I Read It In the News Today

I first heard of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination at work today. One of my coworkers had asked me if I had heard anything on the radio about it. At the time I had no idea, nor had I heard about it. So when I got home, I opened my email from Reuters Alert net and found a story on it, which was more about world leaders urging Pakistan to stay democratic, then about the assassination of their former Prime Minister. I also took a look on my favourite website for news, the C.B.C., and found a story blaming the Taliban and al-Qaeda for the assassination. My first thoughts were, its been a long time since I've heard anything about al-Qaeda. I know that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto may not make a lot of front pages, but the death of Pakistan's first female Prime Minister is tragic. It can be viewed as an attack on democracy.

I understand that this event can be seen as an attack on democracy, but what does the assassination mean for the Pakistani people? The only person I know from Pakistan didn't comment, so I am left to guess on this one. My opinion is that the assassination of an opposition leader almost two weeks before an election will certainly impact the upcoming elections. Most definitely the party will have to choose another leader, unless the party has a deputy leader. But as for the long term affects of the assassination, I'm left guessing. I don't know a lot about Pakistan, I know it is a Muslim country, and I know that it used to be part of India. The coming days will show the world just how much impact this assassination will have on Pakistan's future.

I'm not going to claim to know a lot about Pakistan, or even that I've read a lot, but from what I have read the people of Pakistan are willing to stand up for themselves. Whether or not the people of Pakistan are willing to stand up for democracy may well be an unfolding story in the coming weeks. But if they elect a woman for Prime Minister and she serves two terms, then I am led to believe that democracy is something that Pakistan is willing to fight for. What do you think?

News Stories: World leaders urge Pakistan to stay democratic course and Taliban, al-Qaeda behind Bhutto assassination: Pakistan government

Image: P.B.S. Wide angle

Tag, Your It!

Recently I've been tagged to do a meme. I'm not entirely sure what a 'meme' is, but since it was MeghnaK who tagged me, I will try. The topic is '50 things things to do before I die,' which means I have to do some thinking.

Well here goes:

50 Things to do before I die

1. Climb Everest
2. Go sky diving
3. Visit Japan
4. Learn to speak fluently 5 more languages
5. Visit Russia
6. Spend a week in Paris, France
7. Go to Hawaii
8. Write a novel
9. Have dinner with Gordon Ramsay
10. Stick my foot in the Pacific ocean
11. See what Australia looks like, up close and personal
12. Spend a week with my cousins in Britain
13. Meet some of my friends who have commented on my posts
14. Stay in Peru for a month
15. Take a picture of the Great Wall of China
16. Go to chef's school so I can learn a few things about cooking
17. Cook for a big dinner party
18. Challenge Iron Chef Bobby Flay
19. Go camping on Madagascar Island
20. Take an extended vacation in the Bahamas
21. Have my picture taken standing in the centre of 'Stone Henge'
22. Stand in front of the Sphinx
23. Get paid for blogging
24. Fly an airplane
25. Visit the International Space Station
26. Control the Canada arm2 and wave at Canada while flying over
27. Land on Mars
29. Buy a Canadian Flag for my front porch
30. See for my own eyes what the Rocky mountains look like
31. Spend some time in Rome, Italy
32. Visit India
33. Go to Disney Land
34. Join the 'Mile High' club
35. Get a high paying desk job
36. Write some freelance articles
37. Clean up our environment
38. Inspire some one to do something great!
39. Play guitar in a stadium full of people
40. Play drums in a stadium full of people
41. Meet Rachael Ray and Giada DeLaurentis
42. Get a guest judge spot on 'Iron Chef America'
43. Party with one of my favourite bands
44. See a Metallica concert
45. Play a song with Metallica
46. Cook with Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay
47. Spend some money in a Las Vegas Casino
48. Drive a Formula 1 race car
49. Start a business
50. Fly a helicopter

Okay, that wasn't easy! Now onto the last part, tagging some other bloggers to do a 'meme,' but who to choose?


BadKitty0126: Things that Make you go WTF
TonyLewis: Global News Blogger
AntiBarbie: antibarbie.net - Madness, Monsters and Motherhood
Libdrone: The Thin Red Line
Globalgirl: Globally Minded Works


If you've been tagged, its because I enjoy reading your blog. Hopefully you'll have a meme up soon.

The Quest for Space

I recently read an article on the CNN website mentioning that China has successfully launched a lunar probe. Now there has been speculation about Americas landing on the moon, but is it possible that a new space race is evolving? In the article Chinese Rocket blasts off to moon the associated press mentions that India may be joining the quest for the moon as well. Japan already has a probe orbiting the moon right now.

Also in the article, it mentions that China has interest in joining the International Space Station program. Currently, the Americans have denied China from joining the program, mostly because of the form of government China has. They have a communist dictatorship, and anyone who has heard of the cold war can understand why America would be uneasy about allowing a communist dictatorship to join the International Space Station program.

Speaking of the International Space Station (I.S.S.), has anybody heard any new developments on the story? I know that the I.S.S. was breaking news before the attacks on the World Trade Center, has that program been put on the back burner? Canada has been developing robotic systems to be added to the space station and I have heard very little on that as well. The last I have heard about the Space Station is that every shuttle crew that goes up will visit the station, mostly to check for any damage incurred during launch. Shouldn't the I.S.S. be used as a stepping stone for our quest for a space fairing civilization?