What Caught My Eye Today

Congress - In the current Congress, no Southern senator is a committee chairman and there are just four in the House — fewer than from the state of California alone. One chief reason is the South's shift toward the Republican Party that was cemented in the 1990s. When Republicans lost control of Congress in last year's elections, the region's clout took a hit. But signs of waning influence were evident under Republican control. Through death, retirement and a more competitive political environment, the South simply lost the seniority that gave it such outsized influence. So basically, the South has lost its influence because its senior legislators are dying from old age. There's always something that messes with the cogs of power. If its not a sex scandal its human mortality.

U.S. Military - For weeks after his death, the Pentagon maintained that Pat Tillman was killed in an enemy ambush, even after a top general tried to warn President Bush that the NFL star-turned-soldier likely died by friendly fire. In the memo sent to a superior officer seven days after Tillman's death, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned that the evidence strongly pointed to friendly fire and the nation's leaders risked embarrassing themselves if they publicly said otherwise. It is not clear whether Bush or Brownlee received the warning, but it raises new questions on how high up the chain of command the misinformation campaign extended. A White House spokesman said that a review of records turned up no indication that the president had received McChrystal's warning. Tread carefully, Mr. President. That whole 'I don't recall' strategy isn't working too well for your boy, Alberto Gonzales. One has to feel for the Tillman family. It's hard to believe that so much effort has been made to conceal the truth. If the Army had come clean in the first place, they would have avoided this mess.

Brazil - A protest by air traffic controllers forced the suspension of flights from Brazilian airports Friday, stranding thousands of travelers across the country, according to union officials and government media. All 67 commercial airports in Latin America's largest country were closed for takeoffs, but planes in flight were allowed to land normally. Controllers were protesting a decision by the Air Force command, which oversees the nation's air traffic controllers, to transfer top workers to other cities. And we thought air travel in the U.S. was messed up. It just goes to show, things can always be worse.

Pet Food - The recall of wet and dry pet foods contaminated with a chemical found in plastics and pesticides expanded Saturday to include a new brand even as investigators were puzzled why the substance would kill dogs and cats. Federal testing of some recalled pet foods and the wheat gluten used in their production turned up the chemical melamine. Melamine is used to make kitchenware and other plastics and is toxic only in very high doses . About 70 percent of the wheat gluten used in the United States for human and pet food is imported from the European Union and Asia, according to the Pet Food Institute, an industry group. Between this and the E Coli found in spinach a few months ago, you really start to wonder just how safe our food supply really is. That's why I stick to only those foods that are so jacked up with preservatives that the effects of any toxins are negligible by comparison.

Swimming - Michael Phelps stayed on track for a record gold-medal haul at the world championships, edging out American teammate Ian Crocker by 0.05 seconds to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday night at the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Phelps is 6-for-6 with two races remaining. His latest gold tied Australian Ian Thorpe's record from the 2001 worlds in Japan. But Phelps failed to set a world record for the first time in five nights. "I'm definitely starting to feel it (fatigue)," he said. "I've got to get some food and some sleep, and hopefully tomorrow I'll run off adrenaline. I need to come back and do two solid races." I love it. His definition of a slump is not breaking a world record. We should all be so lucky.

What Caught My Eye Today

Uganda - Olivia Nabulwala says her family in Uganda was so angry and ashamed to learn she was a lesbian that her relatives hurled insults at her, pummeled her and, finally, stripped her and held her down while a stranger raped her. The African immigrant is asking for asylum in the U.S. on the grounds she was persecuted over her sexual orientation. To qualify for asylum, applicants must demonstrate past persecution or well-founded fear of future persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular group, which now includes gays. Asylum-seekers must also show, among other things, that the government was unable or unwilling to protect them. An immigration judge in Minnesota said he didn't doubt Nabulwala had suffered in Uganda because of her sexual orientation. But he ruled that the rape was a "private family mistreatment," and not sponsored or authorized by the government. However, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge used the wrong legal standard, and ordered the case sent back for further proceedings on whether the Ugandan government was unwilling or unable to control the abuse, as Nabulwala contends. I'm not saying that homophobia is non-existent in the U.S., but it sure sound like a much better alternative than going back to Uganda.

Iraq - The radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a scathing attack on the United States on Friday, following one of the country's bloodiest days, blaming Washington for Iraq's troubles. Al-Sadr blamed the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq for the rising violence, lack of services and sectarian bloodshed. At least 181 people were killed or found dead Thursday as Sunni insurgents apparently stepped up their campaign of bombings to derail the seven-week-old security sweep in Baghdad. Violence has increasingly erupted outside the capital in recent weeks, as insurgent fighters take their fight to regions where U.S. and Iraqi forces are thinly deployed. Well, gee whiz. If al-Sahr says we're doing a bad job, I guess we had better listen up and shape up. Dude, if you have a better plan for securing the peace, let's here it.

Somalia - Insurgents shot an Ethiopian helicopter gunship out of the sky Friday and mortar shells slammed into a hospital during the worst fighting in the capital in more than 15 years, leaving corpses in the streets and wounding hundreds of civilians. The violence came on the second day of an offensive in Mogadishu by Somali government troops and their Ethiopian allies to quash an increasingly lethal insurgency. The insurgents are linked to the Council of Islamic Courts, which was driven from power in December by Somali and Ethiopian soldiers, accompanied by U.S. special forces. With all of our attention being focused on Islamic extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's easy forget that they have a pretty good establishment in Africa as well. Kind of depressing isn't it?

Greece - Greek authorities have cancelled all team sports matches for two weeks after a mass brawl between rival women's volleyball fans left one man dead. The Greek decision to suspend team sports until 13 April echoes similar moves in Italy in February after a policeman was killed in rioting at a football match in Sicily.
All football in Italy's top divisions was suspended for a week and stadiums not meeting safety standards were closed. Hooliganism mainly affects football and basketball but also breaks out occasionally at other sports such as volleyball and water polo. I don't want to make light of this, but volleyball and water polo hooligans? That's a little fun, don't you think?

Paris Hilton - Enough of those fluff pieces. Here's a real headline that we can sink our teeth into. Prosecutors asked a judge on Thursday to revoke Paris Hilton's probation for reckless driving, which could lead to jail time for the celebrity socialite. A hearing has been set for April 17 for prosecutors to argue that Hilton, 26, violated the terms of her probation by knowingly driving with a suspended license. If found to have breached the terms of her probation, Hilton could be sentenced to up to 90 days in jail. So if this goes down, I'm betting the TV rights for her stint in jail will be snatched up in a heartbeat.

What Caught My Eye Today

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow the U.S. to permanently imprison some of the more dangerous Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere so the facility can be closed. Lawmakers said the Guantanamo facility hurts U.S. credibility with its allies. They asked that Gates give more thought to how it could be closed and detainees moved to a military prison. So to summarize the events here...Congress asks Gates to come up with a proposal to close Gitmo, and he comes back with saying that Congress should work with the White House to come up with a plan. Did I miss something? On the bright side, I'm glad to see there is an effort to close this joint down. As leaders of the free world, holding detainees indefinitely to rot away in some hell-hole, doesn't exactly set a great example.

Iraq - Democratic-controlled Senate approved legislation Thursday calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within a year, propelling Congress closer to an epic, wartime veto confrontation with President Bush. The 51-47 vote was largely along party lines, and like House passage of a separate, more sweeping challenge to the administration's war policies a week ago, fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn the president's threatened veto. I'm not sure I would call it epic, but I'm guessing the guys at C-SPAN are licking their chops over this one.

Justice Department - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was briefed regularly over two years on the firings of federal prosecutors, his former top aide said Thursday, disputing Gonzales' claims he was not closely involved with the dismissals. The testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by Kyle Sampson, the attorney general's former chief of staff, newly undercut Gonzales' already shaky credibility. Well, shucks darn. There goes the 'plausible deniability' defense strategy.

Oil Prices - Oil prices extended their gains Thursday after settling at their highest level since mid-September on Wednesday amid political tensions in the Middle East. Declining U.S. supplies amid high demand also drove up prices. Light, sweet crude rose $1.95 to settle at $66.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as $66.50. The recent rise in oil prices generally poses a concern as increased energy costs could curb consumer spending and add to inflationary pressures. Prices for premium unleaded topped $4.00 a gallon in San Francisco. How can I put this in simple terms? How about...THIS SUCKS!!!

American Idol - He's the weakest singer with the best hair and the cutest smile. He is mocked by late-night TV comedians and has become the target of anti-"American Idol" forces. But Sanjaya Malakar has lived to see another round of "American Idol," prompting a passionate debate over whether the nation's most watched TV show has lost its credibility or unwittingly created another media superstar. Far from being voted off the show by members of the public, he appears to be going from strength to strength. Even acerbic British judge Simon Cowell, who quipped last month that he would quit if Malakar won the competition, appears to have succumbed. They may say it is a singing competition, but if the American public gets to determine the winner, then it is a popularity contest, pure and simple. And for the record, I voted for somebody else.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - Shiite militants and police enraged by massive truck bombings in Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents in the northwestern town Wednesday, killing as many as 60 people. The violence came a day after two truck bombs shattered markets in the city, killing at least 63 people and wounding dozens in the second assault in four days. The carnage was the worst bloodshed in a surge of violence across Iraq as militants on both sides of the sectarian divide apparently have fled to other parts of the country to avoid a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown, raising tensions outside the capital. Is this what we really signed up for 4 years ago? I'm not disputing the fact that Iraq is in a warlike-state; my contention is that this isn't our war anymore.

