What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - A leading figure in the Bush administration's march to war in Iraq helped justify the 2003 invasion by undercutting the CIA with questionable intelligence about Saddam Hussein's links to al Qaeda, a Pentagon watchdog agency said in a report on Friday. The chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said the report showed "extremely poor judgment for which our nation, and our service members in particular, are paying a terrible price." So to recap...goose eggs on the WMDs and ties to Al-Qaeda. Yeah, this is a strong endorsement of our intelligence gathering capabilities.

Russia - The Russian Defense Minister rejected U.S. arguments for deploying an anti-missile defense system in eastern Europe and insisted Russia would not be drawn into a Cold War-style arms race. He said there was no need to base part of the system in NATO countries Poland and the Czech Republic to defend the United States from rockets launched in Iran and North Korea, as Washington argues, saying, "Any expert can prove the flight trajectory of the missile will be very far from the Czech Republic and Poland..." I don't want to sound fatalistic or anything, but dude saying that that our defense plan is a bad idea because the expected missile trajectory was all wrong doesn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy.

Portugal - A Portuguese bishop compares abortion to the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, a parish priest warned worshippers they'll be automatically excommunicated if they vote "yes'' in a referendum Sunday. Portugal has a liberal center-left government but is steeped in a conservative culture, and is among a dwindling number of European democracies that strictly limit abortion. And they wonder why Catholicism is declining in Europe? Who do they have handling their public relations...Torquemada's ghost? (Okay, this reference is a bit obscure. This ray of sunshine was the first Grand Inquisitor of Spain, known for his campaign of persecution against the Jews and Moors of Spain in the 15th century.)

Anna Nicole Smith - An autopsy found no pills in her stomach, but officials were awaiting the results of toxicological tests that would indicate whether she had taken drugs. The autopsy was able to exclude any types of physical injury such as gunshot wound, asphyxiation or blunt trauma on the body of the 39-year-old former Playboy playmate, wealthy widow and reality TV star, who died Thursday after being found unconscious in a hotel room. Has anyone else noticed how that love triangle story involving the astronaut has suddenly dropped off the front pages?

Social Security - A man accused of faking retardation for nearly two decades so his mother could collect Social Security benefits totaling more than $59,000 has agreed to plead guilty, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday. Seriously, who's the real retard here?