DC Chief of Police, Mayor, and City Official React to Supreme Court’s Decision on Thursday

On Thursday the US Supreme Court struck down the D.C ban on handgun ownership as unconstitutional. It’s decision overruled 200+ years worth of lower court decisions that suggested that the intent of the amendment strictly concerned gun ownership in a citizens’ militia. The 1976 law prohibited handgun ownership and required that shotguns and rifles be kept unloaded and either disassembled or under a trigger lock.

The plaintiff in the case, Gillian St. Lawrence, a 29 year old residing in the posh neighborhood of Georgetown in Northwest DC, stated, “I’m thrilled… I’m finally going to be able to take the trigger lock off my shotgun and load it if I need to be able to defend myself in my own home”. It should be noted that the majority of murders occur on the opposite side of town—in the urban areas of Southeast and Northeast.

Last year there were 143 murders in DC and the thugs seem ready to beat that number this year. There have been 85 murders in DC so far this year. So let’s make it easier shall we? Hunting season is officially starting up once more in DC. Come one come all! (Your writer is a resident of DC). Read More »

And Now the News with Kandy Korrespondent

On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of ending the death penalty for the crime of child rape. This is the second such ruling this year. Last September an unofficial national moratorium on the death penalty went into effect when the court agreed to hear two appeals to lethal injection arguing that the practice causes extreme pain constituting cruel and unusual punishment. The moratorium was ended when the court finally ruled on April 16th that Kentucky’s, the state in question, guidelines for lethal injection did not in fact constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

The death penalty tends to be considered a “third-rail” issue along the lines of abortion. The sudden willingness of the highest court to rule on such cases seems to mark a shift in this regard. Anti-death penalty activists are hopeful that this current trend will end in an eventual ban on its usage. The United States is one of the few “western” countries to still use the death penalty.

In Other News:

Also on Wednesday, during a phone-in town hall meeting Presidential hopeful John McCain told a Floridian voter that only World War III would justify reinstituting a national draft. While this calms some fears, the fact that he failed to define World War III of course still leaves the issue a bit open to interpretation. Given the current ambiguous nature of the so-called “War on Terror”, it is unclear at what point a conflict would in fact obtain such a label. Read More »

On Sunday, presidential opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai quit the race ending all hopes of a Mugabe-free Zimbabwe in the near future. Tsvangirai said that with the rising violence, he could not in good conscience ask his supporters to turn out to vote knowing that they might very well be going to their death. Sound dramatic? Well, considering that over 80 of his supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe mobs since the beginning of April, and that one of his campaign aides is currently facing the death penalty on treason charges, and that Tsvangirai himself has been arrested 5 times in the past several weeks, sadly, he’s right.

He told reporters on Sunday that a free and fair election is impossible, stating, “We in the MDC have resolved that we will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate … sham of an election process.”

On Monday, Tsvangirai fled to the Dutch embassy in Hare, Zimbabwe’s capital, seeking refuge from the violent mobs. A Dutch official told Reuters that Tsvangirai asked to spend the night, but had not requested asylum. Also on Monday, over 60 opposition supporters were arrested in a police raid on Tsvangirai’s headquarters.

Also on Sunday, comedian George Carlin died of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 71. Carlin made headlines with his drug-referenced filled stand-up comedy including a routine entitled, “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television.” In 1978, the US Supreme Court ruled that Carlin’s routine contained indecent words and that the Federal Communications Commission could ban the from being aired at times when children might be listening. In 2005 he told Playboy that he was looking “forward to an afterlife where he could watch the decline of civilization on a ‘heavenly CNN’”. Read More »

It’s the news with Kandy Korrespondent!

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon opened the UN Aids conference in New York with the grim announcement that the world is losing the fight against HIV-AIDS. He noted that drug innovation is not keeping up with the growing numbers of new infected– 2.5 million people became infected with HIV last year while only one million began using antiretroviral drugs. UN figures suggest that at least 33 million people have HIV worldwide.

Bill Clinton, also in attendance, took the opportunity to highlight the impact of the current economic crisis upon the distribution of aid.

“This oil price spike has taken away 100 per cent of the value of foreign aid and debt relief to very many countries […] It has dramatically increased the cost of producing food, and it has increased therefore the number of people who are at risk of these diseases.”

Read More »

It’s the News with Kandy Korrespondent!

