Jordanians Vote For Parliament

Jordanians hit the polls on Wednesday, for parliamentary elections.

Elections have occurred in the kingdom, for eighty-four years.

However this one is more significant as the parliament has been granted more powers than ever.

Last year, King Abdullah II gave up most of his powers in running the daily state duties.

Parliament now has near complete control of those.

King Abdullah II did retain his powers over foreign and security responsibilities, but he set steps up that could see that given over to parliament, after his reign ends.

Despite the King's efforts, not all are happy with things.

The leading Islamist party refused to take part in this election.

It is unclear what issues that will cause the parliament's effectiveness.

Suicide Bombing Claims 25 Lives in Iraq

Twenty-five were killed when a suicide bomber struck in Tuz Khormato, Iraq, on Wednesday.

Nearly a hundred more were injured when the blast went off at a funeral at a Shiite mosque.

The funeral was for a government employee, who had been shot and killed, on Tuesday.

Many of the dead and wounded were other government workers, attending the funeral of their friend and colleague.

That includes various elected officials all the way up to a deputy governor.

No one claimed the attack, but it is thought to be the work of Al Qaeda, which is a Sunni organization.

This was the fifth time, in January, that more than twenty people have been killed in a single day.

Remembering: The 20th Amendment

FDR's inauguration 1937

On January 23, 1933, Congress ratified the 20th Amendment.

It set several different things, but the one that has been the most notable was it's changing of the President's inauguration date.

Before then inaugurations had always taken place on March 4.

However, the 20th Amendment moved that date forward to January 20.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first President to be inaugurated on that date, at the beginning of his second term, in 1937.

The 20th Amendment also set the inaugurations of Congressmen to January 3.

It also set up plans for what to do, should the President elect or Vice President elect die before being sworn in.

Sangster's Thoughts on The 40th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade

On January 22, 1973 abortion became legal, in the United States.

Since Roe vs. Wade made it's way through the courts nearly fifty-five million abortions have taken place. That averages out to about one abortion every thirty seconds. Fifty-five million lives cut short, well before they were even given a chance to make something of themselves.

Had they been killed in any other way, their killers would've been charged with murder. Not just murder, but first degree murder, as their deaths had clearly been plotted before hand. Due to the plotting, the mother's and other involved parties would've been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. They clearly had a choice in the decision, and were willing participants.

We live in an unfortunate world of extreme double standards. If you injure a pregnant woman, and it causes a miscarriage, many places would charge you with murder, or at least man slaughter. Yet if that same woman decides that her baby is "inconvenient" it is totally within her legal rights to end that life.

This same nation cries out when a child is killed, while sitting in their classroom, or at the movies. Yet many do nothing when so many are killed every day.

There are many options available to "mothers" who do not want their baby. Legalized murder should not be one of them. That's all abortion really is, it's murder. For your convenience you may decide it is something else, but that's a thing called denial. If you are pro-abortion, you truly are anti-life.

French Gas Leak Being Smelt From Paris to London

A gas leak in Rouen, France has sickened people all the way from Paris to London.

The leak began on Monday, and was spread by winds, over night.

Lubrizol produces mercaptan, at the plant, which is the harmless gas added to natural gas to warn people of leaks.

In it's pure form, undiluted, mercaptan can cause nausea.

Investigators are working to find the source of the leak.

Once they do so, operations can begin to shut it down.

For now, the entire plant is closed.

Gunmen Kill 23 in Nigeria

Two separate attacks struck Nigeria, killing twenty-three.

Late Monday night, gunmen attacked a market in Damboa, killing eighteen.

The market is known for selling "forbidden meat" such as pigs and monkeys.

On Tuesday, another attack killed five in Kano.

That attack hit people gambling over a game.

Both attacks are thought to be to the work of Boko Haram, as both struck against things Muslims consider immoral.

Boko Haram desires to setup an Islamist nation, of it's own, using part of Nigeria as it's own land.

The group terrorizes anyone it can and carries out Shariah law, wherever it goes.

Nebraska Approves Keystone Pipeline

On Tuesday, Nebraska's governor, Dave Heineman, announced that he has approved his state's part of the Keystone Pipeline.

It now falls upon the State Department to approve the project, before it can begin.

According to Heineman, he approved the route, due to it's minimalist impact on the environment.

The Keystone Pipeline will also add an estimated four hundred and eighteen million dollars to the economy, of Nebraska alone.

Nebraska was the last state to approve the pipeline, which will go from Canada to Texas.

Most of the other states have gone ahead and begun construction.

The Obama administration has repeatedly blocked the pipeline, but Nebraska's move should make it extremely politically inconvenient for them to continue doing so.

Israel Hits The Polls

Photo by Evan Pokroy

Israel went to the polls, on Tuesday, in parliamentary elections.

Turnout was quite heavy, throughout the country.

Expectations are for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party to retain a majority.

This would lead to a third term for him.

Even some of his opponents have publicly admitted that he is the best man for the issues facing Israel.

Netanyahu's party, the Likud, is likely to lose some of it's majority, despite his popularity.

With thirty-two parties, in the running, seats have a lot of directions they could go.

Shooting at Lone Star College, in Houston

Reports from Houston, Texas are that multiple have been shot on a college campus.

At least three people were shot, shortly after noon CST.

Lone Star College's North Harris campus, possibly the library, was the scene, of the shooting.

Witnesses are saying that two men got into an argument, inside the library, and then both pulled guns.

Police detained one suspect, but were looking for a second.

They were looking for an eighteen to twenty-two year old black male, wearing a red shirt and a Falcons baseball cap.

Officers in tactical gear moved through the campus to ensure that it was secure.

Four nearby Aldine Independent School District schools were put on lock down, they were: Dunn Elementary, Nimitz 9th grade campus, Nimitz High, and Parker Intermediate.

The campus is a gun free zone, meaning guns are not allowed.

Twitter Shows Major Struggles

No, it wasn't just you.

For hours, on Monday, Twitter has had some serious issues going on.

Service has been slow at best, and at times the site was not even findable, for browsers.

Even the dreaded and often mocked "fail whale" was not even showing up for users.

Some users never reported problems, but the outage wasn't limited to any one geographical area.

Nor was it  limited to online Twitter.

Mobile Twitter, computer based Tweetdeck, mobile Tweetdeck, and other mobile apps have been completely unresponsive as well.

For millions around the world, one of their key ways of communication was cut off for hours.

Twitter never commented about the issues, but did get it all fixed, after about eight hours.