On Thursday, the state Senate of Wisconsin approved a bill pushed by Republicans to require photo identification in order to vote. The Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, is expected to sign the bill into a law.

Based on a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, ten states are now requiring photo identification in order to vote. Just this year, Kansas also added photo identification as a voting requirement; but it will only take effect on January 1 next year. To present, a total of 33 states are considering strengthening or adding identification requirements of voters within the year.

The Wisconsin Senators voted 19 to 5 to concur in a state Assembly bill that was approved earlier this month. Most Democrats from the Senate did not cast their votes regarding the proposal.

Walker said that requiring photo identification from voters will definitely help them remove the risks of voter fraud. If identification is necessary just to purchase medicines for colds, he said it is only reasonable that it also be required to vote.

Democrats, however, sees otherwise. They think that the measure only aims to discourage their constituents; especially those who are college students and are poor residents. Furthermore, Democrats said that voter fraud has never been a problem in Wisconsin in the first place.

Senator Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat, said that what the Republicans are doing is clear and simple – they want to take away taxpayers’ rights and they should be ashamed.

The measure is expected to be in full effect in time for the 2012 general election.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was scheduled to go under the knife for a cranioplasty procedure. This is an extremely crucial step in her treatment for the gunshot wound to her head.

Representatives from the congresswoman’s office and officials from the Memorial Hermann Hospital where she is currently receiving treatment and therapy would neither deny nor confirm the report. Her medical team, however, predicted roughly 2 months ago that they are to perform the procedure in mid-May. The hospital spokesperson said they will schedule a press conference today, Thursday.

Cranioplasty is a surgical procedure that includes the replacement of a portion of the human skull with either a plastic implant or an original bone tissue. Gifford’s doctors have already said that they will use a synthetic implant that will be secured by titanium screws because the fragment removed from her skull to relive the pressure due to brain swelling was contaminated. If all goes well, cranioplasty usually takes more or less two hours.

The congresswoman has been in intense therapy in one of the departments in the Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, since the January 8 shooting. Giffords was shot to the head in a public meeting among her constituents in Arizona. Lead suspect for the incident is the 22-year old Jared Loughner who allegedly fired from the crowd. The shooting wounded 13 people and killed six, including a child, a federal judge, and one of the congresswoman’s aids.

Giffords’ doctors see a huge amount of improvement on her condition. She was seen dining with her husband and friends a few weeks ago and was cleared to watch her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, liftoff. Kelly is the crew leader of space shuttle Endeavour.

The European Parliament on Wednesday said that a spam attack from pro-Syrian regime elements took over its Facebook page. It claimed that a similar campaign had also aimed the White House.

Following the cyber incident, the European Union government has decided and made legal a sanction on Tuesday against the 13 members of Assad’s inner force. This includes Assad’s brother and several other cousins.

According to the parliament’s statement on its website, its Facebook page was extremely spammed with comments that support the Syrian President and his government. The parliament said it cannot allow that form of spamming attack. Thus, it has cancelled the comments and banned the users who have posted several repeated comments under various posts.

Jaume Duch, AFP parliament spokesman, confirmed that the spam attack, which lasted for a couple of hours, was made by elements, which supported the government of Syria. He said the technicians have already started the investigation.

The parliament said they have decided to investigate what happened since similar activities have been experienced by the White House, as well as other institutions. It says the attack was a coordinated operation.

The sanctions were announced in the midst of increasing international protest over a bloody violence under the Syrian government. Late April, the Obama administration imposed sanctions against Syrian officers. Other nations such as Europe were encouraged to do the same as well.

The White House welcomed EU’s decision to sanction Syrian officials on Saturday, and warned that additional steps may be made. UK and France calls for more sanctions. However, Germany remains opposed to the plan.

On Monday, suspicion rose that Pakistan may have leaked vital information about the CIA chief in Islamabad to the country’s local media. Pakistan is allegedly angered because of the raid that killed international terrorist Osama bin Laden.

The United States government said that there are no plans yet of pulling out the spy chief but the incident may worsen their already strained relationship with Pakistan. The problems started when the U.S. Navy SEALs swooped down and attacked a compound leading to the death of bin Laden, without Pakistan’s permission. Pakistan’s spy agency and the CIA have long doubted each other’s integrity but the death of the terrorist had laid it bare.