And I don't appear to be the only one...

Saudi king chastised Arab leaders for infighting and said their divisions have fueled turmoil around the Mideast, prodding them to take united action at a summit Wednesday aimed at reviving a peace offer to Israel. Saudi King Abdullah opened the summit with a strongly worded speech, painting a bleak picture of the crises and bloodshed in the region — Lebanon, Iraq and Sudan — and lecturing the leaders that it was time to act. He pointed to the bloodshed in Iraq, where he called the U.S. military presence an "illegitimate occupation" and warned that "abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war." Bear in mind that Saudi Arabia is one of the U.S.'s staunchest allies in the Middle East, and even they say we should get out. Is there anyone outside of the White House who thinks we should stay in Iraq?

Speaking of which...

President Bush accused congressional Democrats Wednesday of meddling in Iraq war policy and setting a deadline for a U.S. pullout that would have disastrous repercussions for both countries. Bush said that the Democratic strategy move will not force him to negotiate and that he would veto any funding legislation that includes a withdrawal timeline. I just want to know what the President and Congress plan to do when the money runs out on April 15th.

Sudan - Sudan and the U.N. signed an agreement Wednesday to guarantee humanitarian access to refugees in Darfur, where violence and government restrictions have prevented aid from reaching victims of a bloody conflict. The agreement ensures unrestricted travel by international aid workers throughout Sudan, including Darfur, upon notifying the central government of plans. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes since ethnic African fighters took up arms four years ago, complaining of neglect and discrimination from Sudan's Arab-dominated government. The U.N. says the conflict has chased another 86,000 people from their homes this year and blames the vast majority of these new refugees on violence perpetrated by central Sudanese government forces or their allied janjaweed militias. Do you think that if Sudan had something that the rest of the world cared about, say like oil, maybe, just maybe, someone would have acted sooner to prevent this bloodshed.

Marine Corps - The Marines are banning any new, extra-large tattoos below the elbow or the knee, saying such body art is harmful to the Corps' spit-and-polish image. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway announced the policy change last week. "Some Marines have taken the liberty of tattooing themselves to a point that is contrary to our professional demeanor and the high standards America has come to expect from us," he said. Is this guy serious? Let me see if I've got my facts straight. Our military is stretched to the breaking point due to our prolonged engagements in Iraq an Afghanistan and recruiting standards have had to be lowered in order to sustain and augment troop levels. Now we've got the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying homosexual soldiers are immoral and the head of the Marine Corps saying tattoos are wrong. What about the ex-cons you idiots are allowing to enlist?

Sports - Michael Phelps broke his second world record in 24 hours on another extraordinary evening at the world swimming championships in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday. Phelps demolished his own mark for 200 meters butterfly to win his third gold of the championships, stopping the clock at one minute 52.09 seconds to wipe a massive 1.62 off the previous record of 1:53.71 he set last month. The 21-year-old Phelps is chasing an unprecedented eight world titles in Melbourne, including five individual, and has won his first three events. He collected his first gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay and added a second when he broke Ian Thorpe's 200 freestyle world record on Tuesday. Crickey, this bloke is smokin' good.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - Tell me if you've heard this one before...The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March, triggering an instant veto threat from the White House in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief. Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline failed, 50-48, largely along party lines. Majority Leader Harry Reid said the moment was at hand to "send a message to President Bush that the time has come to find a new way forward in this intractable war." Bush had previously said he would veto any bill that he deemed an attempt to micromanage the war, and the White House freshened the threat a few hours before the vote — and again afterward. "The president is disappointed that the Senate continues down a path with a bill that he will veto and has no chance of becoming law," it said.

Iran - Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tuesday that his government could make public evidence that a British navy crew was in Iraqi waters when it was captured by Iran, saying he was prepared to take the standoff to a "different phase" if diplomacy fails to win their release. Iran said the 15 British sailors and marines were being treated well, but refused to say where they were being held, or rule out the possibility that they could be brought to trial for allegedly entering Iranian waters. First the U.S., next Russia, and now the British. Iran just has no interest in playing nicely with the other children in the sandbox.

Friendly Fire - Pat Tillman's mother said Tuesday that her greatest disappointment in the latest investigations into her son's death in Afghanistan was that "horrific" acts by the Army Rangers who shot him were not adequately acknowledged or punished. After a year of investigating, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command — its version of the FBI — concluded Monday that no crime was committed by the fellow Rangers who shot Tillman in April 2004 after a chaotic ambush in Afghanistan. The Tillman family pressed the military investigators who briefed them Monday on violations of the Army's rules of engagement. For instance, all four shooters testified they had failed to identify their targets before firing, a direct violation of fire discipline techniques. The investigators simply told the Tillmans that they had found no such violations. Regardless of the truth, there is no way the Army escapes a black eye on this one. Anyone want to bet that Rumsfeld had a hand in the initial coverup?

Sports Wrap - Lots of sports this past weekend. Here are some of the highlights that caught my attenion.

Soccer. It may have been an international friendly (U.S. versus Ecuador), but you don't see a hat trick very often. Landon Donovan scored in the first minute (35 seconds into the match), the 66th, and 67th minute. This is his second career hat trick and the 10th all time in U.S. team history.

NASCAR. The annual demolition derby, I mean race at Bristol, Tennessee was won by Kyle Busch. Pole sitter and current point leader, Jeff Gordon finished third. Just 15 cars finished on the lead lap. Even if you are not a race fan, watching 43 stock cars racing around a half mile oval is a lot of fun. There is no such thing as a small wreck at this track. Oh by the way, this was the inaugural race for the new Car of Tomorrow.

Golf. Tiger Woods cannot cut a break. Dude wins the WGC event and at Doral for the third consecutive time on Sunday and all the press can talk about is that he hasn't played enough events prior to the Masters next week. He's played in 4 events in 2007 and won half of them. I'd say his game is in pretty good shape.

March Madness. I checked the weather reports twice on Sunday night to make sure that hell did not freeze over. I still have 3 out of 4 teams left in the Final Four. I check my rankings on Yahoo Sports--48 correct picks out of 60 so far, good enough for the 96th percentile. Only 72,310 people got luckier than I did.

What Caught My Eye This Week Magazine Edition

Newsweek

2008 Presidential Race - According to the experts the leading 3 contenders for the Democratic nomination are John Edwards (dude with cancer-stricken wife), Barack Obama (black dude) and Hilary Clinton (female dude); for the Republicans, we have Rudy Guilani (9/11 dude), John McCain (dude who lost in 2004) and Mitt Romney (Mormon dude).

Here are the early leaders (and their lead over the next candidate) in some key states conducting their primaries or caucuses on or before February 5, date of the so-called National Primary:
Iowa: (D) Edwards +6% / (R) Giuliani +7%
Nevada: (D) Clinton +12% / (R) Giuliani +18%
New Hampshire: (D) Clinton +7% / (R) Giuliani +1%
South Carolina: (D) Clinton +9% / (R) McCain +6%
California: (D) Clinton +13% / (R) Giuliani +18%
Arizona: (D) Clinton +4% / (R) McCain +24%
Missouri: (D) Clinton +12% / (R) McCain +13%

So what does all this mean? Pretty much nothing until Jan 14, when Iowa kicks off this disaster...I mean, primary season.

Health - Here are some interesting health statistics for couch potatoes, those who work out, and those considered fit and healthy:

Couch Potatoes: By the numbers
1.5 million - Number of people who have a heart attack per year
50 million - Number of people who have high blood pressure
60 million+ - Number of people considered to be overweight
Working Out: By the numbers
35% - Percentage of adults between ages 18 and 24 who exercise regularly
28% - Percentage of adults between ages 25 and 44 who exercise regularly
24% - Percentage of adults between ages 45 and 64 who exercise regularly
20% - Percentage of adults over age 65 who exercise regularly
Fit and Healthy: What It Means
Adults can gain 2 hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular, vigorous exercise
For women already being treated for breast cancer, moderate exercise can cut rates of recurrence and death by half
By keeping the arteries flexible and free of plaque, exercise lowers blood pressure and dangerous blood clots
Aerobic exercise prompts the release of mood-lifting hormones that promote a sense of well-being and reduce stress.

Still reading this? Get off your butt and go run a triathon, you lazy good-for-nothing.

Married Life - utango.com is a new shopping site that lets users earn point through purchases and years of marriage. According to the website, stay ture to your spouse and uTango for a decade and you could earn $10,000. So hear's what they don't tell you...unless you read the fine print. Enrollment is limited to single people, those who are engaged and those married less than 3 years. And, in order to qualify for the rewards, you must hit a certain budget target every year. First of all, if love isn't enough to keep you together, I wouldn't bank much on this helping. Secondly, is it just me or does it seem odd that a website whose premise is to incent happily married couples wants nothing to do with any of us who have been together more than 3 years?

The Week
Afghanistan - The number of Afghans involved in the opium trade jumped from 2 million to 3 million in the past year. About 12% of Afghanistan's population now has a hand in drug production or trafficking. Remind me again what we are fighting for in Afghanistan?

God - The number of Internet web pages dealing with God and religion is now nearly a populare an Internet topic as sex. A Google search on 'sex' returns about 408 million hits (that's it?) compared with 396 million hists for 'God'. I don't find this that surprising. After all, if you do it right sex can be considered a religious experience.

