Elections in Afghanistan See Record Turnouts Despite Taliban Threats

Saturday's elections in Afghanistan saw record numbers of voters, despite Taliban threats.

The Taliban had threatened to attack polling locations and cut off the fingers of anyone who voted.

Turnout was so high, that a third of polling stations reported that they ran out of ballots.

This election marked the first time in Afghan history that there is to be a peaceful transition between democratically elected governments.

US Army: Captain James E. Chaffin III

Captain James E. Chaffin III, twenty-seven of West Columbia, South Carolina, died on April 1.

He was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Chaffin was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

His decorations include: Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Basic Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge.

Shooting at Fort Hood Leaves 4 Dead, 16 Wounded

Fort Hood, Texas was placed under lockdown after a shooting, on Wednesday afternoon.

The shooter died, from a self inflicted gun shot wound, but not before he had left three others dead and wounded sixteen more.

Wednesday afternoon's shooting was quickly followed by orders for everyone to, "Shelter in place immediately. This is not a test."

People were also warned to stay away from windows, while the base was being searched.

Fort Hood was the scene of a shooting on November 5, 2009, in which thirteen people were killed and twenty-nine wounded.

8.2 Quake Kills 5 in Chile and Causes Tsunami Alert

An 8.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, late Tuesday night.

Since the initial quake, dozens of aftershocks have occurred, with one as high as 6.4.

Five people have been reported dead with dozens more injured.

The quake was felt as far away as La Paz, Bolivia, three hundred miles away.

IT caused landslides, the collapse of buildings, broken water and gas lines, fires, and damage to roads.

More damage is likely to be reported once it is light, on Wednesday morning.

A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru, with South and Central American other countries on the lookout as well.

Already waves nearly seven feet have hit parts of the coast.

OkCupid Asks Members to Not Use Firefox Due to Mozilla's CEO's Support of Prop 8

OkCupid, one of top dating sites, surprised users with a new page when they logged in, via Mozilla Firefox, on Monday.

The page involved a call for OkCupid members to stop using Mozilla Firefox as their web browser, due to Mozilla's new CEO, Brendan Eich.

Back in 2008, Eich donated one thousand dollars to support the passing of Proposition 8, in California.

Proposition 8, attempted to ban gay marriage in the sate.

The site's new page stated:

 "Hello there, Mozilla Firefox user. Pardon this interruption of your OkCupid experience.

Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples. We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid.

Politics is normally not the business of a website, and we all know there’s a lot more wrong with the world than misguided CEOs. So you might wonder why we’re asserting ourselves today. This is why: we’ve devoted the last ten years to bringing people—all people—together. If individuals like Mr. Eich had their way, then roughly 8% of the relationships we’ve worked so hard to bring about would be illegal. Equality for gay relationships is personally important to many of us here at OkCupid. But it’s professionally important to the entire company. OkCupid is for creating love. Those who seek to deny love and instead enforce misery, shame, and frustration are our enemies, and we wish them nothing but failure.

Background on Mr. Eich and Mozilla
In 2008, Mr. Eich supported the passage of California’s Prop 8, a statewide initiative to ban gay marriage, with a $1000 donation. Granted, his contribution is now six years in the past, and people can change. But Mr. Eich’s boilerplate statements in the time since make it seem like he has the same views now as he did then. Mozilla recently promoted him to CEO, hence the issue only now coming to our attention. His donation was known to Mozilla at the time of his promotion, and, furthermore, CEOs are rewarded based on their company’s performance. The CEO is the visionary for a company and its products. We are sad to think that any OkCupid page loads would even indirectly contribute towards the success of an individual who supported Prop 8—and who for all we know would support it again. We wish Mozilla’s institutional commitment to freedom and openness were better reflected by their choice of leadership."

OkCupid's page also provided users with links to download Mozilla's main competition: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Opera.

It eventually allowed an option to continue on using Firefox, therefore stopping short of blocking access via Firefox.

North Korea and South Korea Exchange Artillery Fire

North and South Korea exchanged artillery rounds, on Monday.

During maneuvers, North Korea fired over fire hundred artillery rounds, more than one hundred of which landed in South Korean waters.

Residents on nearby South Korean islands rushed to shelters, where they were kept for several hours.