Back in Pakistan, the Pakistani military and intelligence have been bombarded with negative criticism for their failure in stopping U.S. operations in Pakistan. A lot of Pakistani citizens saw the raid as a clear violation of their sovereignty although they are extremely pleased with bin Laden’s death. They say that the end does not justify the means.

U.S. officials have already said that they intentionally did not tell the Pakistani government of their plans to attack bin Laden due to the fear that someone might tip off the Al-Qaida leader. Moreover, they said that the helicopters they used during the operations had radar-evading technology in order for them to enter Pakistan undetected.

Yousuf Rasa Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan, defended the country’s military services on Monday. He told the Parliament that although Pakistan failed to track down bin Laden, they are not the only one to blame. He further said that it is disingenuous for the U.S. to have considered that they are covering up al-Qaida and its leader.

Pakistani intelligence agency denied that they leaked the CIA chief’s name to local media.

Hospital wards in India are huge and airy, and the stone floors are well scrubbed and cool. However, it holds one of the most horrifying sights in the world – ten extremely malnourished children, nine of whom are girls.

The girls who are starving in the hospital include a 21-month old child whose legs and arms are as thin as twigs and a year old baby with vacant eyes. If they will not be given proper and immediate medical care, most of these girls will not live to celebrate their next birthday.

Recent census reports show that India has 914 girls ages six years and below for every 1,000 boys in the same age group. Ten years ago, the ratio was 927 to 1,000, and even then many were horrified. This is the painful reality that Indian girls have to face – despite significant economic growth and huge cities with lots of luxury cars; India still fails its girls.

The discrimination starts from the womb as it is very common in the country to abort female fetuses. It continues with sheer neglect of girls. All these continue despite years of campaigns to solve this issue. The government has actually passed a law prohibiting medical staff to reveal the gender of the child before it is born- a law that is hugely circumvented.

One of the many reasons why sons are favored over daughters is the large amount of money required to marry off a girl. It is part of the Hindu tradition for the bride’s family to give dowry to the groom’s side; this sometimes leads to massive debts. A boy on the other hand, will one day bring dowry with his bride. Also, only male children can light parents ‘funeral pyres.

Professor Ravinder Kaur said that the law is not enough because although in theory it is a great way to address the issue, many still commit underground abortions.

On Thursday, Pakistan finally spoke about the raid the U.S. launched that supposedly killed international terrorist Osama bin Laden. The Pakistani government admitted that they fell short of their security measures. However, they threatened to stop cooperating with the U.S. government of they violate the Pakistani sovereignty again.

The extremely strong statement of the Pakistani army was a sign of how much the U.S. angered them. It is also confirmed the unspoken fact that the people of Pakistan condone what they see as a national humiliation given by the already unpopular America.

While most people are concerned about the efforts of Pakistan to capture bin Laden, Pakistanis are more upset by the fact that uninvited American soldiers flew to their country and launched an attack on a land they own without their permission.

The already strained ties between the two countries due to the American allegation that Pakistan is harbouring Afghan Taliban factions are now even more at risk of breaking. The government, the army, and the entire Pakistani country are considering breaking their ties with America completely.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned that Washington wishes to continue being allies with Pakistan, the events on Monday has made U.S.’s future with Pakistan a little vague. Their relationship with Pakistan is very crucial in order for them to stabilize Afghanistan.

The army’s statement is in sharp contradiction to the government’s initial response regarding the operation on Monday. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Rasa Gilani hailed the entire operation and said that it is a great victory for the entire world; he, however, did not mention anything about sovereignty.

Geronimo was a well-known and legendary Apache warrior whose skills to walk quietly without leaving footsteps behind allowed him to successfully evade thousands of US and Mexican soldiers. Very much like the way Osama Bin Laden has avoided capture for the past ten years.

For the Native Americans, however, there is a very huge and important difference between the two: Geronimo was their hero who saved his people; Bin Laden is a terrorist who has killed thousands.

That is why for the Native Americans, the White House’s use of “Geronimo” as a code name for their plan to bring down Osama was insulting and a slap in their faces. It has angered a lot of tribal leaders and caused a huge commotion in social networking sites. Moreover, the tribal leader of Geronimo’s tribe demanded for a letter of apology from US President Barack Obama.