Literacy - More than a third of Washington D.C.'s residents are functionally illiterate. The district's functional illiteracy rate is 36% compared to the national average of 21%. In all fairness, these figures could be a bit skewed. It's not the local population's fault that they are stuck with all those morons working at the Capitol.

Entertainment Weekly
Television Salaries - Here is a sampling of top paid television series actors and their value (according to the Magazine):
Worth Every Penny
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men: $350,000 per episode
Simon Cowell, America Idol: $263,000 per episode ($10 million annually)
Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives: $175,000 per episode
Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy: $175,000 per episode
Good Investments
Kiefer Sutherland, 24: $400,000 per episode
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order SVU: $300,000 per episode
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer: $250,000 per episode
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock: $150,000 per episode
Not Worth It
Kevin James, The King of Queens: $400,000 per episode
Zach Braff, Scrubs: $350,000 per episode
Brad Garrett, 'Til Death: $200,000 per episode
Jeff Goldblum, Raines: $100,000 per episode

I find it fascinating that so many on this list are former movie stars. For paychecks like this, can't say I blame them.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iran - The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Saturday to impose new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium — a move intended to show Tehran that defiance will leave it increasingly isolated. World powers hope that approving the resolution quickly and unanimously will signal that Iran will face stricter sanctions each time it ignores a Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. Iran has vowed the sanctions will only motivate it further to pursue nuclear power. So if I'm reading this correctly, the Security Council sees these sanctions as a way to curb Iran's desire to enrich uranium while Iran says that it will expand its program every time more sanctions are imposed. Is it just me or is there a disconnect here?

Iraq - House Democrats on Friday pushed through a rebuke of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Bush promised a veto of the spending bill, which demands combat operations end before September 2008 — and perhaps earlier. Given that the bill passed 218 to 212 (I wonder which 5 didn't vote) pretty much along party lines, I'm guessing that Bush is pretty confident that he can back up his threat. I'm not holding out much hope for the Senate either, which plans to take up its own version of this legislation on Monday.

Miss USA - Miss Tennessee was crowned new Miss USA on Friday night. She succeeds Miss USA Tara Conner, who entered rehab after accounts surfaced suggesting she was boozing at New York clubs. When asked whether she was ready to take over the title, Miss Tennessee admitted it would "be a little bit of a challenge," but quickly added she was ready for it. Yeah, I hear the Betty Ford Center has already sent her an orientation packet.

Basketball - Our boy Kobe Bryant hit 50 points for the fourth straight game putting him in second place all time behind Wilt Chamberlain (who had a 7 game streak). Some pundits claim this is his way of getting back at critics who accuse him of playing dirty as evidenced his flying elbows. Seems to be working, doesn't it?

March Madness - Recapping Sweet 16 results, I went 7 out of 8 (darned those Memphis jerks, they've screwed me twice). Overall, I'm 45 out of 56, which according to Yahoo puts me in the 97th percentile with the distinction of being ranked 51829th. Oh happy day. Seeing as my bracket still has some teams left (an amazing feat, given my history of crappy prognostication skills), it appears that my employer will continue to suffer from my lack of productivity. Yes, let's blame it on that.

On the women's side...put a fork in me, I'm done. Freaking Rutgers beat Duke 53-52. Duke had a chance to win it at the free throw line with 0.1 seconds on the clock...missed them both.

Golf - Tiger Woods appears to have regained his winning form (agruably he never lost it) at the World Golf Championships at Doral. After 3 rounds, he's sitting on a 4 stroke lead (-11). Boyfriend doesn't lose much when he has a lead going into Sunday.

What Caught My Eye Today

Philanthropy - A Japanese real estate mogul is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families. he plans to open eight of his 22 Kahala homes to needy Hawaiian families. They will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years, he said. Giving away mansions shows more dedication to helping Hawaii's homeless than just handing out wads of cash, he said. Asked whether he was concerned about losing money on the effort, he laughed and said: "This is pocket money for me." Cockiness not withstanding, this was an incredible generous gesture. Well done, sir.

2008 Presidential Race - Democrat John Edwards said Thursday that his presidential campaign "goes on strongly" in the face of a repeat cancer diagnosis for his wife, Elizabeth, a somber development that thrust his White House bid into uncharted territory. The couple revealed that Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer had spread to her bone during a news conference designed to reassure the public about the prognosis for her health and his candidacy. Before you skeptics get started on the 'sympathy vote' or 'how could he possibly run for office when his wife is dying' kick, let's give the guy some space and a little time to see if he can pull this off. He's so far behind Clinton and Obama in the polls right now, it likely won't matter anyway.

Iraq - A rocket exploded 50 yards from the U.N. secretary-general during a news conference Thursday in Baghdad's Green Zone, causing him to cringe and duck just minutes after Iraq's prime minister said the visit showed the city was "on the road to stability." Ban's unannounced stop in the Iraqi capital was the first visit by a U.N. secretary-general since Kofi Annan, his predecessor, came to Baghdad in November 2005. The U.N. Security Council issued a statement strongly condemning the rocket firing as an "abhorrent terrorist attack." I'm glad no one got hurt, but you have to appreciate the irony in the timing of the attack. As for the U.N. Security Council's statement, I have just one question...what do they consider all of the other attacks that have claimed thousands of lives?

Congress - The U.S. House of Representatives began debate on legislation to bring all American combat troops out of Iraq by September 1, 2008. The measure cleared a procedural hurdle, and a close vote on passage is expected on Friday. "The one (bill) they are considering has zero chance of being enacted into law. It's bad legislation, the president's going to veto it and Congress will sustain that veto," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. House Democratic leaders kept scrambling to nail down the 218 votes they need to pass the bill. Gee whiz, Congress and the White House seem to be on opposite sides of the fence on this one. What a shock.

And that's not the only one...

Justice Department - A second U.S. congressional panel authorized subpoenas of White House aides on Thursday, with Democrats pushing to expand a high-stakes probe into the firing of federal prosecutors. The Senate Judiciary Committee, on a voice vote, cleared the way for subpoenas of Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist, and others if they refuse to voluntarily provide sworn testimony to Congress. Bush has vowed to oppose any attempt to compel aides to testify under oath in probes into whether last year's dismissal of eight of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys was politically motivated. The president this week offered to have his aides meet with lawmakers under conditions that Democrats and even some of Bush's fellow Republicans have called unacceptable. And just think, the 2008 presidential campaign is just around the corner. The hits just keep on coming.

American Idol - After Tuesday's performance of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," Sanjaya Malakar was popular enough to not be one of the two finalists this week with the lowest amount of votes. Stephanie Edwards, a Beyoncé sound-alike with a much better voice than Malakar, was sent home. On Tuesday night's show, a 13-year-old audience member named Ashley Ferl was moved to tears by Malakar's performance — in a good way (I'm guessing she was the only one). On the other end of the spectrum, A young woman known simply as "J" has gone on a hunger strike which she vows to keep up until Malakar is either "voted off, producers rescind his spot in the Top 12, or he graciously steps down from his position." She's set up a web page where she has been blogging her daily progress – four days and counting – and has invited others to join her in her cause. I'm telling you, these American Idol producers are geniuses. How do they continue to dream up this crap that seems to captivate the American public?

What Caught My Eye Today

Justice Department - A House panel on Wednesday approved subpoenas for President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove and other top White House aides, setting up a constitutional showdown over the firings of eight federal prosecutors. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that in offering aides to talk to the committees privately, Bush had sought to avoid the "media spectacle" that would result from public hearings with Rove and others at the witness table. He added that the offer for interviews on the president's terms — not under oath, on the record or in public — is final. Democrats dismissed the overture, in large part because there would be no transcript. I'm no expert on 'executive privilege' but I'm having a hard time seeing how testifying about these firings violates 'executive privilege.' If these guys didn't do anything wrong, why is Bush so concerned about the testimony being recorded?

Iraq - Senate Democrats have drafted a $121.5 billion war spending bill that would direct President Bush to begin bringing home troops from Iraq with the goal of ending U.S. combat missions there in just over a year. Republicans and even some Democrats are expected to bristle at the inclusion of the Iraq policy provision. The measure would require Bush to begin removing U.S. combat troops within four months of the bill's passage. The House is expected to vote Thursday on a similar $124 billion spending bill that would finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House bill, which Bush also threatened to veto, would demand that combat troops be out of Iraq before September 2008, possibly sooner. Many Republicans say they oppose setting hard-and-fast deadlines to end the war because it would tie the hands of military commanders and embolden insurgents to ramp up attacks once U.S. troops are gone. But some Republicans might have a tough time turning the proposal down because it is attached to a bill that provides much-needed funding for troops in combat, assistance for fishers and farmers, hurricane reconstruction and other popular spending projects. While its nice to see Congress finally doing something, I have two problems with this. First of all, both the Senate and the House bills are doomed to fail because they are so out of synch with each other. It's as if they're purposely trying to be different so that neighter bill passes. Second of all, lets not screw the poor folks in the Gulf Coast out of the rebuilding funds they so desperately need to get their lives back on track. It's not their fault that Congress and the President cannot work together.

