What Caught My Eye Today

Afghanistan - Grappling with a record death toll in an overshadowed war, President Bush promised to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan by year's end. And by 'overshadowed' I presume he means the war that has actually been legally sanctioned by the international community? More U.S. and NATO troops have died in the past two months in Afghanistan than in Iraq, a place with triple the number of U.S. and coalition forces. In June, 28 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan. That was the highest monthly total of the entire war, which began in October 2001. Bush's comments amounted to a reiteration of the promised buildup of U.S. troops before he leaves office in January. It is a matter of consensus within the Bush administration, and between the U.S. and key allies, that there are far too few troops in Afghanistan to fight the accelerating Taliban and to train Afghan soldiers and police. Well, I suppose on the bright side, we have the experience we gained from Iraq that we can now apply in Afghanistan. Though, come to think of it, that might not be great news. It's not like Iraq is a poster child for our ability to nation build.

Identity Theft - I want to preface this next item by saying anyone dumb enough to take government advice on anything deserves what befalls them. The nation's Medicare agency and the Pentagon want at least 52 million Americans to carry their Social Security numbers in their wallets, contrary to warnings by the Federal Trade Commission that people should avoid doing so. This next part cracks me up... At least 44 million Medicare insurance cards include the beneficiary's full Social Security number. The number also appears on 8 million Defense Department 8 million identity cards. And the Internal Revenue Service still tells taxpayers to write their Social Security number on checks used to make payments. All this contradicts advice from the Federal Trade Commission, the lead federal agency for deterring identity theft. "Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check," the FTC warned in a pamphlet sent months ago to every mailing address in the United States. The Social Security Administration offers similar advice. Note to the federal government: "To whom it may concern, Left hand, I would like to introduce you to the right hand. You guys should hook up and see what each other is up to. You might find that you have some common interests." Note to the general population: "To whom it may concern, God help us all."

Economy - Lemme see here...Oil and gasoline prices hit another record high, the stock market continues its freefall, auto manufacturers see sales plummeting, airlines continue to scale back...Yup, nothing new to report.

New Zealand - This story is just plain weird. Maybe that hole in the ozone is having more of an effect on the population that we thought. A New Zealand man has put his soul up for auction to the highest bidder, noting that it is "a merry old soul" rather than a "funk soul brother." I don't have a clue what that's is supposed to imply. So far the auction has has received more than 100 bids, with the high bid reaching $189. Not much considering this is a dude's soul that we're talking about. Advice from a lawyer was that the winning bidder would not be entitled to anything but the man's soul and would not be able to own or control him in any way. Tragically (or rather amusingly, depending on your perspective), there is precedence for this sort of auction. In 2001, a 20-year-old U.S. university student tried unsuccessfully to sell his soul on eBay. Bidding had reached $400 before the auction was pulled from the site, with the company ruling something tangible needed to swap hands. Last month an Australian man sold his entire life including his house and a trial at his job after the break up of his five-year marriage for $383,200. Yeah, so there you have it.

Soccer - Here's a post script from the recently completed UEFA Euro Cup 2008, which Spain won (1-0 over Germany) Spain jumped to the top of FIFA’s monthly rankings (click here)for the first time following its triumph at the European Championship, with Brazil and Argentina both falling out of the top three. The United States kept up its fall from the highest echelons of world soccer, falling nine places to 30th. The Americans had been 4th in April 2006. Teams are ranked based on points awarded for performances in matches in the last four years. The American squad stumbled from its previous ranking of 21st, accumulating 780 points in the latest survey. That places the U.S. team behind countries such as Israel (21st), Ivory Coast (28th) and Paraguay (25th). Seeing as the dollar and the economy are in a downward spiral, why not throw the men's national team in there as well. Besides, how many American sports fans even know that we have a national soccer team? I'm thinking that is the bigger disappointment here--not that dropping nine places in the FIFA rankings is anything to brag about.