The former Libyan leader, or to put it more accurately, the former brutal, oppressive dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, was killed Thursday. Gadhafi died following a NATO air strike, which for some justifies President Obama’s decision to initiate the airwar. Libyan rebels fighting for a democratic nation celebrated in the streets when they heard the news, but of course, things aren’t so simple. Nobody quite knows what’s next, and Libyans loyal to the collapsed government aren’t giving up yet.  The country could descend into Civil War, or it could be on the road to becoming a successful democracy. Let’s hope for the latter, and America will have a new friend!

The candidates are getting feisty- and reeaallll personal- in the Republican presidential race. The two candidates at the top of the pack, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Texan governor Rick Perry, don’t like each other (that’s probably an understatement) and they’re not hiding it. During the most recent debate, Perry called out Romney, telling him “It’s time for you to tell the truth.” How did Romney respond to Perry’s fighting mood? By giving him a now-now pat on the shoulder. Ruh roh… All this sparring conflict is giving Herman Cain, a businessman from Georgia, and Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, the chance to race ahead to the top of the polls.

Turkey is suffering the aftermath of yesterday’s devastating earthquake, with a deathtoll quickly approaching 300. It seemed like the natural disasters had cooled off for a little bit, but here they come again. The earthquake hit a whopping 7.2 magnitude and shook the ground for 25 seconds- enough time to reduce huge cities to piles of debri and rubble and injure about 1,000 people. The rescue and clean-up have now begun, and probably will last for way too long.

President Obama announced that all U.S. soldiers will be out of Iraq by the end of the year. In 2002, Obama got famous after a rousing, much-Googled speech against the Iraqi war. During his campaign, he promised he’d get troops out ASAP. Now, eight and a half years after Operation Iraqi Freedom began, it’s finally coming to an end. Actually, Obama was hoping for about 1,000 troops to stay on, but Iraq’s democratic government didn’t like the idea and stood up for themselves, so one could say we were successful — Iraq says they don’t need our help anymore. An Iraqi who’s got a thing for American soldiers won’t have to go far though, there’s always Afghanistan…

Pic o’ the Week:

Reuters/Sukree Sukplang

Heavy monsoon rains have been drenching Thailand and neighboring Cambodia relentlessly since mid-July. So far, about 500 people have died from the floods between the two countries and 8 million have been affected –  including, obviously, this Buddhist monk outside of his temple.

On one hand, I’m undeniably an Obama supporter—even if I don’t have a graphic tee with his face emblazoned on it like most of my friends do. I read Dreams from my Father, voted for him (twice), and watched the election results breathlessly last year while furiously checking FiveThirtyEight every ten seconds. I love his eloquence, his poise, and everything he represents: the return of intellectualism to the White House and the possibility of improved race relations across the country. Plus, he graduated from my alma mater, even if he hates talking about it. And his wife is pretty kickass.

On the other hand… when I saw this SNL sketch last week, I couldn’t laugh because I was too busy cringing. I agree with most of the points that the Saturday Night Live crew is making: Obama’s rhetoric has rarely been matched by decisive action. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still dragging on, healthcare is still a mess, and the recession hasn’t exactly ended, despite what some media outlets are saying. (Also, the sketch itself was just horrifically unfunny. SNL kind of blows this season… but I digress.)

Other Nobel Peace Prize laureates—Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, even Al Gore—achieved specific things that unarguably changed the world for the better before they got their awards. Obama, though, is almost more of a symbol than an actual agent of change—at least so far. If nothing else, this award seems incredibly premature. Why not wait until he’s at least been president for an entire term, after he’s actually had enough time to make good on his promises?

I’m also hesitant about congratulating Obama because this honor can only fuel the awful, hateful things that his enemies say about him. Republican pundits are already snidely responding to the award by calling it a “joke,” and I’m sure that crazy, right-wing internet commentators everywhere are also having a field day with it. The Nobel Committee has accidentally done something that will only widen the political gulf between red and blue by increasing the opposition to Obama, which will make it even more difficult for him to actually achieve any of his goals.

I wish I could be proud of my president right now, but there are just too many problems that come along with him getting the Peace Prize. At least I can count on him delivering a beautiful acceptance speech.

What do you think—does Obama deserve the Nobel?