Global Warming - Al Gore spoke out on his signature issue Wednesday, warning of a "true planetary emergency" if Congress fails to act on global warming. In a return he described as emotional, Gore testified before House panels that it is not too late to deal with climate change "and we have everything we need to get started." By turns folksy and prescriptive, he urged the Democratic-controlled Congress to adopt an immediate freeze on greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. He said he foresees a revolution in small-scale electricity producers for replacing coal, likening the development to what the Internet has done for the exchange of information. He also advocated tougher fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks. He rejected the contention by opponents of quick action on global warming that the United States should only impose mandatory controls on greenhouse gases if China, India and other rapidly developing nations agree to do the same. Here's my advise to Gore--stick to the environment, my friend. You'll do so much more good for humanity in your current capacity than you'll ever do as President.

American Idol - Sanjaya Malakar has been almost universally panned by the judges, bloggers and show watchers as perhaps the worst contestant ever to set foot on the "Idol" stage. Malakar's vocals are weak, and his stage presence awkward. So why is Malakar among the final 12 contestants on the wildly popular reality show? He is the favorite of VotefortheWorst.com, a Web site started by Dave Della Terza during season three, after Della Terza said he realized that "American Idol" was a reality TV show more than a talent competition. This year, Howard Stern has been advocating voting for Malakar and plugging Vote for the Worst on his Sirius satellite radio show. With his estimated 5 million listeners, it seems feasible that Stern could have some impact on the final results. Another theory suggests that Malakar's distinction as the show's first Indian-American contestant has brought him a well-organized Indian voting bloc. For his part, judge Simon Cowell has said he would quit the show if Malakar won. No disrespect to Sanjaya (you cannot help that you are a talentless hack), but I'm with Simon on this one.

March Madness - I figured out where all the Cinderella teams were in this year's tournaments...they're all in the NCAA Women's tournament. With Round #2 wrapping up last night, three #2 seeds are out (including Stanford, who I had in the Final 4). To recap so far: I went 28 and 4 in Round #1 and 9 and 7 in Round #2 (ouch). I have 3 out of 4 Final Four picks left and my Championship matchup of Duke and UNC still looks pretty good. Go Blue Devils!

What Caught My Eye Today

Attorney General - The Senate voted 94-2 to pass a bill that would cancel the attorney general's power to appoint U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation. Democrats say the Bush administration abused that authority when it fired the eight prosecutors and proposed replacing some with White House loyalists. Essentially, the Senate returned the law regarding the appointments of U.S. attorneys to where it was before Congress passed the Patriot Act, including the unilateral appointment authority the administration had sought in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. I appreciate that not everyone is a history buff, by for the handful of you out there, is it just me or does this Patriot Act appear to be a modern take on Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798?

FBI - Speaking of Congress, Republicans and Democrats sternly warned the FBI that it could lose its broad power to collect telephone, e-mail and financial records to hunt terrorists after revelations of widespread abuses of the authority detailed in a recent internal investigation. "From the attorney general on down, you should be ashamed of yourself," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif). "We stretched to try to give you the tools necessary to make America safe, and it is very, very clear that you've abused that trust." If Congress revokes some of the expansive law enforcement powers it granted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Issa said, "America may be less safe, but the Constitution will be more secure, and it will be because of your failure to deal with this in a serious fashion." Well now, it certainly appears that Congress has been busy on the homefront. Seeing as they don't seem capable of doing anything constructive on the international stage, it is nice to see them making some progress at home.

Iran - Russia is pulling out its experts from the Iranian nuclear reactor site they were helping build, U.S. and European officials said Tuesday. The move reflected a growing rift between Iran and Russia that could lead to harsher U.N. sanctions on the Islamic republic for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment. The Russian departures are formally linked to a financial dispute with Iran but have a strong political component, linked to international efforts to persuade the Islamic republic to freeze activities linked to uranium enrichment, which can produce both nuclear fuel and the fissile material for nuclear warheads. How bad is it for Iran, when they can manage to piss off the Russians, who up until now have been criticizing the rest of the U.N. Council for trying to impose additional sanctions on Iran?

Dancing With The Stars - Heather McCartney Mills, the first contestant with an artificial leg to compete in ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," made her debut on Monday with the judges calling her an inspiration. Mills said she joined the contest to show you can overcome any disability. Mills had her left leg amputated below the knee after being hit by a motorcycle in 1993. The judges gave her 18 points, which was middle of the field. Phone-in votes count for 50% of the scores. Results will be announced on Monday. I say again, who would be callous enough to say anything bad about a one legged dancer in public? She could have stumbled all over the floor and still gotten a standing ovation.

Steriods - Eleven professional wrestlers have reportedly been linked in documents to the internet drug distribution ring that has produced charges against 20 people. Sports Illustrated magazine said investigators uncovered the names while sorting through information seized in raids last month on Florida firms allegedly prescribing steroids and human growth hormone over the internet. Oh for pete's sake, enough already. It's professional wrestling, for crying out loud. By its own admission, pro wrestling has said that it is sports entertainment not actual sport. Plus, for the physical punishment that these performers put themselves through, does this revelation really come as much of a surprise to anyone?

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - The Iraq war lumbered into its fifth year Monday with President Bush pleading for patience to let his revised battle plan work and Congress' new Democratic leaders retorting that no patience remains. "The new strategy will need more time to take effect," Bush said in remarks televised from the White House to mark the four years since he ordered the invasion. He challenged Congress to send him a war funding bill "without strings and without delay." He got a swift response from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The American people have lost confidence in President Bush's plan for a war without end in Iraq," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "That failed approach has been rejected by the voters in our nation and it will be rejected by the Congress." This dialogue between the President and Congress is like being stuck in a time warp. We've been listening to the same rhetoric for 3 months.

Iran - South Africa, which holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council, called Monday for a 90-day "time out" on sanctions against Iran and said a resolution drafted by six world powers should drop an embargo on arms exports and financial sanctions targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an Iranian bank. The five veto-wielding permanent council nations — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany agreed on modest new sanctions Thursday to step up pressure on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used to produce nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. The extensive amendments to the draft proposed by South Africa could delay a vote on the resolution, although with support from the five permanent members the resolution is almost certain to be adopted. France's U.N. Ambassador said the South African amendments weren't consistent with the approach of the six powers. Yeah, South Africa keep out of this. If we want your opinion, we'll give it to you.

Israel - Israel formally declared last year's fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas a war on Monday, but it is searching for a name for the 34-day conflict. Talk about poor planning, jeeze. Here you guys go looking for an armed conflict and you don't even have a name for it. Maybe you should take a look at how we do things at the Pentagon. We never sign up for anything unless we have a good name for it.

Sports Marketing - Tiger Woods is the most marketable athlete for North American audiences, according to a poll released by Sports Business Daily, capturing 69.2% of replies. Behind Woods were Peyton Manning (18.5%) in second place and LeBron James (4.6%) in third. Rounding out the top ten were, Derek Jeter, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Maria Sharapova (the only female in the top ten) and a threesome sharing the tenth spot (Kobe Bryant, Sidney Crosby and Brett Favre). Looks like the NFL and NBA reign supreme with 3 entries apiece. The real surprise here is that the NHL managed to snag a spot. Way to go Sidney. Not bad for a 19 year old rookie.

What Caught My Eye Today

Air Travel - Thousands of weary travelers faced a third day waiting to reach their destinations Sunday as US Airways struggled to recover from the ice and snow storm that paralyzed airports in the Northeast. From Friday to Saturday morning, more than 3,600 commuter and mainline flights were canceled nationwide because of the effects of the storm. JetBlue, US Airways, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines all reported cancellations. One appreciates that the airline industry has no control over the weather, but something has got to be done to curb the ensuing chaos that always seems to accompany bad weather. The self-policing that the industry claims has customers' best interests in mind, clearly is not working.

Iraq - As the fourth anniversary of the war approached, American generals say it will probably be summer before the impact of additional U.S. troops sent to Iraq can be fully assessed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday it was too early to evaluate whether the latest U.S. strategy was working but "so far, so good." Good or not, this guy has a lot more credibility with Congress and the nation than Rumsfeld did. Amazing what can happen when you level with Congress.

Trans-Atlantic Travel - Airbus and German airline Lufthansa will fly the new A380 from Frankfurt Germany to New York on Monday, marking the new airliner's first trip to North America. For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises — including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than $6.61 billion off profit forecasts — the flight is a chance to prove that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October to Singapore Airlines. The Frankfurt-New York flight is one of two A380 flights to the United States on Monday. The other is an A380 operated by Australian airline Qantas that is flying to Los Angeles International Airport but devoid of passengers and crew, save for those in the cockpit. Well, better late than never, I suppose. 550 passengers on one plane? Can you imagine the rioting in the aisles for overhead baggage space.

Golf - Vijay Singh burst clear of a congested leaderboard to clinch his 31st PGA Tour title by two shots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday. The Fijian survived two bogeys over the last three holes on his way to a three-under-par 67 at the Bay Hill Club and an eight-under total of 272. Tiger Woods, uncharacteristically fell apart in the last round with a +6 round of 76, leaving him in a tie for 22nd at +3. Admittedly, you cannot win them all, but this one had to hurt. Kudos to Vijay Singh for finally winning this tournament on his 15th try.

NBA - With a month to go in the regular season, 2 teams have already secured playoff berths, Dallas and Phoenix. If the playoffs were to start today, here's who would be in:
Eastern Conference - Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Indiana and New Jersey
Western Conference - Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Utah, Houston, Denver, LA Lakers and Golden State

Amazingly, 6 of the Eastern Conference teams have winning records.

