What Caught My Eye Today

Myanmar - Soldiers with automatic rifles fired into crowds of anti-government demonstrators killing at least nine people in the bloodiest day in more than a month of protests demanding an end to military rule. On the second day of a brutal crackdown, truckloads of troops in riot gear also raided Buddhist monasteries on the outskirts of Yangon, beating and arresting dozens of monks. State radio said security forces fatally shot nine people, including a Japanese citizen, and wounded 11 people. The bloodshed followed lesser violence yesterday, in which the government said police bullets killed one person, while media and dissident reports said up to eight died on the first day of the crackdown in Myanmar. Every other time the regime has been challenged, it has responded with harsh force, including in 1988 when troops killed as many as 3,000 pro-democracy protesters. The regime uncharacteristically did little to stop demonstrations as they grew last week, but authorities leaped into action after Monday saw some 100,000 people take to the streets of Yangon, the country's largest city. First came official warnings Tuesday against protests, then an overnight curfew was ordered. Yesterday, the regime finally flexed its military might as soldiers and police beat demonstrators, arrested monks and political activists and, for the first time, fired into some crowds. Still, by Myanmar standards, the crackdown has been somewhat restrained. They call this 'restrained'? Now there's a scary thought. I also find it fascinating how the political environment is changing in that region of the world, the United States is again calling on China to intervene. First North Korea, now Myanmar. I guess since we're committed to this Iraq quagmire, we don't have much time to deal with the rest of the world. I wonder what will happen if the rest of the world decides it can get along without us. Admittedly, that is a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but worth mulling over to be sure.

U.S. Military - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he's inclined to approve an Army proposal to spend nearly $3 billion extra to accelerate the expansion of its active-duty force. Army Secretary Pete Geren said speeding up the growth of the force, stretched thin by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, would mean recruiting faster and increasing the number of soldiers who re-enlist. Also in January, when Bush announced his intention to send five extra combat brigades to Iraq in a change of war strategy, he approved a plan to increase the size of the active-duty Army by 74,000 soldiers over five years — from 512,000 to 586,000 soldiers. The rationale was that the Army needs to get bigger in order to sustain a long-term commitment in Iraq and Afghanistan without wearing out the troops and alienating their families. The Marine Corps also is expanding for the same reason. Geren said the Army now sees a need to accelerate its growth plan, as strains on troops continue to mount. He said the Army estimates it will cost an extra $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion — mainly in added personnel costs — to accomplish the 74,000 increase in four years rather than five. The Army secretary also said that one of the key lessons from the Iraq war is that the proper role of private contractors in a war zone needs to be examined more fully. He noted the controversy that has arisen over accusations against Blackwater security contractors in connection with the killing of 11 Iraqis on Sept. 16 in Baghdad. Those contractors were working for the State Department, not the U.S. military. At first glance, $2.8 billion seems like a rather big number, but it pales in comparison to the $190 billion that the Pentagon is requesting to fund the war against terrorism in 2008. Here's my plan. How about we give $10,000 to every man, women and child in Iraq--no strings attached (which happens to be about three and half time per capita income) then get the hell out. I bet that would get them to like us a lot more than they do right now. Too much you say? What's $268 billion (give or take a few hundred million) compared to the $427 billion that we've spent so far. Estimates have us spending in the neighborhood of $1 trillion over the long haul following our policy.

Jena - The black teenager whose prosecution in the beating of a white classmate prompted a massive civil rights protest walked out of a courthouse today after a judge ordered him freed. Mychal Bell's release on $45,000 bail came hours after a prosecutor confirmed he will no longer seek an adult trial for the 17-year-old. Bell, one of the teenagers known as the Jena Six, still faces trial as a juvenile in the December beating in this small central Louisiana town. The District Attorney's decision to abandon adult charges means that Bell, who had faced a maximum of 15 years in prison on his aggravated second-degree battery conviction last month, instead could be held only until he turns 21 if he is found guilty in juvenile court. Bell is among six black Jena High School students arrested in December after a beating that left Justin Barker unconscious and bloody, though the victim was able to attend a school function later the same day. Four of the defendants were 17 at the time, and legally adults under Louisiana law. Those four and Bell, who was 16, all were initially charged with attempted murder. The DA said he sought to have Bell tried as an adult because he already had a criminal record, and because he believed Bell instigated the attack. Critics accuse the DA, who is white, of prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites. They note that he filed no charges against three white teens suspended from the high school for allegedly hanging nooses in a tree on campus not long before fights between blacks and whites, including the attack on Barker. Not being familiar with the judicial system in Louisiana, it's difficult to say if the DA was being discriminatory in this particular case or not. However, based on subsequent rulings by the Federal Court of Appeals, the DA isn't exactly looking too good right about now.