MLK Day is often thought of as just another day off of school and a glorious long weekend, but this year – more than any other year – should be different.

MLK died in his efforts to get equal rights for African American men and women. And now, 40 years later, a black man will finally be president. The thought is chilling, and has inspired all of us to dream again. Our dreams and goals really can become reality.

So this week, in honor of MLK, Obama, and history in the making, the CC writers share their dreams for the United States and our futures.

Elisabeth – UA Huntsville: It would be nice to see deserving students be able to get the financial help they need for school without having to jump through ridiculously tiny hoops.

Brithny – Duke University: My dream is to get more sleep so I can actually have dreams. The REM-induced ones.

John – UConn: I’ve got two dreams: one, a world where we fix our broken culture of masculinity, so young men get the chance to grow up and be normal, useful people instead of overcompetitive, bigoted, emotionally crippled date rapists. Two, which is I guess more of a nightmare, a world that doesn’t get nuked, globally warmed, smacked with an asteroid, aerosolized, Ebola’d or Gray Goo’d within my lifetime. Or ever, I guess.

Lauren – University of Michigan: It would be nice to see the American automakers producing cutting-edge technology to allow us to compete in the world market again and save the state of Michigan.

Amanda – Wagner: I would like to see our rights as women protected. I would also like to see more shirtless Obama!

Alex – Lakehead University: My dream is for the war in Iraq to be completely over and done with and have all the soldiers back home.

Thu – USC: More people being environmentally conscious. I know that more are becoming aware of their effect on the environment, so that’s already a great step toward improving our surroundings.

Meregan – Brown University: I would like Americans to be proud of this country again.

Mazuba – Westchester Community College: My dream is for Barack Obama to have a successful year in office and to solve the economic crisis. I also hope he helps use his power to end the war in Darfur .

Maddie – Tufts: I want to see college tuition made cheaper. Too many students are deprived of a good education because they can’t afford $50,000 (frightening, right?) a year.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: My dream is for gay couples to be legally recognized in this county; be that gay marriage, civil union, whatever. Give them the rights they deserve.

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: I would like to see America make environment-friendly practices a priority.

Sarah – East Carolina University: I’d like to see the country unified and patriotic again, like we were just after 9/11. But we’re pretty polarized.

“Wanna see what happens when people stop being nice and start getting real”? Well if your answer is yes, then you may get your answer by tuning into MTVs 21st season of The Real World. (Yes, it’s been on for that long!)

Most people stopped watching Real World after the fork incident in Las Vegas. I don’t blame you. I, too, swore off the awful drama, but then I found myself with nothing to do and 100 reruns of the first episode showing on MTV. So I watched. And you should too. Since you may have missed the premier, here is a little cheat sheet to get you all caught up.

The Real World Brooklyn is the same crap as every other season, but with a few small changes:

Instead of 7 housemates this time, MTV has added another housemate in the mix, which should be interesting. In my opinion, it’s to improve the ratings and create more drama. I mean, the show has been around for so long that people have seemed to forget about it, so they needed do something new. Other changes to the show include an aftershow where ex-housemates from past seasons, as well of some of the cast members, will appear and answer questions about the current season. Oh, and instead of working together in a group project (which was always a total sh*tshow), the housemates will try to make their dreams come true on their own.

So who will be causing the drama?Here’s a short bio of the housemates.

Ryan is a 23 year old from Pennsylvania who was in the US Army and served a year in Iraq. He’s focused on making music with his guitar and writing a book.

Beya is 21 and dreams of being a professional hip-hop dancer. She will go to auditions in this season in hopes of getting her big break.

Chet is a 23 year old strict metrosexual Mormon from Salt Lake City, Utah, who loves to sew his own clothes and is saving himself for marriage. (Editor’s Note: gay and won’t admit it? Definitely.)

Devyn is a 20 year old beauty queen who counts Miss Missouri and Miss Teen America as some of her pageantry titles.

Scott is a personal trainer who recently appeared in Men’s Fitness Magazine.

JD is a 22 year old dolphin trainer (Um, NY may not be the best place for your break in dolphin training…) who was raised by his abusive father who did not support JD’s homosexuality.

Sarah, who is the tattooed lesbian turned straight 22 year old, was also abused when she was young.