March Madness - Round #2 Update: Of the more than 2 million brackets registered on Yahoo Sports, there are no perfect brackets remaining. Over on ESPN.com, more than 3 million brackets were recorded, and again, no one escaped the second round unscathed. I started on the second day of Round #2 on an upnote, going 4-0 in the morning, but ended with a whimper going 2-2 in the late games. Honestly, who would have thought USC could spank Texas the way that they did? I closed out Round #2 going 12 and 4, bringing my tournament total to 38 and 10. On the bright side, my all of my Elite 8 picks are still alive.

Women's Basketball - Not to leave out the women, as Round #1 comes to a close, I tallied up a record of 28 and 4.

What Caught My Eye This Week - Magazine Edition

Newsweek

Travel - Nude travel has become a $400 million industry--double what it was 10 years ago--according to the American Association for Nude Recreation. And the business has increasingly gone upscale, trading rustic nudist camps for lavish resorts and extravagant cruises. Two thoughts here. First, there an assocation for this sort of thing? Second, how would you like to be a crew member on one of these cruises. I wonder if the cruise operators have to get volunteers to staff these sorts of voyages?

Business Week

March Madness - More than 100 million Americans, including the estimated 23 million hoop fans with Internet access at work (yes, I'm one of them), are expected to follow this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament. Here are a few off-the-court stats:
$1.2 billion: Estimated cost to employers in lost productivity during the tournament
6%: Companies planning to 'take steps' to prevent workers from going to tournament Web sites
67%: Workers who say the joined 2006 office pools, of whom 57% bet on March Madness
57%: Taxpayers who say they are 'not very likely' to report tournament winnings (one can only assume the other 43% 'definitely will not')
$7,250: Top ticket price paid for the 3 Final Four games
$200: Lowest price paid for the 3 Final Four games; NCAA price: $155 to $204
$500 million: Estimated network TV ad revenue
$177,000: Amount awarded by the NCAA to each athletic conference for each game played by one of its teams

The Week

March Madness - U.S. workers take an average of 13.5 minutes out of every work day to visit sports web sites during the NCAA Tournament. Sure that may sound like a lot, but that's 13.5 fewer minutes spent downloading porn, so I'm not exactly sure what the problem is.

World Population - The world's population of billionaires climbed to a record high of 946 in 2006. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates topped the list for a 13th consecutive year with a fortune of $56 billion. I'd like to see how much he's worth at the end of this year. That Vista operating system that Microsoft just released is crap.

Depression - Americans are the unhappiest people on Earth according to a new study by the World Health Organization and the Harvard Medical School. In a survey of 14 nations, the U.S. had a greater percentate of depressed people (9.6%) than Lebanon (6.6%), Mexico (4.8%), Italy (3.8%) and Japan (3.1%). The least depressed nation in the survey was Nigeria (0.8%). In defense of the survey results, look who we have running things...not exactly the most popular guy on the face of the planet. However, I must say that I find these results a bit suspect. Really, how can we be the most depressed when we are home to the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland?

Israel - Israel recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after he was found naked and tied up in bondage gear outside his ambassadorial residence. Police discovered the drunken diplomat wearing nothing but sex toys. Now there's a disturbing image.

Entertainment Weekly

American Idol - Entertainment Weekly has published its list of odds for who will win Season 6:
Melinda Doolittle: 2-1 (she definitely has the most talent in a pool of lackluster finalists)
Blake Lewis: 4-1 (one of the top two male competitors)
LaKisha Jones: 9-2 (my pick for runner-up)
Chris Sligh: 7-1 (the other guy with respectable talent)
Stephanie Edwards: 8-1 (won't win, but still better than all the guys)
Chris Richardson: 10-1 (won't win, but has charisma)
Gina Glocksen: 15-1 (this year's Chris Daughtry, but not as good)
Phil Stacey: 25-1 (dude has range)
Brandon Rogers: 30-1 (odds are worse than that; he got voted off this week)
Jordin Sparks: 32-1 (my dark horse pick)
Sanjaya Malakar: 100,000-1 (and that's being generous)
Haley Scarnato: 100,001-1 (my guess is she's next to go)

What Caught My Eye Today

Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Friday that new sanctions won't force Iran to give up its right to enrich uranium, and he blasted the U.N. Security Council as an instrument used by "bullying" Western nations against Tehran. On Thursday, the governments of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany agreed on a new package of sanctions against Tehran for failing to halt the enrichment which the West fears is used for nuclear arms making. Iran denies the charge by the U.S. and some of its European allies that it is using uranium enrichment to secretly build nuclear weapons, claiming its nuclear program is for generating electricity. But the International Atomic Energy Agency says that while there is no evidence to prove Iran's nuclear program has diverted toward weapons, Tehran has stepped up enrichment rather than halt it. Is it just me or does this seem eeriely similar to the weapons of mass destruction that Iraq may or may not have had. 'We don't have WMDs...just all the ingredients needed to build them. What's wrong with that?' You'll have to excuse me for not giving Iran the benefit of the doubt.

FBI - Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said, "Parents and children have nothing to fear." The bulletin did not say how often foreign extremists have sought to acquire licenses to drive school buses, or where. It noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them. But Homeland Security and the FBI "have no information indicating these individuals are involved in a terrorist plot against the homeland," it says. I'm not exactly sure what message you are attempting to convey with a bulletin that contains the phrases 'suspected members of extremist groups' and 'nothing to fear.' Not exactly the warm and fuzzy I was hoping for.

2008 Presidential Campaign - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday moved California's presidential primary from June to February, giving the nation's most populous state a greater stake in selecting nominees and shaking up the 2008 political calendar. California's bid for more clout has pressured other states to move up their contests, as well. That may diminish California's influence by turning the day into a national primary, with contests held in as many as 19 states. Oh goodie, now I can look forward to non stop election ads from September (for the general election) through February (for the primary). Thanks, guys. I owe you one.

Engineering - When John Cornwell graduated from Duke University last year, he landed a job as software engineer in Atlanta but soon found himself longing for his college lifestyle. So the engineering graduate built himself a reminder of life on campus: a refrigerator that can toss a can of beer to his couch with the click of a remote control. It took the 22-year-old Cornwell about 150 hours and $400 in parts to modify a mini-fridge common to many college dorm rooms into the beer-tossing contraption, which can launch 10 cans of beer from its magazine before needing a reload. Laugh if you will. My guess is this guy makes a fortune.

Golf - Bayhill showed its teeth today. Rocco Mediate surge to lead (-9) post a low round of the day, 65. Tiger Woods didn't do quite as well, posting a 3-over, 73 and is 6 shots off the lead going into the weekend. I still wouldn't bet against the boy, but its nice to see that even the best can have an off day from time to time.

Baseball - In case anyone was wondering, Barry Bonds has hit 4 dingers so far this pre-season. They start to count on April 3 when the Giants open their season at home against the San Diego Padres.

March Madness: Round #1 Update. As Round #1 wraps up, one of my upset picks finally panned out. Thank you, Winthrop. Going into Round #2, I'm 26 and 6.

What Caught My Eye Today

Congress - Anti-war Democrats prevailed on a near-party line vote of 36-28 in the House Appropriations Committee gaining approval for a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, brushing aside a week-old veto threat from the administration and overcoming unyielding opposition from Republicans. In the Senate, after weeks of skirmishing, Republicans easily turned back Democratic legislation requiring a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. The measure set no fixed deadline for completion of the redeployment, but set a goal of March 31, 2008. The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage. Tell me if you've heard this one before--the House acts while the Senate seems hell bent on deadlocking itself into obscurity.

Cuba - Fidel Castro will be in "perfect shape" to run for re-election to parliament next spring, the first step toward securing yet another term as Cuba's president, according to the head of Cuba's National Assembly. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say Castro will be the front runner. Would you risk running against him?

Al-Qaeda - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's capture four years ago didn't shut down al-Qaida or bring the Americans to Osama bin Laden. But if his mega-confession is to be believed, his arrest was a crushing blow to bin Laden's plans for even more deadly attacks in the wake of 9/11. Experts agree the arrest was a major setback for bin Laden's terror network, and one from which the group has never quite recovered. True, but they've done a pretty good job of getting everyone else around them to hate us.

American Idol - Simon Cowell says he's bigger than The Boss. "I sell more records than Bruce Springsteen, sure," Cowell says of the 57-year-old rocker, who signed a contract that was reported to be in the neighborhood of $100 million. I assume Cowell is referring to his ego. Talent-wise, Simon doesn't come close to approaching the same universe that Bruce Springsteen occupies.

Golf - Stop the presses! Tiger Woods shares the lead (-6) after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. "It is definitely the best round of the year (although) I haven't played that many," said Woods, who is making his fourth start of 2007. Yeah, I think the PGA has noticed that.

March Madness - Round #1 Update. Halfway through the first round, my bracket is 13 and 3. According to Yahoo, that's good enough for the 86th percentile. I got hammered on my upset picks (guess that's why they're called upsets) as the higher seeds, by and large, held serve. That is except for one notable exception. What is the deal with the Duke Blue Devils? Dude, you guys suck. Lucky for me, I had you choking in Round #2.

What Caught My Eye Today

Sudan - A federal judge ruled that Sudan is responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole but he needs more time to determine damages for the families of the 17 sailors killed when terrorists bombed the ship in 2000. "There is substantial evidence in this case presented by the expert testimony that the government of Sudan induced the particular bombing of the Cole by virtue of prior actions of the government of Sudan," the judge said. Sudan sought unsuccessfully to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that too much time had passed between the bombing and the filing of the lawsuit in 2004. I don't know much about international law, but I'm not seeing how this ruling is going to have much of an impact on the Sudanese government. How is the ruling supposed to be enforced?