Air Travel - President Bush promised on Thursday to take steps to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that have left travelers grounded. Bush met in the Oval Office with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and acting Federal Aviation Administrator Bobby Sturgell. The president urged Congress to look at legislation to modernize the FAA, and instructed Peters to report back to him quickly about ways to ensure that air passengers are treated appropriately and progress is made to ease congestion. The airline industry's on-time performance in the first seven months of 2007 was its worst since comparable data began being collected in 1995, according to the government. In July, the most recent month for which data are available, 20 carriers reported an on-time arrival rate of 69.8 percent, down from 73.7 percent a year earlier. "Endless hours sitting in an airplane on a runway with no communication between a pilot and the airport is just not right. We've got a problem," Bush said. "We understand there's a problem. And we're going to address the problem." Okay, two thoughts on this one. First, Bush is going to try to solve the FAA mess? Dude might have an easier go of things if he went after something a little less daunting, like say, Social Security. Secondly, you have to love the eloquence of this man. I'm surprised he didn't include, 'Houston, we have a problem.' somewhere in there.

India - Five months later, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is still feeling the effects of a kiss from Richard Gere. Immigration officials at Mumbai airport briefly detained Shetty, saying she was still wanted for obscenity charges filed in the wake of the public kiss with the Hollywood star. Gere embraced and kissed Shetty on her cheek at a public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi in April, sparking an outcry among conservative hardline Hindus, who claimed the pair had violated the country's strict anti-obscenity laws. A regional court issued arrest warrants against Gere and barred Shetty from leaving the country. The order was soon overturned by the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court ruling didn't show up in the immigration department computer system. You have to feel for Shetty. That deal with Gere must feel like a rash at this point. Just when you think you have it licked, it comes back with a vengeance.

Soccer - The way Brazil and sensational striker Marta played, it didn't matter who was in goal for the United States. Marta scored two goals and the Brazilians put on a dazzling display of soccer Thursday, outhustling the Americans at nearly every turn to cruise to a 4-0 victory in the Women's World Cup semifinals. The opening score came on an own-goal in the 20th minute, when American defender Leslie Osborne headed a corner behind Scurry. Marta made it 2-0 in the 27th to add to Brazil's growing confidence. She evaded a half-dozen players and cracked a left-footed shot from 15 yards that hugged the ground and beat Brianna Scurry diving to her left. She got her left hand on the ball but couldn't stop it. Any hope the U.S. had was snuffed out a few seconds into first-half injury time when Shannon Boxx picked up her second yellow card, leaving the Americans a player short. Forced to push for a goal in the second half, the U.S. left itself exposed at the back with Maycon, Daniela and Cristiane narrowly missing in the opening minutes. Cristiane finally broke through in the 56th minute to make it 3-0, left-footing a shot home in a one-on-one contest with Scurry. Brazil's last flurry came in the 79th minute when Marta showed why she was the 2006 player of the year. Off the left wing, she faked around U.S. defender Tina Ellertson, raced into the box, faked another defender and beat Scurry with a shot that drew a huge ovation from a crowd of 48,000. Scurry, the 36-year-old keeper who stopped a deciding penalty kick to give the U.S. the 1999 World Cup, was under intense scrutiny. Ryan named her to start just 24 hours beforehand, benching Solo who had allowed only two goals in four World Cup games -- and none in almost 300 minutes. Angry she was replaced for the critical game in favor of veteran Scurry, Goalie Hope Solo lashed out at U.S. coach Greg Ryan. "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said. "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. ... You have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past." I saw the game this morning. Brazil was there to win, and the U.S. made it way too easy for them to do just that. There's no way to say that Hope Solo would have been any more successful in stopping Marta than Briana Scurry--Marta was unbelievably good--but clearly the U.S. team's mental state was all messed up due to the last minute switch.