What Caught My Eye Today

Apologies to that loyal reader who pointed out that I didn't provide any fresh content over the weekend. In my defense, I'd like to point out that Christmas is right around the corner, and for those few people whose wills I still have a chance of being included in, I wanted try to get them something good.

Saudi Arabia - A woman sentenced to prison and a public lashing after being gang-raped has been pardoned by the Saudi monarch in a case that sparked an international outcry, including rare criticism from the United States. The woman, known only as "the Girl of Qatif," was convicted of violating Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws against mixing of the sexes because she was in a car with a man she was not related to when the seven men attacked and raped them both in 2006. in past weeks, Saudi officials have bristled at the criticism of what they consider an internal affair — but also appeared wary of hurting their nation's image in the United States. In October 2006, she was sentenced to prison and 90 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her. The seven rapists were also convicted. When her lawyer appealed the sentence and made comments about it, he was removed from the case, his was license suspended, and the court increased the woman's penalty to six months in prison and 200 lashes. The sentences for the seven men were also increased to between two to nine years in prison, up from the initial sentence of 10 months to five years. One presumes that this will stoke the criticisms of Islam and claims that it is barbaric. While not well-versed in the the Qur'an, I'm pretty sure there is nothing in it that suggests a woman should be punished for having the audacity to let herself be raped. This is all about how some have chosen to interpret and practice their faith. I'm sure if we did some investigating we could find some questionable interpretations of Christianity that would raise a few eye brows. All that being said, this isn't the first time a story like this has come up in Saudi Arabia. One might be tempted to say that the United States is turning a blind eye in deference to an ally. How might our official reaction be different if a country that we weren't so chummy with was charged with allowing the same actions to occur?

Economy - President Bush tried to reassure an edgy public that the economy is "pretty good" despite the dreary mix of a failing housing market, a national credit crunch and surging energy costs. This sounds like one of those, "the sky is falling, but everything in fine" moments... Bush's appearance reflects the administration's push to show that the president is actively trying to solve the problems — and ready as ever to blame Congress for moving too slowly to help him. As for the collapse of the housing market and the severe credit crunch that threaten to drag the country into a recession, Bush acknowledged "there are some challenges." Either the dude is remarkably optimistic or he's completely lost touch with reality. Guess which one Congress thinks it is? "What world is President Bush living in to be so out of touch with the economic realities families and markets are facing?" said Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, chairman of Congress' Joint Economic Committee. Of course, I'm not sure Congress should be jumping to the front of the line to criticize the President. Bush and Congress, stuck in a budget stalemate for months, have blamed each other for not acting fast enough to help families. Bush said lawmakers could help ease the burden by passing measures to expand the energy supply and make health care more flexible and affordable. Perhaps, I'm missing something here, but I was under the impression that Congress was trying to do just that, but President Bush didn't like any of the proposals that they had come up with.


Iraq - Iraq's parliament condemned the bombing of suspected Kurdish rebel bases by Turkish jets — an attack that seemed to carry tacit U.S. approval — and denounced the raid as an outrageous violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Before we go any further, I have to stop for a moment here. Are these guys not paying attention or what? No one has been less enthused about a Turkish incursion into Iraq than the United States. Heck, Kurdistan is the only region in Iraq that the U.S. wasn't having a problem with. Okay, on with the rest of the story... Turkey said the attack was aimed at rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and that U.S. intelligence had been used in the bombing. The PKK has battled for autonomy for southeastern Turkey for more than two decades and uses strongholds in northern Iraq for cross-border strikes. Washington is trying to balance support for two key allies: the Turkish government and the Iraqi Kurds. Despite their apparent support for a limited raid, the United States remains firmly opposed to any major Turkish military operation into northern Iraq — which could disrupt one of the calmest areas of Iraq and run the risk of destabilizing the entire region. In Washington, a Pentagon official said the U.S. military had "deconflicted the air space" in Iraq for the strikes — that is, the U.S. made sure Turkey would have clear use of the skies to enable the bombings. Another Pentagon official said the U.S. military has been sharing intelligence with Turkey, but that he did not know exactly what information was given to aid with the air strikes or when it might have been given. Apparently, Iraq does not have a monopoly on idiots in the employ of the government. What exactly did this Pentagon official think Turkey was going to do with the intelligence that we gave them? It's not like the Turkish government was going to invite the PKK over for some tea and cookies, now that they knew where to find them. And I do have to reluctantly concede one point to the Iraqis. If the U.S. military knowingly 'deconflicted the air space' (what is it with the military and all these funky terms?), clearly they knew what the Turks were planning and were seemingly okay with letting it take place.

Russia - Vladimir Putin assured his political party that Russia's age of Putin is far from over, pledging to accept an offer of the prime minister's post when he leaves the presidency next year. Gee, that's awfully noble of the guy. Putin finally settled on one of his many post-presidential political options, which had ranged from altering the Russian constitution so he could run again to outright retirement. It's always nice to have options. Plus I think it'll be a nice change of pace for Vlad. The Russian president has pledged to accept a job that is, at least on paper, a demotion — perhaps confident of the power conferred by his enormous popularity and by the loyalty of the fellow KGB veterans he placed in many of the Kremlin's most important jobs. Many in Russia believe Putin would remain the real leader of Russia, whatever his title. But the incumbent pledged not to undermine his successor, likely to be United Russia candidate Dmitry Medvedev, by strengthening the prime minister's job and weakening Russia's strong presidential system. While Putin cautiously vowed not to usurp power, Medvedev stressed that Putin will continue to wield "enormous" influence over Russia's affairs. Well if Medvedev, is just going to roll over and be Putin's...well, you know...then who could blame Putin for taking what's being offered to him. Dude, isn't exactly shy about taking whatever power is given to him.

Sports - Here's a couple of highlights for this past weekend's action in my own words...

Football - The New England Patriots continued their perfect season, going 14 and 0 by beating the New York Jets 20-10 in Foxboro. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the Miami Dolphins screwed up their shot at notoriety by beating the Baltimore Ravens 22-16 in overtime to improve their season record to 1 and 13. With 2 weeks to go in the regular season, the playoffs are starting to come into focus. In the AFC, the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have clinched first round byes and the San Diego Chargers have clinched their division. Meanwhile over in the junior varsity division, otherwise known as the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Bucaneers and Seattle Seahawks have all clinched their division titles. As for my home town teams...let's just say that there is always next season.

Golf - The story here isn't about Tiger Woods winning the Target World Challenge by 7 strokes and claiming his eight victory in 16 outings this year, though both are rather impressive. This is about a classless move on the part of last-place finisher Rory Sabbatini. In a move that left players shaking their heads, Sabbatini withdrew from the final round of the Target World Challenge citing "personal reasons," making him the first player in the nine-year history of the event to leave early. Sabbatini still received $170,000. He was in last place heading into the final round, 28 shots behind. A locker room attendant said Sabbatini cleaned out his locker Saturday afternoon and gave away sweaters and shoes. He told them he was headed to Maui, where he spends his Christmas vacation. Later, Woods was asked if he minded that Sabbatini left, and a cold stare spoke volumes. Sabbatini is a big boy and can certainly handle himself, but what was going on in that pea brain of his to pull a stunt like this? It's a charity tournament for heaven's sake and one sponsored by Tiger Woods at that. Does Rory think that Tiger is going to let him live this down...ever?