Iraq - Bomb deaths have gone down 30 percent in Baghdad since the U.S.-led security crackdown began a month ago. Execution-style slayings are down by nearly half. The once frequent sound of weapons has been reduced to episodic, and downtown shoppers have returned to outdoor markets. Since the crackdown began, weekly totals have dropped to about 80 bodies--hardly an acceptable figure but clearly a sign that death squads are no longer as active as they were in the final months of last year. I wonder if statistics like this will qualify as the type of 'certification' Congress is trying to get Bush to provide to justify continue military operations in Iraq. If I had to guess, Congress will likely only pay attention to the statistics that bolster it position, rather than the President's. Time will tell.

Congress - Speaking of Congress, the Senate began its first formal debate on the Iraq war since Democrats took control of Congress, taking up a measure calling for President Bush to withdraw combat troops by the end of next March. The White House swiftly issued a veto threat. Let's focus on the positive here. The Senate actually did something. Admittedly, it was just a vote to break a parlimentary roadblock, but it is a start. Next up, actual legistlation. Yeah, so like I don't think I'm going to hold my breath on this one.

Bush - President Bush said he is troubled by the Justice Department's misleading explanations to Congress of why it fired eight U.S. attorneys and expected his attorney general to fix them. Bush said he stood by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales amid calls for his ouster. "Mistakes were made. And I'm frankly not happy about them," Bush said. Is he unhappy that mistakes were made or unhappy that the mistake was getting caught in the first place. He wasn't exactly specific was he?

Britain - Britain's parliament is expected to approve a new nuclear arsenal on Wednesday but British Prime Minister Tony Blair may have to rely on opposition votes to push his plans through. Blair is due to step down in the next few months and is convinced Britain needs to renew its nuclear deterrent. Blair dismissed opponents' arguments that Britain is undermining hopes for international nuclear disarmament by buying a new generation of nuclear missiles. "There is absolutely no evidence whatever that if Britain now renounced its independent nuclear deterrent that would improve the prospects of getting multilateral disarmament ... I think the reverse is the case," he told parliament. This probably isn't going to help dispel the perception that Blair does whatever Bush tells him to do. I'm not saying the dude is wrong, but this certainly isn't going to win him any popularity contests.

What Caught My Eye Today

Mexico - President Bush, working to rebuild strained U.S.-Mexico relations, promised Tuesday he would do his best to get a deeply divided U.S. Congress to change American immigration policies that are hated south of the border. Relations between the two border countries have only grown worse since Bush signed a law calling for construction of more than 700 miles of new fencing along the long border the two countries share. Admittedly, calls for improving relations at the same time as you are building a 700 mile fence on your border could possibly seen as sending a mixed message. Not to me, of course, but for some.

U.S. Justice Department - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales accepted responsibility Tuesday for mistakes in the way the Justice Department handled the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors but he rejected calls for his resignation. Democrats in Congress have charged that the eight dismissals announced last December were politically motivated and that some of those ousted have said they felt pressured by powerful Republicans in their home states to rush investigations of potential voter fraud involving Democrats. The government's 93 U.S. attorneys are presidential appointees who can be hired and fired at will. But critics say the fate of the eight who were dismissed last year appeared to have been politically motivated. If U.S. attorneys are presidential appointees who 'serve at the pleasure of the President' why should it come as any surprise that their dismissals were politically motivated? Heck, their appointments were probably politically motivated. I'm not saying any of this is right or wrong, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking that these alleged politically motivated firings are that shocking.

U.S. Military - The Pentagon's top general expressed regret Tuesday that he called homosexuality immoral, a remark that drew a harsh condemnation from members of Congress and gay advocacy groups. In a newspaper interview Monday, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had likened homosexual acts to adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces. In a statement Tuesday, he said he should have focused more in the interview on the Defense Department policy about gays — and "less on my personal moral views." As we all know, the military executes policy, it doesn't set policy. That deal belongs to the government (God help us all). Hopefully this dude learned his lesson and is keeping his personal opinions to himself. If Pace had just followed the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, he wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place. Kind of ironic, don't you think?

Iran - At the 65 nation Disarmament Conference being held in Geneva, Switzerland, this country was accused of posing " uniquely grave threat to regional and international peace and security and requires to be seriously dealt with by the international community taking practical measures." No, not Iran, Israel. The U.S. and Israeli delegations walked out during the speech to show their displeasre with the Iranian remarks. The conference is intended to negotiate disarmament treaties. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss the suspension of uranium enrichment if the U.N. Security Council closes the file on Iran's nuclear program and is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff over its nuclear program. Seeing as everyone knows that Iran's demands are not going to be met, I'm having a hard time seeing how Iran is claiming to be interested in a diplomatic resolution.

March Madness - With two days until the tournament begins, here are my regional finals and national semifinals and finals picks:

Midwest: (1) Florida over (3) Oregon
West: (2) UCLA over (1) Kansas
East: (2) Georgetown over (1) North Carolina
South: (3) Texas A&M over (1) Ohio State

In the Final Four
(1) Florida over (2) UCLA (this is a rematch of last year's final)
(2) Georgetown over (3) Texas A&M

Winning it all...(1) Florida

If history is any indicator, I should be completed hosed by the end of Round 2.

What Caught My Eye This Week - Magazine Edition

Newsweek

Rudy Giuliani - In the latest Newweek Poll, Rudy Giuliani would be elected President over Hilary Clinton (47% to 46%), Barack Obama (48% to 43%), John Edwards (47% to 45%) and John McCain (59% to 34%). However, when asked how much voters knew about where Giuliani stood on social issues, the vast majority of respondents, had no idea. Here's a sampling:

Do you know if Guiliani is pro-choice:
Pro-choice: 34%; Pro-life: 12%; Don't know: 54% (he's pro-choice)

Does Guiliani support an amendment to ban same-sex marriage?
Supports: 8%; Opposes: 16%; Don't know: 76% (he opposes a ban on same-sex marriage)

Is Guiliani in favor of restrictions on gun ownership?
Favors: 17%; Opposes: 10%; Don't know: 73% (he favors gun control)

This guy is a Republican, right?

Organic labels - Here's a summary of the various 'organic' categories that appear on food packaging.

Organic: This is the gold standard of labels. Organic crops are free of genetic engineering, conventional pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Organic livestock are fed 100% organic feed, raised without antibiotics or growth hormones, and have access to the outdoors.

Bird friendly: Appearing mostly on coffee packaging, this certifies that coffee is grown under a canopy of trees that provide shade for the coffee and a habitat for migratory birds.

Marine Stewardship Council: Seafood bearing this label means that the fish was caught without endangering the species or harming the local ecosystem

Cage-free and Free Range: These are among the least reliable labels because they are poorly defined and unverified by third parties.

Grass-fed: This is also somewhat misleading. All cows are fed grass for the first few months of their lives before being switched to grain, which can cause health problems in cattle and lead to the use of antibiotics. Ideally, you want to look for 99% grass-fed beef.

Antibiotic-free: This label implies that cows or chickens were never given antibiotics, though you are better off looking for labels that read 'raised without antibiotics.' Otherwise, the beef or chicken may have at one point been given antibiotics.

Natural: This means the animals have never been injected with hormones or antibiotics.

The Week

Cost of Living: Oslo ranks as the world's most expensive city, according to the latest Economist Intelligence cost of living survey, followed by Paris, Copenhagen and London. Tokyo ranks fifth after being #1 in 2005. The most expensive U.S. cities are New York (28th), Chicago (36th) and Los Angeles (41st).

Popularity: Israel is the least popular country in the world based on a recent poll conducted by the BBC. Respondents were asked to rank 12 countries--Britain, Canada, China, France, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, North Korea, Russia, the U.S. and Venezuela. Canada topped the list with a positive rating of 54%. The bottom 3 were the U.S. (30%), Iran (18%) and Israel (17%). Dude, we lost out to North Korea and Venezuela. Where was this survey conducted, Cuba?

Serbia - Opponents of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic dug up his corpse and drove a stake through his heart to minimize the odds of him returning from the dead. Is it just me, or is this a tad bit creepy?

Entertainment Weekly

Television - CBS, known for its crime-show lineup, racked up a pretty large body count during the February sweeps:
The Unit - 63 bodies
Criminal Minds - 32
Cold Case - 17
CSI - 16
CSI: NY - 15
CSI: Miami - 14
NCIS: 12
Numb3rs: 11
Ghost Whisperer: 3
Close to Home: 3
Shark: 3
Without a Trace: 2

Total homicide count on CBS in February: 191
Total homicide count in Los Angeles and New York so far this year: 112

I'm sorry, but there is no way you can consider Ghost Whisperer a crime show. The only crime on that show is the gratitious boob shots of Jennifer Love Hewitt.

What Caught My Eye Today

FBI - The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions. The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a damning 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General. The report found that agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other cases improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances and also concluded that the FBI for three years underreported to Congress how often it used national security letters to ask businesses to turn over customer data. The American Civil Liberties Union said the audit proves Congress must amend the Patriot Act to require judicial approval anytime the FBI wants access to sensitive personal information. All those conspiracy theories and jokes about 'big brother is watching you' don't seem all that crazy anymore, do they?

