Beyond the Bricks

Rochester Mayoral Democratic Primary Leaves General Election Outcome Unclear

About a month ago, the President of Rochester City Council, Lovely Warren, carried a victory in the Mayoral Democratic Primary against the incumbent mayor, Thomas Richards. The margin of victory was 57 percent to Warren and 42 percent to Richards, according to the Rochester City Newspaper. There was a much lower voter turnout than was expected, with only 23 percent of registered voters participating. In the General Election, Richards is running on Independence and Working Party lines while the Green Party is promoting their candidate, Alex White. With the General Election approaching in November, Rochester must wait to see whether there will be a change in leadership. The General Election will take place on November 5. All college students are encouraged to register to vote and participate.

Twin U.S. Anti-Terrorist Operations in Northern Africa

On October 6, USA Today reported that the U.S. government conducted two Pentagon led anti-terrorism operations in Somalia and Libya. The U.S. Navy SEALs lead an attack on the home of a top al-Shabab leader. This al-Qaeda linked group is responsible for the siege of the Nairobi shopping mall that took place last month. Although not captured during the raid, sources say it is uncertain whether the target, whose name was not released, was killed during the shootout, according to USA Today. Another operation in Tripoli, Libya, ended in the capture of Abu Anas al-Libi, an al-Qaeda leader partially responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 220 people. The al-Qaeda leader is currently being held in U.S. custody outside of Libya. Libya has accused the United States of kidnapping Abu Anas al-Libi, stating that they never gave the Pentagon authorization to carry out the raid. The Pentagon has denied these claims. The nature of these operations mark a policy change by the Obama administration to focus more on military resources as opposed to CIA drone strikes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Gender Equality and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

In June of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that has become known as Russia’s Anti-Gay Law. The law, according to the Washington Post, prohibits the promotion of nontraditional sexual relationships to minors, which has been seen as a way of banning gay pride parades and the public display or discussion of homosexuality. Because Russia is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi on February 7, potential athletes and spectators have voiced concerns of discrimination or arrest. When the issue was presented to the International Olympic Committee, it was decided that Russia is not violating Olympic anti-discrimination principles with the establishment or enforcement of the law. As reported by ESPN, an Olympic media summit recently held in Park City, Utah, shows that the controversy has still not been resolved. Overall, U.S. athletes are not pleased with the law but still plan to compete. The U.S. Olympic Committee confirmed that there will be no U.S. boycott of the Games.