The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on Thursday convicted the "mastermind" of the Rwandan genocide and sentenced him to life in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

It is the first time the tribunal has convicted high-level officials for the 100-day genocide in 1994 which left an estimated 800,000 people dead.

Theoneste Bagosora, 67, a colonel in the Rwandan army, was found guilty along with two other men -- Major Aloys Ntabakuze and Lieutenant Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva. All were sentenced to life in prison.

Over a decade later, three men are finally being brought to justice for their parts in the Rwandan Genocide. Many of you might be familiar with the atrocity through the countless documentaries, feature films, and news reports. The UN was divided on its course of action for such a long time and argued while thousands of Tutsis were still being slaughtered. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only time where the bickering of the UN nations delayed action against criminals. However, this marks a huge step towards justice for those who were murdered. Hopefully this will bring closure to some of the families affected. I only hope it doesn't take this long for the perpetrators of the Darfur genocide to be brought to justice.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/18/rwanda.tribunal/index.html

So, there's been international reaction to 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election, where voting took place on March 29th and June 27th. The incumbent president, Robert Mugabe, has been the head of the state ever since the country gained its independence in 1980. On March 29th, Morgan Tsvangirai won the popular vote over Mugabe. However, you must win a certain majority of votes in the first vote to bypass the second and claim victory. Tsvangirai didn't have enough votes and election was extended. In the following months, members of Tsvangirai's political party began to be targeted by the violent and powerful allies of Mugabe. The mayor of Zimbabwean's capital (who was also in Tsvangirai's party) had his wife kidnapped, stoned to death, and then mutilated about a week before the second round of voting. One of the CNN articles estimated the deaths as a result of the election to be in the tens of thousands. Tsvangirai was forced to concede and withdraw from the race in fear of his own life and those who had aided him. On the day of election, police officers forced people to vote (a red ink is rubbed on your hand after you do). Of course, Mugabe steals the elections with a ridiculous majority of the votes and has already been sworn in for his next term.

And all of this is known worldwide, with the heads of our countries denouncing the entire election, but not much can be done. Mugabe's people basically own Zimbabwean. Even though the country has bee in an economic freefall since it gained its independence, they are extremely rich. Invading the country be lead to a very long war that would leave the country dirt poor.

So, what do you think should be done about this? We can't just stand around and complain about it. Mugabe is a person who honestly doesn't care if everyone hates him, as long as him and his allies remain rich and in power.

Links to a bunch of articles:
http://topics.cnn.com/topics/zimbabwe

http://www.empireonline.com/50greatesttv/

50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex and the City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek
42. Only Fools and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life On Mars
39. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who
15. Heroes
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld
10. Spaced
09. The X-Files
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons


So, Empire magazine decided to compile a list of the 50 greatest shows OF ALL TIME. You could have fooled me, seeing as though there is nothing pre-1980. I agree with the first spot, but Buffy is the second best show television has ever offered? Lost number 5? West Wing before Seinfeld? Pretty much lost all credibility after that.

Sorry, but shows like I Love Lucy and MASH has done more for television than most of that list combined, yet they were beaten out by... VERONICA MARS!

I just recently discovered the Canadian based electronica duo Chromeo. After hearing their single Bonafied Lovin', I decided to give the album a listen. I'm not really into the whole electronic music genre, but they have a very catchy and feel-good sound. Give them a listen, they describe themselves as " the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture".

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xew85L1xyC8