Al Qaeda - The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida-inspired group that challenged the authority of Iraq's government, was captured Friday in a raid on the western outskirts of Baghdad. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was arrested along with several other insurgents in a raid in the town of Abu Ghraib. The arrest of al-Baghdadi would be a major victory for U.S. and Iraqi forces in their fight against Sunni insurgents, especially the hardcore religious extremists who have shown no interest in negotiating an end to their struggle. I don't want to diminish the importance of this, such as it is, but what about that guy Osama? We've been hunting him down for years.

Iraq - U.S. officials will sit down with their Iranian and Syrian counterparts on Saturday at a conference in Baghdad aimed at stopping sectarian fighting in Iraq before the conflict spreads throughout the oil-rich region. Iraq called the meeting to enlist regional support to stop the violence that has racked Baghdad and other parts of the country since the U.S.-led invasion four years ago. Attention is likely to be focused on the United States sitting down with Syria and Iran, both accused by Washington of fuelling the Iraq war by supporting either Sunni insurgents or Shi'ite militias. Iran and Syria deny the charges. So basically, we've got two sides barely speaking to each other trying to end the violence in Iraq. On the bright side, we really don't have much more to lose than we already have.

South America - Here's a shocker. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched another verbal assault on President Bush Friday as he led some 20,000 supporters in Buenos Aires, Argentina in an anti-American rally, calling the U.S. leader a "political cadaver" and blasting his policies as "imperialist." Chavez said Bush's five-nation swing would fail to improve America's image and dismissed his pledges of U.S. aid as a cynical attempt to "confuse" Latin Americans. Now, now Hugo. Are you sure that you haven't been dipping into a little 'something, something' before you got up on stage?

American Idol - Newly eliminated "American Idol" contestant Antonella Barba said on Friday the racy photographs that made her an Internet sensation were taken for personal use only and released without her consent. "The pictures that have been released of me, the ones that actually are me, they were very personal, and that is not how I intended to portray myself," she said. "I'd rather promote myself in a more classy way." For now, Barba said she planned to stay in Los Angeles to pursue a singing career. She denied being approached about posing for Playboy magazine and said she would not do it if asked. Pressed on whether she absolutely would rule out a Playboy shoot, Barba replied: "Well, you know what? Right now, I want to look at all the offers that I get and sort out what's best for me." Yeah, sure. I'm thinking Miss July or Miss August.

Baseball - Bonds hit his first home run of spring training, connecting in the fourth inning on Friday in the San Francisco Giants' 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Bonds is hoping to get off to a faster start this season as he closes in on Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs. Bonds needs 22 homers to break the mark.

Basketball - Conference championships are in full swing. Today, the games started at 9:00am PT and are expected to wrap up around 13 hours later. And it gets better...March Madness starts next Thursday.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. The White House said Bush would veto it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the deadline would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. She told reporters the measure would mark the first time the new Democratic-controlled Congress has established a "date certain" for the end of U.S. combat in the four-year-old war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops. So just to be clear here, we're talking about a 'binding' piece of legislation? Oh sure, it has no chance of becoming law, but at least it is genuine legislation. One small piece of advice for the Democratic leadership. Maybe you guys in the House should talk to the guys in the Senate and maybe come up with a unified bill. Just a thought.

Latin America - President Bush set out on a five-nation tour to challenge a widespread perception in Latin America that U.S. neglect has empowered leftist leader Hugo Chavez. Bush argues that strong democratic governments hold the promise of prosperity. He hopes his trip will resonate with the one in four impoverished Latin Americans, who live on less than $2 a day and wonder whether democracy will ever deliver them a better life. "The trip is to remind people that we care," Bush said. If we care about Latin America the same we we do about the Middle East, those poor bastards are screwed.

Absenteeism - Tired of parents pulling their kids out of school for a ski trip or a visit to Disneyland, the local school system is billing them for the missed class time at $36.13 per day. That is how much the Scotts Valley, California district calculates it loses under a state formula that doles out school funding according to daily attendance. In truth, the bills are merely a request; no one is actually required to pay. The absurdity of this aside, what I find interesting is that it costs only $36 a day to educate a child (or roughly $6 an hour). That's certainly a lot cheaper than the standard rate for childcare or a babysitter. Though, I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing.

March Madness - The NCAA Men's and Women's basketball tournaments get underway next week. For those of you who, like me, pretend to be expert bracketologists, here's the inside scoop on the bewildering RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) ratings that fuel so matter heated discussions about who deserves a bid and who doesn't. The NCAA's official RPI rankings are posted here. Here are the current top 10 teams based on RPI:

1. UCLA, 2. Ohio St., 3. North Carolina, 4. Wisconsin, 5. Pittsburgh, 6. Southern Illinois, 7. Tennessee, 8. Memphis, 9. Florida, 10. UNLV

Southern Illinois and UNLV sort of stand out here. According to the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, these team rank 14th and 25th respectively. Let the madness commence.

What Caught My Eye Today

NASA - Astronaut Lisa Nowak was fired from NASA on Wednesday, a month after she was charged with trying to kidnap a woman she regarded as her romantic rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot. Her dimissal marked the first time NASA has publicly fired an astronaut. NASA officials said Nowak's dismissal did not reflect the space agency's belief in her guilt or innocence. So if not for that, what was she fired for?

Iran - EU powers urged Iran on Wednesday to embrace a U.N. idea of a "timeout" from nuclear activity they fear could yield atom bombs, saying sanctions they sponsored against Tehran would be simultaneously suspended. Iran rejected the overture, insisting its bid for nuclear energy was peaceful, legal and non-negotiable. A 'timeout' is the best diplomatic solution that these guys can come up with? This is a soveriegn state that we're talking about, not a three year old. A 'timeout' probably isn't going to resolve this situation.

Kazakhstan - Here's another injustice raised by the U.S. State Department's The department's annual human rights report. It criticizes Kazakhstan for taking action against the satirical Web site of Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of the fictional Kazakh journalist in the film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Specifically, the government took control of the registration of .kz Internet domains in 2005 and revoked Baron Cohen's domain because it deemed his site offensive. "The government limited individuals' ability to criticize the country's leadership, and regional leaders attempted to limit local media outlets' criticism of them," said the report. In defense of Kazakhstan, Borat is rather offensive. It's stuff like this that probably makes other countries get so irritated with the U.S. It's a web site based on a fictional character. Let it go. If we're going to make accusations, can we do so for something that actually exists. Hmm, maybe we should have done that in Iraq as well.

Golf - Tiger Woods will achieve a long-standing ambition this year by becoming a tournament host for the first time. The PGA Tour, in conjunction with the Tiger Woods Foundation, are to stage a new $6 million event in Washington, D.C. from July 5 to 8. "This is a dream come true," Woods said. "I remember when I first came gut on tour and we started our foundation in 1997, my focus and goal one day with my father was to be able to host a tour event. This is a pretty momentous day." I'm betting that this is one tournament that he will definitely play in.

Basketball - The NBA certainly has its hands full this week.

Deputies have responded to five 911 calls from Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest's home since last August, including two domestic disturbances between Artest and his wife, Kimsha. The previous incidents became known after Artest's arrest Monday, when a woman inside his home in a Sacramento suburb called 911 and said she had been assaulted. Artest slapped the woman's face and grabbed her repeatedly, causing visible injuries, according to a sheriff's report. Monday's incident was Artest's latest run-in with local authorities. Last month, county animal-control officers seized his Great Dane, Socks, because it wasn't being fed.

In another incident, Kobe Bryant was suspended one game by the NBA on Wednesday for striking a player in the face, his second penalty for that action in a little more than a month. The most recent incident came with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 117-107 double-overtime loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night, when Bryant struck the Timberwolves' Marko Jaric after taking a shot. The play was similar to one that drew Bryant a suspension late in January, when he hit San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face after taking a shot.

I'm thinking that maybe some anger management classes may be in order. Otherwise these games may need to be relabeled as 'rumbles'.

What Caught My Eye Today

Lottery - Lottery machines cranked out tickets at a dizzying rate Tuesday, boosting the jackpot in the multistate Mega Millions game to an estimated $370 million. Mega Millions officials also raised the estimated payout at midday from $355 million to $370 million, if taken as annuity. The jackpot's estimated cash option value was $221.1 million, before taxes. The odds of winning: about 1 in 176 million. Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state. If I win, don't be surprised if you don't hear from me, ever.

Scooter Libby - Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush administration. Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. The verdict culminated a nearly four-year investigation into how CIA official Valerie Plame's name was leaked to reporters in 2003. The trial revealed that top members of the administration were eager to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the administration of doctoring prewar intelligence on Iraq. Reaction to the conviction on Capitol Hill was swift. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid welcomed the jury's verdict and called on Bush to pledge not to pardon Libby. Before the trial began, the Justice Department had said that it had no pardon file active for Libby. "It's about time someone in the Bush Administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics," Reid said. I don't consider myself much of a conspiracy theorist, but this smacks of a big time cover up with this guy left holding the bag. Has anyone noticed that no one in the Administration is slamming Libby? If he did all that he is accused of doing, you'd think the White House would be distancing itself from him.

