What Caught My Eye Today

Kenya - A mob torched a Kenyan church killing villagers cowering inside, as the death toll from ethnic riots triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election soared to nearly 200. About 30 people died when fire engulfed a church near Eldoret town where scores of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe had taken refuge in fear of their lives. The explosion of violence in one of Africa's most stable democracies and strongest economies has shocked the world and left Kenyans aghast as long-simmering tribal rivalries pitch communities against each other. Most deaths have come from police firing at protesters, witnesses say, prompting accusations from rights groups and the opposition that Kibaki had made Kenya a "police state." So much for hoping that the African continent would start off 2008 on a peaceful note. This sort of incident puts into perspective something that we take for granted here in the United States. Every four years we elect ourselves a president, and other than some minor rumblings among those voters whose candidate did not win, the transition of power is always peaceful and optimism high. Truly a remarkable accomplishment, one that we shouldn't take too lightly.

Pakistan - Pakistan's Interior Ministry backtracked Tuesday on its statement that Benazir Bhutto died because she hit her head on a sunroof latch during a shooting and bomb attack. The government also published a reward offer in several national newspapers to anyone who could identify two suspects from the killing. The medical report made no mention of the sunroof latch and listed the cause of death as "Open head injury with depressed skull fracture, leading to Cardiopulmonary arrest." Pakistan's Interior Ministry said late last week it was from a bullet or shrapnel wound, but then it announced a day later that Bhutto died from a skull fracture suffered when she fell or ducked into the car as a result of the shots or the explosion and crashed her head into a sunroof latch. Bhutto's family and political party maintain that the government is lying, and insist she died from gunshot wounds. Several videos show a gunman firing a pistol toward her just moments before a bomb detonated nearby as she left a rally. I find it fascinating that Pervez Musharraf has been so conspicuously quiet on this matter. One could argue either way whether Benazir Bhutto was given adequate protection from the government, but you have to figure that Musharraf isn't too broken up over the fact that he will no longer face her in the general election, whenever it takes place.

Iraq - The U.S. military death toll in Iraq for December is the second-lowest monthly death toll of the war, although 2007 has been the deadliest year for U.S. troops. As of last night, the death toll for December was 21, higher only than the 20 U.S. troops who died in February 2004. The year started with 83 deaths in January and 81 in both February and March. The numbers jumped dramatically in the spring, to 104 in April, 126 in May and 101 in June. The U.S. government has reported 899 U.S. troops have died in Iraq in 2007, 50 more U.S. deaths than in 2004, which had been the deadliest year of combat in Iraq. The Iraq War began in March 2003. Since then, 3,895 U.S. troops and seven civilian Defense Department contractors have died in Iraq. Let's all hope and pray that 2008 continues that trend of that last few months of 2007 and that Iraq continues to make security improvements as the U.S. troop 'surge' ends and the draw down begins. You have to figure that at this point the Iraqi people are as tired of having U.S. troops occupy their country as we are.

2008 Presidential Race - I want to preface this next story by saying, it's about freaking time... According to national survey conducted for The Associated Press and Yahoo News, just over half of all voters said New Hampshire and Iowa have an extraordinary amount of influence over who wins the two nominations. Fewer than one in five voters said they favor the current system that allows Iowa and New Hampshire to hold the first contests, while nearly 80 percent would rather see other states get their chance at the front of the line. Both states have been criticized as unrepresentative of the country given their size and lack of racial diversity. Iowa — population 3 million — is 95 percent white; New Hampshire — population 1.3 million — is 96 percent white. Democrats tried to inject more diversity into the process by adding early contests in Nevada and South Carolina, but Iowa and New Hampshire moved even earlier. Every one of the 21 Iowans who participated in the AP-Yahoo survey think their state and New Hampshire have just the right amount of influence over the presidential selection process. In New Hampshire, two of the five participants said the two states don't have enough power. Not enough power? Give me a break. No other caucus or primary will receive even a fraction of the coverage that these two states have garnered. Between the two of them, Iowa and New Hampshire have 11 electoral votes, and probably won't even be mentioned when the votes are tallied in November, yet they have all this sway over the primary season. These folks should be happy that they get such a disproportionate amount of the limelight at all, let alone whine about not having enough power. Good grief.

Vocabulary - Lake Superior State University's published its 33rd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. And the winners are...PERFECT STORM, WEBINAR, WATERBOARDING, ORGANIC, WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING, AUTHOR/AUTHORED, POST 9/11, SURGE, GIVE BACK, 'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK', BLACK FRIDAY, BACK IN THE DAY, RANDOM, SWEET, DECIMATE, EMOTIONAL, POP, IT IS WHAT IT IS, and UNDER THE BUS.

Well there you have it. I think it's sweet that these guys are giving a little something back to society. I remember back in the day, when lists about this or that were the new thing. Oh sure you may get a little emotional about the surge of content being authored by random folks seeking to decimate the establishment and make their mark on pop culture with their notions of organic thought. But honestly, isn't a little humor just what we need in the Post 9/11 era? It's not like we're being thrown under the bus or be subjected to waterboarding. It is what it is.