3 Former Presidents Back Ukraine Protests

Protesters in Ukraine got a big boost on Wednesday, when three former presidents endorsed the demonstrations.

Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yushchenko made a joint announcement throwing their support behind the protesters.

The protesters are demanding that President Viktor Yanukovych resign.

He angered the public when backed out of signing a trade agreement with the European Union, and instead announced that he would seek closer ties with Russia.

Many Ukrainians worry that Yanukovych is taking their country back under Russian influence and fear a loss of their independence from their former Soviet masters.

Fire Breaks Out in Downtown Denver

Smoke poured from a building in downtown Denver, on Tuesday afternoon.

Denver firefighters are being praised for their quick response in knocking the two alarm fire out in under twenty minutes.

Luckily no one was seriously hurt, only four people required treatment for smoke inhalation, with one of them being taken to a hospital.

Authorities say that a malfunction in the building's HVAC system caused the fire.

Oils from the system caused thick black smoke to be seen through most of downtown.

The area around 17th and Grant was closed for a time, due to the fire, and investigation.

Firefighters also evacuated a neighboring building, due to the smoke.

Temporary Truce Agreed to in Thailand

Moods in Thailand turned celebratory on Tuesday as the government ordered police forces to stand down in Bangkok.

The police had been protecting government buildings from protesters, who are demanding that the prime minister resign.

They allowed the protesters to enter the compounds after a truce agreement was reached.

Both sides agreed that there should be peace and celebration, not struggle, during the next few days which are mean to celebrate the king's birthday.

However, opposition leaders do promise that protests will resume, after the celebrations.

New York Train Derailment Kills 4

Four people were killed and sixty-three were injured when a passenger train derailed, in New York.

Eleven of the sixty-three are in critical condition.

The accident happened in the Bronx, Sunday morning.

A full investigation is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Survivors and witnesses said that the train seemed to be going a lot faster than it normally does, when it came upon a sharp turn.

65 Vehicle Pileup Injures 35 in Massachusetts

Icy roads caused dozens of accidents in New England, on Sunday.

The worst of which happened on I290, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

That accident involved sixty-five vehicles, from small cars to tractor trailers.

Thirty-five people were injured, including two seriously.

Westbound I290 was closed for more than five hours as crews worked to clear the road.

Residents have been asked to limit their travel, while the hazardous conditions continue.

Hundreds of Thousands Demand President Resign in Ukraine

Sunday marked the twenty-second anniversary of Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union.

However, instead of celebrations the streets were filled with protests.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched through city streets demanding that the president resign.

Kiev alone saw at least three hundred and fifty thousand take to the streets.

Many Ukrainians fear that Viktor Yanukovich is working to rejoin them into the Russian fold.

Lately he has backed away from a deal to join the European Union, and began economic discussions with Russia.

The protests, on Sunday, were mostly peaceful, after violence injured hundreds on Saturday.

4 Killed in Thailand During Protests

Violent protests continued in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday.

Four people were killed and over a hundred injured as rival protesters clashed with each other and with police.

Police began responding with force, instead of trying to just keep the protesters at bay.

Opposition leader Suthep Thaugsuban met with prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the military.

He continued the demands of her resignation from office, only then will protests end.

Meanwhile, the military pledged to stay neutral in the political conflict.

Scotland Helicopter Crash Kills 8

Eight people were killed late Friday night when a police helicopter crashed into a club in Glasgow, Scotland.

Rescue workers spent much of Saturday combing through the rubble of The Clutha, searching for survivors and victims.

All three members of the crew and five people on the ground were killed.

Another thirty-two people were injured, fourteen of them seriously.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Some witnesses said that the helicopter's engine appeared to stop working, just before it crashed.

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?