What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years. South Korea is just one example of U.S. troops stationed more than a half-century after war. Germany and Japan are two other examples. American forces are deployed in roughly 130 countries around the world, performing a variety of duties from combat to peacekeeping to training foreign militaries. In South Korea, about 29,500 U.S. troops are stationed as a deterrent against the communist North, but that number is to decline to 24,500 by 2008 as part of the Pentagon's worldwide realignment of its forces. While this will surely not be popular with, well, pretty much anybody, this is one of those rare moments where Bush has come up with something remotely close to a realistic expectation of the U.S.'s continued engagement in Iraq.

Nagorno-Karabakh - Never heard of it? Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies wholly within the borders of Azerbaijan and about the size of Utah's Great Salt Lake with a population of 100,000, is striving to be recognized as a sovereign nation. Azerbaijan still claims Nagorno-Karabakh despite the fact that ethnic Armenian Karabakh won a 6 year war against Azerbaijan for its de facto independence. Karabakh's officials are all desperate to point out how they've built the trappings of a legitimate democratic state, even in the absence of international recognition. There's the parliament. The flag. A national anthem. Government ministries. On July 19, there will be presidential elections. For now, the international community agrees with Azerbaijan. Let's face it. No one wants to go through the hassle of establishing embassies way the hell out in the middle of nowhere. I mean really, do they have any oil?

Norway - Norway is the most peaceful country in the world and Iraq the least. The Global Peace Index, published a week before a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany, rates 121 countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe on some 24 factors including levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure. While most European countries including Britain rank in the top, more peaceful half of the league table, the United States is nearer the bottom in 96th place, while Russia is fifth from last on 118th. Norway, the peace-promoting Scandinavian country which brokered the 1993 Oslo Mideast accords and has also sought to resolve fighting in Sri Lanka is followed by New Zealand in second place and neighbouring Denmark in third. Iraq, which has been gripped by growing violence since the the 2003 US-led invasion of the country, comes bottom just below Sudan, with Israel only two places from the bottom on 119th place. Overall the study found that small, stable countries which are part of regional blocs such as the 27-nation European Union are most likely to be more peaceful. Peace and hot chicks? Norway has it all.

2008 Presidential Election - Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" actor, is taking significant steps toward an expected summer entry into the crowded but extraordinarily unsettled Republican presidential race. A Thompson bid also could make the contest to succeed President Bush even more topsy turvy; all three top-tier candidates — Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney — could lose some measure of support and the seven underdogs could become even more irrelevant. During his 1994-2002 Senate tenure, he was considered a reliably conservative vote. Thompson also established a reputation as a less-than-hard worker. The Democratic National Committee issued a research document Wednesday detailing Thompson's major legislative accomplishments. Save for the title and a DNC disclaimer, it was blank. You have to admire that witty cutting edge humor. I'd be careful though. There is that 'let he who is without guilt cast the first stone' thing that could blow up in the DNC's face.

Movies - The summer blockbuster season is off to a pretty good start. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End raked in $138.8 million over Memorial Day weekend and has grossed $404 million worldwide since it opened last Thursday. Shrek 3 has brought in $217.3 million to date while the third installment of the Spider Man franchise is up to $328.5 million after its fourth weekend. The latest additions of both Shrek and Spiderman are well behind the performance of their respective predecessors.