What Caught My Eye Today

Illinois - Tragically, history appears to have repeated itself. This time at North Illinois University. A man opened fire in a crowded lecture hall at Northern Illinois University yesterday. Authorities said the intruder, a former student wielding a shotgun and two handguns, killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others before killing himself. Investigators recovered 48 shell casings and six shotgun shells following the attack in Cole Hall. The gunman paused to reload his shotgun after opening fire on a crowd of terrified students in a geology class, sending them running and crawling toward the exits. He shot himself to death on the stage of the hall. Within 20 minutes of the shooting, officials posted a message on the school's Web site about a report of a possible gunman on campus and warning students to "get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear." NIU officials canceled classes and closed the campus as part of a new security plan created after a student at Virginia Tech killed 32 people last year. Perhaps some good can be taken from this episode. It certainly appears that as a result of the massacre at Virginia Tech last year, that college campuses have done well to improve on their methods of communication with their student populations. Now if someone could figure out a way to intervene before the shooting begins, then we would really have something.

Space - It must be your lucky day, especially if you are a space junkie. I have two stories for you today.

Two astronauts ventured outside today for the last spacewalk of the shuttle Atlantis' mission to the international space station, working to attach science experiments to the exterior of the new Columbus lab. They were scheduled to spend about 6 1/2 hours installing the experiments and retrieving an old space station gyroscope. So far, so good. Let's hope this run of good luck carries forward into the remaining space shuttle missions to finish construction on the International Space Station.

This next item is a follow up on a story I posted a couple of weeks ago about a disabled military satellite.

The Bush administration is trying to convince foreign countries that the Pentagon's plan to shoot down a dying spy satellite is not a test of a program to kill their orbiting communications and intelligence capabilities. The State Department has instructed U.S. diplomats around the world to inform their host governments that the operation, which could be conducted as early as next week, is aimed solely at protecting people that could be affected by about 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel on the bus-sized satellite now hurtling toward earth. U.S. officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down. The Pentagon has predicted a fairly high chance — as much as 80% — of hitting the satellite, which will be about 150 miles up before it enters Earth's atmosphere when a single missile will be fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean. Left alone, the satellite would be expected to hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft would be expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would scatter debris over several hundred miles. Two thoughts come to mind. First, is it really that surprising that the international community is skeptical of the Pentagon's motives in attempting to shooting down this satellite. Not too long ago, I'm thinking our credibility would have been strong enough to avoid drawing any suspicions. Secondly, I bet you that Pentagon officials are just itching for the chance to show off its arsenal. Oh sure, they'rer doing this for the greater good...allegedly, but if they can scare a few folks at the same time, bonus.

2008 Presidential Campaign - The chief songwriter and founder of the band Boston has more than a feeling that he's being ripped off by Mike Huckabee. In a letter to the Republican presidential hopeful, Tom Scholz complains that Huckabee is using his 1970s smash hit song "More Than a Feeling" without his permission. "Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for," wrote Scholz, adding that he is supporting Democratic candidate Barack Obama. "By using my song, and my band's name Boston, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I've been ripped off, dude!" The chairman of Huckabee's New Hampshire campaign, called the allegations ridiculous. I'm not inclined to disagree with Huckabee's camp. However, you would have thought that in this day and age where the slightest transgression can get blown way out of proportion, that Huckabee's camp would have made sure that using this song would cause a flap--like this, for instance. As for that dude from Boston, you need to think big picture, bro'. You talk about getting ripped off? Think about all those royalties you might have gotten from Huckabee supporters. After that outburst, I thinking probably not.

And I certainly don't want to leave out the Democrats...

Barack Obama collected a key labor endorsement and coaxed away one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's delegates. This would be of the super delegate variety, otherwise I doubt that this would be particularly newsworthy. Obama traveled across Wisconsin during the day, hoping to add the state to an impressive string of primary victories. Clinton has suffered a spate of crippling developments — eight straight losses, campaign finance problems, a shake-up of her staff. Obama's advisers say even though some of his supporters assume she is on the verge of collapse, it would be a mistake to underestimate the Clintons. They have proven their ability again and again to make a comeback when they were at their lowest. I'm thinking that's probably a good idea. Obama only has a 100 delegate lead, which may amount to very little depending on how the super delegates choose to vote. Incidentally, how about a shout out to the fine folks counting the votes in New Mexico. It only took you 10 days to figure out who won. Way to go, Hillary.

Africa - President Bush, embarking on a trip to Africa, said the United States has a moral imperative as well as economic, political and national security interests in fighting poverty, disease and corruption across the continent. The president and his wife, Laura, will arrive Saturday on a five-country trip. The first stop is the West African nation of Benin, followed by visits to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. Bush, nearing the end of a presidency dominated by the war in Iraq, is proud of the administration's humanitarian foreign policy. He often talks about how many Americans are unaware of their own generosity abroad, and he makes a point to publicize the country's giving nature. The president is also behind a major effort to reduce malaria, which is a major killer of young children in Africa. I don't want to discount the positive impact that we've had in combatting AIDS, especially when so much of our foreign policy is a complete and utter failure. However, what does it say about our international standing when the President has to make a point of our generosity. Remember the old days when actions spoke louder than words? Well, actually, I suppose it was our actions that kind of got us into the predicaments we now find ourselves in. Okay, nevermind. Let's move on shall we?

Pope - Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House in April during his first visit to the United States as pontiff. The president and the pope are planning to continue discussions they began during Bush's trip to the Vatican in June 2007 on the importance of faith and reason in reaching shared goals including advancing peace throughout the Middle East and other troubled regions, promoting interfaith understanding and strengthening human rights and freedom. Here's thought. How about we stop threatening to invade other countries under the guise of preemptive strikes whenever we suspect that they may have weapons of mass destruction and/or may be harboring terrorist organizations. Or at the very least, perhaps we could have a shred of evidence before 'shocking and awing' these guys into the depths of hell. Like I said, just a thought.

Obesity - Being obese or even overweight may increase a person's risk of developing up to a dozen different types of cancer. Doctors have long suspected a link between weight gain and certain cancers, including colon and breast cancers. But a new study suggests it could also increase chances for cancer of the esophagus, thyroid, kidney, uterus and gall bladder, among others. In men, an average weight gain of 33 pounds increased the risk of esophageal cancer by 52%, thyroid cancer by 33%, and colon and kidney cancers each by 24%. In women, a weight gain of 29 pounds increased the risk of cancer in the uterus and gall bladder by nearly 60%, esophagus by 51% and kidney by 34%. The kicker for me was the conclusion that this study reached. Scientists are unsure how being overweight could make people more susceptible to cancer, however, because many studies have found that fatter people are more likely to get cancer, experts often recommend losing weight to reduce cancer risk. Way to go out on a limb there, guys. I'm not sure there are too many folks out there who would suggest that being overweight is preferable to maintaining a healthy weight. Would it ba asking too much to have you medical wizards come up with something that we don't already know?