South Korean forces responded with three hundred rounds into North Korean waters.

Neither country's rounds caused any damage or injuries.

Review: Noah

Noah, which came out on Thursday, is written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. It stars Russel Crowe as Noah, Jennifer Connelly as his wife, Emma Watson as the eventual wife of Shem, as well as such actors as Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, and Logan Lerman.

Russel Crowe plays a deeply faithful servant of The Creator, who is an extreme vegetarian. We watch him as he struggles with the mission given him and how it hurts him to watch mankind be destroyed, but he feels that there is no other way. Crowe was very possibly the best actor to play this part.

Both Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson give the main speeches which cause Noah any real thought during the movie. Only them seem able to make him think beyond what he has decided is the will of The Creator. They are the ones who keep mercy and love in the world.

An unexpected bit in the movie was The Watchers. They are fallen angels who, after the fall of Adam and Eve, came to aid man kind, but were punished by The Creator. Their punishment was being encased in stone bodies and having to watch their aid be turned for evil in the hands of wicked men. When Noah comes on the scene, they find their way to redemption. The Watchers seem to be an awkward mix of Ents from Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings and Michael Bay's Transformers. They are also very reminiscent of the Jewish myth of the golems, which if purposeful would be a really nice touch by Aronofsky.

You've likely heard the bashing of it based on it's lack of saying "God" any time in the movie. However, this is something I actually find positive and interesting. Throughout the movie they say "The Creator" which is what God was to Noah and those of his time. It's worth noting that in the Bible God didn't even call himself God until talking with Abram, in Genesis 17, before the name to change to Abraham. Now the Bible does use the word God before then, however it was written by Moses, who came just a bit after Noah.

The makers of this movie definitely went out of their way to keep from pissing off Christians/creationists while appeasing atheists/evolutionists. This movie is very clear that some being created everything. Man is noted to have been created in the image of The Creator, this right after we watched a series of CGI that seems to show a fish evolving into a primate. Per the movie, The Creator's spoken word is also what triggered the big bang and all of the universe.

Like many things in the world, this movie is neither fully good nor fully bad. It is a mixed bag that you can't simply just react to, but must contemplate and examine before deciding for yourself. Perhaps this movie is so easy a target as it's a story everyone knows. No matter what kind of faith background you come from, you know the story of Noah and the ark. Because the story is so well known, the movie has suspense, as you keep waiting for certain events, such as the finding of wives for all three sons, to take place.

I enjoyed how deep Noah's character was, filled with conflict over what he feels must be done. It definitely made me think of things I hadn't before. If you plan to see this movie, do so with an open mind. Don't expect the pure Bible. Look past the vegetarian preaching. Take truth where it can be found and enjoy the mix of myth into the story. Basically, just remember that this is a modern day Hollywood version of Noah's story.

4.8 Quake Rattles Yellowstone

A 4.8 earthquake rattled Yellowstone National Park, early Sunday morning.

It was the strongest earth quake centered inside the park, in thirty-four years.

There were no reports of damage or injuries, as a result of the quake.

Scientists state that there is no concern that the quake will set off the park's volcano.

Colorado Plane Crash Leaves 1 Dead in Highlands Ranch

A small plane crashed Saturday afternoon, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

The crash occurred near Lucent Boulevard and E470.

One person, the pilot of the aircraft was killed in the crash.

According to witnesses, the plane burst into flames upon hitting the ground.

They also said that it was clear the plane was having difficulties and that it appeared the pilot steered away from buildings towards the open field.

Officials said that it was an experimental aircraft, likely built by the pilot.

Southern California Hammered by Aftershocks After La Habra Quake

Southern California has been hammered with aftershocks after a 5.1 earthquake struck Friday night.

The 5.1 was centered in La Habra and was felt up and down the state.

It knocked items off shelves, broke glass items across the area, broke gas and water lines, caused a rock slide, and even knocked some traffic lights down.

One apartment complex and eight homes have been condemned, due to the damage.

Authorities spent much of Saturday inspecting for further damage to structures, bridges, and roads.

No injuries were reported by the main quake or any of the aftershocks.

Over one hundred aftershocks have followed it, with the strongest being a 4.4 which struck Saturday afternoon.