Democratic presidential nominee-apparent, Obama and soon to be ex-presidential candidate Clinton shared a private tête-à-tête on Friday marking the first step towards re-uniting the much divided Democratic Party. Neither the meetings’ location nor content have been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Clinton supporters are mounting an intense effort to pressure Obama into offering Clinton the post of vice president. On Tuesday, Senator Clinton told supporters that she would be “open” to being Obama’s running mate if it would help the Democratic Party win the White House. Read More »

I am sad to announce that legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on Sunday at the age of 71. He is best known for redesigning “men’s clothes” for women through creations such as his infamous tux of 1966 and trademark elegant pantsuit. As one commentator put it, “Chanel gave women freedom” in the first half of the 20th century, and Saint Laurent “gave them power”.

In Other News,

Hilary Clinton emerged triumphant from Sunday’s primary in Puerto Rico yet it is doubtful that this will be enough to stop her downhill spiral. On Tuesday, the remaining 31 delegates will be decided as voters in Montana and South Dakota go to the polls for the Democratic Party’s final two primaries. Obama is approximately 50 delegates away from the 2,118 needed to secure the party’s nomination. Read More »

It’s today’s news with Kandy Korrespondent!

On Wednesday President Thabo Mbeki announced the deployment of the South African army in response to increasing xenophobic violence in Johannesburg and surrounding cities. Foreigners are fleeing their homes for mosques, churches, community centers, and police stations. According to witnesses, mobs are roaming the streets armed with clubs and bottles attacking foreign-owned businesses and homes. The BBC estimates that there are between three and five million foreigners currently residing in South Africa. Many are refugees from Zimbabwe.

In related news, according to the International Crisis Group there is a growing danger of a military coup within Zimbabwe. Moreover, the ICG doubts that current dictator Robert Mugabe will allow a genuinely free and fair election to occur since, according to recent polls, opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai seems sure to deliver a resounding defeat. The report calls for joint African mediation.

In Other News:

On Tuesday, Senator Edward Kennedy was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The diagnosis follows Senator Kennedy’s hospitalization due to a seizure on Saturday. Fifty percent of those similarly diagnosed die within a year, the rest pass away within three years. This type of tumor is always fatal.

Check out the National Brain Tumor Foundation to join the fight against this most deadly form of cancer. Read More »

And now the news with Kandy Korrespondent:

On Monday, Presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton made it clear that she will continue to contest Senator Obama’s claim to the Democratic nomination. Responding to the widening call for her to step aside she told a rally in Kentucky,

“This is nowhere near over […] None of us is going to have the number of delegates we’re going to need to get to the nomination, although I understand my opponent and his supporters are going to claim that”

Hilary Clinton is trailing Barack Obama by delegates and superdelegates. In the days since the pivotal Indiana and North Carolina primaries, several Clinton supporters have defected to Obama. On Monday, Obama picked up five more superdelegates.

Democrats are going to the polls today in Kentucky and Oregon where 103 delegates are at play. Obama is projected to take Oregon while Clinton is thought to have a large lead in Kentucky.

In Other News:

Anti-Immigrant violence has left at least 22 dead in South Africa. Immigrants are hiding in churches, police stations, and, if they are lucky, in the homes of their South African friends. Stories about the violence over the weekend featured a horrific picture of a police officer trying to put out a man who had been set on fire by the mob. Read More »

It’s news time with Kandy Korrespondent:

Yesterday in New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton and 189 others were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, when they blocked rush hour traffic to protest the acquittal of three officers in the shooting of Sean Bell. Shouting, “We are all Sean Bell”, demonstrators knelt in front of City Hall, blocking on of the streets leading to the Brooklyn Bridge.

In November 2006, twenty-three year old Sean Bell was shot over 50 times by undercover cops who say they thought he was going to be involved in a drive-by shooting. He died the night before his wedding day. His fiancée was one of those arrested in yesterday’s protest.

In Other News:

Despite barely beating Obama in Indiana and loosing in North Carolina by 14 points, Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton remains defiantly determined to continue her candidacy. Yet it’s becoming clearer and clearer that her campaign is quickly headed into the ground. Read More »

There are still no results from Zimbabwe’s March 29th presidential elections. In my first blog I talked about the growing apprehension of the populace during the initial post-election week. My second blog discussed the legal fights and growing danger faced by Zimbabwe opposition party members. This time we’ll be checking out the amazing diplomatic stalling techniques of South African President Mbeki during this crisis.

In her ever-so diplomatic approach, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this past week that, “It’s time for Africa to step up” and deal with this crisis. (nice job of passing the buck Condi)

South Africa has the largest economy within Africa—giving it major bargaining power with states such as Zimbabwe.

Enter South African President Thabo Mbeki.

He traveled Zimbabwe on Saturday April 12th to meet with Mugabe. Following these talks, he declared that there was “no crisis” in Zimbabwe.

Hmmm… Read More »