What Caught My Eye Today

2008 Presidential Campaign - Following the antics of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is like watching wild animals eat their young. Hillary Clinton weathered a two-pronged blow today, with influential Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr. endorsing Barack Obama and another Senate colleague, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, urging her to step aside. But to hear Clinton tell it, it was just another day in an epic primary battle whose result is still not known. "I believe a spirited contest is good for the Democratic Party and will strengthen the eventual nominee," she said. "We will have a united party behind whomever that nominee is." She believes this is a "spirited contest?" Those must be some seriously good rose colored glasses she has on. She trails Obama among pledged delegates and is not expected to close that gap even with a strong showing in the 10 remaining primaries. She also trails in the popular vote and probably cannot make up the deficit without revotes in Michigan and Florida. Clinton believes that 800 superdelegates will base their choice on which candidate would make the best president and would have the best chance to beat Republican John McCain in November. As well it should be. Though if Obama has the lead in both delegates and the popular vote, doesn't those two metrics point to him having the best chance to win in November? I'm curious as to what sort of math the Clinton camp is applying to come to its conclusions.

North Korea - North Korea test-fired a barrage of short-range missiles in apparent response to the new South Korean government's tougher stance on Pyongyang. The launches came as the North issued a stern rebuke to Washington over an impasse at nuclear disarmament talks, warning the Americans' attitude could "seriously" affect the continuing disablement of Pyongyang's atomic facilities. Being an "atheist state" I going to go out on a limb here and say that the concept of turning the over cheek doesn't mean much to the North Korean government. North Korea's "short-range guided missile" firing was believed to be aimed at testing and improving the missile's performance. The North regularly test fires missiles, and its long-range models are believed able to possibly reach as far as the western coast of the United States. The country conducted its first and only nuclear bomb test in October 2006, but it is not known to have a weapon design able to fit inside a missile warhead. North Korea shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor and has taken steps to disable its main atomic facilities under a landmark disarmament-for-aid deal reached last year with the United States and other regional powers. Lest you forgot, the reason North Korea agreed to shut down it's nuclear program in the first place was that it is in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Turns out a large segment of its population is essentially starving. But apparently the country has enough resources to test fire some missiles as it throws another hissy fit.

Sudan - Here's a scary thought... How many people have died in Darfur? Two years ago, the United Nations estimated 200,000. But the man who gave that figure now says it's far too low. Sudan has long said it's way too high. the former U.N. humanitarian chief said he has no doubt that tens of thousands more people have died since he made the 200,000 estimate in 2006. He went on to say only a large-scale mortality survey and access to areas where aid workers are unable to reach could provide an accurate death figure for the 5-year-old conflict. Sudan's government strongly disputes the figure of 200,000 deaths, contending the toll is a tiny fraction of that — less than 10,000. Some researchers and human rights advocates contend violence has persisted at the same level, or even worsened, since March 2005, meaning total deaths now could be as high as 400,000. Aid workers say Sudan's figure probably reflects people killed by bullets, but doesn't take into account all those who have died from hunger or disease tied to the upheaval of the conflict. Well that makes total sense. Dead should only apply to people who where actually shot. Those folks that...well, let me see--I can't say they're dead, can I? Ah yes, here we go. Those folks that shuffled off this mortal coil are just statistical anomalies.

NATO- President Bush says he "strongly supports" Croatian membership in NATO, but has declined to say if the former Yugoslav country will be invited to join the alliance at a summit next week. In comments focusing on the Balkans, the president also said that recognizing Kosovo's independence was "best" for the troubled region and expressed hopes that Serbia will in the end help its former province to succeed. I sometimes wonder if Bush cares about the well being of NATO or if he just relishes the opportunity to piss Russia off.

Speaking of Russia...

Russia warned NATO against expansion into ex-Soviet neighbors Georgia and Ukraine ahead of a NATO summit next week that will discuss what Moscow sees as deep encroachment into its backyard. Russia's Foreign Minister said possible NATO membership for the two countries would have repercussions for any plans to improve Moscow's ties with the Western military alliance. Georgia, whose pro-Western leaders want to move out of Moscow's orbit, is seeking membership in NATO and the European Union. Ukraine also hopes the NATO summit in Bucharest next week will grant it a roadmap towards joining the alliance. The United States is backing both bids. Big surprise there. But France, Germany and some other European nations say the move would be untimely. Maybe that's because these countries understand that the world doesn't just consist of the United States and then 'all those other petty countries.'

Canada - Vessels pursuing seals maneuvered through heavy ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Friday at the start of the largest marine mammal hunt in the world. This year's total allowable catch has been set at 275,000 seals, up from 270,000 last year. Animal rights groups say the seal hunt is cruel, difficult to monitor and ravages the seal population. Sealers and the fisheries department defend the hunt as sustainable, humane and well-managed, and say it provides supplemental income for isolated fishing communities that have been hurt by the decline in cod stocks. This year, hunters will take an extra step to make sure the seals are dead before skinning them. You mean they weren't required to do so before? Maybe those animal rights activists have a point. Hunters will be required to sever the arteries under a seal's flippers, a recommendation made in a European Union report released in December. Fishermen sell seal pelts mostly to the fashion industry in Norway, Russia and China, as well as blubber for oil, earning about $78 for each seal. The 2006 hunt brought in about $25 million. The fisheries department estimated the total harp seal population to be 5.9 million in 2004, the last time it conducted a survey. The government says there were about 1.8 million seals in the 1970s, and the population rebounded after Canada started managing the hunts. I broke out my trusty calculator and figured that the quota this year amounts to just over 4.6% of the seal population. When you look at it from this perspective, this hunt doesn't sound so bad. Be that as it may, skinning seals while they are still alive--that's just cruel.