Iraq - President Bush said Tuesday his decision to send more troops to Baghdad is yielding "gradual but important" progress in Iraq. He portrayed himself as steadfast while Democrats squabble over strategy. Bush said a security crackdown in Baghdad is showing "encouraging signs." The White House sees stability in the Iraqi capital as the centerpiece of a political, military and diplomatic plan to winning the war. In related news, Two suicide bombers turned a procession of Shiite pilgrims into a blood-drenched stampede Tuesday, killing scores with a first blast and then claiming more lives among fleeing crowds. At least 106 were killed amid a wave of deadly strikes against Shiites heading for a solemn religious ritual. If Bush is suggesting that these attacks are actually "encouraging", I'd hate to see what "discouraging" would look like.

Human Rights - The U.S. says the violence which ravaged Sudan's Darfur region - which it views as genocide - constituted the world's worst human rights abuse in 2006. In its annual human rights assessment, the US also flagged up a decline in government accountability in Russia and a deteriorating situation in China. Violence in Iraq and Afghanistan was said to be hampering rights advances. Oddly enough, Guantanomo Bay didn't make the list. Isn't this sort of like 'the pot calling the kettle black'?

Wall Street - Wall Street rebounded Tuesday as investors were encouraged by a recovery on world markets and moved to recoup some of the big losses suffered in last week's sharp pullback. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 150 points. Investors came off the sidelines to buy stocks that have languished in five turbulent sessions. The Dow made back about 26 percent of the ground it lost over the past week in spite of lingering questions about whether the correction that has swept around the globe has truly run its course. Screw the lottery. I'm sticking with the stock market. I'm all in, baby!

Olympics - China will spend considerably less on Olympic security than recent host countries, but organizers said they were confident the safety of the 2008 Games could be ensured at a low cost. Security expenses for major sporting events have soared since the September 11 attack on the United States, but Beijing has maintained that it can hold a safe Olympics for a fraction of the $1.8 billion spent on the Athens Games in 2004. Chinese media said organizers had budgeted just $300 million for security in 2005 and a spokesman for Security Command Center for the Olympics said on Tuesday that a specific figure had never been disclosed by the police. Here's how I think they pull it off--They arrest everyone who isn't competing and throw them in jail for the duration of the Olympics.

What Caught My Eye Today

Walter Reed Army Medical Center - Substandard living conditions found at the Army's flagship veterans hospital likely exist throughout the military health care system, the head of a House panel investigating Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Monday. The chairman of the panel questioned whether problems at the facility are "just another horrific consequence" of inadequate planning that went into war in Iraq; a problem created by contracting out work there to private business, or some other cause. President Bush last week had ordered a comprehensive review of conditions. What made these guys think that the military health care system was in any better shape than the system that the general public has?

Iran - The chief U.N. nuclear inspector said Monday his agency cannot be sure if Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful or a cover for a weapons program until the country cooperates with his experts. Despite four years of probing Iran's nuclear activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency remains "unable to provide the required assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program." If the IAEA conducts its investigation with the same precision that the U.S. did when it was trying to find weapons of mass destuction in Iraq, we're all screwed.

Japan - Japan will not apologize again for its World War II military brothels, even if the U.S. Congress passes a resolution demanding it, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament Monday. Historians say that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea and China, served in Japanese military brothels throughout Asia during the war and in the years leading up to it. Accounts of abuse by the military have been backed up by witnesses, victims and even former Japanese soldiers. Abe said there was no evidence of coercion in the strict sense, such as kidnapping, but he acknowledged that brokers procuring women otherwise forced the victims to work as prostitutes. What exactly does he mean by "strict sense"? I'm curious as to what his definition of 'coercion' is and how forcing victims to work as prostitutes does not count as coercion.

Switzerland - What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein. 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back. A spokesman for the Swiss army confirmed the story but said that there were unlikely to be any serious repercussions for the mistaken invasion. Liechtenstein, which has about 34,000 inhabitants and is slightly smaller than Washington DC, doesn't have an army. If this is as embarrassing an incident as the Swiss have to manage, I'd say they are doing alright, wouldn't you?

Soccer - David Beckham will be sidelined for a month after hurting a knee ligament during a Spanish League game last weekend. The 31-year-old midfielder hurt his right knee during Real Madrid's 1-1 tie with Getafe on Sunday when his momentum following a cross took him into an advertising sign behind the goal. He limped off the field and a scan Monday revealed the injured ligament. Beckham agreed in January to a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy worth about $27.5 million in base salary, His contract with Real Madrid ends June 30, and the Galaxy expect he will join the team in August. How much sweating do you think MLS officials have been doing the past couple of days?

What Caught My Eye This Week - Magazine Edition

Newsweek

Veterans - These are the top 5 medical issues that the more than 205,000 Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are suffering from:
- Bone and muscle injuries: 42.7%
- Mental disorders: 35.7%
- Digestive diseases: 30.7%
- Nervous system disorders: 30.0%
- Endorcrine/metabolic diseases: 17.8%

Of the 73,000 vets suffering from mental disorders here are the top 5 based on number of cases:
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Nondependent drug abuse
- Depressive disorders
- Neurotic disorders
- Psychoses

We usually hear about the soldiers who die, but not the ones who survive. Hopefully this deal with Walter Reed Hospital will spur our nation's leaders into making sure they look after the brave men and women who do make it home alive.

The Week

Vanity - A sorority at DePauw University (not Depaul, I checked) in Indiana decided to improve its image by ejecting 23 of its members, including those it deemed to be overweight. "Everyone who did not fit a certain sorority stereotype was told to leave," remarked a former member who was allowed to stay but quit in disgust. Is it just me or does the definition of 'popular' or 'in-crowd' exclude pretty much everybody?

Outsourcing - A Chinese man advertised for a woman to serve as a stand-in for his mistress, so his angry wife could beat her up. The man is offering 3000 yuan (about $400) for 10 minutes of being pummeled. Allegedly, ten women have applied. They say they're women, but for my money, its a bunch of guys dressed up in drag looking to make a quick buck.

Retirement - Former President Bill Clinton, who came to the White House with modest means adn left deeply in debt due to legal bills, has collected nearly $40 million in speaking fees over the past six years. On one particular day, he earned $475,000 for two speeches, more than double his annual salary as President. I'm guessing that old adage, "don't quit your day job" doesn't really apply here, does it?

Venezuela - Over the last 2 years, Venezuela has spent more than $4 billion on fighter jets, attack helicopters, rifles and other arms, more than both Pakistan and Iran. Hey, Chavez. Better watch you back, bro'. When we finish up with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Somalia, and those friggin' Al Qaeda jerks (did I miss anyone?), we're coming after you.

What Caught My Eye Today

National Guard - The National Guard and Reserves don't get enough money or equipment and are left out of important planning for national emergencies, an independent panel concluded. The panel found a significant lack of communication between reserve officials and other military leaders, the Homeland Security Department and U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for the military's defense of the U.S. homeland. It also criticized the Pentagon for not budgeting or planning specifically for civil support missions, such as domestic disaster response, because they are viewed as extensions of wartime preparation. In what likely will be one of its more controversial recommendations, the panel said governors should be given more command authority over active duty military troops responding to local disasters. It went on to recommend that the Guard become more of a partner with other military and homeland defense agencies. It would make the National Guard chief a four-star general and a direct adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his top commanders. Better late than never, I suppose, but is anyone else concerned that the National Guard is so ill-equiped, yet these men and women continue to be sent to serve tours in Iraq?

Nuclear Arms - The Bush administration selected a design Friday for a new generation of atomic warheads, taking a major step toward building the first new nuclear weapon since the end of the Cold War nearly two decades ago. The decision to move ahead with the warhead, which eventually would replace the existing arsenal of weapons, has been criticized as sending the wrong signal to the world at a time when the United States is assailing attempts at nuclear weapons development in North Korea and Iran and striving to contain them. How could this possibly be seen as sending the wrong signal. We never once said that we'd stop our nuclear weapons program. We just don't want anyone else to start one of their own. I'm pretty sure we've been consistent in our position on this. Logical? Well, that's another story.

American Idol - Viewers squashed the dreams of four more aspiring singers Thursday night, but Antonella Barba, the focus of recent attention over some racy Internet photos, was not one of them. Alaina Alexander, Leslie Hunt, Nicholas Pedro and A.J. Tabaldo were voted off in the phone ballotting, which drew about 32 million calls and text messages. Perhaps the night's biggest surprise was that Barba was staying. Another surprise was the early elimination of the talented Tabaldo, who gave a rousing rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good." Paula Abdul couldn't hide her disappointment. "Truthfully, this is a singing competition," Abdul said Thursday. "I don't feel tonight reflects this." Truthfully, Paula, this is a popularity contest. The contestants just happen to be able to sing a little bit.

Harry Potter - British actor Daniel Radcliffe has signed up for the final two films in the seven-part Harry Potter series. The 17-year-old, who has just won rave reviews for his performance in Peter Shaffer's controversial play "Equus," will start filming the sixth movie based on the bestselling books by J.K. Rowling in September. Looks like dude took my advice and got those contracts signed. Theater is the purest form of acting, in my humble opinion, but a guy's got to eat. Plays simply don't pay the rent as well as multi-billion dollar film franchises do.

Tennis - Roger Federer increased his career-best winning streak to 40 by reaching the Dubai Open final with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Tommy Haas, the fifth-seeded German, on Friday. It kept Federer on course to beat the 30-year-old all-time record of 46 wins held by Guillermo Vilas, which he could do by the end of the Masters in Indian Wells next week. This boy has some serious skills. Must be kind of depressing for the rest of those never-will-be's on the men's tour.