What Caught My Eye Today

Iran - Iran touted a new U.S. intelligence report as vindication that its nuclear program is peaceful. A new national intelligence estimate found that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003, largely because of international scrutiny and pressure. That finding is in stark contrast to the comparable intelligence estimate of just two years ago, when U.S. intelligence agencies believed Tehran was determined to develop a nuclear weapons capability and was continuing its weapons development program. Iranian officials insisted Washington should take a less hawkish stance and drop attempts to impose new sanctions in light of the report's conclusion that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in late 2003 and has shown no signs of resuming. President Bush said that the international community should continue to pressure Iran on its nuclear programs, asserting Tehran remains dangerous. I question the criteria that we're using to determine what countries are 'dangerous' versus those that are not. Russia's decision proceed with a military build up along its European borders and its decision to opt out of a non-proliferation treaty with its European neighbor seem a lot more dangerous than conclusive evidence that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program. As for what could happen in the years ahead, who knows? In 2010 or 2015, Iran could be our biggest ally in the region. Still, I will sleep a bit easier tonight knowing that U.S. Intelligence (such as it is) appears to confirm that Iran is not actively trying to build a nuclear bomb.

War on Terrorism - Here's a big newsflash... President Bush and congressional Democrats are locked in a struggle over Iraq spending, with neither side budging and each calculating that its argument will be the one to resonate with voters. For both sides, this rhetorical tug-of-war has become a question of leadership on national security issues and who is more committed to the troops. The conflict could be on display this week, if the Senate revisits a $50 billion measure to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but call for most troops to come home by Dec. 15, 2008. The bill is doomed since it is identical to one blocked last month by Senate Republicans, who said Democrats were trying to limit military commanders' flexibility. The bill failed 53-45, falling seven votes short of the 60 needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Once the bill fails in the Senate, Congress is not expected to consider another spending bill for Iraq. While Democrats could allot some money for other military needs, Iraq will be left out of the equation until Congress returns in January. Congress has until mid-February before the Army will cease base operations and until March before the Marines take similar steps, according to the Pentagon.

This last bit, is my favorite part...

The standoff between Bush and the Democrats is largely on principle, as the Democratic bill probably would have little or no practical effect on force levels in Iraq. The measure calls for troops to start coming home in 30 days — a requirement that Bush is already on track to meet as he begins reversing this year's troop buildup in Iraq. And the 2008 goal to have most troops home is a nonbinding goal, which means Bush could ignore it. So here we have our nation's armed forces and thousands of innocent civilians wondering where their next paycheck is going to come from all because the President and Congress are engaged in a battle of principles. Is it any wonder why President Bush and Congress are suffering historically low approval ratings. How about this for a change of pace--we withhold the salaries of everyone in Congress and the President--including all those little perks, like say the use of Air Force One--until they reach an agreement on war funding? I bet we'd see action then.

Cuba - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's unprecedented defeat in a referendum is a wake-up call for Communist ally Cuba, which has come to rely heavily on the firebrand socialist leader. Chavez has kept the Cuban economy afloat with vital shipments of 92,000 barrels of oil per day, an estimated bill of $3 billion a year that cash-strapped Cuba pays for with medical and other services. Cuban officials declined to comment on the significance for their country of a defeat that curbed Chavez's plans to speed up his socialist revolution in Venezuela. Experts on Cuba said the referendum upset is further notice to Cuba's leaders that they must look for alternative sources of support because the Venezuelan lifeline is not eternal. Venezuela held out a hand to Cuba in the direst time of its post-Soviet crisis, and trade between the two allies has grown to $7 billion a year. This must be seen as a nice little bonus to the U.S. Not only did Chavez get screwed in the recent election, but as it turns out, Fidel Castro is getting hosed as well. Looks like Christmas has come early this year for some folks in Washington.

Education - The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that Finland and South Korea remain among the superpowers of education placing in the top five for reading and math. The rankings are based on tests taken by 15-year-olds in 57 countries. The latest findings also show the extent of global competition in education - with the northern European countries now challenged by and overtaken by Asian rivals, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. The report says that overall the industrialized countries have not seen improvements to match extra investment.

Here are the top 10 rankings for reading: (1) South Korea, (2) Finland, (3) Hong Kong, (4) Canada, (5) New Zealand, (6) Ireland, (7) Australia, (8) Liechtenstein, (9)Poland, (10) Sweden

Here are the top 10 rankings for mathematics: (1) Taiwan, (2) Finland, (3) Hong Kong, (4) South Korea, (5) Netherlands, (6) Switzerland, (7) Canada, (8) Macao-China, (9) Liechtenstein, (10) Japan

Here are the top 10 rankings for science: (1) Finland, (2) Canada, (3) Japan, (4) New Zealand, (5) Australia, (6) Netherlands, (7) South Korea, (8) Germany, (9) United Kingdom, (10) Czech Republic