What Caught My Eye Today

War on Terror - Bush volunteered his thoughts on a report on two secret 2005 memos that authorized extreme interrogation tactics against terror suspects. "This government does not torture people," the president said. Speaking emphatically, the president noted that "highly trained professionals" conduct any questioning. "The American people expect their government to take action to protect them from further attack," Bush said. "And that's exactly what this government is doing. And that's exactly what we'll continue to do." He also said the techniques used by the United States "have been fully disclosed to appropriate members of the United States Congress" — an indirect slap at the torrent of criticism that has flowed from the Democratic-controlled Congress since the disclosure of the memos. White House press secretary Dana Perino said those briefed on Capitol Hill "are satisfied that the policy of the United States and the practices do not constitute torture." She refused to define, however, what would be considered torture, or off-limits, in interrogations. "I just fundamentally disagree that that would be a good thing for national security," she said. "I think the American people recognize that there are needs that the federal government has to keep certain information private in order to help their national security. ... We cannot provide more information about techniques. It's not appropriate." Here's what I would like to know, if the U.S. is following international protocols, what could it possibly need to keep private about its techniques?

Myanmar - A U.N. envoy warned Myanmar of international consequences from its brutal suppression of pro-democracy protesters. Meanwhile, China and the United States clashed over whether the international community should take any action through the U.N. Security Council, with Beijing insisting the crisis was an internal affair. The United States said it would propose sanctions at the 15-member council if Myanmar did not "respond constructively" to international concerns, but success seemed unlikely with veto-wielding China firmly opposed to such action. In a warning to the world body, Myanmar urged the United Nations to take no action that would harm its "good offices" role in defusing the crisis there. I don't see the junta having much to worry about in the near term. As long as China and the U.S. continue to see things differently, the U.N. will basically be powerless to do anything.

Pakistan - Pakistan's controversial presidential election can go ahead as planned on Saturday, but the legality of President Musharraf's bid is still in doubt. The Supreme Court says that no winner can be announced until it decides if he can be elected while still army chief. Gen Musharraf will step down as army chief, but only if he wins the election, his lawyers have said. President Musharraf is expected to be able to easily muster a majority in the national parliament and four provincial assemblies that select the president. But the court ruling means that even if he gets most votes, he cannot be declared winner until the court has decided if he was a valid candidate in the first place. Well, heck, at least he'll have the popular vote. In our country, popular vote doesn't mean diddly, thanks to the Electoral College.

Image Rebuilding - Former President Clinton has said his wife wants him to lead efforts to rebuild the United States' tarnished reputation abroad — if she is elected to the White House next year. "What Hillary has said is that if she were elected she would ask me, and others — including former Republican presidents — to go out and immediately try to restore America's standing, go out and tell people America was open for business and cooperation again," he said. He said for the first time in his political experience, "ordinary Americans in the heartlands" were concerned about how the world sees the U.S. after years of unilateralism of President Bush's administration on issues such as Iraq, climate change, and nuclear nonproliferation. I'm not saying that he wouldn't be good at the job, but do you thing maybe, just maybe, Hilary is looking for a way to keep Bill out of the way so she doesn't have to worry about him getting caught with his pants down?

Steroids - U.S. Athletics superstar Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators and admitted to using steroids, which could cost her the five medals she won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After years of publicly denying using performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted using a substance known as "the clear" before the 2000 Olympics. She pleaded guilty to two felonies -- lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and lying to them about a separate check fraud case. Jones became the first athlete convicted in connection with the probe into the San Francisco-area laboratory BALCO, the center of a doping scandal that has tarnished the reputations of leading athletes in baseball, football and athletics. By no stretch of the imagination can Jones' belated confession undo the damage that she has done to herself and her sport, but on some level, you have to give her some credit for coming clean. One can only imagine how hard it must have been for her to do this.