On the other hand, many Native Americans are not surprised with the linkage created between Bin Laden and Geronimo; they were insulted, yes, but not surprised. They also said that the code name is just an additional to their long and ugly history with the federal government.

Leon Curly, a Navajo, said that they have been oppressed for such a long time that it does not matter anymore. Curly added that the government does what they want whenever it pleases them and he expects the name calling to last for a very long time.

Jeff Houser, chairman of Geronimo’s tribe, said in his letter addressed to the US President that they understand that the use of Geronimo as a code name for their operations to bring down Bin Laden was done without malice, but the effect was just the same. He further discussed that it pains them for Geronimo, or any other Native American Figure, to be associated with a mass murderer such as Osama.

There are a couple of steps that can be taken to address this issue and it is expected to be discussed on the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee meeting.

Japan announced on Tuesday that they would send blankets for the victims of the successive tornadoes that swept the southern part of the United States. They said that this is their way of repaying the gratitude for the help U.S. gave them when they too suffered from tsunami and earthquake just months ago.

An official from the Japanese embassy said that Japan will give 125,000 US dollars worth of plastic sheets and blankets for the people who were left distraught by the tornadoes. The same calamity killed an average of 350 people. Jim Steinberg, US Deputy Secretary, expresses his appreciation on behalf of the U.S. government.

It has been reported that the US military conducted a 24-hour relief effort after earthquakes and a tsunami struck Japan on March 11. The US forces helped search for bodies, airlifted supplies to places inaccessible by land, and more importantly assisted in the repair of Sendai airport.

Foreign Minister of Japan Takeaki Matsumoto said that the damages the tornado left made him recall the earthquake that struck his country. When he visited Washington on Friday, he told State Secretary Hilary Clinton that Japan is prepared to offer aid to the best of their abilities.

Japan mentioned that the blankets and plastic sheets for the victims of the tornadoes will be shipped from a warehouse in Miami. That is where the Japan International Cooperation Agency keeps their supplies for the aid they usually send to Latin America during disasters.

The death of Osama Bin Laden is considered a huge victory for the families left behind by the victims of the 9/11 bombing. His death ignited celebrations all over the world. However, the story on how the raid was conducted is still really vague. Even the story from the White House is confusing.

Over the past two days, the White House has given the people contradicting versions of how the raid took place and a blow-by-blow account of the events that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden.

In fact, they wrongly identified that Osama’s sons died in the attack, as well as saying that his wife also died with Osama. Later, the White House took back that statement and confirmed that Osama’s wife was only shot on the leg and was not killed.

Jay Carnay, Press Secretary, said on Tuesday that they are trying their best to get the correct story out as soon as possible. However, he pointed out that the complex events transpired really quickly and they are correcting the story line to make sure they are accurate.

A national security analyst, Anthony Cordesman, said that the people are expecting a movie. Everyone seems to want to know exact details of what happened. Cordesman said that as controversial as this operation may be, it is still a combat operation.

Yet, the contradictory stories from the White House arouse doubts about Osama’s death. There is no independent person who can verify the story and the only non-US witness who survived the raid is in custody of the Pakistani government.

Ron Paul, the father of the libertarian system in GOP politics, publicized on Tuesday that he will form a presidential exploratory committee. This is his way of gaining Republican nomination for presidency.

Paul, who will turn 76 on August, has served the House of Representatives for more or less 20 years. The most recent district he represented is the 14th district in Texas, including Galveston.

However, Paul is a medical doctor by profession. He has served the Air Force as a flight surgeon. He also conducted private practice as a gynecologist.

At the age of 75, Paul is no longer a stranger to presidential politics. He ran for presidency on 1988 under the Libertarian Party. He announced his desire to run for presidency and his committee when he visited Iowa.

Paul is a crowd favorite among conservatives and has won a couple of straw polls. The polls he won include the acclaimed Conservative Political Action Conference. However, he does not rank very well in national polls. In the most recent Gallup poll, only 6% of the total number of participants favored him.

Among the top contenders are former governors Sarah Palin of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. Shockingly, realty show host and business tycoon Donald Trump is also on top of that poll.

As a libertarian, Paul strongly denounces the kind of government that promotes welferism at home and militarism in foreign lands. He is also firm on opposing the plan to increase the debt ceiling and calls for the elimination of income tax.