1 Killed During Protests in Thailand

Protests in Bangkok, Thailand turned violent, on Saturday.

Rival protests clashed with each other, and someone began shooting.

One person was killed and at least three were injured.

Saturday marked the seventh day of protests, as thousands have been demanding that the prime minister resign.

However, this Saturday, saw the prime minister's supporters come out in force as well.

After the shooting, hundreds more police were brought in to the city to deal with the protests.

The Grind at McCarthy's Brings A Reawakening

I've lived in Aurora, Colorado for sixteen years, eight of which I've legally been allowed to drink. Tonight, for the first time I went to McCarthy's, a bar which I've driven past, literally thousands of times.

I have a few spots I normally hit, those who know me well know the specific one I at least used to be a regular at, but tonight I just needed somewhere different to grab a drink at. So McCarthy's it was, and I'm glad for that decision.

The atmosphere was decent, fairly busy thanks to it being a Friday night, and a band was warming up when I got there. I sat at an empty seat at the bar and ordered a drink, which was priced about what I expected for the area. Was figuring on only the one drink as I knew I needed to come do some writing and get up early for work, but kept my tab open anyways.

Then the band started, apparently a well known band, at least to McCarthy's crowd, called The Grind. They looked like a middle aged biker/garage band, and I wasn't expecting much other than some decent music. However, it was how they opened that made me an instant fan.

The Grind could've opened with any well known song, that every band covers, and made everyone at the bar happy with them. But no, that's not what they did. Instead, they started the night off by doing a very good rock version of The Star Spangled Banner.

Their opening that way caused me to order a second drink, and stay for a bit longer to enjoy their music. In fact I found myself wishing I could stay for the night, and keep listening to them as they were pretty good. On another night, when I have the time, I hope I'll catch The Grind playing again at McCarthy's.

However, more than playing good music, with some good drinks, something more important happened to me tonight. Their starting with The Star Spangled Banner reminded me of something, I've been missing. Twitter and Facebook aren't the only places I can find people that love this county. It can be found anywhere in this country, as long as you remember to look. The individual patriotic citizen is what makes this country great, even more so than the arguing masses ever can.

A random band, playing at a random bar, opening with our national anthem also awoke in me a reminder of part of me that I've been ignoring. I love blogging. I have since I first tried, but I've become too busy with working, and writing for other parts of this site to do it much. For this I must apologize to those of you who have been here since I was just a little blog site fighting for a hundred views a month, rather than the thousand plus I get a day. I ask you to keep me accountable and encourage me to keep making every part of TORARADICALcom a place you want to come read.

For awhile I've known that I need to get back to the basics, without losing what the site has expanded to. Yet it took a local band playing the anthem to make me sit down and write an actual blog. God works in such mysterious ways, does He not?

Police Helicopter Crashes Into Glasgow Club

A police helicopter crashed into a Glasgow, Scotland club, on Friday night.

At least one hundred and twenty people were in The Clutha, when the crash occurred, with three people aboard the helicopter.

Dozens were injured, with little information yet being known if there was any fatalities.

A neighboring Holiday Inn Express was taken over as an emergency treatment center.

One hundred and twenty-five firefighters were called in to deal with the emergency situation.

Witnesses say that the helicopter lost power, just before crashing.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Police in Ukraine Crack Down on Protesters

Police in the Ukraine cracked down on protesters, on Friday.

Thousands have been protesting, demanding that the government join the EU.

Many Ukrainians fear that the government has fallen prey to Russian influence, and worry about losing their independence.

On Friday night, the police moved in and ended the mass protests.

Police attacked with tear gas and beat protesters with batons.

Dozens were injured and dozens more arrested at Independence Square in Kiev, where nearly thirteen thousand had been protesting for a week.

The story was repeated across the country, and in other parts of the capital.

US Backs Down Over Pressure From China

Just three days after showing military might in the face of Chinese imperialism, the US has backed down.

On Saturday, November 23, China declared a new air defense area, and demanded that all aircraft ask permission from Beijing, to fly into the area.

The new area included part of Japan's sovereign territory, and was quickly refuted by Japan and her US allies.

It was then mocked on Tuesday, when US aircraft flew through the zone, without even notifying Chinese officials.

This was followed by several flights of Japanese military aircraft.

However, on Friday, the US government bowed to pressure from China, and ordered US forces to seek clearance from China, before flying into the region.

This new decision shows US weakness and encourages China to press it's claims into the area, at the expense of Japan.

Earthquake Kills 7 in Iran

Seven people were killed when a quake struck in Iran, on Thursday.

At least forty-five more were injured and search crews were digging through rubble for survivors and victims.

The 5.6 quake struck just north of Borazjan, about forty miles north of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Officials said that the plant suffered no damage, despite severe damage in the surrounding areas.

Hudak Resigns to Avoid Being Recalled in Colorado

Colorado senator Evie Hudak announced her resignation, on Wednesday.

Her decision comes less than a week before a recall petition was expected to be successful against her.

By resigning she ensures that Democrats maintain a one seat majority, in the state's senate, as a replacement will be appointed.

If she had not resigned, a special election would have taken place, and a Republican could have taken over her seat.

She was the third Colorado Democrat senator to face a recall, after their parts in voting for unpopular gun laws.

Berlusconi Expelled From Italy's Senate

Wednesday saw Italy's senate vote to expel Silvio Berlusconi, from it's ranks.

Berlusconi has been fighting to remain in the senate, for some time now, but was finally out of legal obstacles to throw at the senate.

He is also banned from running for public office, for two years.

His expulsion also makes him finally vulnerable to various civil charges against him.

The former prime minister has already been sentenced to community service for tax fraud.

This marks a new a chapter in Italian politics, as Berlusconi had been an imposing force there for over twenty years.

Latvia's Prime Minister Resigns Over Supermarket Disaster

In a sudden move Latvia's prime minster resigned, on Wednesday.

Valdis Dombrovskis announced his resignation in the aftermath of a supermarket collapse, which killed fifty-four people and injured forty.

The opposition used the collapse to suggest that Dombrovskis' government cuts were partially responsible for the faulty building.

Among the cuts he pushed through was the national construction agency, which over saw and ensured construction quality.

Dombrovskis decided that his party would be better off without his continued involvement.

President Andris Berzins will now appoint a new prime minister.

1 Killed, 4 Wounded in Stabbing at Texas Hospital

One person was killed and four wounded when a man began stabbing people in a Texas hospital, Tuesday morning.

It happened at the Good Shepherd Ambulatory Surgical Center in Longview.

Witnesses say that a man suddenly went berserk, screamed that he wouldn't let them kill his mother, pulled a hunting knife, and began stabbing people.

He managed to stab five people before security was able to bring him down.

A twenty-two year old suspect is under arrest one count of murder and four of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The fatality was a nurse, who protected patients by jumping between them and the man.

One of the other victims is in critical condition, another in good condition, and the other two were treated and released.

Officials are unsure what actually led to the attack.