What Caught My Eye Today

Taiwan - The United Nations again blocked Taiwan's quest for membership in the world body despite a high-profile campaign this year by Taipei that has irritated the United States as well as China. Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 in favor of China. It was the 15th consecutive year that a membership bid by the island of 23 million people had met the same fate, but the first time it had applied under the name Taiwan instead of its formal title, Republic of China. At issue is whether Taiwan is part of China or not. Beijing says it is and has threatened to attack the island if it declares independence. U.N. membership could be considered a move toward independence. The self-ruled island that China has claimed as its own since the 1949 civil war says the assembly's resolution no longer applies to present-day Taiwan, which is recognized by 24 countries. The Marshall Islands, representing that group, had asked for Taiwan's application to be considered by the new General Assembly session. Well I for one am shocked by this turn of events. You would think that the political clout of the Marshall Islands would have helped to further Taiwan's cause.

Iran - The deputy commander of Iran's air force said that plans have been drawn up to bomb Israel if the Jewish state attacks Iran. The announcement came amid rising tensions in the region, with the United States calling for a new round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program and Israeli planes having recently overflown, and perhaps even attacked, Iranian ally Syria. Iran has said in the past that Israel would be Iran's first retaliatory target if attacked by the United States. Iran's ambassador to Kuwait said that U.S. bases in the Gulf would be targeted if the country was attacked and a top Revolutionary Guards commander said this week that Americans could be found all around Iran and that they were legitimate Iranian targets if the U.S. takes military action. Two U.N. resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran have failed to persuade the country to suspend uranium enrichment. Tehran insists the program is aimed at producing energy for civilian use but the U.S., its European allies and many others fear the program's real aim is to produce nuclear weapons. It's heartening to see the cogs of diplomacy working so well to diffuse this rather volatile situation. I'm curious whether this flap is as dire as the media is reporting, or if all we're hearing is a bunch of sound bits from mouthpieces that are not actually calling the shots.

Britain - In a visit to Britain by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, top U.S. commander in Iraq said that Britain's handover of southern Iraq to government forces has been a success so far but he warned against a premature withdrawal of coalition troops from the country. Speaking before a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Petraeus offered support for Britain's plan to give Iraqi security forces control of Basra province later this year or earlier next year. British media had reported that Petraeus intended to press Brown to increase the number of British troops patrolling the Iraqi border with Iran to cut off the smuggling of Iranian weapons to Shiite militias. So like, the media got wrong? The hell, you say. Could it possibly be that the truth was not as exciting and therefore may not grab as many readers or viewers? Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh here, but do you remember back in the day, when you could pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news and actually get the news rather than some blow-hard's opinion on what you should think?

Stock Market - Stocks bounded higher as Wall Street extended its rally a day after the Federal Reserve's big interest rate cut. A mild reading on consumer prices added to the market's momentum. The move comes a day after central bank policymakers slashed the target federal funds rate to 4.75 percent from 5.25 percent because of signs that credit market problems could hurt the overall economy. The Dow on Tuesday climbed nearly 336 points — its biggest one-day point gain in nearly five years. Investors looked past record oil prices at other economic data that appeared to justify the Fed's rate cut and perhaps eased some concerns about lingering inflation. While stocks surged yesterday after the Fed cut rates, some investors have already begun wondering how long the central bank could sustain its efforts to provide cheaper access to cash if prices began to creep higher. Fear not, loyal readers. I still cannot quit my day job, at least not for a few more decades.

O.J. Simpson - Let me begin by saying--what a putz. With that out of the way, here's the latest. A judge set bail at $125,000 for O.J. Simpson in connection with the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors at a Las Vegas hotel. Simpson, standing in court in a blue jail uniform and handcuffs, furrowed his brow as the judge read the list of charges against him. He answered quietly in a hoarse voice and nodded as Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure Jr. laid out restrictions for his release, including surrendering his passport to his attorney and having no contact with co-defendants or potential witnesses. Simpson was charged with kidnapping, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. He did not enter a plea. In what I hope echoes the sentiments of most of the general public, toss the guy in the clink and throw away the key, if for no other reason, so we don't have to read about or hear about this plight on society anymore.

Baseball - The California entrepreneur who submitted the winning bid on Barry Bonds' record-tying 755th home run ball said Tuesday that he also will let the public decide what to do with it. Ben Padnos told The Associated Press that he would follow the lead of fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought Bonds' No. 756 ball, and let fans vote on whether he should give it to the Hall of Fame or destroy it. Ecko said Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space. Unlike Ecko, Padnos plans to make money by selling ads on his voting Web site. If you, like me, want to celebrate democracy in its purest form (at least in Ecko's case), cast your votes for #755 here and for #756 here.