Before Ukraine and Russia make deal, they have to fight for it, literally; Utah missionaries get lesser charge in Haiti; Immigration a hot topic

All of the stories are reported by The New York Times
Lawmakers pelted the podium with eggs and catcalls before stalking across the aisle, putting their colleagues in headlocks and engaging other tactics not exactly covered by Robert's Rule of Order. Smoke bombs were set off in the chamber. Glue was poured into voting machines. The legislative leader directed the session behind umbrellas held by his aides, to protect him from projectiles. Ukraine's Parliament was supposed to conduct a weighty debate on Tuesday revolving around the country's sovereignty and relationship with neighboring Russia, but the proceedings often seemed more like a food fight in a high school cafeteria. At issue was whether to ratify an agreement to extend the lease on a Russian naval base on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine by 25 years. In the end, it was narrowly approved with 236 votes out of a possibly 450, but not before Parliament appeared to do some damage to its own reputation. The two sides even got into a shoving match and tug of war over a giant Ukrainian flag. The base deal was negotiated last week by the new Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, who was elected in February on a pledge to patch relations with Russia, which has been severely strained under the previous president, Viktor A Yushchenko. In return, Russia agreed to cut the cost of natural gas by 30 percent. The current lease expires in 2017, and the base's opponents said Russia should withdraw after that.
To make a deal, the Ukrainians and Russians had to fight and throw things at each other to complete it. What the hell kind of relationship is that? I know that they haven't had the best relationship, but when you are trying to work together and make a deal benefiting both sides, you have to keep your cool. Not only does it make the politicians look bad, it makes them lose their credibility and trust from their citizens. They should be past this behavior by now. Headlocks and throwing eggs at each other, grow up.
A Haitian judge said Tuesday that he dropped kidnapping charges against Laura Silsby and nine other American missionaries because the children they were trying to take out of Haiti were given over freely by their parents. The judge, Bernard Si-Vil, said Ms. Silsby would be tried on a lesser charge of arranging illegal travel because she knew she had no right to take 33 children out of Haiti. He also said that Ms. Silsby deceived the other missionaries by telling them she had the proper documents to take the children to the Dominican Republic.
The missionaries got really lucky. They could have been sentenced to prison for a few years, but they got off. Being in jail for three months was the punishment they deserved. When I heard them being jailed for this, I didn't know what to feel at first. The missionaries were doing a good thing, but at the same time they were kidnapping the children. I know that it was a serious earthquake and the citizens were suffering, but sometimes in order to be a hero, you have to sit back and think whether people around you want to be saved. The children need to be with their parents until they are ready to separate. They didn't have documents to bring them to the Dominican Republic, which makes their actions irresponsible and reckless. I am hoping that Silsby gets a heavy charge for deceiving her crew and being the leader of this so-called rescue, because as a leader, not only did she let her team down, she let herself down.
Senator John McCain of Arizona took the senate floor the other day to embrace a tough new Arizona law giving the police the authority to detain people they suspect are illegal immigrants. This week, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, abruptly announced that the Senate would take up an immigration bill to address both enhanced border security and citizenship, even in the face of daunting odds. Mr. Reid also faces tough re-election battle, and his advisers believe that Hispanic voters in Nevada could prove key to his re-election. The immigration flare-up that has engulfed Washington has emerged as a political challenge for Republicans and Democrats alike as they struggle to deal with the complexities and emotions of an issue that is scrambling party and geographic lines. In the short term, Mr. Reid's vow to tackle immigration legislation this year could hurt some Democrats in the fall election, causing problems with voters who view immigrants as competition for tough-to-find jobs and illegal immigration as a drain on social services, analysts from both parties said. But the Republican Party could face long-term risks if it is identified with legislation cracking down on illegal immigration at the time when Hispanic voters are emerging as an increasingly large and engaged part of the American electorate. Both parties agree on the need for better border security. But each also has to balance how to deal with illegal immigrants already in the United States against the desires of powerful constituencies. These include Hispanics who would like to see many illegal immigrants given a chance to become legal, employers who rely on the cheap labor they provide and working-class voters who see undocumented workers as threats to their jobs at wage levels. To a certain extent, the White House has reason to be glad Mr. Reid is pushing an issue of such concern to Hispanics, a critical part of Mr. Obama's base in states like Nevada in 2008 and a group Democrats hope to energize in the fall. Some Democrats said the prospects for a legislative deal might be better in 2011, particularly if the jobless rate drops and Hispanics continue to mobilize and grow as an electoral vote.
I think that a legislative for immigration has to get done. But since the Democrats rather work with environmental issues first, which makes the Republicans wild. First off, the new Arizona law for immigration is bullshit and not what we had in mind. How the hell can you train people to know whether someone is an illegal immigrant? Anyone can be, but if the policeman nab the wrong person, shit will go down. Why not just try to work on both environmental issues and immigration at the same time? They won't because both parties care about saving their asses for the elections in November. It is six months away and all both parties care about is the election. Why not just do you job rather than worry about the election. Us voters brought you into Senate in the first place to do your job. Instead, you worry about votes.