http://www.koco.com/news/20137271/detail.html

A 3.3 magnitude earthquake was felt Tuesday night, 37 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. There were no injuries or damages.

When I was little, I learned about geology and earthquakes at Sarkey's Energy Center. I knew there were earthquakes in Oklahoma-- minor, unfelt ones-- but people could actually feel this one, at least that's what the wikipedia article on the Richter Scale says. It's pretty amazing to think that we can still get earthquakes like that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/22defense.html

The Senate voted Tuesday to remove $1.75 billion in funding for 7 new F-22 fighter planes- a victory considered important for President Obama, who intends the army to focus more on anti-insurgency warfare.

I'm glad they voted this way. It doesn't really help the national budget any, but it is time to adapt. The Soviet Union no longer exists. Terrorism and insurgents, however, are a threat. You can't defeat either through air combat. Bombs are useless against decentralized enemies.

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2009/07/21/la-grippe-porcine-a-fait-sept-cent-morts_1221041_3244.html#ens_id=1185166

Swine flu has killed 700 people globally, according to le Monde. Nearly 100,000 people have been infected, according to an estimation by the World Health Organization. France counts 628 infections, 6 of which were serious enough to require hospitalization.

Swine flu was terribly scary for a few days, but it quickly became apparent-- to me anyway-- that it was not the deadly virus everyone feared it to be. The statistics don't indicate a high hospitalization rate, even when you just compare it with the official number of infections.

http://www.koco.com/news/20075297/detail.html

A woman was mugged after working her night shift at Walmart, according to the Channel 5 news. She had just gotten some money from an ATM when four men in a red Kia Sportage SUV robbed her. Her purse, which contained several credit cards, was stolen, along with $60.

I go to Walmart at night sometimes. I've heard about robberies at various locations before, and this only makes me more nervous about shopping there. I wonder, though. Where was the Walmart cop? We have one on the west side location.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFDKwtv6wxJsxHUqUj9GO0kWkq1QD99FLCRG0

According to the Associated Press, conservatives are having trouble organizing an opposition to President Obama's healthcare reform bill. The president has several powerful organizations, such as Organizing for America and Health Care for America Now, backing him. The first organization boasts an email list of 13 million names, the second boasts 30 million members.

I really want this bill to pass, though I wish the Right could get its act together. Any bill, I think, needs some healthy opposition in order to appeal better to everyone. I suppose I just have a naive vision of our system. I'd like to think the bill would come out stronger with a little criticism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/world/asia/17india.html

India and Pakistan's leaders, according to the New York Times, have reached a consensus after meeting. The two countries will share intelligence on terrorist threats. Both said that terrorism, rather than each other, were the main threat to each.

I'm happy to hear of this development. Relations between the two nations were, according to the article, strained after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I don't think, however, this development really means that much. It's a step forward, yes, but given their history, I'm skeptical about the improvement of their long term relations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070901990.html

Vice President Biden defends the economic stimulus plan as public confidence in President Obama's handling of the economy slips, according to the Washington Post. The most steep drops have been in voting blocs crucial to Obama's victory in the presidential election.

I think some of the criticism Obama faces is a little unfair, but I don't like the stimulus package. I haven't seen any indication that it's helping, and it's expensive. I'm glad he did something at least. The Great Depression resulted partly from a lack of government involvement. I like him overall though. I love his diplomatic policy and I hope he gets reelected.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/europe/09food.html?_r=1&ref=world

President Obama has "enlisted leading powers" to give $15 billion in agricultural aid, according to the New York Times. The effort reflects many philanthropists, economists, and African government's predictions that efforts to reduce poverty in Africa will fail without a far greater investment in agriculture.

I don't think $15 billion is an impressive sum at all, but considering only $5 billion was being spent on agriculture, it's a tremendous improvement. I've never agreed with the current approach to helping Africa, which is shipping food and throwing money at local governments to fix things. It prevents starvation in the short term, but if eradicating poverty is the goal, then everything we've done has been completely ineffective. We should be trying to make Africa more attractive for investment and helping the people feed themselves.

http://newsok.com/ernest-istooks-son-arrested-by-bounty-hunters/article/3384052

Bounty hunters arrested US Rep. Earnest Istook's son Tuesday night. Istook pretended he wasn't there, but the bounty hunters broke in and searched his home, eventually finding him in the closet corner of the master bathroom.

I'm outraged by their behavior, and I question whether it's ethical to use bounty hunters or not. They didn't have a search warrent. They should not have been inside that house. It's officially sanctioned vigilante justice, and it disgusts me.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0703/p02s13-usgn.html

The Christian Science Monitor reports that many public schools across the country are cutting summer classes in order to save money, replacing the summer classes with summer camps sponsored by community groups and online courses. The cuts could lead to thousands of teacher layoffs, and loss of opportunity for students struggling to catch up.

I've never liked the public school system, and these cuts are terribly depressing. Education standards were already lacking in my high school, the food was bad, and the building maintained poorly. These cuts might be necessary to ensure the school system's survival, but it shouldn't come to this. Children won't get the education they deserve. It's time to reorganize our priorities and reallocate our military budget.

http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2009/07/08/l-irlande-organisera-un-nouveau-referendum-sur-le-traite-europeen-le-2-octobre_1216587_3214.html#ens_id=1208066

According to le Monde, Ireland will organise a new referendum to accept the European Union's Lisbon treaty on Oct. 2. The treaty was rejected in June of last year, "plunging Europe into a grave institutional crisis." Dublin agreed to consult further on the treaty after receiving guarantees on issues of national sovereignty, such as military neutrality.

I do hope that they adopt the treaty. I would like to see the European community integrate itself further. The union may well represent the future of global politics. The world is becoming increasingly globalized, and military strong-arming just can't form the basis of foreign policy like it used to.