World

The news from Afghanistan lately goes from bad to worse. On September 20, Burhanuddin Rabbani, the main coordinator of peace negotiations with the Taliban was murdered.

Then General Stanley McCrystal went on record with a less than glowing assessment of US involvement. The US understanding of the country was “frighteningly simplistic.” In terms of ending the conflict, “we didn’t know enough and we still don’t know enough” he said. Despite the fact that Afghanistan is a staple of our weekly news headlines, most of us don’t know enough either. 

Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, have been cleared of guilt in the 2007 murder and sexual assault of British student Meredith Kercher. After an emotional 11-month trial in Perugia, Italy, Knox will be freed and returning to Seattle on Tuesday.

British media and advocates of Kercher's family has been critical of Knox and the "large PR machine" to support the American student's innocence. While many Americans celebrate the verdict, however, a few have voiced surprise about the fact that Knox and Sollecito get to walk free, while Rudy Guede, the Ivorian-born drifter who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the murder, will remain in behind bars, having exhausted his appeals. 

Over hundred protesters were arrested Monday afternoon as they scaled makeshift security fences on Parliament Hill in protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

The demonstration, which took place amidst heightened security, was held to oppose TransCanada’s proposed $7-billion, 2,673-kilometre pipeline that would ferry tar sands oil from Alberta to Texan refineries.

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The state of Georgia killed Troy Davis yesterday for murdering a police officer in 1989, a crime of which many believed him innocent. Meanwhile, B.C.'s Clifford Olson, who left a legacy of fear in Canada after he pleaded guilty to murdering 11 children -- he claimed to have killed over 100 -- is finally on his death bed from cancer, after having lived to 71 years of age.
Unlike Davis, who pleaded his innocence to the last moments of his life, Olson bragged of his crimes and expressed no remorse.

"No longer a debate"

Is the death penalty outdated and wrong? Or could it be justified in specific cases? Dr. Robert Gordon, Professor and Director of Criminology at SFU, expressed his thoughts:

"The death penalty debate has occurred in Canada; it's no longer a debate, and I'm quite content with that," he said. "I see no value in reopening it."