Katelynn, the housemate who may cause the biggest stir, is the show’s first transgendered housemate. Desperate for ratings, MTV?

I’d like to make predictions as to what is coming this season in Brooklyn, but this is Real World. I mean, I never would have expected someone to get smacked for throwing a stuffed bear in the water in Seattle, but it happened. And it was awesome. What I can say is Real World Brooklyn is gonna be a trainwreck. And totally worth watching.

Even after 21 seasons.

Where did he go? Where has he been since the entire economy started collapsing?

I know! I forgot about him too. Well, he finally made an appearance outside the White House over the weekend and boy did everyone miss him! So much so that they gave him an extra warm welcome at a press conference in Iraq. Throwing shoes at someone’s head is a warm welcome, isn’t it?

Good thing Georgie has some quick reflexes. And that it wasn’t a woman lobbing a stiletto at his face. Poor guy never would have had a chance.

Art Deco is in. At least when it comes to your clothes.

This is a real “shocker.”

A soldier blogs until his heart’s content.

Sweden doesn’t have any real problems.

Don’t go overboard this holiday season with your spending.

Facebook advertising won this girl the election!

This month‘s must haves.

Poor Jessica Simpson. No, not really.

Kelly Clarkson is in the big time again.

This purse will set you back a couple bills.

The event is going to be moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw, but instead of Tommy asking the questions, the debate will have a town hall format.

Which means the people get to ask the questions.

So, people of Nashville who will be sitting pretty in the town hall-y debate, if you are reading this, we have a few questions we’d like to ask the candidates. Real questions that require real answers instead of that fluff Gwen Ifill came up with (and Sarah Palin dodged) during the VP “debate.”

1. Honestly, do you think President Bush was qualified to run this country? If not, how does that make you feel now? How badly would you hate yourself if you lost?

2. Inquiring minds want to know: Peanut Butter Crunch or Crunch Berries?

3. If you could only change one thing during your term as President (and money was not an issue), what would it be?

4. When SNL makes fun of you, does it hurt?

5. Barack, do you really eat 4-6 eggs a day, or are you a p*ssy who only eats the whites?

6. Tell us, McCain, what have you learned from living through the Civil War, WW1, WW2, Vietnam and the current Iraq sitch?

7. Would you rather have George Bush walk in on you having sex, or walk in on he and Laura doin’ the naughty dance?

8. What would you do to Osama Bin Laden if you had him in your office right now (and no one was watching)?

9. Would you eat PB slices?

10. Do you really like holding babies/shaking people’s hands/hugging creepy strangers, or is it all an act?

11. You both claim to want to fix the current Global Warming problem, yet you both tool around this country on airplanes/in giant buses. How can you justify that?

12. Is there any money left in either of your budgets to help Amy Winehouse?

We knew something good would come out of tonight’s debate.

Female suicide bombers have emerged as a recent phenomenon of this war.

It seems that there have been 20 suicide bombings carried out by women since the beginning of the war—8 since 2007. Most of these women have lost a close male relative—a husband, brother, father, etc. Eleven of the twenty have been from the Diyala Province—currently the headquarters of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The big question is WHY?

A recent New York Times article solidly places the blame on the sheltered and traditional lives led by these women. It sites Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Rubai, head of Iraqi Army operations in Diyala, who states, “Most of the women who have killed themselves are from the villages… She is living a very traditional life. She has no rights… For that reason, her ideas are very small”

As a woman this statement offends me. I’ve read countless articles on male suicide bombings that discuss the religious fervor and desire for revenge on the part of the bombers.

These bombers are often teens and young men who have been raised in very traditional villages and indoctrinated to the point of brainwashing, yet they are treated seriously—I doubt anyone would state, “His ideas are very small”.

Blaming her traditional life and lack of rights minimizes the woman’s decision to become a suicide bomber.

The article never raised the possibility that these women were also seeking revenge against those who took their loved ones.

The choice to become a suicide bomber occurs out of a place of desperation with one’s current life—where religious martyrdom is a better alternative to one’s continued existence. It bothers me that the New York Times (and no doubt many others) is unwilling to admit that female bombers may be similarly motivated.

[photo courtesy of msnbc.com]

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!