Heavily Tattooed Vladimir Franz Running For Czech President

Vladimir Franz, a fifty-three year old drama professor, painter, and composer, is running for President in the Czech Republic.

Franz is described as a moderate who strongly believes in democracy, human rights, tolerance, and in finding answers to the energy crisis.

What makes him stand out is his appearance.

Franz has dyed blue hair, multiple facial piercings, and tattoos covering more than ninety percent of his body.

His appearance has caused supporters of Vaclav Klaus, the current President, to suggest he is running as a joke, but he is completely serious about his run.

Doctor Franz, as he could go by, due to his doctorate in law, is considered a long shot, but his growing support could actually make him a true contender in the election.

Some will or won't vote for him simply due to his appearance, but the majority of the country believes in the very things he stands for, in fact polls would suggest that he is much more aligned with their views than Klaus is.

If Franz was to win, he would become the first president to openly show tattoos.

This election could very truly show if an entire country can accept tattoos, in a very public way.

Washington Fires Burning Nearly 200 Square Miles

Twenty-five hundred fire fighters are battling two huge wildfires, in Washington.

Combined, the two fires are burning one hundred and sixty square miles.

The Wenatchee fire is considered to be at thirty percent containment, whilst the Table Mountain fire is nearing ten percent.

Much of eastern Washington is considered to have poor to hazardous air quality due to the massive amount of smoke coming off the fires.

Many firefighters have had to be treated for upper respiratory problem and residents are being warned to keep their windows closed and to limit their time outside.

The smoke has also kept aircraft from joining in the fight.

Other fires are burning in the state, but most of the focus is going into the two largest fires, especially as they grow closer to each other.

Several states, throughout the western US, are suffering from blazes, in what has been one of the worst fire seasons.

California Fire Kills 1, Burns 20 Homes

Twenty homes near the Mexican border were burned down in San Diego County, in California.

Pushed on by gusty winds, the fire has gone through four square miles, and is threatening twenty-five more homes.

An eighty-two year old man was killed by the fire, after he refused to evacuate and it engulfed his home.

The blaze is keeping eighty people out of their homes, but worries are that the winds will spread it towards San Diego.

Another fire, near Murrieta, is threatening two hundred homes, but is ninety percent contained.

Fires elsewhere in the country continue to burn hundreds of square miles of land.

China's Carrier Sailing

The Liaoning has set sail, China has it's first aircraft carrier, as much of the world worries about China's growing military power.

For now she won't be receiving aircraft, as China has no pilots or airplanes trained and designed for carrier operations.

It could be several years til the carrier has ready aircraft aboard, but til then she will be a training platform towards that.

At a thousand feet long, the Liaoning is the second biggest class of carriers in the world, only the US's Nimitz class is bigger, which are just short of 1,100 feet long.

She'll be capable of carrying fifty aircraft, plus a few helicopters, and is currently only one of twenty carriers in the world.

Jane's Fighting Ships lists the US as having eleven carriers, with three in construction; Italy with two; India has one, with a second being refitted, and a third being constructed; Russia, France, Spain, Thailand, and Brazil with one a piece; and the UK with only one helicopter carrier, but with two full carriers in construction.

Japanese and Taiwanese Ships Use Water Cannon on Each Other

Taiwanese and Japaneses boats clashed Tuesday over the Senkaku islands.

Over the past months the mostly verbal battle over the islands has increased between China and Japan, though at times Chinese vessels have crossed into Japanese waters.

But now Taiwan has decided to press their own claims, by sending twelve patrol boats to escort forty fishing boats, into the waters off the islands.

Japan responded by sending it's coast guard vessels forth to warn the Taiwanese away. The warnings went ignored, as well as threats, and the Japanese vessels made the decision to shoot water cannons at the fishing boats.

The Taiwanese patrol boats responded by firing their own water cannons, at the Japanese coast guard vessels, but then quickly retreated, taking the fishing boats with them, as they realized their mistake. Firing, even a water cannon, on a government vessel could easily be taken as an act of war.

Ten Chinese vessels, that were near the confrontation, maintained their distance from it, and stayed out of Japanese waters.

Japanese diplomats are in negotiations with both China and Taiwan over the islands. They had been owned privately, by two Japanese families, for centuries. But China and Taiwan claim that they each own the islands due to past history, from before that time.

Protests over Japan's protecting the islands from Chinese landings, occurred across China. In an attempt to end the controversy, Japan purchased the islands earlier in September. Since then war has even been threatened over the islands, but the countries seem to be doing all they can to avoid that.

Drought to Hurt Supplies of Beer and Bacon

Much of the US is in a state of severe drought, and many have considered the ramifications that towards crops, like wheat, barley, oats, rye, etc. However there are some American staples that you might not have thought of as being threatened by the drought.

Beer and other alcohols are made with the very grains which have struggled due to the lack of water, o and water as well. It is very possible that breweries will have to cut their production due to the drought levels. You can also expect prices to increase as that becomes a reality.

Another one you may not have thought of is bacon. Already pork and bacon supplies have risen rapidly as pig farmers cut the population of their herds. They've done so as food supplies, for the hogs, have increased in cost. Due to this, next year could very likely see a shortage in bacon.

Alcohol and bacon are hardly the only food products that could see shortages and price increases, over the next year. Most foods, even if they aren't made with grains, are in some way or another dependent upon them. Nor will the US be the only place that feels the pain. The entire world will feel the results of American drought.

South Korea to Extend Troops Stay to 2013

South Korea's cabinet has extended missions for some of the country's troops, in Afghanistan, til the end of 2013.

Under the new plans, seventy troops will stay to protect aid workers, in the province of Parwan.

The rest of their unit will withdraw at the end of 2012, as planned.

Troops in anti piracy missions in Somalia and training missions in the UAE will also see their stay extended to the end of 2013.

The National Assembly will have to approve the extensions, but that is considered highly likely.

Once Again Ahmadinejad Uses The UN to Rant Against Israel

Despite rather specific warnings not to, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used his speech time at the United Nations to give another of his hate filled anti Semite rants.

He stated that Iran felt no threat at all from Israel's threats to use force to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad once again promised that Israel would be eliminated from the face of the earth.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said that, "President Ahmadinejad's comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive and outrageous,. They underscore again why America's commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations."

Ahmadinejad said that the world's sanctions are having little effect against Iran, and that his country will survive them. He also denied that Iran is aiding the Syrian government against the rebellion there.

Instead of Disbanding Them, Libya Taking Over Militias

Just a day after telling militias to get out of cities, within forty-eight hours, Libya has changed it's mind.

Instead of having them disbanded, Libya is replacing their leadership, with commanders from the army.

On Saturday, thousands of residents of Benghazi marched in protest of the militias, and chased some of them out of the town.

That protest sparked the decision by the government to end the militias' presence.

Some in Benghazi protested the change from the government and are now calling for the military's leadership, the chief of staff, defense minister, and interior minister to be removed from power.

Iraq Blocks North Korean Plane Headed For Syria

Iraq denied a North Korean plane, bound for Syria, the right to go through it's airspace.

The plane was believed to be carrying weapons to the civil war torn country.

North Korea openly supports the Syrian government.

The US and other countries applauded Iraq's decision.

Iraq has recently been ridiculed for not stopping Syria from using it's airspace to attack rebel bases.