What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - In 1993 the Kuwaiti government claimed that the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) had plotted to assassinate President George H. W. Bush during a trip to Kuwait. Little has been heard about the allegedly foiled assassination plot in the five years since the U.S. military invaded Iraq. Why you may ask. Keep on reading. The Pentagon's Joint Forces Command, combed through 600,000 pages of IIS documents seized after the fall of Baghdad along with thousands of hours of audio and videotapes of Saddan Hussein's conversations with his ministers and top aides. Researchers found no documents that referred to a plan to kill Bush. Imagine that. Evidence of the Bush plot was not the only thing the Pentagon researchers couldn't find. Oh really. There were also no records showing a "smoking gun" connection between Saddam's regime and Al Qaeda--one of the principal claims made by the White House to advance the case for war. Well there must be some mistake. I mean Vice President Dick Cheney said there was a connection, so there must have been. Seriously, who in their right mind would start a war without just provocation?

Zimbabwe - Zimbabweans voted today on whether to keep the ruler blamed by opponents for their country's economic collapse, though President Robert Mugabe's challengers claimed the election was rigged even before the polls opened. Getting a little ahead of yourselves aren't you? Let's say that you manage to beat Mugabe--are you suggesting that the only way that would be possible is because you rigged the election. Maybe, just maybe, you should wait for the results to come in before you start claiming the election was rigged. The election presented Mugabe with the toughest political challenge to his 28-year rule. Opposition leaders accuse Mugabe of dictatorship and destroying the economy. Mugabe calls his opponents stooges of former colonial ruler Britain and says the nation must make sacrifices to overcome its colonial legacy. Call me crazy, but doesn't Mugabe sort of remind you of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez?The economic collapse of Zimbabwe has dominated the campaign. The nation once fed itself and helped feed its neighbors, but now a third of its population depends on international food handouts and remittances from relatives abroad. Unemployment stands at 80% — the same percentage that survives on less than $1 a day. Inflation is the highest in the world at more than 100,000% (is it actually possible for inflation to be that high?) and people suffer crippling shortages of food, water, electricity, fuel and medicine. Coming back to these opposition leaders, you may have a point. I cannot see how any rational voter would possibly want the current regime to continue running the country into the ground. Still, you might want to wait for the results to come in before crying foul.

President Bush - Winding down his presidency, George W. Bush is beginning his farewell tour on the world stage trailed by questions about how much clout he still wields. Unpopular abroad, as he is at home, Bush nevertheless has been a commanding presence among world leaders for the past seven years. Now, with fewer than 300 days left in his term, other presidents and prime ministers are looking beyond Bush to see who will occupy his chair a year from now. Gee, I wonder why? Bush was so easy to get along with and who doesn't find it just adorable when he tries to pronounce words longer than two syllables or when he attempts to get jiggy with it in front of the cameras? Around the world, there are hopes the next president will adopt a different style from what critics have called Bush's cowboy diplomacy and go-it-alone foreign policy. They're all just jealous, pure and simple. Bush is da man. Anyone who says otherwise better watch out. We've gone 'shock and awe' on one country that dissed a president, and we're ready do it again. Well not really, but you get my point.

2008 Presidential Race - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Hillary Clinton can stay in the nominating race as long as she wants and expressed confidence that Democrats will coalesce around the winner despite the often bitter contest. Nice sound bite, Barack, but I don't recall Clinton asking for your opinion on the subject. Obama said the Democratic Party will need to move quickly and decisively to pick its nominee in early June when the state-by-state nominating contests are winding down, and turn its attention to taking on Republicans. No kidding, dillweed (I heard this one on a TV ad earlier this week and have been itching to use it ever since). To avoid risking a divided party ahead of the November election, Obama said both campaigns should avoid excessive tactics. "I do want to make sure that ... we show some restraint and that we are measured in how we present the contrasts between myself and Senator Clinton," he said. "And we've been very careful throughout this campaign not to say things that could be used as ammunition for the Republicans if Senator Clinton was the nominee." Too bad Hillary doesn't share your perspective on this.