The Pilgrim’s Protest

World
Kosovo Declares Independence
On February 17th, Kosovo’s parliament declared independence from Serbia. This has been recognized by the United States, and the majority of the EU. However, the Serbian population, supported by Russia and China are against an independent Kosovo. There have been riots in Serbian capital city of Belgrade and several foreign embassies, including the U.S. embassy, were attacked by mobs.
There is a history of conflict between Albanian Muslims and Serbs. Many Serbs consider Kosovo the heart of their country. However the Albanian majority has long sought independence.
In 1974, the Yugoslavian constitution granted Kosovo status as an autonomous province within Serbia. In 1990, when the ethnic Albanians began campaigning for independence, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic attempted to suppress their desire. In 1999, NATO led air strikes on strategic targets in Kosovo and Serbia to quell ethnic cleansing of Albanians.
The issue of Kosovo’s independence carries great weight for other countries with autonomous provinces vying for independence as this precedent may encourage others to follow suit.

National
Death of Heath Ledger
On January 22nd, actor Heath Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose; he was 28. The medical examiner announced that Ledger had taken six types of pain killers and sedatives but that the death was accidental. According to CNN, Federal authorities are looking into two pharmacists and trying to discover whether or not the drugs were legally prescribed. Heath Ledger’s first American film, in 1999, was 10 Things I Hate About You; one of his most recent works was the movie Brokeback Mountain. Ledger also starred as The Joker in the movie The Dark Knight, which is scheduled to release on July 18, 2008.

McCain’s Presidential Race
A few months ago it was predicted that Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign was nearly over. Today that has radically changed. According to CNN he is now the presumptive G.O.P. nominee for the Republican ticket.

Local

Parking Tickets
Drivers owe the City of Columbia over three millions dollars. How? In parking tickets. Fines as little as $5 have grown into a significant sum of money. These fines should be paid and city officials cite that the City of Columbia needs the money. The city is even considering going as far as obtaining warrants in order to collect these fines. While some may consider a parking ticket a trivial offense, these fines can add up quickly and it is advisable to pay as quickly as possible.