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.