have a 50in waist and are monogrammed VR for Victoria Regina.

What exactly one would do with second hand 50in underwear is quite another story.

That’s the news!